Overclocking Q

I don't know if it's different where you are however, when I was downloading the updated drivers for my M17x with the Dell technician, I saw Dell's overclocking driver available and asked why the technician did not want to download that also? He replied "you can if you wish because it's your machine and you can do whatever you want with it but, I should warn you that overclocking instantly invalidates your warranty as the components are no longer being placed under the stress levels originally acceptable by the factory."

In other words, they can claim that the machine is overclockable to a max frequency of "X GB" which helps to attract buyers, but nowhere do they tell you that if you do it they will void your warranty! You only learn that AFTER they have your money.

Thanks for the reply. Its got the i7920 in it - i know its not the fastest but should it be able to cope with mid to high multitasking? If it can then i wont go overclocking unles i realy have to. I have had issues with warrenty void's in the past and learned from my mistakes, no longer risking another large repair bill !

Not trying to be the devil's advocate here but how would Dell know if the system was overclocked or not at the time of hardware failure please Chris?

7Leagueboot, TheRoyalPython,

Let me clarify this -
* Dell does not recommend operating the processor or other system component beyond factory default settings. This may cause system instability and reduce the operating life of your system components
* You will not void the warranty for utilizing the CPU overclock setting in the BIOS, but, we will ask you to return the clock speed to factory setting to eliminate any stability issues possibly caused by overclocking for the duration of troubleshooting
* We will not replace any hardware for issues that ONLY occur while the system is overclocked
* The instructions to overclock the desktop Alienware PCs can be found here

Good question

As for the above paragraph thanks, i will see how the system fairs then decide on whether to overclock. Shouldnt imagine i will need to overclock that much though, the most i do is mid level video editing on my desktop and encoding (but this is usualy done on servers).

7Leagueboot, TheRoyalPython,   Let me clarify this - * Dell does not recommend operating the processor or other system component beyond factory default settings. This may cause system instability and reduce the operating life of your system components * You will not void the warranty for utilizing the CPU overclock setting in the BIOS, but, we will ask you to return the clock speed to factory setting to eliminate any stability issues possibly caused by overclocking for the duration of troubleshooting * We will not replace any hardware for issues that ONLY occur while the system is overclocked * The instructions to overclock the desktop Alienware PCs can be found here

Chris tell me if this is true.

 Dell sells our systems with overclocks. The 980x can be bought with a 4.0 ghz OC.

I was told by Dell that if you payed for the overclocking then they will make sure it runs at that speed. If a peice of hardware is preventing that overclock they will replace it. So if your CPU goes bad and will only run at stock speeds they will replace it. Same for the motherboard etc.

This was for Alienware desktops. I do not know what the policy is for other desktops or laptops.

What you are saying and what they told me are two different things. What you are saying is Dell will sell the system with an overclock but will not support it. Dell is saying they will support it.  Who is right?

I would imagine that what Chris said applies to people that choose to overclock their system themselves instead of the factory doing it. In your case I'd imagine that because Dell (alienware) did it and did it the way they wanted it to be done (not that their way is any different) means that they are responsible for any problems it causes.

e.g. mine was shipped factory clocked at 2.6GHz

        yours was factory overclocked to 4GHz

If you chose to change from what the factory gave you then i would imagine that what Chris says applies, otherwise if you don't then you are under full warranty.

That's what i would imagine would be Dells policy on the matter but Chris would be the one who would know for sure :)

Hallo,

first - excuse my bad english !

My Alienware Aurora with an i920 runs now with 3,8Ghz - thanks to the new A10 BIOS (with the A09 3,5Ghz was the max.).

I only raise the BCLK (FSB) from 133Mhz to 181Mhz.

Don't let the VCORE on standard (the alienware overvolted very hard: from 1,25V to 1,45V - thats too heavy for the cooling system). In my config it was only necessary to raise the first step above standard 20mv - results in 1,27V).

And mention your RAM - they will overclocked by the same ratio as the CPU.

Select the slowest RAM Multi (6) - and the QPI from AUTO to 4,8Ghz

Thanks for the info above - should be helpful if i come to doing it.