S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

Yes, I would love to argue it with them however they dont provide an email contact... just the generic no-reply message. Its ok im releasing a website which i will host myself with all the relevant information regarding dells' deceptive advertising, Poor customer service and Throttling issues. Im advising everyone i speak to to file a BBB complaint.

As per XPS options dont forget about sager...
http://www.sagernotebook.com/default.php

they build an awesome machine. and you allways get fast PROFESSIONAL support by north americans who know and understand the systems thier talking about.

 

I have a power meter for the house that just clips two halves of a ferrite(?) rings over the incoming live wire, and measures the current by induction.

Maybe there is something non-invasive like that you could use to save cutting into the brick?

Try looking up ''Inductive Ammeters' on the web. OTOH, maybe they cost more than a new power brick...

 

Well,i runned the same tests on notebok`s display.

Runing both furmark and prime95, the max multiplier i achieved was x11. When bright is high, multiplier drops between x8 and x10... no overheating

So, i think this means, Studio 1557 has power issues too. 90w adapter is too "weak" for a i7 laptop, even with 15" display.

 

I think it's not possible to detect DC current without a coil or very sensitive sensor.

 

It should be since electricity passing through a wire creates a magnetic field. and I'm pretty sure the average power cord is not shielded.

 

The problem is the magnetic field is so weak comparing to the field generated by earth. You need some kind method to distinguish these two.

 

WOW dells censorship has gone to a new level... they just deleted the entire thread http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19312160/19642335.aspx#19642335 which was xps 1645 owners / potential owners thread... seems thier activly trying to cover this up as much as they can

 

Still looking for a replacement for the 1645, any one know what AC adapter comes with this one Asus N61JQ-X1 I found on newegg , I've been looking all over and cannot find anything.

 

It's still there.

 

http://www.sagernotebook.com

 

Dell Precision M6500 - that's probably the king of all laptops.

 

It would seem so, thanks for posting your results.. Although for extended periods sounds like it would over heat more then throttle lol..

Whats the specs on the machine? im unfamiliar, if ya posted already sorry. like screen and graphics card wise. If i remember right they dont have as powerful card as the 4670 on the 1645's, which could make the big difference in how much it throttles.

Measuring DC over the wire would be difficult, and accuracy we need to be definitive i dont think is possible through a clamp on. The wires i believe are shielded through the ground wire. Only way to know to accurately do it, is to put a DMM inline

 

So my return for refund RMA was finally submitted to be processed. I'll have my RMA# in a couple of days.

I'm looking for gaming ability in 14" or less and a premium notebook feel...

M11x from Alienware due out soon
MacBook Pro 13" refresh (if it were to happen in the next 1-2weeks)
Studio XPS 13" with n210

Any others out there I should look at? the HP Envy is overpriced and overhyped imo.

 

Ill second that. Slightly off topic though isnt it ?

 

Hi There,
Can someone please tell me if the settings I set for Throttlestop are correct in the image below? Also what is the highest setting I can use for Crysis by using TS? I am using a 150w power adapter. Thanks.

 

Those would be correct settings for the 820qm processor.. not sure on the settings in crysis though.

 

The specs are: i7 720qm, 320gb 7200rpm, 4gb ddr3, and the less powerful ATi 4570, but still, this computer is underpowered, then i can`t imagine a 17" display, with ati 4670... damn!

 

Sorry this thread is so huge...so I haven't seen where someone has tried disabling Intel Speedstep in the BIOS? At least in my 1557 there is the option. I don't have hardcore numbers to prove if mine is throttling badly but I don't see a performance hit too much playing MW2 except when the computer gets really hot, but the throttling isn't major at all.

 

Tried that and it locked the multiplier at 7x, it was so slow I didn't try much other than Throttlestop to fix it and that didn't work at all

 

You can get a device that clamps over a wire and measures the current, they usually work fine for DC or AC. They're pretty expensive though especially if you want good resolution.

 

What I can't figure out is that if Dell knows theres a problem why are they still selling it with no warning to customers?Heres an email from the sales rep that has been helping me,

I’ve talked to my tech guy and he says that the throttle issue is only with the overclocked i7 processors. So the Studio XPs 16 that you were looking at should be ok. Did you want to give me a call or me call you?

 

overclocked?? we can do that?? as far as i know thats impossible at this date and time -- lol

 

They are a comapany, and no company worth their own wieght in poo would jeopardize sales by telling customers theres a problem. Although they should.

And ye hes right the i5 doesnt seems to have the throtteling issue.

 

I know its bad for sales but I mean there knowingly selling a faulty product I mean thats got to be against the law some way

 

yeah thats probably what he meant.

but yeah i5 the way to go.. unless your down to shoveling that poo for a while, the 1645 just isnt a good option at the moment. The reps are just plain bad.

Still no word on any updates ikjadoon?

 

Ye it is you cant sell a fauly product and say it fine but thats the big guys screwing over the little guys again.

 

Thank you Atlstang.

Anyone know the highest settings I can run Crysis at when using TS? For me it runs pretty smoothly @ 1920x1080 on Medium detail. Has anyone done any better?
Thanks.

 

yea I'm going to go with an i5 Its just that theres some killer deals on the i7 package.

 

Ye awsome arent they too tempting. Is the i5 chip soldered on ? the reason I chose the i7 is that its upgradeable. lets hope theres a fix soon.

 

Id try putting everything on max.. then start stepping down things like shaders etc as they seem to do the most damage to FPS. Basically keep going down til i hit a spot that seems fluid etc. ya can probably run a lot of settings at max, with a few set down

 

I can hardly play it on medium. But ill try the enabling powerplay and setting it to max perf like u suggested.

 

I guess I am very happy that I did not wait for the 1645. I can't believe a retailer as big as Dell would even allow a laptop with a KNOWN issue THIS BIG to even be sold still.

 

maybe not entirely. i think everyone here is wondering the same thing:

"If this laptop doesn't work out, are there any REAL alternatives that are in the same price range?"

I may just end up with the XPS 13, but that really bugs me given the lack of communication from Dell on this issue. The other side of it is I feel like I shouldn't buy anything that doesn't have an i5.... sigh

 

A lot of us agree mr spock.. The 1640 may not be in the total clear either.. If ya like to help test a bit we can help ya with that.

Here is something interesting from HP, as they talk about the downclocking on battery. They actually replied with a sensible answer, if not a bit of a downer. this is for the envy btw

 

Question, unclewebb (and others informed on the matter)
Do the SXPS 16s with the Core i7-620M and the ones with the core i5s have NO THROTTLING whatsoever?

Would you recommend I return my 1645 with the i7-720qm for a i7-620m if Dell lets me?

The only time my comp throttles, really, is while playing games, that too only in GTA IV, as far as I've seen...

 

Just got my Studio 14 in from Asia ran some preliminary test and things seem fine so far. Core i7 620qm ATI 4530. Not sure if i am stressing the system enough, what would you guys recommend?

I tried running 3dmark 06 at the same time i ran superpi and according to throttlestop the multipliers were very healthy average 18-20 when active. I'm not much of a gamer but is there a demo of something i can download that would be more taxing? I have a very limited window to return this product so i want to be absolutely sure it does not throttle.

Thx

 

Hello,

unfortunately im also affected by throttlegate therefore im very grateful to all the people who put work in this.
ill recieve my notebook in the next few days and since ive been reading this thread all the joy is gone.
i bought it for personal use but also planned to run CAx software on it (Matlab, ansys, catia, etc.) but i guess this wont work either, will it?

i was thinking about an entry of "throttlegate" at wikipedia.. not sure if it will help tho

 

Some one has tested with a 620m processors. He ran furmark + prime95 and showed no signs of throttling. The furmark + prime95 is puts such a huge load on the system, that it is safe to say the computer will not throttle for power like the 1645's do. Whether you return it or not, is up to you. As the i5 and 620m is a dual core but very fast vs the 1645's quad cores.

A lot of people seem to do the furmark + prime95 test, which taxes both the cpu and gpu at its max. And make sure to use throttlestop to log(dont enable the anti logging features) But as i mentioned up above the 620m is a dual core instead of quad core like the 1645 and seem to be very power friendly in comparison. So if it was to throttle on a 90w adapter, it most likley wouldnt be for power reasons, as high temperature ranges dell might throttle for.

Matlab will work, and i used solidworks(like catia) just fine. Only when i did simulations that used all 8 threads of the cpu did i notice a hint of throttling in these applications. The problem usually comes when there is a lot of stress passed around on the cpu + gpu, i didnt find solidworks alone demanding enough. To get cpu only throttling you have to really load the cpu 100% and it will barely start to throttle, but throw in a little graphics and it all goes caput.

 

Apologies i have a 720qm, so it is a quad core cpu. Which Prime95 test would you suggest running specifically? Also which Futuremark product should i run?

So far things are looking pretty good, machine is very cool even after hours of taxing the system, fans are not as noisy as i expected...i'm actually a kinda impressed...for now.

 

We'll I hate to say it, but if you want to floor your computer, nothing will push it harder then FurMark+Prime95 ( any test will do). However don't leave furMark on for to long please. lol.

But really, it doesn't take that much to start the computer to throttle, just play threw Crysis, UT3, probably any futurmark 03 and past.

Edit: NM I see you are running a different computer, so I have no idea for that.

 

got one more question:

its clearly that 90w arent enough to cover the cpu&gpu
its also obviously that DELL stopped shipping 130w PSU for free + they dont give up the 90w-philosophy

does it mean the mainboard wont last more than 90w? i know there's no answer to this (ive also read about the battery-theory) but somehow it would make sense why DELL stopped shipping the big PSUs and holding onto their 90w

am i mistaken?

sorry for possible grammar mistakes im not a native-speaker

 

On battery power it can run full on. So I'm pretty sure this Mobo can handle anything it needs. Unless the power coming from the battery is on a different , sturdier circuit. Which would make no freken sense to me.

 

If Dell ships one 130 watt adapter with this computer then that sets a precedent and opens up a big can of worms for them to deal with. In the early days of this issue a few people were able to get 130 watt adapters out of Dell but I think the sales team has been gagged so no more 130 watt adapters unless you buy them separately. By shipping a 130 watt adapter, that would be admitting that the 90 watt adapter is completely inadequate. They don't want to admit that because it could cost them lots of this, $$$$$.

 

Give this man a prize, he got it in one!

 

would be also pretty expensive when the mobo wont last a 130w and they would (still) ship them..

lets just hope it will last. got me also 150w

 

The mobo will take a 130W surely.....?

And secondly the i7-620 doesnt throttle does it ? Would you suggest I switch proccessors ?

 

The math I'm doing is one returned 1645 = 10 replaced adaptors.

That doesn't take into account the costs of the admin on the adaptors, but then Dell are no strangers to recall/replace on these, so it should be pretty streamlined.

It also doesn't take into account the relative profit margins on the two; my guess is that the cost of the adaptor as part of the 1645 package doesn't figure at anything like its price as an accessory.

That just leaves the residual value; whatever Dell can knock out a bunch of pre-owned 90w adaptors at - as there are a bunch of Dell machines for which this is an appropriate and adequate PSU - versus a bunch of pre-owned 1645s that can't in all fairness be priced at more than the second-hand value of whatever Dell laptop they *really* run like, instead of what was promised.

 

Keep in mind it's not that simple though.

Returned 1645's don't generate press. Admitting that they shipped the wrong adapter and are performing a recall/replacement program for the existing ones generates a lot of press, which in turn affects many things, including stockholder perceptions.

The issues they're having with throttling are bad and have generated some minor press, but for the most part, haven't generated enough press to really make much impact for them, at least not from what I can see. A majority of people outside of this forum are still blissfully unaware that there even is a problem.

However, the minute they admit the mistake they made publicly will definitely create a bunch of news cycles that they really don't want to happen. That's what this really boils down to in the end. Of course, I could be totally off my rocker, but I've had enough experience dealing with these type of problems as a project manager myself.

 

That's what I've been thinking! At least along those lines.

 

Well they sure messed this one up. And now they've gone quiet too!

Dell, i've taken the liberty to make a few recommendations:







And if you still can't get it right: