Official 7900gs Overclocking Thread

Official 7900gs Overclocking Thread

I and/or others in this forum to not take ANY responsibility if you damage your card in the overclocking process. Overclock at your own risk!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Many users here have a E1705 or M1710 with the very powerful yet underclocked GO7900GS. Notebookforums.com has its own guide to oc this card, and I thought it was time that this site have its own. I know many users have asked for one and will use this thread.

Dell puts the 7900GS out with a stock clock of 375C1000M. You can easily overclock the card 20% like I did and see your 3DMARKS scores go up anywhere from 15% to 30% depending on how far you go. I did some calculations with FEAR and HL2 and saw an increase of 18% with my minor overclock of 450C1100M. The cards are very easy to oc and have a lot of potential, but BE CAREFUL!!!

Below is a guide to overclock the 7900GS from the member stormlifter over at notebookforums.com. You can go to his site for more info. All in all its a very good site for Dell users and I must thank him for making it.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Overclocking Guide

Stormlifter's Site
http://stormlifter.net/canvas/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

7900GS ISO - best burned with A120% -
http://www.clan786.com/files/7900bootrev6.iso
or
http://stormlifter.net/canvas/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=4&Itemid=32

Temp and Fan Control
http://www.mckenziedev.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=26
http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html

--------------------------------------------------------------

Single Pipe vs. Dual Pipe
The M1710 were the only notebooks to come with dual pipes. They have a hsf or fins at each fan with two coppers rods/pipes coming off of the GPU. The E7105s and 9400s all came with the single pipe and only have the rod/pipe going to the right fan. You can easily upgrade to the dual pipe with minor modifacations if you want to take your OC far.

Temperatures and Fan Control
Once you have something to monitor your temps, you can oc the card to your desired clock speed. On some programs you need to add and subtract 8'C in order to get the correct temperature. Look at the sites instructions on which to do, they are all different.

An average (single or dual pipe, fan on or off, +/- 8'C) idle temp with the fan on or off is 40'C to 60'C

An average (single or dual pipe, fan on or off, +/- 8'C) after gaming is anywhere from 65'C to 85'C

I wouldnt worry about temperatures too much unless you are doing a serious overclock. Anything under a 450C should be safe and doesnt require too much if any monitoring. Anything above that and you'll want to keep and eye on them and play with fan settings.

Anything over 90'C is too high and is when damage is done to your GPU.

Voltages
The stock voltage is 1.00V at 375/500. When you OC, you bump it up to a safe 1.24 to allow for the extra speed and stability.

Drivers
I recommend using the stock Dell drivers. Others such as ExtremeG MobileForce allow you to watch your temps which is nice, but I and many others have had problems with these in Direct3D apps, mainly HL2 and other Source Engine games.

3DMARKS 06 - post a pic and score and I'll put it up here if its impressive (over 4000) -
5214 Final_Spirit
5150 mZimm
4605 Sample
4284 Scriccs
4170 ScifiMike12

--------------------------------------------------------------

I hope everyone can use this thread, learn and use from it. I put a lot of time into and will continue to update it when more info becomes available. Post anything about this topic below.

Happy, safe overclocking on your 7900GS!

 

hey, nice job writing up this guide. One thing you might want to fix:

Lol, bit high to be safe eh? I mean...that would burn a whole through your lap, chair, and floor. Pretty sure you meant 50 is a good idle temp.

Ah yeah, and heres my 3dmark06 score:



http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j192/Finalspirit/3dmark06.jpg

4613 OC'd at 480/550 (1100) not bad. Temps idle about 55-60, get up to around 80 when gaming. Completely stable, no artifacts.

 

Well written guide! I'll certainly be using this in the future!

 

My scores are listed in my sig. Both were reached at 635/1200 and a 1.24v voltmod.

 

hey my score is 4433 ill submit a picture when i figure it out im so happy i oced it to 4501100 i might try 4801100 just for fun.. i wanna give a big thanks to mzimm for the help

uh ok i need help again its doing the same thing i put 4501100.rom and im getting crapy score .. i went up to 4801100 got crapy so i went back down still crapy scores then i went 4401100 still crappy went back to stock and then back to 4501100 still crapy, help?

WAIT NVM got it again god i love this laptop

 

what was the problem?

i switched drivers and my scores went down, so i changed back to dell. ill update the scores.

i hope more people will use this thread.

 

i dunno i just got a really low score like 2000 in 3d mark 06 but now its fine i dint do anything special just flashed it again but i waited a bit

 

Hum, I plan to Overclock this thing up to 1.24v today, I'll be getting back with results/pics later. Gotta dig out the cooling pad, lol. Haven't been using it, as my current OC keeps things cool enough that I don't need it.

Side note: I noticed you have the Mybook in your specs in your sig. Same as I have. Happen to get it for 5 bucks at Office Depot through slickdeals.net?

 

Alright, just overclocked and tested. First OC at 600/1200 v1.24 was too high, and 3dMark crashed. So I brought it down to 575/1150 v1.24 and got these results in 3dmark 05 and 06:

3dmark05: 8494
3dmark06: 5214

Not bad if you ask me. Here are the pics:

3dmark05

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j192/Finalspirit/ohyeahv1.jpg

3dmark06

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j192/Finalspirit/ohyeah06v1.jpg

 

how was the temp? whats the highest you can go without changing the voltage

 

temp isn't too bad, definitely hotter than my former overclock of 1.0v 480/1100, but not so hot that it will be a problem. It's running at about 60 degrees when web browsing, got up over 80 in the benchmarks though.

If you don't want to change the voltage, 480/1100 was the highest I could get my card to go without glitching. May be different for you, as all graphics cards are not the same.

 

just got my new lappy with 7900gs not real familiar with overclocking, is there a difference between the 3dmark version you use to check scores?

is 06 the one to use over 05, the only reason i ask, is all the sites that ive found to download 06 are transfering at around 25kb a second-- leaving a 6 hour dl whereas i have already dled 05--- im on dsl 3.0 thru tds.... if there is a trememdous difference ill do the wait if not obviously i wont

i left it going last night to try get it whil i sleep this morning nuthin...

thanks
chevy

 

Well lets put it like this.

3dmark03 is for older generation videocards (doesnt support Shadermodel 3 or HDR) but it still is a great test.

3dmark05 support SM3 and HDR and is for the ATI Xxx and Geforce 6xxx generations. A great test, we often use 3dmark05 on this forum to compare our notebooks.

3dmark06 is for the real new generation of videocards. I mean the Gefore 7-series and the X1k series. This test is very good if you have a very fast graphics card.

Hope this helps.

Charlie

EDIT: 3dmark05 is a great test, no need to run 3dmark06 in my opinion. By the way, the scores of different 3dmarks are not to be compared. I mean: you cant say: " Wow my PC is better then your notebook because I have 5000 3dmark03 points and you 3000 3dmark05 points." In this case, the notebook would be much better.

 

i tried 480 but it went to some lower settings i got like 2000 in 3dmark 06

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/sample89/oced2.jpg
hope that works highest i ever got

btw like my new sig? think it needs a border

 

Very nice final spirit. I dont have the balls to go that high on my new laptop. I prefer to keep it nice and cool. I had fun with my last desktop with a Mobile XP 2400+ and a 9800Pro which I had oc'ed through the roof.

Im debating to oc to 480 or maybe even 500. I like where Im at right now because I dont monitor my temps or worry about it at all. I watched them for a couple days and saw that everything was fine, so I switched from the buggy drivers back to Dell. I dont want to get a fan utility because its just another process that will slow down my pc, yes a stupid reason.

BTW I actually won my WD MyBook at a graduation party. I wish it was the firewire so I could speed things up, but all in all its very nice. Im currently storing all my music, photos, documents, and torrents on there. The only thing on my Dell HD is programs making it run nice and smooth.

 

Ah lol, that's cool. I just bought the same Harddrive last week after seeing a post on slickdeals about how to get it for 5 bucks after price matching and rebates. I'm storing backups, game demos (don't really care how fast they load), music, and some other files there. It's a sweet hard drive, especially considering the price, lol.

As for overclocking, while you shouldn't go off of other people's results and should do your own testing, I've found that 480/1100 is a very nice clock setting to keep, as it runs cool, and doesn't need to touch the voltage.

 

i think im gonna stay at 450/1100 stays pretty cold and runs good so im fine

 

One thing to point out is the fact that 3dmark 06 uses a default resolution of 1280*1024, so people with WXGA+ screens will get a higher score since their systems don't have to render as many pixels.

 

ya i just oced to 480/1100 and ran 3dmark 06 but i had a 19 inch monitor hooked up on 1280 1024 or something and i got 4100 something but on the original laptop screen in lower clocks i get 4400 wonder if its the screen im gonna test it out

after watching all those 3dmark 06 tests again for like the 10th time i finaly got my new score 4605
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/sample89/oced3.jpg

final spirit can you teach me how to change the voltage to oc i wanna do the same as you did unless its unstable and unsafe to keep it that way are you changing it back

 

You really should monitor your temps! At least till you get stable clocks and, IMHO, no long lasting temperatures above 85C. That's only 16 degrees short of slow protect. You can always turn I8kfan off after you know which side of the laptop you can fry eggs on

I hate the dell bios that let things cook, GPU, up to 78C before running the second fan. This is when just surfing and such. For this reason I auto start I8kfan, second fan on low, for just day to day stuff and temps hang at 51C. A small price to pay as the fan is VERY quite.

When gaming, as you, I kill all unnecessary stuff like I8kfan.

 

..just a reminder guys when you O.C. Your standard stock 90 watt supply is running pretty warm when charging and running notebook.

When you volt mod, OC, charge battery, and hold tongue just right, you will be past limits of the 90 watt supply.

It may be worth it look at the Dell 130 watt supplies for the XPS and M90, or any +120 watt supply with the right adapter.

 

All great points hydra. I will keep them in mind and try to add them to my guide.

 

Yeah, np. I've already put an order in for a 130w ps. The power increase will help with stability. Temps aren't running too hot, definitely hotter than stock or non-volt modded but not to the point that they are overly dangerous. Peaking about 85ish, with right fan on high it stays around 78. Idling it's fine and comes down to about 60. With cooling pad, everything is nice and chilled.

But yeah, definitely until I get the 130w ps I'm not leaving it at those speeds. In fact, I brought it back to 480/1100 at normal voltage yesterday night. Overclocks that high really aren't meant for permanent application anyhow.

 

where do you get a ps for a laptop? nvm but the people on that other forum got higher rathign with the 90w supply i wanna learn how

to overclock do i always have to be connected to an outlet

 

Is there anyway to oc the 7900 without flashing it? Some kind of program that can be run in windows for easy on and off abilities?

 

No. No matter what drivers you install or what program you use there is no way to overclock the card with software. Dell has made the clock set in the BIOS so that people who don't know what they are doing won't go screw around with the clocks and fry their cards.

 

I'm going to assume that you are using the same boot rom as most of us; all you have to do to overvolt your card is use one of the clocks that have the "v" before them. Those .roms will give your card 1.24 volts to allow the higher clock speeds. I wouldn't recommend running your card overvolted during everyday use, however without extensive testing for stability.

 

mzimm i love you but why does it sometimes work and sometimes doesnt.. like i flash it to 4801100 got those nice scores but next morning im getting horrible scores in 3dmark and sometimes even lower speeds do the same like 4501100 or 4401100.. i get lower scores then stock.. do i have to be pluged up or somethhing? any help?

 

To get optimal scores, you have to be plugged in, especially when running with the overvolt, it will eat your battery alive. Seriously, if you want to run at 1.24v I suggest getting the 130w ps. When talking about your scores falling, I'd assume either you aren't plugged in, or your card is getting too hot and underclocking itself to cool down. Make sure your temps aren't getting too hot, and keep your laptop on a flat surface that won't obstruct the fans.

 

its usualy around 50-70 something rarely at 70 and it underclocks itself even before i start the laptop

 

If you're talking about plugged up as in to the wall, yes. If you're running off of battery power your 3dmark scores are going to be bad no matter what. The battery does not supply enough power for the GPU to have full power, no matter what.

 

ohhhhhh ok that helps thanks

 

Running any demanding program unplugged is gonna eat up your battery life. I tried playing FEAR unplugged and I had to restart the game. Once in it was choppy because my GPU couldnt run at 100%.

mZimm, how do you like your display? I also have a LG and Im pretty happy with it. Overall its bright, not the brigthest and has very accurate colors. Other then dark spots in the corner and moderate light leakage, its very nice. What do you think?

 

aw i kinda wished i gotten wuxga but i think theres these things you put on your monitor that makes it look like a glossy screen. they have them at work im gonna try looking for them at staples or something

 

I love my display. When I first got it there was some light leakage at the bottom and both of the bottom corners were slightly darker than the rest of the display. However, after about a month of owning it both problems were completely gone. Having had one of the Samsung displays for this computer as well, I can say that the LG is noticably brighter, and I like it a lot better. Another thing to add is the fact that the Samsung that I had also had the problem with the dark spots in the corners, so it's not just with the LG screens.

 

Well, that explains your super score there my friend

 

hey, so I just tried all this and I get a "pci subsystem id mismatch error". Also it says unsupported eeprom and that the eeprom is unknown. I have a toshiba and im guessing they must lock there cards? Any input would be appreciated. I'm getting very frustrated. Also if anyone knows how to get rid of the fakeVir-O trojan then let me know because I can't seem to get that ***** to die.

 

If you have a Toshiba then you wont be able to use these at all. I hope you didnt flash anything, I dont even know if thats possbile. Let us know what you have and then we can help you.

 

I'm getting very frustrated. Also if anyone knows how to get rid of the fakeVir-O trojan then let me know because I can't seem to get that ***** to die.


Sometimes you can get lucky with free windows defender, also search google.

 

Yeah, Toshiba uses a different BIOS for the card, so it's not going to work for you. Sorry.

 

Do you guys know anything that will work? will anything work. McAfee didnt catch the trojan and I paid for that so I'm a little pissed.

 

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/download/

The FEAR tweak guide recommended this for trojans. Give it a shot, it's free but you have to sign up like AVG was.

 

great guide, bout to try myself

just a quick one:
could someone explain in a little more detail how to determine if you have dual pipes vs a single?

and also, how do you get back to a stock 375/1000 if you've, say, lost the cajones for the job?

 

Look at your left fan slot from the back. If there is a HSF or fins like on the right, then you have dual pipes. You will most likely have a .5 inch space where there is space for one, but there is only your cpu fins.

If you want to get back to stock speeds, complete the steps in the guide but flash stock.rom and youll be back to normal.

 

When I try to flash the BIOS with NVFlash, I got the following error...

-----
ERROR: PCI Subsystem ID Mismatch
-----


Anybody else had this happen? Anyone know what to do about it?

 

to go back to stock just type nvflash stock.rom

 

When I go to Nvidia control panel it says my stock frequencies are like 3-- and 5--. But you guys say the stock is 375/1000?

 

AFAIK these files are for the Dells. You could use nbitor to load and save your rom file and edit the hex strings for the clock settings then re-flash. Can you use a hex editor?

What happened to your 90C temps? all fixed?

Never mind i just found your other post. Your temps looks good. Have you tried other OC utilities? I haven't read anything where it's official on Gateway using locked roms.

Anybody?