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    Intel WiDi 2.0 Users - Power Consumption / CPU Usage / Heat Dissipation

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by nystateofmind27, Jun 12, 2011.

  1. nystateofmind27

    nystateofmind27 Notebook Consultant

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    One of my main reasons to buy the 15z was WiDi. I am asking WiDi 2.0 users (2nd Gen Core i, 1080p Netgear adapter) to chime in about their experience.

    So far mine is a disappointing one because of the massive CPU usage (50-75%) when streaming Netflix to the TV. I see CPU temperatures as high as 80 degrees and yesterday my XPS 15z did a thermal shutdown.

    Please contribute.
     
    nystateofmind27, Jun 12, 2011
    #1
  2. xxbbb

    xxbbb Notebook Enthusiast

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    Want to know as well. Does WiDi take a lot of CPU power to work?
     
    xxbbb, Jun 13, 2011
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  3. DougHo63

    DougHo63 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have the newer WiDi, except using older version of the Intel graphics driver (from Dell web site) and don't know the 15z but using an XPS 17 with i7-2720QM CPU.

    I don't use WiDi much so could be wrong, but it looked something like following to me on mirrored 1920x1080:
    WiDiApp uses 4-5% of CPU and total CPU Usage approaches 10% for desktop, turbo frequency kicking in, and therefore fan becomes more audible (compared to my normal CPU use of couple percent where fan is quiet).
    When playing Netflix full screen, WiDiApp is similar but total CPU Usage doubles to around 20%.
    As soon as I disconnect WiDi, Turbo stops and fan quiets slightly later.
    I haven't considered whether there is some way to disable Turbo which might change results slightly.
    Don't know if my finding is typical, but perhaps the info helps.
    I'm hoping that Dell someday updates the Intel driver on their web site to the version which latest WiDi prefers (I do not use the driver from Intel web site because it causes intermittant screen flashes on my laptop screen when on battery).
     
    DougHo63, Jun 13, 2011
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  4. unclewebb

    unclewebb ThrottleStop Author

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    You can use the Disable Turbo feature in ThrottleStop. Turning off Turbo Boost might help improve your CPU temperatures without sacrificing too much performance.
     
    unclewebb, Jun 13, 2011
    #4