Radeon HD 8850M to Radeon HD 8870M
Radeon HD 8850M to Radeon HD 8870M
Hello, everyone! Today I purchased a new laptop, the Dell Inspiron 3537, featuring a dual-core Haswell Core i7 4500U processor, a powerful AMD Radeon HD 8850M with 2GB GDDR5, 8GB DDR RAM, and an 1 TB HDD. The 8850M has a base clock speed of 575MHz, while the 8870M runs at 725MHz. I’m wondering if it’s possible to overclock the 8850M up to 8870M speed and see if performance improves. What impact would this have on temperature, and which cooling pad would be best? P.S. The Radeon 8850M and 8870M are essentially the same graphics card, but they differ in core clock speeds.
Hi Suliq,
I received the same laptop you did and have overclocked my card.
😀
It's running at 800Mhz core clock and everything is working well. Even after long sessions of playing Grid 2 at ultra settings, the temperature stays around 75°C.
Check this out: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/9u8df/
Sure, you can overclock without too many problems since the 8850M GDDR5 is actually an underclocked 8870M. Just keep an eye on temperature, which will be a bit higher, but it should still be safe with proper cooling.
I own an Inspiron 15R-5537 that matches those specs. I successfully increased the core speed to 725 MHz and the memory to 1125 MHz. The temperatures stayed below 65 ºC, and it has functioned well for six months without any issues. A few adjustments using MSI Afterburner and Speedfan were needed—it's a bit of effort but worth it. If you're interested, let me know via a private message. Just remember, I'm not liable for any problems that might occur with your laptop, even though they’re unlikely.
@chiku181 The highest stable core speed I can reach is 750 MHz, though it isn't perfectly consistent. Occasionally the screen freezes and I have to switch tabs to continue playing. Going above 750 MHz causes the game to freeze and shows an error message saying the driver stopped working. It only works properly when lowering back to 750 MHz or below. I don’t recommend pushing 800 MHz on the core or 1400 MHz on memory, as it could harm the GPU over time.
You can overclock without too many problems since the 8850M GDDR5 is an underclocked 8870M. Just keep an eye on temperature, which will be a bit higher, but it should still be safe with proper cooling. I used an Inspiron 15R-5537 with the same specs and successfully increased the core to 725 MHz and memory to 1125 MHz. The temperature stayed below 65 ºC for six months without any issues. A little tweaking with MSI Afterburner and Speedfan helped, though it required some effort. If you're interested, let me know via a private message. Just remember, I’m not liable for any problems that might occur.
Notice those slow clocks due to power-saving functions (AMD PowerPlay). When the system is idle or the GPU isn't in use much, clocks and PCI-E bandwidth are reduced, and the iGPU is activated to save battery and lower heat production.
However, when you run a render test pushing the GPU to full performance, the clocks quickly increase to 625 MHz on the core and 1000 MHz on memory—the standard settings.
It's quite straightforward to overclock this Radeon HD 8850M GDDR5 chip and essentially upgrade it to an 8870M, just a small effort is needed. I'll share a detailed tutorial via PM later, including the necessary apps, files, and adjustments. Please wait a moment as I've been busy recently.
The low clock speeds you notice are due to power-saving settings like AMD PowerPlay. When the system is idle or the GPU isn’t heavily used, clocks and PCI-E bandwidth drop, and the iGPU is activated to save battery and reduce heat. However, during a render test pushing the GPU to full performance, clocks quickly jump back to 625 MHz on the core and 1000 MHz on memory—the standard values.
It’s quite simple to overclock the Radeon HD 8850M GDDR5 chip and turn it into something like the 8870M. Just a few adjustments are needed. I’ll share a detailed tutorial with the necessary apps, files, and tweaks via PM later. Please wait a bit as I’ve been busy recently.
Thanks a lot! I experimented with tools like GPU clock tool, but it keeps saying “no device detected.” It seems the setup isn’t working yet, or maybe I’m not using it correctly. This is my first time overclocking, and I haven’t done it before. I also installed MSI Afterburner, tried boosting MHz, then used GPU-z to check, but it still shows 300MHz. I recently got a Dell 3537 i7 Intel 4500 8850M GDDR5 with Windows 8 installed, planning an update to 8.1 later.
Here is the rewritten version at your requested length and structure:
So, after several assurances, I’ll demonstrate how to modify and convert it into an 8870m setup. Let’s proceed:
1-Download and install the most recent MSI Aterburner software from the provided link: http://download.msi.com/uti_exe/vga/MSIA...Beta19.zip
2-Download the atiocdll.zip file, which includes the necessary libraries and MSIAfterburner.cfg (these files are guaranteed to be clean): https://mega.co.nz/#!2cUllKyI!jTT03nLL5-...KF56FEJ6lw and https://mega.co.nz/#!yFs0jLCJ!lp6WJBDy2-...6IIG1tu564
3-After installing MSI Afterburner, launch the application and close it. Then navigate to the installation directory (typically "C:\Program Files (x86)\MSI Afterburner") and replace the existing MSIAfterburner.cfg file with the one you’ve just downloaded. You’ll be prompted to confirm the replacement, so proceed. Also, move the .cfg file into the Profiles folder and accept any overwrite prompts.
4-Download and extract the atiocdll.zip. It contains two DLLs: "atipdl64.dll" for C:\Windows\System32 and "atipdlxx.dll" for C:\Windows\SysWOW64.
5-Open the Registry Editor via Run command and search for the following keys under the specified path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000. Adjust their values to 0.
6-Reboot your system. Once MSI Afterburner is open, you’ll notice the Core and Memory Clock sliders are now unlocked, along with the "Max" setting. You can directly input numeric values instead of dragging sliders. It’s suggested to set Core to 725 MHz (or 750 if stable), and Memory to 1125 MHz—safe values for performance.
7-Don’t worry about higher clock speeds; they will automatically reduce to 150 MHz (Core) and 300 MHz (Memory) when the GPU is idle, then return to higher levels during gaming or intensive tasks.
6-I highly suggest installing Catalyst 14.4 WHQL, which was recommended by a user on guru3D forums. It significantly boosts performance in systems with Switchable Dynamic Graphics (Enduro), such as Dell Inspiron 15R laptops, and also enhances DX9 gameplay. I can share the link and another guide if needed.
7-Enjoy your setup!
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out via PM or direct message.
Glad to know it worked! As I said, it's a very easy and safe procedure. About the modded Catalyst, here is the link:
http://
I recommend installing OEM Intel HD Graphics provided by Dell before installing this modded Catalyst. And you should always use Display Driver Uninstaller to clean any traces of previous drivers when performing new installation of Catalyst software.
Have fun with your new 8870M
😉