The Definitive DV6z Llano Overclock and Optimization Guide

[HTWingNut]

GUIDE TO DV6Z OPTIMIZATION AND OVERCLOCKING

What is this guide? It's an attempt to help AMD Llano notebook users overclock, undervolt, and optimize their systems. The Llano CPU has superb overclock potential especially from a mobile chip. This guide comes from a culmination of information, most from NBR but from multiple sources, so credit goes to everyone. The suggestions made in this guide by no means is the best or only solution, but it is one that worked for me and for many others. I will be happy to update, correct, and/or add additional suggestions. Please just post in this thread and we can discuss as needed. Hopefully this will end up being the definitive AMD Llano guide eventually, with specifics for DV6z.

A lot of this information is generic and can be carried across manufacturers, I just included it because I saw these things as commonly asked questions in the forums.

CONTENTS:
. Downloads and Links:
... Downloads for OC
... Drivers
... modded BIOS, utilities
... Hardware Mods

. What should I do when I get my PC / Windows Installation

. Overclocking / Undervolting CPU

. Overclocking GPU (Video Card)
... Integrated GPU (6620G) Performance with Single and Dual Channel Memory, 1333 vs 1600 MHz (different thread)
... CrossFireX / Dual Video Overview and Compatibility
... CAP Profile Downloads

. Confirmed Hardware Compatibility and Guides *** NEED USER INPUT!!!

. Gaming Optimization Suggestions *** NEED USER INPUT!!!

. FAQ - Just a few at the moment, working on more...

---------------------------

HISTORY:
January 27, 2012 - Added to hardware section Unlock / Fixed Dynamic Switchable Graphics - Imwithstupid11
January 26, 2012 - Added Hardware Mods section (under downloads)
January 26, 2012 - Added 6620G IGP Benchmarking
January 24, 2012 - Getting the Fingerprint Reader to work with Firefox / Chrome by Jafar.al added to hardware section
January 21, 2012 - How to guide for removing optical drive bezel added by clarkkent57 in hardware section
January 17, 2012 - Thread Created!

[HTWingNut]

DOWNLOADS

OVERCLOCKING

All of the software required to optimize your laptop is freeware/shareware, so no need to invest additional money. Many of these are not required but offer good information as to the status of your machine. Many of which you can safely disregard after you've tuned your machine.

K10Stat - Software that allows for overclocking and voltage adjustment of your CPU
FusionTweaker - Alternative to K10stat
HWInfo64 - System resource monitor. Offers temperatures, core load status, and lots of other detailed info. Beta versions are fine too.
HWMonitor - Temperature monitor. HWInfo64 offers similar features, but this one is simplified primarily for temperatures
CPU-Z - System information utility. Pretty much same info is in HWInfo64.
MSI Afterburner - GPU overclock utility. For DEDICATED card only. Cannot overclock integrated GPU.
MSI Kombustor - part of MSI Afterburner package above. It's a GPU stress utility similar to Furmark except it offers OpenGL& DirectX 9,10,11 tests
Prime95 - CPU stress test. Needed to ensure stability at overclock/undervolt


DRIVERS

HP DV6z 6100 - HP Support page with driver downloads. Recommend using OEM drivers by component manufacturer if possible
Manuals - Including service guide which is detailed and great reference if you ever plan on disassembling your machine for any reason.
AMD 12.1 Catalyst - Some users have had better luck with this, while others use 12.1a below
AMD 12.1a Catalyst - Latest drivers shown to be compatible with switchable graphics and allow software overclocking
CAP Profile Downloads - Catalyst Application Profiles to improve CrossfireX support
AMD SATA AHCI USB - Best and latest drivers direct from AMD, includes SATA and USB 2.0 and 3.0 drivers
HDMI Audio - Realtek supplies the audio codec for the AMD/ATI HDMI. From this link be sure to choose the "ATI HDMI Audio Device" drivers. Note that HP drivers are required to have Fn key volume control.
Card Reader - Realtek driver, choose PCIE card reader driver
Touchpad - Synaptics drivers. Note that HP drivers are required to get double tap touchpad disable working.
LAN - Realtek Gigabit
WLAN - Recommend finding which one you have from device manager since there are several and downloading from HP or respective WLAN mfr site.


If you don't see a driver listed, recommend using the HP one. Please inform us of improved/updated drivers if you find them! Thanks!


UTILITIES

Driver Sweeper - Utility to allow for complete removal of AMD display drivers
Ccleaner - System and registry cleaner
Glary Utilities - System and registry cleaner
BatteryBar - Offers battery status, registered paid version offers additional features like auto power plan switching if on AC or battery (my preferred util)
BatteryCare - Similar features to BatteryBar except no taskbar status, but offers features for free that are in paid version of BatteryBar
Magical Jelly Bean Key Finder - Extracts system product keys from your system for safe keeping


BIOS

HP Stock - Latest BIOS versions direct from HP
Musho's BIOS* - Musho is an NBR member who was able to successfully update F.21 BIOS (most recent as of Jan 17 2012) with defined GPU clock speeds so once you've dialed in your overclock you won't need software to overclock any more
camolil's BIOS* - camolil is a user at BIOS Mods website that kindly released a modded BIOS that unlocks advanced features as well as includes GPU overclock GPU 740MHz / RAM 880MHz

*NOTE THAT YOU MUST RENAME YOUR HP_TOOLS PARTITION (recommended) or DELETE IT (not recommended)* in order to flash these BIOS.


HARDWARE MODS

HTWingNut's Cooling Mod
Vect's Cooling Mod (cool palmrest)

[HTWingNut]

WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN I GET MY LAPTOP / WINDOWS 7 INSTALLATION

From the factory or store your HP is sure to have lots of crapware, i.e. programs that offer no value to most users. Many want to have a "clean" system to use instead of having to uninstall or have to figure out what to keep and what not to keep. There are two common options to use. But before you do anything to your system...

*** MAKE RECOVERY DVD'S ***

You have two options for the recovery media: DVD or USB flash drive. This process can take a couple hours if you make DVD's (and requires 4 single layer or 2 dual layer) but can still take a while even with a 16GB+ USB flash drive. This media is essential to bring your system back to stock factory state or other installation states. Even if you don't care about the factory install STILL MAKE THE BACKUPS, you will thank me later.

In order to to do this, go to Start Menu / HP / HP Recovery Manager / HP Recovery Media Creation

*** BACKUP C:\SWSETUP ***

There is a folder in your C: drive that contains additional programs and features that may not necessarily be available for download from HP. All drivers and programs are saved in the C:\SWSetup folder. This is several GB in size, so backup to DVD, external hard drive, USB flash drive, etc. Just copy/paste is fine.

*** BACKUP WINDOWS 7 KEY ***

There are lots of utilities to extract your Windows 7 product key, but I have always used Magical Jelly Bean Key Finder. Great free program and easy to use. This key will be different than the one at the bottom of your laptop. Basically will just allow you to install Windows 7 without having to call Microsoft to activate using the key on the bottom of your laptop. If you use the HP recovery disks, this is not needed, but good to have on hand for future use/reference.

*** INSTALLING WINDOWS 7 ***

Now that you have your critical information backed up, you can go forward with either a clean install of Windows 7 (get a free download of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit here and yes still requires a legal Windows 7 product key) or use the recovery DVD's for a recommended MINIMAL RECOVERY installation. The minimal recovery installs factory state with required drivers and basic HP apps with no crapware.

I won't go through the details of installing WIndows 7 from USB or DVD since there's tons of guides out there already (here's one for USB). USB is the fastest, but DVD works just fine too. One important note is to use the USB ports ON THE RIGHT SIDE (side with DVD drive) because these are USB 2.0. The ones on the left are USB 3.0 and won't have native Windows support (i.e. requires drivers).

One tip, it might be in your best interest to go into the BIOS and set the startup delay to 5 seconds so you have time to press the ESC key to access the system menu for recovery, bios, selecting startup device, etc. I found that I would miss it a lot and have to reboot a lot. This saves a little headache. You can always change it back after you get your system set up the way you like it.

- MINIMAL RECOVERY INSTALL -

If you just want a clean install on your existing hard drive or SSD, you can just reboot your machine, press the ESC key and then choose F11 for recovery. It will give you the option for a "MINIMAL RECOVERY" installation. Choose that and let it run. Or you can use your recovery DVD's or USB flash drive you made on the stock drive or a new drive of your choosing if you decide to. Nothing special to do for HDD or SSD.

- FRESH WINDOWS 7 INSTALL -

If you prefer to do your own installation of Windows, then install with DVD or USB flash drive. You should just be able to plug it in, start up the computer and it should boot off the drive and away you go. If not, then press ESC key at the computer startup (with HP logo showing) and then choose F9 and choose your DVD drive or USB flash drive.

- DRIVER INSTALL -

Once you install Windows 7 there's no proper order for driver installation, but recommend starting with the SATA AHCI USB driver, followed by the display drivers, and then everything else. Also recommend rebooting every time it asks you to ensure there are no conflicts and everything installs properly. It may take longer this way, but it can save you lots of headache later. If you have issues with getting the switchable graphics menu just by installing AMD Radeon (Catalyst) drivers, then try installing HP Display drivers SP52989 first, reboot, then install the latest AMD display drivers. Currently 12.1a AMD drivers seem to work without requiring HP display drivers installed first.

- SYSTEM IMAGE & BACKUP -

Once you have your system all tidy and working how you like, it is a good idea to make a system image in case you decide to reinstall later, have a major crash, or other incident. The easiest and free way is to use Windows built-in system image and backup software. You can get to it just by opening your start menu then typing backup and choose "Backup and Restore" or in Control Panel / System and Security / Backup and Restore. Nothing fancy, gets the job done. However two options you have. For a fresh install I recommend a System Image. This makes an image of your entire hard drive / partition for restoration later. Backup will backup your system incrementally over time so you can restore certain programs and system states. I recommend an image for a fresh install. Quick and easy to restore later. It is also a good idea to make a system restore disk which can be found in the same window as "Backup and Restore".

I will add more detail later after I complete a new fresh install on my DV6z myself.

[HTWingNut]

OVERCLOCKING / UNDERVOLTING CPU

The one big advantage of the AMD Llano / Fusion chips is their ability to overclock. AMD left a LOT of voltage headroom for overclocking, or for the better, undervolting even at higher clock speeds. There are two utilities that allow you to do this fairly easily. These utilities are K10Stat and FusionTweaker. I will cover K10stat primarily since that's what I use and am most familiar with. Will add FusionTweaker info later. They both effectively do the same thing, with minor GUI or performance enhancements between one or the other.

************ IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ***************

Every laptop, CPU, and configuration will overclock differently. So just because what worked for one person won't necessarily work for another. You will most likely have lockups, crashes, BSOD's, restarts, etc if you just copy one person's profile to your laptop. It is good as a general reference, but you MUST test your specific machine extensively to ensure stability. Also, while this will most likely not harm your laptop, I take no responsibility if something breaks on your machine. Overclocking technically voids the warranty. High temperatures can also damage equipment, although there are hardware safeguards to minimize that possibility. In other words, be smart, and don't push your laptop so the CPU (or APU as AMD likes to call it) runs at 100C

************ END OF IMPORTANT NOTE ***************


- K10STAT OVERVIEW -

There are several guides to K10stat on the web, but nothing seemed too detailed or left out a lot of assumptions. I'll try to be as concise as possible without boring you.

K10Stat can seem somewhat cryptic at first, but once you get to used it, it's pretty straightforward and easy to use. K10stat allows you to set multiple profiles so you can run your laptop in different configurations depending on your useage (i.e. gaming, extend battery life, etc). There are also several different ways to manage how the CPU clock is controlled (K10stat, Windows, PowerPlay, etc). It is important to choose which method you like and disable the others otherwise it can cause unpredictable or conflicting results.



First, a brief overview of the program. There is a guide and instructions for K10stat, but this is my interpretation and in myown words. Hopefully it's straightforward. Refer to the above image in the below descriptions.

When you fire up K10stat it starts you at the "info" tab. Of importance here is the Voltage. It tells you max and min voltages the CPU will accept. Each type of CPU has different voltage ranges, and may limit how high you can overclock if temperature is not an issue, so take note of your maximum voltage limit. But where you will spend most of your time is in the "P-state" tab. In the profile pull down menu (1) there are 5 profile states that you can configure for different useages and can be renamed for ease of reference. Note that you CANNOT name it with a space in the name, otherwise it will mess up the naming designations, just a bug in the system.

Next line (2) you will see FID, DID, Frequency. Don't care much about the FID and DID, all you are really interested in is the frequency (well sorta). The FID and DID are basically multipliers to get the desired frequency. DID of 0 allows for multiples of 100MHz, DID of 1 is 67MHz, DID of 2 is 50MHz, etc. You will see the resultant frequency as you change the DID and FID. It will not take affect until you click the "Apply" button. It theoretically doesn't matter which multiplier is used to get your desired frequency, but it is best to go from lowest DID for highest frequencies, down to highest as you approach your lower frequencies.

The DID/FID configuration works in conjunction with the P-states (3) listed below it. You select the desired radio button (dot, whatever you want to call it, to the left of the P-state. The B0 state is the "turbo" state, and will only reach that speed when certain load and temperature conditions are met. What they are I'm not going to say, because I really don't know! P0 state is the maximum standard clock frequency, and each P-state below it are "steps" of the frequency that the CPU will run at based on load. At idle, the system will run at P6 state. At full load, P0 state. Varying loads will float in between the two.

This leads to the up/down states (4)/(5). In (5) you can set the desired % load at that state before it will boost to the next faster P-state. In (4) you can set the desired time at that specific load up and down. But for simplicities sake for most people, just leave them alone. You can fool with those later, but for now just consider them information.



The last part to note is in section (4). You can manage the "gang" status of the cores through command line or by right clicking the K10stat icon in your system tray and choosing "control function". By "ganging" cores, you can leave them "unganged" which means they move independently of each other, "ganged (based on highest-load core)" which means they will all advance simultaneously based on the highest loaded core, and ganged based on average and lowest-load core mean same thing respective of their description. Keep in mind that they will only move according to the specified gang setting if "Enable Clock Control" is set (again through system tray icon right click).

The "Boost" checkbox basically allows the system to boost to the B0 state if checked. Otherwise it will remain at the P0 state.

- OVERCLOCKING WITH K10STAT -

So how do we overclock with this thing? When we overclock we are looking to do two things actually, find a good set of CPU frequencies from P0 to P6 state, as well as optimize for lowest frequency it will remain stable. Lowering the voltage will result in a cooler running laptop and also offer longer battery life because it's not drawing as much power. You can see from my Overclock profile vs. stock profile that I have a much higher overclock 2333MHz at not much higher voltage than stock P0 at 1800MHz. I also have my lower P-states set at much lower voltage than stock, which is where an idle or lightly used laptop sits, resulting in cooler running and less power consuming laptop. Note that K10stat must be running in order for these frequencies and voltages to be in effect. Don't worry, there is a way to get it to start up automatically and apply proper settings on startup, but we will discuss that later.



In order to ensure a stable system, now you will get to install and use all those utilities listed at the top of this post under the "OVERCLOCKING" section. Download and install the following at minimum:

- K10Stat (duh)
- HWInfo64
- HWMonitor
- Prime95

Before we get started note that every CPU is different and each type of CPU has maximum and minimum voltages, and you can not exceed these thresholds. It's unlikely you will be able to go below the minimum spec, but maximum spec may limit your maximum overclock due to voltage. To determine your maximum voltage just

Open K10Stat. Right click the system tray icon and choose "Enable Clock Control". Back in the K10Stat window pick a profile and rename if you want ("overclock" or something). We should start by picking a target *REALISTIC* P0 state. Don't jump at 3.0GHz right away, because you will fail. Start with 2.2Ghz (most Quad core Llanos, A6 and A8, can achieve this as a resonable overclock). Start with the default voltage, in my case of A8-3510mx, of 1.05V, set FID at 1 and DID at whatever it takes for your CPU to reach 2200MHz. (Hand holding advice - click the radio button next to P0 before adjusting the FID/DID). Click apply once you've set your frequency.

Ok, here we go, we're testing stability! Whee! I'll make this step by step:
- Start up Prime95 and select "In Place Large FFT". This will start a CPU torture test. (If you stop Prime95 and need to start it up again go to Options/Torture Test)
- Now watch your HWInfo64 CPU load. It should peak at 2.2GHz (or whatever you chose).
- Let Prime95 run for at least five minutes and monitor CPU temperatures using HWMonitor. Make sure they don't exceed 90C. If they do, then stop Prime95 (Hand holding tip - Pull down menu Test / Stop - just pressing the "X" close will minimize it to system tray and keep it running). If your system does not lock up, BSOD, or Prime95 doesn't error, then drop the voltage one notch. Let it run for a few minutes, make sure it doesn't lockup, reboot, BSOD, Prime95 error, etc. Continue this process until your computer actually DOES error out in Prime95, BSOD, lockup, reboot, whatever isn't normal. This means you will have to bump up the voltage a notch from where it failed. I recommend pushing it up two notches until you can validate that voltage for an extended stability test.

What temperatures are "OK?" I'd say anything below 85C is ok. 90C is actually ok, but pushing into the danger zone. Also watch HWInfo64 core activity. If all the cores drop to a lower P-state for a second or two, then your CPU is throttling. Otherwise some intermittent bouncing around of each individual core is normal. Many users have been seeing Core 3 fail before any other core. This is normal, but still cannot fail to ensure stability.

Once you've got P0 stable, move on down to P1 state. It will have to be same speed and voltage as P0 or lower. K10stat will scream at you if you violate this rule anyhow. In order to lock in P1 speeds, click each individual speed button to the right of P1 or more easily, right click the K10stat icon in your system tray, click "Lock P-state" and choose P1. You can do this while Prime95 is running if you want to just keep the system loaded. But you can also stop and start up Prime95 again. Sometimes I actually get errors by stopping and starting Prime95 due to instability, but possibly due to a lower P-state and voltage, but you can fuss with that later. Test each P-state this way for a good ten minutes minimum and watch for temperature, Prime95 errors, core activity, and of course lock-ups, reboots, etc.

You can set each p-state to whichever speed you desire, ramping up at whichever speeds you desire. I like to keep mine set pretty evenly distributed, but the choice is up to you. Most of the time they system will be running a the lowest three p-states with normal dekstop activities like websurfing, office apps, etc. Gaming and encoding or other CPU intensive tasks will likely spend most of their time at the fastest p0 state.

For lower p-states (or higher number P-states), run Prime95 for longer times only because the CPU is processing much more slowly, and can take a lot longer to reach instability. In order to test your B0 speed, which is your turbo boost speed, you will need to set your P0 state to your B0 state and test it as P0 state because you cannot lock in B0 state.

Once you've achieved overclock/volt stability it can't hurt to run Prime95 for extended periods at each P-state. I ended up running each one overnight, but that's probably overkill. If it can make it through 30 minutes you're probably golden. Also try running Prime95 in conjunction with MSI Kombustor. This will stress both the CPU and GPU simultaneously. Plus the CPU and GPU share a portion of the cooling system, it can increase CPU temps an additional amount. When running MSI Kombustor, however, be sure to select DX9, DX10, or DX11 mode otherwise it will default to OpenGL which at present time, will only utilize the integrated GPU (the one in the CPU) and not the dedicated 6750m.

Now that you have your overlock/undervolt stable, you can fuss around with the different gang settings. If you right click the K10stat icon in the taskbar you have to activate "Enable clock control" and then choose control function of unganged, and other ganged options. Best to choose them before starting a game or benchmark and check performance and temperatures to see what works best for you. Alternatively you can turn off clock control, which will allow Windows to manage control of the P-states, although as long as K10stat is running, the associated clock speeds and voltages will be in effect. How does Windows p-state control work? Here's a brief overview if you want to play.

Windows CPU p-state control can be found in your Windows Power Options. (Hand Holding Tip - Right click your battery icon in your system tray and choose Power Options, or Control Panel, hardware and sound, power options. If you haven't dabbled in the advanced settings now is the time to do so. There's lots of options to tune your PC for each power profile assigned, along with how it acts on battery or with A/C power. For now select the power option you desire (i.e. "HP Recommended", Balanced, High Performance) and choose "change plan settings". Then choose "change advanced power settings". Scroll down to "processor power management". Here you can change minimum processor state on battery or plugged in. 0% will not run your PC at lowest state, but at your slowest P-state. In my case 800MHz. 100% will set it to your fastest P-state (P0) in my example 2.2GHz. So with 7 p-states (P0 to P6) each 17% will bump up an additional p-state. So if you want your system to max out at P2 state on battery, just set it to somewhere between 68-84%.

- STARTING K10STAT WITH WINDOWS -

Ok, now that you have everything set up how you want, you probably want this thing to load up automatically with Windows right? Thankfully there is an excellent guide on starting K10stat with Windows. Read this guide carefully, and I mean carefully when doing so.

http://aspiregemstone.blogspot.com/2...processor.html

Now let me clarify a couple things since some people tend to make these mistakes, even I did.

(1) Make sure you start it "at logon" with your username. If you set it to startup "at startup" it will run before you even log in, but you WILL NOT HAVE A SYSTEM TRAY ICON for K10stat to change settings.
(2) After you make your K10stat task in Task Scheduler, be sure to set the "Start In" path to your K10stat directory under the "Actions Tab"

Now you should be set. Once you boot up your PC K10stat will be running. Personally, I have two profiles, one for gaming on my cooler for fastest performance and the other for battery and/or non-gaming to keep it cool and quiet.

[HTWingNut]

6620G BENCHMARKING RESULTS WITH DIFFERENT RAM CONFIGURATIONS

Added results in the gaming forum here at NBR, so will just link to it: AMD Llano 6620G Benchmarked with various RAM configurations


OVERCLOCKING GPU

The DV6z-6100 currently comes with an AMD Radeon HD 6750m GPU (recently replaced with 6790m) with the GPU clocked at 600MHz and 1GB GDDR5 RAM at 800MHz. There is also an integrated GPU with the AMD A4/A6/A8 CPU's designated as Radeon HD 6620G. With AMD CrossfireX or currently renamed to Dual Graphics it will utilize both the dedicated 6750m GPU along with the integrated 6620G GPU simultaneously for supposed improved performance. This works out great in theory, but mixed results in reality. It can result in "micro-stutters" where even 50 fps can look like 15 fps. So your mileage may vary. AMD continues to improve this tech through drivers, although running and overclocking only the 6750m GPU seems to render the best results. See below this section in this post for more information on CrossfireX.

Note that the integrated GPU *cannot* be overclocked. Also just for reference, you cannot currently adjust voltage on the dedicated GPU. Higher voltage typically allows for faster overclocks.

Overclocking of video cards is pretty generic, but will cover the use of MSI Afterburner. It's a great all around utility for overclocking video cards, as well as includes an on screen display (OSD) that will provide stats on your CPU and GPU in-game such as temperature, clock speed, fps, among other things. It can also take screenshots and record video.

Before trying to overclock, you will need to make sure you have an HP video driver set installed or Catalyst 12.1a (currently confirmed supported) AMD Radeon drivers. Other drivers will lock up the system.

Additionally, you will need to ensure ULPS is disabled. I'm sure you want to know what ULPS is, it's basically a power saving feature for AMD GPU's. Considering your system will use your integrated GPU except for your most intense graphics programs (mainly games), this will not affect your battery life or temperatures adversely by disabling it. But it will allow you to overclock. There are a couple ways of doing so.

(1) I have written the appropriate ULPS registry entries to enable or disable ULPS. You will need to reboot after you have updated your registry entries. It's basically a toggle, so run "ULPS_Disable.reg" and reboot and your ULPS will always be disabled until you run "ULPS_Enable.reg". Download it here (originally posted here): http://www.mediafire.com/?p3317ahjjcghpts

(2) Other option is to use Sapphire Trixx: https://www.sapphireselectclub.com/ssc/TriXX/TriXX.aspx
This program has the option to disable ULPS, requiring a reboot also, but has had mixed results.

That being said, if you haven't already done so, download and install MSI Afterburner. It also includes MSI Kombustor which is a GPU stress and benchmark utility.

Once you download and install MSI Afterburner, run it, then close it. You will do this so it creates the MSIAfterburner.cfg file in its install directory (C:\Program Files(x86)\MSI Afterburner by default). You will need to open and edit this cfg file. Once you do look for

UnofficialOverclockingEULA =
UnofficialOverclockingMode = 0

You will have to replace that with:

UnofficialOverclockingEULA = I confirm that I am aware of unofficial overclocking limitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it
UnofficialOverclockingMode = 1

Now save the file. You will have to save it elsewhere because it will not allow you to edit files in the C:\Program Files(x86) directory. After you save it elsewhere, copy / paste it back into the C:\Program Files(x86)\MSI Afterburner directory overwriting the original.

Now start up MSI Afterburner again. You should now be able to overclock your GPU.

Just move the slider for "Core Clock" (GPU) and "Memory Clock". Shader Clock will be grayed out because it's non-relevant to AMD GPU architecture. Fan speed does not work either.

I won't go much into how to overclock because there's lots of info on that, but in general, best to increase only Core first in 5-10MHz increments and test for 5-10 minutes running a stress test like MSI Kombustor. Be sure to choose DirectX 9, 10, or 11 mode though, otherwise it will default to OpenGL which runs on the IGP only. Also verify that Kombustor is utilizing your dedicated GPU. You can do this by right clicking your desktop and selecting "configure switchable graphics" and that Kombustor is set to "high performance".



MSI Kombustor will either show erratic behavior or lock up your system when it's reached or exceeded your GPU's maximum speed. Once you've determined maximum speed, reduce core back to stock speed, and do the same with the Memory speed. With RAM, MSI Kombustor will most likely show "tearing" or where you will see streaks in the 3D image. This means you're stressing it too hard. Your system can also lock up or reboot or BSOD as well.

Once you determine your maximum Memory clock set your core clock and memory clock to their maximum you determined, and test once more using MSI Kombuster, recommend minimum 30 minutes, but several hours will give more confidence.

If this works well for you, then you can save the profile by clicking "Save" at the bottom of MSI Afterburner and then choose a profile number 1 through 5. Then all you have to do is click that profile number and it will activate those speeds. You can also click the "Apply overclocking at system startup" option if you want those speeds when your computer starts.

Congrats! Now go play some games!

Now for some more advanced features. Clicking on "Settings" button at the bottom of MSI Afterburner opens up a whole world of features. But I'll just cover the On Screen Display.

Under the "Monitoring" tab, you will see "Active hardware monitoring graphs". Check the ones you want to show up in the graph of MSI Afterburner's main screen. But more importantly, select each item one at a time you want to show in the OSD during gaming and click the "Show in On-Screen Display" at the bottom. You need to click this box for every item, and it should show "in OSD" under the "Properties" field. GPU1 is your dedicated GPU. GPU2 is your IGP as is GPU3. There's no point in showing GPU3 for anything since it's just a duplicate of GPU2. Click OK.

Now you can minimize (don't close) MSI Afterburner, and it will show in the system tray if you need to open it again. when you run your games the OSD should show up with those details you chose.


CROSSFIREX (AKA CROSSFIRE / DUAL GRAPHICS)

AMD has a technology allowing you to utilize two (or more) GPU's to share the graphics calculating load that result in improved framerates. This is called CrossfireX, also known as "dual graphics" or commonly referred to as just "Crossfire". Typically the Crossfire technolgy is utilized between two same speed video cards, and previously only utilized in desktops. However AMD has come up with "asymmetrical" Crossfire allowing varying speed GPU's to share the GPU load, allowing us to use the integrated GPU (i.e. 6620G) and dedicated GPU (i.e. 6750m) for overall improved graphics performance. This sounds great in theory but is currently riddled with issues. For one, there are theories that the performance gap between both GPU's can only be so large before you have issues like "micro-stuttering", basically resulting in missed frames, making 60 fps look like 15 fps.

There are configuration files released regularly called CAP profiles which stand for Catalyst Application Profiles that set the parameters for each game or 3D app to process Crossfire appropriately. These are usually rolled into the next driver release. However AMD's driver updates have had mixed results, and some users have had to resort to combination of pre-release drivers and different CAPs for it to work. I am validating Vect's procedure where he's using 12.1 pre-release drivers along with an older 11.9 CAP profile. Feel free to try and report back your results as well.


DOWNLOADING CAP PROFILES

CAP profiles are *supposed* to be wrapped up in subsequent driver releases, however NBR user Vect noticed that installing all CAP profiles starting with 11.9 through current (as of 2/23/2012 12.1 CAP 3) it can improve crossfire performance, in other words eliminate stuttering.

CAP files can be downloaded from RAGE 3D here: http://www.rage3d.com/cap/ although they aren't real prompt on keeping them up to date. I'll try to do that here.

I also found that you can manually get the files from AMD's site using the following:

http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/catalyst_application_profiles/amd_catalyst_XX.XX_capX.exe

and obviously replace XX.XX with Catalyst version, and capX with CAP version.

Here they all are direct from AMD:

11.9 CAP 1: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c..._11.9_cap1.exe
11.9 CAP 2: Does not exist on AMD/ATI Servers ? Use the one at Rage 3D instead.
11.9 CAP 3: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c..._11.9_cap3.exe
11.9 CAP 4: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c..._11.9_cap4.exe
11.10 ---> There are no 11.10 CAPs
11.11 CAP 1: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c...11.11_cap1.exe
11.11 CAP 2: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c...11.11_cap2.exe
11.11 CAP 3: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c...11.11_cap3.exe
11.12 CAP 1: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c...11.12_cap1.exe
11.12 CAP 2: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c...11.12_cap2.exe
11.12 CAP 3: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c...11.12_cap3.exe
12.1 CAP 1: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c..._12.1_cap1.exe
12.1 CAP 2: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c..._12.1_cap2.exe
12.1 CAP 3: http://www2.ati.com/drivers/hotfix/c..._12.1_cap3.exe

[HTWingNut]

CONFIRMED HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY AND GUIDES

The intent is to list hardware upgrades users have made successfully (or unsuccessful). Feel free to include your experiences and I will link to them. More the better.

GUIDES:

How to remove the Optical Drive Bezel - clarkkent57
Getting the Fingerprint Reader to work with Firefox / Chrome - Jafar.al
Unlock / Fixed Dynamic Switchable Graphics - Imwithstupid11
Setting Custom Resolutions - HTWingNut (I wrote this a while ago but still applicable)


HARDWARE COMPATBILITY:

- SUCCESSFUL -

Hard Drives / SSD
A-DATA S510 120GB SSD - rmacgowa
Crucial M4 128GB - ColinP
OCZ Solid - H203
OCZ Agility 2 - H203
OCZ Agility 3 120GB - clarkkent57
OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-240G 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC - Jafar.al
OCZ Vertex 2 60GB - clarkkent57
Samsung SSD 830 Series 64 GB - rookietwo
Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD - HTWingNut


Optical Drive Caddies
Can be found at Amazon.com in how to remove the optical drive bezel by clarkkent57


RAM / MEMORY
Corsair 8GB (2x 4GB) 1333mhz PC3-10666 204-pin DDR3 SODIMM Laptop Memory Kit CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9 - kicker4106
G.Skill 1333MHz 2 x 4GB - HTWingNut
G.Skill 4gb 1600mhz (model 12800CL9D-4GBSQ) - R3d
G.Skill SO-DIMM 4GB PC3-12800S CL9-9-9-28 (DDR3-1600) (F3-12800CL9S-4GBSK) - 7words
G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL9D-8GBSQ - Jafar.al
Kingston KVR1333D3S9/4G ValueRAM 4GB DDR3 1333 CL9 1.5V - clarkkent57
Samsung 1600MHz 1.35W 2 x 4GB (M473B5273DH0-YK0) - HTWingNut
CORSAIR Vengeance 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 CMSX8GX3M2A1600C9 - Raven0215


WI-FI CARDS
"HP APPROVED" Wi-Fi Cards - clarkkent57

Bigfoot Killer-N 1102 Wi-Fi card - clarkkent57



- UNSUCCESSFUL -

HARD DRIVES / SSD
Corsair Force 3 (SATA III) - Too thin of a connector - H203

RAM / MEMORY
ADATA XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 DDR3 1600 AXDS1600GC4G9-2G - Jafar.al *requires BIOS support for full 1600MHz but not likely, otherwise runs at 1333MHz
Kingston HyperX PnP 1600MHz - Both ColinP and zaanton have it working only at 1333MHz CAS 8, will not run at 1600MHz.

[HTWingNut]

GAMING OPTIMIZATIONS

Battlefield 3:
(1) HTWingNut - For best performance turn off CrossFire (Dual Video Cards). Overclock GPU/CPU. Set everything in BF3 to low. Make a "user.cfg" file in your main BF3 directory with notepad and put this statement in there:

WorldRender.DxDeferredCsPathEnable 0

Save and run BF3. I'm getting 30-40 fps 1080p. CPU @ 2.4GHz, GPU @ 740/880. You can also try this by going into the game, opening the console (press ~), and typing it in. Just in the user.cfg file you don't have to type it every time you start up the game. You can also add render.drawfps 1 in the user.cfg file and it will display the framerate.

(2) rookietwo - Full screen borderless windowed mode may improve performance.

[HTWingNut]

FAQ

What battery options are there and what kind of battery life should I expect?

What are the different CPU options?

Why does my integrated GPU not show published speed (i.e. 6620G @ 444MHz)?

My dedicated GPU (i.e. 6750m, 7690m) doesn't show up in Afterburner.




--------------------------------------------------------------

What battery options are there and what kind of battery life should I expect?
There are three battery options when you order the DV6z: 6-cell, high capacity 6-cell, and 9-cell

Battery life obviously varies depending on various factors like useage (web browsing, gaming, video watching, etc), your power profile, if you have overclocked/undervolted your CPU, etc. Typically though you should expect 3-3.5 hours for 6-cell, 4 hours high capacity 6-cell, 5.5-6 hours 9-cell with "average' usage.

What are the different CPU options?
Following are the AMD CPU designators:
Prefix:
A6 - Quad Core with 6520G IGPU @ 400MHz
A8 - Quad Core with 6620G IGPU @ 444MHz

Suffix:
M - 35W TDP
MX - 45W TDP (typically most powerful of the line)

So A6-3400m is Quad Core with 6520G iGPU @ 400MHz @ 35W

Why does my integrated GPU not show published speed (i.e. 6620G @ 444MHz)?
You need to enable PowerPlay in the Catalyst Control Center under "Power" settings and set it to "Maximize Performance"


My dedicated GPU (i.e. 6750m, 7690m) doesn't show up in Afterburner.
You need to disable ULPS. See here: The Definitive DV6z Llano Overclock and Optimization Guide

Alternatively you can "prime" your 6750m by setting an app like GPU-z to using the dedicated card, then start up MSI Afterburner.

Spoiler :

[HTWingNut]

One more reserved for safe measure.

[HTWingNut]

Reserve another post what the heck.