Hello All.

I know that there are quite a few guys here running the XPS 420, so I just thought I'd share my overclock findings, as they seem to be few and far between out on the Internet.

I had found an article (home.austin.rr.com/waterdogs2/xps420.htm)outlining a method of overclocking called a "BSEL" mod, which used a Permatex Rear Window Defogger Repair Kit liquid metal to jumper the BSEL pin to another on the Q6600 processor. Supposedly this would allow your Q6600 that normally runs at 2.4GHz and 1066FSB to run at 3.0GHz and 1333FSB.

I also found an article (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=546760) that showed how just covering the BSEL pin with a couple tiny pieces of electrical tape would achieve the same performance increase.

Going by "The simplest fix is the right one" philosophy (theory), I did the tape mod and VOILA! Using CPU-Z I measured the stock speed going up to 2.4GHz, and after the mod I am getting 2.995-3.033GHz! 1333FSB! Those speeds are only showing when I am doing something and CPU-Z shows a multiplier of 9x, but when the system is idle, the Intel Speedstep Technology takes the multiplier down to 6x, reducing the speed to 1.995GHz. Like I said, though, whenever the computer is doing something productive it jumps up to 3GHz, so I think I'll leave that alone, as I don't mind running a little cooler when idle.

I understand that a couple of users here have used the first method, I just wanted to make a formal post with the how-to links as I had to search high and low to find them.

I hope you have as good of luck as I have! This probably voids your warranty... so proceed with caution.

Jake

EDIT: I received my XPS 420 on 4/29 from the Dell Outlet and here are the specs: Q6600/3GB 667MHz RAM/ATI HD2400 128MB.

Interesting, Just a note for newbies here. You can void your warranty and possably fry your system(yes, make your system unusable and Dell won't help you) if you don't do it right. Unless you really know what your doing, I would avoid this. If you do, be careful.

I did the same thing with my Inspiron 530, only I used some copper adhesive tape I got from Fry's.  My Q6600 is humming along, and I promptly bought a Precision Workstation T3400 chassis + motherboard for $200.  It's similar to the XPS 430 but slightly higher end.  No sideshow screen, but an extra x16 slot for crossfire.  i swapped my components into it and got a big bang for buck upgrade.

I'm using it now at 3.0 ghz on OS X... but that's a different story...

So, has anyone else overclocked the 420?  Mine will be arriving soon, and I know I'll want to give it a shot in time.

Thanks for the thread.  I used your links along with others from google to feel comfortable enough to actually touch the cpu...worked like a charm =)

 Hi,

I have a Dell XPS 420 with a Core 2 Duo Q6600 2.40 ghz processor and am interested in OC'ing this.

I found this thread about applying a small bit of black tape onto a certain Pin.

Will something this simple actually work for my Dell XPS 420?  Will the tape not melt onto the PIN?

If I apply a bit of tape to the pin is there a danger of bending the pin when the CPU is put back onto the socket or even piercing the tape and making the connection again??

Thanks