4.0 GHz Core i7 on D900F (Sager 9280) .. OC FTW!

I know that this doesn't really fit here because all i7's have the same TDP, but anyone knows how to read your CPU thermals?
I just want to make sure if I really have a Q9550S or just a Q9550 in my laptop,
but CPU-Z does not make a difference between them, e.g. same name, specification, technology, model, stepping and revision.
I have already found a mismatch in the graphics card, e.g. FX 3700M instead of 9800M GTX, so I became more cautious.

 

hw monitor

everest?

 

I think the low energy models have lower VIDs? Try comparing the range of VID for the Q9550S and the Q9550 and see where yours lies.

VID = voltage that your CPU runs at when it's at stock clocks.

~Ibrahim~

 

The Core VID is 1.1V when idle, OCCT says it is downclocked to ~2.0GHz, and 1.175V at 100% load/2.83GHz.

In some reviews for Q9550S I have seen it at 1.072V and 1.136/1.144V/1.152V respectively but I think that they were ES.

No software, such as HWMonitor or Everest, that I know reports the TDP values.

 

Check in CPU-Z what you're Core Steppping is. Apparently, the VID for both models is identical.

Q9550: C1 Stepping.
Q9550 S: E0 Stepping.

~Ibrahim~

 

Mine is E0 stepping but Q9550 SLB8V is also E0 stepping.

 

Oh, crap, you're right. I didn't realize to think that there would be two versions of that CPU...

My Everest Ultimate edition tells me the Typical Power for my CPU is 65W which is what Intel states. It also has Maximum Power (100W), but I don't what that's based off of.

~Ibrahim~

 

I was using the Everest Home Edition, which is why I wasn't seeing any TDP values. I will download the Ultimate trial version.

 

Good luck.

 

It is indeed a Q9550S quad (65W). Thanks!

 

Glad it worked out.

 

After a while, did Gophn release his review yet?

 

in the middle of it... had to re-do some benchmarks that gave me blank pics... freakin snapshots.

 

Looking forward to the review, although my 9262 is Not.

 

Personal question: is this machine now belong to you? You really hold it for such a long time.
What did sager do when you return the machine?
Your review will be awesome. I am looking into it

 

In my books, there is a difference between performance and reliability. After dealing with one clevo, I am never going back. My clevo may have "performance" on paper, but no reliability, so whats the point

D900F is peanuts in processing power anyways. Ive got a new TYAN board coming soon, and two new 2.6Ghz septacore, or sextacore (which ever 6 is) processors. It will have the reliability of a TYAN and performance way beyond anything Clevo has.

K-TRON

 

You really hate Clevo, K haha......because that D900K?

 

hexacore

 

That is correct, and nothing will change my mind about it.
Buying a Clevo was the worst thing I have ever done in my life

K-TRON

 

You do understand you are talking server verse laptop right?

But I would like to know more about your bad experience before I run out and drop $6k+++ on a laptop if you would be so inclined.

Did you buy a Sager (Clevo)?

How long or how old of a system was it?

Was the system unstable at the BIOS Level or was it a Vista 32bit thing?

Any feed back would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and good luck seeling parts, JW

 

Thank you and cant wait... by the way can you give a thumbs up or thumbs down for a Novice, Wanna Be Computer Nerd like myself owning a high performance machine like the Clevo?

I would buy a Sager and or maybe another re-seller if the re-seller offers better artic 5 thermal paste / an on board OCing (killernotebook, who never responded to my email.. not lovin them right now)..

Any steerage would be great.. I wanted to tinker with my HDX but I was lying to myself about upgrading much of anything in an HDX.

MXM2 is not an answer..

478 PGA mobo is not an answer...

SSD's with built in Raid.. maybe an answer.. http://www.photofast.tw/eng/SSD_G_Monster_V5.html

So any thing you would like to share to better help me spend yet more money would be great.

Thanks for your time in advance and be well Gophn, JW

 

Oh, I am comparing laptop and laptop

I bought a rebranded Clevo

The system was not stable out of the BIOS. It would often crash and BSOD before even getting into Windows. Actually it would happen every time I would try powering it on. I had 6 motherboards in it. To show you that Clevo quality sucks
I did do some heavy modifications, but none altered system performance to cause the problems. The problems were on Clevo's part for designing a very poor system. The clevo D900K was the worst laptop I have had period. It would shut off at random when on, and always have problems. 3 of the six boards cannot use USB for some reason. The current board will shut off if I plug in a USB device.
It runs cool, and has amazing benchmaks, but its very unreliable, and has seen just shy of 1100hrs of use in my 2 yrs of owning it.
It now resides in its bag as it has seen enough from me
Based on my experience I will never recommend Clevo.

K-TRON

 

I have been bitten by the tinker bug.. I like to build / modify things (cars, boats and / or other).. becuase I am not as computer savy as I should be I was worried about buying a Clevo (Sager).. the 96 hours of testing did not work out for you prior to them shipping it to you..

I have a stable HP.. great no problems.. but I have zero room to play with it.. which is a good thing I am sure.. but buying something I know will be somewhat challenging is one thing.. buying something that I, a novice will never get working and thus never have any fun with is just plain stupid (which I am, dont let me fool you)..

I see the fantastic numbers people put up and the tinkering or user upgrades that are available and I thought I had found the answer.. now my chicken blood is showing.. I want to learn.. I see a great support group here.. and now I am chicken.. I was waiting for an i7 with dual gpu's in laptop form.. Which are coming I read on a link here in NBR...

I would love to develop a skill set like some if not most on this thread take for granted having.. But if you who are waiting for sandy bridge builds.. can not make a laptop run.. I understand the BIOS is not your fault... and have read here in NBR about the new version of BIOS out that people are shying away from until others are happy.. I guess I will wait until I hear more moderate feed back to purchase..

I am not looking to create an unwinnable position.. just some fun..

Maybe I will build a tower first.. I have read great things about the i7's and tower builds..

What would you say to a novice who really wants to jump in without breaking my neck? You can build the biggest and best.. I would like to build something fast that I can upgrade CPU, GPU... the ram and SSD's / HDD's are all pretty easy to change.. and then overclock thus learning the little things that make it like chess against yourself.. I see this as us (even though I dont know a 1/1mth of what you know) verse the computers.

I am sorry to ramble.. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Be well and my best to you and yours, JW

 

Before tinkering with laptops in the way of adding fans, doing body work on it like you would on a car, lights, or paint, you should really do yourself a favor and learn the trades. I am assuming you know zero about body work, adding lights via soldering to usb hubs, inverters, etc.
You may know how to do it, but just practice first.

Get a piece of metal and do body work to it, learn how the material sticks to other materials. Plastics, and metals react differently to body compound. You may need fiberglass to strengthen it up, other times you may want nitro-soft to do thin layers of precision body detailing.
Get some LED's and try making them work in a circuit at say 5V, 12V.

Get some fans and add them to something, like your VCR you never use etc.

I did the mods I did on my laptop because I thought it would make it king

The body lift, upgraded fans - to maximize cooling, etc.
The flashy lights, and amazing paint and body work to catch attention.

The problem I did was this
I did all of the work right when I got the system.
If I was smarter and had the chance to do it again, I would have made sure the system was running 100% without flaws for months of use, like say 6 months no problems.

Instead I started without knowing if the system was stable or not.
So after all of my hard work, it was a huge punch in the face to have a system which I worked so hard on, and really out my energy into to fail from Clevo's design.

Clevo may have some sound systems, but I know that my D900K surely was not a good one.
That project taught me a few good life lessons
1) never invest a ton of money into a laptop at a foolish age (18yrs old)
2) never trust Canadian painters even though they are professionals - A stated three week project took 7 months of painting
3) never put a ton of time, energy and thought into a system which you are unsure of stability and reliability wise
4) make sure the company actually backs there warranty up.

and the biggest one

5) listen to your father, he knows what is best

He told me not to buy that laptop, and he told me not to trust that painter.
I should have listened, and I got screwed big time.


If you still want to get into it, say just modifying laptops get an old reliable system, like an old dell latitude, etc, for like $0 - 75 and do some things to it, like adding fans, soldering lights to USB hubs, paint, body work.
It may seem like a waste of time, but it gives you time and a chance to do a project. You will learn materials and have a better knowhow when you have to do it a second time, as in the final and first time, for your new laptop.

You may want to start with desktops, because they are easier, but it will not give you the experience working with laptop modding can be.

feel free to send me a PM

K-TRON

 

Kaltmond,

what is your Quadro Win 7 WEI? I got only 5.9 although in the other benchmarks it fares quite well.

 

KTRON stop whining, didn't you try some absolutley absurd mods / paint jobs and it failed miserably, doesn't mean its the computers fault or the warranties or w.e. Clevo is fine, and im quite sure thier warranty doesn't cover completley changing the system into a monstrosity that does not even resemble what was originally sold to you. imo of course.

fairly good advice given though and lessons learned just in a whiney poor me way.

 

Detailed here for anyone that has lots of time on their hands to read:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=224877

And as a contrast, Gophn's D900K long term experience:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=365513

And another:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=312902

 

Yeah and thats all great, but none of my modifications other than the broken screen inverter were my fault.

Clevo made faulty parts for that system, and thats all to it.
Read and listen before running your mouth

K-TRON

 

Gophn, could you please specifically the list of which software utilities you have used to OC your D900F?

I have pulled the plug on a D900F a couple days ago and the first thing I plan to do is to lap the CPU for better cooling and then try to replicate your results. On my desktop I got about 3 degrees lower temperature after lapping the processor and I will try the same on the i7-975 my D900F is coming with

Thanks

 

I want that list too

 

Me too....

 

I will tell you what I used for the OC'ing.

Since there was no BIOS overclock options, I had to find a viable software that can do the overclocking for me.

I looked into motherboard with the Intel X58 chipset and had a overclocking utiliy.
- Intel
- Gigabyte
- EVGA
- ECS
- MSI
- ASUS
... etc.

I had 99% of failures with those desktop motherboard overclocking programs... except I found one that was viable.

EVGA E-LEET Tuning Utility actually worked on the D900F... to a point... but became unstable.



I had a friend help me fix some of those problems by decompiling the program and debugged/optimized it for the D900F.

Because of this, we decided not to post the modified EVGA program to the public because it would a liability.

It would not matter anyways, I thought, since the Core i7 was already so hot that OC'ing would not make much sense until we figure out the topic of heat.

So there you have it... try the EVGA ELEET and maybe you can OC your CPU... be forewarned... you can only do so much until you hit a wall ... of instability.

Another idea that I did not get to test out:
- get a hold of the Intel overclocking utility for the Intel X58 boards... it might be compatible since its very basic in terms of a X58 motherboard.

 

Gophn, would it be possible for you to email me this tool? I am prepared to sign any legal waiver you need so the liability is not an issue

 

Also a related inquiry is, how far can you push the clock without instability in the original unmodified version? From your article it looks like 3.86 is the limit with the modded version, but its not clear what the unmodded limit is.

 

Same here! Thank you!

 

actually was able to push the Core i7-975 up to 3.7-3.8 GHz... just with "turbo mode control" in the ELEET stock program.

but do not trust the speed since the utility seems to not fully push the clock up with stability.

 

One thing we have been lacking as D900F owners is properly functioning TurboBoost. I just got an updated BIOS for the D900F which does have individual toggles for Intel Virtualization, Hyperthreading, and TurboBoost support (each an on/off toggle). However, TurboBoost still doesn't work - regardless of whether its enabled/disabled in the BIOS. According to my contacts, they're still working with Intel to sort the TurboBoost thing out.

So if this elite utility is actually able to get us working TurboBoost support, even that would be something. Were you able to successfully initiate TurboBoost states with the stock utility?

You also keep referring to lack of stability in the stock tool - would it be possible to let us know what this ultimately means? Does it mean that, for example, wPrime stability testing fails at 3.87 GHz with the stock tool, when it works with the modified version? Effectively, does this remove any overclocking capability using the stock tool (ex: is even 3.7GHz unstable with the stock utility), or are any stable overclocks still possible with the stock tool?

I hope you'd be able to shed some more light on these issues here, for the benefit of all D900F owners And if you'd like to run some overclocking experiments with hyperthreading turned off, just ask me for the BIOS.

 

First of all, thank you very much for your post and information! The lack of Turbo Mode on the 900F (and initially the lack of WinXP support) have been the two greatest disappointments of this machine. Id like to try your new BIOS. If you can send me a download link or PM me the info Ill be most appreciative.

One question remains though. Why are they (finally) enabling the Turbo Boost feature on the BIOS if its still not working or properly implemented?

Finally, I have downloaded and installed the latest version of the EVGA E-LEET application v1.06.3. Not only it absolutely does not work on my 900F but every single other similar software application out there for the x58 motherboards don't work either. I am extremelly curious on other user's experiences on the matter because aside from Gphn's results, I dont think anyone else has managed to overclock their 900F by a single MHz so far!

 

I think I would be able to summarize the frustration of most folk with the D900F line in this single sentence:

Having the necessary hardware, but missing out on features that you've already paid for just because of missing software, is a very annoying feeling.

To that end, as a representative of the group of people who might not have sophisticated friends like Gophn for decompiling/debugging software without access to its source code, I would once again like to reach out to people who might be able to help us with our D900F software limitations, and ask for their help.

 

I could not agree with you more, only replacing annoying with borderline, unacceptable.

 

I Sinan !
Im in the same situation as you know...
against:
-overclocking implicate more power consumption.
-I dont know the quality of the materials of this laptop.
-The cooling could give some troubles.
pro:
-the possibility to change parameters design a more complete product.
-the possibility to change parameters create a true alternative for people that need to have an extreme computer and that need to go all round.
-for this sum we desire the best.

I agree with you

 

Has anybody here been able to actually reproduce ANY overclocking results with the ELEET tool? Gophn indicates that some unstable overclocking is possible with the stock tool, but I'd like to know if any D900F user has been able to overclock even one half multiplier using the ELEET tool.

Reports coming to me personally so far indicate that neither the ELEET tool, nor any other overclocking tool, is able to overclock this hardware so far - so looks like something fishy is going on.

 

it works... let me show you how from what I remembered.

I tested it only in Vista x64 (so havent tried it in XP or Win7)

- open CPU-Z to watch the dynamic clocks.
- set your Windows to Max Performance (not Balanced)
- now open ELEET and go to the Overclocking tab.

here is the key with the stock software:
- (in the Turbo Mode section) push each slider forward one step and hit APPLY
- continue to slide them forward a step at a time and APPLY.

Watch CPU-Z... you should see that the CPU clock is actually increasing from the increasing the multipliers.

careful though, your system might lock up when it OC's to a certain point.

 

I'm unable to reproduce this. Setting the TurboBoost sliders forward does nothing. The system operates normally as per TurboBoost specs (two multiplier overclock on single core, one multiplier overclock on two cores).

Any further insights are appreciated.

 

IDK if it's related, but check out Real Temp's i7 Turbo tool. It can monitor frequency changes *much* better than CPU-Z. I use it for my i7-720QM and it works beautifully.

~Ibrahim~

 

Here's what I use. http://www.cpuid.com/tmonitor.php

 

You are "unable to reproduce" it because it doesnt work! I tried every possible application I can think of. Nothing works on the 900F. Gophn's unit is special. If he ever sells it maybe Ill buy it for "forensics and testing" then send it to Clevo for them to find out why onlye "one" unit ever produced could ever be overclocked

 

First I will say that 3.33 to 4ghz is not much.
Maybe you should have increased the volts.

BTW, what is generating the 133mhz reference clock?
Maybe if someone could take their notebook apart and look for the clock generator, you would be able to overclock without having to use an extreme CPU.

 

Just got my D900F a few days ago (eurocom one) I have got to say its rediculous what i paid for, extreme CPU and no TurboBosst or BIOS OC'ing?

My BIOS has NO performance options in it at all and the HDD's are very slow (7200rpm so they shouldnt be) although the RAID 5 may have something to do with this, but there is not the usual "Performance/Sound" option.

Is it possible, due to the identical hardware in each notebook, to flash my BIOS with say a Sager, Xotic any other OEM BIOS as i have read some BIOS's have TurboBosst etc options in them,
Thanks in advance,
Myles

 

The bad news:
There are currently no BIOS updates available from anyone that enable overclocking or a properly TurboBoost function.

The good news:
I still have hope...