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    Updated VBIOS on my M17x R3 and now it doesn't throttle while on flat surfaces?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by darkdomino, Oct 28, 2012.

  1. darkdomino

    darkdomino Notebook Deity

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    So long story short, my M17x R3 used to start overheating and throttle when it was sitting flat on a table or even on this coffee table in my main room. I used to always have to use a laptop stand or prop the back up somehow.

    Well I went into the M17x R3 driver page on Dell's website and flashed the updated VBIOS and now my laptop seems to be running cooler. I played for over an hour last night, with my laptop sitting flat on this table and ... it just worked - I tested a game that always used to throttle for me, Guild Wars 2, and it doesn't seem to have issues anymore while sitting on a flat surface. I tested several other games, and the laptop never once overheated.

    I don't wanna say that the problem is fixed, but can someone explain to me what exactly this new VBIOS does? I know that it's getting colder outside and my main room is pretty freaking cold. Would the ambient room temperature explain the lack of throttling or is the VBIOS doing something?
     
    darkdomino, Oct 28, 2012
    #1
  2. Narkoleptik

    Narkoleptik Notebook Consultant

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    The updated VBIOS? I still only see one from Oct 2011... Am I not seeing something I'm supposed to be seeing yet?
     
    Narkoleptik, Oct 28, 2012
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  3. angewei

    angewei Notebook Enthusiast

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    A12 for Motherboard?
     
    angewei, Oct 30, 2012
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  4. MickyD1234

    MickyD1234 Notebook Prophet

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    Are you sure it was overheating (78C+)? Or maybe the 1st level of throttling (clock drops to 410 or something close) which is triggered by power draw and heat combination? For me this could happen at any temp over 64C depending on the game.

    The Vbios update could have changed the profile of this trigger. Although when I had my R3/580 the dell vbios did not help, only a modded vbios with the P0 and P1 clocks and voltages matched.

    Nice that it fixed it though :D

    Edit: later NV drivers have better power characteristics and will reduce the power throttle as well.
     
    MickyD1234, Oct 30, 2012
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