my 8800 is downclocking too

Believe me guys, if I am able to get a solution for this underclocking issue I'll post it. Otherwise you'll have to find some solution on your own . . . sending in the notebook will probably not do any good.

Has anyone actually re-applied thermal compound to their notebook, specifically the GPU? I'd like to see some before and after results. As far as I'm concerned it's a confounding factor at the moment, as in, it's not possible to determine whether this is a fault of the cooling system not being sufficient or just a bad application of compound.

 

has anyone tried contacting alienware about this issue? or do they just respond with stuff we already know?

 

newfiejudd has posted this issue on AW's tech support forums, and I've posted a follow up with links to these threads.

the AW response was:

"I will pass this along right now. Thanks a lot for the heads up though."

Hopefully something gets done soon.

 

You know i have a bottle of AS5 sitting on my desk, and im thinking about applying it to CPU and the GPU problem is im all out of cleaner, and very scared this may void warranty. Going to give AW a call and see if this is OK to do without voiding warranty. If its ok just gotta go purchase that cleaner ha.

 

as others have said, i encourage all of you with this problem (could be everyone w/ an m15x!) to:

a) test your system (someone start a thread on step by step for this... i've only tested w/ rivatuner and crysis)

b) POST IN THE AW SUPPORT FORUMS! Dont get lazy about finding that acct #... get it from the binder you got w/ the computer (its on the 'id card') and POST under the thread started by newfiejudd

i also agree that a post or email from CHAZ would go a long way... especially if it is clear that a REVIEW is getting done.

 

i tried riva tuner but ill admit, its too advanced for me. i used fraps in crysis and noticed my fps was randomly droping by half. this was while standing still. i noticed with time, fps droped.

 

I am almost positive a reapplication of thermal paste will solve the underclocking problem... It almost seems to me that you guys complain without trying the obivous solution...

 

@Lax - Why should we have to re-apply thermal paste. I know it is hard to believe but not everyone who buys an M15x instantly knows how to open their case and apply artic silver. They could apply too much, or too little. Why does AW **** up every single thermal paste they put on? It seems like every other company out there does it right.

It is ridiculous.

 

well the 'obvious solution' would void your warranty. so unless you've got AW's blessing to do so, you take a lot of risk.

+, modifying hardware is not as simple as say, updating drivers. its a daunting task for most, and im sure most are not comfortable doing it.

 

@Chaz Just out of curiosity, no idea how these things go usually, if the issues are not solved (2-4 weeks or whatnot) will you still write a review on the m15x to warn potential buyers? Or in these cases the company asks for the thing back for repairs and deems it faulty?

 

parroting the other posters, i didn't drop this kind of cash on a notebook to have to mod it or reseat heatsinks myself.

i've built enough desktops, and used to enjoy it, but right now i dont have the time or inclination, its partly why i went with a notebook, its not something i can readily build, and was thinking i wouldn't have to tinker with it, just use it and enjoy it.

yet here i am fighting a cooling issue..

 

again, if you are having issues with your system, post in AWs forums.

the one in particular is in:

Technical support forums
'Mobile systems'
'video issues'
'8800 gtx Downclocking at 85-90c.' thread started by newfiejudd

unfortunately, i think the only way something will be done if AW understands that it is a widespread issue that must be taken care of. the only way to do this is to have a LARGE response to the problem.

if even after that it is not taken care of, then maybe engadget can pick up the story like they did w/ the side lighting.

 

Ok of course youre not going to want to reapply thermal paste after paying alot. But honestly are we that lazy? It is not a big deal and you can't win all the time. BTW you can do it ourself and AW will even send you some AS5 if you just call them and let them know...

 

We aren't all lazy. It is a matter of principle for one. It is like saying that your car came with a bad intake, so you are going to have to replace it. For everyone in the car forums, it shouldn't be a problem. However, people who don't know anything about cars but like them may have a problem.

Paying over 3K for a laptop and then having to risk breaking it by applying AS5 is just not a good thing.

 

Even then its still not that hard to learn... Besides how many people do you think own an M15X, care that much about performance, and dont know how to apply thermal paste? BTW to those of you that know how to do it and are complaining read this thread... this describes the problem your having exactly... and the TEMP NEVER EXCEEDS 78*!!!!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=225604

Problem solved...

 

i never saw the conclusion to newf's thread, it kinda dangles with no conclusion, where do you see 78 deg max, problem solved?

and if alienware ever sort out their problem not recognizing my account number, i'll register on their forums and contribute there.

 

he did say a couple pages back that if he didnt have a cooler the laptop will underclock. i think if he has his cooler on then the temps should stay at around 78

 

yeah, and the other thread he actually states that it was still overheating after he re-applied AS5. lax, whatchoo smokin

 

You seem to be missing the point. People pay $3000 for other brands and Do not have to re-apply thermal paste themselves.. you shouldn't have to with alienware either. Also, reapplying the paste hasn't proven to fix the problem - so why would be take the risk of voiding their warranty for something that isn't proven to work? Think about what you're saying. Thanks!

When you pay a premium price for a notebook you should not have to take apart the notebook and fix something yourself a day after receiving it. I could understand someone opening their notebook after a year to reapply the paste.. but no one should have to the first week of owning the m15x.

 

the entire thread is talking about his CPU temp, not GPU... the CPU tends to run much much cooler.

unless im mistaken, newfiejudd seems to have MULTIPLE problems... after spending some time reading older posts, it seems like he initially had CPU heating problems, then checked GPU and found it was fine and THEN found out it was NOT fine and downclocking. Newfie, please let us know if this is the case.

 

I realize that but you can't win them all... and opening up the laptop and reapplying thermal paste isn't that big a deal. Still there are people who complain and complain and complain without at least TRYING to reapply some thermal paste.

 

Once again. Why should we have to apply thermal paste to a notebook that is supposed to be a high performance one. I think you are missing the point here Lax. If I pay 300K for a Lambo and something is wrong, I'm probably one of those people that doesn't have the time / want to take the time to fix it myself. Or I could pay 50K for a Audi and have it work flawlessly. There is a problem there...

I think you are just missing the point that everyone is trying to tell you. The point of that how do you ship a laptop out that overheats like a ***** when there is 200 point "quality" testing done.

 

i know im not operating on a 3200 doller gaming notebook if i wanted to do that i would have built a computer for 1/3 the cost.

 

I agree. In the amount of time it could take some people to figure out how to open the m15x and re-apply the paste.. they could have built a beastly desktop @ half the price @ half the time.

People waited MONTHS to receive their notebook. It's not fair to pay that high of a price to get a notebook that has bad cooling or thermal paste that needs to be reapplied by the owner.

Although Lasix, I do see what you're trying to say. You're just trying to let people know that it is an easy process that MIGHT fix their notebook. But I think most people just feel they shouldn't have to do things like that and that their notebook shouldn't have problems the first week owning it.

 

No one should ever have to apply anything to there machine to get the results that are expected from the factory . Only the diehard guys looking to get a few degrees less out of there GPU/CPUs should or want to apply AS5 . Only shills or the like would Tell you to void the warranty to get the results your looking for by applying 3rd party stuff to get the results your looking for.

 

Usually I get a new review unit if mine is faulty. Sometimes I replace the parts myself, it depends on the situation.

 

Guys i wrote email to AW and this what i got a bout heat on GPU that downclock when reach 85. :

Dear Mr. Almuhairi,

Thank you for contacting Alienware.

Regarding your inquiries, please keep in mind that the NVidia 8800 and this system have more powerful components than less powerful systems. Thus, it may generate more heat than less powerful systems' users may be accustomed to. While it may warm up more than less powerful systems, it is engineered to stay within normal heat standards for it.

The NVidia driver downclocks cards when they reach a certain temperature. This is a driver feature to give the card a longer life, but can be disabled. We are looking into reports about downclocking in order to provide a fix for customers experiencing any issues.

Regarding the service provided, we take care of our customers and answer every inquiry we receive.

In this case, I have escalated the situation to have the forums area supervised and to verify if some inquiries are not getting responsed to.

Regarding your system, in case you should experience any problem with it, I will personally follow up on every issue in order to make sure that the system works perfectly fine.

We appreciate your feedback. I assure you that it has been forwarded to the respective departments.

If you have any other questions or technical issues, please do not hesitate to contact us again, or visit our Knowledge Base at http://support.alienware.com.

Thank you again for choosing Alienware.


Best regards,

[name edited]
Electronic Support
Alienware Corporation

 

Well, hopefully alienware gets that fix out but... if that was true... how come other notebooks with 8800's dont downclock at 85 degrees? (or hit 85 degrees in general)

 

Typical generic response from CC . You dont order 8800 Gtx for web browsing which everyone obviously everyone knows already . i hated the canned responses from CC of any company cause they treat everyone like a caveman . i would be sending that f`ing that back without hesitation and asking for a full refund .

 

The other notebooks are 17". The M15x is the first true high performance gaming notebook in 15.4. It would have been done so before if it was easy, it obviously isn't trying to fit all that power in 15.4 and not have overheating issues.

It will be interesting to see how Clevo manages it when their 15.4 8800M GTX comes out.

Besides the fix could very well be as simple as AW releasing a new BIOS revision. From reports it seems that the fans aren't going too crazy and that it has headroom for more. Perhaps the BIOS controlled fan is a tad too conservative and needed to be a bit more aggressive and that the cooling system in the M15x is quite sound afterall...heat spreader and all.

Look at Clevo's 570RU, the fans on that was too aggressive in 2D, it needn't tho and a bios revision fixed that. Now in this case it may be the opposite. Will just have to wait and see..

 

Yes so far my CPU was overheating. I posted it in the AW forums aswell. I spoke to the AW technical spport and have a new CPU, heat sink and fan on the way. Only problem is I am in Houston right now(just arrived) and won't be returning home till MArch 21st.

Using my Zalman coolr my GPU doesn't exceed 80-83 so I never noticed the downclocking. Todya I did some testing without my Cooler and noticed my GPU also was downclocking. Again I posted it in the AW forums.

This is an amazing site but voicing our concerns here may not be the best way to do that.

So for me right now I hae issues with CPU. GPU and WebCam.

I don't think AW will just let this slide now, and hopefully they will do something regardig our concerns.

 

get as many people to email gizmodo engadget as possible.

you need some exposure then AW will have to do something. force fed broken glass is the analogy.

Educate as many people you can about this problem.

it will HURT their bottom LINE!

then they will do something.

Fight the Fight.

 

Home and testing the down clock theory, you guys wont believe this one ill post Screen shots when im done.

 

To be fair with this stress test on the overheat/downclock issue i decided NOT to run my laptop cooler to see how much of a big difference it would make. Room temp at the time of this test a bit higher 78.3F instead of 78.1 again same nothing but the night air. Here my test WITH the laptop cooler running Link with notepal infinite at full blast

and here is the test Without a notebok cooler running. Yes my laptop DID down clock at 88c and plunged down to 79c this is the screen shot with it down clocking.

 

So what does it all mean? If you look at both pictures and compare them they both got timed out at 7 mins give or take a few seconds, but the test WITH the laptop cooler running ran 5c cooler and i believe i could of ran it longer where it would of plateaued without hitting the down clock temp..

 

It seems as the CS said, a driver that downclock the GPU when it reach above 85, which also mean we can update the driver or we will get update to fix it, and this really means all 8800M GTX will down clock ,

So the Q now, Is there anyone who own 8800 and it never down clock ?(without cooler ofcoures). we need to confirm if it was faulty GPU or as the CS said a driver feature.

if driver , then this will be less problem than a faulty GPU, since we will not have to change it or send it to AW, a driver can be easily updated.

 

Mine downclock even with NC1000 cooler at full blast. Downclock when temp hit 80-85C. Downclocking last average abt 16 secs but never exceed 30 secs at one shot. Total playing time 2 hours. Total downclock time at 90 secs.

Not too bad, considering 1 hr 58 min it runs at full clock. I did experience jerky situation when playing crysis only. All other games COD4, Total war, SOF payback etc never downclock.

IMO the cooler did nothing. No diff with and without.

I think in this situation, AW will not change the physical hardware as I know investment for this chasis are ordered and I doubt they will throw away all unsold chassis & overriding the downclock will only shorten your GPU life.

The only solution is to put on some thermal paste and getting a software to increase fan speed. This will definitely solved the problem.

The fan speed is still not in full blast yet. I will be looking for a third party software to over ride it.

I support writing to engagdet, cause I know they have millions of readers worldwide. It will have a toll on AW financial bottom line this year. But meanwhile I am gonna put some paste and get a software to increase fan speed. No point sending back cause I know they dun have a solution yet and your m15x will be return in 3 weeks with the same problem (cept maybe they give a headphone for compensation). It seems to me that AW is going to defend their m15x.

 

I already wrote to engagdet and i WISH you all who read this post did also.

 

exactly.. i dropped the cash to not spend the time, yet here i am spending the time anyway...

i shoulda just built another desktop.. course now i'm hooked on perfomance notebook crack..

mailed engadget, hardocp and tomshardware.

 

Same here.

 

I know that this is a dumb question, but what is that program you are running in the bottom middle of the screen for the video card testing? I want to know where you got it. It's a pretty nice program.

 

let's all remember that even though alienware is the re-seller of this notebook, it is made by quanta. any solution to this heating problem will need to be addressed by quanta directly and this can take even more time than a quick responce from alienware.

 

ATI tool version 0.27 www.techpowerup.com check forums beta download section that like fuzzy cube thing pops up when you run any test on it.

 

this is after 2 hours of playing battlefield 2.

 

I can't say for sure, but it seems that way. There are other programs to stress your video card.

 

See those dips there? that is a Yes you are underclocking. and it looks like you are underclocking @ around 74-77c from what im reading on the graph.

 

Yes, in the first 3 graphs, your clocks dropping then rising as a Downclock would suggest. If you play entirely for 2 hours with out stopping, then your GPU is downclocking.

 

Ouch... looks like your going to have to join the bandwagon

 

*head asplodes* dam i did not want to accept it. and that was just a 3 year old game imagine crysis. THE HORROR!

 

Sorry to confirm your downclocking issues man... Hopefully AW does something cause apparently this isnt acceptable.