S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

More of the same, but I figured it might be worth posting...

A few days ago I left a message for Lionel Menchaca on twitter:

He responded last night:

 

lool. I think I have dealt with this Lionel before. definitely a typical dell answer.

 

Thought people might get a laugh out of DELLs Code of Conduct from their website.
Thats's if the anger dosn't get to your first.


http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/corp-comm/code-of-conduct.aspx

DELL CODE CONDUCT

Dell's Higher Standard

Dell's success is built on a foundation of personal and professional integrity. We hold ourselves to standards of ethical behavior that go well beyond legal minimums. We never compromise these standards and would never ask any member of the Dell team to do so either. We owe this to our customers, suppliers, shareholders and other stakeholders. And we owe it to ourselves, because success without integrity is essentially meaningless.

Our higher standard is at the heart of what we know as the Soul of Dell - the statement of the values and beliefs which define our shared global culture. This culture of performance with integrity unites us as a company that understands and adheres to our company values and to the laws of the countries in which we do business. Just as the Soul of Dell articulates our values and beliefs, the following Code of Conduct provides guidance to ensure we meet our higher standard and conduct business the Dell Way - the right way, which is "Winning with Integrity." Simply put, we want all members of our team, along with our shareholders, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, to understand that they can believe what we say and trust what we do.

Our higher standard includes several key characteristics that both underpin the Soul of Dell and provide the foundation for our Code of Conduct:

*
Trust - Our word is good. We keep our commitments to each other and to our stakeholders.
* Integrity - We do the right thing without compromise. We avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
* Honesty - What we say is true and forthcoming, not just technically correct. We are open and transparent in our communications with each other and about business performance.
* Judgment - We think before we act and consider the consequences of our actions.
* Respect - We treat people with dignity and value their contributions. We maintain fairness in all relationships.
* Courage - We speak up for what is right. We report wrongdoing when we see it.
* Responsibility - We accept the consequences of our actions. We admit our mistakes and quickly correct them. We do not retaliate against those who report violations of law or policy.

 

LMAO trust is in there!! And respect who are they kidding that that dribble.

 

has anyone played mass effect 2? any throttling issues? every game i've played worked great, hiighest settings, no trouble. maybe not that much work for the comp..

 

So, i just got my new Studio XPS 1645 Yesterday in the mail and have already started testing it for throttling issues.

Turns out it is throttling (big surprise) Definately takes a large hit in Crysis Warhead on Mainstream settings however running on battery power with ATI powermanagement turned off its runs great @720p on Gamer level. So, that sucks.

A few other issues i've noted with my new laptop.

-9 Cell battery is loose, and pulls from the chasis when gripped (not something i've seen with the 6cell on my 1640.
-RGB LED has a slightly blue tinge to it. This saturates the image with blue and when compared to other displays it becomes very evident (not as bad as my 1640 though)
-Balance, The laptop does not sit flush on a flat surface, there is a fair amount of wobble going on here. resulting in flex I assume when resting palms on the computer for typing.
-Speaker Distortion, Chances are this is software related but still, Some games and Movies (particularly Bluray) Will cause the speakers to pop and distort the audio (digital distortion rather than the speaker hardware distorting)
-Throttling, everyone knows how this works so i won't bore you with details but:

-Crysis 720 Gamer mode (battery) Flawless (AC) Stutters in Mainstream
-Mass Effect 1 1080, Full everything No Stutter (So far on AC SLIGHT stutter, no problems on battery)
-Need For Speed Shift 1080, Not much problems on a mid to high setting Runs well Framrate most likely associated with resolution.
-Dragon Age Origins 1080, Highest settings 2x AA, SLIGHT stutter while on AC, Flawless on Battery.

So there you have it my general overview of my initial impressions with the studio XPS 1645.

Another thing to note is that I was running these games at 60% Brightness on the LCD. Large improvements in the cyrsis gameplay came also from the removal of the DELL DOCK, as well as other software (haven't done complete wipe yet)

I've notified DELL of my concerns and that I would like to exchange this system for an Alienware M15x Possibly i5 if throttling affects it as well. So hopefully a resolution specialist can make this happen.

Specs are in sig, (bluray is to be shipped out if exchange is not approved)

 

I'm nearly sure that Alienware 15 also has throttling.

 

I might Opt for the i5 Processor over the i7 (I hear they don't throttle)

 

hitokiri1: -Balance, The laptop does not sit flush on a flat surface, there is a fair amount of wobble going on here. resulting in flex I assume when resting palms on the computer for typing.

mine is the same I'm hoping that my replacement will have better quality. My battery was replaced and the laptop as more stable but still how did it passed Quality Control...

Ask Dell to replace the Laptop

 

Yeah i've asked them to take it back and give me the Alienware M15x, I told them i'd even be willing to take hits in the Memory/HDD departments in order to offset the cost (not that there is much difference). The cost is roughly 200-300$ difference.

 

I played...with A03, I had some serious lagging when you have over 5 enemies shooting at you at the same time (multi 7.0 on TS). With A06 now, I don't feel major lagging, however, i didn't play for a long time. (multi 8.8 on TS)...I know that they say A06 wasn't intended to fix the throttling issue, but apparently it made Mass Effect 2 playing experience a little better.

On the other hand, it made Residential Evil 5 much worse. with A03, i had 7.0 multi, 31 fps, and a overall B system ranking. Now with A03, I had 8.5 multi, 25 fps, and an overall C system ranking...I really don't understand why...

 

If you want the graphics card needs to be a i7 cant be an i5 on alienware

 

Damnit, i just remember your right, for the 260 you have to have the i7 which gives you the throttle.

Way to go DELL.

 

Trust me thought about going the same route

 

Well guys here's what a Dell rep. that I recently spoke to told me (Take it with a LOT of salt, not a grain of it). I asked him about the throttling issues and Dell's plans, and he immediately knew about the problem (which means they must know what's happening). He said that Bios A06 fixed the issue for on average 3 out of 5 computers. So I asked what about the on average 2 out of 5 that aren't fixed with this bios, and he just gave the same "engineers are on it" crap. 3/5...how grand, I wonder how they derived that figure lol? I then gave him a piece of my mind and ended it. For a company like Dell, this is all quite sad really...quite sad...

 

Meanwhile, Dell also told us that the BIOS did not fix the issue at all.

The only fix going on here is a Dell Certified Placebo BIOS.

EDIT: I'm sure if this was the case, they would have exchanged one of these "fixed" laptops for my "not fixed" laptop instead of stating that they had no similar laptops that didn't have a throttling issue.

 

hitokiri1: Just so you are well aware, when you upgrade to the Alienware M15x gaming laptop you will also have to upgrade and use a second anti-throttling program. The M15x uses both CPU and GPU throttling so you will need to run ThrottleStop and RivaTuner to try and prevent this. There is a 90+ page thread here about the M15x if you need to know more.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=439546&page=92

The Core i5 in the new XPS 1647 also throttles so do some homework before trading in for this new and improved model. Better yet, look elsewhere to a manufacturer that doesn't have severe performance throttling issues throughout their line up.

chichiman: If your multiplier goes up but your performance has gone down, that's likely a sign that the throttling scheme was changed so it is using more clock modulation throttling. Clock modulation slows the CPU down internally so it can't accomplish as much but externally it can allow the multiplier to run at a higher level giving the allusion that your computer is running faster. Lots of software falls for this BS and fools users. On a Core i7-720, any multiplier less than the default of 12 while gaming is a sign of throttling and since there are no games that fully utilize all 4 cores, you should be seeing average multipliers up in the 15 or 16 range. A multiplier of 8 while playing most games is about half the performance that you should be seeing when using a Core i7-720.

 

Hey Unclewebb, can ya give me a link to the latest version of Throttle Stop. I'll be using it with a 150 watt adapter, what settings should I set it to for my 1645?

 

ThrottleStop 1.93
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/3/1794507/ThrottleStop.zip

There is also a link in the first post of this thread.

 

@DuranXL I know this was a while back, but dont use cpuid to monitor multipliers its not to accurate on the i7's.


Fixes 3/5 computers. Ya should tell dell you have a super secret fix that you will sell them to solve the problem for 5/5 laptops. Simply give the dang thing power

 

A chat with dell sales today ending up with a chat with sales supervisor.

They really wear you down.



Initial Question/Comment: When will the xps 1645 power problem be fixed?
16:42:46 System System
You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
16:42:46 System System
Connected with DELL SALES AGENT
16:42:51 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
Thank you for contacting Dell Chat Sales. This is Jaya, your Sales Advisor, Email address: DELL SALES [email protected]. In order to serve you better, may I have your telephone number & email address, just in case of disconnection I can either call you or email you back.
16:43:44 Customer quietCat
If it has I was thinking of buying.
16:43:50 Customer quietCat
Hello?
16:43:55 Customer quietCat
Are you there?
16:44:01 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
How may i assist you today?
16:44:25 Customer quietCat
I already asked my question
16:44:47 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
We don't have issue Studio XPS 16
16:45:06 Customer quietCat
Can you check to be sure.
16:45:32 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
Give me one moment while I check it for you.
16:46:03 Customer quietCat
I am worried after reading this link http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19306277.aspx
16:46:15 Customer quietCat
Why do you noyt know about this?
16:47:34 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
Thank you for your patience.
16:47:49 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
I have checked the details we don't have the issue now
16:48:24 Customer quietCat
So what was the fix?
16:48:48 Customer quietCat
I cant see it mentioned by Dell bloggers on the link i sent you
16:49:04 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
To get more information you may contact technical support help desk, they will assist you on this
16:49:28 Customer quietCat
Who told you it was fixed?
16:49:33 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
You may call them on 0844 338 1000 Monday – Friday 8 AM – 8 PM.
16:50:07 Customer quietCat
What about Dells code of conduct
16:50:14 Customer quietCat
Do you remember that
16:50:19 Customer quietCat
Lying?
16:50:40 Customer quietCat
Are you lying to me saying that it is fixed?
16:50:56 Customer quietCat
Who told you so quickly that it was fixed?
16:51:10 Customer quietCat
I want to speak with your manager
16:51:13 Customer quietCat
Now
16:51:30 Customer quietCat
I havethe session id here with me
16:51:40 Customer quietCat
what is yor id number?
16:51:53 Customer quietCat
Hello?
16:52:04 Customer quietCat
Why are you not answering
16:52:23 Customer quietCat
I want to speak with your manager NOW
16:52:39 Agent DELL SALES AGENT
I would transfer the session to my supervisor who would assist you on this.
16:53:11 Customer quietCat
I'm waiting
16:53:30 System System
You are being transferred to another Agent. Please stand by...
16:53:30 System System
DELL SALES AGENT has left this session!
16:53:35 System System
You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
16:53:35 System System
Connected with Mohammed_Wasif
16:54:05 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
Thank You for your Patience, Give me minute while I review the conversation
16:54:23 Customer quietCat
I dont like being lyied to.
16:54:44 Customer quietCat
Look at the link i sent
16:57:00 Customer quietCat
I'm waiting
16:58:21 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
Please give me a moment,
16:58:44 Customer quietCat
This is a know issue that sales staff are not informed of
16:59:47 Customer quietCat
What is DELLS offical response to this BIG problem.
17:00:20 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
The standard procedure is that we are required to following " Communications From Product/Manufacturing team"
17:00:51 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
The feedback obtained from these blogs are definitely reviewed by concerned dept.
17:01:43 Customer quietCat
But your sales staff are selling a laptop that is defective and there is no solution for the last 3 months .Explain that?
17:01:57 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
However, all the systems of Studio XPS 1645 are still shipping with 90 W power adapter,
17:02:32 Customer quietCat
What about the DELL code of conduct
17:02:45 Customer quietCat
The" Soul of DELL"
17:02:50 Customer quietCat
The law
17:03:21 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
I am not in position to comment or explain this as We are not yet given any confirmation that this is a 'defect'
17:03:24 Customer quietCat
Why is this laptop still for sale if it is defective?
17:03:37 Customer quietCat
What is it then?
17:04:26 Customer quietCat
So what you are saying is that there is nothing wrong with this laptop?
17:05:24 Customer quietCat
This also affects some of DELLS other models aswell
17:05:46 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
The feedback on the blogs are individual responses and From sales cannot be treated as Defect
17:06:02 Customer quietCat
Im really tired of the lies
17:06:28 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
However I will surely write back to Product Heads seeking an explanation and their stand on these reviews
17:06:59 Customer quietCat
I'm not stupid
17:07:29 Customer quietCat
This is issue for 3 month!!!!!!!
17:07:36 Customer quietCat
not yesterday
17:08:13 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
Power Adapters being a non-customisable component, is supplied as per the system board requirement.
17:08:39 Customer quietCat
And?
17:08:59 Customer quietCat
What script are you reading off now?
17:09:09 Customer quietCat
I'm not stupid.
17:09:25 Customer quietCat
I know this is a problem and so do DELL.
17:09:33 Customer quietCat
But DELL with not admit it.
17:09:37 Customer quietCat
Its simple
17:09:42 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
Any Hardware configuration, will not be released until its cleared the qualities/mandatory tests.
17:10:00 Customer quietCat
What i the situation of the fiox?
17:10:11 Customer quietCat
what is the situation of the fix?
17:10:38 Customer quietCat
The sales rep told me that it was fixed.
17:10:49 Customer quietCat
What was he talking about?
17:12:04 Customer quietCat
I'm tired of the lying
17:12:14 Customer quietCat
Are you not tired of lying too.
17:12:20 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
This is very difficult piece to comment, as part of Sales we cannot acknowledge that there is any issue at the moment.
17:13:47 Customer quietCat
This is very worrying.
17:14:15 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
If the are issues with the Power Supply on the motherboard, Then it is up to product/ Manufacturing to look in to and revert with any update
17:14:59 Customer quietCat
What about DELL code of conduct?
17:15:13 Customer quietCat
Can you remember that?
17:15:55 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
At this level, I am afraid I cannot offer you any preferred resolution based on the individual feedback of on those bogs.
17:16:11 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
We will have to await to hear from the concern dept.
17:16:17 Customer quietCat
The Dell staff are writing in those blogs
17:16:37 Customer quietCat
Im talking about what DELL reps are writing
17:18:25 Customer quietCat
This is happening since 3 months ago.
17:18:46 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
I may agree to all the bogs personally as no one wil attempt to share their experience with out any reason, However If you could understand that from Sales we cannot second those voices without any official communication.
17:18:47 Customer quietCat
No statement by DELL after 3 months?
17:18:54 Customer quietCat
omething is very wrong.
17:19:15 Customer quietCat
Can you see the problem.
17:19:17 Customer quietCat
?
17:20:54 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
I will forward a copy of this conversation to right contact, and If you its ok with you, I can email you back with the answers
17:22:00 Customer quietCat
ok I would like to put conversation on forum and remove names.
17:23:15 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
will send the conversation through email to product / Design team.
17:23:32 Customer quietCat
Instead of emailing me write a statement on blog i sent you link of
17:23:53 Customer quietCat
Everybody can read then
17:25:05 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
Will write the blog once the official word is confirmed.
17:26:40 Customer quietCat
Please post update on blog of answers from your contact.
17:26:56 Customer quietCat
I await your update.
17:27:11 Customer quietCat
I trust that this will be solved
17:27:41 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
We will push for a Early Update from our end,
17:27:50 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
Thank You for your time
17:27:55 Customer quietCat
ok bye
17:28:12 DELL SALES SUPERVISOR
Bye

 

As usual, I mirrored it along with all the BIOS updates and some tools at http://strags.com/1645

 

(stupid 10char limit)

 

Took this off dell fourms if any one is intrested

If you would like to contact the CEO of Dell to ask him to look into this problem, his direct email address is [email protected]. Using [email protected], while it arrives at his office, does not go to him personally.

 

Wow it seems like this is quite an issue. I'm wondering if I should cancel my order now. My XPS 1645 order status is still in Pre Production.

 

If you have any questions on the problem just ask, its a pretty big problem and we have lots and lots of info. Although at this point (some 3months in) many are a bit angry after some time dealing with it/returning the laptop.

 

Well I definitely plan to be doing some gaming when Starcraft 2 comes out and regardles I don't want a defective laptop. If this has been going on for 3 months, thats not very encouraging at all...

 

Gaming most definitely is a problem and something i think dell is trying to make more "tolerable" with their throttling schemes. But if it had enough power to begin with it wouldnt need to throttle. I have no idea what theyre planning as a "fix" As you say its not very encouraging. But I myself at this point would cancel and "wait and see" or simply pick a different brand :-/

 

Thats exactly what I'm going to do. I know this is off topic, but can you recommend me any alternative brands/models to look at?

The HP Envy seems like a great alternative, but I'm not sure I would like the metal-etched surface design on it. How do you like it?

 

How much you spend on your laptop?
http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g73jha2-order-p-2761.html

 

no more than $2000

 

@quietcat:
You really put him on the spot.. nice one.
The dell supervisor sounded like a bot..

 

the envy is great. The etching is not bad at all. They pulled off a very professional/minimalistic design, which is a matter of taste. There no fingerprints etc to be worried about on this thing. I would go check one out at bestbuy or something if you can. As its a thin and light notebook first, so theres no cd drive in it (have to use an external), and usb ports etc are on one side. It fits me just perfect and im loving it to death.. The 5800 series in the envy is amazing, max temps ive seen with it so far was 65C.

Asus has some good ones, newegg has some of them with the 360m cards etc.

 

@Unclewebb
Hey thanks for the advice, sadly i'm limited to sticking with Dell because this computer was done as a warranty replacement rather than a new purchase. I'll have too see if the M15x is even an option before I decide. (i may just stick to the SXPS 1645 and be done with it).

 

Thanks atlstang

 

PD081, I would suggest sager as they do not encouter any thortteling prolems! with our without the adapter. You can get their highest spec base model for around $1600. The ASUS is a good option but if you are happy to have throtteling just on battey then I would consider it.

HP Envy a good alternative but you pay a little extra like the sager, and get a little less spec.

 

Also the ASUS G73JH-A2 is a pre orer and you wont recieve it until March early April.

 

Late FEB early March

 

Thats when its out. you wont recieve it until march, early april as the list is endless with people already having the ASUS on back order.

 

Not true
per Justin from xotic pc in the thread they are scheduled to be delivered to them on Fri shipments will start going out to customers as early as Friday or Monday

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=447065&page=508

 

Thats wierd because Joseph - Xotic PC. Told me that the line is so long I wouldnt recieve it until march / april.

 

How's this for a new one?
I tried to use online technical support for my 1645 and received the following message:

"Our records indicate that chat is not available for your product model or customer segment at this time.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please use one of the alternate contact methods below for assistance with your issue."

Hahahahahah - seems like they can't deal with the complaints anymore!

 

It's been a fun ride guys, but today my RMA UPS Lables arrived for both my XPS 1645 and my wife's XPS 1340 which was still hanging after 4 tech visits in 1 week and multiple incorrect parts shipped.

It's been real, it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun. lol

 

So i just ran 3dMark 06 on battery running at max, and got a score of 7146 3DMarks.

Anyone have a link to other users scores. (this is based off the basic 3dmark test run without registering. Not sure if tweaking is required to get a proper score)

 

That score is in the upper range for this system, nice work.

 

Check back on this thread tomorrow (or maybe after 10 PM, CST tonight). I can't say you will be happy with the journey, but I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with outcome.

Fire away with your questions. I can answer them all, but will have to defer on some of them until after a conference call that takes place this evening.

 

Is this something that can be fixed without swapping any hardware? IE, PSU, motherboard, entire system?

 

Another question: Is there an official contact we can get with Dell regarding this problem? Perhaps even a private one for a select few who can keep the community updated? I'd like to have a contact that knows about the problem.

 

Can you be a little more specific on what outcome is going to make us 1645 owners happier? Or rather, what you know on the subject.

 

+1

Please give us some more info!