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Studio XPS 435MT & 435T Overclocking potential - BIOS upgrade?
Judging by Dell's current take on the overclocking subject, I imagine that it's true that the new i7 Studio XPS system cannot be overclocked even though other manufacturers using the 920 i7 solution report great results overclocking the i7. Indeed, even CNET reviews such a system making the comparison between the Studio XPS pretty stark, given the similar specs elsewhere. I believe they overclocked the Velocity Micro i7 920 system to 3.0GHz with no issues reported.
Is there a chance that Dell will be offering a BIOS upgrade that will allow the ability to safely overclock? Or BIOS update to allow for 1333Mhz RAM to work as stated in the 435MT manual?
On a second issue, I've seen reports that the X58 chipset/board actually will allow for a maximum RAM of near 24GB, double the Dell's reported maximum of 12. Will the Dell eventually allow for 24GB? On the other hand, I've seen max 12 reports, too. Just wondering where it will really fall for the ultimate upgrade. EDIT: Appears the 435T board will allow for 24GB (MT stands for Mini Tower and T stands for Tower).
Thanks for any insight here.
- kh
Davet50
14.4K Posts
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March 13th, 2009 07:00
What speed dose CPU-z report?
i-vol
212 Posts
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March 13th, 2009 08:00
This is also not a good indicator of speed as this program can report back erroneously and has done so in past.
Also, good luck with Dell Tech Support on this one. It really is a tossup if whether you get someone good or not.
Since you have no control in the Dell Bios for RAM voltage settings etc, I would have gone for 1.5v RAM which is what they are running the stock ram in there now. This is a setting you will never have control of with this motherboard and bios so it's always best to go for the same as stock. The new ram will work, but I'm guessing this has something to do with the reading. I've seen this mentioned elsewhere, however, just not in relation to Dell.
truelies
35 Posts
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March 13th, 2009 08:00
1066MHz
truelies
35 Posts
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March 13th, 2009 12:00
The problem is relate to the voltage. This board only accept 1.5V. For talked OCZ, even 1.5V memory not always work. I found a cheap x58 board, but the band is MSI:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-SlickDeals&cm_mmc=AFC-SlickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16813130221&Tpk=msi+x58+pro
i-vol
212 Posts
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March 13th, 2009 20:00
If I were you, I would really reconsider that potential purchase of what appears to be a lower quality option in the aftermarket X58 pool. It might pay to wait it out till you can afford one of the better X58 boards out there. I would take a better EVGA or ASUS over that MSI without question, then again, I havent quite understood some of the other choices, either. Why not wait till some of the better options come down in price, perhaps doing a bit more research as well so as to avoid another potential 1.5v vs 1.65v type quagmire.
truelies
35 Posts
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March 15th, 2009 21:00
Someone can make memory work on 1333MHz here? I heard from OCZ support that:
If your processor was a i7 extreme 965 the ram would operate at 1333Mhz, because the QPI is 6.4G-t / second. core i7 940 and 920 have 4.8 G-t /sec and that translates to 1066Mhz operation.
The ram frequency is a user-selectable option in recent enthusiast mainboards. When that setting is changed the ram can be clocked higher (Memory multi x Bclock=effective memory speed). Unfortunately your pc does not have this option, therefore you will be stuck with the memory frequency the CPU selects for you.
His comment is this PC can only work on 1066MHz.
i-vol
212 Posts
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March 16th, 2009 05:00
I was thinking it could be done this whole time, mainly from specs being read that the 435MT will take 1333Mhz ram and the fact aftermarket boards from companies like ASUS had managed it without moving to the i7 965, this via OCing and multipliers.
Apparently, this is NOT the case with the Foxconn Dell MB. As built with the current settings using the i7 920 CPU, the fastest the Studio XPS 435MT RAM will run is 1066Mhz. It can USE 1333Mhz RAM, but it will run at 1066Mhz.
When you move to quality aftermarket board, you will be able to use multipliers and OCing to allow for 1333Mhz via the 920 CPU , but it appears no Dell 453MT will do this unless you move to something like the 965 CPU, just as the rep stated.
Not sure if Dell will release anything in the bios control that will allow this in the future, however. But based on what's been seen so far, it's a tossup with the edge to not likely. I've not heard of a single soul using a 965 in the 435MT either as the pricing at the time was insane.
- kh
sawaddi
611 Posts
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March 16th, 2009 07:00
Keep in mind that the Studio XPS 435T is Dell's premium Multimedia system. They do not position it as a gaming system thus no over clocking features.
i-vol
212 Posts
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March 16th, 2009 08:00
Granted. Indeed, this was established by Chris a while back. On the other hand, they might allow for the ability to at least use 1333Mhz RAM down the line, especially since they state it WILL use this RAM in the 435MT manual. With the 920/940 CPU, it appears it needs to at least hit 3.3-3.4Mhz for this to happen.
Dell explicitly states that the 435MT WILL run 1333Mhz RAM if all the Dimms are populated with said RAM. At no time in the factory manual do they specifiy that 1333Mhz RAM will ONLY run with a i7 965 processor. So many people are lead to believe they could upgrade to 1333Mhz RAM and as long as they employed ALL 1333Mhz sticks, they would be fine. I think Dell owes us an eventual upgrade in the bios to make this happen since some have wasted money on this without the knowledge that they needed an uber expensive 965 CPU.
See direct quote from manual below, highlight mine:
truelies
35 Posts
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March 19th, 2009 12:00
Maybe we can also insert 1666MHz memory, they will work on 1066MHz.
Okami1981
12 Posts
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March 20th, 2009 14:00
Can we bring this issue up to Dell? I find it ridiculous that you can "put in" 1333 ram but it runs at 1066. At no point does it mentions this in the manual. Also the x58 chipset and core i7'st that we have all support 1666 by spec.....
i-vol
212 Posts
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March 21st, 2009 09:00
The main complaint is that Dell has this wrong in their manuals; however, if you peruse the net, you'll see that ALL i7 920/940 CPU systems and motherboards will only reach 1066Mhz no matter what the ram, unless the board allows overclocking to 3.4Mhz via the BIOS or you're good for the 965 Extreme CPU. Most of the aftermarket X58 motherboards from companies like ASUS and EVGA do allow this, so users are getting their 1333Mhz up to speed. Otherwise, it's 1066Mhz no matter what's in there.
Of course, as per usual, Dell has still not corrected their online manuals, so the misinformation remains. If the Dual Channel ~ Tri Channel website quagmire is any indication, it will be a while before Dell gets around to it.
But I agree, Dell DOES need to come up with something for the people that went out and paid some serious ducats for a 1333Mhz RAM upgrade, only to be met with 1066Mhz spec. When you make a purchase based on the factory manual, and said factore manual is wrong, it's only fitting for Dell to make some sort of amends.
kh
truelies
35 Posts
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March 21st, 2009 11:00
I don't think this is overclock, since the memory is 1333MHz, we don't want it run at 1666MHz. The motherboard should support varies speed memory.
i-vol
212 Posts
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March 21st, 2009 11:00
Do some research. Memory and processor speed are linked with the Core i7. Remember, the FSB is now gone, too.
1333Mhz RAM speed is not reached without overclocking the 920/940 CPU to @ 3.4Mhz.. This, or your employ the 965 CPU.
- kh
Tomcat435MT
64 Posts
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March 21st, 2009 12:00
There's a very interesting article in MaximumPC on the Core i7-920 overclocking issues:
See http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/exclusive_retail_core_i7_cpus_more_powerful_originally_reported
The first issue would be the actual capability of the Core i7-920. Here's the summary for the Core i7-920 and Core i7-940 production parts:
It appears that the 1333Mhz and 1600Mhz memory can easily be used without overclocking the CPU, as long as you have access to the memory multipliers from the BIOS. However, I'm still a little fuzzy on exactly which of these settings is available in the 435T BIOS. I won't get my 435T until Friday.