Overclocking partially unlocked processors (e.g. 3720QM, 3820QM)

I'm considering upgrading from my 3610QM to a 3720QM for a price difference of $100, since the 3720QM is partially unlocked, making it seemingly worth the upgrade. Can anyone give me a general summary on what it takes to overclock a CPU like the 3720QM, which I've heard allows a 400MHz increase in clock using Intel XTU (or BIOS in some cases)? Is this a full performance boost, or only during the "short turbo" time? Does overclocking the turbo multipliers give much of an increase?

 

In my case it gives me full performance boost (3.9GHz on all 4 cores). All you need is Prema's modded BIOS and Intel XTU utility.

 

Nunchucks aren't going to help you defend yourself in a fight if you don't know how to use them. Such is the case with Intel XTU since it doesn't come with instructions.

 

All I set in Intel XTU was (in Manual Tuning / All Controls):
- Multipliers to 41/40/39/39
- Turbo Boost Short Power Max to 65W
- Turbo Boost Power Max to 55W

 

I would like to under clock the laptop to eke out more battery life

 

In that case you have to change the multipliers to lower values than the default ones.

 

I would say you need to check any kind of overclock/underclock for stability, I've underclocked certain i7 CPU's and found they were less stable than normal clock speeds.

 

Sounds like it really does give a solid performance boost, and easily worth it for $100 (after reselling the old), especially since I tend to play CPU-bound games. Just picked up a 3720QM, anyone want a 3610?

Awesome. That's good to hear, since I'm already using Prema's modded BIOS and Intel XTU.

Using nunchuks seems to be pretty trivial in this case, and I have some experience with them already

I'll try this once the 3720 gets here. Thanks!

 

Just keep in mind that your 3720QM will have maximum multipliers at 40/39/38/38 (my CPU is 3740QM).