timohour

On 9/1/2016 at 0:43 PM, Dewos said:

 

Yes, I also can be able to overclock only with an unapproved psu adapter (not the Dell one).

It seems like I am the only one that I was able to OC my 3720QM with an official Dell adapter.

The reason probably is that my 3720QM @ 3.8GHz is under the default short term power limit of 56.250W

But I ran my CPU [email protected] for almost 255 sec without throttling (sometimes less sometimes more).

Could you test your 3740QM with your unapproved psu adapter?

How much is  your maximum consumption [email protected] under full load (tbench 1024M)?

If it is under 56.25W it should probably work with your Dell Adapter for small windows of time (128 sec).

I currently have at home a friend's E6530 and going to try my 3720QM in his laptop this weekend to check if it works like in mine or needs an unapproved adapter.

He picked it up earlier today. Didn't have enough time to try my 3720QM  . Maybe another time.

On 7/1/2016 at 6:45 AM, scutterflux said:

Can't find specs/info on the carbon x1 screen (TLE2), but the (TLG1) looks good if it performs similarly but with only 45% gamut but 300nits.  The big difference is the panels I listed should be drop in replacement (no modifications provided the connectors are in a similar location),  the second one I listed (LG) is the common recommended upgrade for the XPS 14 L401x, also a notable TN panel, but the first one (n140o6-l02 Dell Studio 14z TrueLife) still looks like the best specs to me with highest contrast, viewing angles, and gamut, -50nits...

 

I'll check back in few weeks or so with updates.

 

Update* TLE2 in carbon x1 has gamut 72% and is very high for a TN screen, probably a main reason to like it, contrast has been reported all over the map but 400:1 seems likely with good viewing angles.

Let us know if you find anything interesting... there is also 1080p 14" LVDS as suggested by @jacobsson on the 1st page...

I couldn't find it anywhere available.

EDIT: It seems that there was a typo in the panelook.com. It now states that this screen is a 1366x768p. Seems like there are no 1080p 14" screens.

18 hours ago, scutterflux said:

 

... Also My e6430 came with 1366x768 so will I need a new LVDs cable to go HD+?  I suppose I could just check, what am I looking for (Part # JTC08)?

 

 

Keep up the good work.

 

All info gathered on cables on this post.

Part no for HD+ cable is JTC08 or CYM5C the latter seems to be the one for the E6530 but it fits the E6430 too and it is reported working here.

I didn't find any notable upgrade for my screen that came original with my E6430 (900p) but there is an eBay seller who claims that an 1680x945 screen is compatible with the E6430.

On 15/1/2015 at 0:48 AM, timohour said:

The only notable screen (that I am aware of) in the 14" TN panel category is the Thinkpad X1 Carbon (gen 1) screen and its price is too high.

but it may need some modifications (check here for the successful implementation on the T430).

27 minutes ago, Tempest said:

I can read 90w in the BIOS.

It looks like its an original adapter but I bought the E6430 from a seller on eBay so... I don't have another one to compare.

That's strange cause this is indeed the original Dell adapter. I don't have my 90W around but compared to the 130W I got with my dock they are very much alike.

If you happen to get another Dell 90W adapter, could you please test with that too?

Also could you install the Dell Feature Enhancement Pack  as described on the Battery Life Tweaks and set your scheme to max power and test if it throttles too?

Is this limited to iGPU devices only? Doubtfull cause  Khenglish (E6530 dGPU) explains here that

On 5/6/2015 at 0:15 AM, Khenglish said:

There's a bug in the latitude BIOS that prevents proper TDP management with an xm cpu (both sandy and ivy bridge). TDP settings only function properly when the BIOS does not detect the power brick ID.

I never encountered such an issue with my 3720QM, I just had problems after some minutes of full load. but could it be an issue on newer IB cpus (XMs and 3740QMs)???

What were your temperatures when throttled @ x34?

4 minutes ago, Tempest said:

The bios version is A16.

So I guess I also have a faulty adapter, just as Dewos.

I will try to post a picture of it. I might have never found out, if I didn't upgrade to a 3740QM.

My storage: 1TB SSD & 750GB HDD odd caddy.

Thanks again Timohour.

please upload the photo if possible. Is this the adapter that came along with the laptop or just a Dell you purchased online?

It sounds weird to me that 2 different PSUs failed to provide enough power unless they are fake or not official. Does the bios says 90W adapter?

19 minutes ago, Tempest said:

 

I checked and its the same Package Power Limits settings. All I did was power the laptop down and use the other power brick and see the results. And they were very different. Maybe its a faulty power brick, but the hole thing looks too similar to what Dewos reported on page 13 of this post.

I will double check if its really a 90W power brick, I know for sure its from Dell.

My other power brick is branded by NGS and its also 90W but I'm able get much better results with it. I'm not limited to 46W and 34 multi at best...

I am quite sure that it is either an 65W adapter (19.5V 3.34A) or a faulty one rather than a 90W . It sounds strange to me cause I never had such issues with my Dell 90W adapter.

If possible pls post your BIOS version too. You can find it on the first page of your BIOS.

19 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Hi Timohour.

I used the same settings as suggested by the newbie guide regarding the UFI variables and the TDP.

I'm almost sure it is a 90W Dell power brick, I will make sure later. Maybe this affects only a specific part number....

The Throttlestop settings were the same and were used while doing the TS Bench 1024M test.

In my setup I use a 3740QM @ 3,9Ghz 4 cores, 16GB 1600 Cas10 and as a eGPU a GTX 750 2GB. Just in case you want to update the specs in the board.

 

Thanks.

Check that your limits are in place with throttlestop (TPL)

Also check your PSU. I assume you already know that but check your bios to see which Dell PSU you have connected or check the A on your brick.

17 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Hi,

 

I had the same problem using the standard power brick from the E6430 while using my 3740QM cpu and the 39 multi @ 4 cores. Using Throtlestop I could't get any higher than the 34 multi and the cpu locked as if it was limited to 46W max. I then used a universal 90W power brick and was able to maintain the 39 multi threw out the test and was able to go up to 59W.

This got my attention due to the situation first described by the user Dewos on page 13 of this post.

If this is confirmed. In my opinion it is a serious limitation to using the quad core cpus with unlocked turbo bins with the standard 90W Dell power brick.

Is this with the long and short duration limit set to higher values or defaults?

I have been using my E6430 with i7-3720QM @ full multipliers withouth issues with both 90W and 130W Dell PSUs. Only problem was that after a few minutes of full load it will throttle from time to time as discussed here.

I could test on an E6530 I recently grubbed for a friend too but I don't think it will make any difference.

Most of the times the standard power brick shipped with E6430/E6530 is 65W. Could you check if your Dell PSU is 90W or 65W?

Could you provide your BIOS version too?

On 6/12/2015 at 11:09 AM, Orson said:

This is exactly what happens - 1.2 is shown just initially, for a little and then goes down to 1.1 but there is no FPS drop. I've been trying Skyrim, GPU-Z render test and Furmark.

This happens both on internal and external screen. The difference is, that on internal screen bus load shows ~80% for 1.2 / 99% for 1.1 and for external these values are halved.

So, does it mean that I have nothing to worry about? My theory is, that eGPU is so weak that there is no need for 1.2 speed, it can't make any use of it anyway.

Is there a way to - let's say - modify VBIOS and change power management?

Can't say for sure. But your theory could be valid.... Do you have a desktop you can test if the card has the same results there? Also did you try to set the EC port @ Gen2 (either with setup 1.30 or UEFI variables)?

Sorry for the late reply but I couldn't reply

The new forum may have some things out of place but it is certainly better... I thought it would never come up.

Yeah, I did that and it did not work. But nevermind, I managed to changed TOLUD using UEFI and it's fine now. However, that's not the end. I can't keep 1.2OPT. Yes, it sets initially to 1.2 (when starting a render test in GPU-Z) but after few seconds it goes down back to 1.1 :/ I have no idea why. I've been trying to modify UEFI variables to force Gen 2 PCI but it didn't help. I also used Setup 1.3 - still nothing. I really don't know what to do next.

Maybe it's my shitty GPU - GT 730, 2GB GDDR5 64 bit ?

Try something that puts more load on your GT730. Furmark for example and monitor. If it shows x1.2 even for a little it is enabled and it goes down to x1.1 to save power. Does this happen on the internal screen or external? do you have an iGPU or dGPU model?

I have the iGPU version. It actually didn't work OOB and in my BIOS I can only pick either All, 1 or 2 cores. I left the setting at 2 cores and booting and verifying showed I was only on 2/4 possible cores on my 3630QM. I got around the issue after I enabled trusted execution and it works now.

Temps after thermal paste swap with the single-heatpipe cooler goes up to 88 deg C after turbo. I am keeping turbo off and it goes up to 75 deg C after Intel XUT stress test. Upgraded from A07 to A12 with no issues.

Why set this 2 cores and not All? Setting this to all or better restoring the BIOS to your defaults would solve any issue.

88 C is not very high. These chips thermal throttle by themselves @ 105C. I have had turbo enabled for more than 6 months and @ full load I saw temperatures of 95C (Prime95), but in everyday work I never saw such high temperatures. You can either use Throttlestop to set profiles (Gaming / work / web) or better I installed the Dell Enhancement Pack which provides extra power options. I would use each power option when I needed it (full power, cool or extreme powersaving).

I managed to boot a i7 3630QM on bios A07 of my iGPU E6430, but the bios does not let me enable all 4 cores. I want to give it a shot before switching back to the i5.

I'm new so I haven't checked the IFR to see if it is possible to make the bios let me use all the cores

What do you mean you can't enable all 4 cores.. You don't have to change anything. It will work OOB.

Check into your device manager under Processors how many Intel® Core i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.4GHz do you see? If there are 8 you are OK!

I have a question about dynamic TOLUD.

Doing everything as described in nando's thread about his 6230, I get no effect. TOLUD is unaffected and what's more, I get a black screen (Windows is starting however, I hear sounds).

Here's what I do:

- setting the two switches on my EXP GDC in "zero" position (I am pulling them away from HDMI port)

- plug all the cables (power and ExpressCard)

- power on the laptop

If I set the second switch in the middle position, laptop starts and my eGPU i recognized but I get error 12. Do I have to tweak UEFI variables?

In order for the dynamic TOLUD to work you should set the BIOS boot mode to thorough. If this doesn't work you can always set your TOLUD manually with UEFI variables. What are your specs? iGPU/dGPU/eGPU?

Nice thread with impressive findings. Especially the UEFI variables are great. Used it aleady for other E6XX0s.

I've had a couple of spare E6530's (i7-3740QM+dGPU) at work and discovered that I'd need more cpu power at home.

Finally I found some good offers for E6430 + CPU as replacement for my E6330 (i5-3360M).

As a E6330 user I would like to ask you if the E6330 is much lighter to carry around compared to the E6430...

The switch over was pretty easy... just replaced the CPU, inserted my hdds, lowered the tolud and everything was up and running.

specs:

• E6430 (iGPU model)
  
• i7-3610QM
  
• RAM: 8GB Hyundai Default PC3-12800
  
• SSD: Crucial M500 240GB
  
• HDD in DVD bay: WD Red 1TB
  
• eGPU: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 670 AMP! Edition via PE4C 2.1a
  

planned mods:

• replace screen (currently hd)
  
• replace broadcom wifi with Intel Ultimate N 6300
  

Nice you find these helpful... you got some great specs and you can see at least 10% more CPU power with an OCed i7-37x0QM...

There is no documentation for upgrading the screen on the first post but you can find some potentially useful info here. Too bad there is no 1080p or bigger 14" option for our laptops (1CH or 2CH LVDS)...

Seems like Flexible I/O is still a feature in series 100 chipset but series 100 chipset goes from up to 8 PCIe 2.0 to 20 PCIe 3.0 ports!!!

Intel® 100 Series Chipset Family PCH Datasheet, Vol. 1 pg.26

Considering that x1.3 is faster than x1.2 and almost as fast as x2.2 link an potential x2 3.0 would be almost as fast as TB2!!! It would be difficult to find adjacent ports to create the x2 link out of the 20 ports but most Broadwell/Skylake laptops come with M.2 slots for WiFi and/or Storage...

It could be feasible though to use a M.2 WiFi or Storage port along with a working adapter for the eGPU either x2.3 or x4.3...

TB3 is now officially supporting eGPUs but if x2.3 is easily implemented, it could be a cheaper solution for low budget Skylake laptops since any adapter will be passive (no thunderbolt chips on either sides)...

UPDATE: Bplus announced a new adapter the PE4C V4.1 which can use either an M.2 M or an M.2 A/E and is supposed to be able to achieve an x4.3 connection!!! Impressive performance for an $80 adapter! We will only need a laptop with an M.2 M key empty slot.

Left is the one I made for badbadbad and right is yours... Do you see the difference???

The Clock Div Min is what sets your upper limit. Khenglish set this 0x0180 which is huge. If you want you can set it 0x0A00 (~120MHz) or closer to 0x0C0E... Happy OCing!!!

So it turns out my ME firmware was already modded, by the previous owner i guess, with the exact same settings as the one provided by Khenglish. Too bad, that the slider has a range of 99.5-100, and does nothing in practice, i guess because my CPU is only an i5. Interesting that the decsriptor was locked back.

RAM is low priority, because i got it stable at 2133@cl11 CR2 (still no reset tho but i haven't actually tried anything since), but i tinkered with the BIOS a bit, and there is no documented way to unlock the hidden menus. Its an AMI Aptio, customized by Dell. At least i can be sure that advanced settings are only hidden from the user, not that DELL does not even implement them in the setup module. I will try my best but i have not much time on weekdays. In the worst case i could get a tree-like structure with all the options, and info, wich is more clean then the raw extracted var list currently provided by timohour, but essentially contains the same info already available..

What i have discovered in the last days is that the flash descriptor doesn't get locked back by a bios update, and the BIOS region write protection can be sucessfully disabled by setting EFI var 0x40 to 0x0. I read somewhere in this thread that there were some problems regarding this.

Also my HDD caddy arrived (3.5$ from eBay), and i'm very happy that the latch/ejector thingy can be placed on it from the DVD, along with the faceplate. So basically the cheapest available 9.5mm caddy from eBay is as good as the more expensive ones. One little difficulty is that the 2 fixing screws are too short (At least fot this caddy) and has to be replaced. I had compatible screws, but anyone who doesn't can buy them from a spectacle shop for example.

Regarding your ME FW OC: There is no difference if it is an i3 or a i5 or a i7. I had successfully OCed my i3-3120M @2.62 using BCLK OC. The problem is most probably that in your modified ME FW the clock range definition record has not been changed. I had made the same mistake the first time I modded and @Khenglish helped me fix it . Could you provide your ME FW dump to check?

Memory Configuration Settings available in Dell e6430 BIOS version A16

Many thanks for collecting everything on RAM and adding details. If it's okay, I linked your content on the first post for future reference.

Finally, i reached "adult" status on this board, and now i can post by myself .

I successfully upgraded the SB i3, to an IB i5-3230M for 15$. Since my HyperX 2133Mhz kit is already migrated to the Dell, the first boot revealed that the memory controller of the i5 cant cope with the PnP (JEDEC) 2133Mhz @CL11. I locked the memory speed down to 1600Mhz CL11 , replacing one of the kingstons with a samsung module, just to be able to check the new CPU is working properly. Yes it does, and a little bit of TSBench revealed that it does outperform my Haswell-ULV on the same clock not only with lower power consumption (15.1W thanks to the Haswells IVR and integrated PCH VS 10.9W) but a 32M TSBench completes almost a second faster. The Haswell system has a very lean w8.1 x64 install, and the Ivy has a bloated w7 x64. (no throttling occurs, both cpus are running @2.4Ghz during the whole bench)

The other thing which makes me very happy that when C-states are disabled in the bios, i can still toggle C1E using Throttlestop for the Battery profile(I was able to do the same on 1st gen. Core i anno, but unable to do it with 4th.gen.), and although it does not enable C3, C6 and C7, but still has a substantial impact in idle power consumption (3.1W vs 7.1W). And the advantages of disabled C states in my usage scenario is huge, so the ~+1W power consumption when idling is a fair trade-off for me.(This i5 idles around 2.5W with all C states enabled, although i have not tinkered with the settings so far to see if this can be reduced)......

Nice to see your way through this. Regarding your memory you can adjust a custom profile. If you know your way around tweaking memory there are a bunch of variables that you could try check this post

Mine runs OK @ 12-12-12-36 CR 1T

You could run an AIDA test to confirm but I believe that your CL11 2T is faster than my CL12 1T. A bunch of performace results here.

Could you help me with something? Could you test if your i5-3230M has any unlocked multipliers? It is confirmed that i7-37x0QM and i7-38xQM have 4 unlocked multipliers, meaning that the maximum 4C turbo for an 3720QM is x38 opposed to default x34.

The maximum multiplier on your i5 is x32. Could you use the UEFI variables to set your 1-Core Ratio Limit it something a little over x32 (let's say x33) and check if it has any impact on your maximum multiplier reported with Throttlestop? It would be great if dual core i5-32x0Ms or i5-33x0Ms have some unlocked multipliers. If the same rule applies an i5-3380M would go up to 3.8GHz 2C and 4GHz 1C...

Also, if you have some time. It would be helpful to investigate if we can OC the iGPU on an i5. You can check here how it worked with the i7. I tested with my i3 and it was a no go. Let's find out if it works with the i5s

Undervolt by using lower multiplier + BCLK overclock

Consider narrowing Intel's wide overvolting for stability to improve on your seen performance and lower temps.

eg: use 1 lower multiplier (x38) along with a 4.5-5% BCLK (100->105Mhz) overclock using XTU. That would get you just under 4Ghz 4-core.

Though that requires some expertise to pull off: (1) unlocking the flash descriptor using a pinmod (2) preparing a modifed ME FW and flashing it to allow BCLK overclocking. @timohour covers this topic on the opening post.

Although I think this would work on lower multipliers it seems that on the i7-37x0QM at least once voltage hits 1.21V it won't go higher than that. e.g. on my 3720QM x37 & x38 share the same maximum voltage 1.21V. Even if I set x37 there is no undervolt. I don't know if this is limited by the chip or the laptop. We need someone with another (gaming) laptop designed to host and OC these CPUs to confirm if the maximum voltage for non Extreme chips is 1.21V or it is just another BIOS bug on our Latitudes.

But, it can be used though to raise performance... with x39 it would go up to 4.09GHz ;P

For some reason, i was in the belief that unlike SB, in the IB generation only the XM models have 8M (and believe me, +33% cache counts), but You're right, and the 38X0QM chips also have the increased amount. I have no intentions in buying an XM now. Yes i've already read through this whole thread before even buying the machine, and know that the heat will be the limiting factor not the chip's maximum freq. By the way let me thank again for all the information You and others shared on this forum because without it, i don't think i would have ever think about buying this Dell machine, and so far I really like it.

@R.O.G : the SATA nerfing is also removed starting from BIOS version F.29 ( i.e SATAIII works flawless)

You just fired my curiosity... I was under the impression that 8MB wouldn't make a big difference.

Could you specify an example where an i7-3820QM would be faster than the 3740QM? (ark comparison)

Cause the price difference is usually huge...

Best bet for unlockable turbo bins would be a i7-3520M. I believe Haswell dual-core i7s can have +200Mhz turbo bins unlocked. Not sure if SB ones can too.

For something smaller than a E6430 I'd suggest look at a E6430s over the E6330. It's pretty much the same chassis as a E6330 but sports a thin bezel allowing a 14" LCD to fit. AFAIK it's only single-channel LVDS so can't go beyond 1366x768.

E6430s was noticably smaller and lighter when I compared it against my E6440 though it has a 6-cell that protrudes from the back. The 6-cell wasn't compatible with the E6430/E6440. The 3-cell fits flush, plus there's an option for a modular bay battery.

Review Dell Latitude E6430s Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

Of course there's also a 12.5" HP 2570P which can take a quad-core socketted CPU. That's if the 12.5" is workable for you. Though no had no UEFI vars or modded bios to unlock turbo bins or TDP there.

You might even want to scout out for a 14" Dell E7440 with i7 CPU. It certainly thinner/lighter than the SB series, has a FHD option but no optical drive or expresscard slot.

Review Dell Latitude E7440 Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

14" Dell E5440 being a good compromise. FHD LCD option, optical drive, expresscard slot but no socketted CPU. Then there's the E6440 with the socketted CPU.

I'm currently using a E5540 as my main machine. 15.6" FHD, mSATA SSD, 1TB HDD, optical drive, expresscard slot, i5 ULV. Does the job nicely until some 14-15" FHD TB3 machine replaces it.

Thanks for your super fast answer! A colleague envied my E6430 and I was thinking to swap to something smaller/thinner and if possible with backlit keyboard.

12,5" is too small for me at least for my needs right now. I would also like to keep it as low in price as possible.

I would love something thinner ULV based but, from your exprerience, aren't those Haswell ULVs much worse than the i5-33x0M that comes with the E6330/E6430s for as low as 200$?

The only compromise is the standard HD screen vs the FHD options on the 5440. E6440/E7440 is more than I intend to spend for a Haswell. Skylake is on the corner

EDIT: AFAIK 6430s doesn't support 3G. The slot is there but there are no antennas due to the bigger screen.

This begs the question then. Would a SB notebook with MUX switchable iGPU+dGPU configuration switched to dGPU only (such as a Dell E6520) boot with a IVB using the factory BIOS or a slightly modded one with the newer microcode? Or even a Win8.1/Win10 machine with an eGPU attached? In either case the dGPU or eGPU would function in place of the iGPU.

Or even a remote login test?

Yup. Took a while.

Since all H61 desktop boards supported IB cpus with microcode updates it will probably work without issues with a dGPU/eGPU. IMO though, the lack of native USB 3.0 on SB machines is worth the extra $$ for an IB machine.

Q: Do we know if the i5-33x0M series have the extra turbo bins? The desktop i5-33x0 (it is 4C though) have 4 unlocked turbo bins. I am considering a lighter/smaller E6330 but it comes with non-socketed i5/i7 cpus and I was wondering if I can get a bit more out of it or it. I can't find any info online.

Thanks for the advices, everything is fine with the unit. And yes, I definitely want to upgrade to IB, I'm aiming for an XM chip because the extra cache. But i have to find a (relatively) cheap one, until then i will get an IB i5, just to be able to migrate on the machine from my haswell POC. Skylake is already here in hand with Christmas, so i hope to find a used XM chip under 300$ soon (I got a 400$ quote on a new 3940XM . I have the iGPU only model, but my eGPU parts are already on the way.

There is actually no reason to invest on an XM chip on the E6x30 series.Even if you need the extra cache (which IMHO is not a big deal) i7 38x0QM would have the exact same amount as the XM chips.

XM are better than the QMs in aspects that are useless for our small laptops.

- They have fully unlocked multipliers (useless cause after 4.0GHz we face serious thermal issues)

- They have unlocked voltage (useless cause there is no way to control voltage on these machines)

The cons:

- Their voltage can go over 1.2109V (limitation found on the 37x0QM possibly applies on 38X0QM) and this way XMs have higher voltage for higher frequencies resulting in more heat - throttling.

- They are more expensive than 38x0QM and even more expensive than the the 37x0QM which seem to be the best value for money.

Check the comparison here to see for yourself that there are minor differences between the two...

I would recommend to save the extra $$$ for your Skylake build or a better GPU...

I was about to grab an 3920XM myself but followed Tech Inferno Fan 's advice here, grabbed an i7-3720QM and have no regrets. My 3720QM runs @ 3.98GHz-4C turbo and is enough for my needs. I know that an XM chip WON'T have better performance cause throttling will kick in earlier due to thermal reasons. (Keep in mind with 300$ you could grab two 3720QM )

Hi!

I just joined the club! (although maybe not for so long)

My e6430 arrived yesterday. i3-2350, 4Gb, 320Gb, 2x60Wh T54FJ, very good condition, warranty. I live in Europe, and it had cost me my 2560p + 70$.

The BIOS version is A16, and the memory clock sped is locked down to 1333Mhz, although the module is 1600Mhz. Do previous BIOS versions have the same restraint?

Hello, happy to see another E6430 implementation.

The reason your memory runs @ 1333MHz is your processor. SB i3-23xxM memory controller won't go over 1333MHz even if the module are clocked @ 1600MHz. Also the IB i3-31xxM won't go over 1600MHz.

It is definetely not a BIOS restriction. I am running A16 and paired with a i5/i7 it goes all the way up to 2133 if your memory supports it.

I'm planning to upgrade (I already have a 16Gb 2133 HyperX kit in my other machine (and know about the problems too), and a Samsung 850 Pro 256Gb SSD, so basically a better CPU is missing only) but fist i would like to be sure that everything is OK with the machine, because it still has 1 month warranty. Could any long time user give advices, what to scrutinise?

Check that every port of your machine works without issues (usb, e-sata, usb 3.0) etc. Check that the DVD is reading and burning successfully. Use the ePSA tests coming with your laptop and stress your memory with Memtest. If you have a dGPU run Furmark for some time and check for artifacts... It will probably pass everything without issues...

If you are planning to upgrade your CPU definetely consider an Ivy Bridge Processor as R.O.G. suggested.

i7-3720/3740QM and i7-3820/3840QM are the best performers... Consider them over an i7-36X0QM because on our Latitudes you can unlock the top 4 turbo bins using UEFI vars..

UPDATE 1: Seems that BPlus have possibly discontinued PE4C v2.1 (it is reported out of stock on their site for a while) and replaced it with the more stable PE4C v3 which has soldered both ends, Meaning that there is no available hardware at the moment to achieve a stable x2.2 link.

There are still some remnants on eBay but it is not possible to purchase the extra PM100C cable to create the x2 link. They are all out of stock.

UPDATE 2: PM100C is now again available for 20$ plus shipping. PE4C still not available.

Normally, we can now create a RAID0 array...

Here, an little benchmark of my two PM830[ATTACH=CONFIG]16467[/ATTACH].

impressive!!! I have been dreaming for a while for such a setup... It can be costly though..

on the E6440 It would be fun to see a RAID0 3x250GB 850 (2 x sata & 1 x msata) touching 1,5GB/s R/W!!!

Yap, probably not the best CPU around, but if it keeps x39 is good enough.

In the future I will work on the heat building (additional heat sink). I'm not a big fan of the 'open bottom lid' route, it is not pratical and I'm more a 'daily' overclocker anyway.

The bottom lid doesn't need to be screwed to stay in position. At least in my laptop. I had been carrying my E6430 to work every day for the past 3 months. I have the bottom lid unscrewed and I took it off every morning that I attached the laptop to the docking station. Using an extra fan showed much better perfomance but I was too lazy to adjust it everyday... Having an open lid and using the additional fan to cool it down shortened my render times more than I could imagine. Offcourse using a laptop cooler along with the open lid may have helped the same but I never tried one...

IMO you will be amazed by the temperature difference with open and closed lid.

Nothing

Yes, max 45W, and I don't think is a faulty PSU.

UPDATE: It WAS a faulty PSU. Tried with another: it keeps 4c x39 rock solid for some seconds (until 105°). Yeah for us

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16305[/ATTACH]

Nice!!!

It shouldn't go up that fast though... Do you have the bottom lid closed?

Cause mine @3.98GHz with Prime95 after 6 minutes of full load with open bottom lid temperature wouldn't cross 95°C...

UPDATE: If this is with TSBench seems like your chip is not very good thermally. You can see here that my 3720QM @ 3.8GHz is ~ 50W @1.2109V. 59.4W is almost 10W more at the same voltage!

Do you still have your dGPU disabled?