Dell 5150 Overclocking Results

[mew905]

my I5150 was also my first laptop, and a horrible choice it was. However, seeing as how they never contact me about a refund, and their tech support actually knows nothing of their own computers, I had to come up with my own solution. I'll do some benchmarks of the computer, one at 2.8GHz, the other at 1.6. my video card is starting to fail from being at 244/477 however, so I will have to bench at 198/396.

basically, the efficiency of the Pentium 4-M 2.8GHz is pretty sad, hence why it can run at 1.6 and still run just as well as before. Thank god Intel's new processors dont have the same problem... I couldnt bear being told an Intel processor running at 800MHz could walk all over an Athlon 64 3200+... considering the Pentium M 2.4GHz is on par with the Athlon FX56, and overclocked just hammers it down.

[Guest HaMsTeYr]

my I5150 was also my first laptop, and a horrible choice it was. However, seeing as how they never contact me about a refund, and their tech support actually knows nothing of their own computers, I had to come up with my own solution. I'll do some benchmarks of the computer, one at 2.8GHz, the other at 1.6. my video card is starting to fail from being at 244/477 however, so I will have to bench at 198/396.

basically, the efficiency of the Pentium 4-M 2.8GHz is pretty sad, hence why it can run at 1.6 and still run just as well as before. Thank god Intel's new processors dont have the same problem... I couldnt bear being told an Intel processor running at 800MHz could walk all over an Athlon 64 3200+... considering the Pentium M 2.4GHz is on par with the Athlon FX56, and overclocked just hammers it down.

Too true... why did it have to be THE bad choice sigh... Anyway, i'm planning to get the ASUS A8JM, with the Pentium Core Duo 2.16 ghz, 1gb ram and 512mb Geforce Go 7600. I know what you mean. This wasn't a system problem to them, and that really frustrated me. I currently have my GFX overclocked at 245/490 and i do not get any artifacts/ crashes even after alot of gaming on Battlefield 2. Any higher however, and it starts getting the artifacts.

I myself am a AMD supporter, as i find their chips more efficient and much more cheaper than the Intel chips, plus its fan is more silent. Its so odd how there's no visible difference in speed at 3.2 and 1.6. I also tried doing that, and you're right. My games even PLAY BETTER. If thats not odd i don't know what is. I really wanted to get an AMD Turion or X2 for my laptop but oh well >_>

[mew905]

AMD is by far the better choice. Intel's Penium M series was kind of a fluke, as after they were discovered to be the most powerful, yet insanely cheap, gaming processor around, they were even challenging their own Extreme Edition processors, something they had not planned. however, my laptop (2.8GHz P4 w/ HT) was by FAR slower than my AMD Athlon 64 2800+ (in 32 bit). As a comparison, Starcraft installed on my laptop in about 2 minutes, both CD's. The AMD processor installed starcraft before I could even stand up to go get a drink (which really surprised me).

I was going to go to ATi during the time of the GeForce FX series, then the GeForce 6 series came out and danced on Ati's head O.o.

[HaMsTeYr]

What? O_o does that mean to say that the Pentium M Dothan series can actually outrun an AMD??? SWT... I've got an amd athlon 3200+ pc... and i still think its da bomb XD Why're u playing Starcraft on your laptop O_o i'm playing freaking Battlefield 2 and CS:S O_o

I'm naturally an ATI fanboy, but recently Nvidia has been churning out some pretty good cards O_o i'm using an X800Pro on my desktop... but thats way back home =_= So i'm planning to get this 7600Go

[mew905]

Well nvidia is simply killing ATI with their GF 6 and 7 series. Their 7 series even kills their 6 series, with the 7600GT actually outperforming the 6800. However I failed to realize ATi was by far the better choice (the ATi Radeon 9000 actually has more than 2x the performance of the GeForce FX 5200)... then they got reemed when the 6 series came out, with the $250 GeForce 6600GT brutally beating the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, and in some cases they came on par (I can grab one for $150 CAD now).

And I do believe the dothan core Pentium M was the fastest, I cant remember if it took down an Athlon FX 54 or FX 56, but it was really quite impressive. Asus makes a motherboard adapter (compaitable with one of their mobos) to support the mobile processor. The Pentium M is a god of the processor world. Little heat, far less power consumption, and way more power. Overclocked there was no competition. Dual cores are probably the only processors now that come on par or surpass it.

[HaMsTeYr]

OOh O_o yeah i noticed that... the GeForce 6 and 7 series have been totally awesome.. i didn't know however that the Geforce 6600GT kills a radeon 9800Pro O_o thats rather hard to believe... >_>

You did the pentium M comparisons yourself? or a net comparison? the Pentium M beat the Fx 54 or 56????!!! thats really something... there was once i thought the FX-55 was the cream of the crop in terms of AMD processors... but i'd never expect the Pentium, let alone a mobile processor to beat it in terms of processorwise... abit hard to believe O_o I do know that the pentium M generates less heat and consumes less electricity, but i didn't know that they were such multimedia powerhouses O_O

Btw, i checked the stats of this one online, and i'm rather stuck on what it means.

ASUS F3JM

It has something about external in the Graphics Display segment... any idea? this in my opinion, would be the best gaming laptop out there while still being a laptop, e.g. not overweight, oversized, overpowerful and impractical as a laptop

EDIT: I'm going to do a benchmark in BF2 for the tweaked 71.44 drivers and the Omega 66.93 drivers... results will be posted on both pages since it was requested there and has more relations here.

Edited July 16, 2006 by HaMsTeYr

[HaMsTeYr]

Hello there! some of you probably were waiting for a response from me about the small benchmarking test i was doing... so well, they're in! O_o so let me show them...

Battlefield 2 v1.30 on 800x600, Low details all, no anti-aliasing, no anisotropy, 100% view distance, Hardware sound on High Quality with EAX enabled (GeForce Go5200 240/480) Map=Strike At Karkand 16 Player Map, 16 Bots (This is all the 5150 is capable of in my pc shut up =_= its still playable though)

- FPS results on Larry's v71.44 Drivers -

15 Minute Gameplay

Minimum= 2.87

Average=14.84

Maximum=38.42

1 Minute No Motion Results

Minimum=12.81

Average=17.18

Maximum=19.68

- FPS results on Omega's Forceware v66.93 Drivers in Performance drivers -

15 Minute Gameplay

Minimum=1.94

Average=16.19

Maximum=43.31

1 Minute No Motion Results

Minimum=13.18

Average=16.26

Maximum=19.10

Results certainly are interesting aren't they? During gameplay the average fps seems higher... where as standing still, the FPS seems slower O_o and trust me, i used the same spawnpoint for both =_=

Pictures to be added soon

Edited July 16, 2006 by HaMsTeYr

[LSudlow]

Very interesting results... Thanks for posting!

I'm not surprised by the results. The 66 series drivers definitely outperform the 71 series on the Go5200, but it's not a big difference. The 71 series is a bit more compatible with recent games, which makes it a worthwhile tradeoff.

[HaMsTeYr]

yeah... i was kinda :) at the results... at the moment i want omega to release more new drivers as well... he actually modifies the drivers himself, not using Nv4_disp.inf files only... that way he tries to optimise everything... thing is that though... Nvidia is somehow not happy... =_=

[®®®]

Correct. He's in the ATI game now as NVIDIA was not amused with him tweaking/messing around in the .DLLs

Bless for di man dem.

Fact is that Pieter's mobile INF is still the basis for most of the tweakers around the globe (including OMEGA) as these include the latest GPUs, feature unmatched stability and 3 years experience with mobile NVIDIA GPUs. Nobody can beat this, that's why all rely on the INF. On the other hand only a few give officially credit. Even NVIDIA support is indirectly sending people to us.

[HaMsTeYr]

LOL really? i didn't know that much ^^ I'm gonna see if there's a large performance difference between the 8x and 9x series driver with the 6x 7x series... for one, i some games run better on the newer drivers, so it might not all be performance drop... for one, I was able to play Battlefield 2 on 1024x768 on a good fps with my newer drivers, but at the moment i'm wondering why the 66.93 drivers are forcing me to play on a 800x600 resolution.

BTW, mew905, i just got this in my mail.

Intel's Core 2 processors, leveling the playing field

Seems like intel actually learned from their Gen 2 Centrino and now, they are released Core 2 Duo Processor. From the stats, its even better than one of the best AMDs O_O

I'd say wait for them to release Laptop versions of these before getting a new laptop.

Edited July 18, 2006 by HaMsTeYr

[Fabrice Roux]

I'd say wait for them to release Laptop versions of these before getting a new laptop.

You might want to wait also for benchmarks of the Merom because the current laptop chipset limit its FSB at 667MHz. (while the Core 2 Duo works at 1066MHz) AFAIR the new chipset that will allow a FSB of 800 MHz will be released in march 2007.

[HaMsTeYr]

O_O THAT LONG??? NOOOOOOOOO!~ Perhaps they'll rush it... well as it is i'm only gonna get a new laptop next year, also god knows when.. technology goes so fast u can never catch up to them.

Does that mean though, that the current Core Duo's for laptops run on the 667mhz FSB? O_O thats rather slow compared to AMD's

[mew905]

Unfortunately in the dual-core race, AMD is getting owned hard. And it seems Intel pulled off another Pentium phenomena. Their new Pentium D 805 Dual-core is the cream of the crop now. Not because of the specs or dual-core or anything like that. The 805 is based off the newer 9xx pentiums, what they didn't expect is that the combination of the 800 and 900 series of the Pentium D's would produce a super-performer.

Stock for stock, the 805 D is right where it should be, in the budget dept sold at $130 CAD

Because of the newer technologies in it however, it runs cooler, and more efficiently.

This in turn has led to its insane (and I mean INSANE) overclocking ability. With stock cooling and a good mobo (I'll list them later when I find them again), the 805D can be overclocked to 4.1GHz STABLE! With a small voltage mod, it goes right up to 4.3GHz (the mobos they used in the review allow voltage mods from the BIOS)

The only thing that managed to beat it is the newest AMD Athlon FX, and the high-end Intel Extreme Edition, both of which are dual-core. but they each only beat the 805D in a single benchmark, everything else it mopped the floor with them.

I love intel now: Budget processors run better than their top-of-the-line CPUs! :)

If I remember right the benchmark was on Toms Hardware labelled "4.3GHz performer for $130" or something like that. It tells you exactly how they got it that high (what memory they used, the boards, etc.)

EDIT: Seems I was off in... quite a few details, I went back and looked, they compared the 805 to the FX-60, which the 805 still came very close to it's performance.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dua...ores/index.html

Edited August 6, 2006 by mew905

[HaMsTeYr]

This in turn has led to its insane (and I mean INSANE) overclocking ability. With stock cooling and a good mobo (I'll list them later when I find them again), the 805D can be overclocked to 4.1GHz STABLE! With a small voltage mod, it goes right up to 4.3GHz (the mobos they used in the review allow voltage mods from the BIOS)

OMFGWTFBBQ >_> THATS INSANE!~ I'm kinda regretting i got my AMD now O_o at least its vista capable thats all... I really feel like grabbing myself a new Intel Core 2 Duo Conroe O_o is that the same as the Pentium D 805? I'm not verse in its desktop form names >_>

Yeah, this new pentium chip is a total winner. Faster than the fastest AMD if i remember, and its such a powerful chip O_o Its even cheaper than the AMD's out there... I have to find myself loving intel again even though it got me quite some time to love AMD O_o

[mew905]

Well single core systems should still go on AMD. Starcraft on my laptop installs in about 7 minutes for both brood war and original, including switching CD's and other setup stuff...

My AMD Athlon 64 2800+ on the Socket 754 mobo installed starcraft AND broodwar before I could even stand up.

No idea how these new dual cores do but they're likely even faster than that.

[The_Lead_Factor]

Starcraft is an 8 year old game that can run perfect without any GPU at all.... Its still a great game and all but its useless when benchmarking.

[HaMsTeYr]

Starcraft is an 8 year old game that can run perfect without any GPU at all.... Its still a great game and all but its useless when benchmarking.

True that O_o i'm just waiting for the release of the 800mhz FSB core 2 duo for laptops. I'm really keen to see what it can do.

[The_Lead_Factor]

You wont see a difference with a game like Starcraft or a game that uses the GPU to do most of the work.

[mew905]

it was a comparison. starcraft takes roughly 7 minutes to install on my 2.8GHz laptop, whereas the AMD Athlon 64 2800+ (S754 so FSB is a bit slower than 939) installed it faster than I could stand up. that's the only comparison, nothing more.

Benchmarking of course takes place in newer games such as NFS Most Wanted, Quake 4, etc. etc.

[Guest Guest]

So did you stick with your OC speed of 220/440 or go back to default? Is anyone running overclocked on the 5150, if so how much and for how long?

I've checked out the 5150's GPU heatsink, and it isn't too great, I don't feel like Fish and CHIPS for dinner! =D

[LSudlow]

I don't know about others, but being on my third motherboard, I'm back to using the defaults. It turns out the chip that controls battery charging is located right under the Go5200 and is easily toasted (permanently), making it impossible for the 5150 to detect that it's plugged into an A/C outlet.

Heat is such a major problem with the 5150/5160 that I really can't recommend overclocking.

[Guest How to fix the Inspiron 5150]

The Inspiron 5150 is a great little laptop, but you need to do some tweaking...with an x-acto knife, needle nose pliers..

Buy a tube of Arctic Silver "Ceramique"

Open your Inspiron 5150.

Remove the LCD panel, keyboard and the entire top plastic casing (Palm rest, touchpad ect.)

Remove the heatsink/fan assembly.

Unscrew the Go 5200 card from the motherboard and remove it.

Using isopropyl alcohol and q-tips (My method) clean any and all stock thermal grease from the CPU heatspreader, heatsink assembly, the heatsink underneath the Go 5200 (There is a thermal pad/putty stuff..you'll see it..it's purple)

Once you have everything cleaned up dip the copper fins of the exhaust heatsink on the heatsink assembly into a measuring cup of isopropyl alcohol, turn a can of compressed air upside down and spray the copper fins until they have what appears to be ice.

Let sit until everything on them evaporates.

Put a dab of Ceramique on the CPU heatspreader, put your finger in a zip-lock bag and use the zip-lock bag to rub it into the small valleys on the heatspreader, use this on the bottom of the heatsink assembly contact block as well.

Let sit for five minutes at room temperature.

Wipe off the Ceramique using isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel.

Do the same for the Go 5200 heatsink. If you look at the heatsink/fan assembly you'll notice the two metal heatpipes connecting the CPU to the exhaust heatsink, underneath these place a beaded line of Ceramique, place the heatsink assembly back into the 5150 and you'll notice the heatpipes now make proper contact with the 5200 heatsink, thus carrying both CPU and GPU heat out to the exhaust heatsink.

Remove the heatsink assembly once again and place it to the side.

Locate the air intake on the bottom of the Inspiron 5150 casing, there is a metal mesh covered by plastic on one side, aluminum on the other side.

The aluminum is on the inside of the laptop, the plastic on the outside, using the X-acto knife score the aluminum so you can cut it out, thus unblocking the fan intake, do this to the bottom as well.

Once you are done you should have nothing but an air intake hole the fan will sit over, guarded by the metal mesh.

The fan cannot draw enough air even at the highest RPM with this stuff blocking the air intake, it was a poor design call.

Place a small dab of Ceramique the size of a grain of rice on the CPU heatspreader and bolt everything back together.

Reassemble your Inspiron 5150.

You have just fixed Matrix lag.

I used to idle at 50-60 degrees, with the processor hitting 72+ during gaming.

I now idle at 21-29 and I've only peaked at 39 while running Quake 4 with my videocard overclocked.

http://inspiron5150fix.blogspot.com

See the results for yourself.

[Guest dlpriest]

If people become interested enough I'll create an indepth pictorial of how to do this.

My current project is creating a more efficient heatsink assembly with a better fan.

By better I mean faster, able to push more air..yet quiet.

-dlpriest

[Guest mew905]

Personally I would rather not void my warranty as it has come in very handy. Laptops are mobile machines, thus making them extremely susceptible to alot of damage. I wouldnt buy a warranty for a desktop, but a laptop I wouldnt go without. My speakers have blown, I've desoldered and resoldered my DC jack (did a good enough job I told dell water spilled on it and fried it :) ), had batteries replaced, motherboard replaced 3x, CD drive is going to be replaced (Crappy Sony CRX830E) , case has been cleaned and some parts replaced, memory replaced... really the only parts left in it that were there from the very start are my GeForce FX Go5200... and the screen O.o.

Anyway, priest, a couple cut shots of temps on i8kfangui isn't going to prove it to me, I want to see a temp log, complete with CPU load and speed. And even then, who's to say there isnt a big fan blowing directly in the sink? I mean, I can pull off those temps too, and all I'm using is speedswitch and an air-hockey fan (wow it blows alot of air lol!). I've already replaced the thermal gel and it did nothing (used two different methods, one directly from AMD I believe, another from a forum). My heatsink and gel is being replaced with the left speaker (blown) and burner when they get sent in so I shouldnt have a temp problem for a very long time, especially if I keep blasting this fan in there lol.