M17/Ocz Whitebook Quad Problems

the new bios will not be released by ocz. it will now be up to the new company that will be selling these.

 

The big question is......

What company is that?

 

if he tells you he will have to kill you

 

i hope whatever company it is they do a great job on it. we are all waiting for it.

yeah i blue screen at 3.33 after running anything. i have to update my sig when i am on a computer. so i am back to 3.2 but i guess it's the voltage because once i unclock at 3.33 and press apply i blue screen but lower clocks are fine. also i notice when i use setfsb and try to overclock the gpu's my computer like crap. i ish thet still overclocked at 8.12 and up.

 

Let me start by saying ..

Yesterday I installed my QX9300 again in a "last" attempt to install the processor. Everything worked fine. Installed the OCZ 0.28 bios from Zfactor.

No problems up to there. Tried some games afterwards. Saw some "sticky" effect in some Halflife 2 based games. Had some perfect runs with the COD4 MP client ( no sticking or jitters anywhere).

Went to work last night came back home slept a bit and woke up around 13.00 ish. Started up my M17 no problems yet.. Started a game ( COD4 SP client ) got jitters in my sound ( got latest drivers for my soundcard and the latest ATi drivers for my videocards ).

I'm slowly starting to think that my M17 has a mind of its own set on making me crazy.. That however does it for me. I am going to see if I can trade that damn QX9300 for another CPU...

 

shockwave, do you have the sound issue stock or overclocked.
i also notice the sound stutters starts when the hdd light is active. or the cpu is being used past 25%

this may sound stupid but i am going to run my sound process on dual core to see if anything happens.

 

I dont like to overclock my stuff .. I just want a stable well working gaming laptop.

 

ok update. when i did a fresh install of windows 7 earlier this week, i got didnt have no sound issues what so ever. i installed a few things and i the only time it happens is if i am doing alot of stuff. and my ram is alnost maxed. (installing a game, defraging, transferinf pictures, listening to music, and some more things i was doing when it started to happen.)

well right now i don't have the ethernet installed and the finger print reader.

do not install a rmclock or any power management software.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO NOT INSTALL ((SYNAPICS, the mouse driver.) can't spell) on it. if you have alienware respawn, then uninstall it.for me it helped for sound issue and mouse lag. later tonight i have to update to see if it help during games.

 

any updates?

 

yeah i posted one a few hours ago did you try it?

 

does uninstalling the touchpad driver help in games and with windows user interface stuttering?

 

did for me some

 

uninstalling the synaptics driver from alienwares disc and installing the lastest one from the synaptics website got rid of the problem for me....strange huh

 

The synaptic drivers cause the sound/image stutter in games?

 

i still haven't tried it is games but doing regular task it help. i will try see what else is causing what and post.

also halogod, so what version are you using? and how much of a difference is it since you already tried it.

 

very unsure so i need more people to try it out.
the 3870 maybe has a issue it self also. (my theory) try to run games with aa/af off. i know we can max out games no problem with them on but turn them off and try drivers. 8.12, 9.1 and 9.4. for me i am using 9.4 as it is very good.

before i get slautered about what i said let me explain. the 3870(desktops versions) had a issue with aa(unsure about af)in it desktops,(fixed in the 48series.) so i am think the qx9300 tries to bring out the best from them and then something runs unstable.


also if any one has intel storage maxtrix uninstall that and tell us what happens. i have some more to try but one step at a time.

 

For some reason I have not even seen this post until today

But anyways, wouldnt the problem be with the volts? Since only 1.31 and below is only allowed?

So thats why you cant get past 12 multiplier stable?

Also, maybe its the power consumption set in windows to the CPU. If its at 100% change it to 25% minimum in power schemes

Im just trying to figure out what I should expect when I get my system.

 

I already experimented with the power schemes and i believe it does help to set the minimum at 25%, also remove all mouse and mousepad drivers and update audio to 2.22 as i said in my post.. at least for use in windows the stuttering dissapeared.. but 3dmark still has BIG problems with my q9100 and crossfirex.. didnt try gaming yet but i assume it will also have problems since 3dmark worked flawlessly with p8400.. frames just drop to 1 and back up.. voltage is the answer in my oppinion.. didnt have these problems with p8400 - 25w or 45w is a big difference after all..

 

That is a typo with the q9100 right?

 

No most definetely not. My qx9300 is on way i still have the q9100 inside this lappy. (im too lazy to change the sig.. i thought id get it sooner) I did some more testing and here is my final conclusion..

i deliberetly rolled back the audio drivers and installed touchpad.. mouse stuttering and audio stuttering appeared while doing simple tasks again..
so remove the touchpad and update the audio to fix that!

i forced the processor to work at 6x max multiplier and 3dmark completed normally (of course with worse results but it didnt suddenly drop fps to 1 where it shouldnt..)

i also popped back in the p8400 for an hour an played around with everything and expirienced no stuttering..

so the issue has got to be power consumption.. i would suggest to all to really enable minimum cpu state of 25% so windows will automaticaly downclock to 6x when ure just surfing the web, watching a movie etc so it runs fluid at least than..
well just have to wait for the bios to be updated i guess..

And Snowm0bile - test it for us with the stock m17 bios for stutter when you get it will you? and if you are the type (this voids you warranty, im just talking in case you are) to change the bios to ocz to campare dont hesitate to share with us

 

Yes, I plan on doing so. Ill have to see how long it takes to dl 3dmark.

The internet connection here is around 10kbs...Which drives me frikin nuts.

But hopefully Ill just be able to download it over night and it will be done in the morning, bring my laptop to work, and test it out.

I would try and dl 3dmark to my external hd right now, on my mac, but since I cant get wifi in my room with mac os x for some reason.. windows gets connectivity...I have no idea why.

And then all the problems trying to connect to ad hoc from mac to windows doesnt work as well...(mac and windows just dont like each other)

I do plan on OCing it thats why I got it.

But...if I dont see any problems running the games I have atm, I might not consider OC. Who knows, Im just so excited I cant wait for it to get here...

 

ok when i get home i well update the first post. it seems like it was just a bad driver. and yes it is also a bios issue that will hopefully get fixed. i am going to try to other fixes to see what is going on. can someone disable the fingerprint reader to see wjat's up with it. i notice there is some changes when i had it installed. see my fresh install i don't.


i will also include to lower the cpu state to 25. i see that i dont have to go any lower then 38. because that is when it goes to the 6x multiplier.

and i have to also put in the ocz bios. from there website until something better comes out.

 

Hi! I am just thinking about adding this thread to the "offical M17 Thread"!

Would you mind that?

Otherwise just give me your OK

Greetings
Julian

 

yeah i don't have a problem with it. i think it is a good idea. more people can pitch in and help.

 

Good idea, just so it doesnt get lost.

And I was about to start a thread about this topic until I found this thread

 

Giving the topic a quick bump before it dies out..

Anyone have any news?

 

people are finding that un raiding your system helps. but i find that when the hdd light is active alot it starts to also stutter.

i have done a fresh install of win7 last night and the stutter was still there so i am going to see if it is a bad driver in there like the mouse was. i just unraided my system and i find that it helps but it is still there. installed realtek drivers 2.22 and it is better.

some one is another thread said that installing the audio and then the video helps. but i have not ttried it. i am still doing test don't worry. it is just getting me mad.

 

ok i need someone with an alienware to try this.

if you still have issue then this

if this is the issue. then my thoughts is that ati lock to much crap on the new drivers. becasue ati overdrive doesn't work, we can't overclock. and there is maybe alot more. and that may cause the stuttering we are having.

 

IM trying right now ill let ya know within the hour

 

over drive is hard coded it should not affect it

i chime needs to test it since his 3870 have over drive unlocked

 

i want his vbios

 

i think its his card i unno what the deal is with our cards

 

have you tried to flash your to?

 

Hey guys,

Since you're talking vbios, do you know why some of the guys with the W90's flashing both their cards to "master"? Is there anything to be gained by this? Seems like if this worked better they would ship this way.

 

Is the quad performing correctly yet? I was thinking about getting one, but only if they don't stutter like everyone is saying

 

well they are doing it so they can use different diferent drivers
. before that they were locked to 8.12.


x2 is suppose to the slave master card with forces the cards to perform as one. where as master master. you can enable it the card to work separatelty. this can help gaming performance or make it stay the same. but it does help stabilty. yes you can disable AI but it also disable all the tweaks that is enabled.

do you get it or you want more info?

well some people are still having the issue some aren't but we all here are trying to find the solution to the problem. i am coming to think it is a hardware driver issue. but i am not certain because i need more then one system to test this out. so the more people that have these set ups can post there knowledge and share so we can get to the bottom of it.

we are close but we need help so we can get it solved.

 

Nope, I got it. Thanks for the information.

Wish I could help but Ive got a dual core.

 

it doesn't matter because other eople are also stuttering.

as long as you stutter you can help. even if you don't you can still put in your thoughts. this isn't just for qx9300, crossfire onwers. Lol.

we are all here to help each other.

i have a an idea. i'll PM you to see the results.

edit: just please if you try any of these these please let us know so i can post it on th 1st page and we know the results.

 

Has anyone reported the problem to Alienware?

 

lol yes multiple times

 

Alienware has officially known about this since mid-March when the first detailed thread floated around here and I was ready to order a machine to troubleshoot it fully with the PST in the call center, but our legs were cut from under us when we were told we were let go, and so... no machine.

I met the problem a few times before that and was completely stomped each time I tried anything, and that prompted at least 2 cancellations/replacements with m17x.

Now I can finally say I trust the performance and reliability of this laptop and cannot wait to get my hands on my own.

 

sorry sneaky

so is AW working on it ?

 

What exactly is the problem?

I'm running a Quad in mine @ 2.93ghz rock solid (No OC on GPUs). I can hit 3.2/3.33/3.5 but each will bonk out on Prime95 4 core max heat after awhile so to me that isn't stable (albeit it runs everything else fine and temps never approach the abuse Prime95 puts on it).

I'm trying to figure out what this, "stuttering," problem is you keep talking about? I've played WoW for hours, fans ablazing keeping everything cool and I don't have a stuttering problem (or maybe I do and I'm missing it)?

 

what other games do you have? in wow do you see your fps drop using fraps? (i know you won't notice it because it is running flawless over 60fps)


my problem is when ever you are doing normal task the mouse will jump. or if you are playing music it will also ski stutter and freeze.


for games it will do the same thing. and get frame drops to even zero depending on the game.


when i benchmarked farcry2 i was steady on 70-75 fps. but i had big dips to 50 then 40 then 20. this happens within seconds of each other.
others has worse problems were their system would lock up and some would shut down. so i made this thread so everyone can join. but some haven't been online in a while

i have it stocked and overclocked. i am going to set it at the 6x multiplier to see what is going on.

 

ok i just did a 3dmark06 (thanks mr moo and rob41) i didn't install the chipset driver on purpose because of troubleshooting and i am trying to see what is causing the issue.

installing the intel chipset from their website seemed the best. my 3dmarks or almost running flawless except in the first two gpu runs(shader 2.0)

if i install a better gpu driver i can get more.

 

Looks good so far. Have you tried benchmarking Farcry2 to see if you're still getting the frame drops?

 

the highest is 17032 Don lol

 

before

after
i did one run and i got a big dip but it ran smoother



i did some driver tweaks and i just ran it. i didn't finish it.



i maybe at the limit of farcry2. can someone with this game test it out. and i am going to do other test.

 

I will start this off by saying "This issue has absolutely nothing to do with bringing my laptop out of sleep mode." I have always seen this issue after booting up my computer after a shutdown, as I always shut down my computer when I leave it.

Ok, so I originally posted the Alienware proposed fix of uninstalling video and sound drivers, then installing sound drivers before video drivers, which for a couple days seemed to work. Yesterday though, the issue resurfaced in full force. The only noticible fix this did do was that I no longer get scratchy songs played in iTunes or Media Player when just in Windows with nothing else running. When I got this machine 3 weeks ago, I would play songs, and notice intermittent scratchyness throughout the song. Now, so far, I have not noticed this anymore.

Here is the problem, as best as I can describe it. I really should take a video of it and post it in YouTube so that everyone can actually experience it for themselves, as this is quite annoying.

Shuya said it best here:

First off, the only game I really play is WoW, so I have no idea if it is the same on other games or not. I do have a copy of Crysis but its still sitting in the CD box.

Ok the issue: I pull my laptop out, plug my LAN in to the internet, my laptop cooler (via USB), plug in my wireless headset USB adapter, and the power. I fire it up. No problems. Once I log into windows and let it boot up, I then launch Firefox (to connect to my internet via login screen), and Yahoo Messenger. I should also mention that I use a Microsoft Bluetooth mouse, which windows detects and (through Alienware Command Center) disables my Synaptics touchpad. Again, no problems yet. I then fire off WoW, log in etc, no sweat. I select my character and head into the game. Now here is where it gets sketchy. It takes sometimes between 5-10 minutes, and sometimes even longer, but eventually while either flying around on my flying mount (scratchy sound of the bat's wing flapping), or while in combat with something, one of the in-game sounds will get scratchyness. It typically starts out slow, with random sounds getting scratchy, and then develops into slow mouse movement and choppy frames. Imagine clicking your action buttons, and your mouse/screen freeze for split seconds at a time while trying to move your mouse to your next action button, and the sound is scratchy coinciding with the loss of video smoothness. Once it reaches this stage, it typically never recovers enough to even be able to play the game effectively anymore, and you're required to exit the game, fire it up again, and hope that it is gone, or prepare yourself for it to reocurr. After exiting the game, the mouse is still jumpy across the screen, and not smooth as it should be. If you don't fire up anything again for a few minutes after shutting the game down, the mouse eventually returns to normal smooth operation.

When the game does seem to run OK though I still get random scratchy sounds now and then, and the game continues.

Other things I've tried:
1. Running the game with desktop composition turned off, no fix.
2. I have run the game with temp monitors, and nothing makes it above 60DegC. Processor, and GPU's of course warm up during game play, and cool down upon Alt-Tabbing out (Duh, they're not working as hard just running windows)
3. I have tried everything from lowering all my video settings in game to minimums, sound settings to min etc, and it still occurs.
4. I have tried Realtek's 2.22 audio drivers, no fix.
5. I have tried RCA type headphones rather than my wireless USB headphones. No fix
6. I have tried NO headphones just the computer speakers. No fix.
7. I have tried doing an Alienware respawn, and fresh WoW install (took 2 days to download). No Fix.
8. I have tried running the game with the battery out. Worked Once, Next day, problem was back.
9. Once today, I unplugged the machine while the game was stuttering, and it went away, and I was able to plug it in again, and play for a while longer.
10. Everything installed on my computer driver/bios etc, I have checked against whats in MyHive and it is all current (as it should be with a three week old computer)
11. Removed my SD card to keep it from using ReadyBoost. No fix.
12. And lastly I tried the procedure I outlined here (which seemed to work for 2 days and then resurfaced): http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=376506

The only things I haven't done is tried anything that might void my warranty, or things like: MobModded Video drivers (I believe the issue to be audio related, not necessarily video related anyway), and any other BIOS flashes other than what was installed (the latest from Alienware), even though "a couple posts indicate that an OCZ bios seems to have "fixed" it for them."

My random thoughts:
1. The sound chip is close to something inside that gets warm, and overheats the sound chip causing it to intermittently fail.
2. Some sort of driver conflict.
3. There is some sort of power issue to either the GPU's, CPU, or combination of both, or some power issue between recharging the battery or something. <-- Most likely issue, when Power Profile set to Balanced. On High Performace, issue goes away <--possible solution.
4. Something running in Windows in the background (Indexing, or whatever) does something to overload/overwork the computer, HDD, CPU, or something.
5. The Alienware Command Center running in the background trying to manage windows functions is possibly dorking something up.

I am seriously considering purchasing a X-Fi Sound Blaster card just to "attempt to" troubleshoot the issue to confirm or deny that it is being caused by the Realtek Sound chip installed in the computer.
See my sig for my computer specs.

 

And then the plot thickens...

Sorry guys i wish i could help you troubleshoot and figure this out with my own system, but until my unit is priced out and moves into production, I will be pretty useless.