M17x DPC Latency

This indicates a different implementation of powermizer in various driver versions. Which means that the role of powermizer is not a standardized procedure but varies from driver to driver. I wish there was someone from Nvidia to verify this.


*EDIT*
When I say it's a driver issue I mean that windows by themselves do not know how to upclock or downclock the GPU, consequently it's up to the drivers to decide whether the load can be distributed among all or some of the cores or if the clocks need to be at a lower of higher frequency - powermizer levels.

 

i will dare to ask then, which will be your advice ? Get this laptop or just turn the eyes to another one ? I really don't like Ati cards, for me they are less powerfully than nvidia... I wish you can give me a sincerely advice...

 

Take a look here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455435&highlight=official for issues concerning ATI or NVidia performance.

ATI so far has better benchmark scores. Performance varies from game to game (i.e Physix support by NVidia) and driver to driver.

 

i get what cmagamez means. to me though atis give better bench scores and seem more stable because they are less driver reliant, i feel the image quality and in game support for nvidia cards still make them winners.

the quality difference is quite noticeable even if you put the ati cards to optimal quality and the nvidias to high performance, the nvidias will look better and more detailed to me for most games except those that are developed with amd like dirt 2 and call of pripyat.

also, for games where physx cannot be disabled like darkest of days,section 8 etc, ati cards are totally unusable. on the nvidia cards i get avg 80 fps on darkest of days but on my atis with physx on low(thats the lowest possible. i even tried to change the config file) i get only 25 MAX

id still give up my atis back for the gtx 280s anyday if there wasnt any issue with this damned system.

 

oh and dell john b just got back to me. i told him about my tech guy requesting for an r2 for me and he told me r2 replacements are really unlikely. which makes me even more frustrated. no fix and refusal to replace the system. that makes me wonder what the point of gathering the service tags and case numbers is for

 

to annoy us. i assked them for an r2 replacement as well cause i dont want anything to do with nvidia and they refuse. even after showing them the list.

 

The beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
To me the quality with ATIs is better at least to my eyes.

 

I don't need this pig anymore... I am going to ask them for a m11x and a plasma screen TV. At least those I can use. LOL...sigh...

 

Aye image and AF precision is actually better with the 4 series at defaults over the G92, although the difference is small. Some of the review sites tend to look at this when new generations emerge. Not to mention Ive had a 8800gts 512, a 4870, 4850ms and now GTX280m SLI.

The noticeable difference is more usually caused by different default colour/saturation levels. Shader Edge AA is also rather nice for games that run fast enough to use it.

 

and which is the solution he proposes? because i havent seen anything.. spending his time just talking? r2 replacement is unlikely so what is likely?

it seems that they just take advantage of the situation. just this.

 

he just said an r2 replacement is unlikely and hope they get a solution soon. im pissed

edit: this is what he said
----------------------------------


I can say this: R2 exchanges aren't likely. The issue is software based. I have an M17x as well, and don't see the issue at all. I run Vista.

I think we'll be coming to a resolution everyone can live with quicker than you'd think. Sorry it's taken so long :-(


----------------------------------

 

I am getting a R2 replacement, so it's all about the people you talk to.

 

Its really take so long time to solve this kind of issue with a software bassed thing ?, im just in shock how many time they spend to determinate that the fault comes from the bad relationship between nvidia and Core processors; even more surprise about the fact than they dont want to replace at the first time those defective machines and the only "solutions" in sight is accept Ati cards . . . Im dissapointed about that, but, if R2 are going Ok with ATI cards i will have not another thing to do than buy it, i love the design of this beautiful unlucky laptop and i dont really want a Qosmio thing.

 

Well as long as they fix it properly, (and not by having me revert to crappy Vista,) I would be happy.

Still going for a R2 or R3 when the unit has the USB 3 and DX 11 GPU options

 

it's always about the people you get when calling Dell.

Some will be very helpful and give you what you deserve, others can put you through Dell Hell.

Glad it worked out for you.

 

1) which software are they referring to nvidia chipset, nvidia gpus or what?
2) what kind of software takes so long if they have not to fix the hardware compatibility too?
3) why intel motherboard softwares are fine?
4) why John doesnt try win7?
5) does John spend his time to test games or played flac with visualizations on his vista? because if its his secretary replying then we should thank her.
6) why John asks each one of us if they know what software to fix and just release a fix for all of us (it may fix some machines issues some others not). Just try IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING!
7) why nvidia asks us for the issues if Dell cooperates with them for a solution. What solution if they havent described the problems?
8) someone should tell him that exceptions are not the law and this story will go further. If i have 1000 M17X to own i would select the one without issues, or should i say the one that is made from good motherboard materials The consequences of their policy will show up later NOT NOW!

I dont know how alienware support was before the cooperation with Dell but imagine if Alienware finally loses sales due to their cooperation, the opposite from what they wanted to succeed.
i would have many more to ask but i wont spend my time for noobish replies.

 

i have a feeling all their m17x test machines are all running vista cos they are the batch which have vista installed and they dont bother putting win 7 in to test hence they cant get any problems out of those test machines.

i bet they think its a mobo driver

 

The Speakers look if it comes as one complete set looking at this pic.

 

this is the left one. anyway i think lights are seperate. the speakers work the lights dont

 

Vista doesnt make any difference, mine still skips cracks and pops. All I have to do is fire up Winamp and start a visualization program, and its all over.

Makes it awful hard to throw a party and run the visuals thru the laptop to a projector when the sound is all skippy and crappy.

 

Thats correct - again, visualizations are kicking the GPU clocks up. In Vista however, with Visualizations off, moving windows around the desktop is not going to ramp up clocks whereas in W7 it will thanks to the way dwm.exe utilizes the GPU(s).

This is the main reason why I never 'saw' the issue before. I stopped using Visualizations back on my old Dell XPS M1730 (Intel Chipset) due to the same reason - DPC Latency would produce audio interrupts. Disabled and poof - all was fine. I carried over the same behavior to my M17x not to prevent anything, but just 'out of habit'.

Not justifying anything - I'm not saying its "right", just that there is a difference. This is by no means a solution as many do like Visualizations and many do enjoy W7.

 

MESSAGE FROM NBR AW FORUM MODERATOR -

Forum Rules:

Since you are a new member, I encourage you to review the forum rules.

 

Well finally got back to me on Friday. The guy said that I have to wait basically since AW/Dell/Nvida thinks they are close to a fix in the coming weeks. He said that they cant even offer me ATI replacements since they think they are close to a fix. I told him that I would give them one more week (since he said he should have news by Friday). I couldn't really fight for much since he called me while I was about to get on aboard my flight.

 

This issue is driving me nuts... Lagging and stuttering in a high end system. Even us with the ATI Card are having minor issues...

 

Yeah, ATI cards still stutter at times, but not nearly as bad.

I've actually been considering getting away from the M17x completely if possible, through Dell. Think they'd exchange for a Studio XPS 16 of equal value (to my original sticker price on this M17x)?

 

I was offered a Precision 6400 when I was coming out of my 1730. Part of me wonders what life would've been like if I took it. The other part is glad I didn't take it (I like the shiny bling bling)

 

You can always discuss this with support if you are outside of the 21-days, which I believe you are. If support is not able to come to an arrangement, you can also try escalating the issue however it might be worthwhile to wait until John updates the community with this 'software' related fix.

I agree with you that the issue is much less 'visible' with ATI GPUs. From what I have seen from 2 other R1 ATI systems the issue is very minor but still present.

 

Batboy - you are correct... I am outside the 21 day return. I'm working with tech support for replacement. I'm not sure how soon the fix as discussed by John will come, but I don't know how much longer I can wait.

I've noticed a trend on my M17x that I didn't notice previously, as I haven't burned many DVDs with it at first, and thought that the few bad burns that happened were flukes. However, recently I've started backing up my data to DVDs (and not cheapo brands either - Memorex, Philips and Sony), and have a 50% failure rate on burns. This also causes the machine to completely lock up until the disk is ejected; which is the main issue... it takes 30 minutes of power cycling and rebooting while spamming the eject hotkey before I get the disk out (drive does not even attempt to eject). What's unusual is, it causes any OS I'm running to completely freeze when a bad burn occurs.

I've recently tried something out of curiosity, which is running the DPC latency program while burning... and just before I get a bad burn, I receive a significant spike... roughly 900,000us.

I may have a bad drive, yes... however, I think I'm done messing around with all the issues with this thing, unfortunately. I love the aesthetics, and the power would be great, if it weren't for the hoops we're having to jump through in order to get a semi-functioning PC out of it.

 

Wow, this is ridiculous.... We've already been waiting 8 months, and it's been just about a month since the last 'fix' was released. Which did nothing.

I really hope they don't tell me this as well.... I called Saturday and after about 2 hours the tech told me he'd escalate my case and I should call back in a few days - hopefully I didn't waste that time just to be told to wait even longer.



EDIT: Just saw this post from John B on the Dell Support page:

Now he is saying ATI cards don't fix the issue? Interesting that so many people are getting ATI replacements if they don't believe it is a fix... Maybe this means there is more hope for R2 replacements (unless they can actually create a working fix)?

 

Sorry to hear that. The drive sounds to be bad from what you describe and should be replaced. If you end up escalating the case, feel free to post HERE as it would be the proper thread for escalation related issues.

Support should have no issue with dispatching out a tech with a replacement drive while we wait for John's next update.

 

@tsurashi
i dont think its a hardware drive problem. more of the firmware issue or a driver issue.

i get that quite often as well. whenever i burn a disc, it automatically ejects, then i try to put it back in to confirm the burn is ok, the disc refuses to read and i cant eject for some reason and the whole system freezes for a fews secs or sometimes a few minutes if i spam the eject button.

however if you leave it alone for about 15-20 minutes, the disc will be ejected by itself.

crappy slotload drive that cant be ejected at bios boot. which makes me think. what IF you have no oses in your hdd and you need to swap discs for os installation and you have a useless unbootable disc in the drive at the moment?

 

May I ask how you managed this? Do you know someone who works for Dell or do you just mean that you have to get lucky and talk to the right tech?

I'm really hoping I can get an R2.....

 

My guess is he just got the right tech with the right escalation path.

 

Unfortunately this option is only for the lucky few who have connections or just fall on the right rep. From all my countless phone calls only once got lucky - the rep really wanted to help and eventually authorized the ATIs, but guess that's how far my luck with them goes.

 

even if you get the right tech rep i think youll have to be lucky enough to have an equally helpful tech rep manager or escalation person since mostly tier 1 tech reps you get when you first call up dont have the authority to do replacements. they'll end up having to check with their supervisor and if your unlucky the supervisor says NO

 

Yeah that all makes sense.. the first guy I got didn't really seem to have a clue so he just escalated then told me to call back

 

State your problems, convince them the faulty system doesn't work the way it's supposed to work without jumping through hoops and ask for escalation. That is what I did. Basically, tell them the truth. I compared my M17x with buying a new car. After receiving the car from the dealership you shouldn't have to update the ignition-system and disconnect the fuelpump and use the windscreen wipers and claxon simultaneously in order for it to start in the morning. No normal person would accept this. We are actually accepting this by not complaining enough and have Dell sell us a laptop that needs workarounds for it to work as intended. Don't get me wrong; if you are willing to accept it and try 1 of the many tutorials on here to make your system work properly go ahead. But imo you shouldn't have to and therefore are in your right to give Dell hell about sending you a faulty system. We are not asking our M17x to launch the Discovery, we are trying to play an MP3 file..... Something my 12 yr old desktop with a Pentium 1 processor and 8Mb of RAM does PERFECTLY without ANY issues. WITH visualisations turned on.
Here, this is our new M17x flagship: pls install latest drivers/BIOS, don't use visuals on it, dont game on it, dont play music on it, don't open the lid, keep it cool by placing it near the fridge and dance to the downclock-gods 2 x a day counterclockwise for it to work. MP3's might work in a future update, we'll keep you posted.

Sorry for ranting, needed to get that off my chest. The more I think about it, the crazier this whole story gets. Maybe Dell will have us dress up in pink elephant outfits and tell us that is the way to reduce FPS problems. Eating peanuts ofcourse.

 

Why there isn't a fix yet?
its been 4 months now!
Annoying as hell.

 

indeed, i'm gagging for new BIOS. all the games i play are still playable, but nonetheless, its still very annoying

 

5 buck say the next bios update (if there is one) prolly wont do anything except make dpc checker look even better.


a senior tech tells me they their test machines do not have the issue at all. which makes me think theirs are either imaginary or running vista or something. if they cant recreate the problem we are facing how can they find a fix?

 

they're probably testing on an R2 and don't know why it would make a difference to the R1. After all, it's the same video cards.

 

Which is a fallacy in itself as the M17x R1 and R2 are built around a different platform (MCP79/730I vs PM55)

 

Why bother speculating as to how they test?

 

If you really had a senior tech tell you that than it's most likely he works for a different company than Dell. Dell has officially recognized the problem on engadgement as well as the Dell Blog.

They are aware of the problem, they can recreate it or even look at the hundreds of returns they got from unhappy customers.

 

no idea.. he said the a03 bios fixed all the issues on their test systems and they have no problems.

 

dell is replacing my 280s with 4870s for free to fix stuttering issue

 

As referenced by John B a couple pages back. This is a placebo fix as the problem is in the chipset.

The only real fix is to swap out the MB with the new i7 boards. Which is a crapshoot let me tell ya....

I'm so angry at support right now, I have never experienced more pass the buck attitude than I have with this issue. The last thing they wanted me to do is to disable to storage control driver.. dell ..

 

when did you call and what #?

 

Bottom line: Dell sold us, perfectly knowing it, a defect machine. A lot of time has passed by... No solution... ATI also has this issue... If we do not get new machines that work as promised, then it is plain robbery...

End of line...

 

They replaced my 260's with the 4870's but it didn't fix all the problems I still get high latency spikes, the movies will stutter and also the system still locks up. I have also had my mainboard replaced before the gpu cards.