M1330 A12 BIOS Thread

My fans are on the second my laptop is turned on, but you can't compare x3100 to 8400M.

 

I started locating the thresholds here, below the official release history, but I guess this is most interesting for the discrete graphics as I really don't think the x3100 can be pushed to much more than 60C.
I haven't caught the fan being off with A11 or A12 bios revisions yet, so far A10 seems the best solution for me after the hsf mod since it atleast turns off the fan for longer periods when idle.

 

Flashed to A12. Fans kick in even earlier but GPU temp reaches 70C max regardless. CPU temp is at 49C with load only at 28%
Ambient temp is 26C

I can't see a big difference between A11 and A12.

 

installed a12 from a10 ... fan now constantly on <medium setting> ... i no longer have a quiet notebook i really am looking forward to nvida-dell joint rectification program with user friendly replacement gpu

 

A09 + CuMod, surfing / etc.: 5-7mins @0rpm, 2mins @3035rpm (fan's max rpm is 5000).

This means "idle" temps vary between 38-50 (CPU) & 54-64 (GPU). Some are concerned that such constant temp changes are bad for the chips but 50 & 64C peaks are well within operating temp ranges and the 10C fluctuation in this range is negligible (imo)... .

 

I showed that integrated graphics can go up to 80°C here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=271764

But you're right that fan control most likely is completely different for GeForce 8400M GS and X3100.

I guess you have followed the discussions about faulty GeForce 8400M, which resulted from excessive heat. As long as you're covered by warranty that might be fine, but what happens after your warranty? Maybe you've sold it by then.

 

I just moved up to A12, but I'm noticing something odd:
I was on A10 since it came out, with 169.09 drivers. HWMonitor reported idle GPU temps around 55deg, and under gaming load, it would peak somewhere in the 70s range. I planned to upgrade to the A12 BIOS in a phased process -- first, upgrade video driver to 175.97, monitor temps, then bump up the BIOS. Problem was, as soon as I got into Windows under the new drivers, my GPU temp was idling around 77deg! I bumped up the BIOS to A12 quickly in hopes of driving that number down. Now, the laptop feels cooler, but the temp monitoring has it parked somewhere around 60deg on idle.

Someting is definitely off here. I'm starting to suspect that I was always running hot on A10 and the 169.09 drivers were just reporting the wrong temperature. I can't think of any other scenario that makes sense here. Can anyone validate this suspicion?

 

Because the fan kicks in at some max temp and then cuts off again, it's best to "report" a range.

Having said that, standard GPU idle temps for a 1330 running a pre-A11 BIOS is in between 55-70C. Although there are a few exceptions to that rule, if your temps are outside of this range (example: 55C as max GPU @idle) then chances are that the drivers are reporting incorrect temp(s).

There has already been reports on NBR of driver version(s) reporting irregularly low temps...

 

Please.. I've just had it for a week or so
For $500 I figured I might aswell have a closer look at this model, using and configuring Dell's different businessmodels on a regular basis.
The issues with Intel's x3100 are interesting since this is the std. option in these models..

..And I actually don't expect the m1330 to fail as long as the hsf is modded to accomodate the TDP/TE of the 8400GS.
It's a straightforward designflaw which really should be addressed properly by Dell/'s subcontractors w/wo Nvidia.

Still happy with the A10 bios for regular use and some gaming, but will probaly mod the hsf/air excavation further to let the temperatures drop faster after a 'session' - as of now the inadequate cooling properties need 15-20min. to get back to low idle temps w/fan off after a good heatsoak.

I like a quiet laptop, but I know the m1330 will never be as quiet as my passively cooled Lifebook P2040 - which barely can surf the web and read emails by todays standards/content. The all silent sub 2lbs. of it keeps it in my collection anyways..

 

Temps were taken with latest A12 BIOS. I copied the screenshots from my reporting here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3597579#post3597579

and this one mentions A12.

Will add this note now to former posting as well.

 

Flashed back to A10 so my fans actually shut off once and a while. No change in temps, just better battery life and quieter computer.

 

Let me know how the A10 Bios goes, I really want to flash back to that to stop the fan from always spinning once I add that piece of copper in there =) but many have advise me to not do so. I currently have a piece of aluminum that I sanded down for about 5 hours and it still is at about 2mm which seems too thick to me. And the GPU and CPU temps are at about 55C and 45C respectively and with the A11 bios the fans still run. The only way I can get the fan to ever turn off with the A11 bios is to have this laptop cooler on max blast which is pretty loud and the CPU temps at about 35C and GPU at about 45C. These temps are with undervolted CPU and GPU on low power (169MHZ core 100MHZ mem)

 

Overall I've heard the A10 bios is better. The M1330 was designed with a few heating issues that get a bit quirky, but overall A10 has been the preferred bios.

 

My initial observation with A12 with copper mod. I'm on the T7500 processor and 8400 GS chip.

On AC power the GPU speed throttles now, previously it only drops speed when on battery power. When no graphics intensive apps. (ie. DreamScene) is running. It drops the GPU speed. Lowest i've observed now is GPU core 168 Mhz and Memory 100Mhz.

How this affects battery life. Will observe over some time. Maybe throttling the GPU core and memory cuts power consumption to make up for it? Well just guessing this one. Need a few people to report their observation over time.

Can anyone else confirm these findings?

Added Note: Has anyone notice the 3DMark06 scores are even better with the A12 BIOS and the latest 175.97 nVidia drivers running together? Interesting.

Update: After a few reboot cycles. I notice the fan turns off at 53C and back on at 61C GPU temps.

 

Consider yourself lucky you're not experiencing GPU failures.

 

That's really good to hear. I thought that the A10 bios was the one that almost everyone warned to stay away from and that is why I didn't switch to it. But after hearing this, I will definitely switch to the A10 bios.

 

A10 is going to burnout the GPU just as much as the older A07 will. It's not a BIOS prob. Rather the recent BIOS updates are trying to address the design problem from the firmware front.

I've read the A10 warning from one of the threads as well, if you read further, the poster later found out it's a hardware failure. Not the BIOS as initially claimed.

 

With the A10 bios, I find that the palm rest appears to be warmer. Is this possibly due to the fans not spinning and causing the heat to be trapped inside the computer? Or can the bios actually cause other components to heat up? Anyone experience the same?

 

I updated mine with A12 and I am having two major problems

1. When laptop runs on battery, screen will NOT go to full brightness even if I hit fn+up many times..... when I hit fn+down few times, screen turns off... YEs it turns OFF completely.

2. This is bigger problem - after resuming from standby or hibernation, SSD freezes. I can see windows background but I cannot do anything and SSD light stays on...... Only way to fix this is to hard reset the computer.

I have gone through several revisions and this is first time I am having major issues. I must say its quite a poor release.


m1330
LED
SSD
4G
Ultimate
Telus WWAN
4965AGN

 

I recognized the more recent version of the BIOS result in not being able to lift the brightness on a higher value than those defined in BIOS settings / Video. Unfortunately for some reasons I haven't figured yet, those settings sometimes reset to some arbitrary or at least different values.

Going into BIOS and adjusting Video settings helped for me.

 

Hi all,

I'm the proud owner of a XPS M1330, and I might use a little help.
I just upgraded to A12, and I find that the fan noise is now really annoying. My video card temperature didn't fall enough as to justify the noise, so I'm thinking about "flashing back" to A11. My question is right about that: how can I do that? Is it sufficient for me to download A11 bios update and run it or do I have to do something else to get rid of A12? I would manage temperature via RivaTuner anyway.

Thanks a lot

p.s.: sorry for any English mistakes, I'm Italian

 

just download the A11 and start the .exe. It'll give you a warning about the bios, but I've done it plenty of times without issues. Nothing more necessary!

 

Thanks a lot, "amico", I do appreciate your help!!
Gonna do it right away!

 

Ok,
I flashed back to A11. My fan is now on. At what temperature does the fan turn on with A11 bios? Does anyone know? Thanks a lot for you help.

 

I use A11, and it seems to me that the fan kicks in when the GPU reaches 63C, and turns off again when it reaches 54C. Rinse and repeat. YMMV.

 

On my 1330 bios A11: reaches 50c - fan off
reaches 58c- fan on

on battary power: 56c- fan off; 63- fan on.

 

Well, I just flashed to A12, and the results are (on AC):

55C fan on, 50C fan off

Needless to say, I'll be sticking with A12. The fan doesn't come on particularly often, and when it does it's quiet enough to cope with.

 

Good, thank you all very much for the precious info.
Unfortunately for me, it's very very likely that my GPU's temp gets above 63°, and very very unlikely that, once there, it will revert to below 54°. Thus, I understood it's basically no use for me to stick to A11 and prefer this version to A12: both BIOS end up turning the fan on..
I don't think I'm gonna flash back to A09: maybe it's too outdated, and I'm not too sure it would fix the problem. At this point, I'd rather go for A12.

Damn Italian summer!!

 

I just posted my temps to another thread. I'm on A12 and my GPU max temp hit 91 degrees! This is my 3rd MOBO and I use my machine fairly intensively.

How long do you guys reckon this MOBO will last with this usage? I'm concerned about using graphics intensive apps, but these are normal apps an I don't want to change my usage of the machine because I bought it to use it, not to tip toe around these thermal issues.

I hope that this MOBO lasts but I'm not convinced it will.

 

6-8 months.

 

Wow, you're optimistic. I wish I had that much confidence in Dell

 

hey everyone. this may be a n00b question but im looking to get the m1330 and im just wondering... in light of all these GPU overheating problems is it really worth it for me to get the 8400 vid card upgrade? i wont be doing any gaming at all and will probably just be watching a lot of movies. and since im really not advanced enough to carry out the copper mod that has been proposed im really at a crossroads. im just not sure i want to put up with all this nonsense when neither dell nor nvidia are willing to take responsibility for whats going on. basically im confused whether the performance upgrades from the x3100 outweigh the risks of upgrading to the 8400M GS.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

 

If you say for sure u r not going to be gaming at all, then I dont think its worth the upgrade!! check out the forums to see how the integrated graphics performs with movie playback!! Though if u are getting bluray.. I don't know.

In any case, its still not sure if they are still shipping with the defective chips / units.. So there... we all are in the dock right just as you.

 

My MOBO lasted about 4 months. The first Dell MOBO replacement in 8 years. I'm sooo glad I didn't sell old Toshiba spare.

 

I've had this laptop for about 13 months and haven't encountered a problem...never did a bios upgrade, or even heard of the problem until browsing through these forums recently. Now I'm looking into the copper mod and bios versions to prevent death of this machine since warranty is over...

 

You have 11 months warranty left on your GPU mate.