Area-51 m15x Update from Alienware

That is correct Fusion, most people experience the downclock at 90C

 

Maybe this year in europe we will have our m15x...... launch a laptop without stock is very funny for a corporation like Alienware....

 

Mine used to hit 93 deg C on the old BIOS and it never downclocked

 

which is why this drives me nuts, because there's no consistency between units, just that a unit will downclock at some point. even on my own unit, one hour it will downclock at a specific temp, the next hour it won't.

i still think its more complicated then just a straightforward "GPU core hits temps and downclocks to avoid thermal death" scenario, but i don't the expertise to go any further with it.

 

x30 bios did not work well for me. Almost impossible to play crysis. I am now using x29 beta. More stable and no downclock.

Edit: x29 beta downclock too. I did not realise as I use ATI tool to test. It works fine and then something weird happen. (see my later post at 9.22pm).

 

I think that you are right. I have noticed that the gaming performance was better on the beta bios. HHHHHmmmmmmm???? Now what?

 

Yeah I just realize this too. First hour the GPU fan kick in very loudly. And then the fan slow down, instead CPU fan began kicking in loudly. Thats when the downclock happens. It takes approx 45 mins for that to happen.

I change back to x29 beta and its the same thing. It takes 45 to 1 hours b4 it downclock.

I think they have program it in a way as to cut off GPU fan at certain time and then CPU fan kicks in. Maybe AW figure prolong usage on a single fan will decrease fan's life

For people who use ATI tool u will not notice DC. U might need more than an hour to notice it.

 

I keep getting the same message, how did you get past this?

 

I don't know what makes the black chassis or SkullCap in delay. Perhaps it could be something to do with financial report or something, or maybe just one of Alienware strategies to force Ripley and grey color since black seems like majority favorite.

Or it could be because Alienware stealthily changing the color to Stealth Black since lots of customers complain wanting matte black (like m9750's black). Who knows? I could be dreaming but sometimes dream comes true.

 

I have to say a few things. First off, this is a popular thread lol. Secondly, this is seeming more and more like the M5550 fiasco which by the way was never fixed. I really hope that all of you guys get your issues worked out with your laptops. I feel for you seeing as I've gone through the same thing

 

i have been gone for a couple days, everyone is still downclocking after the bios?

 

Mine never downclocked but the temp used to go up to 93 deg C. After the final bios update I never saw it above 85 deg C.

 

People,

To get really accurate result u need to run it for 2-3 hrs. I have run a 8 hour test. The first 45 min to 1 hour will be ok (run 4 test & verify). When I first install x29 and run for half hour - i thought its fixed- its not !!. The downclock dun happen all the time. Its like GPU and fan are doing shift work. Fan kick in first half 45 min then fan take a rest and GPU turn to downclock . Overall on average fans kick in more with new bios x29 and x30 than GPU downclock (GPU downclock on average 15 mins b4 fan kick in again).

Here are tests I did:
1) Run with ATI tool for 8 hours = Results: Fans kick in real hard for first 1 hr 15 mins. Fans then take a rest and downclock happen.

2) play crysis 4 hours = Results: Fans kick in real fast for 45 mins then slowdown then downclock (total downclock time 45 mins)

3) play total war 2 hours: First 45 mins ok then downclock. but this is the least downclock so far for this game (Total average downclock time 13 mins)

ANyone with diff result?

 

oh this is a joke at this point im furious with this company.

 

we're doing negative testing here folks, or testing for the absence of something. very hard to ever prove that its truly not going to recur, and the less time and effort you spend at, the more likely your results will be positive.

those of us who are going the extra steps, testing it for longer durations, or under harsher conditions than normally exist during colder months, are finding that while what alienware has done has certainly improved the situation, it is by no means resolved.

i have no basis for the following statement but i wouldn't at all be surprised that alienware is going with a "good enough for now" strategy, and that they know its not completely resolved. they need to ship these notebooks, its a fiasco that they had to stop their production line at all. they've gotten their complaints down to a more "normal" level (for them), and honestly, with the improvement, how many people are really going to notice this issue. so they buy themselves time to find more improvement on the situation, while still taking orders.

 

Hi all i'm new to this forum and i have been reading the alienware forum for a long time now cause i was very interested in the m15x, however, alienware still didn't fix the downclocking problem.....i was very dissappointed....due to the under performance, i think they should have a real price drop, what do you guys think?

 

oh dear, it looks like ive joined this forum just in time
there was me sitting in stage 4 for the last 2 weeks thinking there was nothing wrong but a short delay on my m15x.

Hi everyone, im jim from london and it looks like ive just joined at the end of a very long Q.

ive noticed above a few people contacting CS to cancel.
to be honest i was thinking along the same lines but will hold off for the time being.
im quite a novice when it comes to computers and like an easy life so thats why i decided to go for an alienware system as they are meant to be the best.
my last desktop computer was a mesh until it blew up (literally)and they have a forum like this with hundreds of complaints on a daily basis. i then bought a fujitsu siemens laptop 7 months ago but with only 1gb ram it struggled to do my digital editing so i upgraded to 2gb ram. its an off the shelf computer that has been reliable but i wanted more so thats why im here.
after spending over £2000/$4000 on a m15x laptop the last thing i need is to have to worry about temperature problems.
anyway, fingers crossed the bios update will sort out some of the problems and the production line can start churning out our much anticipated laptops.
heres looking forward to a happy ending.
jim

 

First off welcome to the forum DJ. People are only have the downclocking problem when gaming also the new update has fixed some others have not been so lucky. Congrats on your purchase I'm sure everything will work out fine your new system. (that is whenever you receive it.)

 

thanks for the welcome tacomenace21

 

Before the bios update i was playing between crysis and then to frontline , and then COD4. never got downclock and was reaching max heat of 93.i was playing more than 5 hours .

After update, and long playing it reach max of 86 then drop to 76. then stay stable at 83. and again ..for long hours too.

 

Well I am sad to say my system is still BUSTED. And I am tired of wasting my time dealing with a notebook that shouldn't have these issues. The downclocking happens at random temperatures. Never consistant temperatures. A simple BIOS update isn't going to fix these systems. I really think it's time for me to return this system. Well here's to wishing you all the best with your systems.

 

newfiejudd- Some people found that the new bios worked, but if it didn't for yours, I would return it.

 

Thanks starstreak. I will be sad to see it leave tomorrow morning. But I feel I really didn't get my money's worth. And AW have done nothing to help me out. Maybe I spoke to loudly, or maybe not loud enough.

I know if I was AW!!!! And this is just me, maybe I am out lunch but I don't think so.

I would send a new unit. Let me put that one through it's paces and see if my problems dissapear. Instead they have done nothing. All they do is try and make me cough up the restocking fee. And that I will surely not be paying that.

And also when they did tell me I would have to pay, that was when I decided to return it. Try and charge me for a defective system. I don't think so Tim.

All she had to do was say Sir we are trying our best, can we offer you something for your troubles. Us here at AW are terribly sorry you are having these issues. I truly feel I wasn't asking for much just some common courtesy and sympathy for a system I paid over 4k for.

 

That is exactly what my unit is doing too - the GPU gets to a certain temperature, then the fans kick in and bring it down.

For the record, I have not had any downclocking problems since the BIOS update. I am using the Beta right now.

 

Are you using the 29 version or the 30 version. I reflashed the x30r. Maybe I should go back to the 29 and try testing it some more.

 

I'm using the x29b BIOS with no issues.

 

Gonna go back and will let you know how it goes.

 

Maybe the temperature sensors are faulty or something else on your unit . . . the thermal system's seemingly random reaction to changes in temperature is definitely not normal, for any notebook. I have never had a laptop nor any desktop part with active an cooling system that acted like that.

 

This is exactly the same what is happening with me here. It used to go to 93 and never downclock now max is 85.

 

if its defective, then they shouldn't charge a restocking. And while I would be trying to get them to offer something for my troubles, I doubt that they would send you a notebook to try out to see if it works. I can see them doing something like a cross shipment, but then you would need to wait for it to be made, and pay for shipping.

 

It could be faulty sensors, Chaz. It's strange that the BIOS update doesn't work for everyone.
Does your system run any better than before?

 

This is after playing team fortress 2 for 2 hours (settings: 1440x900 2x AA Everything on High) with the latest BIOS update (note: It never downclocked even on old BIOS but it used to go to 93 deg C see 2nd Attachment)

Impressive!!

 

wow the temperature so actually very constant now.

 

Here is one of my log file playing total war from 21hr31m to 00hr47min using x29b bios. Total playing time 3hr 16 min

I started playing at 21hr 31m and everything was fine. Suddenly I realize fan slowed down at 22hr58min and lasted to 23hr 16min (GPU then downclock for total 18mins). Suddenly Fans begin spinning loud again. It spin for another 1hr 1min b4 downclocking for 13mins (00hr 17min to 00hr 30min - see pt2). This goes on and on and on...... all night long.

 

just wondering, is the vx29 bios the original bios that came with the laptop?

 

hmmmm im trying to decide if i can deal with thoose problems rex. on one hand its not a constant downclock. on the other it could get annoying. so all thoose people who said they had no downclock did not push the system far engough? thanks for keeping us updated.

 

Yes my m15x runs great after flashing the x29b BIOS. No more underclocking and my idle temperatures are actually lower by about 5-6*C.

Nice! Thanks for the graphs/screenshots, they are very helpful.

 

Chaz, whats your average idle Temperatures. mine is was 54 to 57, now after the update, it stay between 60 to 63.

 

Chaz....for starters, great review!!! Just read it and it is really useful. I am at the moment at stage 4 and waiting for mine with exact same specs...can't wait! Just a few things, i noticed in one of the side on pictures of your laptop that above the ethernet port the plastic has started to rise as in other people's laptops Is this a problem and is there anything you can do to prevent this from happening? I was also wondering about the Fx lighting and problems people have had from coming from hibernation or standby with the lights not working? Do we know if AW is closer to solving this one?? Also, just wondering, is there a way of knowing whether your computer is in stealth mode or not, does it tell you when you press it as it might be quite easy to forget which mode you are in? That's all i can think of for now but thanks ever so much!!

 

There is a little box that pops on your screen when you press the stealth button. If its lit up then stealth is on if you press the button and the box is dark then you just turned it off. Also if you enter the command center it will let you know what mode your in.

 

Good luck to all of you and your M15x's as I have tried to be patient and have kept a positive attitude throughout this whole process but I'm still having problems with poor gaming performance in as little as 30 minutes. Temps have been fine however the gaming performance starts fine and then it drops off very noticeably. I'm currently trying to work with AW for a refund. Best of luck to all of you and thank you very much for all the information on this board!

 

rexibaby, looks like you should have your system sent in... that looks pretty bad.

to add to the downclocking saga, some more unusual results. i posted this before, but did not show my results (based on the x29b bios patch):

if I lay the laptop FLAT on the table, there is NO DOWNCLOCKING even after 2 hrs of crysis.

If I prop up the back .5 inch, I HAVE DOWNCLOCKING (see attached pic) even after 20 min. This is totally weird.

For people who said they were testing w/ Team Fortress, maybe the game is not gpu intesnsive enough to downclock the processor. Playing 2 hrs of half life 2, my temps never went above 78c.

Also, I don't have time to test games for 4 hrs or more... if this is happening, im going to have to send it in and have AW test it.

 

Good luck gophins hope everything works out for you!

 

Thanks T, I'll keep you all posted.

 

How can the review for the M15x be so positive, when it's clear that there are still lots of problems with the downcloacking of the GPU? I mean... we are not talking about an isolated case... It's lots of people still!!! Whoever reads that review (if they don't read anywhere else on this forum), will run and buy the laptop. I just think that it's misleading highlighting a statement saying "the GPU downcloack is a thing of the past (...) All new laptops won't have that problem!" (not the exact words... but close).

You don't need to be a bright guy to imagine that throttling the fans up will only hide a problem. One thing that has to be considered is that the increased speed will reduce fans life and then what? You end up or with a fried GPU or with only an integrated GPU. The solution has to focus on the GPU itself (and a more efficient exhaust system, of course!).

I have been following the M15x crusade... I really wanted to get one for myself, but the way all this story is developing is simply put, quite surreal! Add to the fact that since they started selling M15x in Europe (beggining of February), not even one unit was sent out... It all just becomes a very bad joke!

Rant off...

 

You will want a new computer before your fans will ever be fried unless they were faulty from the getgo.

 

hear hear.. and this is why this issue will probably continue to plague people, because it takes so much effort to really prove it out..

i guess if folks aren't bothered by it, then theres nothing wrong.

 

Well I whent back to the older BIOS (29 version) Downclcoking still exist. And still no word from AW on what they are going to do for me.

 

ummmm...yeah....

So I'm in my office working (surfing the net) and my phone rings....area code 305...

mystery voice: "Mr. Wanks?"
Me: "Yes?"
Mystery voice: "Guess who"
Me: "Gladys?"
Mystery voice: "Yes, I guess my accent gave me away..chuckling"
Me: "chuckling...yes!"
Gladys: "Mr. Wanks, I'm just calling to follow up on your order and to let you know that not only are we going to upgrade your order with the 2 software titles and bag like we agree too but we are also going to give you free 2nd day shipping. We are going to refund the shipping to your credit card."
Me: "THANKS!!"
Gladys: " you have a nice day and I'll call you to update you on your laptop progress"

 

sounds like Gladys is the one to speak to.
now if you had not tried to cancel i wonder if you would have been offered any freebies?
good luck with your order. you might get it in time for christmas.