S-XPS 1645 RGB screen flicker issue

Ok, I just had my RGBLED LCD replaced, I did not have an flickering problems with the old RGB LCD, but now I have flickering problems......
..... I've given up on dell

 

I had my screen flick for like 2 mins but because I was moving around with brightness settings then it went like yellowish then went back to its normal color and it's kind of weird... it did it only when moving brightness :/

 

Well, my new panel just pulled a disco on me yesterday. Showing only single colours at a time. So something is still wrong.

It also has a bad backlight leak on the left, and I was considering if that was bad enough to send it back for. But the panel made the decision for me...

 

The flicker does not happen when on the highest brightness setting... As you turn the brightness down the flicker increases.

I have a service order to have my screen replaced, but I don't want to go through the trouble if it's going to do the same thing. Other than the flicker on lower brightness settings the display is perfect, no dust, no dead / stuck pixels.


Our of all of the RGB screens out there I wonder how many people are experiencing the issue and just not complaining...?

 

I don't notice any flicking of my RGB screen unless i go all the way to the darkest setting. Must be a lucky one?

 

It is definitely less noticeable with brighter settings. Just irritating such a flaw on an otherwise beautiful screen.

 

I'm wondering if this is specific to one panel manufacturer. I have the Seiko Epson (SEC5448) in my SXPS 1645, as reported by ASTRA32. I'm not sure if a panel replacement is worth it, as I'm fairly confident that a replacement may flicker as well. Is this a widespread issue?

 

Hi,

I just received my 1645 with an RGB screen. ASTRA32 says that it's a Seiko Epson manufactured in January 2008! 2008?! Isn't that strange?

My screen seems to flicker, and kinda blink a little bit every now and then, not totally go to black, just for a brief moment blip into a lower brightness and then back out.

Is this what everyone else is experiencing here?

Thanks,
Mike

 

Yes, mine is the same. January 2008. Anyways, my issue was resolved after replacement, even though now I have other issues with the screen.

But it is indeed strange. January 2008, hmmm .. doesn't seems as something innovative as Dell stated.

Nikolay

 

I just had my third panel installed, due to backlight problems (the entire screen would turn magenta or yellow), and this one also states 2008.

I wonder if that is correct / accurate though, as the program doesn't state a serial number. Could this be default data for this panel? Maybe this panel always returns the same info?

Anyway, I'll critically watch my third panel for flickering and other problems...

 

I have had my SXPS 1647 since Feb and noticed that the screen sometimes flickers on low brightness settings just as others have described. I notice its fine when on full. Its not real bad but noticeable especially working in Word. I notice it only does it for a little bit then goes away like it has to get use to the screen brightness I have it set at. Other than this minor issue the notebook has been amazing. The screen is gorgeous, guess everything comes with a price

 

I think there is a serious issue with the backlight on these RGB screens. Apart from the flickering, I have found out (whil troubleshooting my system with / for XPS tech support) that you can easily get the system to mess ip the backlight. So easily that I repeatedly encounter this during my work.

If anyone would care to do a simple test, you can confirm this.

Run you 1645 (or 47, or 40, whatever) on battery and run any CPU intensive task for about 20 minutes (video transcoding, or prime95 for a more syntethic approach).

Then try to adjust the backlight. On my system everytime the backlight f**s up and either turns off entirely, leaving me with a black screen, sticks at the level it's at, or partially turns off, and leaves me with a magenta, blue or yellow screen.

This is without ThrottleStop, and without Furmark or anything else. Just load the CPU for a while and the screen goes haywire.

 

I've been running Prime95 (8 Threads, Blended) for about 40 minutes and I'm still not seeing anything strange with my RGB screen.

 

on battery?

I have had this with multiple motherboards, and multiple LCD's. Therefore I think it is a design issue...

When I'm encoding a video using Handbrake it also happens, not just with synthetic tests.

 

Doh! My apologies, I missed the one key word there. I'll repeat the test later on today. I'm not surprised that I haven't experienced this now, since I almost never run on battery and when I do it's usually not CPU intensive.

Thanks for clarifying!

 

No problem, and thanks for testing.

 

Do you know what is funny . Flickers issue was resolved for me by replacing the screen. But I had another problems with the new screen, so I requested another replacement. And now with the new screen I have the initial issue - flickers. I am sooooo happy with dell

Nikolay

 

Mitchell,

I was just fixing to debunk your issue, until POW, look at all the pretty colors.

I believe that this is happening because as the battery is depleting, there is not enough juice to keep everything going at that level.

I had all 8 cores, small FFT's in Prime 95.

Encoding a 650 MB .avi file, streaming live radio.

My temps never got over 74C, I had the power at Dell.

But, after twenty five minutes, I started to adjust the brightness. I had started off at high and the went to lower it, and FAIL.

I did notice that the white LED on the hinge was flashing amber in a sequence of three flashes, pause, three flashes. I waited a minute, and the screen came back; but it was unresponsive. That indicates that the battery is critically low, even though I was above 45%.

I had to do a battery pull to clear it all out.

Back on AC power, and all is well.

I think that in order to power that load, an AC adapter would be wise.

Just my two cents.

 

DAn,

Thanks again for your efforts! I agree with you in part. To mee it is also obvious there is not enough juice, but I do think the system should be able to handle it, or at least gracefully degrade. I have had this happen as soon as 90% charge left. The latest I've seen this happen is 45% charge left, but mostly it is over 75%. As I know this takes quite some juice (but I need to do this for work) I tend to have the battery full when I start.

The thing is, on my machine it happens within ten minutes, and the *only* thing I'm running is Handbrake. No email, no browser, nothing else.

My temps are also a lot higher. The CPU gets into the 80s.

And as Dell cannot (or will not) admit to there not being enough juice, they keep replacing parts until their protocol has been followed and I can either return the machine, or have it replaced with something else.

 

Agreed,

Per n3verm0re, I did replace my Thermal Paste with GC_Extreme. It has made a difference, and overall I am pleased with the performance. I'm attaching a screenshot of my workload when the screen crapped out.

It is possible to get decent performance out of this machine, it just takes some luck, and lots of patience.

Dan

 

Guys ... I see you efforts, but I can not understand from your posts, how does the temperature affects the screen, so that it flickers? Mine flickers at average of 45-50.

Nikolay

 

I would consider changing thermal paste, but I still don't think the entire machine should depend on my changing the paste. That would imply the lack of any thermal margin for error.

There's two kinds of flickering. The first kind is the kind you notice daily and is annoying but not much more than that.

The second kind is where the backlight starts losing colours. This gives the entire screen a single color like yellow, magenta or blue. This usually happens on battery and doesn't stop until you drain the entire system of power. So remove the battery and keep the power button pressed for a few seconds.

On a sidenote, today I received my fourth screen, which was actually my seconds screen (it's the same physical thing as my second screen). They just gave me my own screen back. And it is still bad.

 

Mitchell,

I'd change out the paste.

There really is no room for error as the stock paste is okay, and there really is ZERO airflow inside the case. It is really just an insulated coffee cup. The MacBook Pro's have the same design, yet they are able to dissipate heat through their aluminum case.

It takes my machine much longer to reach the 84C GPU Thermal Limit. With GC-Extreme, I am able to over clock the GPU and lock the multipliers with Throttlestop.

No Way could I do this with the stock paste without the computer melting down.

 

Maybe I'll give it a shot over the weekend, just to know what the difference will be.

I did notice a *lot* of paste on the CPU & GPU when the tech opened the machine up.

By now it doesn't change the fate of this particular machine though, too many problems, it's going back one way or the other. The new old screen still flickers...

 

Thanks Mitchell.

Anyways, I am giving up already. Can't deal with Dell anymore. This laptop cost me too much nerves for the past 2 months. I just don't want to talk/think about it.

 

Same problem here. Received new XPS 16 with RGBLED screen (part number 320-8332). Found that flickering issue at ANY brightness. Even at the highest brightness on wall power. I read this forum and that discussions and decided to return it.

But what should I get instead? What would be the best price/features match for a replacement? Or should I just try another XPS 16 with a WLED screen?

I placed this XPS 16 side by side with my old XPS 1530 and must say that I like the old screen better. Its bright/dim diapason is wider and it does not have that mirror reflection.

 

I also had the flickering problem in Windows 7 under the "Power Saver" settings with the backlight set to its lowest value (on battery power). I remedied it by changing a few settings.

1) I opened up my power options menu (right click the battery --> power options).

2) I clicked "Change plan settings" on Power Saver.

3) Click "Change Advanced Power Settings" on the new window.

4) Scroll down until you see "Display" option and expand it.

5) Expand "Display Brightness" and change the "On Battery" to 0% (Default is 6%).

Save all your settings and Voila! Fixed.

Seems to me that the momentary flicker is windows going to 6% and back down to 0% (set by the Dell power software) and that causes the color degradation.

Seems to have fixed it for me!

 

I have a XPS 16 with the WLED screen. No problems at all after 2 weeks of ownership.

 

This is still under investigation by Dell. Our Laptop Liaison ( Dell-Brad L) will be more forthcoming with data as he gets it.

Problem Description - When battery capacity is lower than 30%, user might experience discoloration of display, loss of video, or video flickering: Display may become tinted blue, red, green, or yellow, or the video may flicker or be lost altogether.

Current Workaround - Drain the flea power and then recharge the battery to greater than 50% capacity.

 

Hi,

Can you please tell us what "flea power" is?

I have experienced this problem and thought the screen stopped working and had to call in a Dell technician. Then the screen started working again when the laptop was fully charged.

This could be a big problem, especially is we are working on things and the batter power gets low. The screen goes out and we can't save our work, etc.

Thank you,
Mike

 

I have had this on a number of motherboards ans screens, and even a whole new replacement system. My symptoms are a bit broader. I have had this happen at 93% charge. If you load up the CPU, this can happen at any charge. Also flickering happens at any charge as long as the brightness is not at 100%.

In my case this only solves the discoloration issue, not the flickering.

It is the power that remains in the system, even after you turn it off or remove the battery. This power makes the malfunctioning parts 'remember' their broken state.

Take out the wall power and the battery and press the power button for about ten seconds.

This might be a workaround, but it is quite tedious and time consuming.

For me the problem was big enough to return the 1645. Dell couldn't give me a workable solution in the form of a different model machine.

I went ahead and reordered the Alienware.

 

I just noticed this problem on my new 1645

Wow, talk about annoying. It only seems to happen at lower screen brightnesses.

 

To clarify, what I notice at low screen brightness is the screen very faintly, but quickly, cycles between different color hues.

 

Guys, what's the definitive word onthis issue? Hardware or software? I'm leaning towards this being a wide, widespread problem that only some people care about. Is it something that is even fixable? I just now started using on battery power and immediately noticed the flickering at anything other than full brightness. It's actually really disappointing.

 

Hardware issue.

There's a very technical post somewhere on here (maybe in this thread) which explains why it happens, and it's the best explanation I've seen.

 

OK, so I assume that it is totally up to my level of patience with Dell regarding getting a new screen? I assume that it will be luck of the draw and I should expect to swap and replace 4-5 times before I get a panel that does not have this hardware problem?

 

It took me 4 swaps to get a good screen. I had dust inside a couple and flickering on another.

 

This thread was a great resource for me, so I thought I would post my experience:

I got a refurb'd xps 1645 with the 1080p screen. It flickered regardless of the power input or brightness setting. The "screen test" would not run and only produced a series of beeps.

Dell said the motherboard and screen would need to be replaced. They sent out a technician (because of my upgraded warranty?) to replace the parts and it is running flawlessly. I think by this point Dell knows exactly what is wrong and is able to fix the issue fairly efficiently. Hopefully nobody has to go through several screens to get a good one any longer.

Thanks again guys!

 

Getting the right and working screen is a matter of luck . Believe me. Dell just keep changing the screens until the client is satisfied. I doubt they know the source of this issue. The idea for this screen is fantastic, but the design provided by Dell is awful. In the future I am sure we will see better RGB Led screens.

 

after a replacement, now i'm already here for another problem about my xps 1640..

is from 2 months that sometimes, when the fan is on, and noisly, my screen gone from windows, and become white, or yellow, or green, with a lot of stripes..

the problem is that the screen doesn't become like the past how the oldest 1640..

this.. never happened to me..

when the problem start (on this newest 1640), after the screen blink and flash, a BSOD come on screen.. i've attached the picture:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

search on internet, it sims to be a problem with external pci device.. or with the AC adapter..

here.. there is a video of my flashing screen:

width='425' height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2F6RN6BpkQ0&hl=it&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2F6RN6BpkQ0&hl=it&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width='425' height="344"></embed></object>

tried any driver.. windows fresh installation..
it happened when the fan work.. and it often work!!! (but this happened 7-8 times in 2 months..)

tomorrow will call dell.. and ask for a replacement..

do ou have any idea??

thanks a lot

 

I've joined this forum just to give my problems too!

I've been at this since last December when I got my laptop... the screen went blank at login sometimes, but was so intermittent I just didn't report it.

Got round to doing some 3d rendering, which uses 100% CPU and brightened up my screen at the same time... and BAM... no screen anymore. Itjust went black.

Did all the old troubleshooting with Dell, and they decided to replace the LCD. By the way, the LCD test didn't work either, so they replaced.

The replacement now flickers. I NEVER had this issue with my old one, but now it's quite distracting. I don't noticed it all of the time, but usually when i'm moving my eyes about the screen i catch it. Bloody annoying, but I'm coming up to the end of my warranty and don't know if changing the screen will sort anything out?

The LCD test sort of works... i don't get a cycling of colours, but just a white screen with weird rippling patterns across it. A few beeps and then nothing. Oh, and running the CPU at 100% ad brightening the screen doesn't cause it to go blank anymore. So, one problem fixed... another one gained!!!

What do people suggest I do? I won't be able to get another engineer into my house as they just did it as a gesture of good will last time. I haven't paid for that support unfortunately!

Cheers,
Tim

 

hey guys,

when my dell is blow 20% battery, aroudn that, my screen turns off soemtimes, or changes colour to green/red/blueish etc....

This happens at below 20% battery and changing brightnesss. Sometimes I need to reseat battery and restart on AC and it works again.

Check here: http://www.riccardo-ulpts.com/dell.jpg

http://www.riccardo-ulpts.com/dell2.jpg

Should I simply ask for another replacement or let them change motherboard and battery?

( Does anyone know if its motherboard or screen issue? )

 

Hey Guys,

The same issues that are being described here are happening to me. This afternoon when I was in the middle of a game the screen suddenly gets this blue hue over it, it doesn't go away and affects the computer in the BIOS and startup (so it is not caused by the OS).

I have installed new drivers and flashed the BIOS and followed the thing with draining the batteries a few pages before.

Does anyone have a fix for this or know why it is caused? The funny thing is (not really) my 12 month warranty expired 3 days ago.

Thanks for any help!

 

Hi, Guys.

The same sh*t is happened with my XPS 1645. Sometimes when i am changing brightness settings from highest to lower (from 100% to minimum) display was start blinking...

How can i fix it? any solution?

 

Same issue appears to Precision M4600 w/IPS RGB panel owners...

Fortunately Dell just released a new Bios release (A04) supposed to reduce the flicker effect at low brightness :

Release date : 21/06/2011
Release : A04
Download type : BIOS
File format : Windows/DOS

1. Reduces LCD panel flicker at low brightness settings.

I'll try it tomorrow, let you now if that work or not...

 

would be interesting to know if this worked...

 

OK, so, for all of us who experiment that sh**t of trouble, I fortunately can now give u some hope !

I've just updated my M4600 w/the new A04 BIOS, and the flicker issue has def disappear !!!

I'm just typing that text on a white page in Firefox, trying to lower the brightness at diff. step, w/ and w/o the power adapter, I can confirm that f*** flicker is def gone !

So for XPS owner's, I guess that issue is the same, as it happens on IPS panel too...so far DELL would release a new BIOS too...