S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

Well here we go again, I also emailed Michael Dell and the executive Rep told me that at this time the 130W adapter would not be used. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

 

cpu related task should be pretty decent.. Its when the gpu is included the power limit gets reached :-/.. You can throttle via intel burn test or prime 95 alone, for me at least had to wait for fan kick on and the screen to have max brightness.

jacketberry that is very good news actually. I hate to get hopes up, but this is a 180 degree turn around from their position they been holding this whole time. From the get go dell hasnt deviated from saying 90w is plenty enough and theres no need for 130w etc etc. This is the first time they ever mentioned this from a higher up person. It would seem with the thanks to throttlestop and our testing/results/returns giving us ammo to apply pressure to dell might be changing their stance perhaps. Hopefully we'll hear more of this.

edit: 2by4 yeah that sucks, time will tell. Maybe it hasnt filtered down yet or something. or maybe jackert is getting the run around like i did earlier.

 

I know some people have returned their SXPS how many people would get another one if it was officially fixed? I'm just curious.

 

I think we all suspected this was the case, but it's nice to have it confirmed and I'm glad to hear you're able to run Photoshop just fine

 

Les, thank you very much for a great post - it's very informative! You've certainly given me something to think about now!

I take it you run on max screen brightness and all settings at 100% (processor min/max) without any glitches whilst even batch converting?

 

I have read in another forum the RGBLed screen is 6 bit panel. Probably not very suitable for photo editing.

 

Sounds like BS, it's an ultra-wide gamut display, that would be about the stupidest design decision you can make.

 

Sounds like something worth looking in to. If anyone knows please post.

 

Actually, I'm running my screen at just below 50% brightness. When I did a screen calibration, I found that accurate calibration required turning down the brightness. If I set the brightness to maximum, the exposure doesn't come close to matching my prints. About the only time I've turned up the brightness is when I've been in light that might cause glare issues. Even if I were going to turn up the brightness to maximum, I still doubt that I would be taxing the computer's resources anywhere close to the way that a gamer might. With photo applications, you are talking about operations that are going to use the
CPU and GPU for only very brief bursts of time, and that can't be taxing the system in the same way that pushing it the limits for a sustained period of time in gaming would.

Les

 

Wow - thanks once again Les.
I hadn't even thought about calibration? I take it the way you have it set now corresponds correctly with your histograms too? Or have you just calibrated your screen to match your print outputs?

 

Btw, has anyone tried playing any 1080P MKVs. Do they run smoothly without hicups?

 

Yes they do. That's not really a subjective question though, there's a lot of different ways an mkv could be encoded etc... but the simple answer is yes.

 

Just received mine.
Ran vantage using an external monitor.. scored P3100.
It seems it's not downthrottling during vantage using an external monitor.

So i'm happy - whenever i play games I usually use the external monitor

 

^ Yeah i sort of knew but wasn't 100% - apologies.

 

The video card actually support dual stream 1080p I think.

 

whats your specs?

 

Count me in. It looks like the 1647 has it right so far.

 

Oh no, i had no doubt about the GPU's capabilities. Just wasn't sure if playing full res MKVs were taxing on the system as a whole just like gaming would be.

In hindsight though, it would be stupid to think a video would tax the CPU like a game would.

 

I started by using the same calibration tool that I used for my desktop monitor. Then, I confirmed that what I was seeing on the screen showed the same level of exposure and contrast as what I get in a print. Of course, that can vary somewhat depending on ambient light, but, in my normal working environment, if the screen brightness is turned up past the mid point in the range, it will make a properly exposed picture look to be overexposed.

I should also point out that the Turbo Boost with the i7 720 actually works more nicely than the Turbo Boost on my i7 920 desktop processor. With the 920, the maximum boost is only from 2.66 to 2.93, which is nice, but not earth shattering. With the mobile i7 720, the maximum boost is from 1.60 to 2.80. Until I downloaded the Intel Turbo Boost monitor, I had assumed that the Turbo Boost would be kicking in only in a very limited number of situations. I was surprised to see just how often it does kick in. Often, it is working in the 2.5 to 2.8 range. But, even with all cores active, it can still give a nice boost to speed at a lower level.

Les

 

Depending on your video codec, but most 1080p will be decoded in hardware.

 

Not possible. The screen is 100% color gamut (16.7m), it can't be achieved with only 6-bits.

 

Have you ever heard of dithering and temporal dithering?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dither
check reference #11.

 

In the past dithering techniques were used to facilitate the "16.7 million" color advertisement.

While this monitor is great I have noticed some banding compared to my old Sync Master 740n, which was eLcheapo monitor when I got it a few years back despite that, this RGB displays a lot better colors, If it wouldn't freken flicker all the time, I'd be very impressed overall. I hope the replacement doesn't. I don't now if this is the price of a laptop LCD, as I have used very few LCD laptops.

 

Thanks, I had an idea of how dithering worked, but that cleared it up even more.

 

Thanks so much Les for your comments. I recently purchased a Studio XPS and yet to receive (Expected shipped date just pushed back from 2nd of Feb to 8th of Feb; Ordered on the 12th of Jan..maybe due to updates?!..wishful thinking)

I came across the throttling issue yesterday and have READ EVERY post on here and at the Dell site...I was very nervous because a majority of what I will use the laptop for is Web building, intense graphic design, and video editing. After reading yours and others post in regard to the throttle issue and photo editing I am feeling more at ease. I really hope the new updates by Dell will come through....especially before the 21 day trial period.

Sorry I did not contribute much to the thread, but did want to say my thanks and poke my head out into the community.

 

I'm only here because I was uncomfortable with how hot the PA-3E got on day one with my 1645. I'd no idea there was throttling going on as well, till I got here.

But if there wasn't throttling, I'd worry about even more heat from this adaptor.

BTW, a thing that seems to have gotten lost in the last 60 pages or so is that the 1645 runs just fine, unthrottled, on battery, and lets you play pretty much any game you like at a good fps. For up to half an hour, maybe.

This tells me that (a) the 1645 is fine at gaming, if allowed to be; and (b) Unclewebb's constant assertion that the throttling is to mollycoddle the underpowered and overheating 90w adaptor is right on the money. Heed the man!

NB: Note the changed flag, reflecting my current location. What am I using here? My old Tosh. Where's my 1645? Useless at home in the UK.

I'm not moving all my stuff over until I'm sure if I'm going to keep it, and I'm not going to keep it if Dell don't fix the issues properly. Throttlestop is great, but I make my living on my laptop, and I can't afford even a sniff of a threat to my next business day warranty support.

And now I have both the HP Envy 15 (now with Full HD in the UK) and the Sony F11 to choose from, I'm a lot less worried that I won't be able to keep this Celeron-alike.....

 

They've taken the BluRay drives off the spec for the 1645 without many more people than me querying it. Citing 'component shortages' rather than the 'it won't work properly' I might have feared.

If I were Dell, I think I might find a convenient and more critical 'component shortage' that would let me pull the 1645 for the time being...

 

I never challenged the assertion that the adapter was underpowered, only that we don't know what the majority of the adapters are doing. Citing the control group (this thread and the others) may not represent the larger number of people with 1645s. Perhaps because there are different adapter models or some other reason.

I only said with certainty that mine doesn't get that hot. The OP's assertion that I was "destroying the thread" and that I'm some how arguing against reason left me wondering if he ever did read my posts. I know I'm pedantic, but that's no reason for ad-hominem attacks.

The OP and I both have the same hope, that is the 1645 be fixed, whether through a larger adapter or whatever means.

 

In my eyes, the more attention this thread gets, or appears to get puts more pressure on Dell to fix the issue.

So you have my thanks for posting.

 

That "banding" you saw might and probably was banding in the source material. Photos and textures in games are compressed or sometimes the software generating the picture uses imprecise color calculation. You probably didn't see it on your old monitor because it was incapable of displaying the different shades of color. Trust me people, the RGBLED LCD color is as good as it gets with LCD of any kind.

 

I not here to argue this, but as evidence of the closing of last thread shows the way you tend to go about things and arguing with people isnt healthy. A lot of things you mention is your own opinion and isnt exactly shared by a lot of people, which is fine but shouldnt force the issue.

Now if you really wanted to pursue this adapter issue, then you need to get a kill-a-watt to verify your pegging it at 90w at the wall. Then run it at a constant 90w for over an hour ish to get it to steady state temps. Then see how hot it is or even measure it for concrete info. As this has been done before, and will show if you truely are an exception to the status quo or there is more to it. So far i dont think we even gotten a model # out of you and mitchell which honestly should be the first step.

The adapters getting hot is the status quo, its no secret to the 1640's. It was no secret to the beginning of the throttle investigation thread. read the first few hundred posts of the investigation thread and will be your proof. Everything that is said here comes from there as stated on the main page, midnight was one of those many. I assure you nothing thats been said is a guess unless otherwise noted, theres evidence behind it thats buried somewhere in that thread.

IMO whether the majority have hot adapters or not, I dont know and i wouldnt know how to find that out either. What i do know there is/was a sizable number of people in these forums with adapters that get hot for whatever reason. Regardless if your adapter is a cold one or not, the fact remains it would be very scary for these people to suggest upping the wattage risking more heat. Which in the end changes nothing, if there is a new adapter model, or it was the bios update keeping it pegged lower i dont know but in the end would be just extra information. If you dont agree with that, that is your own opinion and i wont try and force that on you.

If you want to push the issue i implore you to do the tests above and come with evidence. (This is important) If not willing to do the proper test you have said your opinion on the issue and please just let it go and move on, and let someone who is willing to test. As i stand by everything that i and unclewebb and others have said, as there is evidence to support it and isnt changed by a few people with cooler adapter, justs proves there may be an exception or issue in testing.

And that is it out of me. Im not commenting on this anymore as i dont want to detract from others that want to talk about how throttling affects them.

 

Ha! That's great! I sure seem to miss a lot inbetween leaving for a day or so though. I have had the feeling the reps don't know quite as much as the higher ups, and that part of DELL has been wanting to work with us/assist us, but internal conflicts with the 'Channels' has been causing issues of course. Anyway. . . I look forward to the thought that WHEN my laptop arrives I'll be able to experience it with no throttling. I'm not trying to celebrate yet (just in case), but thanks guys for making the issue/the point, and being helpful for the most part. I just feel bad for all the reps that had to take care your calls!

Erm. . . sorry if that interrupted present conversation flow. . .

 

didnt interrupt, that convo is over..

It is somewhat decent news, as its the first time dell has admitted that a 130w may be the cure. I mean as long as this has been going, the first from someone that could be reliable. Im still very doubtful as there still a lot of doubts, but is the first ray of hope that maybe something right might happen.

To those that are waiting to return for the coming fix. I strongly suggest calling dell making sure you can return your laptop if their upcoming fix doesnt work. As they may pull the 21 day card if you dont.

 

Perhaps I was anal about how I choose to communicate my opinion in the other thread. And perhaps there was no need to ask for proof of the real statistics on the adapter issue. So I apologize about that. I'll just chalk it up to a bad day, a very bad one at that.

I'm sure if there were another manufacture with an RGB display that performed like this, good design, and similar specs. We would have all moved on by now.

Unfortunately, I don't see a really good replacement for this laptop, I'm really curious if that 1647 w/ RGB throttles. But I'd much rather have a quad core. Dell has created a bit of the Holy Grail. It feels just so close and yet so far away.

I just pray for a solution fast. I really do enjoy this system, If the screen wouldn't flicker I'd be using this over my desktop most of the time.

As far as the model number, DA90PE 1-00

 

As good as it is, my desktop doesn't show the banding in this test. http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/gradient.php.

There are better desktop LCD's, but the color gamut is truly amazing. I've never seen a laptop like it.

 

Thank you sly, i appreciate it i really do. I know i was probably off base as well, as what im thinking hardly ever comes out right.

Dont get me wrong, i am interested knowing more about this adapters and why opinions differ. But im afraid we may be at the limit of what we can easily do. As the main purpose of this thread is to stick it to dell and try to force the issue, Which i like to believe with recent events has been working. at the same time i felt it unfair to others that are throttling and taking "dells" word that everything fine.

I hold no grudge or animosity for anything said, so feel free to post please, dont want to silence anyone in the least bit. Im an engineer, arguments happen all the time, close to the point of fist fighting. At the end of the day though, their friends again drinking at a bar. (bars are very integral to good engineering)

 

Same bro, good to be at peace. I'm studying bio medical engineering at University of Wyoming.

Good minds think alike, but when they diverge. Look out.

When I complained about the line in my screen and the speaker issue to the online tech we got cut off. The lead guy called me back and said he was standing there watching the conversation. He tried to tell me the throttling wasn't a wide spread issue, I just thought that *%^& liar lol. Of course I can't complain to much until the other one comes back with the same issue. If it , for some reason or another doesn't throttle I'll be very happy.

But one question, is there away to tell if you have an RGB screen, something objective? They screwed this order up. I can only hope they don't screw the next one up.

 

The RGB one is 16", so no black bar between metal hinge and screen.

 

When i sent my first 1645 in for capture, and received the 2nd one. The "engineers" or guy i was in contact with jumped ship (ikjadoons apparently didnt) and i got a normal rep saying the laptop i received fixed my issue, didnt even ask my opinion on it. The way these reps talk/say things is far worse then what they dont know. I understand there.

For the rgbled, before (i dunno if this is outdated now) but the partnumbers with the order were one of these(from the owners lounge thread.

320-8335
320-8341
320-8332

You can probably also get the "hardware id" number, from device manager and screen properties. and google/compare to others with rgbled. It may be listed somewhere im not sure.

Edit: i forgot about that, yeah no black bars.. much easier to check

 

I didn't even think about that. Thanks.

 

Maybe a dumb question that shows my lack of computerskills but is it anyway to verify that i really have the rgbled screen? (maybe under settings or something?)

 

Read the last like 4 or 5 posts.

 

If the screen flickers then its RGB.

 

720QM
4GB
500GB HDD
4670 1GB
1600x900 WLED

 

To confirm that you have the 16" RGB LED follow the steps below.

1. open your Device Manager
2. click on Monitors
3. Double click on Generic PnP Monitors
4. A new window will open, click on the Details Tab
5. Now Drop down the Property List and choose Hardware IDS
6. Under the Value section it should state: MONITOR\SEC5448

That is it, Monitor\SEC5448 is the RGB LED.

Have a nice day to all.

 

Actually it may not say that. I switched to modded drivers and now it is no longer identified that way., Now it says MONITOR\MS_0000. But it did previously show with the SEC5448 identification.

 

What drivers did you mod? I'm using modded ATI drivers and mine still says that.

 

Fennikkusu-

I used the latest drivers. Out of curiosity I reinstalled the drivers - same ones - and it was miraculously reported properly.

Almost 30 years with computers - and they still love to toy with me...

And, now we should all return to our thread topic.

So Dell, how about an update today on throttling???

 

Sure. Dithering is what Dell were doing instead of fixing or recalling the 1645.

I guess temporal dithering must be them doing it for a very long time.

 

Hi Gaah.

I put a commercial BluRay disc in my 1645, and was disappointed to see definite 'stepping' in colour gradients - stepping I don't see on my 46" Full HD TV.

This was the 1645 straight out of the box, as delivered. But I can't imagine I'm seeing a hardware limitation; I guess Dell just delivered it configured like that.

So a lot of 1645 owners may experience this, unless they can tweak something to make it display properly. Any idea what this should be?