Overclock for a little bit more performance

liverpoolchety__

Bronze Level Poster
Hi guys,
Here's the machine I ordered back in 2023:
Chassis & Display
Recoil Series: 16" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24 Core Processor 13900HX (5.4GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 4800MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4080 - 12.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Recoil Series Integrated 99WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
LIQUID METAL PERFORMANCE COOLING
Sound Card
Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
RECOIL 16 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
I wonder, is there a way to overclock it to increase performance just a little bit.
I am video editor and sometimes this machine feels really slow.
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
You could probably overclock it, but the extra heat caused by that overclock would then cause the CPU to throttle, and you'd lose any overclock (and more) you'd applied.

Has the laptop been maintained properly...i.e. has it been dusted and repasted regularly (although not sure liquid metal needs repasting)?

What temps are you seeing whilst in use?

Are you running everything off that single SSD?
 

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Hi guys,
Here's the machine I ordered back in 2023:
Chassis & Display
Recoil Series: 16" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24 Core Processor 13900HX (5.4GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 4800MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4080 - 12.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Recoil Series Integrated 99WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
LIQUID METAL PERFORMANCE COOLING
Sound Card
Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
RECOIL 16 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
I wonder, is there a way to overclock it to increase performance just a little bit.
I am video editor and sometimes this machine feels really slow.
It's worth noting that, as a DTR rather than a laptop, the Recoil requires an external liquid cooler to operate at its full capability.

Overclocking without proper cooling is pointless; in fact, it degrades performance, as good @TonyCarter pointed out.

The single channel RAM was also not an appropriate choice.

You should remove Norton as soon as possible because it only slows down your PC.


Last but not least, if you have not set adequate power limits through the CC, you will already be facing significant thermal throttling on that CPU.
 
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SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
100% with a 4080 that laptop HAS to be used with a watercooler or you'll get major throttling on both the GPU and CPU

You can't overclock a laptop, they just don't have the thermal room to be able to do so. You can undervolt it which may maximise temps

Also though, you had norton installed which will bork general performance. If you've uninstalled it through the normal windows method, that doesn't actually uninstall it, you have to use the official uninstaller tool.

And as @TonyCarter very rightly says, if you're doing editing off one drive, that's going to be a huge bottleneck.
 

liverpoolchety__

Bronze Level Poster
It's worth noting that, as a DTR rather than a laptop, the Recoil requires an external liquid cooler to operate at its full capability.

Overclocking without proper cooling is pointless; in fact, it degrades performance, as good @TonyCarter pointed out.

The single channel RAM was also not an appropriate choice.

You should remove Norton as soon as possible because it only slows down your PC.


Last but not least, if you have not set adequate power limits through the CC, you will already be facing significant thermal throttling on that CPU.
Thanks for the reply.
So a better choice will be to buy another piece of 32GB of RAM and also a water cooler.
By the way I don't have Norton on the PC, since I ordered it w/o pre-installed OS.
I see it now, how the CPU throttles to about 3,2 gHz, which is kinda weird.
I couldn't understand the last part with the power limits. Can you explain a bit more.

Thanks
 

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Thanks for the reply.
So a better choice will be to buy another piece of 32GB of RAM and also a water cooler.
By the way I don't have Norton on the PC, since I ordered it w/o pre-installed OS.
I see it now, how the CPU throttles to about 3,2 gHz, which is kinda weird.
I couldn't understand the last part with the power limits. Can you explain a bit more.

Thanks
Hi again,

RAM: Actually, it would be best to purchase another 64GB kit (2x32), such as Corsair, at higher frequency (5600Mhz is the maximum supported by the 13900HX) because PCS one is not exactly the state of the art in terms of quality and reliability.
At the moment your RAM is operating at 2400Mhz.

Power Limits: Have you installed the Control Center? That MANDATORY app allows you to manage the entire system (CPU/GPU PLs, Fan Control, RGBs, Tcc offset, and many other important features). The latest version for your Laptop should be the 5.9.49.16.
You should find it in your orders page or you can ask the download link to PCS directly.
I'm pretty sure you're running without any power limits, thus thermal throttling is sure like the death.
 
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liverpoolchety__

Bronze Level Poster
Hi again,

RAM: Actually, it would be best to purchase another 64GB kit (2x32), such as Corsair, at higher frequency (5600Mhz is the maximum supported by the 13900HX) because PCS one is not exactly the state of the art in terms of quality and reliability.
At the moment your RAM is operating at 2400Mhz.

Power Limits: Have you installed the Control Center? That MANDATORY app allows you to manage the entire system (CPU/GPU PLs, Fan Control, RGBs, Tcc offset, and many other important features). The latest version for your Laptop should be the 5.9.49.16.
You should find it in your orders page or you can ask the download link to PCS directly.
I'm pretty sure you're running without any power limits, thus thermal throttling is sure like the death.
Just order (2x32GB) Corsair RAM and will see how that will change performance. I have checked in CPU-Z the current RAM frequency and in the D-RAM section it says 2396, which doesn't seem good I guess.
 

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Just order (2x32GB) Corsair RAM and will see how that will change performance. I have checked in CPU-Z the current RAM frequency and in the D-RAM section it says 2396, which doesn't seem good I guess.
Yes, that's correct because your RAM operates on a single channel. :)
 

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Yeah I did, it is 5.1.x.x.x version.
That's the initial release, I believe.
Ask PCS if they have a newer version; otherwise, install that one.

Once installed, you will need to run several tests to find the best balance of performance and temperature, adjusting the power limits based on your requirements.
 
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Paul1964

Silver Level Poster
I was going to wade in on this one but you guys have covered everything.

Norton - not much better than malware these days. Glad you don't have it. It was good many years ago but has been hit by the phenomenon described in this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
Water-cooling - an absolute must for your use case. Make sure you get the cooler for your specific device from PCS.
RAM - I'm running 4800 too so might upgrade to 5600. I concur regarding dual channel, etc.
Storage - Get a second SSD - a large fast one like the Samsung 990 Pro you already have then research how to split app and work files across them for best performance. Yes, the 990 Pro is fast but you're leaving performance on the table by just running a single drive.

Your laptop is a beast but is being held back quite a bit by your configuration. There's a lot more performance to be had from it once you've done what the guys suggest.
 

liverpoolchety__

Bronze Level Poster
I was going to wade in on this one but you guys have covered everything.

Norton - not much better than malware these days. Glad you don't have it. It was good many years ago but has been hit by the phenomenon described in this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
Water-cooling - an absolute must for your use case. Make sure you get the cooler for your specific device from PCS.
RAM - I'm running 4800 too so might upgrade to 5600. I concur regarding dual channel, etc.
Storage - Get a second SSD - a large fast one like the Samsung 990 Pro you already have then research how to split app and work files across them for best performance. Yes, the 990 Pro is fast but you're leaving performance on the table by just running a single drive.

Your laptop is a beast but is being held back quite a bit by your configuration. There's a lot more performance to be had from it once you've done what the guys suggest.
Thanks Paul, I have just changed the RAM and I don't know if the frequency is as it should be. I'll attach photo from CPU-Z.
I have installed the second SSD once I bought the machine.
 

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liverpoolchety__

Bronze Level Poster
That's the initial release, I believe.
Ask PCS if they have a newer version; otherwise, install that one.

Once installed, you will need to run several tests to find the best balance of performance and temperature, adjusting the power limits based on your requirements.
Those are the only settings I have in the control center app.
Maybe I have to tweak something in the BIOS?
 

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Paul1964

Silver Level Poster
Thanks Paul, I have just changed the RAM and I don't know if the frequency is as it should be. I'll attach photo from CPU-Z.
I have installed the second SSD once I bought the machine.
It's explained here: https://www.howtogeek.com/801842/why-is-my-ram-reporting-half-its-speed/

Put simply, it's reporting the correct frequency. DDR means Double Data Rate which means there are 2 transfers for every clock cycle (one for the uptick and another for the downtick), which in your case gives a RAM speed of 5586, just shy of 5600.
 

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Those are the only settings I have in the control center app.
Maybe I have to tweak something in the BIOS?
If I'm not mistaken, Control Center settings will be saved in the BIOS. Am I correct, @SpyderTracks ?

PL1/PL2/PL4 values are insane, no surprise about thermal throttling :LOL:

Try something like this to begin:
Enable Temp Limit - 85c (or anything below 90c)
PL1 55, PL2 60-63, PL4 115 (even lower)
Deactivate - Enable Automatic GPU Overboost
Fan Switch Speed - much lower than that

Considering that @Paul1964 has your very same laptop, he could suggest more suitable PLs than me :LOL:

Download some stress test software (e.g., Prime 95, AIDA64, Cinebench, OCCT, Furmark) and monitoring software (e.g., HWiNFO/HWMonitor) and run them for at least 10 minutes while reviewing CPU/GPU values. Then adjust according to the results.
 
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