M17x DPC Latency

you also have to set performance mode for windows explorer in program settings. i think i have tried it before and didnt work. anyway its like with powermizer disabled which always works. Of course i dont want my gpus overclocked the whole time.


personally i will wait for 2 weeks (time Dell claims that they will release the new bios) and then demand ATIs

again if you dont care about gpu clocks use the 195.62 driver of Dox from the link below and during installation set powermizer off. then you wont have any stutter. this works for everyone

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/26002-forceware-19562/

 

no i got the machine back in September 2009.

 

If you have already installed that driver or any driver for that matter, how do you turn off PowerMizer? Also, how do you set the performance mode within Explorer.exe?

 

Unfortunately not for me it doesnt, like the powermizer switch it only stops one card downclocking. You are right though, despite the cooling on the M980 the additional heat is a pain as the fans come on more, and quiet was one reason I wanted a laptop. Still for me its a case of heat and noise, or a machine I couldnt live with.

 

well bottom line we should not have to reload the OS several times, play with various settings, tweak drivers, with the hope that a $4000.00 + dollar machine may work properly for a few hours.

 

for your first question install it and you will see it has an option to select before installation.

for your second question go to nvidia control panel -> manage 3d settings> program settings > add> search explorer.exe> select it. then in options go to power management mode and select prefer maximum performance

i dont really care about the sound but for the continuous stressing of the gpus. thus you may have to do a fresh format and try this driver again. its not a matter of luck but a matter of registry.

 

Can you do this with Dell's official version of the driver?

 

Dell is sending out Revision 2 motherboard for my M17x, I doubt it'll fix the stuttering issue... but it's a step they have to take to justify replacing the nVidia video cards with ATI if the stuttering persists.

 

Where did you hear that?

 

I spoke to a supervisor in the Alienware tech support center. He's taken control of my account due to the issues, and he said there is a design flaw on the R1 motherboards, that was resolved in R2. Not sure if this is true, or I'm being fed a line of bull... however, if it's a step they must go through, I'll let them do it.

I asked if they could send the ATI video cards same shipment just in case motherboard doesn't resolve the stuttering, and he said that they can't... motherboard replacement first, then if that doesn't resolve, they'll ship the ATI video cards.

 

R2 motherboard supports the new i series processor, are you getting that as well?

 

Can you verify that please?! Are you getting the R1 or R2 motherboard replacement? That could be a huge change for all of us!

 

That doesnt make any sense. If they send the new motherboard then you will have a new processor as well(i7). Wouldnt it be easier for them to change the cards with ATIs?

 

Unless it is the same platform but with a revision to it. Ie R1.2

 

dell is watching this thread and everyone post thats why no one is getting ati cards anymore even though that is the real fix for it. they said an update will be available this week to next week and they are not shipping out anymore ati cards. fyi

 

Well it's not even 100% sure the ATI cards are the fix for everyone. It may have worked for people, but others might find they will still have some stutter after receiving ATI replacements.. it's not completely ruled out yet. All we are doing here right now is speculating.

The only thing we do know 100% is that there IS a problem with these first generation All Powerful M17x's.

 

They should be watching it! With all due respect for Dell, for all these years of quality and support, this is one example when fast measures are required to fix the issue which is clearly slipping out of control.
I wouldn't be surprised if the whole refresh release (R2) was triggered by this, after they discovered that there is a serious hardware problem, they ran to stimulate as many M17x R1 owners to sell their machines and opt for the R2, making both balanced profit of it and escaping the unnecessary noise by slashing the number of R1 machine that are still on warranty.

 

2 days in a row, gaming and benching the highest DPC spike was 5300.
If you have a stable desktop with the performance that you are pleased with, try running the DPClat in the background for a few hours of browsing, gaming, watching and listening and tell us the highest you get?
I agree, this might be the lucky fix for Dell and in reality it only hides the core of the problem, till one day... Scary to think about it.
This whole is starting to weigh heavily on me, as I need the machine for very important programming project, requiring stable environment, both windows and linux. And so far, so NOT good. I'm close to packing the device and sending it back to Dell with a letter from my lawyer...

 

Here's what the supervisor told me: R1 and R2 are Core Duo motherboards. R3 are the i7 motherboards. That's all I know at the moment.

 

the Manual says something else Alienware Laptop M17xR2 is intel i5 i7.

Go to dell site. drivers support on the left hand side scroll down untel you see manuals then follow up on what to do. Choose a model/ Laptop/ Alienware laptop. Then it will show M17x and M17x R2.

I would point this out to the Supervisor

 

Hmm, thanks for pointing that out.... If they send the i7 mobo but no CPU, then I'm going to be pretty angry. I'm also wondering if there were any changes to the case to accommodate the i7 mobo. This could get rather interesting. I don't exactly want a Frankenstein machine...

If this helps anyone out, the motherboard part number they are shipping is F415N.

 

The R2 setup is a Intel motherboard with out the geforce 9400. With a Intel chipset of PM55. That supports only Ati gpus. Due to the fact the i7 has a onboard memory controler not a Northbrige. The pin count has changed. core 2 and i7 would not fit in the same socket. I have not found the pin count.

Everything I found was from Dell site and Intel.com.

 

I think I see what the tech is saying now... R1 would be considered motherboard R1.0, R2 would be motherboard R1.1 (M17x), and R3 would be motherboard R2.0 (M17x-R2).

Just searched for part number F415N that they are shipping to me, and it's R1 (nForce chipset). Well, guess it's a start. I doubt it'll fix the DPC latency / stuttering, but the next step is replacing video card. Finally making progress, at least.

 

I manually cleared the registry before install, thier were no NV remnants, and Im not reinstalling again for the 10th-15th time now unless there was a guaranteed fix. My vendor is aware of the steps Ive had to take, and I have a 2 year warranty. If my GPUs die from the 10 degree higher idle they will be replacing them.

 

Yes that sounds right tsurashi. So they might change chipset or Fix chipset due to a faulty one. Or a part of the motherboard to fix the issue.

 

I dont blame you. It why I order my laptop with dual hard drives 640 gb 7400 rpm Raid 0 Or order another hard drive so I dont have to ___ up my normal config. If you have dpc latency shuttering and lock up. Write up what you did each time you call Dell and go I already did this or that.

 

Luckily I no longer have to deal with EUR AW/Dell support which is appalling.

 

I been dealing with issues from dec. 2006. Issues with two other laptops. And it was common issues overheating, sleep mode shutdown. Light not working.

 

ok i called Dell technical support in Greece and they are going to send me new GTX 280s. we all here know the problem will persist but i couldnt persuade them. it will be just time loss and another justification of nvidia gpus suck.

whatever they told me that they are going to send a technician tomorrow with the new GTX 280s and if the problem persists we are going to install the drivers together so as to be sure its an nvidia gpus hardware issue.


NOTE: they didnt even know the issues and they dont recognize even the post of John-B as official!!!!! they told me that even they could post something there.

 

. . .I wouldn't agree to the same GPU replacement, because that ups the chances of one landing a previously faulty--refurbished back to health--GPU.

 

thats what they told me. i cant do something else. as i said the new GTX280s will also have the problem and then it will be easier to switch to ATIs. this is the normal procedure anyway. even if the ups brings faulty GTX280s the technicians report back to Dell after every service operation

 

Doesnt surprise me, the EUR support is rediculous and there is no communication between staff in the same region, let alone cross continental.

 

Time to tip Engadget again about the carry on as it is unacceptable .

http://www.engadget.com/

 

i think we should wait for their supposed "fix" .....
if the whatever they come up next doesn't fix this issue. i'll go on a rampage on blogs and tech sites about this, ill also demand an ATI replacement cards.

 

Yeah, I read about your experience and all the bane you went through with Alienware. I was very eager to move to Kobalt myself, but Dell found a way to manipulate my circumstances, and so I am now with two Dell laptops.

The Kobalt guys, Andrew and Neil, were excellent with the communication and always took the time to address every query. I actually regret not having a full-on opportunity to get a Comanche SLi.

Anyway, how would you rate your experience so far with Kobalt?

 

I haven't accepted that response..i couldn't discuss it with the tech as i was at work When they call tomorrow (if) i will be much more demanding.

Fyi, tried, one final time to get rid of the dpc latency last night...can't even watch a Youtube movie without suttering...i'll get back to you.

 

I have had the lockups that you have. Also vent will work.
Did you try uninstalling and using driversweeper on the chipset drives and not using the NVidia storage driver?
Since I have been using the microsoft one, I haven't had the system lock up.. *crosses fingers*

 

a question for people with ATIs. do you get red spikes on win7 when you connect a usb device for example a gamepad?

 

No, max spike is 985us

 

Ditto. The "spike" stays in the green zone. Same when disconnecting (via safe removal) the USB device.

 

Anyone experience their system totally freezing when unplugging from the power?

 

I just returned my Core2Duo w/GTX260 and am ordering a new system with i7 and ATI...

Good idea?

 

Anyone experience in game 10 seconds of very slow FPS, as if hard disk activity or something kicks in..

Game will be smooth, then be choppy and very unplayable for 5-10 seconds, then smooth again. This happens to me in all games, and I've even got all services and extra stuff disabled.

 

I get that with Divinity 2 nickbarbs, but no other games. not sure what the cause is tho

 

Are you experiencing these issues with the ATI cards ?

 

... yeah, thats my sig

 

Yeah, happens in Mass Effect 2 as well. Kind of annoying because it is butter smooth all other times. My previous M17x did this too.. I'm wondering if the GPU's arent getting to hot, then downclocking, or something. Whatever.

I'm fed up with portable gaming always issues

 

Apart from minor niggles theyve been great, much better than what AW have become. The only fault is the stuttering a few of us have but they are chasing clevo/nvidia for a fix with a few other resellers, which is all they can do til they hear something as Clevo doesnt offer ATI atm. Always been friendly on the phone and pretty active on thier forums. Even swapped my ram from 1066 to new 1333 modules while they had it in to see if they could do anything (whether they meant to leave it I dont know lol)

Despite the problems, I would happily order from them again, Im much more hesitant to buy AW/Dell unless I have to! Says it all...

 

I know just how you feel, i will try to sell my M17X as soon as it works. Then i don't know if i buy another gaming laptop again... All Dell laptops i have owned, except the Vostro 1700, had issues as well.

 

Do you have the ITE infrared driver installed?