Dell 1647 video lagging issues

I won a Dell XPS 1647 with following specs:

i7-620M
8GB RAM
256GB SSD
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730

I had this machine as a my 2nd replacement unit for M1330. Since I got this 1647, I have been having issue with video lagging on external Dell ST2410 monitor. The types of video files that lags on the external Dell monitor is *.avi & *.mkv.

I also notice that the fan turns on and off every 4-10 minutes in general usages. I use this system for catching movies and basic usage (except for game).

Does anyone else have issues with video lagging on external monitor and fan turning on and off every 4-10 minutes.

 

i have a XPS 1645 with the HD 5730 as well

I use a DP -> DVI passive adapter into a Dell 2209W monitor at work and at home, without any lagging. At home I use an HDMI cable to hook up to a 32" LG 32LD350 LCD TV for movies, and i do no suffer from any lagging either.

I have yet to play any videos over the VGA port, however. What kind of cable are you using? Havey ou tried using any of the other video ports? What about playing videos on the native LCD paneL?

UPDATE:

I just played a HD WMV video over VGA on both my home LCD monitor (Dell 2209W) and my TV, and neither lagged. Perhaps try updating/re-installing your video drivers?

 

I use HDMI cable and I have updated all the drivers and Dell even provided me a different 130w adapter which did improve the video performance but I am still having lagging issues.

I tried hook up to 50' Panasonic plasma and the lagging is equally bad. Dell seems to have given up on finding a solutions as they seems to think that it's more of a software performance.

I could not even play any movies on VLC as the lagging is worse. I had to switch to MPC and yet still have video lagging.

 

Did you try doing some monitoring with ThrottleStop and GPU-Z? You need to make sure that your CPU and GPU are running at full speed and are not being throttled. If either of these are running at a fraction of their rated speed then that might be causing the problem.

 

I have not used Thottle Stop and GPU-Z. Could you please give me the link for GPU-Z and how to run both of them?

I would really appreciate that. Thanks

 

Hi unclewbb,

I downloaded GPU-Z and Throttle Stop but i did not know what to look for or what to monitor. I have included a snapshot of GPU-Z of playing a non HD avi movie on external monitor Dell ST2410 and copying a file from the hard drive to an external drive.

 

I just want to put forth this suggestion, I hear MPC-HC is a pretty good player these days - you said you switched to 'MPC' but it hasn't been updated in ages, the home page for the MPC still being updated is:

http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/

Media Player Classic Home Cinema was justed updated on September 7th, make sure you've got that version of the player. There's also more recent builds if you check the developer channels. If this doesn't work, also make sure you have the latest graphics card drivers from ATI's website: ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver.

BTW, did you say that Windows Media and DVD plays fine on your system? It could be the source content as well, encode it yourself or are you downloading it from the Internet? Have you tried more than one file?

 

I actually using MPC-HC v.1.2.2189.0. Thanks for the link and I will download the updated version. Should I download the x86 or x64 or it doesn't really matter.

I do have the latest ATI driver from ATI's website. The *.avi & *.mkv are from internet. I played the same files on my previous Dell M1330 with using the same external monitor and I never had similar issues. Therefore the source/files is not an issue.

I receive the 1647 system initially it came with 90w adapter. When I notice the video was lagging, Dell sent me the 130w adapter. The 130w adapter did improve the situation but I was still having similar issues but not as bad as using the 90w adapter. Then Dell sent me another version of 130w adapter which improve the situation but did not fully solve the problem.

When I play my movies, my power plan is set at High Performance and I use ac adapter without the batteries at all time.

I notice that the Xps 1647 seems to struggle to run multiple programs at the same time such as watching a movie on external screen, working in excel spreadsheet and chatting or copying files to external HD. I can see the video lags slightly especially then the turbo boast goes to the max.

As side this, am I the only where the fan noise goes loud for 4-10 mins and then quiets and becomes loud again?

 

I had the same problem on my Lenovo Y560, which has the same 5730 that the XPS does. I think I remember reading that the video lagging thing is caused by the ATI 5xxx series cards. I returned the Y560 for something unrelated before I ever figured out what was causing the problem. However, I don't have the same issue on my XPS16.

That said, have you tried updating your video card to the newest drivers? If it really is a 5730 problem, updating the drivers may well fix it. Here's the link: GPU-77: ATI Catalyst? 10.8b Hotfix

 

hi jay, do you mind to share with us what is the video driver version you had in your system currently ?

 

Hi requad,

I had enclosed snapshot from ATI Catalyst. The catalyst version is 10.7 and the driver is 8.753

Thanks

 

perhaps you should try 10.8 from AMD site.

IMHO , the fan noise that comes up for 4 - 10 minutes is pretty normal for me.

 

Hi, My sister have an Dell 1645 at first having the issue , finally i install matroska codec... everything runs smooth... have you tried that..?

 

I have been updating my drivers since I got this system and none of them made much difference but I will go and download the new driver.

I am currently using the K-lite codec for my movies. Where can i find the matroska codec? Thanks

Both *.avi and *.mkv lag on my system.
I just want to enjoy my movies like those days when it does not lag.

 

out of curiousity (i may have missed this from an earlier post) have you tried using the VLC Player? just to see if you also lag with that program...

 

I used to use VLC player and never had any issues with XPS M1330. Since I receive XPS 1647, almost 70% of the videos lag and its worst in VLC. I started using K-lite codec with MPC-HC since VLC does not work well for me.

 

here is the link...

Downloads for Windows | Matroska -

 

Try look at this link.....

Matroska - AfterDawn: Glossary of technology terms & acronyms

 

what is the average framerates that you are getting when you play the movies ? . Perhaps you should try to shoot a video of it when it happens , post it on the youtube and share the link with us.

 

Hi,

It's hard to shoot a video when it happens as it happens very randomly. How do I check the framerates for the videos?

Dell is changing the motherboard and heat sink today. I hope it solves the issue.

 

Hi Jay Dee... what is the outcome after Dell replace the hardware for you.?
If issue persist i suspect i will be something to do with your OS or codec.....

 

hmm i agree with you MadAlienFreak...
btw, Jay Dee, did you try out with the other codec ?

 

If it happens frequently , i'm pretty sure you can record it whenever it happens.
talking about randomly, if it happens like maybe 3/10 times when you are watching the movie, just live with it . sometimes the processes in the background will causes something like that to happen. ( e.g MSN / IE )


with MPC player , you can easily enable this in the edit menu if i'm not mistaken .

let us know how it goes after the replacement of motherboard and heatsink , if it happens again i really doubt that is a hardware issue , maybe you should check on the source of this file and your OS

 

The lagging issues seems to be worse after the mobo and heatsink replacement.

I doubt the source of the file is the issue as the video does not lag in the previous XPS M1330 and other PCs. I did reinstall the OS in the and it did not fix the problem.

Dell is suggesting me to update the firmware of the SSD and reinstall the OS again.

I have tired a few code and K-Lite is still the better ones among all.

I do have Msn & yahoo messenger running in the background but Ihad those programs running in the background in XPS 1330 and it's smooth for the video.

I am really confused and it's 4 months and yet it's not solved. I really regret agreeing to the replacing the M1330 as I don't have video lagging issue.

 

hi jay dee, whats the status of the computer now after updating the firmware of your ssd ?

 

Hi requad,

After updating the firmware, I installed the OS using the disc sent by Dell, all the essential drivers, Ati 10.8, vlc and latest standard k-lite codec. I tested the video for 30 mins from the laptop and external hard drive, the video looked fine on both VLC and Media Player Classic.

Then i installed the following:
- McAfee
- Windows update for important updates only
- Acrobat reader
- Mozilla
- Office 2007
- Msn
- Skype
- Logitech v470 bluetooth driver
- utorrent
- Cutepdf
- itunes
- Quicktime

I had to uninstall the Ati 10.8 due to the black border around Dell ST2410 and installed Ati 10.7 which fixed the black border.

I ran windows update and installed the important updated only.

I notice the videos are not that smooth in VLC as before and lagging at some point.

When I use Media Player Classic, I notice the slight pause/lagging when i watch videos. These videos are around 175MB to 558MB which I did not had any issues with Xps M1330.

I am not sure if I should restore back the system to earlier and test the videos for longer period.

I am still not sure what is causing it. I doubt the firmware for SSD did much difference.

 

jay, from here we can see it is not a hardware issue. it is more to the processes which is running in the background or the updates that you have installed.

try to get back to the earlier restore point with no updates & other apps installed, install the apps 1 at a time and play the movie. (suspect utorrent process that is running in the background/ windows update / video driver is the culprit here)

 

Hi requad,

I have spend around 5 months with dell about this. Whenever I play my movies, I exit MSN, u torrent, & Skype.

You suggestion is a good idea but it's time consuming. May be I should just sell this thing and buy a Asus.

 

Hmm.. well it is clear that hardware is working fine.

seems to me that software is most likey the root cause.

Did Dell provide you with any solution ?

 

Dell want me to restore the PC to earlier stage and test the videos everytime I install a new software.

All the software I install so far is just basic and I don't play games at all. I am puzzled in which software could be causing the lagging issue. As much I think it's software but I don't know where to start.

 

jay , you may want to try to install these s/w in sequence that i have listed below.

FIRST
- Acrobat reader
- Mozilla
- Office 2007
- itunes
- Cutepdf < what is cutepdf by the way , does it run in the background when computer starts ?

SECOND
- McAfee
- Msn
- Skype

THIRD
- Logitech v470 bluetooth driver
- utorrent
- Quicktime

LAST !!

- Windows update for important updates only

 

hi jay , did you see any changes after you install those s/w in sequence ?

 

Hi requad,

sorry for the late reply. My laptop is currently bring tested by Dell engineer at their office and I should receive tomorrow. It seems that they have tested it using VGA cable and they could not see any lagging.

I find it strange because when one of the engineer was at my place last time before the SSD firmware was updated, he tested the video with VGA cable and the video was lagging very badly.

How does the VGA cable work for you?

I will test with VGA cable when I receive it and reintall it based on your suggestion.

 

Hi requad,

Just to update you, Dell notice that the video lags for 2 seconds couple of times after the laptop have been left on overnight.

 

I seem to have been suffering the same problem since Ive gotten a 5730 system and its annoying the out of me...

Ive tried various software ranging from codec packs/drivers/bios.

 

Hey thats a real nice looking custom theme, do you have a link as to where i can get it or something similar

thanks