M17x DPC Latency

Exactly. Until Dell states this publically in the form of a blog post, John-B/Nagshead post here or some other form of official communication it is not wise to say this confirms anything.

I do not doubt you Denver nor do I feel this is not an issue, it most certainly is. We need to hear from Dell first. Its fine to entertain possibilities, but they have to confirm this.

 

True, but it is a good clue/hint

Of course nothing is official yet

 

Congrats! lol

 

only 1/10 of my record, hehe

 

This is basically what i did to eliminate the stuttering in Windows 7. I also added to install the official dell wireless drivers, the windows default ones were causing spikes every few seconds. Used maximum performance on the Nvidia control panel for the cards. Set up a profile for explorer.exe (windows explorer) and set it for maximum performance, i did that for sidebar as well(might not be needed because explorer profile did the trick)

This is what my DPC checker looks like



This is me playing a 1080p@60FPS video + playing youtube video + playing a 720p Anime over wireless connected to my home server. Flawless, no stuttering or audio pops at all. Dont install Nvidia network drivers.

 

I did all those steps too, and still have bad stuttering in games, music and video. Using maximum performance did nothing for me.

 

What options exactly did you change?

 

@Rotsu try opening multiple tabs loaded with flash and change between them scrolling up&down.

 

sorry forget one important step,

Set up a profile for explorer.exe (windows explorer) and set it for maximum performance, i did that for sidebar as well(might not be needed because explorer profile did the trick)
The cards will run around 4-5c warmer on idle. But all issues are gone...

 

No issue at all. I still get stuttering when i press the eject button, around 4k spike. Happens every time. I think the worst latency iv seen is by opening a HD youtube video and set it to full screen. I see latency jump to 2-3k sometimes, but thats as far as it can go.

 

4-5c if your room is near 20c or you have a coolerpad, otherwise it can be more like 10c + constant 60% fans, which I found annoying and eventually turned the max performance off.
Nice idea to create a power profile for your browser though.

 

That is perfect. I get the same with 4870s and it's totally normal.

 

I think the big picture here is that we're not all getting a fix, and those that seem to be are having to jump through hoops to get it to work right. This is beyond the usual tweaks to maximize performance, we shouldn't even be having to do this, having to do things like disable our battery to help lower the latency is just stupid on a laptop of this caliber.

 

The battery works fine even when you disable the ACPI service. Its just you wont know the status of the battery :E

But i know what you mean, it sucks when you payed an arm and a leg for this thing... Dell have to give us a fair fix or replacement. Otherwise they will lose a lot of customers. Engadget will be all over this if it gets any worse.

 

Anyone gets a screeching sound when you use your mouse scroll button...in the center...very little pitch sound...thur your speakers!!! Anyone have this experience to create spikes check this out!!

 

I have just talked to a Dell technician here in Sweden and we're now running the full diagnostics (wich won't give a thing....)
How to i reply if there are nothing to report on this diagnostics ? the problems are still here for crying out loud...

 

I've gotta say... I thought my M17x was ok but she's still crashing and freezing on me randomly. WoW is still crashing randomly. I guess it falls under Lock Ups. I'm having blue screens of death and freezing randomly - it's just unreliable. Oh and if it's plugged into the wall it freezes when I unplug it.

I think this has everything to do with the Nvidia Chipset. This happens whether or not I'm overclocked.

If it continues I forsee myself pushing for a Dual Core i7 Replacement. For now I'll just stay tuned and see what the official word from Dell will be regarding the Nvidia based motherboard.

 

I've had great luck with NVIDIA in my desktops. But both laptops I've had that had anything NVIDIA in them have been nothing but disasters. I sold my m17x and the next laptop I get will have an Intel chipset and ATi Video card.

 

Well i got good news after much persistence and threatening to involve Consumer Affairs department i am returning my M17x for a full refund, purchased October last year.

 

Congrats on your resolution.

If you are looking to offload the CPU, you'll need to post it in the MarketPlace. Thanks.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18

 

No problems have done, now have to do a ton of research on desktops, last one i built was an abit vp6 system dual pentium 3s a long long time ago

 

i've had my m17x for about 2 hours now and noticed this stuttering issue.
i found an easy fix on mine.
under manage 3d setttings, global settings change multi-display/mixed GPU to single display performance mode.
I havent had any stutter since i changed that.

 

I cant believe what i just read in the other thread by DenverESullivan and i quote:
The tech I spoke with actually conferenced in an engineer and we both learned some very bad news... According to him, as of today all Alienware M17x nvidia chipset based motherboards are officially defective. There is nothing they can do to completely eliminate the issue.

Apparently they are working on a new Intel based motherboard revision but it will be some time before it is ready for us.

this is the worst news ever, I'm currently not living in the US and was hoping a bios or driver could solve the issue but if this is true then ALL OF OUR M17X ARE DEFECTIVE!!!!, I'm so dissapointed, i really dont know what to do at this point, what is everyone else doing, we should all push to get a refreshed system, it is the very least they can do, give us a a working system!!! and not be pushed around when its already a fact that we all have dfective sytems, can anyone else confirm what DenverESullivan says is true??

 

My M17xr1 was canclled today by dell!

it was a replacment for my original r1 hopefully i can sort out an r2 now!


Order Date: 21/01/2010
Order Status: Cancelled

Because of a problem with the combination of components we cannot complete the order.

Please contact your sales person to place a new order or to arrange a refund.

Thanks,

Dell

specs qx9300. 4870 ati crossfire, blueray burner, 4gb 1333mhz, 1920x1200 lcd. win7 ultimate, 250gb 7200rpm hd.

 

thanks weddingvideos4u, the combination of components might be the defective chipset, why were you getting a replacement because of the stuttering, dpc etc issues? i dont want to get ahead of myself but if they dont want to send you another R1 it means that they are acknowledging there is a hardware defect!! please keep us updated

 

Since both John & Nagshead don't reply to this. No-one knows it's true or false

 

Im getting a replacement on a couple of issues, one being the dpc lattecy issues etc. and the other is the service tech broke the machine changing the motherboard and cpu.

they offered the 4870 cross fire insted of teh 260 sli because of the lattency issues.

the brand new rep as off service damage!

will know more when i get a call from tech manger tonight

 

So just to get this straight - the only other things you did differently were
1. choosing NOT to install nvidia network drivers when installing chipset?
2. setting explorer.exe profile

What exactly are your system specs? Any other tweaks? RAID 0?

 

thats messed up man, tech reps breaking down our very expensive machines is not very encouraging, i was even contemplating in asking for a motherboard replacement but with the probability of anything getting broken in the process is not an option, I'll contact dell tonight to see what solution they can offer me and confirm if there is a hardware defect or not.

 

Guys,

After spending two hours on the phone with Dell/Alienware I wanted to update you... The tech and engineer I spoke with Friday were COMPLETELY incorrect.

I had our Dell Enterprise rep get me to someone who could actually help me today.... The customer service representative indicated that new motherboards (as Moo said) take months to properly design... There is not going to be ANY hardware revisions made to the existing M17xR1 motherboard.

The issues we're seeing actually have two causes. The video cards poorly downclock causing the audio stutter. The lockups issue is caused by a problem with the nVidia storage driver not behaving correctly.

They are swapping me from 280s in SLI to the 4870s in Crossfire. They said that we should be on the lookout for an updated BIOS release and driver to fix the Storage Driver issues within the next week or so... both are in the final stages of testing.

I apologize that my news Friday night caused others to panic as well, but when I was told that by the two representatives I wanted to alert you guys since we're all in this together!

Customer Service indicated that they have the names of the employees to gave me the incorrect information and that they will be dealt with appropriately.

So now I'm waiting for my new cards which should arrive by Thursday.

... now... I have some questions since I've never owned an ATI product (desktop or laptop) in my life...

Are there any games that don't work with ATI cards? I know some games work best with nVidia, but are there any that won't work at all?

I'm assuming that integrated graphics and stealth mode continue to work and that you just have to reboot... correct?

I'm a computer tech, however I haven't done anything with my M17x yet disassembly wise... For those of you who have swapped cards, is there anything that I need to be aware of... They're having me do the swap since the local Banctech folks haven't been Alien trained yet.

Any advice or assistance is GREATLY appreciated.

- Denver

 

man.. there goes the hopes of getting an r2 due to faulty mobos..

still, id like a proper confirmation from an official dell statement..

 

Denver thanks for the update, dude you had us suffering for a while, anyways its quite a relief to know that they can fix it with software, i do have raid 0, so it might be according to your statement that people having raids in their system are more affected by the poor nvidia storage drivers, i've had ati cards in my desktops over the years and they've always been more reliable, good luck with your swapping take some pics, i would suggest looking at Moo's guide he has videos and all

 

you got the stutterings off only without hybrid? does the stuttering and dpc spikes come back with hybrid? if it still does then youve found a fix but the system still isnt working as it should and i wouldnt settle for it

spending 7k on a laptop that needs compromised modes to function properly is no go

 

Rudyboy,

Personally if R1 can work (as they tell me it can) I actually prefer it over the new R2. I travel alot... The ability to swap to integrated graphics and have longer than 30sec battery life is a godsend. R2 loses that option.

- Denver

 

sorry guys, this is hard to follow...are the mobos defective ? or not ?

 

cpaqf1,

According to the senior customer service folks I spoke with this morning:

QUICKREAD VERSION:

1) Motherboards are fine, hardware-wise.
2) BIOS will need to be updated again to correct issues with SATA/RAID lockups.
3) nVidia storage driver will need to be replaced.
4) Bios and storage driver are in testing and should release in next week or so.

The stutter issue is entirely the fault of the nVidia cards. nVidia is working on it but he is swapping me to ATI so I can have the issue completely done and over with.

- Denver

 

thanks mate, but the storage driver has nothing to do with the nvidia cards ? or am I wrong ?

 

It's to fix a differnt issue ... He clearly stated that

 

Also I highly doubt it is the storage driver....this is the same nforce package that desktop boards with the 730i/9400m chipset are using....they are just making excuses (like usual) and buying time (remember, in june/july alot of 1 year warranties run out)

A new BIOS MAY fix it, I am not knowledgeable in this area to say. Wouldn't mind if they unlocked CPU voltages though, for our troubles lol

 

anyone has any news about the driver fix from the Dell reps? and what "fix" means? something with registry (disabling powermizer maybe)?

if they really dont offer nvidia gpus on their website anymore then this seems to me like the cooperation of Dell and Nvidia comes to an end?

faulty nvidia gpus or motherbord design or whatever else may have led to this right?

 

Ok guys for those who asked me about what i did. This is basiiclly what i did posted by Jaypat,

=========================
Ok for those of you having dpc latency problems after the A03 update follow these steps exactly!

Alienware M17x Drivers: http://support.dell.com/support/dow...emID=ALW_LP_M17X&os=WV64&osl=en&catid=&impid=
___________________

1.) Install A03 Bios
2.) Do a fresh install of Windows (Vista or Windows 7, steps are all the same except for the last one if you are using Windows 7)
*** Use ALL the current drivers from
Dell
/Alienware’s Website for the M17X for the following steps.
3.) Install NVidia ChipSet Driver…
a.
***IMPORTANT: Make sure you uncheck the box for Nvidia Storage Driver when that option comes up… there is a conflict with this driver that causes a lot of DPC Latency. The windows driver works perfectly.

4.) Install the Rioch Chipset Driver
5.) Install the video driver for your card manufacturer (ATI or Nvidia)
6.) Install the Audio Driver
7.) Install the IR Driver
8.) Uninstall both of the network drivers making sure you check the box that asks you do delete the old driver
9.)
Install the WIFI Driver Install the Driver from Dell/Alienware’s M17X site (there is a conflict with the old driver and the driver supplied by windows that causes a huge amount of DPC Latency)

10.) Open the Device Manager, then click the plus sign next to Batteries
11.) Disable the “Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery” this driver has a known issue in Windows Vista and Windows 7 that causes huge DPC Latency Spikes ever 15 seconds or so. Microsoft is in the processing of rewriting this driver to eliminate this problem.
12.) Click on the plus sign next to “IEE1394 Bus Host Controller”
a. Right Click on your firewire card and choose to update driver. When you update the driver, make sure you choose to use the Legacy Driver. (there is a known issue with windows 7 and some versions of Vista that limits the throughput to 100. Using the legacy driver brings the speed back up to standard (400 and 800)

13.) Go to Regedit (This is for “CPU Parking” Issue in Windows 7)
a.) Find this key:- " 0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583 "
b.) Within this key, there is a value called: " ValueMax "
(This value represents the % number of cores the system will park - the default 100% ie: all Cores are potentially park-able )

c.) Change the value from 64 to 0 so the " ValueMin " and " ValueMax " are both zero
(You will have to find the key a few times and repeat the process for each time it is found - the number of instances will depend on the number of power profiles in your system)
d.) Do a full shutdown and power-off and cold-re-start
14.) Go to the Control Panel and change the Power Power Plan to High Performance
=====================================

This did not completly fix the latency for me, So i added the following

1-Use any Nvidia drivers with power management controller, such as the 195.62 or the beta 195.81(this is what im using now).

2- set up a profile for Explorer.exe and set it to maximum performance, i did the same for windows sidebar.

3-make sure you are using dell wireless drivers and NOT windows wireless drivers.

4-i did NOT install ODS.

5- disable hybrid SLI and integrated graphics (disable the 9400 chip) when i had this enabled, i noticed a few 4-6k spikes on the same stress test i was doing.

Here is another picture of what my latency looks like WITH Hybrid graphics enabled in the BIOS and im running on the 280m SLI of course. I have 3 youtube videos playing at the same time, a 1080p video with WMP and a 720p Anime using VLC.





I am glad to see this is not a hardware issue, like i expect and most of us did. this is a poor power management by the graphics cards... hopefully a software can fix this.

 

"Here is another picture of what my latency looks like WITH integrated graphics enabled".... I assume that you mean integrated disabled? this is on your 280's "dedicated?" thanks for your time in the post.

 

Yes all the tests i did were on the dedicated 280m SLI. One time with the hybrid graphics enabled in the BIos and one without(disabling the 9400 helps a bit but it does not cause a major latency issue)

 

Thanks for the clarification Denver on your original post. Interesting they are stating now its the fault of the NVIDIA cards (as in GPUs). Granted there are many who in fact experience 'stutter' however I do not. In any case, we will just need to wait and see what Dell has in store for all of us next

Thanks again for your follow up.

For those of you who are not satisified with the situation and have already contacted Dell support you can also use the process here to seek assistance. Remember, you must contact support first.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5713924

 

I've been in constant contact with Alienware support over this stuttering issue, which nothing they have done has helped at all- they even took control of my PC, but found as they were performing their fix (as posted by Rotsu), that I had already done it.

So, I called Customer Service to see about getting swapped out to a 4870... and they told me to call back in an hour, that's when they'll be able to work with me on my issue. I find that a little odd.

 

wonder if they would replace my 260s with ATIs....doubt it :/

 

they would if you go through all the troubleshooting steps with them and still have the problems

 

this may explain part of why dell seems to be distancing themselves from Nvidia

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-rambus-patent-lawsuit-ram,9502.html

 

Ok, I've been calling Dell to try and get this resolved, still... all I want is to get swapped to a 4870 to resolve my stuttering issues. I'm done with getting bounced around between tech support and customer service, both saying "I'm sorry sir, but I can't do that, I have to transfer you to .....". I've been getting bounced around all day, aside from the unresolved issues link, is there any way I can talk to a single person and get something done??

-is extremely frustrated.

 

I've been experiencing the same thing. This seems to be done on purpose to avoid dealing with the situation. Once you mention M17x the pass around begins, try saying you have an inspiron and you'll see the difference I'm talking about. If Dell isn't careful with how they deal with their customers on this particular matter, they may end up walking into a world of hurt.