Just Got the New Dell Studio XPS 16, Questions....

Hey, my specs are:


Intel® CoreTM i7 720QM (1.6GHz/-1Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333Mhz - 2 DIMMS
500GB SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
ATI HD5730 Mobility RadeonTM

When I looked at the specs of this system I thought that it could run games very well, but when I downloaded the demos of Mass Effect 2 and Operation Flashpoint to test out this laptop's ability, I have come to another conclusion. When I play these games I have to switch the resolution to below 1600X900 and put everything on low to be able to get it to run smoothly. Has anyone else experienced this? I plan on buying Battlefield 2 (the original not Bad Company 2) and wondering if anyone can tell me if I can run it smoothly on high. Also are there any remedies for this, and is this the throtting that I'm seeing everywhere in this forum?

This is my first laptop, and I'm a console gamer so I'm not familiar to what I should expect in terms of preformance.


-THANKS

EDIT: My UTorrent is almost always downloading something at the moment so is this what's causing the slow downs. Also I play with the AC cord plugged and unplugged. Does a fps of 25+ mean that it preforms as well as a console game?

EDIT2: Two more quetions and I'll be fine. How do I know that I have the 130W AC adaptor? Also when I log onto the Dell website it says that I can download 28 drivers, should I download them all or are some of them installed onto my laptop already. I ask this because it says that I need to download the BIOS ( DOS Version) A06.

 

that is not normal....i have the full game of mass effect 2 on the system in my sig (weaker graphics card than yours even) and i run the game at 1600x900 at the highest everything and my fps are around 30 fps....during heavy fighting scenes it might go down to 24 or so but that rarely happens so overall its pretty smooth.

Whats the problem? Is it choppy or whats the deal?

 

Yeah it's choppy, compared to playing games on the Xbox360, when I move I notice a slow down, but when I put the resolution to 1200X720 it runs flawlessly and I can look around without any slow downs.

 

definately sounds like throttling to me. welcome to the war on throttling

 

Did you upgrade the bios to A10?

 

How do I check to see what "bios" I have? Also I was browsing through the Dell Forum to look into throttling and I think I saw something about A12 and A14 bios.

 

If you didn't re-install windows since you got the computer Start typing 'Dell Support Center' into Windows 7's search thing. It will answer both your questions (BTW if you got a 1645 the latest BIOS is A10).

As for the console version of a game outperforming the PC version on a laptop... Not surprising. Just remember that most "HD" console games are actually running around 620p (not HD) and being upconverted to 720p or in some cases 1080p. The computer versions of games will potentially look a lot better given a powerful enough rig due to higher resolution, higher quality textures, better effects, ect. Unfortunately, the XPS 16 isn't exactly an ultra powerful gaming rig (it's good but it's still a laptop).

 

I got my laptop on June 24 and it says I have only the A09 bios. Well that sucks. Also when I try to download the bios from the site, I keep downloading the DellDriverDownloadManager andnever get to actually download the bios itself. Also when I logged on to the Dell site it shows me 28 bios/drivers that can be downloaded. Are some of these drivers that are already downloaded or should I still download all of them? I ask this because it tells me to download the A0 bios and that it's "urget".

Thanks for the help! =)

 

Modern games will only run fluently @ 720p on this graphics card. It is a mid-range card so you should be running games at medium settings. IMO this card performs awesome when the cpu isnt throttling. I wont accept a frame-rate drop below 30 ever and I have my settings set up the way they are to accomplish that. Newer games I run at 1280x720, older or less demanding games at 1920x1080. I run Bad Company 2 on medium, Crysis Warhead on mainstream, Mass Effect 2 with everything on, Left4Dead1 maxed, Gears of War maxed, etc. Older games like Half-Life 2 and CounterStrike: Source can be run max settings at 1080p.

The only problem is to play games for more than 5min at a time I need to shutoff my laptop screen and close it so the exhaust vent isnt blocked, and play on an external monitor. This avoids overheating problems and ensures enough power is going to the processor as even with a 130w adapter there is not enough wattage to run this system in this configuration under load.

He only said his frame-rate dropped when running at higher resolutions, which will happen in certain games for the simple fact the 5730 can't do the work...not necessarily throttling.

To the OP, if your frame-rate is smooth and all of the sudden it drops below 10 FPS and the sound gets louder and all glitchy, THEN you have a throttling problem and since you have the EXACT same setup as me I would have to assume you will have throttling.

 

Regarding downloading updates, I get the same issue when using Firefox, it doesn't get past downloading the Dell Download Manager. Is that what you are using to download updates? If you switch to IE for updates, you should be just fine.

 

Wow I didn't know that this card was so bad. I thought that it was one of the higher-end models especially with the hefty pricetag attached to it. Anyways, then how long can this laptoop survive/ can it even play Star Craft 2? If, I knew this was the case I might have just bought a different laptop.... =(

 

I'm having the EXACT same issue. Too bad I removed IE completely...guess I'll have to re-install, will probably try Chrome first though. It keeps telling me theres no downloads in que and i just keep downloading the manager and no actual drivers...

Again, this card is fine in my opinion...the XPS line has never had amazing graphics cards but they've always been decent performers. I dont really know how you could expect much more...I'm a hardcore gamer and build computers and the performance of this card is right where I thought it should be. Yes it is a complete pain in the @$$ that I can't play games on the laptop screen atm due to power issues with the CPU, but the 5730 gives great frame rates at 720p resolution. Remember it has 128bit memory bus so any higher resolution in modern games will bring the card to its knees. The question about StarCraft 2 is pointless...laptops with integrated graphics can probably run that game on minimum settings. I gaurantee you this card will run that game on high @ 1280x720 resolution. Remember how big of an audience Blizzard has to cater to with StarCraft II and Diablo III, the requirements are not going to be steep AT ALL. Now if you want to talk about Crysis 2 then sure, this thing will probably only get by on low settings at 720p. If you run most games on medium or higher at 720, on a 15.6" screen that still looks better than Xbox 360 or PS3, the 1080p really isn't necessary. Nice but not necessary.