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    Dell XPS 1640 System BIOS A10 Released

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by iaTa, Sep 25, 2009.

  1. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Dell XPS 1640 System BIOS A10

    Changelog states:

    1) Enhance graphic function.

    I've noticed that it adds display dimming and brightness levels to Power Options:

    [​IMG]

    However, I haven't noticed any changes to the RGBLED screen calibration as was reported by KSMB in the RGBLED thread.
     
    iaTa, Sep 25, 2009
    #1
  2. ViperGTS

    ViperGTS Notebook Evangelist

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    That's it?
    LOL....
     
    ViperGTS, Sep 25, 2009
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  3. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Yeah I don't think KSMB was being very truthful about a couple of things.

    Can't for the life of me work out why someone would make stuff up about a BIOS update though??
     
    iaTa, Sep 25, 2009
    #3
  4. mark.carline

    mark.carline Notebook Consultant

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    mark.carline, Sep 25, 2009
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  5. scorpeeon

    scorpeeon Notebook Evangelist

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    my brightness issues (maximum brightness after waking from sleep) seem to be resolved with this so i'm already happy with it. i like the new power management/brightness options.
     
    scorpeeon, Sep 25, 2009
    #5
  6. aznguyen316

    aznguyen316 Rock Chalk Jayhawk

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    cool, I like the dim option after certain time like my old macbook =) will download when I get home.
     
    aznguyen316, Sep 25, 2009
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  7. chrusti

    chrusti Notebook Evangelist

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    I am downloading it right now. I hope to archive higher 3Dmark results as well.
    Will report back.

    Cheers
     
    chrusti, Sep 25, 2009
    #7
  8. kelvin_hata

    kelvin_hata Notebook Enthusiast

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    tat improve a lot in bios a10... here the result of 3dmark2006

    spec:- C2D t9600, 2gb ram, 7200rpm 500gb, ati 4670 1gb

    left pic = Bios A10
    right pic = Bios A08
     

    Attached Files:

    kelvin_hata, Sep 25, 2009
    #8
  9. HCW

    HCW Notebook Deity

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    thanks for the update
     
    HCW, Sep 25, 2009
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  10. cccplus

    cccplus Notebook Consultant

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    Did the update but i do not have 'dim the display' option. is there a way to turn that on?
     
    cccplus, Sep 25, 2009
    #10
  11. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Are you using Vista or Windows 7?
     
    iaTa, Sep 25, 2009
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  12. cccplus

    cccplus Notebook Consultant

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    i have vista x64
     
    cccplus, Sep 25, 2009
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  13. fersure

    fersure Newbie

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    I'm using Win 7 RC x64 and just updated to A10, I already see a significant improvement in games...when I tried to play COD 5 before it was laggy and slow but with this one seems to work pretty fluent I love it!
     
    fersure, Sep 26, 2009
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  14. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Maybe it's a Windows 7 feature then.
     
    iaTa, Sep 26, 2009
    #14
  15. Limstift

    Limstift Notebook Geek

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    I'm also running Windows 7 and experienced the same increase in game performance. Need For Speed Shift definitely runs a bit smoother after A10 update.
     
    Limstift, Sep 26, 2009
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  16. aznguyen316

    aznguyen316 Rock Chalk Jayhawk

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    was this coming from A08 to A10? I just really play WoW lol so there's not much performance to notice esp since I cap the framerates too.
     
    aznguyen316, Sep 26, 2009
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  17. Limstift

    Limstift Notebook Geek

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    aznguyen316: Yes, from A08 to A10. I guess the increase in performance depends on the game. Some games will probably have increases
     
    Limstift, Sep 26, 2009
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  18. KSMB

    KSMB Notebook Deity

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    well, my RGB-colours looks awesome.............white is whiter and red is more reddish, not oversatured. (have saturation on 80%....looks just amazing)

    i also know that same screens "can" behave a bit different, just because you have a Samsung SEC5448 it doesn't mean you have exactly same saturation as your friend with exactly same screen type...........(its just the way it is)


    cant really understand why some people complain?? (SXPS have (obviously) BEST white levels off all laptops out there :) it just mash Toshiba's screen to powder, and Toshiba's screens is often the best screen around. :)

    [​IMG]
     
    KSMB, Sep 26, 2009
    #18
  19. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    After upgrading to the A10 BIOS i'm having a very annoying screen brightness problem. No matter what settings for display brightness I save in the power options, the screen will always be completely dim when windows starts up. I have to hit fn + up arrow once to bring it to normal. I also tried adjusting the brightness in the BIOS itself, but that didn't do anything. Anyone know how the hell I can fix this? It's driving me nuts. I wasn't having this problem with the last BIOS version.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 27, 2009
    #19
  20. funky monk

    funky monk Notebook Deity

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    I have that problem as well
     
    funky monk, Sep 27, 2009
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  21. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Odd I don't have that problem. Try reflashing the BIOS.
     
    iaTa, Sep 27, 2009
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  22. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    I uninstalled the ATI driver and didn't have the problem on startup, so it's definitely a confliction between the ATI driver and the BIOS. Flashing the BIOS again doesn't work; I've already tried that. Right now I'm going to try installing the March version of the ATI driver and see if that fixes it.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 27, 2009
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  23. Limstift

    Limstift Notebook Geek

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    Use the newest driver from ATI website, but make sure you modify it using MobilityModder first. Works like a charm here.
     
    Limstift, Sep 27, 2009
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  24. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Can you give me the link for the driver on the ATI website? I didn't see the Mobility Radeon HD 3670 listed on their website. Also, what does modifying it with the MobilityModder do?
     
    guitardude7, Sep 27, 2009
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  25. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Okay well I just installed the driver from ATI's website using the MobilityModder and I still have the same damn problem. I don't understand how me and one other person are the only people with the new BIOS that are having this annoying problem.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 27, 2009
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  26. Limstift

    Limstift Notebook Geek

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    I guess you've checked the settings under windows power management. The BIOS adds a feature where you can choose the default brightness level for each profiles.
     
    Limstift, Sep 27, 2009
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  27. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Yeah I've checked those settings. Once i hit fn and the up arrow one time time, the brightness goes to the set level. It's just driving me crazy how every time I boot I have to do that b/c the brightness is all the way down.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 27, 2009
    #27
  28. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Does Windows dim the display straight after booting or is it dim from power on?
     
    iaTa, Sep 27, 2009
    #28
  29. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    I manually set the levels in the BIOS again and, somehow, this time it fixed the problem. This is one of the few bizarre problems I've had with my SXPS. I'm beginning to hate Dell computers.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 27, 2009
    #29
  30. subhash_i

    subhash_i Notebook Enthusiast

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    i am having same brightness problem.Can someone tell me how to fix this in Bios itself so that it works normal.Happened with A10 bios only
     
    subhash_i, Sep 27, 2009
    #30
  31. chrusti

    chrusti Notebook Evangelist

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    I did not notice any speed improvement whatsoever. Kinda disappointing. I guess this guy who posted a threat about how awesome the A10 bios is, had just a big imagination.
     
    chrusti, Sep 27, 2009
    #31
  32. MMcCraryNJ

    MMcCraryNJ Notebook Enthusiast

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    I also have the same screen dimming problem. Upon startup, the screen is dim no matter how much I set the levels in the power management settings via Windows. Running Vista 32.
     
    MMcCraryNJ, Sep 27, 2009
    #32
  33. TexasEx7

    TexasEx7 Meat Popsicle

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    The BIOS weren't meant to make the speed of the machine faster. BIOS rarely do that sort of thing, especially for a notebook thats been on the market for over a year.

    The 'enhanced graphical function' was going to be slight, if even noticeable. The major changes were to the display brightness settings when plugged in/on battery.
     
    TexasEx7, Sep 27, 2009
    #33
  34. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    I take that back; it's doing it again. The brightness was normal for a couple boots, but now it's back to dim on startup again.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 28, 2009
    #34
  35. Limstift

    Limstift Notebook Geek

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    Of course, you won't experience a big increase, but I noticed a slightly smoother camera panning during the start of a race in NFS Shift. Maybe it's just imagination..

    I think the increase in 3dmark 06 posted in the other thread was about 100 points, hence it would be difficult to spot the difference with your own eyes.
     
    Limstift, Sep 28, 2009
    #35
  36. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Anyone figured out the solution to the low brightness problem on startup?
     
    guitardude7, Sep 28, 2009
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  37. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    I tried to help you but you didn't even answer my first question.
     
    iaTa, Sep 28, 2009
    #37
  38. TexasEx7

    TexasEx7 Meat Popsicle

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    Tried sending a message to Dell support or rolling back to A08/A09 and then re-flashing the A10 BIOS?
     
    TexasEx7, Sep 28, 2009
    #38
  39. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Ah sorry I didn't notice your question. The screen seems to be bright when the bios is loading and when the yellow windows bar is going across the screen, but when the vista logo comes up in the middle of the screen it is very dim.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 28, 2009
    #39
  40. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Ok so I think we can assume it's a Windows power management or ATI driver problem.

    I would suggest uninstalling the ATI driver completely and run Driver Sweeper before you reboot.

    Then reboot and see if the problem still occurs. If it does it's a Windows PM issue. Try creating a new power profile with everything at default.
     
    iaTa, Sep 28, 2009
    #40
  41. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    I uninstalled the ATI driver and the problem is now gone. I ran drive sweeper afterwards just to make sure all of the ATI software is gone. Now what do I do? Try reinstalling the ATI driver again?
     
    guitardude7, Sep 29, 2009
    #41
  42. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Yeah if you are on Vista you need to use mobility modder, if you are on Windows 7 there are dedicated mobility drivers.
     
    iaTa, Sep 29, 2009
    #42
  43. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Well, after using drive sweeper and rebooting, I installed the newest ATI driver using the MobilityModder and... the problem is back. So it's definitely the ATI driver, but it seems that completely uninstalling it and reinstalling it does nothing.
     
    guitardude7, Sep 29, 2009
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  44. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Try the official Dell ATI drivers.
     
    iaTa, Sep 29, 2009
    #44
  45. Shawnm2

    Shawnm2 Notebook Enthusiast

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    If your display is dim at startup open the ATI Catalyst control center advanced at te bottem select Power play then at the bottem of that page where it says enable Vari-Bright move the slider to maximize quality
     
    Shawnm2, Sep 30, 2009
    #45
  46. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    That doesn't work, neither does installing the Dell ATI drivers.
     
    guitardude7, Oct 1, 2009
    #46
  47. Shawnm2

    Shawnm2 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Sorry it worked at first then went to starting dim again I allso tried the dell ati driver after unistaling with drivesweeper and that still didn't work
     
    Shawnm2, Oct 1, 2009
    #47
  48. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Yeah it's bizarre isn't it? I'm not sure what happened to make it work for a short time.
     
    guitardude7, Oct 1, 2009
    #48
  49. guitardude7

    guitardude7 Notebook Guru

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    Anyone have a solution to the screen being dim at the startup of windows?
     
    guitardude7, Oct 9, 2009
    #49
  50. Alexander North

    Alexander North Newbie

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    I had the same exact problem with my XPS 1640, what I did was a simple fix but it manage to get the screen brightness back to normal. Right-click and click on the option Catalyst(TM) Control System. Now click on Advanced option and click next. (Click yes if the Catalyst Control System Notification pops up) Now click on the top where it says Preferences, select Restore Factory Defaults, and click yes.

    After selecting that option I was able to us Fn and the up arrows to adjust my brightness on my system. Hopefully this was some help to you and it corrected your problem.

    "Alexander North"

    ~May Fortune Smile On You~
     
    Alexander North, Oct 13, 2009
    #50
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