S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

this thread is for what people want it to be. It was created for the need to have all the useful information from the last thread and anything new developements to be put on the front page and not get lost in a sea of 2000+ posts.

speaking of which i just sent my laptop in for the capture request, have you any news from yours ikjadoon?? i been emailing etc trying to get information from them recently, as i havnt contacted them while the new laptop was being built. So far they seem very quiet about it, not like they were before when they wanted to talk etc. As im getting passed down to the normal reps now it seems, who know very little.

perhaps this is related? i dunno, if anyone else gets any more information come forth!

 

I'm not going to ask him to set up for this again today. It took him a bit. But he did say that it is typical to see max efficiency at max rated load but it would not vary significantly after about 50% load. So best case would be probably 75% at max load.

 

@atlstang

That's fine...so it's more like a continuation, but with a better first post?

All I know is that the new laptop has been delivered to my college residence (where I'll be returning soon). They have been quiet the past week, but it was Christmas, so it wasn't too bad. They said they're progressing, but unfortunately I can't be more specific than that: let's just say they're developing (and have been for a while now) an official response.

I know, it's gotten quiet on my end, too. They thought that maybe they didn't need to do a capture, but now we are.

~Ibrahim~

 

To TS:
Got my 150 w adapter yesterday and it works great
U can add it in the start page, its this one:
http://piclair.com/uabbi

A AC adapter Dell ORIGINAL PA-15 19,5V 7,7A 150W

 

So if the SXPS 1645 is discontinued...what does that mean for all of us? Dell is starting to act really shady >_>

Also I was wondering what that grayed out voltage box in throttlestop is?

 

Well something must be going on, reps denying people that are willing to pay more money for a higher end configuration is a little out of the ordinary. just have to wait and see what develops.

thanks ninjagrisen, ive added it to the page.

Just Mark thats fine, its just an odd result i think? even if it was 5% more efficient, would mean it would draw 115watts to get the rated 90w output its supposed to have. as it nearly burns people at a 90w draw from the outlet, from those numbers would suggest its maximum output to the computer would be around 70w or so without killing people. Something to think about, still leaves us underpowered either way. thanks

the greyed out voltage box is for core 2 duo, to undervolt them i believe?

 

I7 version is still there, I can still find it in US home and home office store. As always it is difficult to find, but it is still there and can be ordered. Ship date is 1/21/2010.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-studio-xps-16?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

 

Getting back on topic.

I was testing last night with the 130W adapter with some 3d dependent games (not benchmarks) and compiling software. My results are basically what others have seen.

I used a Kill-a-Watt to measure power, Fraps to measure FPS and Throttlestop to disable clock and multiplier limiting while doing the tests.

Here are my results
Setup
130W with battery full charge
XPS 1645, I7-720, DVD, 500GB, Bluetooth, RGB LED Display
Wifi On (g)
Demigod (highest default graphics settings)

Throttlestop enabled Multiplier and modulation 100%
30-50fps ~115W max

Throttlestop disabled
1-20fps (tended to be <4-6 fps) ~65W after throttling

Throttlestop enabled Multiplier not controlled, Modulation 100%
20-40 fps ~90W : Playable but not completely smooth

General observations: The game was simply not playable without throttle stop turned on. It was playable but at a lower fps with just turning off the clock modulation, which would ironically put it at the 90W limit, but the processors would be clipped to 7x. I did lower graphic settings, but none were playable without throttlestop enabled (thank you Uncle webb)

Using the compiler, I would max out at 90W, the build I was using would cause all cores to go to full utilization, but nothing was exercising the GPU while doing this. Without using the something using the GPU, I could not get throttling to occur on the 130W.

 

thanks for the results, added to the beginning. Going to have to start putting it in excel or something. Ill get my tf2 results in there soon too. hopefully we can get a database going

 

What do you know! We might after all be "upgraded" to the Studio 1647 line up. Guessing that has no "THROTTLEGATE" issues... Love the name they gave it though.

 

The 1647 would be a downgrade in my opinion. Less power, if the end up doing a recall I'm going with another brand since Dell has no other laptops that interest me.

 

eh i wouldnt jump to conclusions. All we know it could be a glitch in their system or their low on processors, and the reps are just reading off of que cards from the system. See what happens in a week or so, if people are getting the same responses etc. But it is very strange and out of the ordinary i think for them to do that.

It has been very quiet on their front tho, even before/after xmas. I dont know, either they verified the problem for them selves and are now coming up with their own resolution whatever it may be. Would of thought all of us who are sending the laptops in etc would of been kept up to date like we were earlier, or at least contacted about something coming.

 

I've been using throttle stop for a while now and while it does make all my games playable my framerates are where (I think) they should be. I'm wondering if that has to do with core parking?

 

Have i get it right ?
i need: furmark and realtemp to see if i got throttle problem?
and these 2 programs most be turn on together to get a result ?

What furmark version ? cant find andy 64bit version

tnx / Marcus

 

From my post in the other topic :

After some testing, I noticed that once the consumption has exceeded the 110w and I press a key on the keyboard or when I move the mouse, consumption goes down to 65W and suddenly the pc freeze. Whether in play or bench (fumark + Prime95), when I move the mouse or I press a key on the keyboard, I have very low fps, the mouse cursor to freeze etc ...

When I release the key or that I stop moving the cursor, the consumption backs over 110w and I have no freeze

I think there's another problem at this level in addition to the power issue

EDIT: With external mouse or keyboard, I haven't this issue.

 

This is a common issue now lol and there's a work around, close the lid (or put the computer to sleep) resume.

 

Thanks. I already test but same problem.

EDIT: Oh I just retest and now it works Thanks

 

and....

how well is throttlestop working for you? big difference? what games?

edit: Fenikkusu throttle stop is just a bandaid, but should allow near the max performance. In tf2 the framerates seem to fall where they should be. in Dragon age i still get a little stutter here and there. I would say its a bandaid, a very good one though. Nothing is going to 100% fix this tho until dell fix's their junk

 

True, very true. Well thanks to throttlestop I finished Dragon Age twice lmao. So thanks again to Unclewebb

 

ThrottleStop solves the problem of throttling. TMN Forever ~105w with no lag and Crysis ~120w with no lag too.

 

So my first call to Dell didn't go well. They did the remote log in so i could show them throttlestop and everything. whats funny is i showed the guy blatant lag and poor performance, then enabled throttlestop and it worked great. The guy said he couldn't tell a difference. I asked him (again) if he could actually see, in real time, my game's performance, and the FPS meter and he said yes. THen i asked him what corner of the screen the FPS meter was in, and he tried to dodge the question. I asked him again, and he said he couldn't see it due to some error. I called him out on his BS and asked for a supervisor.

Then i got disconnected while on hold for 10 mintues.

So anyways, tomorrow I'm going to start persuing a return for a full refund.

 

WOW That's blatant. If you don't mind me asking Zlog, what system will you go with as an alternative? I've been giving the question some thought and I don't really know what a good alternative would be seeing as similar laptops are either heavier or more pricey.

 

Thought I'd add on that I really do feel like we should start pressuring for returns.

We need to send a message to Dell that says "Your company needs to respect it's customers before AND after purchase by providing properly configured and tested hardware, and properly monitored customer service."

Most of us went through the hassles with trying to get these systems in the first place, weeks and months worth of waiting and calling and being lied to. We went through all of that FOR THIS? To receive systems that do not do what they are advertised as being capable of doing? In the United States, this is called false advertising if its by design, and a Lemon if it was an unfortunate outcome.

Either way, we are letting Dell hold our heads underwater and they are essentially going to keep doing that until we stop trying to get air. They are hoping that sooner or later we will stop gasping, and just quietly go away and deal with the problem ourselves.

I'm personally not that kind of person. I'm not a rich person. I make enough money to live, and just enough beyond that to occasionally splurge and buy a new toy. I want my new toys to work, and I don't appreciate being lied to, told to wait, told that its not a problem, and being told contradicting information about what it's designed to do (i.e. dell reps saying its not designed for games when every advertisement I've seen for this system talks about gaming performance).

Lets send a message, folks.

 

Yeah im in the same boat, i dont wanna spend any more then the 1800 i spent on this. I think i might see what the new processor line up shapes out to be and decide. Anything but from dell of course. The hp has some i7's for a lot cheaper but not the 1080p resolution i want, unless ya go into the envy's their uber expensive.

For me its performance over looks/feel. It was a plus for the xps 16, but i mainly wanted the performance. So i might look at the asus laptop as well. Even tho its a gaming type.

@frox, Tstop works pretty good for the most part. But sometimes modulation will kick in for a split second before it has a chance to reverse it. If ya run real temp along side a game in window mode ya can sometimes notice it. And for the most part dragon age runs fine, but sometimes it chops for a split second here and there. Its a very very good bandaid, but not a final fix i dont think as it still has quirks. especially that keyboard thing, didnt pay so much for all this trouble thats for sure.

 

Honestly, if I have to make a sacrifice in "expected performance" I will. I'm not at this point really concerned about getting an i7 rig, but I'm concerned about getting something that doesn't need modifications (software or otherwise) right out of the box. I haven't started looking at potential replacement systems yet, I plan on doing some research tomorrow.

I've really fallen in love with this laptop, though. The styling, the keyboard, the backlighting, the screen, its all fantastic. Its such a shame that it's so nerfed. It's a touch bigger then my ideal system, I really wish I could get the XPS13 with a little more juice. Maybe an i5 with a better GPU? That would be ideal. My wife has an XPS13 with the n210 that she loves for WoW and L4D2.... If it had a little bit more GPU power I'd have gone with that one in the first place. I might wait a bit and look at smaller form factors or just build a desktop i7 rig and a netbook. I might also wait for the next iteration of XPS laptops or if this issue gets resolved reorder again, assuming that I get an RMA at all.

 

My sentiments exactly, this laptop is PERFECT with the exception being the current issues with throttling, it's definitely one of the best looking systems I've ever seen and the keyboard, I think someone would need to remove my hands to part me from it. I might ride this out for another month or two, if nothing has happened by then I'll return it and wait to see what crops up in the laptop sector. CES is right around the corner so who knows? If you do come across something good in your search post it here lol I'd be interested to see it.

 

I sent my message on Monday.

I agree.....send Dell a message.....and send back their laptops.

I think ThrottleStop is a great application but I just didn't want to use a back-door program to solve an issue that Dell should solve. The longer you keep the laptop and run this program in hopes of Dell solving the issue, takes away from your allowed return period, which is most likely what Dell is trying to do.

I'm looking at the ENVY, but appearently, it has the opposite problem of the XPS1645, where it locks the multiplier at 7X on battery. I use my laptop on AC power 90% of the time, so it will probably be fine, and I think there will be a BIOS update to solve the issue.

Other than the ENVY, I was looking at the ASUS G51J. I really like the form factor of the ENVY. I will most likely end up going with it.....

 

Its one thing if they kept us up to date, like they where at the beginning. With those getting capture request and talking to engineers etc. But so far been extremely quiet about it, for a while now. My biggest fear is they will release an update, and the sleep trick with the keyboard will no longer work. Then we're really up the creek.

the g51j must of been pretty decent as the i7 version is sold out on newegg. Was looking at that too. 1 year accidental warranty + whole system + backpack and razer mouse for just 1500 bucks.

This situation just really sucks, as i rather not go through the hassle of a laptop search either. Neverless ill be livid if i cant get my money back.

 

Please delete, multi-posted.

 

Please delete, multi-posted.

 

Now THAT is really what I wish I had.... god dammit.

That has everything i was looking for initially... To think that I could have fully avoided all this rubbish with Dell.... sigh.

 

really slow at work tonight, I spent the last bit of time looking at that Asus and a few other contenders and they really just dont have what I want. That Asus is close, real close, but not quite. The Asus owners forum has some BSOD issues that I don't want to mess with.

I'm really really leaning towards returning for refund to teach them a lesson, but then waiting for the more-then-likely to be released XPS13 with an i5 CPU and a GPU thats an upgrade from the n210.

No, I'm not saying that Dell has said anything about an i5 XPS13, but its obvious that it'll be an option when they come out. It makes perfect sense.

 

thats good if ya like it. For me im staying the heck away from dell. This was my first and last one, always been with hp if they have a 1080 screen option with the new processors im all over it.

C2D is just not where its at if im going to keep a laptop for 4-5 years like i seem to do. Whens the i5/i3 officially released? someone said somethin about the 7th for dell?

 

I used TStop for now 2 week ago and I haven't seen any issue with the Clock Modulation in game. The only problem is that I have burn the battery with TStop and the mousse/keyboard freeze issue.

 

Edit: I must have skipped a page. There are some pretty clear results in this thread that show me what to do. Thanks.

I want to test my laptop.

I am not even sure sometimes if I have the RGBLED display. It looks nice but I'm not sure how to tell anyways. It's not like it looks that much worse than my wife's cheap Inspiron display. What a waste.

 

I ordered my 1645 on 12/2 and received it on 12/11. I can't tell how powerful my power suplpy is because I can't find a wattage on it anywhere. That is unusual compared to the other Dell power bricks I have.

I also am not sure I really have the RGBLED because I can't really tell what the difference would be.

Anyways I know what I ordered was:
Dell Studio XPS 1645 | Intel Core i7-720QM | 6GB DDR3 | 500GB 7200rpm HD | ATI Mobility HD 4670 1GB | 1920x1080 RGBLED | 8x DVD±RW

i conducted this test with the adapter plugged in.

Idle
Idle the multiplier was reported at 7x

Prime95
Anyways, I started Prime95 with the Torture Test, 8 worker threads. The multiplier reported by i7Turbo was 12x

Furmark + Prime95
I started Furmark at 1024x768, 8xMSAA, Stability Test. I started i7Turbo's logging since I wouldn't be able to see the dialog anymore. I started the test and after letting it run a minute or so, I looked in the log and saw an average multiplier of 13x.

Happy to run more tests. I'm just trying to figure out what my laptop is doing so I can decide whether to return it.

I'm not 100% sure how to interpret the log. You can see where I started Furmark very clearly.

DATE TIME CMULTI STDEV MSR LOAD% NOTES
01/01/10 10:45:40 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:41 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:42 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:43 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:44 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:45 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:46 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:47 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:48 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:49 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:50 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:51 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:52 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:53 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:54 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:55 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:57 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:58 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:59 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:46:00 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:46:01 12.166 0.014 13.000 80.65
01/01/10 10:46:02 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:03 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:04 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:05 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:06 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90
01/01/10 10:46:07 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:08 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90
01/01/10 10:46:09 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90
01/01/10 10:46:10 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90
01/01/10 10:46:11 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90
01/01/10 10:46:13 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.92
01/01/10 10:46:14 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90
01/01/10 10:46:15 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90
01/01/10 10:46:16 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:17 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.90

 

The ASUS G51J-A1 is instock at ZipZoomFly and mWave for $1399. ZZF has 2% bing cashback, not much, but something.


I just purchased a ENVY 15 on ebay from a Power Seller. They had the quick ship model for sale at $1795 with free shipping. I was waiting for bing cashback to come back, as it has been gone for the past few days. So, I got another 8% off, plus $36 in ebay bucks. The bing cashback was instant. Brought the total down to $1615, which is cheaper than I paid for the XPS1645, but now I have no SSD or Bluray. Oh well. Didn't really need the Bluray, but I will upgrade to a SSD eventually when I find a good deal on one.

 

spaceshot, if you cant find the wattage multiply the output volts and amps, and you should get wattage. Should say pa-3e on there somewhere too for the 90w. Doesnt look like your computer is throttling in the log you posted?

zipzoomfly looks like its on demand, wish it would say if it was available or not. Is that a good site to be ordering from? Thats a nice price for that envy, i might have to look that direction too.

 

Yep pa-3e family 19.5v 4.62a.

I seemed to think I wasn't throttling either. I will try to load it down more. I just wanted to repeat the experiment the same way. I may not be a hardware engineer but I can do science experiments.

I also am on BIOS A03 released early December.

Will keep posting what I find. Any guidance on experiments to perform next are appreciated.

 

you say furmark + prime95 test. reading the description looks like its just furmark? post a screeny with all the utilities running etc while its going.

more info on what your doing may explain more.

IMO those test are a bit extreme anyway, id suggest running a game if ya have any and have it log. Though not all games will throttle.

 

you say furmark + prime95 test. reading the description looks like its just furmark? post a screeny with all the utilities running etc while its going.

more info on what your doing may explain more.

IMO those test are a bit extreme anyway, id suggest running a game if ya have any and have it log. Though not all games will throttle.

also if ya run the intel burn test, like prime95 but draws more power. It will probably trigger throttling, as it does on my system with the wled at max brightness.

 

Running foobar2000, which is decoding and running WMCmd.vbs interface script to encode 13 WMA lossless files to 13 WMA vbr-lossy files:

Code:

01/01/10 11:32:33 9.345 1.039 9.250 7.23 encode3
01/01/10 11:32:34 10.097 1.971 9.250 5.66
01/01/10 11:32:35 9.478 1.152 8.500 6.26
01/01/10 11:32:36 9.385 1.839 7.000 5.39
01/01/10 11:32:37 12.660 0.785 13.000 44.30
01/01/10 11:32:38 13.000 0.000 13.000 52.86
01/01/10 11:32:39 13.000 0.000 13.000 52.36
01/01/10 11:32:40 13.000 0.001 13.000 52.30
01/01/10 11:32:41 12.999 0.002 13.000 52.72
01/01/10 11:32:42 13.000 0.000 13.000 52.30
01/01/10 11:32:43 13.000 0.000 13.000 47.62
01/01/10 11:32:44 12.541 1.593 7.000 20.27
01/01/10 11:32:45 9.320 1.891 8.500 5.52
01/01/10 11:32:46 9.897 2.489 7.000 5.49
01/01/10 11:32:47 9.416 1.695 8.500 5.45
01/01/10 11:32:48 9.092 1.986 8.500 5.25
01/01/10 11:32:49 9.564 1.826 8.500 5.69
01/01/10 11:32:50 10.417 1.992 8.500 7.38
01/01/10 11:32:51 10.197 2.302 7.000 5.54
01/01/10 11:32:52 12.018 2.299 7.750 12.44
01/01/10 11:32:53 11.582 2.384 12.250 12.47
01/01/10 11:32:54 12.882 2.131 7.000 15.02
01/01/10 11:32:55 13.152 2.233 13.000 13.61
01/01/10 11:32:56 13.651 2.091 9.250 15.41
01/01/10 11:32:57 13.843 2.117 7.750 14.83
01/01/10 11:32:58 13.251 2.174 9.250 16.00
01/01/10 11:32:59 13.072 2.475 12.250 13.62
01/01/10 11:33:00 13.752 2.456 7.000 14.38
01/01/10 11:33:01 13.362 2.633 7.750 13.98
01/01/10 11:33:02 13.162 2.554 7.000 14.11
01/01/10 11:33:03 13.167 2.786 12.250 13.85
01/01/10 11:33:04 13.264 1.107 10.750 21.82
01/01/10 11:33:05 13.111 0.695 13.000 26.48
01/01/10 11:33:06 13.178 0.252 10.750 29.54
01/01/10 11:33:07 13.908 0.925 13.000 21.62
01/01/10 11:33:08 13.065 0.163 13.000 39.51
01/01/10 11:33:09 13.000 0.000 13.000 43.59
01/01/10 11:33:10 12.999 0.002 13.000 42.45
01/01/10 11:33:11 13.000 0.000 13.000 45.79
01/01/10 11:33:12 13.001 0.001 13.000 48.79
01/01/10 11:33:13 12.999 0.002 13.000 46.82
01/01/10 11:33:14 13.564 0.898 7.750 29.06
01/01/10 11:33:16 9.914 1.638 7.750 7.40
01/01/10 11:33:17 10.805 3.172 7.750 6.66
01/01/10 11:33:18 11.441 2.636 7.750 9.11
01/01/10 11:33:19 12.048 2.588 7.000 11.96
01/01/10 11:33:20 10.230 2.129 7.000 5.97
01/01/10 11:33:21 10.845 2.691 7.000 7.55
01/01/10 11:33:22 10.804 2.409 7.750 6.54
01/01/10 11:33:23 10.764 2.622 7.750 6.97
01/01/10 11:33:24 11.310 2.919 7.000 8.00
01/01/10 11:33:25 11.869 2.541 7.750 11.85
01/01/10 11:33:26 13.237 2.751 7.750 14.46
01/01/10 11:33:27 13.404 1.967 7.750 14.25
01/01/10 11:33:28 13.012 0.470 9.250 26.39
01/01/10 11:33:29 12.408 1.542 7.750 20.15
01/01/10 11:33:30 12.952 1.026 13.000 24.85
01/01/10 11:33:31 13.353 1.001 13.000 23.01
01/01/10 11:33:32 13.136 0.428 13.000 26.03
01/01/10 11:33:33 13.364 1.251 7.750 21.20
01/01/10 11:33:34 12.066 1.953 11.500 9.90
01/01/10 11:33:35 11.879 2.896 7.750 8.60
01/01/10 11:33:36 11.654 2.459 7.000 11.81
01/01/10 11:33:37 13.173 2.434 7.000 13.96
01/01/10 11:33:38 13.421 1.727 9.250 16.58
01/01/10 11:33:39 13.400 1.560 11.500 17.08
01/01/10 11:33:40 13.475 1.760 13.000 17.24
01/01/10 11:33:41 13.007 0.206 13.000 27.22
01/01/10 11:33:42 12.989 0.010 13.000 37.33
01/01/10 11:33:43 12.885 0.276 12.250 35.63
01/01/10 11:33:44 12.991 0.007 13.000 38.21
01/01/10 11:33:45 12.871 0.293 12.250 35.67
01/01/10 11:33:46 12.915 0.231 12.250 37.74
01/01/10 11:33:47 12.451 1.227 8.500 23.86
01/01/10 11:33:48 12.611 0.815 7.750 32.24
01/01/10 11:33:49 11.508 2.239 7.750 13.15
01/01/10 11:33:50 12.442 1.410 7.750 16.10
01/01/10 11:33:51 12.061 1.973 7.000 13.95
01/01/10 11:33:52 12.613 2.151 7.750 15.69
01/01/10 11:33:53 10.330 2.730 7.750 6.79
01/01/10 11:33:54 11.317 2.923 9.250 8.66
01/01/10 11:33:55 10.370 2.342 7.000 7.19
01/01/10 11:33:56 13.212 1.992 8.500 15.48
01/01/10 11:33:57 12.556 2.455 8.500 13.15
01/01/10 11:33:58 12.888 1.870 9.250 16.53
01/01/10 11:33:59 11.906 2.772 9.250 12.87
01/01/10 11:34:00 13.021 1.773 8.500 16.73
01/01/10 11:34:01 12.454 2.758 7.750 11.28
01/01/10 11:34:02 12.813 0.757 11.500 24.33
01/01/10 11:34:03 11.125 2.414 7.750 13.22
01/01/10 11:34:04 10.565 2.576 8.500 7.52
01/01/10 11:34:05 12.381 2.394 12.250 11.31
01/01/10 11:34:06 13.089 2.701 8.500 15.07
01/01/10 11:34:07 13.055 2.843 7.750 11.38
01/01/10 11:34:08 13.321 2.047 10.000 15.50
01/01/10 11:34:09 13.537 2.230 9.250 14.18
01/01/10 11:34:10 13.591 2.122 7.000 12.64
01/01/10 11:34:11 12.514 3.230 7.000 9.84
01/01/10 11:34:12 13.806 2.777 9.250 11.37
01/01/10 11:34:13 12.924 2.772 7.000 10.35
01/01/10 11:34:14 13.040 3.509 9.250 10.12
01/01/10 11:34:15 10.685 2.482 10.750 7.26
01/01/10 11:34:16 9.720 2.609 9.250 5.33
01/01/10 11:34:17 9.432 1.734 7.000 6.73 end_encode3

 

Watch out for the G51J, though.

What's that guy here who has went through like 4 laptops already? The Alienware m15x, the G51, and the SXPS 16, too. He was saying the G51J has some issues.

~Ibrahim~

 

Code:

01/01/10 10:45:55 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:57 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:58 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:45:59 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:46:00 12.000 0.000 12.000 100.00
01/01/10 10:46:01 12.166 0.014 13.000 80.65
01/01/10 10:46:02 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:03 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89
01/01/10 10:46:04 13.005 0.001 13.000 27.89

In this log file at 10:46:01 did you leave Prime95 running in the background and then start Furmark?

If that is what you did then the C0% that has dropped down to 27.89% is a clear sign that your CPU is throttling like crazy. With Prime95 Small FFTs and Furmark running together, the C0% should be at 100%. If it is not then it is throttling. Run ThrottleStop but don't check the Set Multiplier box or the Clock Modulation box. That will let ThrottleStop monitor the present Clock Modulation throttling that is being applied to your CPU. It is likely at about 25% which means your 1600 MHz laptop is performing more like a 400 MHz laptop. The original Pentium III was faster than that!

When Clock Modulation kicks in, it takes the load off of the CPU and this lets turbo boost start functioning again. That's why the multiplier has jumped back up to 13. That makes most users feel good but the C0% number is screaming that this CPU is severely throttling.

 

@unclewebb

I was running both at once. Someone asked to post a screenshot, but I think that is impossible since Furmark starts a full screen application. I started Prime95 the same way the first user did and then started Furmark.

I just don't know how to interpret the results. I don't know how to tell Dell about it and I'm sure they are going to do everything they can to tell me there is nothing wrong and you are keeping that piece of junk you bought.

I think I see what you are saying now. Use ThrottleStop as a monitor, not as a tool to stop throttling.

This morning when running both applications side by side, The C0% stayed high (95ish percent) but the multiplier was back down to 7x

 

There's a checkbox to disable fullscreen.

 

I think the problem is I have to make a decision very quickly. I've almost had the laptop three weeks and with the state it is in (a busted RGBLED display, IE crashes all the time) I probably have a good case to return it.

Say anything you want about IE, but really a brand new laptop with practically nothing installed on it should not be crashing all the time. I don't care if you love or hate IE, that just doesn't make sense when all these lower end machines around me work fine all the time.

 

I believe its their software that crashes the computer a lot. Ive done a fresh install of windows and havnt experienced a crash yet. From my talking with a few reps, these throttling issues should be enough to return it alone. Even after the 21 day period, but might take some pushing possibly to get that.

 

I have already ordered dell studio xps 16 i7 720, 4gb, 500gb, 1080 rgb led. Shall I cancel the order since it is still in pre production because of these throttling issues and order a hp envy 15 but it doesnt have 1080 p screen here in uk.. what do you guys suggest?

 

I agree, I have had my 1645 for about 7 weeks now and I use both IE and Firefox and it has never crashed at all.

I also have reformatted my Hard drive and did not install the dell software / third party software that came with this computer. It works just fine as I am not a gamer, I do not notice the throttling issue under the normal computing.