2920XM in an M17x R3 or M18x

[mw86]

How well can a 2920XM be overclocked in a M17X R3?
Plus what are we looking at in the way of overclocking the 2920XM in a M18x?

[unclewebb]

I was working with a Lenovo user today who has a 2920XM and the turbo TDP/TDC limits are locked in the bios and can't be adjusted using ThrottleStop. He didn't have any success with the ThrottleStop Turbo Ratio Limits either. He has an unlocked CPU but if a laptop manufacturer decides that they don't want you pushing your Extreme CPU to its limit, it is simple for them to turn off its capabilities in the bios by setting a single bit in the CPU. We can only hope that Alienware isn't going to be this anal or someone is going to have to learn how to modify a bios or two to correct this problem.

As for traditional BCLK overclocking, Sandy Bridge is known to be limited to between 0% and 5% before losing stability.

[StamatisX]

Yeah serious BCLK overclocking was out of question from the very beginning since Intel announced the sandy bridge architecture...

I have a feeling that Alienware doesn't have the bit lock in the BIOS, moreover if prices on ebay don't drop for the 2920XM I don't see anyone buying any time soon unfortunately...

[unclewebb]

Here is what a nightmare looks like.



The user that sent me this has a 2920XM installed in this Lenovo. ThrottleStop appears to be reporting everything correctly but if the bios sets those two lock bits, software can not make any further changes. The Extreme processor isn't so extreme when a laptop manufacturer decides what you can do with it. The default 97A TDC looks generous and won't hold any overclocking back but a long term turbo TDP value of 55W is going to limit full turbo boost when fully loaded.

If anyone ever needs to modify a bios, it's MSR 0x610 and bit[63] that needs to be cleared to unlock the Sandy Bridge turbo power and time limits. That's the only hope if a manufacturer decides to lock this.

[mw86]

Wow it's going to be tough for users if any manufacturer enables that bit. It wouldn't be a smart move on Dell/Alienware to enable this because their Boutique PC market would fall out and the only market they would appeal to is portable gaming instead of the top end Desktop Replacement market that the XM users fall under.

[ahmadmud]

this is really bad news, i was hoping for unlocked TDP..I think all of us were

[mw86]

Well 97amp is quite nice as mentioned but the 55watt TDP definately is going to be a problem. I will be getting a M18x when it is released and the 2920XM will be the processor I order so I will help give as much info here as possible.

[unclewebb]

ahmadmud: Keep in mind that the screen shot I posted was from a Lenovo Thinkpad W520. There has been no word yet on what Dell will lock in the M18x bios. If Dell is in a good mood, it could be completely unlocked just like the 920XM and 940XM are in the M17x-R2. All we can do is sit and wait for someone to post what ThrottleStop shows when they get a new Alienware M18x laptop.

I want to let everyone know that paying extra money for an unlocked 2920XM Extreme processor might be a waste if the laptop manufacturer decides to write a bios that locks all of the important Extreme features. With Sandy Bridge, each individual manufacturer gets to decide how much Extreme performance you will be able to access. At the moment, I don't think ThrottleStop is going to be able to increase the turbo ratios / multipliers anymore in any of the Sandy Bridge CPUs. You might have to hope that Dell has some decent bios options for this.

[Brian]

Kevin, is there a chance you could work with Wiz and implement these bitlock changes in a cracked Insyde bios for the M18x and M17x-R3?

[mw86]

Perhaps Mumak could join you Kevin and the Wiz to add fan control and sensor readings. It would be quite a team.