Alienware MX17 R3

Hi Guys,

I would not normally look into over clocking my system but i belive these days its pretty safe to do so aslong as your not a total ****** and although i am female i still know my way around . I just got an Alienware mx17 here are the specs:-

Nvida GForce GTX 580M
Intell i7 2670QRM@ 2.2ghz
Ram 4GB - (im have ordered 2 sticks of 4GB to replace it)


Im just looking at how i can optimise the perforance with overclocking the CPUs to maybe 2.3/2.5ghz?

Thanks In Advance

to OCForums!

Unfortunately, laptops usually have a locked down BIOS without any overclocking features, you can check this though; when booting, press whatever key it tells you to press for entering the Setup, BIOS, etc. it's usually the Delete key for desktops. Once in the BIOS, look for Turbo settings and CPU multiplier settings.

Since the i7 2670QM is a locked Sandy Bridge, you will be limited to the frequency of your max Turbo frequency, which is 3.1 GHz, and that's assuming you can disable Turbo and increase the CPU multiplier in your laptop's BIOS.

Older laptops could be overclocked by changing the FSB speed via software, but with Sandy Bridge, bus speed is basically locked.

Thanks for the fast reply! yes i am able to disable this so i can use my own overclocking settings. I just want to know what numbers range i should be looking at as i will test each change to make sure cpu is not getting to hot!

Welcome to the forums!

First off, make sure you have the most up to date BIOS. I believe the rest can be accomplished by using Intel's own overclocking utility for XM CPUs (http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?lang=eng&changeLang=true&DwnldID=19683). I'd also suggest using ThrottleStop to increase TDP and power limits.

You can't overclock 2670QM processor, I believe only i7-2960XM has that option. Whatever BIOS settings you will change would not result in increased benefit over turbo mode, just increased power draw. Your processor overclocks by itself when it is needed. Besides even if you could overlock your CPU, it would not result in significant performance increase for gaming.

Overclocking your GPU however will accomplish that, and it's very easy to do. You can install MSI Afterburner and Nvidia System Tools and change the GPU frequencies to accomplish that. With a little patience you can find stable configurations with maximum performance. I'd increase frequencies by 10% at first and then slowly increment them further until you see artifacts/overheating. Then drop down from that by 20-30 points, and it should be good to go.