New T43, Need Help w/ Gaming/Overclocking

I just bought a new T43 and I'm quite happy with the way it runs. However, I've got a couple of questions I was hoping you guys could answer.

1.) How do I get my CPU and GPU clock speeds up when I'm unplugged. Stock is 297/229.5, this stock drops to 100/120 when running on battery. I can overclock it back to stock using ATI tools, but I'm not sure this is the right way to go about it. I've tried setting "max performance" etc etc in the settings, but it doesn't change the clock speeds.

2.) How safe would it be to clock the x300 to its intended stock speed of 325 up from 230? I would assume IBM didn't put enough cooling power to have the card running at normal speeds, or can I safely overclock the thing?

3.) Is the 3-year-warranty void if I slightly overclock the GPU using ATI tools? Is there any way to prove that I overclocked it?

Alright guys, thanks in advance for the help.

 

1.) How do I get my CPU and GPU clock speeds up when I'm unplugged. Stock is 297/229.5, this stock drops to 100/120 when running on battery. I can overclock it back to stock using ATI tools, but I'm not sure this is the right way to go about it. I've tried setting "max performance" etc etc in the settings, but it doesn't change the clock speeds.

Try notebook hardware control. It gives you better battery life by allowing you to undervolt the CPU and lets you control the cpu frequency at all times. As for GPU go the ATI control panel by right clicking the desktop and clicking properties, then settings, then advanced. Under powerplay, you can select the GPU frequency when on AC and on battery power.

2.) How safe would it be to clock the x300 to its intended stock speed of 325 up from 230? I would assume IBM didn't put enough cooling power to have the card running at normal speeds, or can I safely overclock the thing?

The x300 has a 64bit memory interface as well as hypermemory capability but the case is that the x300 is very memory bound. Boosting the gpu frequency will not help as much as boosting the GPU memory frequency. My T43 sometimes goes to >60C which is very bad so watch your temperature with notebookhardwarecontrol if you plan to overclock.

3.) Is the 3-year-warranty void if I slightly overclock the GPU using ATI tools? Is there any way to prove that I overclocked it?

Don't overclock it at it's maximum overclock for very long, the cooling system isn't very good on the T43 and you may burn out the GPU and CPU as the heatsink can't dissipate heat fast enough. They can't really tell that you've overclocked but please don't make IBM's more expensive for the rest of us by wrecking your computer and calling warranty.

 

Powerplay option fixed my problem for clock speeds dropping

One last question, how safe is the notebook hardware control thing? Seeing as it's in beta and all. Any chance that it'll randomly fry my computer, or is this something that you would recommend as a safe and effective program dispite the fact that it was made by a random person?

 

Alright, well, since no one will answer that question, let me ask another.

What program would I use to monitor x300 temp? The Notebook Hardware Control program doesn't seem to be showing the GPU temp readout. I also tried ATI Tray Tools, still no luck. Any ideas?

 

patience, this is a forum, not all of us read all of the threads let alone can answer your questions. also, these were all parts of previous topics and it wouldn't hurt if you just searched for them.

notebook hardware control is beta but that just means it's in development, software usually doesn't damage the hardware unless you overvolt your processor. if you undervolt it too far, your computer will crash but will be the fine after reboot unless you saved the setting and the software tries the same voltages repeatedly.

Also, IBM laptops all use a controller on the SMbus and this is a proprietary system that monitors the temperatures and control the fan settings. There is a software that can read these sensors and it is called tpfan4xcontroller or something to that sort. you can find it in sourceforge. the software isn't very stable and conflicts with notebookhardware control. it won't change fan settings when notebook hardware control is running so you have to close notebookhardware control when u want to change the fan settings.

 

Thanks, everything seems to be okay for now. Some more questions though

1.) The BIOS settings in the TP Fan Control never change, always around 4000 give or take 100. I have tried running Doom 3 for 10 minutes, the fan didn't change speeds, CPU got to 70 degrees, GPU also to 70ish, I turned off the game.

2.) I've read something about ACPIEC warnings that people get in their log screens using this program. Have these problems been fixed or exactly what's the danger of this error?

Thanks in advance

 

1.) The BIOS settings in the TP Fan Control never change, always around 4000 give or take 100. I have tried running Doom 3 for 10 minutes, the fan didn't change speeds, CPU got to 70 degrees, GPU also to 70ish, I turned off the game.

Personally, i don't quiet understand the mechanism that the temperature management system works off of. When I first purchased the laptop, the cpu hit highs at about 40 degrees and now the summer has rolled around it's around 45. When i'm actually using my computer for graphics and such, the temperature rises up to 62 which to me is unacceptable. I think the thermal system works off ACPI with the operating system and notebookhardware control's ACPI access interferes with that automatic fan management by OS drivers. Like I've seen my laptop hit the high 60's yet the fan wasn't at the highest speeds. There doesn't seem to be any solution, maybe the next version of notebookhardware control can control the fan or allow the bios to manage the fan better.

2.) I've read something about ACPIEC warnings that people get in their log screens using this program. Have these problems been fixed or exactly what's the danger of this error?

There's no real danger with the ACPIEC warnings. They are just an regular occurance whenever you query the ACPIEC chip too much.

 

Thanks, that about covers my questions.

On a side note, I tried to figure out at what temp BIOS changes fan speeds. I turned on the Air Conditioner at our house and placed my ThinkPad over a vent. Dropped all settings and speeds. Got the CPU/GPU temp to 31/35, the fan stopped! Then I took it off the vent, ran some programs, and watched the temp slowely rise.
Results-

40/44 off (yes, off it can be done with BIOS!)

41/44 on 3300 RPM

50/53 on 4200 RPM

68/74 on 4200 RPM

can't push it much harder than Oblivion cranked up window mode. I'm guessing somewhere around 70-80 it kicks in the final fan setting (4800ish). Kinda crappy BIOS settings if you ask me, but it's IBM's call.

 

74 degrees seems really really hot for an x300, what's yours running at when it does intensive work? Maybe my fan is broken?

 

I've had numerous dells and they've always been cooler than my T43 since they have massive copper heatsinks in the back and a powerful fan and much more space for the heatpipes to carry the heat to the fan. T43 in it's nature being a really thin notebook will have trouble with heat because the heatpipes have to be flat which minimizes heat transfer to the sink making them only as effective as a solid tube of copper (which is good but nowhere near enough to cool a 20W processor. My gaming temperature is about 62 and 68 when i play games but i live in suburbs of philly and it is still moderately cool there.

 

I wonder if this means that small laptops aren't meant to be used for gaming ever. I'm pretty sure that gaming on this thing overheats it and decreases its lifespan, but hell I don't know anything about laptops. Think I should buy a cooling pad or something, or is the heat not going to be an issue with ruining the hardware?

 

I mean like 70-80C will not kill you laptop but it definitely will affect the electronic components and put more wear on them. By using a laptop you are effectively decreasing its lifespan but it should have neglectable effects on the life meaning 10 years vs 5 years. The notebook will be long out of fashion before it stops working. The only real issue is data loss from a hot hard drive or frequent freezes when you play for prolonged periods of time but if you have nothing important on it and your battlefield 2 game shutdown, it's not that big of a deal. I think an X300 and the intel southbridge is overkill for a T43 cooling system and the new intel 845, intel ICH7, ati x1400 are a lot cooler but T43 good enough for the casual business user that it was designed for. Plus, i like to see you drop a new dell, sony, or hp thin and light notebook the way i drop my T43. i cringe at the thought of dropping those but I am pretty sure my T43 won't have pieces of plastic flying all over the place.

 

Stop trying to play games on your T-43. If you want to play video games, buy a desktop.