Yeah, I want to know more than just how. I am interested in anyone else with experience overclocking laptops, preferably this one. I DO NOT have money for a new laptop so if this one dies I am SUNK.
SPECS: Lenovo Y580 (20994NU)
WINDOWS 7, 64bit
Intel 3rd Gen i7-3630QM @2.4GHz Quad Core 6.0MB Cache(can anyone explain the turbo and how that works with overclocking?)
8GB (2x4GB) 1600.0 MHz / PC3-12800 (No idea what the PC3-12800 means. Is this clocked lower than stock for intel? re: recent tek ram video)
Because this IS a laptop, I would like to still have a power saving mode (if possible). I like the current modes switching, if I could clock it back to the stock (or below) with Power Saver that would be ideal, but secondary. With overclocking, is there a reset button so that if I ever need it back to stock, say it eats too much power, that I can get it or do I just record all changed settings?
That CPU is locked and I seriously doubt the Lenovo BIOS interface will allow you to overclock anyway as most OEM system builders do not want RMAs on parts that were overclocked. The onboard dedicated graphics however are overclockable through software. PC3-12800 is the bandwidth rating of the specific RAM. PC3 being the DDR3 standard, and 12,800 meaning bandwidth in MB/s.
I have similar specs except I have 670ms, its at 600mhz but I want to get 800mhz, is that possible and will I damage my laptop by doing so(my room is always at around 59 in temperature).
The only way to find out is to download EVGA precision or MSI Afterburner beta and find out. They have built in hardware monitoring so they can tell you how hot the GPU is.
I own the Y570 and overclocked the gt555m from 752mhz core to 850mhz and 1570mhz to 1700 on the memory, by just using a $30 cooling pad from cooler master.
I was originally going to apply new thermal paste because the gpu would throttle, but then i realized how much work it was to access the components. After the realization, I bought the cooling pad and it has solved my problem so far. The cooling on this notebook is horrendous, and I am a bit bitter about it. A gaming oriented notebook can not be used for gaming if it can't keep itself cool. Get your shit together, Lenovo.
@Lead_Pie: How much improvement do you get from just OC'ing the RAM? I have a cooling tray but I rarely need it. I played Minecraft, actually I hosted and played Minecraft, for 12 hours straight with some of my friends and it wasn't even that hot. The i7 was cruising then. My friends MacBook was molten so I let him use the cooling tray. The Y580 kicks a good bit of heat out the side but it has a massive heatsink and the bottom / keyboard never gets hot...
So what about the stock clock and the turbo? Is there a way to make sure it is turbo'ing because at times it seems as though it runs hard and then slows down until I lag spike again. Kinda stop and go instead of cruising. From my vantage point it looks like I am bottlenecking the CPU. 8GB of RAM is enough and 2GB on the card should be good. It seems that 2.4Ghz is a little slow.
Also, is it possible to crack the BIOS maybe a year or two down the line when I don't have the warrenty and I'm not so worried about breaking it?
My thoughts exactly. I've been tossing around the idea of gutting the DVD drive and putting a small pump in there. But that would require some serious case mods of which I do not have the resources to test with.
Since you are contemplating taking the machine apart I would replace the thermal paste and see where that gets you before you invest a lot of time in it. Although, it does sound like a fun project.
The biggest difference where VRAM overclocking is concerned is after you've overclocked the GPU core and need more bandwidth to smooth out polygon/texture rendering. This gains you slightly higher average FPS.
OK. What did you do to overclock then? EVGA / MSI software? I don't know where Lenovo gets their cards from. I am still interested in the CPU turbo concept. Could I force it to always turbo in game?
Are all Lenovo Nvidia's MSI or do i need to find out what manufacturer it is? Or maybe it doesn't matter. I understand the CPU is locked so MAYBE BSEL (probably not).
What is a CPU Turbo? If it can run at 3.4 as a turbo clock then why doesn't it always (bar powersavings). 3.4 should be plenty for most games but 2.4 seems a little sluggish at times because I'm assuming the GTX660M is capable of more and RAM etc. is fine (8gb for games). I guess the best way I can put it is a desktop has a higher CPU clock because of heat. A GTX660 in a desktop is / was pretty good (the new 700's came out so...). Based on that I imaging that the CPU clock is the limiting factor ATM. HOWEVER, CPU overclock is not possibe, but it can turbo to 3.4 which is on par with the desktop 3rd gens so I would think having it always turbo would be enough of an "Overclock" which leads to my confusion on what a CPU turbo actually is. Maybe I'll start a new thread focusing on the mechanics of CPU Turbo, it's kinda off topic...