A09 BIOS update released for XPS 1645

are we saying that the 130w power supply isn't enough? Has anyone tried using a higher wattage supply? You could get a 200w 19.5v supply and see if it fixes it. (digikey maybe?)

sam

 

Yes the other day someone tried; the laptop will use a bigger adapter, however it will still only draw 130....

 

Keep in mind that it doesn't even draw the full 130 watts DC. It is being limited to far less than that by Dell. If the full 130 watts DC that the power adapter sticker promises was available then there would be virtually zero throttling but that is not the case. If you run the Windows Performance Monitor utility and monitor Battery Usage you will get a better idea of how many watts DC these laptops consume.

 

No, it's the problem where it does not go back to proper speeds after using hibernation/sleep. I had this problem since I got the laptop, and thought it was fixed with A09. Apparently it is not.
In fact, I've never had it this bad.

 

Can ThrottleStop fix this issue or are you forced to reboot?

 

I'd call Dell to do some part replacing if you're running on High Perfomance settings. I just tried both Hibernate/Sleep and then ran Prime and it was normal.

 

So was mine when I first tested it after installing A09.
However the problem seems to come back occasionally

 

I originally said I had no throttling (CPU or GPU) with A09. I now noticed that my CPU occasionally throttles with A09, and when it does it throttles big time.

Also, I posted a link on the Dell forums. If they aren't aware of the problem they can't fix it.

XPS 1645 A09 BIOS: CPU Throttling - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

 

Well I got my 1645 back from the Dell repair "Depot"...and they FAILED
Not only did they not fix the throttling (I was not expecting a complete fix, I know that doesn't exist yet, but I would have been happy if my problems were lessened) and they didn't even look at the other 2 cosmetic problems.

I have no GPU throttling...but CPU throttling that is worse than with the prior GPU throttling with A08
(130w AC, A09 BIOS, Ambient temp 72F)

No graphs this time...
I'm attaching 2 logs
1) playing World of Warcraft @ 1920x1080, with all setting at medium or low
- multiplier steps down (12/11/10/9/8/7), a little time passes, resumes and then again a little while later back down to 7.00, w/a CKMOD of 62.5
2) again World of Warcraft @ 1024x600, all setting LOW, all effects OFF
- this time multiplier is good but CKMOD drops down 100, 62.5...till it bottoms out at 12.5
- comes to think of it i did not restart the system after test 1...maybe this is why the CKMOD dropped?
3) 3rd test ran Left for Dead (1)...not on low setting and in less than 5 mins system CPU throttles hard, GPU hit 101C, CPU hit 84C

I am also planning on running a couple of test with an external monitor and the laptop screen closed almost all the way and see if that will make a difference, like discussed in the heat vent thread.

I will be calling dell back yet again...

 

Those log files don't lie. In a well designed laptop with adequate power and suitable cooling, there shouldn't be the need for any clock modulation or multiplier throttling let alone both. Your computer is unusable and doesn't perform anywhere near the level it should considering what you paid for it.

I think some dissatisfied XPS owners get upgraded to the throttling Alienware line. Are you ready for the next adventure?

 

Or non-throttling AW line. Depends on the system. This is the way that your system should run.

Prime 95, small fft's plus Furmark.

This was a quick test, but I could have run it all day long.

Not gloating, just demonstrating what a non throttling log should look like.

Whoops, ignore the GPU temps, I had a blocked vent.

Unclewebb is right, I would've cooked it.

 

Maybe you should send those logs to Dell so they can understand the difference between a laptop that throttles and one that doesn't. Some Alienware M17x-R1 users running a pair of video cards are having throttling problems as well as DPC Latency issues. I'm glad to hear the -R2 is working properly for you and living up to the promised specs. Hopefully your GPU temps are under 96C when not running Furmark.

With the GPU temperature already up to 96C in this short test, probably not.

 

This might be a dumb question but....I'm on A08 and when i enable throttle stop and set the multiplier to 13...well...it stays at 13 and doesnt drop (and neither do any of the other numbers)...can i theoretically set the multiplier to the maximum..which is i dont know 19? and just keep it like that? Is this harmful to the computer or what?

I remember you talking about how throttlestop isnt as effective anymore but...at least in the numbers that throttle stop records...when i set the multi to 13 and enabled throttle stop i didn't see any "numerical" throttling...

so whats the deal? Why are some people having to drop down to A03+throttle stop? why not just use it with A08 or A09 (especially A09 since it removes gpu throttling)...

I guess the main thing is...is it safe to run throttle stop? How do i go about NOT blowing up my computer..

thanks for your time uncle W

 

Every computer is unique and depending on the screen used and how power hungry the CPU and GPU are, they will require different amounts of power. I don't know by how much but this varies from one computer to the next.

On the Core i7-720QM, the default multiplier is 12.0 and when you set ThrottleStop to 13.0, that tells the CPU to use the default multiplier plus as much turbo boost as possible. The CPU then determines how much turbo boost you get based mostly on CPU power consumption and core temperature.

I've yet to see any computer blow up. If you have a 130 watt adapter then during normal use, you should be fine.

If you are not experiencing any multiplier throttling or clock modulation throttling with bios A09 then be happy. Some users are not as lucky and still have problems.

All ThrottleStop is doing is it is trying to maintain the performance that Intel built into these CPUs. They are supposed to average a 19 or 20 multiplier when lightly loaded.

Is it safe to drive a car? No but you have to get to school or to work so you do it anyhow. You gotta do what you gotta do. If running ThrottleStop makes your computer more usable then run it. If multiplier and clock modulation throttling are not a problem for you then there is no need to bother. After 6+ months not a single user has reported that their CPU blew up because of using ThrottleStop. It can't be that bad.

 

So let's say I'm running a game and i notice it slowing down (throttling) enabling throttle stop should theoretically stop the throttling correct? If so..should one just set the multi to 20 and leave it? or set it to something lower?

EDIT: nvm 13 is the highest i can change it to on throttlestop

 

You shouldn't be able to set the multiplier to anything past 13. That is the maximum you can request. 12 default + 1 for maximum turbo boost. That's all you can do with these CPUs so I'd always leave it at 13. There are no options between 13 and 21. By using 13 you get some turbo boost or if you use 12 you get no turbo boost.

It depends what type of throttling you are experiencing. ThrottleStop won't do anything for GPU throttling issues and when fully stressed with Furmark + Prime95, there might not be enough CPU cycles left over for ThrottleStop to significantly improve things.

You'll have to do some testing and do some logging with ThrottleStop and GPU-Z to see what issues, if any, are a problem for your laptop.

 

ok so if you've got the i7-820 you don't get to set it at anything above the standard 13x ... no turbo boost option? (on TS)

 

The Core i7-820QM has a default multiplier of 13. For any i7 mobile CPU, to obtain some turbo boost, you need to set the multiplier in ThrottleStop to the default multiplier + 1. That would mean if you want turbo boost you would set an i7-820 to 14.

Intel does not provide an option so that you can select how much turbo boost you get. It's up to the CPU to decide that based on how many cores are in the active state and how many cores are in the C3/C6 sleep state. This can be changing continuously a hundred times a second which is why Intel recommends that monitoring software report the average multiplier during each sampling period which is the method that ThrottleStop uses.

Run a single thread of Prime95 Small FFTs and play around with ThrottleStop and you should get a better understanding of how this feature works.

There is also a separate option in ThrottleStop that lets you Disable Turbo boost regardless of what Set Multiplier request you have set.

 

thanks unclewebb, great explanation!

 

I just did a 90min run of TF2 recording both CPU with throttlestop and GPU with gpuz. Note that I used the laptop on a flat survice with the LCD open. If i moved the LCD position a bit the CPU would overheat and cause 2fps.
For some reason my GPU is still throttling (300mhz?)..It might be me alt-tabbing but shouldnt it then go to 220mhz?
Oh and 100c! gpu

Here are the results

 

You're on A09 or A08?

 

A09 (see topic title )

 

That doesnt mean anything...ive been posting logs of A08 this entire thread...others posting logs of whatever bios they're using for comparison

 

your gpu temp is too high - gamers has a general rule not to go above 85*. u should get a notebook cooler.

 

But I am sure you noted it was A08 and not the presumed A09 one reading this thread would think!

 

Never heard of that rule. In general I wouldn't worry unless its above 95C (at least).

 

I had a look through the ThrottleStop log file and the CPU is running great considering how how it is. It wasn't until the very end of the log file that clock modulation suddenly got turned on to 12.5% which instantly kills frame rates.

The cooling system on these laptops is under designed and both the CPU and GPU are running way too hot during normal use.

 

That's because i turned off TF2

Oh, btw.. whenever i get the sleep/hibernation problem i can fix it with your throttlestop.. i just turn it on/off with 'set multi to 13' and after that things are OK again

 

Looking at a bunch of logs I generated, I found out that my multiplyer only goes down to 12x (as opposed to 7x like some people), which is still enough to cause frame rate issues. I never got any clock modulation. I haven't tried running ThrottleStop yet except for the logging mode.

I can't figure out what causes it. I can be playing a game sometimes for 40 minutes or so with no problems at 18x, then it goes down to 12x and stays there until I quit.

 

Well today was a warm day here and I tried again but this time i was unable to play TF2 on this laptop without using an external screen (due to overheating)

GZ dell

 

What causes this is power consumption. Once you cross that line and throttling begins, it might slow down your computer for a while before it ever recovers.

 

I use A09.
I played World in Conflict a hour.
My Temp. is GPU 97 C, Processor 88 C, HDD 47 C with Zalman NC-1000 Notebook Cooler.. It's Burning..

 

Holy..... w/the cooler even?!?

 

I think there is a reason that they (later) made the 9-cell battery the only choice with the i7 quads, and it has nothing to do with battery life.

 

I couldn't agree more...

 

I haven't recorded any data yet (because I've been too busy playing games and such), but based on the temperature of the palm rests, my 1645 definitely feels like it runs much hotter since A09.

 

That is correct; with A09 uplifting the 85* heat limit for the GPU, the GPU essentially gets hotter

 

Perhaps, but I'm pretty sure I never reached throttling temperatures before during normal gaming. Unless it really isn't noticeable? It has been posited (though I'm not sure proven) that perhaps voltages were increased with the latest bios... which might explain things. In either case, the laptop is still kicking for me, it's just running a little hotter while doing it

 

Yeah, I have no idea what they have REALLY changed in the bios update, but the raising of the thermal limit was awesome.

 

Absolutely, definitely a step in the right direction