Intel’s Xtreme Tuning Utility is a great tool for overclocking CPU’s, while we can’t overclock the U series of CPU’s what we can do using this application of Intel’s is increase the power limits. Doing this on the 8th Gen Intel Core i5 8250U gives us huge gains up to 29% when testing with Cinebench R15 and encoding 4k video using Adobe Premiere Pro.so much so we can get the 15W stock TDP i8250U to perform as good as if not better than a 45W Core i7 7700HQ typically found in 2017 gaming laptops.
So we can get the 1Core i5 i8250U to perform as good as if not better than a 45W Core i7 7700HQ. And the i7 8550U to perform better than an i7 7820HK typically found in 2017 gaming laptops & desktop replacements.
This tweak is very simple, all we are doing is moving that stock TDP of 15W to say 35W or 40W, now the CPU can hold it’s 3.4Ghz turbo on all 4 cores for as long as the cooling allows us to. This tweak will work on all the 4 core 8th Gen CPU’s and results will vary, especially when it comes to undervolting the CPU.
My Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro with it’s Core i5 8250U can be undervolted to -0.105, but it all depends on each CPU just how much you can undervolt. What this undervolting does is reduce the CPU temperature a faction, which also helps out in the long run. It will also offer a small battery saving as a bonus.
Above is a quick guide on how to undervolt, increase the TDP and also overclock the Nvidia MX150 GPU to perform up to 31% faster when looking at Heaven benchmark results. Also due to the better cooler on the Mi Notebook Pro, my i5 8250U can hold the 3.4Ghz turbo indefinitely on all cores with a max temp of 65 degrees C after a 20-minute CPU stress test. Pushing both the GPU and CPU resulted in 81 degrees max on the CPU after 15 minutes. Impressive results! Enjoy boosting your 8th gen CPU to perform faster than most 7700HQ 2017 gaming laptops!
The notebook used for this tweak was my Mi Notebook Pro Core i5 8250 version, this is Xiaomi’s latest premium laptop which sells for around $917 here with coupon GBPCPCS
You can download Intel XTU here.
Loren
I installed the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility but I can’t adjust the clockspeed or voltage. All of the buttons/options are greyed out.
Does anyone know how to fix this? I have the newest Notebook Pro i7 8th generation series.
Chris G
You can’t adjust the clock speed. Only the voltage and a few other things under the core tab in XTU
Loren
Hey,
I cant even adjust the voltage one mine. Everything is greyed out.
Loren
So an update. It looks like Xiaomi disabled undervolting in the newest Bios version. Too bad…
Erehr
Check 4th comment (Aryan) here https://techtablets.com/2017/12/xiaomi-mi-notebook-pro-nvme-ssd-bios-pcie-x2-fix/ on how to downgrade bios to the one that fixed NVME. Core voltage is still unlocked in this one.
Artyom
I have already lowered the voltage to -140, and I overclocked the video card by 135 MHz by the core (this is the maximum possible), and by memory at 700 megahertz. Is it possible for me to somehow overclock the processor and the graphics card ???
Artyom
I apologize! Forgot to say hello!
Chris G
-0.140 Mv is stable? I couldn’t get over -0.100 myself. The Core should be able to go as high as 210 or 220 Mhz
Artyom
Ooh, nooo! Sorry! I thought I pointed out my laptop model !!!
My question is that you tell me how to maximally overclock my laptop MSI GP62 6QF with 6700HQ and a GTX960m graphics card? I have already lowered the voltage to -140 on CPU, and I overclocked the video card by 135 MHz by the core (this is the maximum possible), and by memory at 700 megahertz.
Justin
Hey Chris! This is so awesome! Could this be done for other laptops that also have the 8250 and MX150 combo? I’m a bit torn in my next laptop purchase.. I was sold on the new 15 7000 gaming laptop by Dell, which has a 7700hq and 1060 gpu, however I’m discovering a lot of users are complaining about lags not just in gaming but even even just browsing in chrome.. with fans turning on at minimal loads. I’ve checked this up with other laptops with the same CPU series but perhaps paired with a 1050 or 1050 ti, and it seems the CPU has throttling issues causing major performance drops? Do you have any knowledge about this? It’s kind of putting me off the whole hq cpu line, especially for the price I’m paying for them!
Now that you say you can make a 8250 perform just as well as a 7700hq, that’s awesome as it’s cheaper and I can get laptops that are MUCH lighter (was prepared to get the dell at 2.65kg). My uses are general surfing, with heavy audio production, video editing, and moderate to heavy gaming. Could I be happy doing these with a 8250 and MX150 configuration?
On a side note, I was interested in the dell because it has a 1060 which means support for VR. I actually was gifted an oculus rift and wanted to use it with the dell, but the hq throttling problems have put me off. Do you reckon it’s a better bet to get a cheaper and lighter laptop with the 8250 and MX150, and then separately upgrade the graphics card on my desktop pc machine (running i7 4740k)?
Cheers for your insights!!
Ravi
Hello Chris,
I noticed that the Xiaomi Notebok Pro, Downloads sections has “Pro Drivers Timi TM1701” & “Pro Drivers Timi TM1701 (doubledriver Dump)”. Can you please tell the difference between these downloads?
Chris G
One is my own dump using doubledriver the other is a Windows created driver dump
Honestly
Hi Chris,
First of all many thanks for your review on the Xiaomi notebook pro and for this boosting guide.
We are currently considering buying this laptop, yet are not sure which model would be the most sensible. Perhaps you can provide some advice.
You mention that you may keep this laptop for 4k editing. Wouldn’t the 16GB version be a more future-proof choice for such workloads? Mind you we are talking about vacation movies and the like.
Secondly, do you think that the i7 model would also be able to sustain its full turbo speed after boosting? 4 vs 3.4 Ghz does sound attractive.
Cheers!
Chris G
Hi, I really do think that for 4k editing it would be better of with 16GB of RAM. So once the price drops I plan to pick up the i7 16GB model. Also according to some comments in the unboxing video the i7 8550U with a -100mv undervolt and the 30W TDP will hold 4.0Ghz but the trade off is it will get a little hotter as a result. If and when I do get the i7 model I would cover this in a video.
Ckk
Hi, Chris.
Can any these power bank charge this laptop?
https://www.amazon.com/Eighty-Plus-10000mAh-Universal-Li-Polymer/dp/B01M14CJWN/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1508170004&sr=8-2&keywords=80+plus+power+bank
https://www.gearbest.com/power-banks/pp_662137.html
Thanks
Chris G
No, the power banks must output 20v and 3.25A to work on this Mi Notebook Pro
Jon
Does the xtreme tuning utility work for 7th gen kaby lake m3 chip/apollo lakes too?
Chris G
Yes it does, you can increase the TDP, but be warned without a fan it does get really hot.
Daniel J.
Impressive Chris!
I wonder if application of new cooling paste, would help decrease temperatures even further? 😉
Chris G
I imagine it would, I might repaste it if I keep it. Which is looking like I will for my travel 4k editing laptop.
Blackburn
whoa! Nice tip man. Those new 8th gen chips are fast, beating a Core i7 7700HQ beast is crazy having that much power in 2 kilo thin notebook. Hmmm, the Mi Notebook Pro and 8th gen cpus just became interesting! So what’s the con? It must overheat and will it damage the notebook.
Chris G
Yes with this tweak the Mi Notebook Pro’s CPU is as fast as my i7 7700HQ in my MSI GL62M. The con is this, more heat, but the Mi Notebook Pro seems to handle it fine, even when gaming (both CPU and GPU push to 100%) The laptop does get a little hotter to the touch due to the increased temps. But the CPU max is around 71 degrees C when only taxing the CPU. And when the GPU in use around 81 degrees C max. Still well within limits.
CM
Assuming it would have quite an impact on battery life so just for when plugged in really?
Chris G
It’s good for when you want a nice boost in performance. For example editing and encoding a 4k video is now much faster with this tweak. For battery life you can just undervolt to gain a little more battery.
enuma
Wow, that is insanely impressive!
When I push my yoga 720 15 (7300HQ) with 100% CPU performance and enabled Turbo (3.1GHz ceiling if you run all cores) the temperatures are identical. And boy, you can definitely hear the fans!
Also, 7300HQ doesn’t have Hyperthreading so I guess it comes inferior from multicore, multithread comparison. I was still a bit hopeful that the U chips, albeit superior in benchmarks, will struggle to deliver under longer load and will travel to Throttleland far too often. But man, you are actually cheeky enough to “overclock” the CPU and that bastard still can handle it :D.
I still don’t regret the purchase because I was able to get reasonably cheap with a local 1y warranty. And I also fancy the 360 hinge & pen support & stuff (even though the 2 SSD drive option for the Xiaomi is amazing and could really be a dealbreaker for some).
These new generation CPUs really make you to think (also they make you think how the performance of the next HQ generation will look like).