M17 Underperformance issues

Well, i was browsing the web to find solutions for my M17 laptop underperforming issue, iv called alienware probably 3 times now, and tend to figure out how to find a solution myself. So i came across this forum, and actually looked at a few threads (not related to this issue) and it seems people on this forum are rather knowledgebl and perhaps could assist me with this issue.

Well about a few months back, i bought an Alienware M17:
Intel Core 2 Quad @ 2.0ghz
Dual Radeon 3870's CrossfireX enabled
4 gb ddr3 ram
300 gb 7200 rpm hardrive
windows 7 64bit

and well that i think is enough to determine performance either way

SO heres the issue. Start up a game, left 4 dead 2, BAM! lags, fram rate drops to maybe like 5-10 fps. load up Aion, same thing, load up anything else same issue, even when my brother loaded up runescape it did the same thing >.<.

So first off i decided to do a disk check. everything is in tip top shape.
next i do a memory check. nothings wrong with the memory.

Is this a common issue that might be easy to solve? has other M17 owners experienced same issues? Maybe the information i provided with may not even allow a proper diagnosis.

either way, any help would be awsome, mind you i did call alienware. and they litterally told me to do memory check/dskchk etc and that they didnt know how to check them in windows 7 >.< yes, thats right. they told me they didn't know and to google it. *nods*

So ya if theres anything else someone may need to know to diagnos an issue, let me know ill do what i can, and thanks in advance!

-Alex

 

Check your power settings in command center and windows; make sure you're set to high performance or maximum or whatever it is

 

yes iv thought of that before, it does auto change it when external power is plugged in as well, does nada :<

 

What drivers do you use, whats ur AA settings at ?

 

drivers for what? the ati? and what is AA abreviation? >< lol

 

ATI drivers yea, AA = anti aliasing

 

Driver Packaging Version 8.63-090614a1-083686C
Catalyst™ Version 09.7
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.921
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0678
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.8781
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2009.0813.2131.36817

AA: X8
Filter: Box
temporal AA: box unchecked
use application settings: unchecked

 

AA is your problems, the cards are not powerful enough to be able to run games at max settings and 8xAA without stuttering/frame drops.

Not to mention Aion has issue in big cities in general, theres lots of post in the official forums as well.

Not sure about L4D 2 but i would start with reducing the AA to x2 or to OFF.

 

ok thanks - ya Aion has issues period. but my main point is even other games, Mass effect etc was that everything was lagging. well gonna lower like you said, test L4D2 and MA and get back

 

Thats probably AA's doing. In my case i usually go with AA off since i hate stuttering and frame drops. Also try updating the drivers to the latest version 9.11 atm.

Btw which screen you have ?

 

i dropped it to X2 as suggested, just ran 2 versus matches on L4D2. frame rate stayed even the whole time. at least an easy 30-35 fps im sure. im gonna turn it off just as you suggested. i think you have just solved my issue (i know if i had merely called alienware back they would have not know) you have made my day and made me very happy thank you so much. plus by screen im assuming you mean my display, 1200p screen ran the game and 1200p the entire time

and possibly dumn question. how to i turn AA off >< i see i can only drop it to X2

EDIT: found out to drop it to none, you use in game settings to do so, or at least thats all iv found. again thank you thank you ^^

 

Yeap you use the "use in game settings" then switch it off from the ingame settings.

AA is extremely fps taxing on high resolutions.

 

Ok.. so that didnt fix the issue, the intermitant problam still exists.. did i forget to mention its an intermitant issue to begin with? possibly. also the sound distorts at points of lag spikes and issues as stated... guess that wasnt the solution, im sure was at least part of the issue though. :<

EDIT: i just viewed the quad core issue thread all the symptoms seem to be similar maybe iv got one of those issue quad's :< ill look into that thread more

I have the Core 2 Quad Q9000 @ 2.0ghz btw

 

Yea quads have a stuttering issue on the m17 which that might add up to the whole issue your having. The only thing you can do for that is flash ur bios to the latest version but theres a chance you wont notice any difference after that either.

 

@Alexk7 This is a recurring bug in L4D2, whenever you start a game it drops immediately to ~30fps. The only answer I've found is that it's a crossfire bug inside the game. I run the game maxed out without aa or any higher filtering and get great fps (around 100+). The quick fix to this problem is alt-tabbing out of the game and then resuming the game. This resolves the low fps rate but you will have to do it each map change. Hope this helps.

 

Is alienware awafre of their quad core CPU issue? or if i call are they just gonna tell me to check my hard drive for a third time. lol >.>

 

They are aware but the M17 is a discontinued device.

You are not alone with the problems and it's not likely that Dell will release a fix for this..

 

well if there aware then they should fix it, i already sent it in once because the cpu fan was busted. well hopefully theyll do something ill call monday - otherwise flash the bios to the latest version?

 

You could try the latest Bios.

It has helped for some, but not for others.

I don't even got a Quad but i got the stuttering issues also.

I just accepted it and live with it...

Good luck and hope you get it sorted !

 

where would i go about finding the latest bios? ^^;;

EDIT: this is what it says for bios version/date under system info:

Intel W841.B14, 3/4/2009

 

If you already have the B14 bios which is the latest ones i doubt you can do any more than that.

 

ROFLIMAO i had a confirmation earlier today my systeme is playing some mind game with me i thought the stutter was gonne away but the stuttering is still there only it no longer affect my sound it just affect my graphic so i see stutering but i don't ear it ... it's definitly trying to get me mad XD

for you to know actualy 1 week ago i talked to a tech support guy and he told me there might be an actual new bios in devloppement allienware support is still active dell can't legally do anything to get rid of them until the last m17 warrenty has ended and they are forced to keep fixing bug

also a quick fix when it start to stutter pop out the power and plug it back it will make it return to normal instantly

 

ok thanks you guys. ill give em a call anyways whats the worst that can happen. i have a feeling that im going to need to do some jimmy rigging or something in the end though as iv seen throughout other threads here >.>

and this little trick of yours with the power cable, does this last for any amount of time - or does the intermitant issue stop for a decent amount of time - just out of curiousity (must have something to do with increasing volts upon re-inseerting? :O)

almost thinking itll be worth it to go to newegg and buy a dual core for crying out loud and just replace my Q9000... or maybe this wont do anything at all?

 

Try run the game from fresh bootup without wake up from sleep.
Most of the M17 is screwed by the wake up from sleep, and it never got solved.

 

Can u download DPC latency checker and see what ure dpc is when stuttering happens? Been monitoring this the past month afther i read about it on the m17x and wanted to check it on the m17. Im thinking we have the same problem the m17x has and only a Bios update will fix this.
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2009/11/18/dell-dpc-latency-and-you.aspx

Also (i dont own an AW but i have a whitebook) what is the difference with the OCZ 0.28 and the 0.14 AW bios? can u still OC with the AW one?

Also im running all latest drivers found http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=426562 and http://www.asimobile.com/ (click support then take the 17inch notebook, thats the m17)

 

How many other folks are experiencing the stutter with dual core CPU? I thought this was specifically a quad core issue.

 

I got frequent stutters ingame and with music.

Usually this lasts for ~1 second, it's like skipping a frame rate or something, bit hard to describe.

From what i know i have seen posts from other people that had the same with a Core2Duo but that was months ago, and i did not keep track... :S.

I could upgrade my BIOS and see if that helps...but i am affraid it will mess up my raid...

 

Well that scares the hell out of me, because I've already made a deal to acquire an X9100.

Upgrading your BIOS won't mess up your RAID. But you will have to go back into the BIOS and re-enable RAID. Other than that, there's nothing to it.

 

Which bios do you suggest i upgrade to and i can let you know if it improves anything..

 

Well, you could go with the latest BIOS from Alienware, or you could go with Zfactor's .28 BIOS. Alienware's BIOS is in MyHive (which I've never been able to get into). I have no idea where to get Z's .28 BIOS. Google that. I've never tried the newest AW BIOS, but I do know that overclocking is out of the question with it.

 

Ya exactly in my case, when my machine boot up from sleep the screen just go very very dark (with images but very very dim). It couldn't be solved since then I've tried pressing the reset buttons, re seat the cables and it just doesn't work for me. It is only for the laptop screen though as my external display work perfectly. Called up Alienware and I had to send my laptop back to them!!! I don't even know what causes the problem I'm guessing it's the BIOS update as I recently update the BIOS to .28 Zfactor to enable overclocking for my processor. Anyone has any ideas of what causes the problem?

 

I can get into MyHive but i don't see any bios updates there.

Also, is there something like a changelog for the bios versions? What they are intended to fix or improve.

Thanks (i'll google the bios and give it a go i guess)

 

I do not have the problem after installing Windows 7.
I also bought new HDD's because my old one died...so not sure what fixed it...W7 or new HDD's.

This picture is with Mediaplayer and World of Warcraft open.

 

Ok so i called alienware today and spoke to Randall. he was aware of the issue and infact assisted others recently for the same issue. the first thing he suggested, was even though i had B14 bios, was to flash the Bios to B14, we did as well flash the keyboard bios again. He told me to test that out, as in some cases it fixed some users, both in upgrading to B14, and just flashing them to B14 again in some cases. he told me to test it out, and if it did not work he would call me back tommorow after 12pm to check up on me.

Problem still persists. ill keep posted tommorow after Randall gives me a call, props to Randall for actually knowing his job and providing good customer service

DHC - after the AW tech i spoke to took over my PC to access the MYhive and had me create an account, he found the bios with me. so i know they are there somewhere

Edit: just checked - heres how to get to them DHC : Alienware.com > support area > My hive > sign in
next youll see please select an invoice. select the one you want, M17 in this area. next click the M17 17" WUXGA W/ CAM BLK-PNT REV. 2
link javascript:__doPostBack('ctl00$rpAccount$ctl00$rpInvoice$ctl01$rpItem$ctl02$Item_BulletButton','') if that link doesnt work right off the bat go through what i said, after clicking scroll down and theres the whole list of bios

 

Ok, here is a list of things that can cause the stutter for M17 that I know of:

1. Power plan not set to maximum performance.
2. Advanced option in power plan where the CPU is not set to 100% for the "Processor Minimum State"
3. Not up to date sound driver.
4. Bios not right for your M17. *try the newest til the oldest to find one right for you.
5. Seagate 7200.4 hard drive design flaw. *use hdparm to fix it.
6. Quad processors.
7. ES CPUs.
8. Overheat CPU/GPU/Ram.
9. Corrupt windows, need fresh reinstall.
10. Not up to date Directx.
11. Not up to date ATI driver.
12. Overheat northbridge.
13. Virus/Malware/and other craps.
14. Stutter after wake up from sleep state. *no fix. just don't use sleep.

Check all these first, and if you have stutter during game, then call AW and tell them you checked all these.

 

well most of that i have up to date etc besides like northbridge overheating i wouldnt be able to tell. or if windows is like "corrupt" but issue has stayed from freash re-format from vista to 7. i have no viruses etc, keep that software up to date and it happens regardless of sleep - so im thinking it has an issue to do with heating rather than bios on my end

so when the AW support agent calls me back tommorow, ill have to see what his second plan of action is. if not bring this up

 

Download HWmonitor and run it while playing games, then report back with a screenshot of HWmonitor, then we can check.

 

when you updated the bios did you update the keyboard firmware also? when using the bios i gave you you should see where it asks you to flash the keyboard firmware do this its very important to match the bios. a ton of m17 users have used my bios without this issue at all.

 

ill check that out fusionsenses

and zfactor i think so ya, the AW rep downloaded both the B14 and the M17 Keyboard Controller BIOS 130E

most of this the agent did while taking control of my pc, i only really booted from the cd we saved the bios to and the m17 took over on autoinstalling the bios

EDIT: Now with HWmoniter do i just minimize game, open that up then take a printscreen quick?

 

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ok heres the print screen after like 45 minutes of playing.

 

I have no problem running life4death2 on my m17, however, I may have the same issue when I try to run call of duty warfare 2. Cant find the reason, Im think that my be my m17 is not power enough to run call of duty

 

i have problems running it, i think it's because of the crossfire issue, everytime the level changes I notice the performance drops.

 

Wow that is really hot...

This is mine after 1 hour of gaming

Thanks for the link to the BIOS btw .

 

lol, thats freaking cool, mine can raise up to 85C ! help me !

 

I took the cloth of the vent holes on the bottom, replaced the paste with OCZ Freeze and bought a laptop cooler and my temps dropped ALOT..

 

you took it all or just a few ? wont it collect dust inside the system ?

 

I took the cloth off of the vents, as well as removing the reflective tin foil looking crap. Dust is going to get into the system, but that's what regular maintenance is for. There's no such thing as a hermetically sealed laptop.

 

As Turbo said..

 

Well it seems to look like in my case that overheating is the issue rather than the bios. ill post what the AW rep and I decide when he calls withtin the next hour.