[D_Mon]

hi guys,

i was wondering if it has been figured out how to overclock te VIA processors in the 2133? i have never seen any info about it. if it is possible, how are the results in a 1.2ghz system overclocked to 1.6ghz? does it perform as well as the normal 1.6ghz 2133? does it have the same battery life as the shipped 1.6ghz model? any info on this subject please let me know. i am having such a hard time choosing a mini-note model! a 1.2ghz 2133 is HALF the price of a 2140. and it has the better screeen. but i only want that so as to be able to play back 720p video. can the 1.6ghz model even handle that when correctly configured ( codecs, media player classic, etc )? the main problem is that i want a mini-note NOW. i´ve waited for a long time. i know the HD version of the 2140 will be able to do everything i want.......but i cant wait! *sigh*

forgive my rant. please let me know if you have any info.

kind regards,

darius

[gregw]

I don't think there is any way to overclock the CPU in the 2133. In addition, due to the inherent heat issues with the 2133, I doubt very much that you should do this even if you do find a way.

Trying to get any Netbook to playback 720P video flawlessly is probably not a good idea. I've had only occasional luck in getting 720P video to play back smoothly on my 1.6Ghz 2133 as well as my 2140. The 2140 appearing to have a slight edge over the 1.6Ghz 2133..

Smooth playback really depends on the Codec/compression used in the 720P video. For example, the Transformer 720P trailer available here plays back fine in KMPlayer in SuperSpeed mode, but the video will actually lag behind audio if in normal mode. On the other hand, the "Adrenaline Rush" 720P video from here will stutter, even on SuperSpeed mode in KMPlayer, on both the 2133 and 2140. This is possibly due to the less efficient codec used in the WMV video.

BTW, if you use KMPlayer to playback 720P video, it makes no difference if the screen you have is the 1280x800 or 1024x600 screen on the 2133. Going to full screen simply stretches/shrinks the video to occupy the whole screen.

[extragoode]

This was sort of discussed in the CPU swap thread. Almost nobody ever overclocks laptops because, like gregw said, the cooling solution is just barely designed to handle the current amount of heat. Adding more heat to an already struggling cooling solution will only lead to problems of one sort or another.

[Evil_Genius]

Originally Posted by gregw

I don't think there is any way to overclock the CPU in the 2133. In addition, due to the inherent heat issues with the 2133, I doubt very much that you should do this even if you do find a way.

D_Mon specifically mentioned he has the 1.2 Ghz model. The cooling solutions on the various models are IDENTICAL. So overclocking his 1.2 to 1.6 will only put at the top end of what HP is already selling as stock.

Originally Posted by extragoode

Almost nobody ever overclocks laptops

The endless nay saying on this forum is growing quite tiresome.

"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."
-- George Bernard Shaw

Not knowing how to do something is fine. Telling others they shouldn't do it because you haven't figured out how to do it yet is not.

Suggestions sent to D_Mon in PM.
The Haters can stay at stock speeds.

[luvit]

Evil_Genius, i'm interested in seeing the suggestions posted in this thread (:

i own a 1.6 Ghz, but know i would be considering overclocking if I owned the 1.2 ghz... i may still benefit from these suggestions, even on a different platform.

[daniel.azy]

i'd be keen on a overclocking possibility too. 1.2ghz model here, would love to get to 1.6ghz while running on ac power!

[extragoode]

I never said it couldn't be done, just that most people decide not to given the tradeoffs in battery life and limited options for cooling. If you want to do it, go ahead and do it, I don't care if you break your box! Some of the heat and power issues were discussed in length in a CPU swap thread on here a while back.

Now to continue the naysaying, while the cooling system may be the same on the 1.0, 1.2 and 1.6GHz machines, it was discussed in that CPU swap thread that processors are different silicon with largely different TDPs. IIRC the 1.0 and 1.2 are ULV processors and the 1.6 is a LV processor. That doesn't necessarily stop anybody from overclocking them, but the voltage would most definitely have to be boosted to get the 1.2 stable at 1.6 and that may very well produce MORE heat at load than the stock 1.6.

That's to say you can ever get the clock changed in the first place. I only see two options here. First, a hacked/reverse engineered third party bios. This bios would need to have at least cpu multiplier modification or system bus frequency modification and as mentioned above probably CPU voltage modification. Seeing as how there are yet to be decent third party Linux graphics drivers for this platform (a wholly different endeavor, admittedly, but infinitely more useful to many more people) I highly doubt there's a working one somewhere out there or even someone working on any bios for this platform aside from HP. I haven't looked, but if you choose to try this route, I wouldn't hold your proverbial breath.

The other possibility is exposed resisters or pins. Back in the socket A athlon days there were tricks to change the voltage that was applied to the chip and frequency multiplier by connecting or disconnecting exposed resister traces on the top of the chip next to the actual silicon. I haven't looked at the C7 chips, but if I was building a super small, fixed CPU motherboard, I wouldn't waste any space around the CPU with anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. Another form of this is shorting different pins of the socket. Again, I haven't seen the CPU fixed in the motherboard or a pinout for this CPU, but given that people have reported that the CPU is surface mounted, I'm guessing that if anything you can only get to the outside row of pins and the ones that control multiplier and voltage are usually towards the middle of the socket for whatever reason.

Honestly, good luck. I hope your machine still works when you get back from your mission. Then again you can just tell HP it overheated (which'll probably be true) and the motherboard's dead (also true, but not by any fault of the equipment) and have it replaced under warranty.

[mikez]

Since the C7M has programmable voltage - - start with the public source here:
linux-<release>/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/cpufreq/e_powersaver.c
(it does not use the BIOS)
Enjoy. You'll likely smoke your machine.

[Nidstyles]

You could alway's just use SetFSB. All you would need to know is the clock generator number, and the PLL address information. I'm sure both are quite easily obtainable though. I'm still waiting on my 2133 to arrive, but I should be able to figure it out easily enough...

The Asus N10 crowd had the programmer of SetFSB add their clock generator, and PLL info, so I don't see why the user's here couldn't do the same.

I have the 1.2Ghz model on the way. I bought it primarily for the price, and I plan on using the HD screen for another project I have in the work's. I don't see any issue's with putzing around with the machine before I gut it.

[mikez]

The C7-M silicon core clock multiplier is on-chip. As is the FSB multiplier.
The base clock (provided by the motherboard) is 100Mhz.
The FSB multiplier is hardwired to either 1x or 2x the base clock depending on model.
The FSB (in-silicon) driver is a quad-phase driver - giving the models either a 400Mhz or 800Mhz FSB.
The core clock multiplier is settable from 4x to 25x the base clock - but the multipliers that
would yield a higher than rated core clock are masked off in silicon - leaving you 4x to chip-max.
- - - -
The above is chapter and verse from the VIA Tech, C7-M Technical Datasheet ---
Soon to be released from NDA, just any day, RSN - - according to VIA - - that means in our life-time, maybe.