thanks so much for the replies. just to point it out: i'm not having severe problems so far, i just expected the CPU load to drop by ~50% (theoretically) due to switching from an intel dualcore to quadcore, which is not the case (maybe 10-20% more power now) - so i was wondering if BIOS-tweaking can squeeze more out of it. judging from my desktop 9632 soundcard, i would expect that simply upgrading to the babyface will free some power, but well... need to see when it arrives october.
@timur: thanks for the advice, will do asap, but does it make sense without having the external soundcard connected? is DPC just checking the computer without external(ly connected) hardware?
@chrisludwig: i could post a snapshot like "rap" if that helps? is there any software to read out the board manufacturer besides opening the actual laptop? lenovo doesn't provide detailled information, all i have so far is:
Intel HM5 Express chipset
High Definition (HD) Audio, CX20671 Codec
Core i7 2620M, 2x 2.70 GHz (3.40 GHz Turbo)
8 GB RAM
750 GB Festplatte
AMD Radeon HD6650M 1.0 GB, DVD+/-RW Multi
WLAN b/g/n, 1x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, HDMI / VGA
2.0 MP Webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit