Battery life and discrete GPU on m11x R1

Hello guys, first post here , this is a great forum just wanted you all to know it

I recently bought a m11x R1 from a friend for 250 EUR and I love it.

A few questions:

1) How do i check if everything it's ok with drivers and stuff?
it seems ok, i can switch between gpus, i have the latest dell supported + alienware software, but i can I be sure the 335m is NOT drawing energy? is there some way I can?

when switching to intel one, GPUz tells me correctly which one is active. Anything more i can do to be sure?

2) My battery life on intel gpu is like 4.5 hours. is it normal?

I have turned OFF in bios ethernet, bluetooth, speedstep ( i have it overclocked to 1.73 so it wasnt gonna work anyway ), USB emulation, A/C warnings.

I run it with max brigthness, i have one SSD on it, windows is brand new and i dont have many processes in background.

lets say 4 hours screen active and browsing from time to time. cpu usage is low.

HWinfo64 says my battery is 64530 mWh DESIGNED CAPACITY and stands at 55250 FULL CHARGED CAPACITY.

laptop has 2 years.

I noted that 2 days ago battery was @0% but it lasted for like 10 mins.

Should i consider my battery good? does it need any calibration ( and how ? )

3) TEMP:

GPU topped under kombustor 100% cpu stressing @ 55 celsius.

CPU topped under prime95 @ 56 celsius.

they are GREAT imho, am i good?

thanks in advance guys

PS : battery discharge rate is around 12000 idleing.

 

Interesting consideration:

12k Discharge rate while idle.

Switch to discrete GPU = 18k

Switch back to intel gpu : 17-18K.

wt f?

 

1. The Nvidia system tray icon shows you, if both of those lines are green it's using the 335M, if one is grey then it's using the Intel.

2. With the screen on Max on a 2 year-old laptop, yes that is normal. My screen sits at 50% brightness on Balanced profile (for battery use) and 70% on High Performance profile. In the pitch dark, i think 100% would blink me.

3. Yes those are good temps, but it purely depends on what the ambient is.

 

Now i have to understand why the nvidia gpu drains battery even why i switch back to intel one (see post #2)

EDIT

I'm 100% sure there is something wrong.

When i boot the laptop, intel gfx is on, all is good. battery discharge rate is at 12k.
When i switch to 335m, all is good. battery discharge is at 17k.
When i switch back to intel, battery discharge does NOT decrease.

I can see in gpuz when im on intel, nvidia 335m has 0% usage.
Same thing when i'm on 335m, intel one has 0% usare.

But then why when i switch back to intel 335m keeps on consuming battery?

If i close the laptop to let it hybernate and then open it back, battery drains disappear and it goes from 17k to 12k as it should really be.
PROOF THAT 335M IS NOT SHUTTING DOWN WHEN SWITCHING BACK TO INTEL


PS : + rep to everyone who helps me out!

 

Ah, Have you got the latest A05 BIOS installed?

I seem to remember years ago that some of the earlier BIOS versions had 'oddities' that were corrected in later BIOS version and one, I think, was that the Nvidia 335 GPU didn't fully shutdown.

Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

Oh, and one assumes you using one of the two DELL hybrid Nvidia drivers.

Is the Nvidia GPU still seen in the Device Manager after the Intel GPU is activated?

I could be wrong and I'm being slack by not check the facts on this...

 

Hello DrGoodVibes, thanks for the answer

Yes, I am on A05 bios.

I just booted the m11x R1.

Im on intel graphics, in device manager I see only "Mobile intel(4) Seriex express chipset family"

Now, if I switch to 335m via fn+f6, I get :

"Mobile intel(4) Seriex express chipset family" +
"Nvidia Geforce 335m"

So i see both.

GPUz reports both gpus in bottom, if i see the intel sensors it says 0% GPU LOAD 0Mhz GPU memory clock , 0 MB memory usage dedicated amd 0 mb memory usage dynamic.

Discharge rate is : -16.600

Now, if i switch back to intel one always via fn+f6 i get:

In device manager I STILL SEE BOTH

gpuz says :

Intel has 33mb memory usage, gpu load is 1-3% on desktop, memory clock 0 Mhz ( so it's in use )
+
335m cocre clock 135 memory clock 135 shader clock 270 temperature 42c memory used "-- MB" gpu load 0% memory controller load 0% VDDC 0.80000V"

DISCHARGE RATE ITS STILL 16.800 !!!!

SO i assume they are BOTH recieving voltage....

I am on 263.08 drivers. Pre-installed by my mate 7 days ago.

Is it possible there is something wrong with drivers? It should deactivate the second GPU i guess.
IF i close the laptop ( and let it sleep) and put it back on, MAGICALLY, the 335m is OFF and i can't see it both in control panel devices and gpu z!!!!!



PS: I clicked to rep you but it seems counter is still on 9? weird


UPDATE: 18 minutes later the nvidia gpu deactivated

 

If you search forum you will find the power cycling down can take some time - as you notice. As for battery I think that is GREAT for 2 years. Do not be shocked if it starts to wear at a more rapid rate (normal) due to age.

 

Uhm so you are saying 20 mins to poweroff 335m gpu is normal?

Can you check how long does it take for yours to be disabled?

 

I never checked. When new I got nearly 6hrs of run time. This means on/off or not was no issue for me (and I doubt for you either). Now I use diff drivers than you so this is moot.

I cannot say if "normal", but can just say it was known. You should be able to find the discussions about it and what if anything was done about it.

 

The fact this is no issue for you doesnt mean it is no issue for everyone. If this wasnt something I wanted to fix and investigate i wouldn't have opened a thread about it.
btw, I didnt find the discussion. I guess waiting for someone to confirm the shutdown time is much easier and faster, as it takes 1 minute to do the test.

 

My memory of it is either: it isnt an issue fixable for anyone or it got "resolved" for everyone. Either way, there hasn't been any real interest in the topic for a long time. My point was that after the last round of BIOS/Vid updates it was as good as it was going to be. There were work arounds - sleep mode or some such but not sure if I would bother. You? Up to you, give it a try and see if any benefit.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/509090-m11xr1-a05-bios-available-discuss-here.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/471057-m11x-graphics-drivers-general-discussion.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...f-does-not-turn-off-discrete.html#post7081809

 

Wow this is interesting, it shows the issue I noticed is really present for everyone and afaik it can be fixed only with "sleep mode", just like i suggested. Thanks!! I will read thru those topics and see what comes out. + rep

 

What would really drive you nuts is using optimus on an R1... both GPUs active all the time I think I get about 2hrs+ these days.

 

hahaha, what drives me nuts it's stuff NOT working as intended.
I guess when you installed optimus on R1 you knew what you were facing guess it's a matter of preference.
For example I do not use my R1 as desktop, I need to carry it around and this is why i need the battery, even if it means a sacrifice in latest nvidia drivers...