Dell Precision 7670 & Dell Precision 7770 owner's thread

[Aaron44126]

45 minutes ago, MyPC8MyBrain said:

for this cpu family 3DMARK is reporting a score of roughly 14k as the highest, 13k is average, my system can barely reach a 9k score atm

 

I was able to get 11K in TimeSpy (without any tuning) on the Precision 7770.  This might be a case in the difference in power limits / cooling potential between the two systems...  And also between these systems and systems designed more for gaming.

 

I have not tried again since repasting and doing the loadline fix.  I don't think that it would improve much, this is a more GPU-driven test and the GPU power limit would be the main performance-limiting factor, since it doesn't come anywhere near thermal throttling territory.  (Undervolting the GPU may help nudge performance up.)

[pintie]

4 hours ago, ZN_lucky said:

 

How much do you like the 4K OLED? Looking at youtube videos, it seems quite glossy. Does it compensate for that with high enough brightness? Are you able to use it outside or if there is some light behind your back?

 

i would say i got what i expected. It really is very glossy, much more then i was used to. it is not as bright as my samsung tab s8 ultra. For indoor use its ok. outdoor not so much.

for me it still is the best display Dell offers

[MyPC8MyBrain]

anyone recorded default setup values for IA AC/DC LoadLine tweak?

[Aaron44126]

28 minutes ago, MyPC8MyBrain said:

anyone recorded default setup values for IA AC/DC LoadLine tweak?

[1610ftw]

1 hour ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

I was able to get 11K in TimeSpy (without any tuning) on the Precision 7770.  This might be a case in the difference in power limits / cooling potential between the two systems...  And also between these systems and systems designed more for gaming.

 

I have not tried again since repasting and doing the loadline fix.  I don't think that it would improve much, this is a more GPU-driven test and the GPU power limit would be the main performance-limiting factor, since it doesn't come anywhere near thermal throttling territory.  (Undervolting the GPU may help nudge performance up.)

 

Yep, most probably the power limit. The 3080 Ti will draw so much power that there isn't that much left for the CPU.

 

It is probably unreasonable to expect a regular workstation to excel with a combined CPU/GPU load when comparing it to systems that can allocate up to 250W combined for the GPU and CPU.

[ATAN]

Welp I haven't even had mine for a whole day.

The 7770 has the slot cover which makes it by far the most convenient for m.2 egpu setups but the throttling is so bad that it is worse than any zen 3/3+ based 8c mobile processors which is my bare minimum, I've side graded from a 3700x and 5700g to a worse (with e cores disabled and limited to 80w to avoid immediate heat throttling) 12950hx. I didn't even mind if it's a bit louder than my nhl9x65 cooled 5700g, who has no breathing room (~5mm gap behind GPU) so is loud af. I was hopping not having a dgpu would give enough headroom to boost past 3.5ghz consistently, wrong was I, I've been stuck at 3.25-3.375 depending on if I can keep my fans ramped. I've tested some basic mods to mess with airflow to no avail, still horrible. Power fix and underclocking helped but barely, difference between cbr23 mid 12k and mid 13k(again no ecores rn), which is right under my 5700g @ stock 65w, and that performance does not translate to every program, which only makes me want to toss this machine into the trash. It also seems like mounting pressure is uneven as hell, I've got one core hitting 100c, some in the mid 90s and two in the mid 80s. I've done two repastes with kryonaut and both performed ~2c better.

 

I'm looking at the Lenovo p16 when it comes out as it's the only other system I saw configurable without a GPU and 12950hx, whilst only having two m.2 slots that means I'd have to squeeze onto my 2tb or upgrade to a 4tb, and have the other one for my egpu.

This seems the be the next best deal, only a few hundred more than my 7770 after its %45 off.

 

If not the p16 then I'll grab one of MSIs i9 (don't remember if they offer the 12950hx) laptops even though I'd basically disable the dgpu for non travel use (90% of my usage is docked) the dgpu, but would remove the requirement for a travel egpu. Atleast I know they will keep my 12950hx cool and maybe has enough headroom to boost higher if I disable the ecores.

 

At this point I could've gotten a 5800x3d and a budget gaming laptop and been relatively fine up until I start doing alot (3-5 week+ long trips planned already, rip) of traveling next year. 

[ATAN]

To add if things had even a little upside I would try to sand down my coolers baseplate, but I have reason to believe my pcore that is 15-20c higher than my lowest at peak is on the side of the heatpipes opposite of the fans. I have little hope of even a 2c reductions after a mod that should help any cooler with mounting eveness problems.

[win32asmguy]

1 hour ago, ATAN said:

Welp I haven't even had mine for a whole day.

The 7770 has the slot cover which makes it by far the most convenient for m.2 egpu setups but the throttling is so bad that it is worse than any zen 3/3+ based 8c mobile processors which is my bare minimum, I've side graded from a 3700x and 5700g to a worse (with e cores disabled and limited to 80w to avoid immediate heat throttling) 12950hx. I didn't even mind if it's a bit louder than my nhl9x65 cooled 5700g, who has no breathing room (~5mm gap behind GPU) so is loud af. I was hopping not having a dgpu would give enough headroom to boost past 3.5ghz consistently, wrong was I, I've been stuck at 3.25-3.375 depending on if I can keep my fans ramped. I've tested some basic mods to mess with airflow to no avail, still horrible. Power fix and underclocking helped but barely, difference between cbr23 mid 12k and mid 13k(again no ecores rn), which is right under my 5700g @ stock 65w, and that performance does not translate to every program, which only makes me want to toss this machine into the trash. It also seems like mounting pressure is uneven as hell, I've got one core hitting 100c, some in the mid 90s and two in the mid 80s. I've done two repastes with kryonaut and both performed ~2c better.

 

I'm looking at the Lenovo p16 when it comes out as it's the only other system I saw configurable without a GPU and 12950hx, whilst only having two m.2 slots that means I'd have to squeeze onto my 2tb or upgrade to a 4tb, and have the other one for my egpu.

This seems the be the next best deal, only a few hundred more than my 7770 after its %45 off.

 

If not the p16 then I'll grab one of MSIs i9 (don't remember if they offer the 12950hx) laptops even though I'd basically disable the dgpu for non travel use (90% of my usage is docked) the dgpu, but would remove the requirement for a travel egpu. Atleast I know they will keep my 12950hx cool and maybe has enough headroom to boost higher if I disable the ecores.

 

At this point I could've gotten a 5800x3d and a budget gaming laptop and been relatively fine up until I start doing alot (3-5 week+ long trips planned already, rip) of traveling next year. 

You did try adjusting IA AC LoadLine values, correct? So far as I know all of the bios from Dell still have it defaulting to an incorrect value resulting in very significant CPU overvolting increasing heat and reducing performance. I think with that adjustment, a good heatsink with good contact, it should be able to hit 17k in CBR23 with no e-cores, maybe up to 18k if you win the silicon lottery. Sustained would be less, likely in the mid 16k range but it is still a good boost over what 11900hk could do at higher power limits and noise.

 

Also curious about eGPU results. I know someone had a 7760 with a Gen4 M.2 eGPU desktop 6900xt which scored over 20,000 in Timespy for comparison. With a setup with nice external displays its probably a significant frame rate boost over any mobile Nvidia chip, at decent pricing now that mining is in a dormant phase.

[ATAN]

45 minutes ago, win32asmguy said:

You did try adjusting IA AC LoadLine values, correct? So far as I know all of the bios from Dell still have it defaulting to an incorrect value resulting in very significant CPU overvolting increasing heat and reducing performance. I think with that adjustment, a good heatsink with good contact, it should be able to hit 17k in CBR23 with no e-cores, maybe up to 18k if you win the silicon lottery. Sustained would be less, likely in the mid 16k range but it is still a good boost over what 11900hk could do at higher power limits and noise.

 

Also curious about eGPU results. I know someone had a 7760 with a Gen4 M.2 eGPU desktop 6900xt which scored over 20,000 in Timespy for comparison. With a setup with nice external displays its probably a significant frame rate boost over any mobile Nvidia chip, at decent pricing now that mining is in a dormant phase.

Yeap I did the loadline fix via grub as well as the oc/uv change, it got me from the mid 12ks to the mid/high 13ks. I have yet to play with it today, I was up till 4 am messing with it.  I knew it was sunnons too the second I turned it on, it was quite quiet up until fan rpms pass the mid 2ks, then it was depressing the next 1k, not a turbo jet but definitely something that flies.

 

Scores started regressing so I figured it was sleep time. I have played with blocking the sides of the fans to force the one fan on the inside to push air only through the heatsink and the outside fan to only push air through over the m.2/ram/heatsink along with some additional foam to stop airflow from passing over the heatpipes on the topside a little more. I do need to recheck clearances again for that stuff but it did alow me to boost 100-150mhz higher for 80% of a cb run. Gunna unblock the outside fan though, I'd like to hear less violent airflow and make full use of the extra two inches of heatpipe again. May take pics if I find it's actually effective and not just time in-between tests related flukes.
 

I'm also having reason to believe for whatever reason I can't get my undervolting to apply, either that or my chip is a garbage bin, which kills me inside for the 6th pc component in a row.

 

If I find anything else inside the week that gets me atleast to 17k and performance inside of other apps and the few games I've tested on the igpu (lol, nothing a 750ti couldn't run decently) isn't horrible then I'll keep it. If not I'd really like to see if the uglier p16 can atleast run things cooler. To be honest if I could get a quiet 15k I'd probably keep it just because it's the best fit. I really wish I had the time and rnd budget to make a shell that is ~50% thicker but crammed with cooling.

 

I have a 3.0 dock on hand but I'm awaiting a new 4.0 dock(last one got dmged in shipping apparently, new one late Oct early nov), my 3.0 doesn't turn on my psu and I have killed a cute lil Rx 460 4gb with it so I'm not going to test it just to get proven lacking vs 3.0 x8 or 4.0 x4. (SATA power to 4 pin did it most likely, switched to molex and a 750ti performed w/o issue slot only power. Still a 6900xt will pull every amp the slot will give so no yolo here sir)

[Easa]

On 10/19/2022 at 6:00 PM, MyPC8MyBrain said:

Dell as far as i remember always had top notch engineering and always ahead of the curve when it comes to design, whoever signed off on this designed should be fired along with similar creepy minded executive concerned with cutting corners for their personal bonuses, that is not the good old Dell spirit I know and remember, that newly spreading mentality the past few years should be nipped at the bud.

 

Well yes but actually no. Depends what exactly you mean by "always" and "as far as i remember". Because the golden era of Dell engineering basically ended with M4800/M6800 leaving the market and even those machines had their compromises. If there was a laptop manufacturer with top notch engineering, it was Sony, but that was almost 2 decades ago. Since 2015 Dell has basically no QC at all. Yes, they have a great NBD service, but you will need it. And I am not saying that they are the bad guys, almost everyone else is even worse regarding the internal design. 

 

3 hours ago, ATAN said:

If not the p16 then I'll grab one of MSIs i9

 

Dont. If you want to keep it for more than 3 years, just dont. Take a look at ZBook Fury G9. 

[ATAN]

This video by debauer shows me something funny, when he limits the new gen processors to 90w they performs like my 12950hx out of the box at 80-90w. Interesting video notheless cuz I'm sure some of y'all here are looking at these 13900k numbers drooling. Ik i am at times.

[ATAN]

53 minutes ago, Easa said:

Dont. If you want to keep it for more than 3 years, just dont. Take a look at ZBook Fury G9. 

Okay I have seen this one before but I passed because it was hp and I've had issues with their designs and build quality over the years, I didn't realize it has near full feature parity between the 7770. It's a bit more expensive than what I paid for the dell and only a little more than the Lenovo.

 

Edit: After looking up the SSD placement, this has to be THE LEAST egpu friendly setup I've seen yet. Which puts me in between a rock and a hard place.

 

Have you seen any data on the g9s cooling ability? If it is good enough it's still better for my use cases back cover needing to be removed or not.

 

Also why 3 years specifically, warranty stuff?

[Howard N]

Is it possible that due to the power constraints and heat limitations that a system will perform for normal computations better with a lower end GPU ordered in the configuration?

[ATAN]

Just now, Howard N said:

Is it possible that due to the power constraints and heat limitations that a system will perform for normal computations better with a lower end GPU ordered in the configuration?

Nope, no dgpu here nearly same jazz.

[1610ftw]

18 minutes ago, Howard N said:

Is it possible that due to the power constraints and heat limitations that a system will perform for normal computations better with a lower end GPU ordered in the configuration?

 

You will see less limiting in higher combined CPU and GPU loads but it will probably make a lot less of a difference with CPU heavy loads. In any case the top of the line GPU choices are quite costly so you'll save a lot of money going with the RTX A1000. And if you need more GPU perfomance then the sensible thing is to stop at the RTX 4500 which already is a high performance card but a lot less costly and less power hungry than the two top cards.

[MyPC8MyBrain]

7 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

I have not tried again since repasting and doing the loadline fix

id be curious to learn where you are now on 3Dmark,
i think part of my score issues is running only one memory channel with my one 8GB stick atm,

[ATAN]

On 10/12/2022 at 5:07 PM, MyPC8MyBrain said:

no, i hear nothing i have to turn the laptop over to confirm they are spinning through slits at the bottom,

 

  

i'd guess its a placeholder to not veer from full gpu form factor and maintain unified rigidity,

what i find interesting is the cpu has the entire thermal solution to itself and its still struggling,

 

  

@keks2k i felt the same way first day or two until i got the undervolting going,
will you copy my exact undervlting setting and share your CB results?

without TM i would bet you will get to 22-23k easy,
(note that i also locked all my cores @4.7)

So I tried these with my e cores disabled, it closed the gap I was having bing consistently stuck at 13800 now I'm at 14250. No liquid metal just kryonaut. Only diff is I gave core 1/2 5ghz but it doesn't seem to affect my cb scores. With your config over my old one I held 3.55ghz for much longer, like 75% of the run compared to 20% and didn't even drop under 3.45ghz. It also scores 13500-13900 consistently on back to back runs.

 

Before the last changes I made I hit 18k @ 85/100 with everything enabled.

Will try all cores enabled later but I suspect Ill be holding 3.3ghz on the p cores.

 

My chip is likely poop quality, I have the sunnon fan heatsink n all. Maybe I'll do a third repastes to see if I can help the one core that throttles my whole machine, but only a 20-15c disparity so I doubt it'll help more. Only thing left to do heatsink wise is to try to remove material.

 

With HP saying I won't get a zbook fury g9 in my same config until a week before Christmas, I really want to part out my desktop while I have good returns but at this rate I might be waiting. Atleast the 64gb kit I got for $240 works like a charm.

 

Also did you send your system back?

 

As is this is as fast as my thermally limited 5700g desktop but for $700 it's a joke. It's like almost every non gaming i9 just throttles down to h series performance. I'd be just as good hunting for a last gen Intel laptop or a Ryzen laptop with two (or more) m.2. I'm going to give up getting anywhere close to 15-17k w/o ecores.

[MyPC8MyBrain]

@ATAN
did you apply @win32asmguy loadline tweak?

[ATAN]

36 minutes ago, MyPC8MyBrain said:

@ATAN
did you apply @win32asmguy loadline tweak?

Yeap that's what got me out of the 12ks. I am tempted to go and check what it says they are set to, I do have a SS of when I did it and it's identical to others I found on this thread but still I kinda yoloed them in without even checking to see if it would be diff for my system.

 

On another note:

I didn't realize Asus Has the Expertbook b6, maybe it'll do better, plus the Hp zbook fury g9 I'm looking to order says it might not be ready until the end of the year, plus it's a pain to access for egpu purposes, a whole process.

 

I'm at the point of looking at amd laptops now.. hooray for 0 performance gains (7770 12950hx w/o ecores has officially hit parity with my 5700g when oc/thermally throttling! And 6900hs laptops! 🙃😭)

[MyPC8MyBrain]

i was able to reach 24.6k with kryonaut only,
granted i do allot of other tweaking to the system,
do you monitor your temps during CB runs, are you throttling?

[ATAN]

1 hour ago, MyPC8MyBrain said:

i was able to reach 24.6k with kryonaut only,
granted i do allot of other tweaking to the system,
do you monitor your temps during CB runs, are you throttling?

Hah it throttles immediately if i let it(give it more than 80-90w to pl2, each time ive re-pasted I notice the mount seems to be one sided, which might also explain my 15-20c spread between my hottest two cores that end up making the system throttle. Yea i watch my temps, clocks, and what is limiting my chip each run religiously.

 

[MyPC8MyBrain]

the way you put the heat pipe part pack in place after repasting is key for a good even spread,
here is how I go about it...
carefully move the part into place but keep it an inch above the board,

locate your screws and align them to the board screw holes than gently place the part in place,

make sure all screws are perfectly aligned,
with one hand place gentle pressure on the cpu plate,

when I say gentle I mean gentle as you don't want to put pressure on the board just to hold the part in place,

next step is key,
screw the heat pipes screws slowly counter clock wise until you hear a click then stop,

that click is the screw jumping out of its thread as its being screwed outwards,
with your hand keeping gentle pressure,
go around from 1 to 8 and perform the same step stopping exactly at the click for each screw,

do not move your plate holding hand or change the pressure,
this will position every screw perfectly ready to be threaded back in,

next go around each screw from 1 to 8 and turn/thread each screw a 1/4 turn in

(keeping the gentle pressure on the cpu plate until the process is complete),
than rinse and repeat... keep turning a 1/4 turn for each screw in its turn until they are all fully threaded in and tightened,
by the end you have slowly lowered the plate into contact as even as possible,

after the 8 main screws are in place put the 4 fans screws in any order you like, 

(note that when initially positioning the plate it is high enough that any paste on it should not be touching yet until the plate is fully lowered)

 

I use painters tape around the gpu and cpu during pasting phase (before marrying the top plate), 
I don't just put a spot in the center I actually spread the paste evenly on both the cpu and gpu silicon die, I use a generous amount but not too much, just enough to get an even coverage without being "cheap", I than remove the tape from around the cpu and gpu so i get a clean paste area ready to be mounted, 

[ATAN]

1 hour ago, MyPC8MyBrain said:

the way you put the heat pipe part pack in place after repasting is key for a good even spread,
here is how I go about it...
carefully move the part into place but keep it an inch above the board,

locate your screws and align them to the board screw holes than gently place the part in place,

make sure all screws are perfectly aligned,
with one hand place gentle pressure on the cpu plate,

when I say gentle I mean gentle as you don't want to put pressure on the board just to hold the part in place,

next step is key,
screw the heat pipes screws slowly counter clock wise until you hear a click then stop,

that click is the screw jumping out of its thread as its being screwed outwards,
with your hand keeping gentle pressure,
go around from 1 to 8 and perform the same step stopping exactly at the click for each screw,

do not move your plate holding hand or change the pressure,
this will position every screw perfectly ready to be threaded back in,

next go around each screw from 1 to 8 and turn/thread each screw a 1/4 turn in

(keeping the gentle pressure on the cpu plate until the process is complete),
than rinse and repeat... keep turning a 1/4 turn for each screw in its turn until they are all fully threaded in and tightened,
by the end you have slowly lowered the plate into contact as even as possible,

after the 8 main screws are in place put the 4 fans screws in any order you like, 

(note that when initially positioning the plate it is high enough that any paste on it should not be touching yet until the plate is fully lowered)

 

I use painters tape around the gpu and cpu during pasting phase (before marrying the top plate), 
I don't just put a spot in the center I actually spread the paste evenly on both the cpu and gpu silicon die, I use a generous amount but not too much, just enough to get an even coverage without being "cheap", I than remove the tape from around the cpu and gpu so i get a clean paste area ready to be mounted, 

Thanks for the walkthrough, I'll repastes here shortly. I managed to get a 15k and 14800 back to back after walking away. Now I've been hitting it about every 3 mins trying out different wattages to see how far I can undervolt and oh boy has it been alot lower. Now currently I doubt it's too stable for games but I'm getting 14500s out of 75w pl1/2 -160mv core and -110mv on the cache, the cache giving the most gain. It's at the point where it won't throttle during the run, I have noticed as it climbs in temp it does gradually drop 80mhz, I'm guessing it's losing efficiency to heat at that point. But it's sticking around 3600mhz rn. If I can get it to 3750mhz I suspect Ill be around 15500k which will be statifactory and I'll keep it. That is if I can get that high at around 75w.

 

I really want to know what the sweet spot is for this cooler before I hit thermal limits. I'm guessing it's between 60-70w because it takes a decent time to soak at 75w. 55w sounds about right hx wise tho.

 

Edit, -175/-125 14715 n still climbing. Almost at the point where I can give it back a little wattage, maybe 77w.

 

Edit: -180/-130 14800 is the undervolting wall for cbr23 atleast. Gave it 77w and it can do 3700mhz for most of a run but I'm pushing it too hard and it crashes at like 99.5%. Then I'll do one last run for the night after repasting.

[ATAN]

2 hours ago, MyPC8MyBrain said:

the way you put the heat pipe part pack in place after repasting is key for a good even spread,
here is how I go about it...
carefully move the part into place but keep it an inch above the board,

locate your screws and align them to the board screw holes than gently place the part in place,

make sure all screws are perfectly aligned,
with one hand place gentle pressure on the cpu plate,

when I say gentle I mean gentle as you don't want to put pressure on the board just to hold the part in place,

next step is key,
screw the heat pipes screws slowly counter clock wise until you hear a click then stop,

that click is the screw jumping out of its thread as its being screwed outwards,
with your hand keeping gentle pressure,
go around from 1 to 8 and perform the same step stopping exactly at the click for each screw,

do not move your plate holding hand or change the pressure,
this will position every screw perfectly ready to be threaded back in,

next go around each screw from 1 to 8 and turn/thread each screw a 1/4 turn in

(keeping the gentle pressure on the cpu plate until the process is complete),
than rinse and repeat... keep turning a 1/4 turn for each screw in its turn until they are all fully threaded in and tightened,
by the end you have slowly lowered the plate into contact as even as possible,

after the 8 main screws are in place put the 4 fans screws in any order you like, 

(note that when initially positioning the plate it is high enough that any paste on it should not be touching yet until the plate is fully lowered)

 

I use painters tape around the gpu and cpu during pasting phase (before marrying the top plate), 
I don't just put a spot in the center I actually spread the paste evenly on both the cpu and gpu silicon die, I use a generous amount but not too much, just enough to get an even coverage without being "cheap", I than remove the tape from around the cpu and gpu so i get a clean paste area ready to be mounted, 

Yooooooooo it worked, dropped ~10c off my hottest cores. I used nth2 this time due to the run off with the kryo. Plus I'd likely peg this thing to 90s under load so no kryo.

 

This really makes me think my aio cooled 6900xt could use a 3rd repasting too, though getting even contact is impossibly time consuming ass I'm using 4 m2.5 bolts to secure the block to the die. Still that has bigger issues than mount quality, it's a 280mm rad with two 120mm slim noctuas.

[Leopurd]

18 hours ago, ZN_lucky said:

 

How much do you like the 4K OLED? Looking at youtube videos, it seems quite glossy. Does it compensate for that with high enough brightness? Are you able to use it outside or if there is some light behind your back? Is the touchscreen working with linux?

 

Thank you for any insights on this.

 

I really like it for its sharpness, colours and contrast. It is quite reflective. Comparing it side by side with a 2014 Macbook Pro with its glossy display, the 7670 is more reflective.

 

Because I run as many applications as possible in Dark mode, it is especially noticeable how reflective it is. On a white background application I don't really notice it at all, and would keep the brightness to a level comfortable to my eyes in the conditions. In Dark mode even maxing out the brightness reduces the reflection somewhat, but is still there.

 

That said, having worked on glossy laptop displays before with my personal MBP, I get used to it and "ignore" the reflection and not focus my eyes on it.

 

I have not yet used it outdoors to see how useable that is.

 

I don't use linux so don't know if/how the touchscreen works on that. I've never used a touchscreen in a laptop before and don't think I will; would rather keep the display spotless at all times.