Overclocking the GT 540M

[StrikerZR1]

Posted this on the owners thread but that looks like it turned into the order process thread, any ways there are new Nvidia drivers up 270.60. I installed yesterday just wanted to know if any of you installed it and noticed any difference in performance or anything else. thanks guys

[NoSlow5oh]

Originally Posted by StrikerZR1

Posted this on the owners thread but that looks like it turned into the order process thread, any ways there are new Nvidia drivers up 270.60. I installed yesterday just wanted to know if any of you installed it and noticed any difference in performance or anything else. thanks guys

Noticed a slightly smoother gameplay at stock clocks playing Dirt 2. Haven't tried it oc'd or other games yet.

[FarKeld]

800/1000
I have tried AC:Brotherhood and Portal 2 and both run perfect

[13.raghav]

Are'nt you guys having problem with scaling on XPS L502X ? I'm having Nvdia 540 M GT and Windows 7 Home Premium. All games like NFS Most Wanted , POP scales to middle of screen leaving two black bars on sides . is there any fix for this ?

[redpuma777]

Originally Posted by 13.raghav

Are'nt you guys having problem with scaling on XPS L502X ? I'm having Nvdia 540 M GT and Windows 7 Home Premium. All games like NFS Most Wanted , POP scales to middle of screen leaving two black bars on sides . is there any fix for this ?

try different resolution setting in game setting (after game start mostely you need to use ese button to go to games menu then setting -> Display/grafic -> resolution)i found 1600X900 very nice and smooth to play

[stonetrap]

I got mine stable at 890/1020 with GPU temps never exceeding ~70.
GELID Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound is amazing. Not great stuff to apply but wow it does the job once its one.
Just a shame the card itself can't hold out anymore.
Portal 2 full advanced settings and I average around 50 FPS.

[jaisah]

Originally Posted by stonetrap

I got mine stable at 890/1020 with GPU temps never exceeding ~70.
GELID Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound is amazing. Not great stuff to apply but wow it does the job once its one.
Just a shame the card itself can't hold out anymore.
Portal 2 full advanced settings and I average around 50 FPS.

Wow sounds great! I contacted Dell about my computer overheating and they are sending a technician around. Should i supply my own thermal compound or will they have some good stuff?

[FarKeld]

870/1020 stable (max temp 73 °C)
i tried 880/1020 but playing AC:Brotherhood i saw some artifacts

[stonetrap]

I doubt they will do anything.
If you supply your own paste the technician might apply it for you although I was told CPU temps in the high 90's are fine and GPU's in the 90s are too.This is after they replaced my first machine for the sae temperatures so who knows
The engineer won't have anything like that. The only thermal paste Dell use is the stuff they use when they make the machines in the factory. It is incredibly poor quality and it TERRIBLY applied.
You would not void your warranty applying the thermal paste yourself.I would recommend the GE-Lid mentioned, particularly as unlike Artic Silver MX-5 it is non electrically conductive; so if you did slip you wouldn't anything out and it is also more efficient at cooling plus doesn't need curing time where you have to wait 200 hours to see any effect.
Bear in mind the technicians work on a commission basis anything time consuming is a big ask. You would also need something this to remove the pre-existing paste as well as a good lint-free cloth (ideally microfibre) and also cotton bud sticks as Dell are sloppy enough to have the paste on the side of the chips and everywhere. Too much paste may not be as bad as none but it is comparable.

Spoiler :

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arcticlean.htm

Since Dell use 3rd parties for this type of work it may be worth finding out which company it is and asking them prior to their arrival.

Btw if you do choose to do it yourself and anything goes wrong provided you haven't made a mess Dell has no way of knowing. The colour of that paste is very similar to that of the stock paste and if you don't mention anything and reassemble everything properly no one would be any the wiser.
It is also worth practising with the paste first to get a feel for its viscosity (read texture) as it is very sticky, even to itself and you only want a thin layer. A 3.5g tube would cover several machines so you might as well get a feel for the stuff before taking the plunge, although it is definitely worth it!

[DakkonA]

Originally Posted by FarKeld

870/1020 stable (max temp 73 °C)
i tried 880/1020 but playing AC:Brotherhood i saw some artifacts

Just for clarity, you should know that the memory clocks aren't arbitrary... when you set it to 1020 MHz, it'll actually be at 1012 MHz.