Poll: Has your M15x downclocking been fixed by the BIOS Update?

Just a quickie... What's roughly the percentage of people still having the downclock problem? I know some people that didn't see it, are seeing it after a week or so (in my humble opinion, it's just a matter of time till your GPU will downclock, given the "solution" that alienware came up with! They should simply just build new computers if they want a solution...)!

I know this is a pool and all... But I'm sure that there are more than 9 people (as I said, some people found the problem after some use)! That's why I'm wandering if someone is keeping track of the "record".
It's funny, because today I received an email from Alienware saying that the bios "fix" solved the problem and that they do not know of anyone still having the problem! I was like... "What a joke!"

Anyway... I want the laptop so badly... why is it like this!?!?!?

 

The poll says that 21 people had the downclocking problem fixed. And 9 still have it.

 

I know that...
What I'm wondering is... how many of the 21 are false negatives (as in, they didn't spot the problem first, but they ended up having it after some time!)!

 

haha Maybe we should start a 2nd poll. It would make it a lot clearer, and AW can also see that the BIOS update isn't %100.

 

And in any case, 30% (and 30% is an under estimation) is far too much for such a high end laptop as this!
Why don't they simply admit they designed a piece of machinery that has terrible flaws and it's not 100% working?
I mean... 3 in 10 laptops (at least) have the problem after the fix! What are they going to come up with next? There's no solution, is it? It's as simple as this... The cooling system is INNEFICIENT! No matter how many bios they come up with, they are not solving anything! They are just throwing sand into our eyes!

And me... that thought that Alienware was like the Ferrari of the laptops! Bullcrap... It's just a long, sick and sad story!

 

I am one of the m15x owners who dicovered the problem later.

 

Maybe someone should start another thread then (with a new pool and more "professional like thingie", and forward all this new info to Alienware! I think we should let all this out again (similarly to the 1st time in Engadget), so that Alienware understands that this is simply not acceptable!!!
I'm baffled at how all this is turning out... I was so excited with this laptop, and now... I would rather buy a Dell and buy some neon lights and voila!
One thing is hysteria and paranoia... (like the infamous "Grainy screen" from the Dell XPS M1530, which I actually had and returned! ), the other thing is having a GPU (which is one of the main reasons for this laptop to exist) not performing as it should!
I'm really frustrated and upset (and luckily I haven't even ordered it yet...)

 

I don't think Alienware will take this poll serious. I think we should send this to engadget again hopfully Alienware will wake up this time.

 

haha..I wouldn't compare AW as the Ferrari of laptops. Personally, I think Voodoo PC is the Ferrari if you are talking about looks. AW is more of a Lamborghini. lol

Anyways, remember that some people's problems have already been solved by the BIOS update. For the other 9, it could be just hardware problems...

 

Got mine back today; didn't fix it

 

If I were Alienware, I certainly would not take any internet poll seriously. A good portion of the responses (both positive and negative) are likely from readers who do not even own the laptop. Another good portion are likely those who do not really know one way or the other. The internet is many things, but a truthfull reflection of reality is not one of them . . .

As for my case, prior to the bios fix, I was able to see clear downclocks (using rivatuner) during long sessions playing Wow. After the Bios, Rivatuner is showing a flat non-downclocked performance. Whatever they exactly tweaked, it worked for me. I am still less than enthused about the "touch sensitive" volume controls (do they really qualify as controls? more like "volume might go up or down or stay the same controls") and the wobble on the screen, but I am perfectly satisfied by the raw horsepower and the form factor.

 

RivaTuner the best for this?

 

I use GPU-Z. It doesn't give you a graph, so you have to watch it as you play though (but that isn't really a problem)

but yeah, I still have the problem even though the AW tech installed the new BIOS (X30 R3). AW hasn't heard the last of me...

 

According to my results, while running the ATITool artifact for 20 minutes, my GPU reaches 104 degrees C, but doesn't downclock. It looks like I don't even have a cooling solution in my system!

 

Put some new thermal paste on it and see if that helps. Call Alienware before you do this though, so they will know.

 

I appreciate the suggestion, but there's no way I'm going to open the system up and apply thermal paste. I paid AW a lot of money for a system that allows its GPU to reach 104 degrees C. All the work will be done on their dime.

Does anyone else think 104 degrees C and no downclocking is unhealthy for the system?

 

104c is pretty high, but i think the gpu can handle a max of like 115-120C..is it healthy to be at 104c? i would say no....im surprised its getting that hot...i would just re-apply the paste...maybe even set the fan speed to 100% if you can in ntune or rivatuner..sorry im a desktop guy so i dont know if this works on laptops...but it would def. help

def call alienware and tell them your temp..i guarentee you they will say 104c is normal lol

 

Unless your living the middle of the desert or your home is like a sauna it should never hit 104 under any circumstance . Even if the card doesnt die on you your killing the rest of the inside of your machine faster then you should be cause of all that heat and i would call them asap.

 

Ambiant temp is about 78 degrees F, so that's not it. There's definitely something wrong with my system's cooling. And I agree with your comment regarding heating up the other components; that was my exact concern.

 

Have you called AW yet? 104 C is really high for a notebook GPU. Maybe it's a bad heatsink. How long have you had your m15x when you noticed this problem?

Man..I just cannot believe all the problems that I am reading about the m15x. I'm really glad that I haven't bought one yet.

 

Alienware-Steve is hooking me up with an AW Critical Issue Team member, who's supposed to contact me today. I received the system this past Friday, and didn't get around to stressing the GPU until yesterday (Monday).

It's an enthusiasm killer when you order such an elite and expensive system and immediately notice a scratch on the lid after removing it from its protective sleeve, and then later discover that your GPU is running at 104 degrees C, which I believe is the highest reported temp thus far on these forums. Oddly enough, it's not downclocking.

Keep in mind that I told AW CS many times not to rush my system. What do they ship me after 39 days in production? A scratched oven.

 

hmmm. I agree that it is disappointing to receive a top system and get a scratch on a lid and after telling them not to rush it as well. Glad that Alienware-Steve is hooking you up. Maybe this will do some good. It's sad that you haven't even had it for a week yet. Keep us posted on the problem.

 

I would rather have 104c with no downclocking issue than have a 90c and downclock like crazy. I will take 3 year warranty on that. If u have DC, Its impossible to game without surviving headache due to jerky movement every 5 secs.

Base on the hundreds of pages of this forum u will either get a 104c with no DC or 90c with DC - THERE IS NO IN BETWEEN.

I really hope someone running fine at 85/86c with no DC issue for long hours to post his Rivatuner log here. At least we know there is 1 good system.

Edit: I too receive mine with a small dent. Damn too much problems

 

Let me ask you guys, is the downclocking issue over or not ?

 

NO. There is still lots of ppl with DC issue. And those w/o DC are getting 104c. I havent seen any "perfect 8 hrs rivatuner log that run below 90c and no DC.

 

Parker and guys without DC issue - I really hope u guys can post a rivatuner log here running at 8hrs under 90C with no DC issue. Just find one nice weekend and run your system overnight. Split the log into 4 with 2 hours each and post it here.

I will +rep who ever does it.

Edit: try not to use ATI tool to test. The downclocking issue happens mostly in games like COD4, crysis, ghost recon and not ATI. The reason being ATI is consistence - it will keep the fan spinning cause it raise the temp slowly and consistently and fan will keep spinning. In games where u have to repawn or go to tactical map - the fan will alternate between blasting and slow spinning. Normally thats when the downclock happens.

For eg. for ghost recon I dun have downclock issue if I keep shooting in war zone but when I switch to tactical map (less GPU needed so fan slow down) and back to intense scene the fan cant keep up. It downclock until fan kick in again. The funny thing is fan kick in inconsistently sometimes at 80c -87c.

 

I'd be happy to do this, but how do I run a game for 8 hours without playing?
I used the FurMark test which got things plenty hot after two hours, (91-92 max) but no downclocking. I can run that for 8 hours if you'd like.

I'd kind of like to know for sure if I have the issue or not.

N

 

Ouch,that is scary. Here`s a question. how many fans does the m15x have?

 

Two: one for the CPU and one for the GPU.

 

LOL I am not sure if there is a game that auto run Anyway game as long as u can 3 hrs maybe? and thanks for the reply

 

Lucky! At around the 90 minute mark, mine started downclocking.

 

Good afternoon,

For those of you who are still experiencing downclocking after updating your BIOS please send a detailed description of your issue to the email Frank posted earlier: [email protected]. if you have already done so, please be sure to report your continued issues so they may be addressed. If you are having trouble getting service through that method, send me an email ([email protected]) and I can try to help you out.

 

^^ I'd bet that response is because of my complaint to AW yesterday. I linked them to this forum when I called in because I'm nervous about having these issues on my new $3K laptop. They said they'd look into the reports of people with problems post-X30 BIOS and call me back. If they really do call me back today I'll be seriously impressed with their CS, at least in this case.

 

Steve has been around awhile trying to help us out

 

Thanks Steve.

 

Yup. Steves been here a while. As a matter of fact, longer than you from the join date.

 

Just in case you read this Alienware-Steve. I just sent that address an email stating my issues going on. I also stated that this time Im looking for a refund cause my computer is still downclocking.

Scrog-

 

Hope they won't ask you a restocking fee (or even to pay for transport fees) for a DAMAGED machine! Good luck

 

Well, you can now count me in the "originally voted yes but now no" crowd. Playing CoD4 this weekend, the M15X started downclocking at 83-85 C (before the fans could kick in high). Previously this only happened when the temps reached 90 C, and the x30 bios prevented that until now.

Anyway, I'm not here to raise hell....I'm in talks with the critical issues team to see what needs to be done.

 

Hi shima... Sorry to hear that!
Again... this just proves my suspicion... No solution! Just patch work... Unfortunately guys, this is not going to be solved with some extra spinning! There is something much more wrong than that...
Let's all put a letter together with everyone's statements and expose it to the "tech" world!
Join the cause...
Go and participate, please... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=238525&page=2

 

I voted Yes, but after 2 weeks it became a No (I guess there are many out there that voted Yes at first and then found the problem is still there.)

 

Same as the above.

 

I think we need a new poll because this one does not represent the results anymore.

 

@Halo - The official nvidia recommended maximum for this card is I believe 95C