Any updates on the XPS 16 heating/ throttling issue?

I have a 1645 and noticed some major throttling in Alien Swarm (new free game from Steam). I left SWI running as I played the game and my max CPU core temperature is 86* (186* F) and max GPU core temperature is 92* (197* F). Wow, that is hot!

A few months ago I replaced the stock thermal paste with ICD7. At idle my GPU temperature is 67* and my CPU cores are 60*. Should I reapply the thermal paste?

 

I just opened up HWmonitor and those are the exact same idle speeds as my 1645 (61c cpu and 66c gpu, default paste).

Re-applying better thermal paste might shave off some C but the biggest cause is the idiotic placement of the vents.
This laptop is flawed and I wish i could replace it or go 5730

 

Ridiculous

 

I got Alien Swarm but didn't play it long enough to throttle (yet). It it more or less the same "engine" or whatever it's called now as Left 4 Dead (identical in-game graphics settings too), which is one of the most "throttley" games reported on these forums.

You're idle temps are really bad. I have stock paste, and my 1645 CPU idles 43-53C, and my GPU around 50C, with a room temp around 76F. However, my temps still get way up there under load just like yours, so I don't know whats going on. (BTW, my GPU throttles at 100C which I can only achieve with Furmark, on BIOS A09. CPU seems to throttle around the 84C range, OR if there's not enough power. Seems to be a two-fold problem).

 

For anyone who's not convinced that some XPS 1645 users have both problems with power AND temperature here's some useful info/data from my little tests:

Test 1: Maximum Brightness, Prime95+Furmark, on desk- Throttling to 10x multiplier within a minute

Test 2: Minimum Brightness, Prime95+Furmark, on desk- No throttling for 3 to 4 minutes. After 5 minutes, throttling to around 11 multiplier. Max CPU temp, 83C.

Test 3: Maximum Brightness, Prime95+Furmark, on AC Vent- Seemingly same results as Test 1.

Test 4: Minimum Brightness, Prime95+Furmark, on AC Vent- No throttling after almost 20 minutes (did not test longer). Max GPU temp, 77C, max CPU temp 68C.

Edit: The AC was on, blowing directly at the underside of the laptop, if that wasn't clear. The AC lowered my max GPU temp by 23C and max CPU temp by 17C compared to what it would have been. Unfortunately, the laptop is pretty much unusable on my AC vent due to its location on the floor.

 

I just dusted out my XPS16, the vent on the bottom was clogged with dust. I'll check my temps in 20 mins or so.

 

Now I'm at 53* CPU and 56* GPU. Definitely an improvement. Damn dust....

 

How old is your XPS?
Will opening up to clean dust void warrenty?

 

After 30 minutes of gaming the max temps SWI reported are:
CPU 74*
GPU 77*

Before:
CPU 86*
GPU 92*

 

I've had it a few months.

No. Just flip it over, unscrew the bottom panel, then use compressed air on the heatsink, fan, and the panel itself. It has a filter that collects a lot of dust. When dusting the fan, hold it in place so the blades can't spin.

 

Okai I just opened her up and got the dust out of the filter. The fan itself was pretty clean. I don't have an air compressor so i used an old toothbrush with some water to clean it.

Idle temp is now 55c . I fired up furmark to get it to 65c to check if it goes back to 55 and it does.
It's funny though how it instantly shoots up to 65c once i start furmark.

 

Sigh..tried tf2 and it's still the same.
While i'm typing this my CKMOD is going 12.5%.
I've attached a screenshot where you can see the CPU temp (DTS) is fine and the GPU is 76c degree (also fine).

TS is enabled and clockmodulation is set to 100%.
As you can see, it still throttles to 12.5%.
Also, as you can see, i'm not running any games. It throttles when i start to type. Weirdest thing ever

Btw GPU temp hit 91c while playing

 

Did you remove the heatsink to blow it out? It seems like there's no where on the outside of the heatsink where dust can build.

And BTW, just played Alien Swarm for 20 minutes and then it throttled. 1 CPU core hit 86C and my GPU hit 98C. And yet my idle temps are great.

 

That's because at idle the fan can still get the air out fast enough. At full fan speed, the fan is bottlenecked by the LCD being in the way.
(and heat spreads all through your laptop TO KILL YOUR HARDWARE ZOGM!!!)

 

No it's not necessary to remove the heatsink. Just blow the heatsink out - dust collects between the fins. Also blow out the fan. Most importantly, make sure dust hasn't built up in the metal piece that screws to the bottom of your laptop. When dust gets stuck in the "filter" it prevents the CPU fan from pulling in cool air.

 

Update: when I turn off throttlestop it stays at 12.5 CKMOD regardless of whether i touch a key. So I assume it's TS is battling the bios and for some reason TS is interrupted when i touch a key.

I've attached the log where you can see my CKMOD is 12.5 constantly when TS is off. You can also see how it goes back to 100% over time.
To be clear: when i turn ON TS it will go 100% CKMOD until I press a key.

I'm going to A08 or A10 to see whether it changes.

 

Have you tried running Dell approved drivers for your GPU? Some guy on the Alienware forum I think was having some weird clock modulation issues and supposedly using the Dell approved drivers got rid of it. The user didn't post a before and after log file so I'll have to take his word for it. Since you've tried everything else I figure you're ready to try just about anything.

 

Hm okai thanks for that.
I'm now on A10 trying to see if it changes. Then i'll try changing GPU drivers

 

Okai I was able to play TF2 for 90minutes on A10 before throttling started. (=much better)
Still same thing though .
I'll try new GPu drivers but i doubt it'll work

 

Are you sure the GPU wasn't throttling (you said your old GPU temp was 91C on A09 which is well over the throttling limit for A10)? On old/lighter games it might not matter since you may still get a good framerate but on many newer/highly demanding ones the game can be unplayable.

 

the upgrade is really disappointed.

 

Yes i'm sure, I checked TS and CKMOD was down to 12.5 again.

 

I think what he means is that the GPU temperature can trigger clock modulation throttling. Once the GPU temperature crosses a line, this laptop can tell the CPU to slow down to a crawl to conserve power and reduce heat. Obviously a very bad design that when the GPU gets too hot, the CPU slows down.

 

Well now with A10 the temp is locked at 84c max. If nobody has clock modulation at 84c it means it's not so hot that it causes the CPU to throttle.

Here's a piece of my TS log. It started to throttle at 77c GPU. Nothing extreme.

Code:

  DATE     TIME    MULTI   C0%   CKMOD  CHIPM  DTS  GPU
07/24/10 19:50:31  16.24   38.7  100.0  100.0   21    76
07/24/10 19:50:32  15.73   38.4  100.0  100.0   22    76
07/24/10 19:50:33  15.51   36.6  100.0  100.0   22    76
07/24/10 19:50:34  16.40   33.7  100.0  100.0   22    76
07/24/10 19:50:35  16.74   31.3  100.0  100.0   20    76
07/24/10 19:50:36  16.50   30.8  100.0  100.0   21    77
07/24/10 19:50:37  15.81   38.3   87.5  100.0   23    77
07/24/10 19:50:38  16.09   35.5  100.0  100.0   22    77
07/24/10 19:50:39  15.48   35.0   87.5  100.0   20    77
07/24/10 19:50:40  15.23   35.4   87.5  100.0   22    76
07/24/10 19:50:41  16.00   34.4   87.5  100.0   22    76
07/24/10 19:50:42  16.57   30.3   87.5  100.0   22    76
07/24/10 19:50:43  15.93   35.5   87.5  100.0   23    76
07/24/10 19:50:44  15.22   38.4   87.5  100.0   23    76
07/24/10 19:50:45  16.02   34.9   87.5  100.0   23    76
07/24/10 19:50:46  15.58   33.6   87.5  100.0   22    76

Also, earlier on it wasn't throttling while the GPU was 78c

 

Ì just changed GPu drivers and no difference

 

No one knows what the exact formula Dell uses to determine throttling. It might also be partly based on time so the longer a CPU stays warm can also trigger throttling. Who knows. It's obviously a very poorly designed algorithm.

The DTS column shows how far you are away from the Intel throttling point and you are still 20 degrees away from that. DTS=20 means the core temperature=80C. If you want to see and log your core temperature in ThrottleStop then just add TJMax=100 to the ThrottleStop.ini configuration file.

Your CPU is not over loaded and neither your CPU or GPU are running too hot so it's time to ask Dell for an explanation why your laptop is throttling. It doesn't make any sense.

 

I don't wanna call them because it already makes me mad thinking about it.
They will only ask questions like...have you installed latest drivers? Have you set power options to max performance? You have you ran windows update? etc.etc.!!!!!

Finally they will offer to pick up my laptop and i'll lose it for 3 weeks

 

Anyone else try removing the vent covers on the bottom panel to reduce heat? According to the one report, his CPU/GPU max load temps were reduced by around 6C, and removing the covers is extremely easy. See link.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/491801-1645-heat-testing.html

 

Dell has officially admitted the fault and sending 130w adaptor with updated BIOS. Follow the link ...

 

That's a nice PR campaign by Dell but the only problem is that a 130 watt adapter and the latest bios doesn't fix things for many XPS 1645 users. Dell has walked away from other laptops like their Latitude E6000 series with similar PR announcements but didn't actually fix the problem. Same thing here.

 

Exactly...But surprised HOW people are still buying SXPS knowing the official problems

 

I have bought it hoping the HD 5730 and the SSD would decrease the heat and fix the throttle issue.... Well I've never had any throttles yet, yesterday I play Fallout 3 DLC for 1.5 hours and then WoW for 3 hours, both of max settings... with HWMonitor on all the time, I haven't seen any temperature more than 79 degrees Celsius... If I can make other tests for you I will be glad to do so, just let me know what and how... btw as soon as I got the laptop I changed the power settings to MAX profile and downloaded ATI drivers from AMD, which might not relevant, but those are the only changes...
Btw I was trying to use Throttlestop, the FID is on 13, the turbo is not kicking in guess... everything else 100% and DTS between 19 and 23...

1- How do I know if it throttles?
2- why it's not goint to turbo mode?

I am running borth Furmark and Prime 95

 

My i7-720QM goes into turbo mode all the time.

Hey michom is it possible for you to show us some screenshots of maximum CPU and GPU temps in the middle of gaming, and during web browsing after a couple hours? Also please include what your room temperature is.

I own a i7-720QM with GT 240M (not Dell), and it gets really hot. Even though the fan is big, and there's a massive left vent at the side, the only time I can say "wow the laptop is cool" is when the environment temp drops substantially, like to 22-24C.



I am considering buying a Dell XPS Studio 16 with i5-520M.

THANK YOU

 

It's definitely temp related.
Today's a cold day and i got my window fully open.
I was now able to play without any throttling. Or at least not that bad (didn't log)

 

michom: Run a ThrottleStop log file and have a look in there. To ask a Core i CPU to use turbo boost you need to have the Set Multiplier number set to your default multiplier plus 1. The default multiplier for a Core i7-720 is 12 so you would set ThrottleStop FID to 13 to request turbo boost. For an i7-820 the default is 13 so you would set ThrottleStop to 14.

When one of these CPUs gets loaded, turbo boost will start to cycle on and off. That's normal. When these CPUs are fully loaded with Prime95+Furmark you won't see any turbo boost. That's the way Intel designed these things. If the multiplier starts to drop down below your default multiplier when the CPU is loaded then that is a sign of throttling. Post a ThrottleStop log file while testing to mediafire and then post a link here if you want me to have a look.

 

Ran a test with furmark and prime95 running.
This is with my current system.

Throttlestop Log Here

I'm having wireless connection issues when I charge my mouse. I can barely load webpages when it charges, but when it's not charging I can download at almost 2 mbps..

 

Even with problems it is the best looking most powerful 16' laptop that is this thin and cheap.

 

I bought it right after Dell claimed to fix the problems with the 130w adapter and BIOS update. Looked like it was. Also, it's way cheaper than the Apple, Sony, and HP equivalents.

 

Is Mine supposed to throttle with the 90w adapter? i have the i5 450 M and ati 4670

 

They are NEVER supposed to Throttle unless they are getting ridiculously hot.... But it definately could, its a Dell!!!!!! : )

Try out running Prime95 (small tfts) and Furmark at the same time while running ThrottleStop and post the log file from Throttlestop and unclewebb is a very good guy and will help you out, he always is around!!

PS Thanks again, unclewebb, for such an awesome program and devotion to such a plagued line of electronics.....

 

cbaty08: Thanks for the thumbs up. Dell should be paying me for being the caretaker of their messed up laptop line.

overvu: Furmark + Prime95 are not both running in that log file you posted. I'm not sure what happened. Before testing, delete any old log files, start ThrottleStop, do your testing and then exit ThrottleStop to make sure it writes all log data out to the hard drive. Don't have the log file open while testing or this might screw things up too.

 

Oh! I see what I did wrong, thanks for the quick reply. I'm running a test again now. I'll upload it soon.

 

Hmm. You guys who got replacement XPSs with better specs (CPU, RAM, GPU, HDD etc), did you pay for it? I'm guessing not... how generous of Dell.

Lmao I had a laptop which (after one replacement of the same machine and a failure with the replacement unit) they offered in exchange for:

i7-720QM, 6GB DDR3, ATI HD 5730;

whereas the older unit was i7-720QM, 4GB DDR3, Nvidia GT 240M.

Yes, it was a better deal, but I really did not want that line of laptop anymore.

I'm hoping that IF I buy the Dell XPS 16 (likely I will soon), there won't be heat problems with it, and of there are, Dell will fix them.

You guys in America buy i7 and 6GB configurations which cost a bomb here... the price you pay for that is about the same as an i5 and 4GB with HD 5730 here. So it better be good.

 

I ran an internet speed test with my mouse charging and with my mouse not charging and the results are pretty different.

Without it charging my internet speed test returns 7 mbps but when I plug it in, it returns .7 mbps.

Here is my Throttlstop Log

This is with the i7-820. A technician hasn't replaced it with the i7-840 yet.

I don't see any throttling.. but the wireless issue is very apparent.

 

Wow, unplugging the wireless receiver/dock allows my connection to shoot up to 13-15 mbps consistently!

7 mbps when the dock is plugged in and .7 mbps when the mouse is docked.

 

The default multiplier for a Core i7-820 is 13. That means when this CPU is fully loaded it should never drop below 13. The C0% in the log file shows that your CPU is fully loaded and at the start of the log file is a big column of multiplier numbers that are all below 13.

This isn't the severe throttling that users were seeing in the early days but it's still throttling. With that amount of throttling you probably wouldn't notice any problems during normal use.

Obviously your internet problems are your main concern. Do you use Speedtest.net when testing? You have to find a city where you're able to get consistent results from.

 

Yes, I'm using Boston as a reference. Very close to where I live.

I noticed it first when I tried streaming full episodes from FOX. When I docked my mouse and laid back to watch an episode of Hell's Kitchen the episode would fail to load. As soon as I took my mouse off to click around the episode would continue streaming.

I just ran a few test and it seems with more peripherals inside my USB slots, the slower my connection reads. I'm using a razer mamba, and ipod and a sound blaster headset to occupy the USB slots now.

 

Is this a real problem? Or should this laptop not be able to handle a mouse, a headset and an ipod at the same time?

 

The ThrottleStop log shows you are right on the knife's edge of throttling and is a sign that Dell cut things way too close. There's no margin for error and a slight change in power consumption might be enough that USB ports and what you have plugged into them won't work properly anymore. Not sure if there is anything you can do about this. A 130 watt adapter was a big improvement but it's still not enough to fully power an XPS 1645 and it's very unlikely that Dell will ever approve a bigger adapter for this laptop.

 

I see what you mean..
I'm gonna have a talk with Dell.. see what they recommend or what they'll do.
I didn't even introduce my notebook cooler yet! Haha..