Is Redline Boost overclock worth it for Sager NP8150

Hi guys, planning on ordering this laptop today or tomorrow and I am wondering if anybody has an opinion about the effectiveness of the boost. Could anybody tell me what percent performance increase I could expect and will this make it any more likely for me to be able to play games at max settings? Here are my relevant specs:

- -2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM, 2.2-3.3GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6970 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- ~ 8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)-

Thank you

 

No.

I'll teach you how to do it, for free.

 

Dont expect all that much from Turbo Boosting.
Max boost on all 8 cores are up to 2,5 GHz depending on how good you can cool down the notebook.

The only time i hit 3,3 GHz on a single core was when i ran 3DMark 06.

 

Thanks guys. That chops another $80 off of my cost. Cheers.

 

Is this for the gpu? How do they do it? I know how to OC, but which procedures do they use to determine safe clocks? Do they flash the vbios? Any experiences?

 

It is only for the GPU. It is currently not possible to easily overclock the system bus or CPU for Sandy Bridge processors by current means.

It's just overclocking for the GPU which is extremely easy and most people do on these forums already.

 

Just thought I'd chime in.

Electric Shock is right, the CPU is locked for the current Sandy Bridge models, so we provide an overclock for the GPU. The reason we offer it is because we warranty the overclock if it is performed by us and isn't altered, which is nice if you're afraid you might fry your laptop.

 

Lol at me thinking this was about Intel turbo boosting. xD

Yes its real easy to just do a overclock from the AMD Catalyst Center with AMD Overdrive.

Maximum OC allowed is 710 MHz on the core and 1000 MHz on memory.
But if your GPU fails from this then your warranty wont cover the damage caused by this.
Resellers test the system for heat managment and system stability, and if it passes then you get the overclock covered by warranty.

Its also possible to overclock the GPU beyond the "safety limit" with Sapphire TriXX and should be done with care.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I guess I will go with letting them overclock.

 

Overclocking is not hard or dangerous, you just need to read up on how to do it and have the patience to find a safe zone for performance and temperatures. If you don't have time to figure it out or seriously doubt your ability to download and run simple applications, then you might as well pay extra.

 

I'm sure its an easy process but who want's the fuss if you ever have a warranty issue? I would MUCH rather save that cash and put it towards the SSD drive.

 

My thoughts exactly.

For the first year I had my sigged GTX 260M overclocked to 600/1500/900 from 550/1375/850. However, once I got my cooler, the second year had it overvolted to 1.05V (from 1.0V) and overclocked to 650/1625/910 or so. Both procedures were incredibly simple to do, as I used a method which permanently altered my VBIOS (keeping a backup handy, of course).

However I recently started experiencing GPU failure issues, some 2 years and 3 months after purchasing the system, and obviously it's not under warranty thanks to my aftermarket changes. So now I have to undervolt and underclock the card (below even stock settings) to ensure that it lasts at least 4-5 months, hopefully enough time for the new tech to come out.

In hindsight I imagine that the overclock alone would likely let the system last its full 3-year lifespan without issue, perhaps longer, while the overvolt is what shortened its useful life so sharply. Either way, imo paying an extra $75 on (what will be for me) a $2000+ system to ensure a warrantied overclock is totally worth it. I'll have to see if other retailers offer a similar service, or if it's just Xotic.

 

THe slight GPU overclock is worthless. You will not notice any real world gaming benefits IMO. Take the $80 saved and put it towards an upgraded CPU, RAM, or HD or pocket the cash.

 

I decided to drop the overclocking and upgraded the 7200rpm HD to SSD. I will have to do some more research into the advantages and disadvantages of overclocking.

I'm going from a
Core 2 Duo CPU T9900 3.06GHz
4GB Mem
200GB 5400rpm HD
14.1 inch screen
Nvidia Quadro NVS 160M - Lattitude E6400

To a
2.2 I7 SandyBridge
8GB 1333mhz
120GB SSD (I have massive amounts of external storage)
750GB 7200RPM Secondary
ATI 6990
17" Display

So it should be fast as hell in comparison even without overclocking.

 

Yeah, the second'd spec'd out config is going to be a great running machine for you. Great all around performance. I assume you decided to snag up an NP8170.

 

The Redline boost Overclocking isn't that bad of an idea actually. With the 6990M we do get 10-15% increase in performance for $75. Compare that to other options like upgrading from the i7 2670QM to the i7 2760QM, thats $160 upgrade price with a gain of 10% in clock speeds. Just some food for thought.

When done profesionally you also get warranty coverage as mentioned.

 

MSI has a button[ turbo boost] that will give you about 5 to 10% overclock on the graphics only. To hear them talk about it, you will send your laptop to the moon by pressing the button. In reality it does little to nothing, but might make you fell better thinking your overclocking.

 

Were you able to reach similar levels of performance improvement with the GTX 580M?

And if I'm hypothetically going to be investing in a Kepler/Ivy notebook roughly a month after they come out, would you be able/willing to show me some statistics to inform me about the degree of improvement observed in Redline Boosted systems with similar parts?

 

Individual cards have their own tolerances but yes we do get the same on the GTX 580M

When we perform the Redline boost we first run 3D mark and screen shot the results and then again after the Redline boost is performed. We always include these shots with your computer so you see exactly what improvements you've gotten.

When the new computers come out i'll be happy to show you how they are performing before and after.

 

It may be worth it but I am trying to think realistically. The only games I have any intentions of playing are SWTOR and SkyRim and both SHOULD have no difficulties running either without overclocking.

I was thinking about getting the Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen w/ 90% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080) BUT without being able to see the difference it hard to blow almost $200 on that upgrade.

 

The 6990m should play those games pretty easily, although Ive read SWTOR gets hot on any system. I see people play those games on a GTX 460M.

The %72 gamut MATTE screen sounds better IMO.

this sounds amazing: but only works with nVidia cards apparently

17.3" FHD 16:9 120Hz 3D "MatteType" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Screen (1920x1080) - w/ 1 Pair NVIDIA 3D Glasses

 

I hope so the Skyrim requirements, suggest I should be able to play it with all settings turned to high with no issues.
Skyrim:System Requirements - UESPWiki

SWTOR - I had to cancel at the moment because I sent my Alienware M17x R3 back, but it played well with the Nvidia 460 1.5 so I can't imagine it having any issues with the 6990.

I am more concerned with VMWARE and how well it will run my VM's with only 16GB of memory. 8GB DDR3 is ungodly expensive atm but I may have to suck it up but I think the extra memory cost will help me more than overclocking will for this application.

 

SWTOR runs great on integrated only models with a mix of low-high settings and shaders off, so that's not surprising

How many/what types of VM's do you plan to run? I've run 5-6 concurrent client VM's without issue on only 16GB RAM. Servers on the other hand will obviously require a bit more than that, to say the least.

 

Would Malibal be willing to offer a warrantied factory overclock? You could reply via PM if that's preferable but I'm honestly curious since that will be the major deciding factor in my purchase decision.

 

Interesting question. I wonder what it will be.

 

How easy is it to do this?