Precision M4400 Owner's Lounge

Thank you. I knew that it should, being HDMI, but I couldn't get confirmation and had read elsewhere, I believe a lenovo forum, of other laptops with Displayport being unable to pass 5.1 audio, for whatever reason.

Happy to know the answer is a good one.

 

Ok, so I've been experiencing some horrible DPC latency spikes on my new (replacement) M4400, so I tried installing various versions of the Intel Storage Matrix Manager as discussed and linked in the last several posts.

Before: average latency was ~600µs, with spikes as high as ~684000µs
After: average latency is ~10100µs, with no spikes above ~11000µs

So you'd think no spikes would be a good thing, but this latency is still quite high and is causing system response to be noticeably slow (specifically mouse input during gaming).

I then removed the DVD drive, and the latency went back down to ~500, with rare spikes to ~15000.

So now that I've identified the DVD drive as the source of the problem, what now? Would a different manufacturer's DVD drive make a difference, or is there something else I can do? Keeping the DVD drive disabled isn't really an appealing option.

 

Rest assured, I have the same problem. I don't think it's the drive that's the cause, I think it's the modular bay into which the drive connects. For some reason, the intel storage matrix driver which makes the modular bay "connectable" is the root of it all. Now, is this problem fixable with a new driver down the line, or is it just a design issue with no workaround other than unplugging the drive or disabling the modular bay in Bios? That I cannot answer.

I read in an earlier post that someone was able to resolve the issue with version 8.04 of the intel matrix storage driver. The current version is 8.7.

I have been on the intel website. That driver is nowhere to be found. If the 8.04 is a typo and the guy really meant 8.4, still, no driver by that version number was found. So, I am at a loss where to go from here.

 

I tried disabling the modular bay through the bios, but the intermittent spikes were still there. I disabled everything I could through the BIOS, including external USB and WLAN, but the spikes were still there.

I've tried the archived version 7.8 and the current version, with the same results - constant 10ms latency with the drive in, spikes up to and over 50ms when the drive is out. I'd love to see that version 8.4, hopefully someone can find it and link it.

 

Ok, I was able to figure out the previous posts and find the download link for versions 8.2, 8.5, and 8.6. I'm trying 8.5 right now, and it is an improvement... with the DVD drive in, I still get horribly bad spikes (~500000µs), but the average is ~600µs instead of a constant ~10100µs.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Fil...ullName=Windows Vista* 64&lang=eng&sType=prev

Edit: tried version 8.2, got the same result as 8.5, still better than 8.7.
Edit: tried version 8.6, got the same result as 8.7 - constant ~10000µs latency with the drive in. I'm reverting to 8.5.

 

Dabeer: do the spilkes get low, when you remove the dvd drive from the system (mechanically)?

with the drive removed i've an average of 200us
with the drive inserterted the averags is arround 10000us

thats with the latest intel storage (8.7)

i just had a dell tech on the phone, he said they never heared of the dpc latency spikes so far (a lvl 2 tech apparently neither).

as a tech should come later to replace the motherboard and the cooling system, ill get hold of him and ask him.

another thing i noticed:
when i get direct sunlight on the right border of the display (just a bit above the middle) the display discolors awfully. you really can change the overall color with just covering that area for the sun back and forth.
there must be some sort of sensor, though the same happens wether the display is set to use the environment sensor or not.

 

Yep, that's the problem exactly. For me, with the drive removed, I get random spikes upwards of 15000µs, but otherwise it's under 700µs.

Nice to know they train their techs

I hope that replacement is for a different problem, I hear mobo replacement leaves the palmrest loose, and I don't want that.

The M4400 does have an Ambient Light Sensor (ALS). Check your BIOS to see if it's enabled. I'm not sure where it is on the frame, though.

 

Lol...it's the little square plastic thingy to the left of the dell logo on the bottom of the screen, when facing the screen.
Maybe the light does somehow hit that sensor when reflecting off the palmrest/keyboard?
Can you repeat the situation and does it happen all the time?

If you haven't already i would switch off the ALS anyway since it's pretty useless and very annoying even due to it's placement. When moving in front of your lappy and there's a light somewhere behind you it will adjust all the time

 

So,no one knows where 8.4 is?

EDIT: btw,I have other question!

1)I am now trying to install XP,I restart,put the CD in,it opens the" blue screen of install",starts looding it's files and when comes to "loading setup"(or win,I don't remamber),it BSOD!Any ideas?

2)I formated win7 partition but when I restart it still shows an option to choose Vista or 7!so how can I remove win7 from list?

3)I looked in bios but couldn't find how to turn preboot off complitly.

please help me

 

I've got a question. My M4400 will be arriving today. I am also on the hunt for a new monitor (or two, hence the question).

I'm wondering how well the 770m graphics card will handle two monitors running at 1920x1200. I am thinking of getting the e-port plus and two 24" monitors with DVI input. I can get more for my monitor budget this way. Between 1x27" and 2x24", the pair of 24's wins.

Any potential issues here? My guess is that it shouldn't be a problem, but I don't want to pull the trigger on two LCD's without knowing for certain.

Thoughts?

EDIT - If yes to that question, how about two monitors at 2048 x 1152?