Ordered a 8920 I7 7700 &th gen got a 3.6mhz CPU

There are two different i7-7700 CPUs.  The XPS 8920 has that CPU, 3.6 GHz base/4.2 Turbo.  This CPU is not overclockable.

There is also an i7-7700K CPU, which is unlocked and therefore overclockable, 4.2 base, 4.5 turbo.

There is a difference between overclocking and turbo operation -- the CPU you have CAN reach 4.2 GHz if the system is running under enough load to demand it (it rarely will).  It is NOT designed to run at a sustained 4.2 GHz -- it's designed to burst that fast when the system demands that much CPU power (very few things you'll be running will demand that of the system).

Overclocking is running the CPU beyond its design spec -- and requires the unlocked 7700K CPU.  

The 7700K CPU is in the SE (special edition) XPS -- if that's what you want, when you re-order, upgrade to it.  Then you'll have the overclocking option.  That's the model with the silver case -- the black standard 8920 doesn't offer the unlocked, overclockable CPU.

I did find that out after a few hours of reading about CPU's on Intel's site and downloaded a CPU Power Gadget 3.0 I showed turbo and got it to 4.1. Then It clicked Up to 4.2

Dell really needs to make it a little clearer Like saying Up to 4.2 Gigs with turbo

Thanks for you explanation.

From what I researched the motherboards and bios and chip set is the same for the overclocked CPU.

From what I understand I could just get the Overclock-able CPU and switch it out. Since I also have the option in the bios but not changeable since the CPU now is not open

Thanks

Mitch

I did reorder the Top one XPS 8920 SE with the blue ray drive and 512 Gig SSD.

question on the middle system it say overclocking and someone I spoke to said the top system is a 4.2 gig K processor and overclocking is disabled in the bios is this true I will not be able to overclock even a little

Thanks for your help

If you have the K CPU, you have the possibility of overclocking -- that said, overclocking is never guaranteed - not all K CPUs will work when overclocked (and part of that depends on the RAM and system board).

Im into this too and wonder a bit...?!

Just bought an xps 8920 with an i5 7400 (now in October).

I wonder whether I could be able to upgrade this xps, easilly by just switching out to a new cpu, either i7 7700 or 7700K?!

The regular 7700 is listed at tdp 65W and the K at 91W.

Will the onboard cpu-cooler and cpu-fan be adequate for the K-model, in my xps model setup?! Have been searching info on what is installed in my xps but not been able to find one..?! Or is there another coolingsystem shipped if you buy an i7 model as original?

Based on above...has it been sorted out? (Overclockable or turbo-boost ability)

If not being able to automatically turboboost (without) having to tamper software (bios) etc, then the K-model should be a straight out better upgrade, since the standard GHz is much higher than normal 7700?! Pricewise they are similar today!?

Whats left is then is if the shipped 8920 with i5 7400 is supporting the K-model (bios. Wattage, cooling)??

The CPU is the only thing you need -- yes, thee 7700 or 7700K will work with your system.  ONLY the K-CPU is overclockable - the regular 7700 will not be.

The 7700K is close to $300 a unit -- only you can decide whether it's worth the price of entry (but given that the 8000 series is now out, the 7000 series may not remain in production for much longer -- and once production ceases, prices usually rise, since the 7700K will be the terminal upgrade for this model).

Thanks for the answer!

Just plug and play then, and no updates or so needed!?

Since posted the last one Ive looked further into a model with ”k” or no k.

As it seems there has been quite a lot of issues around the k-model, and its temp-range with spikea!?

Since its running with a higher native tdp than the regular model, real  proper cooling seems needed and still there has been several issues (which never seemed to be the case for previous 6700K).

Hence I revert my previous thoughts and would go for regular 7700 as a safer bet, since it seems to run way cooler even at high torque!?

Thanks for your input on production around new 8-series...worth considering and to be looked up. As is right now prices are rather ok for regular 7700...

The end result for me was I needed to order the Special edition 8920 with the I7 7700K processor 4,2 gig.

Then a 2 weeks later after getting it they now have the 8930 sd with a 8th gen k processor I forgot the number on it.

Does the 8930 use the same motherboard reason for asking If I buy a 8th I7 K processor will it be a just switch the CPU and it will work fine deal?

As it looks no...

I was into the same...ordering my 8920 and then the day after the new 8930 came out, with better specs a bit all over...

The new 8-series runs on 370 boards and the 7-series on 270...also the new 8930 supports Optane on the m2 slot, and believe it has NVMe connection there vs 8920 being sata?!

The answer is no -- you cannot use a Cannon Lake (8) CPU on an 8920 system.