MOD & OC P170SM-A / i7 4910MQ

Hi,

I would like to OC my cpu (i7 4910MQ) in a Clevo P17SM-A and I found this post around here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/finely-stable-4910mq-oc.778717/

I'm new at this to start with and I didn't do much overclocking since the days we had to switch jumpers on the motherboard of our computers. I wanted to get the same results more or less, but in his steps, the guy mentions that there is a setting in BIOS called "Long duration power limit". Albeit he has an Alienware, but I googled a bit around and found out that some Prema bioses have the same setting under the OC menu. Now, I have Prema (BIOS Version is 1.03.11PM v2 / EC 1.03.09) and it doesn't have the setting in question. Can someone please guide me on what would be the best approach to OC this cpu? Which of this settings should I touch and what do they do?

Link below with some pictures of my bios screen.
https://imagebucket.io/uploads/view/y8sf4/

What does "IA Core Current Max (1/8 Amp)" do?
Do I need to make any adjustments in the "SVID and FIVR Control" section? And last but not least, what does the "Intel ICC" section do comparing to the "CPU Overclocking"?

I am also planning to mod the laptop similar to what @ VerseMod did here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/p150sm-custom-bottom-panel-being-manufactured.834572/, the only difference being that I will replace my dvd drive with this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32229878160.html for improved cooling (hopefully). Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut paste both on CPU and GPU.

In addition to that I ordered a gtx 1070 from here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001305186797.html that I hope it will work with my laptop. It is for an MSI machine, but the seller told me that it should work on my Clevo model as well. Unfortunately it did not arrive yet, but I am waiting anxiously.

 

FIVR controls the integrated voltage regulator, ia core max is the max current the core can draw. Divide value entered by 8 to get amps.

 

Thank you for your answer.
Looks like the link with my bios pictures didn't quite work out that well. I re-uploaded them on imgur: https://imgur.com/a/7I8EotI

Can I have a walkthrough on what settings should I touch? Like I said, I don’t feel confident that I understand the purpose of each setting and how it influences each other if altered.

For example, if I use XTU on windows, I can set the multiplier all the way up to 45, but in bios I cannot find this option. I found only 1-4 Core ration Limit that I can adjust under CPU Overclocking. I also found Ring ratio (that I assumed it is the multiplier) but I cannot set it over 39.

Any other useful advices are very appreciated.

 

So I managed to OC and get my system stable at x43 on all cores. Temps are looking good(ish) averaging under stress around 75 and 50 - 60 at idle. Max temp I got with my current settings is 91 C under Prime95).
OC was done only from the bios settings. I set all cores to x43, Turbo Power Power Max at 70, T Time Windows at 128, T Short Power at 80. IA Core Current Max at 118A (944). I bumped up the CPU Voltage at 1225 with +25 Offset and set the Ring Ratio Voltage to 1176 with +24 Offset, both on adaptive. For some reason the C states where giving me system freezes randomly, so I turned them off as well in the CPU configuration.
Now the only issue I have is that the IA Core Current Max setting is resetting to it's default value every time I restart the laptop. Any idea on how can I make it retain my set value, without going into BIOS after every single reboot?

 

Generally on laptops people do avoid power viruses due to weaker VRMs. Try stopping XTU from starting, maybe messing with the value?

 

I do not have XTU installed. I OC only from the bios settings.

 

Oh it's just you mentioned using it.

 

I didn’t mention that I specifically wrote that the OC was done only from the bios settings. Nonetheless, thanks for your input. It might be a power virus indeed. I just need to find out if the hotkey app has something to do with it or it’s embedded in the bios. In the latter case, I don’t think there is anything I can do about it. I disabled the “FIVR Efficiency” in the bios and I get the same results and a tad more high temps. How dangerous is to disable “FIVR Faults” as well? I didn’t disable it yet, because I am afraid that I will fry the CPU, but I see most of the people disables both of these when OC’ing.

 

Disabling FIVR faults increases the voltage headroom but usually that's not the bottleneck in these systems.

 

@alescx
I've been searching desperately for a Prema BIOS for the motherboard you're describing. It's no longer available online anywhere! Is there any chance you still have it or could create a dump of it and could send me a copy of that BIOS? I'd be super grateful! Thanks in advance.

 

Mostly for this model a bit of undervolting and overclocking in XTU did cover the 24/7 side due to thermals.

 

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I thought it might be relevant.
Some time ago I bought a P870TM Fan (I think). At the time I understood it can be used to replace the standard GPU fan in the P170SM.
I am not looking at this fan and I am not sure what to do with it.
I know I got the idea from this forum, but can't find the thread. I know someone on this forum even helped me with the part number and purchase.
Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Edit:
Found it:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/better-gpu-fan.824813/
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/best-long-lasting-thermal-compound.826261/page-4

 

12v fan in a 5v socket does not seem optimal.

 

Didn't the P370XM also have a 5V fan? Looks like they got better temperatures with the new fan.

EDIT:
Just ch ecked, both laptops use 5V fans, these are the schematics:

 

Speaking of.. Do you have any idea on how to connect a 12v fan to this motherboard? I was looking for a power booster, but I cannot make sense on how should I plug/solder the fan connector to it. Most of them, come with standard plugs and the wiring is throwing me off. I’ve cut a hole in the chassis right above the CPU and I was wondering if I can somehow make this work for my setup. My idea was to connect the power booster to the usb 2 port on the right side of the laptop and wire it through the inside of the laptop to the CPU. I got this fan to do the job: https://noctua.at/en/nf-a4x10-flx

On a side note, I also found this on AliExpress: https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0BxS9v
, but that is just way to expensive for my setup and it is just not worth it, giving the value of this laptop. In addition, one must buy a pump as well, so value for performance is just not justifiable.

 

Power boosting is dangerous as you could overload the circuitry powering the fan. You would need to draw from a different source like a USB slot.

 

But the USB slot is rated at 5v, right? That doesn’t give enough power to spin the fan. At least not to it’s full potential.

the fan is rated for 12v btw

 

You'll still need a step up voltage circuit but the USB port can take more abuse than the fan header.

 

I don't understand. Isn't that what you are suggesting with what I wanted to do in the first place?

 

Yeah but the usb 2.0 port, the 12vfan can do up to 6w which is a bit much for usb 2.0.

 

From what I remember, there were 2 fan versions for the P870. And this was a 5v/0.5a fan, used in P170 EM.

 

DM to DM3 went from 5v to 12v and everything after was 12v.

 

Yeah, they fixed many design flaws from the DM model.

 

There were a lot of changes that's for sure.