S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

I have been quietly following this issue for weeks now as many over NBR.
Bill : thanks for making clear a path to resolution is about to be formalized. I was about to employ my next 2 weeks off to switching to some other brand and fighting for return, with no joy, my XPS 1645. I am glad to know i'm gonna be given a chance to make use of the full potential of this XPS 1645 beast.

Thanks again for your involvment Bill.

Side question : is this solution (BIOS + hardware) gonna be a worldwide "fix" eg. available for EU based customers too ?

 

My advice is to return... I wouldnt trust anything that dell says. Document every call and conversation and build your case in the off chance you keep it and dell fails yet again to keep thier commitments. My guess is that dell is communicating at this point to stem the flow of returns they are facing. Yesterday there was 6 pages of 1645s on the refurb depot... the most of any model by far.

I may sound bitter but when I have been blatently lied to by customer service, by level 1 2 and 3 tech support and by executive escalations and not to mention all the promises of call backs and emails never made.. i think i should be.

Sure other notebook manufacturers may not be much better but that doesnt make it right... use your warrantys plus make the returns.. lets make it unprofitable to operate under thier current methods.

 

Yes. I quite understand. I've been caught up in all this mess for a month, and I don't even own the computer. (I'm not sure if my parents secretly purchased me a 1640 or 1645, I'm waiting to see. . .which won't be until I get back from vacation on the 16th!) In part though, it probably was necessary to rally after DELL on the issue for a fix. Although, I wouldn't go as far to say it means getting discourteous as to the likes of someone like Bill 'ere. But I can't expect people to be as easy-going like me.

 

Thanks. But its important to know now as the 21 day window is closeing. If it passes and they so no return what am I supposed to do?

As far as the ugly part. I ain't no snow white.

 

Beautiful. That's the one I sent out just a little while ago to another user on the thread just to test. It's on the spares list for the Precision M2400, intended for use with docking stations.

Would appreciate the main page update very much.

 

My 1645 is taped up, in the box, shipping label attached, and ready to be dropped off at the UPS store.

However, since this is the first time I've seen anything close to a solution, I will hold off on shipping this laptop until I hear what's happening here. Trust me, I really want to see this resolved, despite the frustration we've all been through up till now.


I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.

 

quite right.. its a little more serious to those who spent 3500$ of thier own money.. not thier parents. the time for bieng courteous is over.. i have spent alot of money only to of had a 4 month headache which i have tried to fix with uneducated reps who dont care and management who is oblivious. I will follow dells business model and buy a bunch of porsches gut them and insert the innards of a k-car then i will sell them as new porsches and ignore people calls when they find out.

 

Bill, Be glad too once you get done with your meeting and know more about the ETA and adapter process, id appreciate a PM as well with the info and anything else youd like to add. Things can/will get pretty buried if ya post that here, id hate to miss it on acciden. Ill put it up at the very top so its the first things users see.

ill add a few notes to the current section for now.

 

And what about those of us who have purchased 130w adapters allready.. during that long period of dells silence? where dedicated members of this forum solved your throttling issue?

 

I agree. You should be bitter. I was a bit peeved when they offered me a replacement and said the new one wouldn't throttle, I was pissed when he said he had the same one and it doesn't throttle when I'm sure it does, He either didn't have one, didn't test for it, or lied to my face. I suspect he lied to my face.

But what can I say until I ride their circus. Give them he chance to make it right and prove all the nay sayers wrong. Dell let me down, as I suspected they would.

However, if Dell fixed this right, this laptop is great, I love the screen/feel/ everything about it but the throttling 100% ruined it. But I do want them to say I can return it if the throttling problem isn't solved 100%..

 

I believe so. I will add this to my list of questions for tonight's call.

My advice is not to take your advice. If you want to get with me in PM, I will be happy to jump on the phone with you, winks, and discuss the issue. I will definitely return every message you leave me, and make every scheduled call.

 

nevermind

 

Mmm. I suppose. Originally I was going to pour most of my money into this machine so I was taking. . . to some extent a far more devastating gamble? I mean, I would still have food on the table, could perform my more menial tasks on my old Inspiron 1521, but all that money for the livelihood of my youth would be gone. I just got lucky with my parents paying for the whole thing.

-pokes.- Bill you don't want the livelihood of an entire youth to go down the drain do you?

 

If it's such a concern, just return it and buy it again once you feel the issue is solved to your satisfaction. Unfortunately, if you use any discount coupons you might not be able to transfer it to a new purchase, but if you didn't then you have nothing to lose by returning it within your 21 days. It is a hassle, but at least you won't have to worry about losing out on the 21 days policy.

 

Check your PM, please.

 

Definitely need to get with you in PM. I'm going home in a bit, drinking a Red Stripe, eating dinner, playing with my son, and jumping on the con call. As soon as I get off I will PM you and some others.

 

Thank you Bill

I did not wan't any other laptop but the xps but couldn't see myself buying a product that I new was broken.i love the design and everything about the xps my night will be better knowing its still a option to buy,

 

It's not a problem if they just tell me I could return it after 21 days if the problem hasn't been fixed.

If I returned this one their is no option of waiting, I would have to buy another one ASAP. But this one is ideal if it works.

The Envy 15 would be a great option, but this one has a 3 year accidental warranty and everything else for 1800$, Which is a lot cheaper then the HP Envy option. However that 5830 is looking pretty sweet, Really the ball is in Dells court.

 

Please add me to the PM list.

 

That's a reputable solution. I think you should hang onto it though Sly, and here's why: Over the course of purchasing this machine you've fought incredibly hard to see that DELL takes notice on the issue and comes up with a solution. Giving up now would be rather sad, especially if there wasn't/isn't a fix. It would be a waste. So keep fighting, and make sure you end up satisfied? That's what I see I guess. . .

 

Sly, this thread is the biggest PM list of them all. . Quite a few xps 1645 (and 1647 and 1640) owners (including myself) would like to know the full details of the info. We'll all see together....

 

Thank you very much, I look forward to hearing a response. Everytime I am working on my gigantasaur archaic gateway and glance at the little black box in the corner gathering dust, I die a little inside.

 

Like many here it is such a revelation to see hard evidence that Dell are actually taking this On Line Community seriously. I have not posted about this issue before as I'm not a gamer so this issue doesn't hurt me too much, but it still hurts that Dell crippled the technlogy we paid so much for.

I'm going to be hitting this thread hard when tomorrow breaks this side of The Pond!

 

Dell-Bill B

Just want to say Thank You for helping us to get this issue resolved, I like others have been waiting 3 months for this to happen. Keep up the good work as it is much appreciated.

 

Quick reset, please. Tons of posts and replies. I thought I should spend the rest of my afternoon engaged here, so I did. What I need help with is aggregating the questions I need to take the the engineers and program managers. I know there are more than the two below, but I'd rather not page through the last 10 pages if I can help it. What am I missing that I haven't previously answered?

1. Is this for all regions?
2. What about 1647 and 1640? (Seriously, 1640 throttles?)

 

As a owner who purchased a 150w adapter separately and has already completed 99% of the steps to return the laptop (I just need to walk down to the UPS store), please keep me updated. Your feedback will determine the difference between me keeping the 1645 or me returning it in the next day.

I honestly do appreciate your feedback. We've all been gasping for feedback, and this is exactly what we've been looking for.

 

That covers everything for me.
Yeah, 1647 definitely throttle. The 1640 I am personally not sure but I sure heard that, you may ask unclewebb when he gets online, I think I read that from him

 

Well this is kind of a separate issue but will the Iphone syncing be fixed with the next BIOS as well? I heard the A06 BIOS did this but I did not test myself. Does anyone know?

Thanks

 

I take a few hours off today to work on another project and all hell breaks loose.

When Dell switched from bios A03 to bios A05 there seemed to be an increase in heat. My theory was that this might have been an increase iin GPU core voltage so I wrote a quick utility today that tries to ask the driver for basic information about the GPU including voltage.

It works great on my 5770 desktop GPU and on atlstang's 5830 but I have no idea if it will work on the 4670 mobile GPUs. Anyone interested can check it out and let me know.

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

On my GPU it can show the idle voltage and clocks as well as the full load voltage and clocks. If it works for you, post a screen shot at idle and at full load and also post what bios version you are using.

Now that ThrottleStop is hopefully heading into retirement, I need a new project to work on. I think a GPU overclocking tool that supports the ATI power play settings would be nice. Maybe.



YES, the XPS 1640 throttles. Instead of asking users how bad their laptops perform how about asking engineering to properly test products before shipping them.

 

#1. Yes, this is for all regions as it has been reported from multiple users across the globe.

#2. From what I understand there have been complaints of the 1640 and 1647 (more-so I believe with the 1640) throttling, especially in regards to the higher spec'ed systems. Most will concur this is true. On the flip side one could argue it could simply be from the hysteria because of the issues found in the SXPS 1645. An investigation of this matter though would be appreciated none-the-less as I'm sure owners are concerned throttling might be effecting their system.

 

I was wondering when you would chime in

 

How do I donate to you Webb?

 

I really think we need to look at this situation critically and stop all this hysteria over how great everything is turning out.

As of now nothing has changed.All we have is hearsay.There is no official change or statement from DELL.

Ring them up and ask if you dont believe me?

We have to await the release of bios and for DELL to start shipping different adapters with new sales to confirm the change with the xps 1645.


Now we must remember that most of Dell's other laptops throttle.

I dont see any statements about fixing that?


I wonder why Bill could not comment on how the throttling situation arose?

It is my firm belief that the throttling is a design "feature" by Dell to limit performance.



I think that they are just trying to nip our little investigation in the bud.

Well thats not going to happen here.

 

I am 100% positive that the A06 BIOS was a fix for the iPhone syncing from what I've read/been informed D2K9 to put your question to rest.

 

I see our investigation continuing until the issue is resolved. Using your logic, we would have been pacified with A03.

Thus was not the case.

 

1640 may or may not depending on configuration and how much those parts draw. Latitudes seems to be the ones that still throttled after the fix by dell. But if its power related like 1645's i dont know.

The 1647 looked to throttle significantly, but has a lot higher default multipliers. It would seem that the mulitpliers are so high that even when they throttle it doesnt choke the gpu like the 1645, causing games to run just okay. But other games or future games will probably be a different story.


A ball park ETA would be nice, Especially if they could release the bios early to allow the 130w to take advantage of, as many users already have those adapters and using throttlestop to counter the current bios.

1. ball park eta
2. early bios for those with 130w adapters?
3. adapter process in general

i know you might not be able to answer those for a bit, but those will be lingering til they are i think.

edit:quietcat, i assure you this thread will not die until a fix is made. If there isnt one ppl are going to be madder then ever. No pressure btw bill

 

another question to ask is: what happens with people who bought their own adapters? do they get a refund? another adapter?

 

For some strange reason, I as well believe Quietcat. It is very very interesting that it seems to have been a problem in other dell laptop models as well (If i am correct?) I would like to know the answer to that question:

Why did this throttling issue arise in the first place? (I'm NOT asking for a definition of throttling) Did Dell not test these products thoroughly before going "GOLD" with them? How could something so relatively basic have be missed by a company like DELL?

 

It's great to hear some actual substance from Dell regarding this issue. Thanks Bill for opening the lines of communication again. So how do NBR customers go about getting the adapter replaced proactively? Will we be contacted directly? Once again, thrilled to hear this, as I was just getting ready to return my system.

 

LOL no that was your choice to buy it, they wont refund you,they might give you a secon but I doubt that also if you tell them you already have one.

 

Unclewebb, reference PowerPlay, it works for me;

PS I'm running bios A03.

 

malakie what is the above ? I dont understand (Nothig new there)?

 

First of all an applause to Dell and Bill B who, although with a great late, agreed to REALLY inform us on how things will go (as asked, right now, on a post on Dell forum... which i'm going to edit for coherence).

Now a question to Bill, if I'm still on time: the bios will officially allow the use of 150W adapters too, since laptops with RGBLED and i7-820 (like mine) are more power demanding of a WLED+i7-720? Or 130W will be the only choice?

 

Agrred with you there fluffyuk, I wanted a second adaptor anyway so it made sense to buy a 130 on ebay, the price was little more than a 90 anyway.

The 90 is quite a bit smaller so I may keep it for 'on the road' use, what ever the situation with upgrades turns out to be.

I'm very glad someone with an inside view has said that the 130 watt psu is no problem with the motherboard. I was concerned Dell had skimped on the on board regulator as well as the PSU.

 

The point is to check what the voltage of the gpu is, since some people reported higher temps with different bios versions, unclewebb suspected the voltage change

 

Go back a couple of pages, something new unclewebb was woking on.

 

I did the same as you, just wondering about the refund, can't hurt to ask

 

While I wouldn't argue it wasn't part of the "design" I am up for debating Dell's intentions behind it. There is simply very little motive to intentionally limit performance except for (a. not having to ship it with the 130W Adapters (b. power consumption ratings (c. all of the above.

For the most part these should make little differences to the company. Therefore to me it seems much more logical that the original SXPS 1640 was designed to be compatible with the 90Watt as were the BIOS. Then when the 1645 came on the scene, as well as the updated GPU capability, they simply applied the same BIOS to the machine not taking in for the fact culpable differences and the (I would go to say 'obvious') results therein. Combined with poor or little-to-no testing and a rush to equip the new CPU's you have what you could call the SXPS 1645's faulty "design". Eventually the customers became aware of the issue and the rest is history.

This is pure speculation of course.

 

The 1640 and 1645 have different chipsets, so there is no way the bios from the 1640 will work with the 1645.

Dell makes laptops for many uses, about 90% go to corporate clients and sit on corporate desks doing e-mail and basic MS Office stuff day after day. Longevity and peace and quiet are the requirements here. So when they make performance kit the priorities get a bit blurred. Yes its going to be fast, but we still can't stop ourselves using the same policies to minimise heat and reduce fan speeds. Sorry we forgot you bought all this cpu power becuase you actually want to use it!

 

I believe A06 fixes the iPhone issue. If not, I know for sure A07 does. Sorry, but I'm scrambling to get out the door, and can't dig the email up just now.

*I hope I don't have my platforms confused. I may be thinking about Studio 1747 and iPhone.