Dell/Support new drivers as of 8/2/2010

Just to inform those that haven't had the opportunity to check out the new dell drivers that just dropped. I have installed the Intel Rapid Storage driver and can say that it is more efficient than the old Intel Matrix storage driver, however after installing the new driver it does replace the old driver and once installed it cannot be undone. Second, I attempted to install the new Turbo Boost driver that was released 8/2/2010 and found that it is not required and shouldn't even be on the Dell driver list of downloads as it does nothing to improve performance. After speaking to a tech support agent on the phone, I was informed that the new driver is a mistake by Dell and does nothing to improve performance for any core i systems as of current. The only other drivers that are new are 2 HDD driver downloads for samsung 128 & 256GB HDD in which in my case were not needed. However I would suggest owners taking a look over on the Dell support site and see if any of these drivers excluding the Turbo Boost Driver are or would be of any importance as these are indeed optional. Thought I'd let everyone know!

 

Just updated.

Cheers!

 

Just want to add that the HDD performance increase for me was very noticeable. Copying big files use to give me speeds of 1 mb/s, I'm getting 8 to 9 mb/s now.

 

you mean this update is intended for Samsung SSDs?

 

ooops i guess i was stupid sorry.

 

will the Samsung PM800 128GB 2.5 SATA2 SSD update erase the drive?

if so, how do i go and backup my data?
i will have to reinstall windows 7?
will the partitions from the Alienware factory be removed as well?
can someone please help we to do a full backup and then how to restore it ?

 

I wonder if this new driver will fix the low ssd performance on the R2

 

I have a couple of questions for you regarding the numbers you posted here. They seem extremely low to me based on the performance of my platter based 500GB drives.

When you say "Copying big files" are you duplicating files on the hard drive (copy file, paste to a different location on the same drive) or are you copying files from the hard drive to a different drive?

If you are copying files to a different drive, what connection is the other drive using (USB, internal, eSATA)?

What exactly is a large file (3GB video, 5MB mp3, large folder full of little files)?

Are you speeds 8 to 9 Mb or 8 to 9 MB? There is an x8 difference in speed depending on which one it is.

I'm asking because those speeds seem really low. I duplicate files on my hard drives at around 70-80 Mb/s or 9-10 MB/s I can transfer files to an eSATA drive at around the same speed. Or I can transfer files from the eSATA to my internals at around 100-120 Mb/s. These speeds are using 3GB video files.

 

Im copying files from another computer in a domain. Mostly virtual isos ranging from 7GB to 20GB. I remember before the update, it ran very slow without teracopy(just using windows copy/paste).

Before the update my speed would be 1 megabyte (not megabit) per second or lower. After the update it shoot up to 8 to 9 megabytes (not megabits) per second.

I think the update works like teracopy as the intel rapid storage tech needs to be enabled for the performance boost to work.

 

I too noticed a big difference in DL speeds!

I cannot honestly say that installing this will erase the current drive but i would do a back-up just in case.

I use a external drive for all of my back-up files and system images, If you have a external go into CP and do a reg back-up.
I doubt you will have to re-install W7, I didn't.
The partitions might be removed and re-created since this install removes the old matrix storage controller to install the new rapid storage controller.

I believe that this new driver will bump the read/write times by a bit but I do not have any ssd's in my rig, however I can tell you that my hdd dl speed and write times increased by a fair margin.

 

For those of you that have OCZ Vertex drives please read the following before installing:

Which SATA/Chipset drivers are best to use with Vertex?

1 Intel chipset IDE mode = Intel driver
2 Intel chipset AHCI mode = Microsoft driver
3 Intel chipset raid mode = Intel driver
4 AMD chipset IDE mode = Microsoft driver
5 AMD chipset AHCI mode = Microsoft driver
6 AMD chipset raid mode = AMD driver
7 Nvidia chipset IDE mode = Microsoft driver
8 Nvidia chipset AHCI mode = Microsoft driver
9 Nvidia chipset raid mode = Nvidia driver

 

Nice bit of info Joebarchuck, does the new driver affect all hd's and ssd's differently?

 

It is only for SSD

 

Thanks for that Joebarchuck - I just got my second gskill falcon today (which will be flashed to an OCZ vertex like the other) and I am going to raid them.

I was wondering what driver to use, and this confirms it for me.

-Ash

 

I tried them on a new windows installation. They didn't fix anything.
The turbo boost driver doesn't work either.

 

The Intel turbo boost driver is for the CPU. I am not sure how that would affect the SSD speed.

 

Yes indeed, I wasn't referring to the SSD when talking about the turbo boost drivers, that's why I had a separate sentence for that

 

The turbo boost driver is meant for a actual card but since the R2 doesn't have one or a slot for it the driver is useless and therefor should have never been put on the list of drivers for the R2.

 

What are you talking about??? For the card? Which card?

The Turbo Boost Driver is for the CPU Turbo Boost Technology but it seems it does not help.

 

I think they meant "turbo cache".

There is a 4gb intel turbo cache card that some laptops have. This one doesnt.

Probably Dell's mistake including it there.

-Ash

 

Maybe this????
Intel came out with "Turbo Boost memory card" a few years ago, it's a small card "looks like a wifi card" that is installed in a extra slot usaly by the wifi area. It is completly usless, I have it in a Gateway P-6860 FX.

link:
http://www.intel.com/design/flash/nand/turbomemory/index.htm

 

Yeah I understand that but the driver posted by Dell is not for that.

 

Thank you Flynnaz, your absolutely correct! The Turbo Boost memory card did come out a few years ago and Dell made the mistake of thinking that the card in the R2 could utilize the new driver in which it can't. I was told this by a tech agent after I noticed the new driver on the Dell/Support site.

Actually it is (was) made for that card just Dell made the mistake of thinking that the card in the R2 could utilize it and made the driver for it. Call Dell tech support and find out for yourself.

 

Its funny because Dell hasn't taken the driver off of the list yet and I'm sure people are installing it as we speak. The driver will not actually install and instead throws an error message saying that "The driver cannot be utilized by this configuration", go figure!

 

lol, I was right for a change

 

lol, so was I

 

I have 2x500gb seagates and im running Raid 1 mirroring ... should i install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology or does that only benifit SSD drives ?

 

It should help out alot, from my experience I am seeing a large boost in read/write times and DL speeds versus the old matrix storage utility driver. I have not experienced any hiccups or downsides from installing it so far!

The only thing is that once you install it, it will overwrite the old matrix storage utility and there is no current way to revert back to the old storage utility driver.

If I'm not mistaken, it should be good for both types of storage devices.

 

Well i have updated and dont see any difference what so ever ... what am i looking for improvement wise ?
The only difference i see is the new prog takes a lot longer to start at pc start up .
The little task bar icon sits with an exclamation mark on it for 2-3 mins then suddenly a ballon pops up saying its running properly etc .
Never had that with the old Matrix one ... it instantly said it was working properly seconds after start up

 

You guys might want to review this -

Notebook — Intel Turbo Boost Technology frequently asked questions

Increasing Performance with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology

Not installing for you since you have a Clark

 

Are we talking about the Intel(R) Turbo Boost Technology Driver?

It is for the CPU, read the ReleaseNotes_0330_2.pdf that come with the driver.

 

Batboy,

It shouldn't matter that I have a Clarksfield processor since the driver release should be compatible with all i Core processors due to it being a new driver release right? Also, what am I looking for in the information that you have provided as it relates to the Intel Turbo Boost driver that was released earlier last week?

Thanks for any feedback to this matter.

I have read the release notes prior to trying to install the driver in which case it displays an error upon installation (read my original post on page 1) It is for the CPU, however there is a card in a slot similar to a WIFI card that supposedly handles all of the turbo boost functions that the driver obviously isn't compatible with in reference to the current R2's. Have you actually attempted to install the driver yourself?

 

Where are the official 10.7 ATI Dell drivers?

 

Dell/Alienware haven't released official 10.x drivers as of yet. However there are beta and WHQL drivers on the AMD site and from what I have heard they are fairly stable.

If you are running stock drivers, I would advise sticking with them for now until the new official beta drivers are released from Dell/Alienware JMO!

In case you are trying to run SC2, then you might need the 10.7 AMD drivers from what I understand. Also, there is a small workaround that you must implement in order for them to work if i'm not mistaken.

 

I don't see how anything in the release notes could indicate this driver is for Turbo Cache or anything other than CPU. The driver installed with i5 520 CPU
Maybe it isn't for all CPU's

System Information report written at: 08/08/10 02:55:35
System Name: M17X-R2
[Memory]

Resource Device Status
0xF0800000-0xF09FFFFF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 - 3B44 OK
0xF0800000-0xF09FFFFF Intel(R) Centrino(R) Ultimate-N 6300 AGN OK
0xF0200000-0xF03FFFFF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 - 3B44 OK
0xBFE00000-0xBFEFFFFF Intel(R) processor PCI Express Root Port - 0047 OK
0xC0000000-0xCFFFFFFF Intel(R) processor PCI Express Root Port - 0047 OK
0xC0000000-0xCFFFFFFF ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series OK
0xFF000000-0xFFFFFFFF Intel(R) 82802 Firmware Hub Device OK
0xFF000000-0xFFFFFFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xF0A00000-0xF0BFFFFF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 - 3B48 OK
0xF0A00000-0xF0BFFFFF Ricoh PCIe SD/MMC Host Controller OK
0xF0400000-0xF05FFFFF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 - 3B48 OK
0xF0E00000-0xF0E1FFFF Intel(R) 82577LC Gigabit Network Connection OK
0xF0E24000-0xF0E24FFF Intel(R) 82577LC Gigabit Network Connection OK
0xF0E26000-0xF0E267FF Intel(R) 5 Series 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller OK
0xF0B00400-0xF0B004FF Ricoh PCIe Memory Stick Host Controller OK
0xF0E20000-0xF0E23FFF High Definition Audio Controller OK
0xFED00000-0xFED003FF High precision event timer OK
0xF0E27800-0xF0E278FF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller - 3B30 OK
0xA0000-0xBFFFF PCI bus OK
0xA0000-0xBFFFF ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series OK
0xA0000-0xBFFFF Intel(R) processor PCI Express Root Port - 0045 OK
0xD4000-0xD7FFF PCI bus OK
0xD8000-0xDBFFF PCI bus OK
0xA0000000-0xFEBFFFFF PCI bus OK
0xA0000000-0xFEBFFFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xF0E25000-0xF0E25FFF Intel(R) Turbo Boost Technology Driver OK
0xF0B00800-0xF0B00FFF Ricoh 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller OK
0xFED1C000-0xFED1FFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED10000-0xFED13FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED18000-0xFED18FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED19000-0xFED19FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xE0000000-0xEFFFFFFF Motherboard resources OK
0x0000-0x0FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED20000-0xFED3FFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED40000-0xFED44FFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFED45000-0xFED8FFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xFEE00000-0xFEEFFFFF Motherboard resources OK
0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series OK
0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF Intel(R) processor PCI Express Root Port - 0045 OK
0xBFFE0000-0xBFFFFFFF ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series OK
0xF0E27400-0xF0E277FF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3B34 OK
0xF0B01000-0xF0B010FF Ricoh PCIe xD-Picture Card Controller OK
0xBFEE0000-0xBFEFFFFF ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series OK
0xF0E27000-0xF0E273FF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3B3C OK
0xBFFDC000-0xBFFDFFFF High Definition Audio Controller OK
0xF0600000-0xF07FFFFF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 3B42 OK
0xF0000000-0xF01FFFFF Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 3B42 OK
0xBFF00000-0xBFFFFFFF Intel(R) processor PCI Express Root Port - 0045 OK

P.S. I have seen a few posts advising not to install ATI 10.6, 10.7, 10.7a drivers etc. I read these and didn't install the drivers, then weeks later I read someone could install them. So I tried and I have now installed all 3 of these versions and have no problems at all. I did not have to do any workarounds to install and I put my computer to sleep regularly.

 

My bad, I was misinformed by Alienware tech support when trying to install the driver last week. Congrats on the install! We will definitely have to update this thread ASAP based on your findings!! What are the advantages of the new driver? I am assuming that your CPU did not come equipped with turbo boost and so the driver activated it? Please share your experiences.

 

@Batboy,

I apologize Batboy, for not understanding what you meant by "not installing for you since you have a Clark" as it didn't make any sense. Honestly, even after reviewing information in the release notes and the information you provided in your last post, I am still a bit confused as to why it wouldn't work for Clarksfield CPU's?

Reason I say this is because, when I input my service tag in the Drivers and downloads section the list offers this driver as an option???

 

Turbo Boost has always been active as far as I know. I have installed the Turbo Boost Monitor gadget in the past and could see the speed changing.

There is nothing in the releae notes that say Turbo Boost does not function without this driver. I don't notice any difference with the drivers.
if I see new drivers I usually install them.

Some of the fixes in the driver seemed important even though I havent had any problems.
Issues fixed:
3175833 Turbo Boost driver reports CPU Turbo status as on when disabled in BIOS
when configured EC through SMBUS
3177288 Turbo Boost driver changes processor temperature limit back to default
3177300 Instantaneous GMCH power exceeds GMCH platform limit
3177315 Instant CPU power exceeds CPU platform limit
3290143 OS hangs coming out of S3 when AC power is introduced
3290293 System hang during S3 cycles when USB Controller changes

 

That is confusing I don't know much about these CPU's but when looking up Nehalem on wikipedia the Clarksfield is listed there.

 

I don't understand what the issue is as to why my system won't accept the installation? Not so much as I need the driver but like you said, I usually stay updated!
Those driver benefits sound very nice, wish I could utilize the driver

I am very confused at this point! I noticed the exact information that you speak of?
I am gonna contact tech support tommorrow to find out what the real deal is!

 

Yeah sorry for the confusion Predator - When I was looking at the info I linked to on Intel's site, they mentioned the tech was incorporated into the Nehalem CPUs. No mention of Clarksfield on that linked page so I just assumed it was not supported. In any event, what do I know? I'm still sitting with a QX9300... not versed in the current CPU line incorporated tech specs - lol.

As for the driver by service tag, I can shed light on that - when you key in your service tag, the support site is using it to find your MODEL. Not a custom list by configuration based on your service tag. When I key in my tag, I get a list which includes ATI 4870 drivers

 

MMM since this update to Intel Rapid Storage my start up time has slowed down considerably .... any one else had this ??

 

@ Batboy,

No problem man, I am still learning as a noob when it comes to the new tech and trying to figure out exactly what driver does for each component. I honestly assumed that since the driver is soo new that my configuration would allow for support, not to mention that the Clarksfield CPU's were spawned from the Nehalem architecture as this leads to my confusion. I did in-fact notice that the Clarksfield CPU was not mentioned in the article and or release notes? I apologize if I came off rude when asking what you know of the new i core series processors seeing that you still have a near perfect working R1 equipped with the (greatly missed ) QX9300. I can tell you that you are not missing anything important, I honestly believe that the QX9300 is still the best working quad core extreme still on the market!!

Thanks for clarifying on the Driver/Support question that I asked about as this really had me confused as well, plus rep +1

@ Proz

Don't trip man, I get the same performance decrease at startup (approx. 1-2 minute decrease). However my DL speeds and read/write times have increased dramatically which IMO compensate for the minor decrease in startup speed. I don't presume that this driver will affect any other performance issues in the future as was told to me by a Dell/Alienware tech agent.

The only issue I did have at the time but turned out to be nothing serious after creating a back-up beforehand was the knowledge of not being able to revert back to the stock matrix storage utility after installing the new driver. Honestly I truly do not miss it at all as I never saw any real performance gain by having it installed?

 

In stumbling through the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Driver installation package, this appears to be the driver for the onboard graphics technology for icore chips that have it.

Why they posted this for the M15x or the M17xR2 is beyond me... neither machine has the capability of integrated graphics.

Hopefully, Brian, Chris or one of the Alienware folks can chime in and enlighten us.

 

Maaaaaaybe they are about to release a refresh of the M15x with nvidia optimus and a GTX460m?

Could make sense?

Or maybe a M17x refresh with optimus and a GTX460m or two?

-Ash

 

there is no chipset that allows optimus and a multi gpu setup.....(meaning SLI or CF)

you either have to use the hm55 to use the IGP OR the pm55 to get the dual card config

unfortunately both are not possible in the same system at the moment - this is why the nvidia chipset in the R1 is kind of a fluke

 

Scook,

Are you saying that the current mb in the R2 cannot/will not support SLI or optimus?

 

cannot and will not support optimus

SLI and CF should already be supported. I was simply saying that with the i7 chips, you have to choose dual graphics (sli or cf) OR having the integrated available. Intel did poorly in designing out their setups this go around if you ask me - one place nvidia did well (see the R1 and its abilities ) but they are not allowed to make i7 chipsets

 

Scook,

Thanks for the clarification! I knew that the R1 had the luxury of this benefit, however I was unsure of the R2 as the option has only been speculated and theorized. I hope that the tech was golden in informing me of the possibility of SLI in the near future!!

With each passing day, I miss my R1

 

So are you guys getting the "your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements" when tyring to install the turbo boost driver? Thats what I'm getting. Any solution to this? Thanks everyone