Bios to allow overclocking with i7 920 released

Dave, first off was the PC already like that when u first got it, being unstable and all or did it happen after u attempted those overclocks? If it happened after u did those overclocks then maybe the memory failed or something after overclocking - run some test software like prime95 to pinpoint the issue. If it was already like that when u first receive the pc with stock clocks then u might have a dud AW.

I once had a XPS730 that would lock up and reboot constantly - no overclocking etc everything stock - only thing I could figure out it was a dud computer no other explanation possible.

re: the alienware themes - I believe u can restore this from ur AW discs - I think this board also had a thread that already covered and resolve this kind of problem

Good Luck!

Well I'm not really sure because I overclocked it as soon as I got it. However I have been keeping it at 3.4Ghz so I've now toned it down to 3.2 with the OC level 1.

So far today I haven't experienced any lockups since reinstalling and setting it back to OC level 1. As for the themes, I simply downloaded some stuff from Digital Blaspemy and am using that. It's way higher quality and better looking than the alienware stuff. I found a program to change my login screen so that was easy.

As for Alienware tech support, I had the worst time imaginable. After 3 hours, his only excuse for the lockups were "you installed a hard drive, it's not the original specs so we cannot work on the issue". Not only that, the tech support guy did a remote into my computer and formatted my one hard drive. I lost ALL the stuff I had on it! What an absolute outrage! I guess my fault for not looking at the screen every second! No asking, nothing, just format a full drive! Grr.

OK I guess the best thing to do is return everything to stock and see how that goes.

As for the Tech Support it's lesson learnt - if u get someone who's not good - hang up immediately. Your knowledge is light years beyond of what those people can do.

I experienced this before when I was replacing a XPS 720 PSU, I had to tell and help the Tech on how to get to and move the cables out of the way of the PSU!

So, it's also real unfortunate that Dell chose to staff AW Tech Support (Premiere) with people who probably got their qualifications from cookie cutter "IT courses" and not real life experience with XPSes.

I didn't expect much from Tech Support honestly it's more for parts replacement and I can do the rest, I had experience of upgrading an entire XPS 710 into a 720 which went well and also owned a 730 once ...

Aurora/Aurora ALX Bios A04 (Aurora-A04.exe) Area 51 Bios A03 (Area_51-A03.exe) Once installed, please post your PC specifications and overclocking options chosen with results.

Are newly built systems shipping with the new BIOS?  I ordered an Aurora yesterday, and got the "free" overclock on the i7 920 as part of the New Year's sale.  Production accidents do happen though, and if it arrives non-OC'd, I'd likely have to do it myself.  If v4 isn't installed, I'll need to update to do it myself through the BIOS, no?

I agree with some of the previous posters, as well.  If it's as simple as just turning it on in the BIOS, why does Dell charge people $200 to do it from the factory?  (Other than making some extra cash, of course. )  Seems like they could just be nice and include a $.02 piece of paper in the box with instructions for those interested in overclocking it themselves.  I told my wife the cost is $200 for Dell to do it for you and she's all like "That's a ripoff!  You can do it yourself in 2 seconds with a $.05 jumper!"  She's old-school.

O.k. I'm now running my aurora i7 920 at 3.6. I had it upto 3.8 but it would not post when I restarted it. You can't change the multiplier in the bios. I changed it to 19 in the intel tuning utility. I read that odd number multipliers work better. http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/538439-guide-overclocking-core-i7-920-4-a.html. So I have my multiplier at 19 and my bclk at 189. So the first thing I did was go into the bios set evrything to optimal defaults.  In bios I disabled Intel speed step, intel c tech, spread spectrum and turbo boost.. then hit f10 and went into windows. I then went into the intel tuning utlility and set my multiplier to 19(save to bios).  I then restarted the computer. Next I went back into the intel tuning utility and set cpu voltage to 1.1        mem voltage to 1.65        qpi voltage to 1.34     ioh volt to 1.2 and the mem multiplier to 6. I used the aplly changes button(not the save to bios). I then restarted the computer again. Hit f2 and went into the bios. I set the bclk to 189 hit f10 and went back into windows. I ran linx 20 passes no errors and prime 95 for ten hours on blend(I know I'm gonna run it longer tonite). I played dirt 2 for a couple of hours tonite with no freezes.  Everything seems to be going ok. I have the 1066 memory so its running at 1134. I tested it at 1330 to make sure it would work. When I had the cpu up to 3.8 I had to set the cpu vol to 1.24 but it ran pretty hot.

I want to get some 1600 memory and then maybe see about taking the bclk over 200. In the bios it says it can go to 300, I don't want to go that high. but may 211@19 which would be 4 ghz and the memory at 1422.

I'm gonna keep trying to get all of these dialed in.  But it is possible to overclock the aurora beyond the level 1 overclock.  It would be great to see other peoples settings. 

I hope this made some sense. This is my first time overclocking and there is a lot of info out there.

h2on0, your way of OC sounds very interesting, its amazing that it is possible to reach more than 4500mhz uncorespeed with the aurora (189x24), please keep us informed about your further results...

My best results was up to now  with activated level1OC in the bios:  bclk at 178, Turbo Mode on, mem multibler at 8x178 = 1424mhz at 1,5v (ocz-1600), cpu 22x178 = 3916mhz  / cpu 21x178 = 3738mhz,  but I did not reach the limit up to now, no crasches or reboot or anything...

this OC was just to see the performance potential for some benchmarks results. my Aurora mostly working at 1600mhz, with thanks to the command center

It seems like all the OC attention is for the 920's.  Does anyone have these type of settings for the 975 that they are wiilling to share with me as generously as the 920 group?  Thnaks-JayDD

jaydd.... I believe they are supposed to overclock easier and run higher over clocks at lower voltages.  What is your 975 running at now? Is there a overclock option in bios like on the 920(level1overclock)? I think they are also designed with a higher unlocked multiplier.

What is the highest one can OC on a i7 920 with the factory 6gb 1333mhz kit?

That's a good question...my rig is running at 3.4Ghz stable.

Very cool!  Do you mind posting your settings for the BIOS?

My i7 920 is running at 3.8ghz (20x190), very stable with 6gb 1333mhz kit.

So my Alienware Aurora ALX with the i7 920 is scheduled to arrive in a week or so. When I receive it (hopefully with the latest bios update) i want to enable the Level 1 OC settings to get it to 3.2ghz but I am worried now with the problem Niklai had because my setup has the Raid 0 2x500gb hard drives. 

Chris M posted...

Auto Overclocking
* Restart the PC
* Press the F2 key to enter the Bios 
* Press the F9 key to Load Optimal Default settings
* Press the F10 key to Save the Settings and Exit
* Press the F2 key to enter the Bios again
* Select the Frequency/Voltage Control option in the Bios and press Enter 
* Select Load level 1 settings
* Select OK and press Enter 
* Press the F10 key to Save the Settings and Exit

These steps make it seem like cake but how do I ensure that raid 0 stays enabled so I don't get that "no operating system found" message. Josedan said something about reenabling it and reinstalling windows but I think he was referring to niklai who had already wiped his drives. Can someone add the additional steps necessary for those using RAID 0 and is there anything else I should be worried about with the level 1 OC? any other unforeseen errors I should look out for when doing the auto overclock? Any help/advice/knowledge about this would be great. Thanks. 

Overclocked my  Alienware Aurora ALX with the i7 920 with the raid 0 set up with the settings listed above after restarting...........  Missing operating sys_

Restarted PC Press F2 select Internal Devices
When you see configure SATA 1-6 as AHCI press enter change to RAID
Press F10 to save Restart PC should boot back into windows