BIOS features disabled (XMP profile and Overclocking)?

17 R5 with the current BIOS

Hi @Daveju,

System model and revision?

What CPU do you have?  You must have an unlocked CPU to have those settings enabled.

Just about the only notebooks where you have full control over overclocking are the Clevo-built boutique systems with unlocked CPUs -- AVA, Eurostar, Sager, etc.

The big name brand systems just don't have this much control.

It's the I9-8950hk. This isn't just specific to my computer, it's been on various computers to different degrees. More options were available with the 7820hk in BIOS but were still severely limited and needed software through windows. This CPU/BIOS just happens to have literally zero options in BIOS.

So there's no solution? I can't even get past current limit throttling and power limit throttling above 4.4GHz. It's ridiculous.

No, there is no way around it.  Bear in mind as well, overclocking is never guaranteed - - some CPUs will, others won't -- and the system is likely close to the edge of its ability to manage heat with this CPU running stock, let alone overclocking it.

But I've seen this hit 99C and 5.0GHz on all cores. Also higher wattage without throttling. It's obviously not just the CPU, it's something Alienware is doing. Granted the 17 R5 will never hit 5.0GHz without reaching it's thermal limit. But look here and you can see clearly there's a system specific limitation on the 17 R5 because these guys are way above the overclocking that I'm doing...
https://youtu.be/Ol26CnNEZrU?t=13m50s

It's not what they did, it's what limitation does that system NOT have as opposed to Dell's. This isn't a chip variable, it's something else. I already said I know the 17 R5 isn't going to be able to thermally handle it, so there's no need to respond to that, but it should be able to be pushed significantly more.

The engineers at Compal that built the Alienware system thought otherwise - or they'd have built the system to allow the adjustments you're seeking.

You'll have to ask them what they did - and that system is significantly larger than an Alienware 17 is -- the cooling system is no doubt quite a bit more capable.

You can push a car to redline and have no problems -- or destroy the engine on the first try.

Right, so they've intentionally limited the system unlike the Asus G703G which has the same chip which is what I've been saying this whole time.

Very possibly - which begs the question of what kind of data the ASUS collects and stores, such that if the system is pushed too hard, the warranty is void.  It's not hard to do that these days -- car manufacturers do it all the time now with high performance models they know people will modify.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0713PHFRW/ref=sxbs_sxwds-deals_1?pf_rd_p=a0894c97-3184-4615-912f-722ec74e380a&pd_rd_wg=LPpFS&pf_rd_r=D5RB2HC82KW0AY7WAEMH&pd_rd_i=B0713PHFRW&pd_rd_w=sHYhi&pd_rd_r=875e0b03-7b46-47bd-9887-09961f7dacb7&ie=UTF8&qid=1547745252&sr=1

if your worried about overheating.... im going to re thermal paste my dell G5 cause they simply did a horrible job on it. Ill jump to 90c randomly out of nowhere but now have it contained. to a 40c idle now (with the pad, i haven't re pasted yet but that saved me on avg 30c on the amd processor i did it on) 

Stuff to consider... Dell def could do more to be gamer / enthusiast friendly. Especially if they are going to be making gaming branded laptops. A good thermal application could change my outlook on them massively. Hitting above 90 when not heavy load, or heavy load. it just spikes to temps and cannot recover immediately due to the paste not being there to fill the small holes between proc and heat sync.

We need to get to the point where dell has BIOs that do not match a latitude E5450/70 style, super basic enterprise style almost IMO.

We want to be able to modify multipliers, set xmp profiles... monitor/take care of what we purchase from Dell.

I know they saw a good sales spike recently however they are going to have to take care of some of this if we want to be an industry leader. I like Dell a lot, but i almost with i got a MSI or asus same setup to get a better cooling and BIOS. Overall its a good pc, 1050 ti can handle it and 8300H is a beast, its just the thing, these are pretty tough components, running as powerful as a desktop someone pry built.

Too bad any time contacting customer service I feel like im almost better off just burning the CPU out... terrible. They actually asked me to extended warranty then i asked if they could fix my pc from hitting up to 100c on spikes and being so hot and they said they did not have the technical know how to help me and re directed me. Still have no answers , i doubt they will/can do anything but goes to show what your getting. Id be a little angry if i hadn't got such a deal on it near black friday.

Hey you can still overclock depending, try intel extreme tuning utility. You can OC from within the OS.