Help Overclocking i7 920 OEM computer!

[Guest]

Ok, so I recently purchased an Acer M7720 that was at Micro Center for 650$. It looked like a really great deal because it came with an i7 920 and an X58 so I was planning to upgrade and overclock the hell out of it. However, the BIOS is absolutely terrible and has virtually no changeable options, you can't even check any voltage controls so no overclocking. I just bought liquid coolers, a 2gb 5850, and an SSD, so I don't want to spend another 200$ dollars on an overclocking motherboard. My motherboard is the FX58m which is similar to the gateway fx 6800s motherboards which I've also found out have *** BIOS's. Please let me know if there are any BIOS mods that let you change BCLK, or if there is any OCing software that can get me to at least 3.2ghz.

Thanks for your help in advance

 

[Guest]

Anyone got any help?

 

[henydiah]

Overclocking has a lot of risks. First you have to understand that if you overclock, you may lose your computer! But if you are willing to continue you need adequate cooling and since it is pre-built i doubt they put a cooler that can keep the chip cool under OC. And if your BIOS doesn't have the option it is becasuse it doesn't support OC. I also had an acer onde and i used a program called setFSB (something like that) and i found my PLL which allowed overclocking. Secondly, you won't be able to change voltages so you won't be able to OC very much and you will have to OC every time you log in windows. But i don't know how to overclock i7's so i'm afraid i can't help you more. But you could also get a new mobo that supports OC, some ROG mobos overclock by themselves

www.user-guides.co.uk/.../acer/acerm7720/acer-m7720-unlock-bios-overclocking.html

 

[Twoboxer]

OEM vendors like Acer, Dell, gateway, HP generally do not give you BIOSs with overclocking ability. In fact, they give you very few things you can change.

Why? Because they have to warranty and handle customer calls. Last thing they want is you screwing with BIOS and then calling them for help, or you telling them their cpu melted and you had nothing to do with it.

If you want to OC, you need to buy a new mobo. But that's not all. If the chip sets and drivers aren't identical, you could have trouble using the OS on your existing "C" drive. Its also likely you have no OS disk. Your Recovery Disk cannot do a true fresh install; it just lays down a copy of the OS shipped with your PC.

Your tab to go that route is probably closer to $300. That's why we build, not buy.

 

[Guest]

Ahh man, ok so like do you think that if I purchased an Asus rampage iii gene I would be fine, or is it possible for me to get 3.2ghz with a program like setFSB?

 

[Twoboxer]

Presumably your PC has a full size ATX mobo . . . not a BTX mobo (totally different board arrangement) or a mATX (smaller mobo). If so, the new mobo solves the BIOS issue.

An OEM copy of Win7 for $100 may be necessary - however, you could try to borrow a copy of Win7 and use your existing license key. Microsoft may allow you to do this (re-authorize) because you had to replace your mobo, and you are under no obligation to use the same old technology

Sorry, I have no idea what you can achieve - if anything - with a program like setFSB.

 

[Ubrales]

^1 Twoboxer!

 

[whackk]

Best answer selected by whackk.