Having nothing but issues with the 4870's in my R2...

Yes well the difference is that all M17X are affected. The MB of your uncle is just one of a kind.

 

Maybe with the latency.

But that isn't something that affected anything I did with my R1. I understand the frustration, but sometimes things are beyond control. It is quite possible Dell tried to fix it but couldn't.

If it were me, I'd just sell the R1 and either get an R2 or move to a different manufacturer.

 

Yes that's true but then in that case just like Toyata or any major problem in the auto industry, they should do a recall and a public announcement.

 

IMO, SaosinEnaged(SSN)'s frustrations and complaints are completely justified. While true that defects occur in all manufacturing, we should be able to reasonably expect an expensive, top of the line Alienware to perform without extensive customer troubleshooting and repair. My experience with Dell support has been excellent and I do not think broad extrapolations from SSN's particular problem to a general denunciation of Alienware and the R2 are credible; nevertheless, SSN's issues should be resolved by replacement or repair to the customer's complete satisfaction without delay.

 

I don't wanna sound impolite or anything, but it seems some people forget something : compatibility. We must not forget that when games a created, they have to try and adjust their game to every possible systems/video/audio cards on the market, wich is impossible. A lot says they see stuttering in the only 1 game they play. Before checking if it's the machine parts that do the problem, you should try some other games... A few tried different games and saw no stuttering except on 1 game.

Maybe the 4870 Xfire is just not fully compatible with Crysis, I think it was Mandrake saying the it run ok with 1 card, but not with both. Try other games with Xfire, maybe the problem won't be there. Then if it's only 1 or 2 specific game having the problem, maybe the game designer or the video card will get a patch out soon to fiz the Xfire problems.

 

Both Aion and Mass Effect had the same flickering problem. I already posted this. I had some free time and called Dell, they will be sending a replacement system and apologized for the inconvenience. I should note this rep was not at all hesitant to tell me "you're not the first to call in and report this issue," so I suppose Dell is already aware of it.

Nonetheless, I'm still frustrated but this guy was polite, empathetic, and honest. So now we play the waiting game once again. If this replacement has no issues, ill be completely satisfied both with the machine and how they handled it.

 

Delighted to hear it.

 

100%!
I say Dell should hire ALIENS to do the job, otherwise call the branch - HumanPatheticWare

 

Hahahaha.

QFT!

 

has anybody got this problem that DOESN'T have the extreme cpu?

 

To my knowledge its been reported with xtreme cpus (in xtreme conditions)

 

now that we know it has "some sort of problem"...the question remains....does anyone want to take time to find out just what that problem is? those in the process of returning for a replacement "should be" since it is getting replaced. nothing to lose but the time it takes to send and get the machine back or have a tech come look at it.(tell tech to bring the shinny new 5870's..hahaha..wishful thinking on my part)
and this goes without saying. no one wants to trouble shoot a brand new machine.

but if your a tech junky...you'll want to try regardless....

sitting around cussing dell/alienware all day might help your self esteem, but wont get your machine any closer to a fix.

 

Believe me, I would love to contribute to determining just what the problem is. The issue with that is I absolutely lack the technological know-how. My understanding of computers largely stops at the specs. I've replaced graphics cards in desktop machines, but anyone could. As far as getting down and dirty into the technical workings of a computer, I really wouldn't know what I'm doing .

I'd rather leave this to the people that do, rather than give false information based on a lack of understanding.

 

They are sending me a replacement also.

I tried two games. One was worse than the other but it still happened with both. This is my second system with 4870XF and I didn't have the problem with the first one.

Yes, I'll have more time now.

 

SaosinEngaged
completely understandable! i was like that once..so no worries!!

Mandrake
i already knew you we're up for the task, just trying to get some more help on matters..

 

drake

Joker has a kill a watt and it's obviously a power issue.

 

that's up for grabs.... no one wants this to be the first thing on the list...more like the last after about 50 other things...lol

 

It's not if it is throttling EXACTLY when it hits 220 and up.

Combine that with throttling and there is your issue. Not hard to believe considering every dell product with core i cpu's have some sort of throttling issue.

It seems it isn't affecting his gaming like it is drake, though.

 

good call, but it's probably not throttling at 220...more like 150 to 175. (speculation of course)

easy enough to verify. lock the cpu at 2.0 ghz and bench the game in question.

and they all have some sort of throttling issued depending on what it is your doing...but throttling/idling is designed to keep temps lower as well....so they say...

 

MEh.

I hope my i7-620 runs ok with none of these issues.

 

why is this not an issue with all the systems with 920s then?

 

i didn't use furmark as an example because furmark will shut down 99 percent of super mild to heavily over clocked machines. im very familiar with it on a vast array of laptops and desktops.

gaming puts no where near the stress that furmark does.
example:
i ran furmark on a d901c over clocked..do you know it ran the kill-o-watt meter up to 335 watts....and the system is rated at 220 watts...so what does this mean?

 

Next question is why doesn't this affect 3DMark06? I think there is lots to test here.

Edit: I take back the 3DMark06 comment. It's just not as obvious.

 

your right, lots to test and narrow it down.

did it flicker during vantage?

also...did you watch each test closely to see if the flickering was there.

and it cant be anywhere as bad as mine was...and it was a bad card at that.
http://www.say-it-loud.com/vga.mpg

disable one card and see if the flickering is there.
if not, switch cards around and repeat test.

could be as simple as taking the cable off and putting it back on.....(speculation of course)

 

Didn't happen with one card. I didn't look closely enough for my initial runs. I'm going to try it with turbo mode off.

 

The PSU can likely run a bit higher than normal rated (although obviously not forever) which is good to see. Its also probably only around 75% efficient, so it might be supplying 240w to the machine (example) but eating 320w.

 

I don't know.

Maybe there is too much variation in the quality of power supplies, caps on the mobo, etc.

All I know is, the more joker stressed it, the worse the issue became.

 

exactly!
it's what ichime explained a while back as well...
that's why i said 150 to 170 or so....

 

These slim power supply's are suspect, IMO.

During the R1's days a lot of people had issues with them just dying and/or needing to be pulled from the wall and plugged back in for no reason.

While I admire Dell for trying to get a nice, thin and small-ish ps for these systems, I would have preferred a nice beefy one

 

No flickering with turbo mode off. Everyone with a 920XM needs to check again.

 

Turbo probably adds significant power strain on the system, especially with the 920.

 

Got a replacement system sent to me.
Not another throttling problem...

 

Screw it, I'm on the phone with Dell. Going to file for an RMA and hope it gets here before I move.

 

I doubt my replacement will help.

 

Well my reasons are two fold: 1. Dead pixel 2. Throttling/flickering. I doubt #2 will get fixed either with a replacement since its a PSU/design issue but hey why not.

 

Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions?

 

Disabled turbo mode and still got flickering.
EDIT: But I'm using the dell video drivers since a rep had to remote into my system and mess around with the drivers...

 

Damn that really sucks you waited so long too now go through these issues wht the heck is the state of high end machines these days?

 

Better raise it to John if the 920s are cooking in there. TOO MUCH POWA

 

Yep I hear that, I had to replace one already because it died on me. These power supplies are very cheap IMO.

 

Houston, We've Got a Problem

 

lol the tech support rep i'm connected to right now went ahead and downloaded beta ATi drivers from their website. I don't know what he expects to solve.

 

For the guys who got the R2 already.

What's the battery life?
How many hours it can stand without the power cord?

 

If you get the same flickering with turbo disabled, it seems unlikely that the problem is power related.

 

Yup, checked thrice.
I'm willing to put my money on a bad batch of cards or the person who built the laptops with i7 extreme proc. didn't know what he's doing. I'm still wondering why my hard drives weren't raided.

 

so a bad batch of cards that ONLY affect 920 owners?

Or the people who put 100's of CPU's in only mess up on 920's?

Just pointing out your logic

 

Just a suggestion.

 

well im just answering

not trying to be mean just honest

 

It's alright . I'm just kinda pissed and want to get to the bottom of this..

 

Bad batch of 920XM maybe?