P170em w7970 arrived australia..a few questions

Hi

I just picked up my Metabox P170em today with the following specs:

Standard gloss LCD , Radeon 7970m , I7 3720qm , Intel 120gb 520 series ssd, 750gb 7200rpm hdd, Blu ray burner, 16gb 1600mhz ram , Intel n6300 , Win 7 home premium.

I would like to put it to the test and see how it performs this is my first gaming machine so i dont know what is the best software to give it a good workout, plus if possible free testing software would be good.
I want to see if i can make it die now, before i fly to work and it has a failure then im left with no comms in the desert, so i want to give it all its got without overclocking to see if this gpu is a dodgy one.
BTW i have none of the latest games right now although i can get one tomorrow to test if need be.
Also in the system info window it says 16gb installed ram, 15.9gb usable is this bad?
Cheers

 

Furmark is definitely a good way to stress test a GPU. Free and brutal.

OCCT is also another good one for GPU and some additional testing.

Prime95 is good for CPU tests, and HyperPI is also pretty good.

If I am really trying to stress a system, I will start OCCT on a run and then load up HyperPI and set it to run with low priority which lets OCCT have priority with resources, but still max out the CPU. Hopefully the magic smoke does not come out!


I have seen in the AW forums that the 3720QM is partially unlocked (400mhz) for overclocking. Can you load up your bios and see if there are in fact any options to OC yours? You don't have to actually do it, I just want to know if there is the ability. I ordered a P170EM from Malibal with this processor and I am hoping it will allow it.

 

Thanks for the help I'll download these programs and try I will get back to you shortly about the options in the bios. Also I installed the intel 520 myself into the second hdd bay which I read doesn't matter, I am trying to copy an image of the OS from the 750gb onto the 120gb ssd however the program in trying to use:drive image XML doesn't allow it because the ssd is smaller than the partition on thepreviously installed hdd, anyone know of a good program or way to do this?

 

If the HDD is a Westen Digital, you could use Acronis true image for free. I think it supports different drive sizes.

WD Support

Also if you have an external drive that uses a western digital, you can plug it in, and it will detect that drive and allow you to use the program if I remember correctly.


Remember - if you are pushing your laptop to the MAX, monitor the temps. You can use GPUZ for the GPU, and Realtemp for CPU. Also I think SpeedFan may monitor both, but I can't quite remember.

 

i checked the bios i cannot see any options to O/C ...
I ran Furmark burn in test for 10 mins and got to a max of 88C at 1280x720doing 14fps seems a bit hot i think?
Ill test some others soon...

 

Did you do any thermal paste upgrades? That temp is higher than what I was expecting, but from what I know not dangerous to the card. I would start to worry if it gets up in the mid to high 90's. I do know Furmark is a BEAST. It should get your GPU hotter than it will ever get in game.

Edit - thanks for checking on the OC for the CPU. I was kinda hoping that it would get some love.

 

Is that 7970m from the older batch or the new batch?
Sounds like a pretty neat build you have there!

 

Yeh it had IC diamond thermal compund on both gpu and cpu, im looking at some other reviews and most people kept their 7970m's under 80C, mmmmm

 

Well the supplier i got my rig from heard there was nothing wrong with the shipment they had so im not sure? thats sort of why i want to stress it a bit

 

If the P170EM is anything like the x7200, you won't see O/C options within the BIOS. For the x7200, all overclocking configs are software based through software.

 

In regards to running Furmark, DO NOT run this program for more than 10 minutes. This program is known to bring all of the heat possible onto your GPU.

Also, don't run any stress tests without the AC adapter being plugged in.

On a last word, don't run Prime95 and Furmark at the same time, this will overload the system and force shutdown and possibly damage your machine.

 

MSI Kombuster
3DMark 11
PCMark Vantage
PCMark 7

Furmark to stress test a minute or two (as mentioned by Heihachi dont run it for any more)

HWMonitor HWiNFO to monitor temps

congratulations with your well equipped P170EM mate!
a 7970M, SSD, 3720QM, 16GB @1600MHz RAM, top notch setup if you ask me

 

Thanks for your help, so I've found some solutions to my problems mentioned earlier, I ended up using intel data migration software by acronis to copy hdd to ssd for free and with the ram apparently windows 7 might reserve a small amount of your ram which will not appear as usable ram.
I ran 3d mark11 and got around 5500 first time then second run got 5800 exact numbers I can't remember I'm not near the computer at the moment max gpu temp got to 77c and CPU around 68c .
Everything on it looks good although I don't like the feel of the trackpad but I'm sure I will get used to it.
I had 1 bsod this morning, and some problems with programs not responding and a windows update freezing, but after a bit more use I'll see what it's really like.
I think I'll go buy a graphics intense game today test it out , what are a few suggestions?

 

here is a picture of my temps running furmark for the second time, see how max gpu usage only reached 90% any ideas what is going on here, and on the windows experience index im only getting a gpu rating of 7.3 is this right?

 

Sometimes AMD and NVIDIA will purposfully make their cards not run at max on FURMARK becasue it can be so stressful. I had a 4830 desktop card that I could never get to run right with Furmark. Try running OCCT and see what happens. This is why I like it a bit better. I don't think it quite stresses the GPU as much and seems to be less buggy. Just my .02 though.

EDIT - thanks guys for putting warnings up about these programs. I forget to do that sometimes.....

 

7.3 is right. but the WEI sucks.

I don´t know how you guys are being able to measure the temps? Furmark, hwinfo, hwmonitor, gpu-z doesnt´t recognize any sensors from my 7970m. Any Advice?

 

Looks like MSI afterburner may be one of the only ones that currently will read the 7970M temp. Give it a try. I bet GPUZ will update soon.

Edit - I personally pay no attention to WEI. You could run 3DMARK and see if your system matches others with the same specs.

 

That doesn't sound good to me. That could be a ram issue, thermal paste issues and perhaps something more.

Have you contacted your dealer you purchased from?

 

Check out this thread. He had some issues with his 7970m, but it looks like drivers or a re-install fixed everything. This is if you keep having issues with updates and such.

 

Well I should have copied the bsod error code and searched it oh we'll I'll do it if it happens again.
Seems like no problems again.
One thing that concerns me is I got good 3dmark11 scores before but now I'm only getting 5300?

 

Did windows update give you a bad driver? I would try clearing drivers, then install the good ones.

I say this because it stalled out doing a windows update you said. You should see if it "updated" your driver to an older one.

Edit - once you get things sorted out, would yo do me a favor and try downloading Intel extreme tuning utility and see if it has the ability to OC your 3720QM at all. You don't actually have to OC, I just want to know if it will work.

 

Having some troubles with the system freezing and programs not responding so I'll reinstall windows and see how it goes.

 

Contact your dealer. Sounds like a bigger issue than reinstalling windows.

Good luck

 

I'll download xtu and let you know....

 

Sorry you are having all this trouble man. It is a sweet laptop.

 

Well after reinstalling windows and drivers etc from the and changing from the ssd to the hdd I seem to have the stability under control when multitasking (touch wood) got a pretty nice 3dmark11 score too AMD Radeon HD 7970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,CLEVO P170EM score: P5900 3DMarks

@ltbonham I've downloaded xtu but I've no idea how to tell if its
Possible to oc I'll send a screenshot but that lot is a bit to deep for me, unless u can guide me to where to find the answer

 

hellrazor Good score) Is the laptop loud under load?

 

Nah mate it's surprisingly quiet I was a bit worried before I got the machine about all this hype of being too noisy but mines as quiet as my little acer 5820tg don't even notice it.

 

That is great news to hear, and great score by the way. Update us as to whether the problem comes back or not, it would be nice for others see the resolution.

Do you think it was having some sort of problem with the drive?

Thanks again for trying XTU. Send a screen when you have time.

 

well im still testing my last installation which is still bootable on the ssd to see what the problem was but it seems to be running ok now too...strange.

heres a screenshot of xtu im not sure if this tells you anything let me know if there is anything else you want me to check in here

 

From what I am being told, if the OC were not allowed. Things would be grayed out that are not. Awesome!!

I am glad things are still working just fine. I wonder what was causing you trouble? I would disable Windows Update for a little while. Atleast until official drivers come out.