I don't have time to proof the whole thing again now, but here is the basic guide that I wrote out back in the summer. It will work on any Dell using a black edition Phenom chip that is running Windows 7. If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to ask!
Optimizing Inspiron 570 Performance: Clean Windows 7 OS and Overclocking Capability
Intro: I purchased the Inspiron 570 because of the great value the factory configuration offered. The Athlon II X2 270 processor, 500gb Caviar Blue had drive and 4gb DDR3 memory are more than capable of performing all the standard functions of a home office desktop or casual entertainment machine. The original intent was to simply upgrade the amount of RAM and possibly the processor to make it feel a bit snappier. That's when curiosity set in and I started pushing against the supposed upgrade limits. My goal has been to eventually own the fastest Inspiron 570, if not Inspiron desktop of any model. After having found the point of severely diminished returns from further upgrading physical components, the final bottleneck proved to be the factory BIOS and the inability to overclock the Phenom II X4 965 BE processor. After many different attempts to find workarounds, I discovered the most deficient way to both overclock the CPu and GPu from a single program and lighten the utility-heavy installation of Windows 7 that comes standard.
Prep: Give yourself at least an hour, but no more than two. Also you will need two empty 4gb USB drives to dedicate besides your preference of storage media for all personal files.
Step 1: Save all personal files (documents, pictures, music, ect.) onto external media. It doesn't matter if it's a few DVD's or an external hard drive, but be thorough and don't forget anything you care about recovering later on. Do not create some sort of backup image for this.
Step 2: Download the following programs to your computer, then save them to the first USB flash drive for installation later.
Windows to USB offical program:
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool
Catalyst Control Center v12.1:
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/previous/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx
Aoemei Partition Assistant:
http://www.****/free-partition-manager.html
OCCT:
http://www.ocbase.com/index.php/download
Passmark Performance Test 64-bit:
http://www.passmark.com/download/pt_download.htm
*Any additional network adapter driver so you can get online and retreive the other needed hardware support later on.*
Step 3: Download the Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit ISO from the link below. This is the authentic ISO from Microsoft's official host site. I have double and triple checked that everything explained here complies in full with Microsoft's user agreement. Please note that this is only true if you download the same version you had installed on your computer at the time of purchase; any attempt to upgrade versions will likely fail and will certainly violate the user agreement.
Download URL: http://www.mydigitallife.info/download-windows-7-iso-official-32-bit-and-64-bit-direct-download-links/
Step 4: Create a bootable image on the second USB drive by using the previously downloaded utility application. Shut down and disconnect any internal hard disks except for the drive you intend to use for the new OS install. If you are upgrading from the factory HDD to SDD, just install the empty SSD with the HDD unplugged
Step 5: Insert the USB boot drive into your computer, then restart. Press F12 when prompted to enter the boot menu and select this drive instead of your internal drive. It will eventually load a screen asking to select a drive to install windows. Here you need to delete *all* partitions that sit on the physical disc you are re installing the OS. Now select that unallocated space for the install. It will do it's thing and install Windows 7, stopping when done to prompt you for the activation key. Use the key that is adhered to the top of the Dell tower. After it accepts your key, elect to not instasll system updates at this time. We want to finish the whole process before complicating things. You should now have a *CLEAN* OS with no bloated list of utilities and freeware that come preinstalled on virtually all new computers.
Step 6: Insert the USB drive with the install files for the programs listed before. If you would like to partition your drive, do this first using the Aoemei tool. Otherwise, first install CCC 12.1 with all offered features if using the custom install screen. Restart when prompted. Right click on your desktop, open the Catalyst application, and scroll down to "performance". Enable overdrive, then select "CPU Overdrive". It will force you to run the auto-tune feature the first time through- when you either reach a successful overclock point you are happy with, stop the auto-tune. Otherwise, you can wait and eventually have the system crash and reboot itself, This is not anything to freak out about; it's how the program determines the limit for manually setting the processor clock. When you restart (select normal boot, no offered repair menus during startup) the desktop will load and you'll receive a pop-up letting you know your overdrive settings are ready to review.
Step 7: Install OCCT and run it prior to overclocking. This is to be cautious and make sure your temps are staying reasonable. Note that you will have to close and restart it to have an accurate processor speed listed after overclocking. Now, go into the same place you ran the auto-tune, scroll down and select the "manual" overclock slider as active, and select a clock speed. Apply and go ahead setting your GPU core and memory clocks if you wish to overclock them as well. When everything is selected and applied, "X' the program and it will remain active in the tray next to the clock on the menu bar.
Done! Reinstall any drivers you saved on on the flash drive to enable internet access, then simply google and reinstall the newest versions of any other drivers or updates you'd like. Just make sure you leave the CCC verrsion at 12.1 and do not update driver for the GPU!
If you added a new drive that now runs your OS, reconnect the old HDD while the computer is running. Run the Aoemei partition tool after connecting the old drive, either starting fresh by reformatting the drive and designating the new partitions created as "logical" and not "primary", or simply remove the flags such as 'boot" or "active". It's extremely intuitive and user friendly to navigate around and do this. Note that your OS drive will always be designated as "C:", so your previous C: drive will have a different letter assignment now. Just make sure you have the correct drive before changing anything!
Run your passmark test with the clocks reconfigured and see just how much it improves not only your CPU score, but also 2D graphics, 3D graphics, Memory and overall system composite score. I got a bump from high 2800's to the mid 3300's without yet maxing out the clock allowed settings.
.... there you go man. Have a blast!
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