Oh dear, is this gpu throttling?

Hi guys, i just got my new m17x r3 yesterday. Its great. The LED lighting is awesome, the ssd booting is super fast, the screen is crystal clear, everything seemed to be working just fine.

I tried some low-end games like Teamfortress 2, portal, and they ran wonderfully over 100fps in full settings.

But the when i tried a high spec demanding game like crysis 2, there were issues.

It started out nice in the beginning with full resolution 1920 x 1080 high settings. I think i got about 60 fps. But as I proceeded, the frame rate seemed to gradually drop. After 5 minutes of gameplay (which was just the opening part) it was near 0 fps. It was ridiculous.

So I tried the lowest resolution possible on low settings, and the same problem arises again. It starts at 100fps and slowly drops down to like 3~5fps. I couldn't even get to the part where i can even shoot a pistol.

I'm no computer wizard so i decided to look up on this and found out about 580m's gpu throttling. Is this it?

 

definitely looks like the your graphics card is down-clocking. Have you tried propping up the back of the laptop to get better airflow? that helps sometimes

 

I tried using a book but it didn't help at all

 

that definitely could be throttling though the temps in your screen shots don't look that hot

An easy way to check is to download Furmark. Run the burn-in test. It will tell you your fps and temps.

Throttling happens at 78-79c so you can easily see if your performance drops off a cliff at those temps

 

Ok i'll give that a try. thanks

 

Throttling doesn't only happen at 79C there is another throttle that happens before. Check sig also check post #41 for the explanation.

 

Hope this helps you could also try a 3d mark vantage run and report your score. If its not the temps thats throttling it will help isolate the issue

 

widezu, you're talking about the power throttling?

The thing is, even if it throttles, there is no way you're going from 100fps to 0fps.

From the screenshots, his core dropped from 620 to 475...that's not 100fps to 0fps.

 

475 could be battery level clocks I don't know exactly

Edit: Nvm I think the battery clock is much lower

 

Hi im back! I downloaded and ran furmark. I got something like this?

 

Looks like you are hitting the first level throttle at about 67c

100% you are throttling...your fps of 16 is way below normal for a 580m...should be mid to high 40's fps

 

Yes that's the 67C power throttle. the fix in my sig should help.

 

3d vantage test also done. I really don't think it's the graphic driver's problem though

 

Ive never touched bios in my life. i hope your method doesn't wreck my 1 year complete cover warranty, especially since i just got this yesterday

I'm giving it a try

 

Benchmark tests are not good for seeing throttling. They only offer short bursts of intense graphics usage. Long gaming sessions and FurMark runs are use to see that. It is not a driver problem. Every M17x R3 with 580m has this problem, it is built into the system bios.

Like I said, there is an easy fix, just click the link in my sig. Your problems will be gone. You won't wreck it. Worst case scenario is something happens to your GPU but Dell will replace that. Your system bios is not affected. My guide is tailored to all users and is very noob friendly. Follow it to the T and you'll be fine.

Edit: You are also running a very old driver version. Update before you apply the bios tweak see if it helps. Try this one:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win7-winvista-64bit-285.79-beta-driver.html

 

ok i guess i should get a portable usb today since i don't have any available for formatting. i'll post if it worked

 

Update your drivers first: check previous post

 

kk i'll see that driver too

 

Yes, either its your GPU or your CPU that is throttling. Don't bother wondering why, just follow the guide Widezu69 supplied to remove the throttling for the GPU, and then get a hold of an guide on how to remove the CPU throttling. (Needs an A10 modded bios i think, but the forum here has an thorough guide on it )

That PC is worth nothing before you fix that throttling-issue, if you ask me..

Best of luck and welcome to the "group".


Edit;
Oh god, i forgot to check the second page.. my bad!
Sorry for spamming.
- Scott.

 

how do you get rid of cpu throttling and is it only 580m specific?

 

right here its in widezu's sig

 

Thanks to widezu69's method, my gpu will bypass the "power throttle" and get up to 78 degrees. However, the "thermal throttle" kicks in at that point and will go down to 58 or so. What should i do? I still can't play crysis2 at all. Should i get a cooling pad or something? I have no idea what a "repaste" is, and i don't think a dell alienware service person would do that for me.

I can't believe this. I paid more than $2000 for this damn thing and it won't even play crisis2 on the lowest possible settings -_- jeez

 

GPU repaste! that will drop your temps 10c.

Raising up the back of your laptop will drop your laptop another 5-7c. I use turbo's method of 2 bottlecaps, one on either side of the laptop. Works wonders!

 

Is there a tutorial for a m17x r3 repaste around here? I have no clue.

and maybe it might not be because of the temperature after all, because i was literally holding my laptop up from the desk the whole time and GPU-Z showed only 61 degrees while the game was running. but the frame rate still steadily dropping from 90 to 1. I'm gonna try dirt 3.

i might return this junk for a desktop or something... i'm pissed

 

ya, repasting guide here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/561599-m17x-r3-cpu-gpu-re-pasting-guide-w-pics.html

If the throttling is freaking you out, return it and get a 6990m and kiss your issues good-bye

I always warn people before they buy the 580m that repasting and vbios updates are coming your way. its too bad really. With the Amd 6990m, you get zero throttling and the same performance

 

thanks, maybe i should. i hope 6990m doesn't have this throttling bullship

 

zero throttling with the 6990m

 

ah.. should have gone with 6990m... i was looking between 580m and 6990m for a few days, and just went with 580m because i thought nvidia was more reliable. boom, wrong choice

 

call up dell and complain. if you just got the laptop, they will bend over backwards to help you out because they don't want you to return it. i would fully expect a refund too if you went with the 6990m and maybe for all your trouble, they'll throw in something to sweeten it

 

yeah totally, especially since this is my first dell computer purchase. i am going to pour my lava on dell. unfortunately tomorrow's thanksgiving so i guess i'm gonna have to call on friday.

 

It was one of the reasons why I stuck with ATI for the time being on AW machines, despite the 580M being the better card. All the 6990M's are working dandy in terms of their performance. Driver installations though are a bit of a pain as a consequence.

 

yea nvidia drivers are pretty easy to install

 

This throttling problem with the 580m is a disgrace. I am relieved I have AMD. Why should the poor guy pay an extortionate price for his laptop and then have to go through complex VBIOS / BIOS mods /repasting etc just to get it to work properly. I do not know what Dell are playing at with these 580m cards. They may potentially be good but this throttling issue renders them no better than an old intel intergrated GPU. Very poor.

I know the guides are there to help people but we should not be having to do this ourselves. Dell seem to think people should resort to these methods. I wouldn't be expected to open up my TV to tweak the performance or open the bonnet of my car to stop it 'throttling' down to 10 km/h - so why should we have to this with our expensive laptops?

Sorry, rant over.

 

^^Very good point. However Dell have been doing this ever since the first gen XPS days. They do it to cover their "backsides" as throttling prevents people from maxing out their cards overclocking and overvolting etc. which lowers card failure and them spending cash replacing them.

I think Dell wanted this throttle not to kick in unless people overclock. Unfortunately, they didn't implement it correctly and people using it normally got hit badly. Only thing we can do is apply homebrew fixes. Big companies like to protect themselves.

 

No need to apologize for the rant. I don't get it either. I agree with everything you said and that's why for the average laptop user, i recommend the 6990m over the 580m any day of the week.

Widezu, you think the 680s will be any better? I certainly hope so

 

why do I feel like I am the only guy not getting the throttling issue? I am so scared that everytime I am running a game, I will finally get the darned throttle temps are cool so far but everybody complaining about gtx 580m throttle scares the hell out of me

 

Graz, if its working good for you, don't worry about it. You are one of the lucky ones.

 

Throttling should only really kick in if you overvolt and overclock. Only the really unlucky ones have had run ins on stock settings. Honestly, to every new user now, I just say don't worry about the throttling, don't think about it, chances are it won't happen, if it does, there are 2 fixes anyways.

@Slick, I dunno about the 680m. Significant performance increase for sure however I'm pretty sure that nvidia would max out the power consumption. When it comes to the M17x, chances are Dell will throttle it again. Either way, I'm getting one. If Dell decides not to revise the M17x but just to release a bios update for Ivy Bridge and GPU revisions, I'll be very happy.

 

It's certainly true that the low-level throttling imposed by Dell in an ill-advised response to fears associated with the performance capabilities of the 580M is an annoyance that purchasers should not have to endure. However, technically adept forum members have devised and shared detailed procedures for avoiding the worst effects of throttling that anyone should be able to implement on their own notebooks. As to the assertion that throttling issues render the 580M no better than an old Intel integrated GPU, I submit the following:

3dMark11 -- P4895
3dMark Vantage -- P19686
3dMark06 -- 28007.

Not a lot of IGP's (or even 6970/6990M's) can deliver that level of performance. Perhaps that's why people are willing to tweak their R3's to accommodate the 580M.

 

Nissan GTR - $90,000 car with a button on the dash that lets you disable traction control. If you hit the button and the transmission breaks from launching, the warranty is voided. Even though its a giant red button and the car is "high performance" and cost 90 grand, most people think that is a horrible idea and that Nissan should have just omitted the possibility of pushing the button, and made traction control mandatory instead.

Dell is doing essentially the same thing here. The truth is that either way, someone would lose. This way when Dell pisses off their customers, at least they don't have to void customers warranties because they tried to play BF3 with the laptop sitting on a blanket. At the same time, enthusiast types can still get the performance they expect with a quick flash of a bios or vbios.

*shrug* lesser of two evils IMO.

 

yes, for the tech savvy user, like yourself, the 580 can be tweaked to perform, and if you want max 3dmark numbers, the 580 delivers. So in many ways, you have no choice.

But for a guy like me who doesn't know what the heck I'm doing, there's no way i'd dare venture into 580m land

 

LOL. You would do just fine of course in 580M land. But the larger point is that so would most others. It's not rocket science.

 

fingers crossed

 

I just hope it doesn't get any more complicated Now that I see the rough numbers on the 600 series though, It looks like ill just skip the 580m and go for the 680m in a new machine when it comes out

 

That would be nice. The teaser numbers are awesome. I just wish Dell would get out of the way of these new cards and let them run like they should. If that takes more robust motherboards and better cooling, then so be it and charge accordingly.

 

I'm just hoping that Ivy Bridge and the 600m series won't need a new motherboard and that Dell just releases a new system bios. Come on Dell! Do this!

 

That would be perfect.

 

Funny fact of the day. I tried battlefield 3 today and the game runs a good 2 hours with 1920 x 1080 mid-ultra settings 40~50 frames without throttling?! And it can't run crysis 2 on half that resolution with lowest settings for 10 minutes. I thought battlefield 3 was as gpu intensive as crysis 2? That is just..... wierd.

Happy thanksgiving everyone btw.

 

hmm thats strange BF3 is more demanding than crysis 2 as far as I know. Is there a patch or something you don't have installed and you might wanna check to make sure the game is white listed if you have optimus on your machine

 

oh no, crysis 2 with hd resolution pack and dx11 is the most demanding game right now (right? that's what people says and I am experiencing so)