XPS m170 pinmod

So has anyone here ever done this mod?? I just picked up a 1.7PM HERE and I am gonna do the 1.7-2.26 jump. I figure why not make a few bucks on getting the 2.26Ghz processor instead of paying $400 for it??! I never applied any thermal compound when I put in my new GPU anyway, so I have kinda been looking for an excuse to tear my computer apart again

Anyway, just wanted to hear anyone else's experiences, especially if they used the 1.7PM. I'll keep everone posted on how it goes when I get the new processor

 

I will be interested to see how it works out for you. I am going to keep mine storck for a bit since I just got it all working well finally after over a month of wireless problems. Was the GPU upgrade hard to do?

 

Well, before I go to class, I would just like to share the little email I recieved today:

Dear Buyer,
I have recieved your payment and thank you for the quick transaction. I would like to inform you about the item that you have won. During the process of packaging your cpu, I accidently broke a leg on the processor and that was my last one. I currently have the Intel Centrino 740/1.73GHz/ 2M/ 533FSB in stock and was wondering if you would prefer that instead. I have already printed out the shipping label and ready to ship to you. If you decide that you still want the Intel Centrino 735 that you have won in my auction, please give me a few days while my new order of cpu's is being shipped to me. I will ship it out to you when it become available. So get back to me ASAP with your decision. Thank you for understanding.

And the issues begin already...

 

Ah, I really did want to hear the outcome of this mod. Are you going to wait?

 

So what are you going to do?

 

Well, I have sent her an email asking just how long of a wait it is gonna be. I guess I'll go from there. I can easily just find another one on ebay, so I don't feel like waiting around forever. Unfortunately, I already paid, so I have this sneeking suspicion that if I say I would like to buy from someone else, this seller is gonna give me issues. I have a love/hate relationship with ebay, and this is why!! I find selling on ebay is usually better than buying, at least that is my experience.

I'll keep you all posted on what she says. If I just buy elseware, I may get bold and try the 1.8-2.4 mod, it all depends on the prices I find on the processors. I would hate to get the 1.8 and find out I will need volt mods, although I think the XPS can pull it off. I hope this gets resloved soon!!

Oh, and to Gshocker: The GPU upgrade is really easy. Hardest part for me was getting the stupid piece that has the power button to come off, but it's actually a pretty simple process. Dell makes it really easy to take their computers apart

 

She just sent me an email saying she is going to credit my account. So I went ahead and picked up a 1.8 (I figure it must be a sign!!). I didn't get near as good a deal, after shipping and insurance, it came to $166, and it's used. But I just felt like doing a buy it now, since I am sick of waiting for it at this point!!

The success rate of the 1.8 is definitely not as good from what I have seen, but the idea of a 2.4 sounds kinda nice to me.

*crosses fingers*

 

1.8-2.4 has a very good success rate, you'll most likely need to raise the voltage to around 1.4 though to get it to work right.

 

Yeah, I am expecting the need to do a volt mod on it as well. I am happy to hear you say the success rate of the 1.8 is pretty good, I don't really care to keep buying and selling processors until one works!! It shipped early today, I am expecting it by thursday. Then the fun begins

 

Well isn't that just my luck??! Got the processor today, and it's a no-go Volt modded it to 1.452 and it still only lasted 3 minutes in Prime. Windows wouldn't boot at stock voltage, and I couldn't even get through 3dmark06 (although I ALMOST did) with the high voltage. So I just gave up and will be ebaying it tomorrow

But if at first you don't succeed, I guess you try again or something. I will be looking for another 1.8, odds are I won't get two duds!! I enjoyed seeing my CPU read as 2.39

 

Well.. don't be too mad. Anyone who trys to overclock their CPU by as much as you tried, is playing with FIRE! Why don't you just start off with 2.1ghz or somthing. Then check the temp that the CPU is running at, and try some more..

 

With a pinmod, you really have no choice of what to overclock to. You force the CPU to run at 533Mhz instead of its intended 400. And for a 1.8Ghz CPU, that results in 2.4Ghz. There is no way to overclock via software, so 2.4 it is.

I have already purchased another one though, $154 shipped. A little better at least. Now I have to wait through the weekend though

 

From what i read, temps don't really go up. Sublime, you should be fine.

 

Yeah, but it WON'T run stable. Not at all. Best I got was 3 minutes before Prime found an error, and it should run at LEAST 12 hours to be considered stable!! Couldn't even make it through 3dmark. Sure, if I keep pumping more voltage through it I MAY get it to run stable, but at the expense of my battery life, and yes, probably heat.

It is very clearly not a good overclocker. I really do think it is someone else's failed attempt, but that's the risk you take buying on ebay. It's being sold as a 1.8, not a 2.4, so such is life. I WILL get one that works though, I would like to believe this next one will do ok.

 

Have you read of other people getting it to work smoothly?

Ceratinly hope the next chip does the trick. Sould be nice to see it work well for you.

 

And here we go, I got my new one and she's running strong I upped the voltage to 1.436, and everything is reading at 2.4Ghz now. I only ran Prime for about 4 hours, because I want to see exactly what this new CPU can do. I will leave it run tomorrow just to make sure it is stable for a good 12 hours. I'll post my new 3dmark scores when I get done running it

 

Good to hear. It's a nice overclock for a laptop that's for sure. I'll be doing somthing similar and throwing my 360J into a desktop gaming rig. I'm looking to do a 1.6-2.13 for my lappy and overclock my gamer to 3GHz (yes,I know it has been done already)

 

sublime, glad to hear everything is working out. Could you do the super pi test also?

 

Sure

1M-34 seconds
2M-1 minute 30 seconds

Never ran it with my 2.0pm though, so I have no idea how much better that is

Also, since my signature doesn't seem to want to show up right now, I have gone from 7455 in 3dmark05 to 7693, and in 06 from 3822-4014!!

 

That is really wierd. 1M = 34 seconds. Then 2M should be 1:08 give or take a second not 1:30. 1:30 though sounds about right, but I would think it would be a little faster.... 1:20 or somthing..

 

Hmmm, don't know what to say. Just ran it again with similar results,
1M-33seconds
2M-1minute 28seconds

 

Hmmm... does the CPU temp go up while running super pi? When things get hotter they tend to run slower... That is still really wierd the results your getting...