S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

Mass Effect 2 works fine for me on minimum brightness.
When I will increase the brightness then I've got low fremrate.

I can notice LCD flickering when the background is white (web browsing) and the brightness is below 50%
Got 90W power supply (recently replaced by dell)

It's not all the time. sometimes is fine for few hours and sometimes it's flickering all the time.
It's very light flickering - If I would have to describe it I would say it's like a very bad refresh rate of the monitor happening 8-9 times per minute for a very short time (like 0.01ms)
In my case it flickers in red - dark red
Now when I was typing this post LCD was fine but I can bet if will go bad in next few hours.

I think it's a good idea to start new topic for LCD problems

 

I think Dell has a bigger major problem then the flickering screen

 

All I was saying was that laptop has 2 big problems and no tech site is reporting this.

 

*yawn* Despite me sending my email requesting an update about the BIOS (or starting the return process if there wasn't one) on Friday, and another email on Sunday to follow up, and another email this afternoon to follow up, I have heard nothing back from Dell.

Perhaps the [email protected] emails have a new filtering rule: anything with "1645" in the title gets forwarded to the "Low Priority/Ignore" folder.

 

FYI, I also have emailed to the same address on 3 different days last week and did not receive any replies back, before last week they always responded to me within 24 hours.

 

It's quite simple really. It's because Dell purchase a lot of advertising space on magazine pages and websites. I'm sure you can figure the rest out.

If you visit notebookreview homepage you're greeted with a fullscreen flash advert from Dell. :-/

Like it or not, Dell fund a lot of the magazines and websites. Money is power.

 

What about digg? The ability to bypass the advertising filter and target user-promoted stories is supposed to be what makes digg so great. Any chance of someone raising hell over there to get this issue front and center?

 

No offense about the flickering, but unless someone has solid evidence that it is related to throttling, can we make a new thread?

It's been brought up at least three times in recent memory.

:/

You'll get a solution/info far easier if someone just creates a new thread. And it'll help this one keep a little leaner, too.

 

Yeah.. I was used to the 24 hour (or less!) response time. The thing is, the longer they take to respond, the more damage they do.

'Tis a shame, really.

 

If Dell is getting to much mails of us then they have to come with a crystal clear message that either they're going to fix the problem or not. to bad it's not a thing you can put on a photo for proof to show the world they're realy realy busy with this update. will hang on in the meantime... but there's a limit to my patience...

to bad no big tech site has reported this problem. still if dell is buying advertising space the world hascthe right to hear the truth about this. and if there is placed a anouncement about fix on such site this would make a statement.
so Dell.. if ya realy want us to believe you're working on a fix. do us a favor and get this problem in the light and tell the whole comunity (not just notebookreview) that you're working a fix

edit: thought it'd be nice to toss this thread up to a tech site in the Netherlands, so submitted this thread as possible news item.

 

I started that thread today.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=456104

 

Thanks, unreasnbl. If we can just move the discussion there, that would be perfect.

I don't mean offense, but it sees a bit more logical to have a dedicated thread on such a big topic.

~Ibrahim~

 

Has anyone considered submitting an article to http://consumerist.com? They love things like this there, and are pretty good at getting action.

 

Hi guys im going to test my laptop now I have the Crysis demo but Im having toruble understanding what to do is this right? :

1. Boot throttle stop and make sure the first three boxes ar ticked and that multiplier set to 13.
2. Look to see if box says Thorrlesop Enabled (This one of the parts I dont get, I have a 90W adapter, do i want it to say enabled or disabled to test my system).
3. Check the log box.
4.Run Crysis with adapter in for a min. Exit.
5.Restart with running on battery ?

 

you dont want to check any of the boxes, or it will anti-throttle.. the throttlestop enabled message is like the master switch. That says the checked features are running.


On the sidenote, just got the envy 15. I can say its a pretty amazing laptop. ran a quick furmark + prime95 test and no throttling. In fact where the 12x multipliers usually are, theyre at 12.8x or so. faster then anything i could obtain on the 1645. I just got it, so still getting stuff together, ill post screens and stuff in a few hours probably. So far very little complaints, screen and everything is solid. The keyboard,mouse etc is "different" but still can type just as fast etc just fine. Its definitly a lot lighter and a thin notebook compared to the 1645.

 

So does that mean I want it enabled, I dont want to damage my adapter/laptop you see.

Is everything else correct if so should have some stats for you in 10.

 

Keep all the check boxes up at the top unchecked. only check "more data" and the logging box.

 

ThrottleStop enabled is fine. With a 90 watt adapter, don't check the top 3 boxes so it can monitor your computer without it trying to change anything.

Do 5 or 10 minutes of gaming for a good baseline. Upload your log files to www.sendspace.com and post a link here.

 

Thank you much clearer guys, last question were do my log files go to :S the throttle stop directory ?

 

There should be a file called ThrottleStopLog.txt when you're finished. You might have to exit ThrottleStop for all of the data to be written. It only writes data once per minute.

 

Right guys, I will include some extra info as well as links just incase I did something wrong.

All setting Medium, 2AA, 1600x900 and I think full Brightness.

I onlt had 40% battery when I ran the test without adapter! I dont know if you needed it to be full.

Finally I played form the drop on the beaach to were aztec dies, I know this isnt as demanding as further on but I dont have an external mose so the pad was annoying me. (I also never took finger of shift so I was always running and I shot using bursts not single shot).

With adapter: http://www.sendspace.com/file/18lpmk

Without Adapter: http://www.sendspace.com/file/xtr95q

Let me know what you guys think.

 

looks like the normal throttling thing.. cpu load increases and down goes the multipliers. It even ran out of room to throttle the multipliers down and hit some clock modulation. At that point it was at 7x mult and 87.5% modulation effectivly running at 50% capactiy, when it should be near 130-150% of the rated freq.

battery there doesnt seem to be anythrottling thats obvious.

 

Cool, so top and bottom its the same as everyone else:

Throtteling with adapter plugged in.

Not throtteling with battery in.

How bad is the throtteling compared to other peoples.

 

Thats hard to quantify, its pretty severe whenever it starts hitting clock modulation. not what a laptop should do.

 

Ah right thanks for checking that out though dude. Gald its not throtteling on Battery though .

I saw what you was talking about when it hits 7.00 for a good 15 times in a row. I think I know when that was aswell.

Would you like me to run the test again when I apply Shin-Etsu thermal paste ?

 

Thats up to you if ya feel like it. But yeah the throttling looks the same as everyone else been experiencing. Any comments on the smoothness etc between battery and adapter? As that is pretty important to collect with the info, kind of puts a reality check in with it.

 

Thats a good idea, check your private message !

 

How do you like the screen ( Viewing angles), the feel of the laptop. I know thats pretty subjective but I'm strongly considering one.

What Resolution is your new screen btw?

 

I would rather have it throttling on battery versus adapter, of course I would like it to not throttle at all but if I had to choose.... It will save more battery in this case and in my case I have it plugged in 90% of the time.

 

Hi,

I have to say after reading all the threads in relation to the throttling etc I am very concerned as to whether this issue will be resolved.. I ordered a Studio XPS 16 i7 on the 12th Jan and it should be delivered tomorrow hopefully but my excitement has been severely dulled after reading about the issues.
I ordered it primarily for web design at work but I am an avid gamer so wanted something that could handle some nice games as well.. hence the i7 and the 1gb graphics card.

The one question I had was where people have been ordering their larger power supplies from in the uk? The thought of dropping even more money to make something work before I've even received it makes me cringe but I'd rather have a temporary solution then get frustrated with running on battery for an hour or two, charging and repeat when i fancy playing a game.

I really hope Dell pull their fingers out with this because if I had come across this thread before I ordered then I wouldn't have gone ahead, a real shame as well as on paper it looks like an awesome machine

 

I just talked to Dell technical support about my 90w adapter crackling(noise) and becoming extremely hot. They are sending me a new adapter this Thursday. He agreed the adapter was faulty. I asked him if the adapter could have damaged the laptop internally. He told me he hadnt seen any such issues till date.

I told him about my laptop becoming unresponsive/freezing 2 times. He suggested the factory install of windows 7 might be corrupt and told me to reinstall. They had found results. Also to update to the latest drivers from the ATI website. But the latest drivers for windows 7 are still in beta.

I told him about the throttling issues. He agreed they were supposed to release the BIOS last week and told me to wait.

I also complained about the noise distortion/lag in speakers(I observed while gaming COD MW2). He told me it was due to throttling.

I am unable to refund my laptop as 30 days are expired.

 

BIOS A06 is on the dell website now. Has anyone tried it yet?

 

Yes hes right. I checked. A06. Its quoted "importance urgent"

released today.

 

Anyone tried it out? is it magic bios that dell promised?

 

I installed it.
I tried GTA 4. On battery I averaged 23+ fps at 1080p settings high. On ac power I averaged 17-18 fps same settings. minimum brightness.
My power adapter is faulty if you have read my previous post. Ill try again on Thursday when I get the new one.

 

Report back soon

 

What happened to version A04 and A05 ?

Edit: Also try to refine results to 0-30 days... only one BIOS released for XPS 1645 laptop... and so many problems to fix.
Dell support is getting worse and worse every day.

 

Please tell me you are wrong

 

It might be due to my faulty adapter or my ati drivers(factory install).
I can confirm 100% only by thursday.
Has anyone installed Catalyst 9.9 beta drivers? They are the latest.

 

First thing to do: someone with a 130/150W and possibly a Kill-a-Watt should report results with and without Throttlestop, both for power drain at source (if Kill-a-watt is available) and FPS.

We need to know if they allowed regular use with 130/150W adapters.

 

Installed the New Bios A06 and benchmarked GTA4.

Now the results are better but came with mixed bag. Seems like my laptop throttles in battery. Brightnesss is medium. I have a WLED 1080 display and I am using the 90W AC Adapter. Now the results.

Results with the A03 Bios with Adapter: Medium Settings

Statistics
Average FPS: 16.56
Duration: 37.63 sec
CPU Usage: 25%
System memory usage: 73%
Video memory usage: 46%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1280 x 720 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: Medium
Texture Filter Quality: Medium
View Distance: 32
Detail Distance: 67

Hardware
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Video Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670
Video Driver version: 8.14.10.678
Audio Adapter: Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz

Results with the A05 Bios with Adapter: Low Settings

Statistics
Average FPS: 33.10
Duration: 37.65 sec
CPU Usage: 43%
System memory usage: 68%
Video memory usage: 35%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1280 x 720 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: Low
Texture Filter Quality: Low
View Distance: 32
Detail Distance: 67

Hardware
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Video Adapter: ATI MOBILITY Radeon HD 4670
Video Driver version: 8.14.10.716
Audio Adapter: Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz

Results with the A06 Bios with Adapter: High Settings

Statistics
Average FPS: 23.52
Duration: 37.24 sec
CPU Usage: 33%
System memory usage: 72%
Video memory usage: 71%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1280 x 720 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Texture Filter Quality: High
View Distance: 32
Detail Distance: 67

Hardware
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Video Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670
Video Driver version: 8.14.10.716
Audio Adapter: Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz


Results with the A06 Bios without Adapter: High Settings

Statistics
Average FPS: 15.70
Duration: 37.71 sec
CPU Usage: 28%
System memory usage: 70%
Video memory usage: 73%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1280 x 720 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Texture Filter Quality: High
View Distance: 32
Detail Distance: 67

Hardware
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Video Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670
Video Driver version: 8.14.10.716
Audio Adapter: Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz

 

Thank you for the numbers, but 1 big problem, your tests are in-consistent. You need to make sure your game settings stay exactly the same throughout each test.

I will test it with a 90w, 130w, and battery when I get home today and record the wattage settings for the adaptors. That’s about 8 hours from now.

 

I would have loved to post with the same settings but I didnt have the benchmark log with high settings coz GTA4 used to run damn slow with that. The game is running alot better with high settings now. On A05 I used to run it with low settings . One issue that I have is that the games run slower on battery for me on both A05 and A06.

 

A quick test with Furmakr & Prime95 without TS enabled shows no enhancement.
Multi drops to 7-8 or ClockModulation is reduced..

EDIT:
130W adapter, i7 720qm, WLED-Display

http://rapidshare.com/files/344856590/xps_1645.txt.html

First part only prime running,
then starting furmark
at some point i enable the "Set Multiplier" option

 

DaSeppel: are you running a 90 or 130w adaptor?

Guys, when posting results be sure to let us know your adaptor type. Thank you!

So basically, they changed nothing from A05 except they added support for the ATI 5000 series video cards?

We need clarification on the adaptor types that have been tested.

 

How many W?

 

Installed A06 and have a 130W adapter. Just ran Anno 1404 really quick. Just panning around the screen I'm getting throttling. Clock modulation was around 50%-75% with occasional dips to 25%. My multipliers were pretty high during loading but the second the gpu went to 675/800 they dropped to 7 and clock modulation started.

 

Ok. Another chance missed.

Damn.

 

Shame to hear about the BIOS.

Going back to my result, yes I would also perfer throtteling on the battery but I was just commenting that was throtteling on one not both.

As for gameplay smoothness, I personally found it to lag a little more especially in cut scenes running off battery power. I might give it another go on some different settings or brightness lower.

Thanks for all you help analysisng my results guys.

OFF TOPIC: Does anyone knowwhen Dell plan to release ATI 5 Series GPU's with their laptops ?

 

The A06 Bios update does not resolve the Throttling problem as somebody has confirmed this by calling Dell. Dell is still working on the throttling issue with no date available at this time.