Overclocking I7 4900MQ

This seems to be a tough issue to get information on. Ive seen some people working on it but im still a bit lost with overclcoking my laptop. its a bit different from a PC. I have a fully unlocked bios from Svet. We converted my MSI whitebook over to the appropriate MSI Bios and unlocked it from there. I cant quite get overclocks to stick. I either run in to current limit throttling or power limit throttling and am a bit lost on what to change or where to change it. I'm using XTU but again laptop over clocking is a bit different.

 

I would recommend reducing your processor cache ratio, and undervolt slightly both dynamic CPU voltage and processor cache voltage. That way, you will save a bit of power that will be used by your CPU cores to ensure a higher core frequency.

 

Show me a screenshot of your XTU settings. I'm assuming you're on a GT60 or GT70; you'll need to be aware that the power brick is limited and a solid OC with a hungry GPU in gaming may be a bad idea. But for things like rendering, you'd be fine as GPU isn't stressed.

 

what about upgrading the PSU? as i intend to upgrade top a 330 watt PSU in the near future. Also its not exactly a GT70 because it is a MSI whitebook. essentially the same thing. Heres the screenshot:

 

with any settings ive tried i either get current limit throttling or power limit throttling withing seconds.

 

Set voltage offset to default, set boost power max and short power max both to 100W, and see if it holds in a stress test of some kind. If still throttling, try static CPU voltage at 1.192v and see if that holds the clocks.

Edit: please note, I mean * CPU* stress test of some kind. A full-system stress test on a 180W brick will likely shut off your laptop with those settings, if it makes the CPU pull enough power.

 

ill try it in XTU. Do you know if upgrading to a larger power supply will help? ive not seen much information on it.

 

with both configurations suggested it makes it roughly a minute into a stress test before it ramps up power limit throttling to 100%

 

Hmm... odd. Check your power draw. Are you hitting a high draw for a while then throttling to 47W or 57W? If you are, you need to get a BIOS that doesn't enforce the turbo power time limit.

 

i bounce around 60-64 watts and my power limit throttling bounces between 30-70% then it locks in at 100% and 47 watts. i will request my bios be revised with unlocked turbo power time limit.

 

So I contacted svet on the Msi forums. He's the one who unlocked my bios and vbios. Here's his response:


nope, can't do this
i can only unlock all hidden bios options, what options will be there and how they will works this dont depend of me

check in advanced, Performance Tuning, CPU Configuration
Package TDP Lock Enable
Power Limit 1 Value(Watt)
Power Limit 1 Time(Second)
Power Limit 2 Switch
Power Limit 2 Value(Watt)
Disable OverClocking Lock

and in advanced, CPU Information
Package power limit lock
Cpu Power Limit1
Cpu Power Limit2
Cpu Power Limit3
Platform power limit lock
Configurable TDP Level
Config TDP LOCK


I'm at work but when I get home I can look over these bios settings and see if changes here could help.

 

Okay. You might need to try disabling the package TDP lock, but I can't guarantee what that will actually do. If it breaks something, remove your PSU, Battery and CMOS battery for about 5 minutes then plug it all back in and enter BIOS set up and set it back to what you had normally.

 

seems to have gone longer before full power limit throttling. still 100% eventually. im not sure what of the settings he listed i should mess with.

 

Try making sure all the "locks" are turned off, and see. Package power limit and platform power limit locks sound like they might be on. Also, what do CPU power limit 1, 2 and 3 look like? I can't claim to be an expert, but I don't know what's set to what, so I can't help. Also, @Prema is a very good person to ask about bios settings like these.

 

was out with family. heres a picture of cpu power limit values. i disabled the locks as far as i can tell.

 

And does this change nothing?

 

this is what a 5 minute stress test in XTU looks like

 

Then MSI's BIOS is junk. Nothing else I can say. Sorry man. Maybe you should petition MSI for an official BIOS that'll allow you to pull enough power indefinitely.

It's possible they did this because of only using a 180W power brick with hardware as hungry as 780Ms and 4900MQs

 

Man this is thoroughly disappointing.

 

Not much else I could tell you other than sell that and buy a P177SM-A or something. I know for sure that will listen to you, especially with prema's BIOS.

 

Actually... there MIGHT be a way with Throttlestop. I don't know how to do it, but you could ask in the Throttlestop thread here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-throttlestop-guide.531329/unread

That program might have a chance of allowing extra TDP. I know it has been able to bypass locks on certain motherboards with voltage etc in the past.

 

The best fix is upgrade to a Clevo p7xxzm series with 4790K. Base clock of 4ghz, not turbo, BASE. Sustained 4ghz indefinitely.

 

That doesn't seem economical IMO

 

I forgot to add to you. If you manage to undervolt AND overclock, you will get higher clockspeeds for the same TDP.