Extras

Overclocking 7800GTX Go

The 7800GTX Go does not overclock as easy as any other card you’ve used before. Try overclocking with the Nvidia controll panel, powerstrip you name it, the clocks don’t stick. As soon as you click “ok” the clocks go back to default. Dell clocks all their cards incredibly low to make their “gaming laptops” seem that much better. In order to overclock you 7800GTX Go to the same speed at its desktop equivalent (430/1200 done with ease) you will need to flash the video card’s BIOS. Here is what you will need to do:

Step 1
Download this file and burn the .ISO to a CD

Step 2
Restart and boot from the CD (press F12 at Dell logo)

Step 3
Hit enter to select the first option when prompted, then hit enter again to select 'OK' when it gives you the next prompt. The disk will then automatically bring you to an 'R-drive' prompt. Once you’re there type:

dir/w

All of the possible core overclocks will now be listed in 5MHz increments from core of 425 to 525 with four memory clock speeds: 1100, 1150, 1200, and 1250. The first number is the desired core clock while the second number is the desired memory clock. Once you have decided what clocks you want (ie: 430C1200) simply type this: (Numbers can be swapped based on desired clocks. Be modest.)

nvflash 430C1200.ROM

Or whatever filename that represents the speed you want to try. nvflash will pop up and ask if you really want to do it, you press "Y" and wait.

You can choose from any of the 40 ROM files. I HIGHLY suggest that you do not go over the clocks stated in my examples. Be VERY careful when choosing your clocks. If a clock is too high and the card can’t handle it, it will freeze during the BIOS flash and you’ll have yourself a nice 7800GTX Go paperweight. This card is very capable of reaching the stock clocks of a desktop 7800GTX Go, but anything higher is a VERY big risk.

Once you have flashed your card’s BIOS, reboot and go enjoy some of the latest games in all their glory.

AS5 GPU

This is not a must, but for those who are serious about overclocking your GPU it is suggested that you apply AS5 in order to further cool your videocard.

NHCPU

Notebook Hardware Control is a very handy utility and is a MUST if you own an i9300. Those of you that have done the Pinmod but aren’t Prime95 stable can increase the voltage in small increments until stability is achieved. Those with stock CPU’s can undervolt to achieve lower temps.

By default, Dell sets all their hard drives to “power saving mode” which keeps temps down, saves on battery, and might even prolong the life of the drive. This also makes the drive much slower and for gamers it causes stuttering as every time your pagefile needs to be accessed the HDD must turn on and start spinning. For those of you that want your HDD running “full speed” the way it should be, Notebook Hardware Control allows you to adjust the power management of your HDD, letting you run your HDD the way it should be, full blast and stutter-free in games.

i9kfangui

Yet another must have for i9300 owners. This program reads the temp of just about every component you can think of. Not to mention it gives you full Control of your notebook’s fans. There is also the option of running your fans “full blast” which is not the most silent method of cooling your laptop, but will definitely bring your temps way down and at the same time. Which will allow you to overclock that GPU a tad higher, or just eliminate some artifacting if you’ve already pushed you card as far as it can go.

i9kfangui