S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

Dell have arranged to collect my XPS Studio 16... 3 times.

Took day off work first time.
A guy turns up in jeans and no reference paperwork asking for my laptop. No box to put it in. I politely refuse unless he had paperwork and sealable container.

Email returns team, they apologised then said if i didnt co-operate second time i would not be able to return.

Took a second day off.

They didnt turn up.


Got a bit frustrated, emailed them again.. I was promised they would turn up with paperwork and sealable returns box (just like Asus would for warranty returns).

A person turns up on Saturday an hour after they said they would... again no paper work no box nothing.

I despair at what a shambolic company are. They will never see a penny from me or anyone I can influence ever again.

 

@rich

Oh, you didn't have the original box? They just emailed me a label and I dropped it off at Fedex.

Can't believe they would make you go through so much hassle.

 

They emailed me a ups label, but it cost $10 for ups to pickup. I dropped it off at ups store.

 

They aren't going to make it easy to get your money back. Which is a crying shame, but what can you do, buy a mac?

 

As in throttling right? am i the only one that read it that way?


When i did my return, the ups guy showed up and i had no idea he was coming. I just snatched the label from him and dropped it off a few hours later. It doesnt really surprise me their not all on top of things like on returns. I mean they havnt really been "all on top" of things on anything else, besides wanting you to buy a laptop.

2/15 huh.. wasnt it 2/6 or so not to long ago?

 

Dell's BIOS release date formula:

TODAY() + 2 Weeks

It's been doing wonders for them for weeks now. Which is why they'll keep using it.

 

lolololololol...most accurate statement yet.

~Ibrahim~

 

anybody else have screen flickering problems too? It's not horrible, but definitely noticable, a little flicker in the brightness every 10 seconds or so. This is on a 1645 with the RGBLED screen.

 

I wonder if theres a way to file a group complaint/petition through the BBB... I'm going to look into that.

I'm STILL waiting to get approval on both of my XPS systems for refund... this process is so frustrating.

 

Sounds like theyre trying to stall ya ?! Mine took a few days for the ups guy to show up.. I did call a few times to check on it see whats going on.. I dunno, shouldnt take this long :-(

 

I have the same problem. I've been searching for 2 weeks a solution, but to no avail. The only thing I found is that quite a lot of people complaint about the same.

I am awaiting a statement from my Dell provider. If you find anything, please keep us posted.

Thanks
Nikolay

 

lammy: I've been watching this topic (and the old ones) for long time. So far I've noticed around 10+ people having flickering problem + me.
My monitor was replaced and that didn't fix the problem. So dell replaced my mobo thinking that could be faulty graphic card. Still the same.
You can notice flickering when the monitor brightness is below 50%. Also change the wallpaper to white color.

I will get a new laptop replacement on soon so will let you know if its still happening.
Some people can't see the flickering (my girlfriend and my friend from work can't see anything)

Got question about refund/replacement: As the throttling problem is well know by Dell, can users call help desk and as for a free refund/replacement ?
I know you can return the laptop for free in 20 days but most of the users will notice the problem after that time.
In my case I needed to call dell with 8 different problems and the last engineer said that he is doing me a big favor giving me a new laptop.
Also he offered me all possible upgrades for extra $$$. For example he said that 4GB is a small amount of RAM and suggested me upgrade 8GB... No comment.

 

Put me on the list of people who also had screen flicker too on the RGBLED screen. I did certainly notice it on several occasions at anything below 100% brightness.
It was another reason i sent mine back although i did not post about it at the time.

 

I think the RGB flickering problem need to have separate topic, so people could post solutions and fixes done by dell. May bye videos of the flickering ?

Users will know what to tell Dell when they will call support.

In my case when dell replaced all possible parts they ask me what else should be replaced... ... I'm not the support person...
My opinion is that most of the Dell support guys are uneducated morons with no IT experience. They just read manuals from stupid database step by step and when they will run out the answers they don't know what to do... so they will offer you new device. (or ask to collect it for 5-10 days so they could check the problem - even if you have next day premium warranty)
Where is the logic here ?

 

Surely I will not recommend this machine to anyone .

 

I've got the flickering problem, the screen has been replaced twice, and motherboard once. I'm getting a replacement on Wednesday so I will let you guys know if it still flickers. I'm sure it will.

I wanted to downgrade the screen to the standard 1080p wled because I told them I thought it was a design fault and all the RGB screens would be the same. I was told I could do that but I would not get refunded the £190 I paid for the screen so told them to send the RGB screen again. I've been assured it will have been fully tested before I get it but i've got a feeling i'll be back on the phone Thursday morning.

I really don't want to send it back for a refund. I love it but coupled with the throttling issue I don't really see what choice I have!

 

Hi all,

I'm running Linux on one of these laptops. I bought it specifically for the CPU power, as I use it for work so it spends most of its time compiling lots of C++ code.

Unsurprisingly, I'm seeing the same throttling issues here too. It's perhaps made even worse by the fact that the Radeon drivers aren't as developed on Linux , so the power management on the GPU tends to not be as effecttive.

I've had it plugged into the power meter to confirm, and even with the 150W adapter I'm now using, it never gets above 90W. Well, at least the 150W won't set my carpet on fire.

I also find the RGBLED screen to be very disappointing. Mine has horrible backlight bleed at the sides, and the reds are way over the top.

I've seen better build quality too. When I open the screen, the front-right corner of the base lifts from the table slightly, so the whole base is rocking too and fro whilst I type. Good job Dell.

All-in-all then, quite poor. If only HP were offering a 1080p screen on the Envy 15 in the UK at the time I bought this, I would have had one in a heartbeat.

Since Unclewebb's Throttlestop isn't available on Linux, I've started doing my own prodding around in the MSRs. So far, my humble little program tells me that shortly after I run "mprime", CPU clock modulation kicks-in. I can see this by reading IA32_CLOCK_MODULATION (0x19A) MSR. When I pull the AC cord, or stop the mprime torture, it is disabled again.

I'm at the start of my investigation, so that's about as far as I've got. I'm not sure which other *specific* mechanisms the bios uses to throttle, or whether this issue could be cured by hacking the DSDT somehow. Perhaps Unclewebb would be kind enough to pitch-in with some technical info?

 

I never had any throttling until i installed the A03 bios.
Now if I play GTA4 on an external(!!) monitor (laptop screen = off!) the cpu is throttled to 1000mhz!
wth is going on?



edit: I just unplugged the AC and put cpu minimum state to 100%..still it stays at 1000mhz?
wth ?

 

OMG..throttling, freezing/hanging, flickering...what's coming next? Have paid a small deposit to a Dell reseller for my 1645 to be delivered soon. With regret, I've decided to forfeit the deposit and look for another i7 replacement. I do hope the problems would be resolved for your guys. I know how you feel. Good luck.

 

Anyone???

 

Maybe because you minimized game?

 

I'm curious, anyone that is having problems with screen flickering, are you running a 90w or a 130w+ adaptor?

I have never experienced this issue with my RGBLED system, although I have been running it on a 130w adaptor ever since I took it out of the box.

Some tips to clarify if the screen flickering is power related, does it do it on min brightness compared to medium or full? Does removing the battery from the system completely help any?

Some of you guys are saving you had your screen replaced more than twice and your system board replaced, and still having issues, this should spark a lightbulp in anyone (sadly, dell and their techs are "special"), I can guarantee you that the problem is NOT related to the parts you are having replaced and that it is something totally different, granted if they replaced the system board, it’s not the video card. So the only thing left that can affect the screen would be power.

Sounds like it could be an issue where the screen is not getting enough power, but then again I haven’t experienced this issue so I can’t say for sure what is causing it.

Dell created a lot of problems for themselves by not developing this system with a 130w adaptor, I wouldn’t doubt if all the problems people are having are related to system components not getting the juice they need.

Since I have been using a 130w adaptor, and ThrotleStop when it came out, I have had little to no problems. Only twice have I had a problem where the screen will go completely blue because the red and green backlights go out, this only happened when going from battery power to ac adaptor.

 

For what it's worth, during the few days i had my XPS, on one occasion it also locked itself down to a lower clock speed. I could tell as it was noticably slower and also because the Turbo Boost was not kicking in at all either. I was not doing anything demanding on it at all. I had to plug and unplug the AC adaptor a few times to resolve the issue. Then i noticed the CPU come to life and Turbo Boost went staright up too.

There are too many issues with these laptops it's just untrue!

 

I'm not so sure that this is something new to A03. I'm still running on A01 BIOS (Dell doesn't provide a way to install new bios on Linux), and I am still seeing the "clock modulation" I described in my earlier post. Perhaps they do it a bit differently in A03, but I think it was throttling from the start.

 

dont use cpuid as its not 100% accurate. Use throttlestop for monitoring, we need to see the C0 states to help a bit more more. Just dont enable the anti throttling features. And can log without you having to minimize your game...

In A03 i think they adjusted the throttling schemes to keep the 90w adapters a bit cooler, aka more throttle. Older bios seem to be much much hotter.

The rgbled screen flickering due to power issue is maybe possible. There being and Red green blue led behind the screen there, different color led's have different drop off voltages, so if voltage is not stable or drops past a certain point, some colors may shuttoff (maybe dim somewhat depending). But unless they totally just screwed the pooch on that one, voltage should only become unstable if the system was being loaded.

And for those past the 21 day return limit, that may not apply if your having so many issues. If you go through the support routine a few times and they even replace your laptop etc etc, you will most likely get the chance. Just have to be patient and keep going until they have so many notes down for you it "cant be solved"

 

That makes sense. My LCD flickers in red only and it's just for 0.01ms.

 

Not sure on legislation in US but i'm sure it won't be any different to UK.
For all those outside of their return window, you can still demand a return/refund on the basis that the laptop is not fit for purpose and was purchased 'unknowingly' fit for purpose.

A bit of useful reading:
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/satisfactory-quality/
http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/my-responsibility/

Toughen up people!

From that last link:

"the Sale of Goods Act now states that if a product develops a fault within the first 6 months, the assumption will be that the defect was present at the time of purchase and you should get an automatic repair or replacement."

and

"Just because you sign a delivery / satisfaction note, or agree to a manufacturer’s repair, it does not mean you have accepted the goods, and are waiving your right to return them at a later date."

 

I am running mine on 90W adapter and I also had the thoughts that it might be power supply related. I am not sure about the other guys, but I think that I notice the problem even with the adapter unplugged.

Could you please tell me the exact adapter model you use? I am starting to look for the best 130W adapter opinions .

Thanks,
Nikolay

 

They are on the first page of this Thread.

 

Ok, I just had an interesting development. I was logging my throttling problem with Throttlestop while I was stress testing CPU and GPU. I watched the multipliers go down to 7 for a few minutes, unplugged the power and they went back up to 12 (with no indication of throttling), plugged the power in and back to 7, but THEN they all went back up to 12 within a few seconds.

Now I can't seem to get it to throttle AT ALL. Plugged in or on battery power - I ran the stress tests again for about 10 minutes, NO throttling. BIOS A03, by the way. Any thoughts?

EDIT: nevermind, was using a 5 year old adapter and it just died. Still throttles with my new adapter.

 

And the drama continues for the plagued SXPS 1645 owners. . .

 

I've been unsuccessful at finding a similar consumer protection law in the US... just fighting with Dell now... and waiting a lot.

 

You sending your back Zlog ?

 

Yes I've been in the "process" of sending mine back for weeks. They keep telling me that my refund is processing when I call in.

We're sending both the 1645 because of throttling and the 1340 back due to problems with it crashing (and the fact that Dell has sent the in-house tech the wrong motherboard twice now and it's been laying on my table in several pieces since Thursday).

 

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_protection#United_States

United States
Consumer protection laws often mandate the posting of notices, such as this one which appears in all automotive repair shops in California

In the United States a variety of laws at both the federal or state levels regulate consumer affairs. Among them are the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending Act, Fair Credit Billing Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Federal consumer protection laws are mainly enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.

At the state level, many states have a Department of Consumer Affairs devoted to regulating certain industries and protecting consumers who use goods and services from those industries.

For example, in the U.S. state of California, the California Department of Consumer Affairs regulates about 2.3 million professionals in over 230 different professions, through its forty regulatory entities.

In addition, California encourages its consumers to act as private attorneys general through the liberal provisions of its Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civil Code § 1750 et seq.

California has the strongest consumer protection laws of any US state, partly because of rigorous advocacy and lobbying by groups such as Utility Consumers' Action Network[4], Consumer Federation of California and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Other states have been the leaders in specific aspects of consumer protection. For example Florida, Delaware and Minnesota have legislated requirements that contracts be written at reasonable readability levels as a large proportion of contracts cannot be understood by most consumers who sign them.


And also from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_organization#United_States

United States

* American Consumer Institute
* Better Business Bureau
* Consumer Action
* Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports
* Consumer Watchdog (USA), formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
* Public Citizen
* Consumer Federation of America
* Consumer Federation of California
* Center for Science in the Public Interest (food/nutrition)
* National Consumers League
* U.S. Public Interest Research Group
* Consumer Complaint Form, Federal Trade Commission



Use your legal rights, send Dell a message and return your laptop.

 

I received my XPS 1645 yesterday (i7 720, 6g ram, RGB), and to be honest, the laptop itself is really a beauty. My colleague had a Mac Pro next to me and we both agree that the xps 1645 is much better built. the RGB screen is also really nice and definitely beats the Mac Pro. However, I am not sure how different it is comparing to the WLED. Honestly, I always feel that the RGB screen is a big scam as we can't really compare it with an WLED side by side. If anyone has done this, please let us know what you feel.

Now here is my findings on the throttling issue...as I am not really computer savvy, the first things I did was trying out couple games. I first tried Mass Effect 2 (max setting), intro film and animations ran really smoothly. However, when the battle starts with many enemies, crazy lagging kicks in...however, the funny thing is that when I unplug the Adapter, it gets much much worse.

I then tried Resident Evil 5 with max setting. The game actually comes with a performance check function. I first ran with AC adapter plugged in, the game gave me a B ranking (Avg 30.8 fps). however, I ran the same test again with battery power, it only gives me a C ranking (Avg 20.9 fps), and you can notice few lagging moments.

Therefore, I am really confused, from what I read on this and other threads, you should get much better performance with the battery power supply, no? In addition, my battery lasts a bit less than 2 hours, is this even normal? I am going to try Crysis with Throttstop tonight, and report again the stats, what other tests should i do?

 

Make sure you set up laptop to use full power on battery.
Powerplay settings in ATI software...I think it is.
and Windows Power settings.

 

Make sure you set up laptop to use full power on battery.
Powerplay settings in ATI software...I think it is.
and Windows Power settings.

 

I see it too sometimes, don't know what's the cause of it... and thereby it isn't that anoying, just a very very small change in light, barely noticable... what's the most anoying is that this damn - should be powerhouse-like - laptop is way out of it's performing leauge it should be in. thnx to TS we noticed the VERY difference

btw posted a customer review on the studio xps 16 page in the Netherlands
for the dutch guys: here

 

It really is hard to explain the different when using throttlestop in things like games. Its almost a night and day for a lot of them. As far as the feel of the games.

@chichiman, like other say ya need to set powerplay in CCC to max performance when on battery.. And also give the bios a few seconds to unthrottle, as switches to a low mult when pulling out the ac adapter right away.

Zlog have you sent back the actual laptops already i take it and just waiting for payment? I got my payment a few days after they received it via credit card.

 

I had the RGB LED display and it had a flicker also.

I wonder is this with all RGB screens as people who got replacements still had the flicker.

I read somewhere that a LED flicker was solved in a sony after a bios update but cant remember the details.

 

FYI, my RGB screen does not flicker at all, it works just fine.

 

thanks, guys. I am going to try it again tonight.

but honestly, crazy lagging with Mass Effect 2 really made me disappointed already since it is not as demanding as Crysis i guess...

on top of that, freaking Resident Evil 5 gave the system a B ranking...man, I thought this was a powerhouse laptop...so sad...

 

It can be very sublte for some people.

Turn brightness down below 50 when you check as people have said that it is more noticeable then.

 

I have it at 40 now, with the 90W adapter.

 

Count yourself lucky as alot of people are complaining of this issue.


What are chances of the fact that people who got replacement screens still had the flicker?

 

Why are no major tech sites reporting this problem?

Its a really big story ..."Dell selling premium computers that only perform at less that 1/3 of their specs and displays that flicker."

Its baffling!!

 

FYI, I also have the RGBLED screen and have no visible flickering. I tested a full screen white background with each of the brightness levels.

In case it's relevant, I am using a 130W adapter.

 

@chichiman: Let me know how throtteling effects Mass Effect 2.

I think we need to set a whole new thresd for the RGB screen issue, this thread is getting overrun.

 

I also have the RGBLED screen and have no visible flickering