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    M17xR2 weird stutter/freeze in games

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by ronno, Jan 28, 2012.

  1. ronno

    ronno Newbie

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    I've had my system for over a year, and about a month ago, the following problem started happening. While playing games (and more or less only then), fps drops to near 0 if there is any hd access. This happens even if I'm in a menu, but in that case the mouse cursor suffers no lag. Almost all games are affected, even something lightweight like BIT.TRIP RUNNER.

    I've checked for dpc latency issues, background programs affecting the hd access speed (I even did a factory reset, and the problem still occurs), and anything else I could think of. All benchmarking/diagnosis programs that I ran tell me that the hardware is fine. If I install the games on one of the hard disks, the problem seems slightly less frequent than on the other. Also noticed that running hwinfo (32/64) in the background makes it happen almost continuously. That makes me think it's a semi software issue. Any ideas are welcome.

    It's in warranty, but I think I'll have a hard time convincing the support people that it's a real issue. Anyone have any experience in dealing with Alienware support from India?

    Specs:
    Intel® Core i7-940XM
    4GB 1333MHz RAM
    2x 500GB Hard Drive
    ATI HD 5870 (not crossfire)
     
    ronno, Jan 28, 2012
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  2. ronno

    ronno Newbie

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    Bump. No one has any ideas?
     
    ronno, Jan 30, 2012
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  3. ronno

    ronno Newbie

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    Bump again.
     
    ronno, Feb 2, 2012
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  4. zoolian982

    zoolian982 Notebook Deity

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    Have you checked for Stealth mode?
     
    zoolian982, Feb 2, 2012
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  5. ronno

    ronno Newbie

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    Yes. First thing I tried.
     
    ronno, Feb 2, 2012
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  6. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Are you on latest driver? Have you done a clean OS install?
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Feb 2, 2012
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  7. Dellienware

    Dellienware Workstations & Ultrabooks

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    how are the temps for the cpu and gpu?
     
    Dellienware, Feb 2, 2012
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  8. ronno

    ronno Newbie

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    I've done a restore to factory image and installed latest drivers.
    The temps have no correlation with the stutter at all, but normally range at 50C (idle) to 85C (load). Also, as I said, monitoring for temps increases the stutter frequency heavily.
     
    ronno, Feb 2, 2012
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  9. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    If you've did a clean OS install, checked temperatures, then your card could be defective or there could be a short somewhere. I would call up Dell for service unless you have on site warranty and let them diagnose it.

    Does anyone know if Dell still have 5870 Mobility's in stock..
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Feb 3, 2012
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  10. ricard2798

    ricard2798 Notebook Consultant

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    how much do the 5870s sell for? I got 2 extras (yet am unsure to sell since I might need if I need to use my ext warranty). Just curious.

    Reason they are extras is because I bought 6990s
     
    ricard2798, Feb 3, 2012
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  11. Trulyfatal

    Trulyfatal Notebook Consultant

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    Upgradeyourelapop sells them on ebay

    ATI Mobility Radeon HD5870 VGA Module MXM 3.0b w/ Crossfire Suppport

    US $240,00
    EUR 182,20
     
    Trulyfatal, Feb 3, 2012
    #11
  12. kakureru

    kakureru Notebook Geek

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    im interested to see if this solves your issue
     
    kakureru, Feb 18, 2012
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  13. kakureru

    kakureru Notebook Geek

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    update. It is not the video card(s)
    I had to open mine up and I ended up pushing on stuff and the stuttering went away. the main things I pushed on are the pcie 0 slot and the north bridge (little heatsink) im thinking the motherboard may need repair.

    UPDATE

    a tool called "d3doverider" or however it is spelled solved my issue.
     
    kakureru, Feb 22, 2012
    #13