CPU upgrade to go woth 980M SLI?

Hey!


Sorry to be a pain, but I need some advice and I'd appreciate it if you guys took the time to help me out here.


My recent upgrade from 780M SLI to 980M SLI on my Alienware 18 was a breeze and the framerates in games have never been so high!
But I have a strange feeling that I'm now being bottlenecked by my CPU (i7-4700MQ) in certain games and certain scenarios. Sometimes I see that my GPUs don't get 100% utilization. Overclocking my CPU seems to boost fps a bit as well (hard to effectively test this, though).


So the question is - is it worth trying to upgrade to something like an i7-4940MX for gaming at this point? I also do photo and video work every now and again, so the higher clocks make sense, but I'm asking from a pure gaming perspective. Could my crappy CPU be bottlenecking the 980Ms in games like GTA5 and Witcher3?


What I fear is the power consumption. My CPU has a 10 Watt lower TDP (47W vs 57W) which I fear will interfere with the GPU overclocking potential on my AW18 due to that damn power draw limit. Is that likely to happen?

I'm looking to just remove the bottleneck that may be hindering my GPUs, so I'm not looking to do much overclocking or any extreme benching. My GPUs are now sustaining a 1250MHz core and I wonder if the new CPU would still let me have that if I leave it more or less stock?

And if you think there are real gains to be had from a CPU upgrade, would you be able to recommend a seller with a good price and maybe even one that will send as a gift so I don't get robbed by Customs (I live in UK).


Thank you very much!

 

I would not suggest a 4940MX. I would suggest either a 4930MX, or a 4910MQ, and aiming for at least 4GHz. Even a 4810MQ could hit 4GHz fairly easily (its max 4-core OC). I suggest liquid ultra to cool it as well.

If you wish, you can read my mobile i7 CPU information guide. Rated TDP is just a guide, and I can make your 4700MQ cross 47W in about 5 minutes. You may not be able to keep your 980M SLI overclocked greatly due to the power draw limit indeed, but in some of the newer titles (most AAA games from 2015) and some things, the CPU jump from 3.2GHz to 4GHz would give you a pretty big jump where it matters, but I don't know if you'll play a lot of things where it matters. But yes, the rated TDP doesn't matter for a CPU, honestly. Forget it.

It's up to you what to do. I would balance a closer-to-stock GPU situation and a good CPU situation rather than a heavy GPU situation with a weak CPU situation. You can always use throttlestop to adjust your overclocks with its profiles and save profiles for your GPUs and adjust your settings on a game-to-game basis. That's also an option.

 

Thanks for the reply! I spoke with Woodzstack and Mr. Fox and they both say 4940MX is garbage and they both suggest a 4930MX or a 49xxMQ. Seems like a common trend here.
Seems like I'd be steering towards the 4930MX, but I wonder why is the 4940MX garbage, why is everyone not recommending it? Mind you - I would not do any extreme overclocking or benching, 10% OC is probably the most I would do on the CPU, GPU is what matters in most games anyway (except for a few like GTA or TESO, etc).

I've already pasted my laptop with CLU, both GPUs and the CPU.

I'm thinking maybe getting an extreme CPU would be a good solution after all, since my 4700MQ throttles like a dumbass (TDP throttling, not thermal) and doesn't even keep the 3.4GHz turbo properly, goes down to 3.2 or even 3GHz when throttling. Undervolting helps. If the CPU decides - doesn't throttle at all. But if it's being stupid - it does. Unreliable :/
Would an extreme CPU have that dumb TDP throttling issue then, seeing as it's made to be overclocked anyway?
If so - i'd rather prefer to get an unlocked CPU and just run that at stock or a mild OC and if I need more GPU power - I'll downclock the CPU and increse the GPUs. Unlocked is unlocked and it's always better than trying to OC through mobo, which is what I have to do now (max 4-core multi on my CPU is x34).
I know for a fact that the extreme CPU + powerhouse GPU combo works, at least at stock clocks, because Dell has been offering the combo for ages now (Intel MX CPUs with 780M SLI and now 980M SLI), so then I'm interested in how far I can push the GPUs before I hit the dumb Viking power draw wall.

This seems like the last upgrade for my laptop anyway, at least for a good while. Can't get any better cards, I've maxed out the RAM, my screen is running at 110Hz, got 2TB worth of SSDs and a HDD... CPU is the only thing that's left now.

 

Your 4700MQ runs at 3.2GHz under 4-core load without overclocking; that's by design. If you overclocked it and didn't adjust the TDP sliders, then it would throttle. The 4700MQ itself doesn't have anything really wrong with it; it's how you set it up. But it won't pass 3.4GHz on 4 cores unless you hack the EC firmware of the machine, and with secure flash being present, it's likely more trouble than it's worth for you, so... yeah.

If you're not going to pass 4GHz or so, there's no reason to pay extra for a 4930MX. The 4910MQ should easily get the job done, if you're pinching for pennies.

The 4940MX has shown to be less overclockable in general than the 4930MX, and most people will say to avoid it if possible. Haswell chips are already hot and power hungry and you don't want a WORSE chip than is necessary.

All CPUs would have that dumb TDP throttling issue if not set up correctly. Again, I have my mobile i7 CPU information guide in my signature for reference.

Dell just screwed up the AW18 with Haswell (draws much more power than before) and the removal of support for a second brick. Maxwell drawing more power than Kepler when OC'd also is a detriment, and that's where the real problem comes in.

I'd suggest the 4910MQ (note that the 4900MQ works just fine) in general for you, as it's a bit easier to acquire and will easily hit or cross 4GHz without much hassle.

 

Hmm, I'm definitely not pinching pennies, at least not with the recent 980M SLI upgrade from an already very capable 780M SLI, which some people would call a bit crazy for the price.
I've seen a few 4930MX chips on ebay for a decent price so might just snag those just in case as they seem very capable of holding their clocks and I like the control to be in my hands.

Also - I've already checked out your guides - very useful stuff! Especially that website you linked to with alternate SLI compatibility bit lists which improve performance
As for my current setup - I've undervolted, which seems to then fluctuate between 3.45GHz and 3.2/3.3GHz under 100% load, which isn't super bad, but I'd rather not have it do that. I'll check the BIOS settings to see if I can increase the TDP limits as the ones in XTU don't seem to be doing anything...

As for Maxwell/Kepler debate... The performance is much better and pasted with CLU I'm getting way more frames out of the 980Ms with lower temps than the 780Ms, so I can't really fault Maxwell. Maybe the MFAA not being available in SLI, that sucks. But then again DSR wasn't for a while for mobile and SLI, but NV managed to sort it out, so I'm sure it will just take time...

 

I've ordered a 4930MX for 375 bucks, which I thought was a very fair price.

On a side note, as if by magic, I tinkered with the BIOS a bit and increased the turbo short and long power maximums and the turbo time window length and presto mundo - my CPU doesn't throttle anymore at 3.45 and 3.5GHz on 4 cores! Below is a snippet of a 10min long stress test where my CPU would have definitely crapped out within the first 30s - 1min:



Good stuff to know for when the 4930MX arrives!

 

Well, congratulations. Enjoy your upgraded machine, and feel free to give me the same upgrades as a late christmas present