S-XPS 1645 AC Power Throttle Issue Investigation

I ordered mine a week ago and is set to arrive on the 21st of December. I do not know if it will come with a 130w power supply or the old 90w power supply as i am in canada. My only concern is that the 130 doesn't seem to be enough. People have said that it is "better than the 90w" which is probably true but can it perform in a standard test of gaming? The situation being having a Logitech mouse, iOmega eGO 500GB External HHD, and whatever other usb device with WIFI on running Crysis Warhead on Gamer Settings and screen brightness on Full. RGB led draws 5 extra watts of power so i cant see all the components working flawlessly with only 130w power. is the 150w going to be enough? Please have Dell send you a 150w PSU and test weither the 150w is enough compared to your 210w unit. Please Specify where you obtained the power supply and link as well as the model number for me, and other people.

Thankyou!

 

I guess it really depends on who you get on the phone. The guy I talked to didn't need any convincing. I explained the situation and he said the adapter was the fix and apologized for the issue. Kinda a crap shoot if you will.

I am in the US btw...

 

ok lol... wut number did u call? and u remember who u talked to?

 

I was it jumping down to 1x in CPU-Z.

 

Called US xps support 1-800-232-8544

I think his name was Rajesh or some such. That said, this was yesterday. It could be that today dell pinpointed the issue down to the bios. Which would explain why they are unwilling to send you an adapter. Or it could be that they are just being difficult. Frankly the variety in response from dell is somewhat humorous to me.

 

I think I may have talked to the same person, got the same story. Its very confusing that the 130w adapter fixes the issue for some people and partially for others, plus Dell reps insisting its a BIOS problem. Also it throttles a bit on battery even when it shouldn't, problem may be more complicated than we thought.

 

is this the one?

does anyone know the name or model number of it (eg. PA-4E)

and are we sure it will be compatible?

btw is a "three pin" and a "three prong" adapter the same thing?

 

So did you get the PA-4E??? I thought they didn't offer the new 'slim' 130 watt chargers here in the UK since there not even listed on their accessories site...only the old PA-13s so I just assumed it was just the same old problem of UK getting later updates than the US. I've been following this post since last week and put off buying the laptop until the problem's been resolved...although it seems the problem hasn't even been 100% identified yet as the AC adapter or BIOS. Is it worth the trouble or should I wait??

 

Thanks! Do you still remember what time you called him? just wanna make sure i can find him

 

-[Deleted]-

 

yeahhh give us some pictures

dress it up a little you know

teenie little thing....

 

it was about 6pm last night.

 

I ordered my system on November 13 with the estimated deliver date being December 9. I checked the Dell Website tonight and see the system was shipped today with delivery tomorow, December 3. I'll post what AC adapter brick they're sending but I expect the 90W and not the 130W.

I'm replacing my Dell XPS 170. I originally ordered an Alienware MX-17 back in late October with an EDD of Nov 12, with was then moved to Nov 19. Then on Nov 12 they canceled the order and reordered with a EDD of Dec 14 without talking to me first. At that point, I had enough and was going to cancel. I thought the problem was the Alienware division and decided to order the Dell Studio XPS instead after talking to a Dell CSR the next day and getting additional perks.

I've purchased Dell computers before and overall have been a satisfied customer. However this time with the problems I've read and seen in the Alienware and S-XPS and their design/manufacturing process, I'm not a happy camper. Hopefully things will get better.

It's just very disappointing that Dell hasn't respond to any of the problems their customers are having with some of their new systems.

 

CST? since it seems everyone goes with CST in US...

 

-[Deleted]-

 

christ thats hot

 

I just saw this on ZD Net:

"Dell updates thermal algorithms in response to CPU throttling concerns"

http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=9847

Not for the SXPS 1645, but sounds like the problem some are seeing.

 

nice... looks like they will ship mine sooner or later... not sure if its a good thing... cuz they may not have figured out the problem yet...

 

does anyone know what kind of power adapter comes with the M15x??

 

I put the model number in my original post. It is the "330-4128" 210w adapter which is the one for the m17x. There is a guy on eBay in the states selling for $100 with free shipping. I ordered from him. As far as getting a 150w as well, there weren't any on eBay and the 210w was cheaper than buying the 150w from Dell. Might as well go for more power.

 

Dell part #330-5830...

 

o just remember something... FYI, the technician that i talked to today, also said the 130W may burn the laptop, as the 90W is "designed" for this laptop...

 

He's wrong. Ignore the FUD.

 

Yeah Dell had some initiative awhile back to make all their a/c adapters and laptops cross-compatible so they're supposed to work.

 

Sure Sure...In "most" cases, the adapter is just like the power supply in a desktop. It doesn't matter how many watts it can put out, but rather the amount your computer uses. If the voltage and amperage output is the same, its not going to burn anything.

 

The amperage isn't going to be the same though.

Wattage = Amperage * Voltage

 

yeah, i told him that the laptop will only draw w/e it needs, but the guy said that's only wut the ppl on this forum said... (btw i'm on our side)

 

To put it another way....
As long as the voltage is the same (19.5V) and the connector pinout is the same, you will not hurt the laptop

The current delivered is determined by the laptop needs, not the supply. Having a higher rated supply simply means it is capable of supplying more current at it's rated voltage. The supply is a constant 19.5 Volts as long as you are within the power rating of the supply.

 

Amperage output does not have to be the same. Voltage output does.

 

The full equation is

Watts = Amps x Volts x Length

 

review of that thing on the dell site said he had to replace that one like 3 times over because it kept burning out

think i'll go for the 130

 

Tell that to a light bulb...

 

What on earth? No it isn't. A watt is a volt-amp, not a volt-amp-meter.

And circuits have exactly what in common with a filament again?

 

I bought one on Monday night with RGBLED. Is there any indication that Dell has started to ship with the proper power supply? I mean it seems ridiculous that the day I get my product I will be on the phone with them trying to get my $2000 laptop to work properly.

 

I kinda get where that equation is coming from, it's not normally used though.

Technically volt has a length in its dimension, so it would cancel it out, but it always will be a constant though, it's easier just to pretend it doesn't exist.

 

..............................lol'd

 

So I'm reporting in with my 130watt slim AC adapter connected and rockin. Not having any issues at all now. Working fantastic.

I've yet to really game on it but the couple times i jumped in i was able to rock out at med-brightness with no issues.... The RGB is so bright that i thought it was on full bright until i jumped out to post here... so i'll check it out with full bright here in a bit and post if i have any issues with it.

I have a feeling that there will be some bios update done still though. I kinda feel like the laptop gets pretty warm before the fan cranks up, and it would be nice to have it be a bit more aggressive maybe 5 degrees earlier.

 

If you could explain it to me, that'd be great. I googled it and got a couple sites that made no sense. They stuck meters in the equation and claimed that it was the meters in the equation for watts that caused voltage loss over a long stretch of wire, when it's actually the inherent resistance of the wire. Not only is that not the correct relationship for resistance, it makes it look like you'll get an equal resistance running though a wire of copper as a wire of tin.

EDIT: Okay, so a Volt is a NewtonMeter over AmpereSecond, multiplied by an Ampere, gives a NewtonMeter/Second, which is the definition of a Watt. Still not getting where the meter comes from in that strange equation.

 

I was just pointing out that you could have the same Voltage and Amperage but a different Wattage. I'm not saying this is the case with power bricks. What are the amperage ratings on the 130w?

 

Ill run some more test here soon. I have a kill a watt meter i borrowed. when i try prime 95 and fur mark at the same time it draws 95watts, thats with the 7x multplier and it throttling. Mind you this is with the wled screen, and 720qm. It would seem the bios or something is limiting to computer to 90w draw, anything above it starts cutting back.

130w
furmark + prime95 = max 104 settles to 95
prime95 = 89w
furmark = 85w

90w
furmark + prime95 = N/A power adapter dies
prime95 = 90w
furmark = 87

Note that i saw 104w before it quickly dropped to 95 on the furmark + prime 95 test. cant say how high it actually drew before throttling down because it only refreshes so often. would suggest its throttling to keep a constant 90w.

When i put a cd in now it gets interesting, when it spins up the watt meter reads 95w and the cpu starts throttling under just a prime 95 test.. This explains a lot for the ppl with rgbled and processors bigger then the 820qm i think.

with that much wattage for just max cpu load, i dont see how you tack on a video card at full load is going to pull less then 90w.. anything else you all want me to measure let me know.

idle = approx 42w (130w adapt)
charging = approx 65 @ 97% full (130w adapt)

 

I'm guessing the equation with the meter might be related to how much power is dissipated on those power lines across the country. i.e. they need to know how much energy is wasted just on the power lines. but yeah, if the units don't work out, then the equation can't be correct.

 

Noooo yoooou caaaan't....

 

Did you know someone from Dell has an account here?

This is what he told me in the E6400 thread after I mentioned our little snafu.

~Ibrahim~

 

That's the wattage pulled from the A/C outlet right? Isn't what it delivers to the computer going to be lower than that?

 

Possible link to that Zalman???

 

yeah.. but you can clearly see it spike, and settle down to a certain number being 95w it seems according to the meter. i havnt been able to pull more then 95w consistantly even when the 130w has room to go higher. I dunno but those are the results, curious what you guys think.. I really dont think 90w is enough though

 

So update to my post. I still have the slow downs at full brightness. I havn't bothered to run any benchmarks yet. I'm going to download crysis and run that benchmark loop.

But Left4Dead2 just running in circles in the saferoom goes from fully playable/liquid smooth at minimum brightness, and then at full brightness it drops down into unplayable territory. turning the brightness down again causes the game to run smooth again.

I've gotta say, for almost certain, that there is also a bios or software update required.

But the good news is, the new brick runs very cool, in fact before i had to game at minimum brightness to get good fps, and now i can run it at halfway which is whats suggested for the best RGB colors. So the 130watt is helping somewhere (and running very cool while doing it)

Looking forward to that bios update. Even if it takes like 5% off the max performance possibility of this laptop I'll be happy just to have reliable and consistant performance. I can't imagine that we'd lose any power though, these things dont get warm at all considering my old Asus was 80c out of hte box. lol

 

how do you guys feel about the asus G51......

i have so much doubt with this thing

cant run left 4 dead 2 at full brightness?? even with the 130 watt adapter??

gimme a break

 

It's just a BIOS or software issue at this point. We were right in suspecting a power draw concern however there definatly will need to be a patch to something to totally fix the issue.

Looks like I might have been right on my initial theory, too! Everyone's a winner!.....except for us..... dammit.

I think maybe *MAYBE* the notebook is misprogrammed to throttle or do something to performance when the screen reaches higher brightness levels... I mean thats really the only thing left other then a serious hardware design flaw.

We also still have to consider that ATI may have some bad driver coding that is causing powerplay to create some issues.

 

i did l4d2 and tf2.
if i disable multicore rending in tf2, the computer pulls less watts but the fps shoots up. Probably due to the lack of throttling i would think.

l4d2 pulls about 88 watts on my system just sitting there, not really in any action or anything. Its being activly throttled as well, where on battery its full 13x.

it would seem the bios/components starts throttling when it gets close the 90w mark, 130w probably just helps to supply the whole power as the 90w probably isnt fully 90w in real world