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***Credit for this goes to "Schnuffel" from aw-community.com*** Original thread can be found here: All Powerful M17X R3 M17x r3 bios *unlocked* __________________________________________ User "Schnuffel" in a German AW forum has uploaded an unlocked BIOS which should enable all the overclocking features for extreme processors. There was a discussion about the similarities between the M17x r3 and M18x and after I pointed out that the 2920xm is locked in the M17x r3 BIOS, he posted a modded BIOS which should enable it. The guy is a hardware engineer, works a lot with Dell/AW machines and is always able to provide some good insider information, so he knows what he's doing. Here's what he said (translated ) -2.html#post10874"]>>>SCREENSHOTS of the BIOS menus can be found here.<<< (note, XM overclocking menu is not visible since the test system didn't have an XM processor in it, let me know if you test this with a 2920xm) Thanks for the pics and first testing goes to @DaneGRClose !! *** This BIOS may be a bit glitchy, according to DaneGRClose the system is much more likely to suffer from a BSOD or unusual behaviour, see -3.html#post11288"]his post here. Try loading the default settings in the BIOS after flashing it, this couldsolve this.*** - Before the flashing: Reset the Bus overclock in your BIOS to avoid future troubles. - Flashing: The flashing is easy, extract the attached archive and put the .exe file on a DOS bootable USB drive. Then boot from the USB drive, enter the name of the file and press enter to flash it. In case you can't remember the name of the .exe file once you're in DOS, just write "dir", press enter and it'll list all files which are on the root of the drive. - After the flashing: Go to the BIOS and load the default settings (there's a function for this). Apply and reboot. So again, a quick summary: This is a M18x BIOS which got modified to work on a M17x r3. DaneGRClose has tested it on his machine and it works, though he had some BSOD issues. It hasn't yet been tested with a 2920xm, so it would be really interesting to see whether it really allows full control of the multiplier, TDP, VID etc. An overclockable 2920xm would make the M17x r3 just perfect! About the warning with the bus clock... this BIOS has certain protective functions disabled. Among them is one that controls the BCLK and slows down the CPU in case of problems/heat. It's advisable to NOT use the BCLK overclock with this unlocked BIOS since the protective functions are present anymore, as long not when you use an AMD video card. Since I don't have an r3 I'm unfortunately unable to test this myself. **As always with such mods, you are responsible for any changes you make on your system.** M17R3 Vers4 unlock.zip

Just thought I'd make note that I ordered a DV6z notebook with the following specs. I plan on pitting it up against my Sager NP8130 for build quality, screen, general use, and gaming performance. 15.6" 1080p matte LCD A8-3530mx quad core AMD CPU Radeon GT 6750m GT GPU 6GB DDR3 1333 Blu-Ray Reader / DVDRW combo drive 9-cell battery Even though I know the 6750m GPU can't hold a candle to the GTX 560m in the Sager NP8130, the HP has the advantage of 6+ hours battery life compared to 3 in the Sager, and is about $450 cheaper similarly equipped (primarily blu-ray and 1080p screen).

Hey guys, I'm about to design a custom heatsink for my system. I've got a little question and I'd like to hear your thoughts about this. As you probably know, the screws which are fixing the heatsink on the GPU are hold by two pieces of spring steel which get slightly bent when the heatsink gets screwed on the GPU. Now one possibility is, I could try to design the heatsink in a way that allows me to reuse those two pieces for holding the screws and fix them to the heatsink. The other option would be to just make a copper plate with holes for the heatsink screws. Do you think this would work as well? I imagine it'd require some care when mounting the heatsink on the GPU in order to prevent to much force getting applied on the die. I somehow think it may be difficult to get the heatsink flat on the die with such a design. What do you think? Are these spring steel screw holders necessary or not? Here's a pic in case you're not 100% sure what I'm talking about, it's the stripped down heatsink (no heatpipes, no copper plate, only the two pieces which are holding the screws are attached).

Thanks for the info svl7, I flashed it and based on what I can see there is absolutely no difference between this one and the one that is posted on the bios-mods.com site that people were talking about on nbr. The two things I wish I had access to for testing is a 120hz screen and a 2920xm. Those two things may show some promise but with the hardware I have there's no difference for me.

yeah pm me your addy, color and size and will send one to you. anyone who wants to rep ti on their cars, just let me know. prolly make a whole bunch of them and just slap them on nice looking cars, wished i had one this weekend coulda slap one on a tesla.

Ok cool, I'll probably guinea pig this tonight, be nice if I could unlock even a few extra things on my rig over the modded bios I'm currently running. May have to order myself an es chip as well. Gotta make sure I stay on top of those bench charts

Trust me, it's worth the waiting... I run Vantage, CPU tests only, just to check how the temperatures are holding since I applied ICD and I am hitting 21K with the laptop just sitting on the cryo lx and my temps maxed out at 96C when before I was hitting 100 C (OCed at 3.6GHz 96/94 TDP/TDC).

Swedish House Mafia - One

don't get the dell ssd, its over priced and under performs. after market is the way to go for ssd and ram.

Blackmore's night... never heard of them, great sound, thanks for sharing! Eluveitie is a Swiss band, so I know them of course Haven't listened to this kind of music for a while, but it's always great, here's something you guys might enjoy as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LhgbTKJAAQ

IC Diamond 24 Carrat Thermal Compount Survey CPU-Z Laptop Model Alienware M17x-R2 Processor Intel i7-940XM Core Speed 2.13GHz GPU-Z GPU 2x ATI Mobility Radeon 5870 GPU Clock 700MHz Memory Clock 1000MHz Thermal Compound used for CPU Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound used for GPU Arctic Cooling MX-4 HWiNFO - CPU Average min CPU temperature with previous thermal compound 38.5 C Average min CPU temperature with ICD 24 37.5 C Average max CPU temperature with previous thermal compound 78 C Average max CPU temperature with ICD 24 76 C HWiNFO - GPU #1 Average min GPU #1 temperature with previous thermal compound 52.75 C Average min GPU #1 temperature with ICD 24 50 C Average max GPU #1 temperature with previous thermal compound 81.75 C Average max GPU #1 temperature with ICD 24 76.375 C HWiNFO - GPU #2 Average min GPU #2 temperature with previous thermal compound 41.875 C Average min GPU #2 temperature with ICD 24 39.125 C Average max GPU #2 temperature with previous thermal compound 77.375 C Average max GPU #2 temperature with ICD 24 72.75 C Throttle Stop Average max CPU temperature with previous thermal compound 78.875 C Average max CPU temperature with ICD 24 75.875 C Previous Thermal Compound - CPU [ATTACH=CONFIG]1619[/ATTACH]ICD 24 - CPU [ATTACH=CONFIG]1620[/ATTACH]Previous Thermal Compound - GPU #1 [ATTACH=CONFIG]1621[/ATTACH]ICD 24 - GPU #1 [ATTACH=CONFIG]1622[/ATTACH]Previous Thermal Compound - GPU #2 [ATTACH=CONFIG]1623[/ATTACH]ICD 24 - GPU #2 [ATTACH=CONFIG]1625[/ATTACH]Temperatures with previous thermal compound [ATTACH=CONFIG]1626[/ATTACH]Temperatures with ICD 24 [ATTACH=CONFIG]1627[/ATTACH]

So a laptop is not going to utilize that highest performance form of the 710/720 series drives unless more manufacturers are soldering them to the mainboard like Apple with its Mac Book Air... If the top end is all technology we have known about like PCI express improving transfer rates over Sata and utilizing SLC memory over MLC memory then there's just going to be more of the same... the SLC takes up almost double the amount of space and memory chips MLC takes for the same amount of storage... We have those technologies now and we don't use them mainstream for the same reason they won't be mainstream for a lot longer and that's cost and convenience... The cost of SLC chips are nearly double for the same capacity SSD utilizing MLC and taking up one of our crucial PCI express slots may be okay on corporate machines but for enthusiasts and gamers like us we can't really afford a PCI express port when dealing with dual gpu enthusiasts grade gaming machines.