S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

hi atlstang,

first of all thx for reading my comment. its strange but i got the i7 q720... may i set the multiplier to 14? will it get me in trouble?
the game runs smoother when using TS than in 90w-mode.. but still 2 laggy to play

so if u say its okay ill set the multi to 14...

 

with a 720qm it shouldnt let you set any higher then 13 in throttlestop. next time you game, hit the logging button on throttlestop. Then post up the log. We can help you a lot more then, to figure out the issue if there is one.

 

iam2fast4u: I don't think ThrottleStop was set up correctly when you ran your first log file. For your next log file enable the More Data option in ThrottleStop and then go play a game for 5 or 10 minutes and then post another log. The original log file showed a lot of Clock Modulation throttling as well as multiplier throttling which you shouldn't be seeing if ThrottleStop is setup and working correctly.

Can you post a screen shot of CPU-Z?

If you have an i7-720QM then the highest that ThrottleStop should let you select is a 13 multiplier. That signals the CPU to use the default 12 and the extra +1 tells the CPU to use as much turbo boost as is allowed. The CPU will decided how much you get based on load.

 

So I experienced throttling for the first time watching a movie trailer today (1080p Dark Knight). The whole computer was unusable for about 5 minutes, and it was a challenge to even exit out of Firefox. But you all know what happens when it throttles . So I'm wondering if trying to get a replacement xps 16 with a 620m would be worth it. Does this model also throttle? Would I just be better of waiting (for who knows how long) for a "fix"? I'm reluctant about using throttlestop and a 130 watt adapter, because of the warranty claims and the fact that I shouldn't have to with a $2000+ computer. I'm not crazy about having to a buy an adapter...

 

That's not throttling, but flash problem. Disable hardware accelerating or update to beta flash will fix it.

 

The truth is starting to come out for the new XPS 1647 with the new 32nm Dual Core processors. Guess what? With a 90 watt adapter they seem to be throttling too.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=452814&page=52

Testing is still in the early stages but I wouldn't run out and get one of these or trade in for one of these quite yet. Very disappointing but definitely not surprising. How long is this insanity going to go on for?

Enough BS and updated news releases. It's time to start shipping adapters that are adequate for the job.

 

Huh, the computer slowed down, went into basic mode, the mouse pointer only responded once every 2 to 3 seconds and would do big jumps, I was able to exit out of Firefox after the movie (on youtube) finished, but then the windows taskbar would appear and then disappear, then the screen would go from the desktop to all black. Everything was extremely slow to respond. I had to do a force shut down. Is it a flash problem?

 

does not sound like throttling. sounds like a windows operating error. My toshiba satellite does that every now and then. Do not see throttling happening on a basic operation such as surfing the web to watch a video

 

no. it too throttles... with rgb screen. .same problem.

 

Yeah, I haven't experienced it with trailers like Avatar 1080p through quicktime. Another user (not sure who) said their XPS 1645 would always throttle on the Dark Knight 1080p trailer on Youtube. Honestly, I was just trying it to see if it would throttle... and it definitely experienced some sort of failure.

 

I was watching the dark knight (got rgbled) i didnt have any problem with it but my screen went all blue but it didnt slow down or anything. I also watched it later on again just to see if the problem is repeated and it didnt happen.

Just thought i throw that in.

 

Interesting...maybe it was just a coincidence. On a another note, has anyone experienced throttling with Command & Conquer? I'm thinking about buying it but don't want to waste the money if it is going to be unplayable.

 

This is an unrelated problem that many of us have had. For me, updating to the latest beta Flash solved this problem.

 

I had the same problem with HD trailers on You Tube. Try installing the Adobe Flash 10.1 beta and updating the Chipset driver for the PM55 chipset from Intel. That should fix it. If not try installing the modded Catalyst driver.

 

If you are planning on keeping the machine and don't want to wait on a fix from dell then I would recommend buying at least a 130watt PA and using ThrottleStop by Unclewebb.

 

FYI, I just tried the Dark Knight 1080p trailer on Youtube and it played just fine with no problems at all.

 

I am new to this forum and I found the information invaluable is making my decision to cancel my recent order with Dell for this machine. I am a video and photo editor and cannot afford a machine that does what has been described here.

I am in the long drawn out process of canceling my order that was placed 2 days ago, yesterday they said it was canceled and this morning they hit my credit card for $1500 anyway with a projected ship date 3 weeks from now. 4 hours spent trying to cancel an order that was never supposed to be processed.

I have now been told that my order was finally canceled and my funds will be released in 24 to 48 hours. I have heard about Dell nightmares and because this machine was spec'd so well I hoped it would be a good one. Thanks again to all of you who have tested and written about this issue.

 

Can find either of those nubers anywere on my adapter? I have found the model number if that helps?

I dont have a 130W adapter but was told I can still test my laptop for throtteling, is this correct as the dislaimer when I install TS says that using a 90W or Battery is not reccommended and ca harm my computer.

I want to test my laptop to see if its throtteling, but I dont have any games other than Football Manager 2010 to test with, anty suggestions ?

 

BTW, I ordered a 1645 the other day (got a great deal could not resist). My estimated deliver date went from 2/24 to 2/4. I did not get the RGBLED display.

 

@unclewebb:

Update: I found the following on the first page which I'm going to try and see if it resolves the issue:

I just got my 130W and am using Throttlestop which worked the first time. I restarted and now I'm getting this when playing COD:MW2:

01/30/10 13:19:00 12.99 17.3 100.0 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:01 13.21 21.1 100.0 100.0 32
01/30/10 13:19:02 13.73 18.9 100.0 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:03 12.22 17.4 100.0 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:05 11.77 15.7 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:06 11.66 11.6 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:07 13.52 11.9 100.0 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:08 13.06 20.1 100.0 100.0 33
01/30/10 13:19:09 13.01 19.9 100.0 100.0 33
01/30/10 13:19:10 12.81 16.5 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:11 13.00 13.2 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:12 12.99 14.1 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:13 13.28 14.4 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:15 13.10 14.7 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:16 13.11 12.9 12.5 100.0 35
01/30/10 13:19:17 13.07 10.5 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:18 12.95 13.4 12.5 100.0 34
01/30/10 13:19:19 13.02 12.1 12.5 100.0 35
01/30/10 13:19:20 12.83 12.4 12.5 100.0 35
01/30/10 13:19:21 12.96 13.2 12.5 100.0 35
01/30/10 13:19:22 13.11 12.5 100.0 100.0 35

Any ideas on why this would happen? I was running v1.91 and had the following settings:

Clock Modulation: Checked 100%
Chipset Clock Mod: Checked 100%
Set Multiplier: Checked 13.0
Log File: Checked

Everything else unchecked and ThrottleStop Is Enabled.

I have the i7-720M.

Any ideas would be appreciated. The 12.5% in the logs is totally killing everything.

Thanks,

John

 

Can anyone shed any light on the testing issue I posted ?

1. Can I test throtteling with my 90W adapter without harming my system
2. I dont have any games to test with what do you guys suggest ?

 

hello experts,

like uncleweb suggested ive been setting up TS and played about 15 minutes with incredible lag.
ive shut the down the lid after turning TS on as well as once in the game. the log might contain data while TS was not running.
i uploaded also a screenshot of my TS settings + cpu-z

thank you very much for the help!

BIOS: A03

 

Same situation here, Mine changed Thursday night from 2/09 to 2/02. I would guess there was a bottleneck they cleared up.

 

1. Yes, provided you run Throttlestop, but don't enable it. In disabled mode it collects statistics, but does not override the standard BIOS behaviour.

2. Download a demo version of a game. There should be enough there to stress the system. Bioshock is at http://www.gamershell.com/news_41041.html

I got a full copy for £5.00, but I had to wait for it to arrive.

Using the above in the meantime provoked the issues, obvious to the naked ear even without Throttlestop's log, from the stuttering dreadful sound when using the adaptor, and perfect sound on just battery.

 

renzska: Have you tried going into and out of stand by mode before trying to play after rebooting?

A Clock Modulation setting of 12.5% definitely kills performance and makes a computer unusable. I'm not sure why your computer is not responding to ThrottleStop.

Are you using bios A03? I've heard that A05 has a more aggressive throttling scheme.

 

That log did not show any throttling of the cpu that i could see, it looks normal. Besides the lil blips here and there, as TS isnt perfect. perhaps the graphic settings is just to much for the game? If ya could run gpu-z and get a log from that as well. This may tell us if the gpu is clocking down. and make sure CCC has powerplay enabled and set to maximum performance.

Yeah that should not happen with Throttlestop enabled. As its not multiplier throttling but skipping straight to modulation. Which may be right if the keyboard lag problem is the same. See if that sleeping the laptop will work for you. If not keep us updated, you may be providing more info on the why of keyboard lag.

 

I know this is off topic but need some help.Does anybody know if the Alienware desk tops have the same throttle problem?Im looking into getting one now instead of the xps 16

 

I received a new hard drive from dell and I installed windows 7 on it with non dell disk that I had and now I am noticing my system turbo boost much more often than it did before. Also notice it turbo boosting higher. The highest I can still get it to go it 2.93. Im not sure if something is different with the dell disk or not but the size of the 2 disks is very different. I am still having one issue my disk drive wont eject when using the keyboard.

 

iam2fast4u: Overall you don't have a lot of throttling. I can improve ThrottleStop a little and probably reduce the incidents of Clock Modulation or shorten them but the only way to get rid of all clock modulation is to get Dell to update the bios and to get them to abandon this throttling method. All you can do is reduce your game settings to make it more playable.

renzska: Try the More Data option in your log file next time you are gaming.

The Alienware M15x has an 88 page thread here with throttling issues.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=439546&page=88

I'm not sure about the desktops but I'd be afraid to touch any Dell product at the moment without thoroughly testing it first.

 

I had that same issue when I re-installed Windows 7 from scratch as well. You need the Dell Quickset software to enable all those Fn keys as well as the buttons on top which include the CD/DVD eject. You can get it from their website.

 

how do i check when my proccessor is using turbo boost ?

@Midnight: Thanks, The Bioshock Demo is takig forever though

 

ThrottleStop shows you the multiplier for each thread. That will show you what threads are using a multiplier beyond the default of 12 for a Core i7-720QM. That's turbo boost.

Run a single thread of Super PI and you will clearly see how much turbo boost you're able to get.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/366/

 

I found a desktop gadget from Intel that indicates when Turbo Boost is enabled. It was linked on one of the earlier pages of this thread, can't remember who originally mentioned it.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18353

 

Thanks sorry for not looking into it myelf.

 

Uisng Task Manager, set the processor affinity to run the Super Pi app on a single cpu core, or the sharing of the task between multiple threads seems to stop Turbo boost from kicking in fully.

 

Maybe you need a faster computer

 

Alright, been lurking for a long time and figured I better make myself useful. I just got done chatting with a dell supervisor online and was told to expect a BIOS update on approx. 2/15. According to him, it will completely resolve the throttling problems. I tried to press him to find out how, but the best answer I got was that it "will control the chipset power functions."

I don't know what miracle they are going to try to perform here, but who knows - maybe it will work. Just hang in there for a couple more weeks!

Sorry if this has already been posted!

 

That's good news Nortson. A lot of people will be glad to hear that, now all that can be done is to wait and hope the BIOS update works. *fingers crossed*

 

Where have we heard that before...?

 

Yeah its all B.S they were supposed to release a BIOS beginning of this month then it was the end now its the 15th.

All i can say is, i hope so

 

Definitely not the first "expect a BIOS update" date. I'd love to stick around and wait, but I just can't let Dell keep yanking me around with their BIOS-update-on-a-stick tricks.

 

Which year?

 

They have told us many statements like this before about a Bios update is coming on such and such date that I am tired of seeing the dates come and go with no issues at all being resolved.

Way too many dates have come and gone.

 

Imagine how the Latitude E6x00 guys feel about now. They've been waiting since August 2008 and their laptops still throttle. No, that's not a typo. Almost a year and a half has come and gone and nothing has been solved.

The longer they can string you along with promises, the more likely you will keep your laptop. When you are beyond the return by date, a lot of users don't bother putting up a fight to return their laptops like they should.

 

True! I don't know why people are holding on to them. It's criminal

 

Funny, is it all ways coming two weeks out?

 

You get it in writing?

 

Then they only have to do it 25 times a year.

 

Right! Dell is not going to come out with a fix for this problem. Enjoy your laptop or return it. At what point is it not Dells fault for doing it and it becomes our fault for putting up with it and letting Dell lie over and over again. Its like a pimp saying "baby I'm lookin out fo you" Its not true, don't believe it, and if you do then its your fault. Sorry for putting it in such base terms but, how else should it be put?

 

Return it.

The only way we can get their attention anymore is with the one thing that they need most: monies.