1340 w/ n210 "stuttering" in World of Warcraft

Has anyone experienced this? I don't know if it happens in other games as it's my wife's laptop and she only has WoW installed on it.

I was playing WoW and every few minutes it would lock up, and the sound would stutter/repeat really fast, then it would resume working fine. The FPS would never dip low, except when the whole thing would hang/lock up with the sound stuttering.

I did a search and I didn't really find any relevant information that seemed to relate. I have the latest driver from Dell, the one released in October 09. Is there a newer driver, or am I looking at the wrong component as the culprit?

Thanks for any info. She doesn't seem to care but its going to bug me, especially as this is a brand new laptop.

On another note, her 'E' key squeaks. Does anyone know if these keys can be popped off without causing damage? I'm assuming the answer is no, but I'm not about to let a Dell tech take her entire laptop apart so that he can swap the keyboard out and put it back together poorly.

Thanks!

 

You might want to try turning off the g210m and run WoW just with the 9400m. It would be interesting to see if the g210m is the problem or if it is something else.

 

well I dont own any games. But I do have the 9400MG single card. So its not suppose to have any "micro-tering" .. But after upgrading to windows 7 and downloading display drivers from dell, I notice the same problem that you have but only when Im playing Video clips, Im sure I would have the same problem as you but I just down own any games...

However I installed display drivers from nvidia for my card (9400mg) and the "micro-tering" audio/video problem is gone.

Other than that I have a huge problem with video playback in win7, the same videos I used to watch in vista, now are more blurry and pixelated in win7


So try downloading drivers from nvidia.com and let us know if it helps.

As for dell they I guess we will have to wait months for a decent display update

 

Maybe the system is overheating? Check your temperatures.

 

She's got it on a cooling pad and it never gets warm to the touch.

As for the theory on micro-tearing, it isn't doing that. Your issue sounds almost like a V-synch issue and thats not what I'm experiencing.

stuttering, as in its like some one is pausing the game (it literally stops moving, no tearing or anything, just pauses) and the sound repeats/stutters rapidly.

by that i mean if it happened right when an in-game character voice got attacked instead of her going "ouch!" one time, it would go "ouchouchouchouchouchouch" and then the game would resume.

 

I get stuttering problems with YouTube videos and VLC mHD videos from time to time. I think it has to do with Win7 drivers. Running Win 7 Pro X64.

 

We just finally formatted and installed windows 7 again and we're still having the issues. sigh.

Dell systems are such a disappointment. My 1645 has the throttlegate issue and her 1340 has this issue.

What a pain.

Anyone have any other ideas to try? I've done all hte obvious ones so be creative Going to probably try Dell support on Tuesday during the afternoon when i have several hours to spend towards useless troubleshooting.

 

I'm still wrestling with this issue. Dell Tech is useless, when i try and describe the problem they just say its not a gaming machine and it might be poor fps. They can't wrap their feeble minds around the fact that the system runs at 60fps constantly, and locks up for 1-3 seconds with the sound stuttering before resuming like nothing happened...

Anyone have any other ideas?

 

Something interesting I just discovered. There is absolutely zero FPS gain between "boost performance" and "Save power" modes on the hybrid SLI in WoW, CoD MW2, L4D2.... nothing...

Makes me wonder if its a GPU issue, and/or a sound issue (due to the sound stuttering when the video locks up)

What a pain.

Edit: does anyone know what the thermal threshold is for the GPU in this system? I'm wondering if the GPU is getting too hot, and skipping some cycles or something to cool off... Got the GPU up to 83, and had my cooling pad turned off and it never stuttered once.... go figure.

EDIT2: Just remembered I turned off my wife's bluetooth adapter...... thats the only difference between that last run with zero stuttering and the gaming she's done thats had it... I'll update if that was the issue, and i'll facepalm.

 

Wow.. this issue sounds bad..

but if u look at http://www.notebookforums.com/thread230251.html

He seems like having boost with SLi.. hmmm

 

yeah still getting the issue with bluetooth on or off so that was a dead end. I'm going to have to go through Dell Tech Support I think to get a mobo replacement or something. SOMETHING is not right, and it isn't right on Vista, 7, OEM and factory image installations.

 

The issue your having sounds to me like the display driver stops working for a moment, and then automatically recovers. Thus allowing the game to resume.

This could be attributed to hardware issues with your GPU getting too hot, but what you should really do is just go to nvidia.com and download their latest drivers for mobile graphic cards for windows 7.

Then proceed to install.

Do not ask for a motherboard replacement as that is not the issue and it will only bring you more frustration to get the replacement done.

EDIT

Dont focus too much on the sound stuttering... the only reason its doing that is because the game locks up.

 

Yeah I had come to that conclusion myself. The problem is:

I've already tried various drivers both official and unofficial. The last thing I need to try is a full fresh install and see if it still happens. My formats are all from the same image, but the issue didn't initially start until about a month after getting it (and making that image backup). So it was low on my suspect list. I can also try loading Dell's Vista image onto the system to see if its a win 7 issue.

CALLING ALL XPS 13" 1340 W/ NVIDIA N210M 512MB OWNERS:

Do you have this problem? Is it a problem with MY laptop or a problem with this laptop in general? I havn't seen many people talking about the laptops with this GPU so I'd assume its pretty solid, and probably specific to my system/my installation. I think I'll tackle that tonight. I'm really considering ordering another one of these systems for myself (this one is my wife's) as aside from the stutter it runs like a dream. Great screen, great performance in games, and so on. very nice package.

 

I never had this stuttering problem when i played Devil May cry 4, Left 4 dead, L4D2, and other online games using nhancer to force hybrid sli. It runs like a charm. I had this replacement laptop for 2 months and it runs perfectly. Maybe it is a hardware problem. I don't play WoW so i cannot give u any opinion on that game.

 

It does definitely happen in L4D/L4D2 and other games like Torchlight and WoW so it isn't just in WoW... when I created this thread that was the only game we had on it. I'm doing a fresh from scratch install atm so we'll see how it goes, but I'm glad to hear that it isn't an issue with the system

 

Update and possible resolution:

I formatted (non-quick format for good measure), and reinstalled Win 7 x64 from scratch and did all the drivers but did not run any windows updates yet. So far so good. Wife and I ran a little WoW on it today and didn't have any issues, but we only had it running for about 30 minutes. If we can get a nice long 1-2 hour session without issues then we'll call this case-closed. So far it looks very promising!!

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions, guys. I really do appreciate the input.

 

Nevermind.

ing Dells.... Guess I have no choice but to call those idiots and demand a replacement. Not going to put up with a mobo swap 45 days after buying it.

 

Sorry to hear that.

I've heard about problems like yours about games played on sxps 1340 with g210m, but those were deifately caused by the actual game's poor SLI support.

Clueless what your problem could have been, WOW support SLI, and I think I remember one of your posts from the past mentioning your system could ran WOW maxed out. Regarding You did a clean install, I'm a bit afraid you're experiencing hardware issue.

 

yeah i've even gone through the various modes of the hybrid SLI, and used nHancer to disable it completely.

Pretty sad. We bought this 1340 and my 1645 at the same time, and both of them have problems.

Premium my as*

 

I called Dell yesterday and complained about the problems I had and told them I wanted a replacement. They said they would do the next best thing:

They're replacing my wife's:
Motherboard
HDD
AC Adapter
RAM
GPU (assuming the GPU is part of the mobo)
Wifi and BT Cards...

So essentially the only thing that will be original parts will be keyboard, touchpad, screen, and chassis....

Dell, why you be so random? Strangest solution ever. I kinda hope it doesn't work just for the lulz of them having to replace the system anyways.

 

Yeah as you say, it runs over 100FPS *except* when it locks up for 1-2 seconds, then its right back to 100FPS again.

FFFFFFUUUU

 

Don't know wheter one should laugh or cry.

I was just one step from buying SXPS 1340 with the same specs as Your's, did some research, ran into NBR's threads, and though I'd still like to stick to SXPS 1340, I definatelly wait for their refresh, hoping by the time of the refresh DELL would learn from their issues and won't mess things up.

BTW I believe I remember You've changed Your notebook cooler. Does it work properly? The stuttering can be caused of not so efficient cooling as well.

 

the cooling pad is a Zalman NC1000, originally we used a bestbuy-purchased Belkin cooler. Both of them work great, but the Belkin's fan kept burning out. With the zalman her notebook never gets over 60-65c even when gaming.

Update on my repairs today:

Tech showed up on time. Go all the new parts laid out. Popped open my wife's laptop and got it all completely disassembled and re-assembled everything, and when he went to put the cooling assembly back in it wouldn't fit. Some eyeballing allowed us to quickly realize that Dell had sent the 9500m motherboard and not the n210 motherboard.

He called and yelled at Dell and they told him the soonest the new part would arrive is Monday!!

And according to him, he can't put my wife's original board back in because he has to ship it back to Dell TODAY or he/his company gets charged for it (i believe that, actually, sounds like a Dell rule).

So we went from a computer that worked 99% of the time with weird lock-ups that would easily work for my wife doing homework and stuff to a computer that we can not even turn on because it has no cooling assembly installed. He can't even put it back together, there are several parts in a small box for when the new part comes in.

Needless to say, I was super polite to the guy, but as soon as he left I called and tore Dell a new one. It took me 45 minutes to get it through the supervisor's thick skull that the tech had to leave my wife's notebook in several pieces and that before he came it worked fine.

I don't have any choice but to go buy my wife a replacement computer tonight. She requires a laptop this weekend for school, non-debatable. Doctorate-level college courses do not care what the excuse is and her homework will be due on Monday regardless.

The supervisor submitted a request to have my system returned for a refund, so that makes both of our Dell XPS systems pending return.

I would never wish this much hassle on even my worst enemies... Do not ever purchase a Dell. Do not be lured in by the nice looking systems. The only thing that is more garbage then the computers is the customer service.

 

Tech came back today with new mobo. Same problem though, they sent him the wrong part and no thermal compound.

good thing I bought a replacement for it and didn't wait.

 

As for my previous post, I've decided...I CRY.

Selling a useless computer,wrecking the working one leaving behind as garbage (sorry for that nothing personal) - really consumer freindly.

 

Yeah pretty crazy huh?

Tech is coming by today (Tuesday) with whatever parts Dell sends him. I feel bad for the guy. He's gotta take whatever abuse customers have and he's literally just the messenger. He was telling me that they can't open the box that the parts ship in until they are at the customer's house to avoid customer accusations of tampering, etc.

So he doesn't get to find out that stuff is messed up until he's in front of the customer. Really blows.

 

Keep us informed, wonder what DELL is keeping for You this time, hopefully You'll end up with a working 1340 in the end of the day. Good luck!

I wanted to buy a notebook just like the one your wife has, then decided to wait for core i CPUs, now, looking all these throttle issues - some reported even the i5 model throttles eith RGBLed - I'm holding on to my original concept, still, your reports and experience with DELL and its support makes me think more and more about other brands.

Don't know what makes Dell think this is good for them.

 

well they finally got the thing put back together on Tuesday, and Wednesday we had a chance to sit down and fiddle with it.

Still has the issue. So of the things that were replaced, the only components left are the CPU, battery, keyboard, screen, and trackpad.

Needless to say, I complained loud enough and was approved to return for a full refund. I don't think there is anything wrong with the system design, as many people have it without the issue, we just had a lemon. The hassle of trying to get the issue resolved is what made me return it.

We're considering a few alternatives, one being the m11x... maybe......

 

Sorry to hear that.

The m11x is a great choice, if You can do without the optical drive.

Or refund and refreshed SXPS 1340?