[MrGel]

Hello,

Specs

I have an MSI GT70 0NC gaming laptop.

Using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, I am attempting to overclock an Intel i7-3610QM.

System Information in Intel Extreme Tuning Utility says:
Turbo Overclockable FALSE

I change the Reference Clock slider to 105.0616 MHz.

Before overclocking, Max Turbo Boost CPU Speed Default is:
3.300 GHz

After overclocking, Max Turbo Boost CPU Speed Proposed is:
3.467 GHz

Findings

When I run a 5 minute CPU stress test with the default Intel settings, the processor frequency is 3.09 GHz.

When I run a 5 minute CPU stress test with the overclocked settings, the processor frequency never exceeds 3.25 GHz.

I am getting slight performance boost.

I also noticed if I try to apply an overclock beyond what is stated above, the computer shuts down even if I don't apply a stress test.

Questions

Is there some sort of safety feature that shuts down my laptop when I try to slide the Reference Clock slider above 105.0616 MHz?

Why does the CPU speed never exceed 3.25 GHz whether overclocked or not?

How can I get the CPU to run at the overclocked 3.467 GHz?

Does Turbo Overclockable FALSE mean this processor is not capable of being overclocked or does it mean it will never exceed the default Max Turbo Boost CPU Speed of 3.300 GHz?

The i7-3610QM is rated at 105 °C; when running at 3.25 GHz during a 5 minute CPU stress test, the temperature peaks at most 89 °C but averages in the high 70's to low 80's °C ...is this a safe temperature? I do pass the stress test but I want to be sure.

Thank you,

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

That CPU is not overclockable. There were a few ones that were, though they were very expensive and I believe that they were the Extreme Editions.

 

[MrGel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi Mind Trick

That CPU is not overclockable. There were a few ones that were, though they were very expensive and I believe that they were the Extreme Editions.

Thank you.

Update

I decided to monitor my CPU core temperatures while gaming and none of the 4 cores exceeded 74 °C; this seems reasonable but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Questions

If anybody has the answers to my other inquiries it would be appreciated.

 

[AcEsSalvation]

For turbo speed, you can only test one or two cores. Turbo doesn't apply to all threads, only a couple. Your base frequency is higher though. Also, IIRC BCLK OCing can lead to a few issues.

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

Your temps look pretty good to me. Anything under 85*C I believe is okay for these laptop CPU's (to the best of my knowledge they were made with the intent of being used in poorly ventilated spaces [apparently they are rated at 105*C but that seems crazy high]).

I think the 3610m in my GT60 stays around 75 as well while playing BF4 with the fan on default, I don't like MSI's turbo mode as it is terrible if you have open headphones!

You should be perfectly fine though.

 

[MrGel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcEsSalvation

For turbo speed, you can only test one or two cores. Turbo doesn't apply to all threads, only a couple. Your base frequency is higher though. Also, IIRC BCLK OCing can lead to a few issues.

Thank you but unfortunately I'm not too sure what that means; this is my first time overclocking but I'll be sure to read some of the forum stickies when I am able.

Before tweaking the processor the frequency never exceeded 3.09 GHz but the processor is rated at "Max Turbo Frequency 3.3 GHz".

After adjusting the Reference Clock slider, it now runs at 3.25 GHz with is closer to the rated "Max Turbo Frequency 3.3 GHz".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi Mind Trick

Your temps look pretty good to me. Anything under 85*C I believe is okay for these laptop CPU's (to the best of my knowledge they were made with the intent of being used in poorly ventilated spaces [apparently they are rated at 105*C but that seems crazy high]).

I think the 3610m in my GT60 stays around 75 as well while playing BF4 with the fan on default, I don't like MSI's turbo mode as it is terrible if you have open headphones!

You should be perfectly fine though.

Great, thank you.

Remaining Questions

Is there some sort of safety feature that shuts down my laptop when I try to run the processor at higher than 3.25 GHz?

I may be misunderstanding how processor speeds work and reading into it too literally but why does the CPU speed never exceed 3.25 GHz whether overclocked or not when it is rated "Max Turbo Frequency 3.3 GHz"?

Thank you,

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGel

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcEsSalvation

For turbo speed, you can only test one or two cores. Turbo doesn't apply to all threads, only a couple. Your base frequency is higher though. Also, IIRC BCLK OCing can lead to a few issues.

Thank you but unfortunately I'm not too sure what that means; this is my first time overclocking but I'll be sure to read some of the forum stickies when I am able.

Before tweaking the processor the frequency never exceeded 3.09 GHz but the processor is rated at "Max Turbo Frequency 3.3 GHz".

After adjusting the Reference Clock slider, it now runs at 3.25 GHz with is closer to the rated "Max Turbo Frequency 3.3 GHz".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi Mind Trick

Your temps look pretty good to me. Anything under 85*C I believe is okay for these laptop CPU's (to the best of my knowledge they were made with the intent of being used in poorly ventilated spaces [apparently they are rated at 105*C but that seems crazy high]).

I think the 3610m in my GT60 stays around 75 as well while playing BF4 with the fan on default, I don't like MSI's turbo mode as it is terrible if you have open headphones!

You should be perfectly fine though.

Great, thank you.

Remaining Questions

Is there some sort of safety feature that shuts down my laptop when I try to run the processor at higher than 3.25 GHz?

I may be misunderstanding how processor speeds work and reading into it too literally but why does the CPU speed never exceed 3.25 GHz whether overclocked or not when it is rated "Max Turbo Frequency 3.3 GHz"?

Thank you,

It could be a safety feature, this processor, and specifically the laptop, were not made to overclock. I know because my GT60 (same age as your GT70) doesn't overclock at all, except on the GPU (but it is very minimal).

Like the other guy said, I believe that the 3.3Ghz is when 1 core is being stressed heavily, and something like 3.1 is the max when all four are being used. Not sure about the software you are using as I was unable to download it from intel and the non-intel download I tried told me my system was not compatible (though it is probably because it was an older version)

 

[MrGel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi Mind Trick

Your temps look pretty good to me. Anything under 85*C I believe is okay for these laptop CPU's (to the best of my knowledge they were made with the intent of being used in poorly ventilated spaces [apparently they are rated at 105*C but that seems crazy high]).

I think the 3610m in my GT60 stays around 75 as well while playing BF4 with the fan on default, I don't like MSI's turbo mode as it is terrible if you have open headphones!

You should be perfectly fine though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi Mind Trick

It could be a safety feature, this processor, and specifically the laptop, were not made to overclock. I know because my GT60 (same age as your GT70) doesn't overclock at all, except on the GPU (but it is very minimal).

Like the other guy said, I believe that the 3.3Ghz is when 1 core is being stressed heavily, and something like 3.1 is the max when all four are being used. Not sure about the software you are using as I was unable to download it from intel and the non-intel download I tried told me my system was not compatible (though it is probably because it was an older version)

Great, thank you.

I figure tweaking the Reference Clock slider so it runs at 3.25 GHz is fine as long as my temperatures don't exceed those mentioned in my previous post; correct me if I'm wrong.

UPDATE: After a few hours of gaming, the max temperature reached in any of the 4 cores was 76 °C.

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

Looks good to me!

 

[AcEsSalvation]

With a little bit of research and a little bit of math, I've got this much for you/ (Disclaimer: the numbers might be off a little bit)

Your CPU runs all 4 cores at 2.3GHz. If it has a load that at least 3 threads will be used, it will turbo to 3.09GHz. If it has a load that it only needs two threads, it can turbo a little higher. If only one thread is needed, it will turbo to 3.3GHz. Turbo activates a set number of cores to a set frequency. It cannot turbo more threads than what it is told to do. Typically, the limit is either one or two threads.

3.09GHz is the highest value that it can reach which all threads being used. If you ran a test and only selected one thread, you would see it turbo higher.

Finally, the issues that I see people warn others about more frequently are data corruption, hard lock ups, USB data corruption, and underclocked RAM. I can explain that last one.

Since you have overclocked via BCLK, you have also overclocked your RAM. In an overclocking system, you could just add more volts to a few settings and be fine. However, I don't think you can do that to this system. And since you can't, the RAM may have downclocked itself to stay within spec. And now since the RAM is underclocked, you may now have less performance than before the CPU overclock.