S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

Well, frankly I haven't gamed on the PC since I stopped playing World of Warcraft a few years ago, so I'm certainly no expert on the subject and I have little vested interest in how games perform. That said, I believe that there are several separate issues here.

First, there's the thermal-based GPU throttling that several people have reported. It seems that around 84C, the GPU will downclock from 675 MHz until the temperature falls below the threshold. This can be solved in a variety of ways that both I and others here have described. Two of the methods can be done now without involving Dell, while the last requires an update to the BIOS.

Second, there's CPU throttling that results from exceeding what is currently the wattage limit designated by Dell. Though the A07 BIOS makes better use of the 130W adapter, it still doesn't seem enough to power everything firing at once (as simulated by Prime95/FurMark stress tests and, I believe, Dirt 2 and possibly other recent games). This isn't thermal-based, so currently there's no fix for this short of using ThrottleStop. However, the effectiveness of this method is up for debate. ThrottleStop will prevent the CPU from throttling, but unless the first issue (GPU throttling) is addressed, then your game may still not run well.

Lastly, there's the question of how well games ought to run on this system. Judging from the benchmarks at that site, I'd say "not too well" unless run at lower resolutions. I wonder whether any benchmarks of the Envy or 1647 (either with the ATI 4670) are available for comparison. If those systems are seeing poor frame rates on games like Dirt 2 at 1080p than I'd be inclined to believe that short of the GPU thermal threshold being too low, then throttling on the 1645 is 99% fixed.

I'm still of the opinion that some people on this forum are expecting too much out of the ATI 4670 card. Of all the components in this system, I feel it's far and away the weakest link. There's an argument over whether it's a low or mid-range card. I feel that it's would do a well-enough job at medium settings; not so much at high.

 

Ugh.
Sorry, guys. I had a couple of Swedish customers run into the same problem. I was able to help them, and here's how. If you could just do the same in Italy or wherever you all may be, please try this.
1. use EMAIL support to request the adapters.
2. if/when they deny your request in email, copy the entire text, which will capture the agent's name. Make sure you add your service tag and shipping address if it's not there.
3. send me a PM of the whole copy/paste+svc tag and address.

I can just keep forwarding them to management in all these regions who don't want to read policy updates until they get tired of my blowing up their inboxes.

Again, so sorry for the frustration.

 

n3verm0re,

I feel that your solutions and conclusions are spot on.

In my experience, I would rarely push this machine as hard as these stress tests do, even over the course of several days.

I would be interested to see what Dell does manage to come up with, if anything.

I have seen that GPU throttling and reduced frame rate also affected the 1640 on that site during their gaming reviews of that system.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Studio-XPS-16-ATI-HD4670-Notebook.21440.0.html

For those who claim it is the case/vent design, please note their conclusions:

"Basically, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD4670 belongs to the high-performance multimedia graphic cards. Its use in the Dell Studio XPS 16 wasn't really impressive in the practical test with various games. Principally, this was due to the observed repetitive short performance breakdowns, which were also already seen in the Acer Aspire 8935G with identical graphic hardware.
The given performance should satisfy occasional gamers, but ambitioned gamers won't be happy with the inconstant performance, especially in shooters that require a consistently high frame rate for a successful session."

 

That description seems to fit well with what some people have described here as their gaming experience. Unfortunately there's been a lot of anger thrown back and forth as people are aghast at the idea that a relatively expensive system like the 1645 is not a gaming powerhouse. People often seem to gloss over the weaknesses of the GPU simply because it has 1 GB of dedicated memory.

Dell is certainly at fault here for ever listing high performance gaming as a use case in their marketing. On the other hand, I made this purchase with the knowledge that I was buying a "multimedia notebook," so a lot depends on which portion of the Dell website you were reading. Either way, it's a shame that some people aren't getting the performance they thought they would after reading an ill-contrived Dell sales pitch.

 

The NotebookCheck review doesn't look at the issues of what is behind the stuttering.

Way back then they probably didn't realize that the XPS 1640 can throttle down to 800 MHz in the middle of a game.

For users with XPS 1645 laptops with GPUs that are running too hot, you might be able to adjust the GPU voltage slightly lower (under volt) to help keep below the low 80C temperature range where GPU throttling kicks in.

Here's an example of how you can go about changing the GPU voltage with the help of the Catalyst Control Center and some XML file editing. Check out post #10 on this thread by Kevin G.

http://forums.ncix.com/forums/index...id=48136&msgcount=10&overclockid=0#msg2150110

The example shows increasing 2D voltage for better stability but you can use the same method to decrease 3D core voltage. If you can keep the GPU from getting too hot then you can eliminate GPU thermal throttling.

 

giving you ammunation to shoot at your own people
but if that helps, why not. I also work on a support desk
communication is a delicate business. always people thinking they know better what and how to do... tsk tsk

but about the forwarding of agent's mail:
did the very same thing and it worked out for me. I now have a 130W slim adapter

Thank you Bill you're a good guy

in addition to n3verm0re: though this dell SXPS16 isn't a gaming powerhouse, the 4670 is still a high-midranged GPU. indeed we must not expect to run every now outcoming game at the highest settings

 

Whoa! I've been looking a while for something just like this. Those of us who don't play video games can underclock/undervolt the hell out of our gfx cards and keep the fan from running so often.

Edit: Hmm, I tried to follow the directions, but the XML profile files I get out of CCC don't seem to expose anything interesting. I could try just adding in xml snippets hoping to make a file that can be read by CCC, but I assume I cannot use an <Overdrive5> tag since I have a 4000 series card.

Anyone want to show me how I can get voltage adjustments on my 4670 when I'm too lazy to do the legwork? I have downloaded numerous utilities and very few of them seem to be able to tell me much of anything interesting about this card. I can't even export the bios...

I hear there is a way to do things with RivaTuner and registry edits, but I'd need a pretty good walkthrough because I'd rather not trash windows...

 

underclocking/overclocking is quite simple with MSI Afterburner, it also controls fan speed, i'm not sure about undervolting thought

 

Just to name one older previous XPS model m1530 runs more stable and does not throttles as much as XPS 1645. I just run 3D Mark 06 on both and to my dismay m1530 get much lower overall score in benchmark tests yet it runs much smoother at higher fps and without fan blowing at full speed.

Can someone explain why would newer XPS 1645 run slower than its predecessor XPS M1530.

Please don't blame on video card which more than sufficient to play 3D MARK 06 at 30fps yet it plays most of the time at rate less than 10fps and even lower with battery alone. It seems engineers have not changed any settings when laptop is used with battery alone. Some minor improvements were made when laptop is connected to 130w adapter but then those tweaks disappear in thin air as soon laptop starts overheating and that usually happens within 30 minutes or less of playing games or any graphics intensive programs.

 

Just tried it. I'm having a similar experience to what I had with other modification utilities. Either they don't allow me to see/change much or they don't actually implement my changes.

If I set core and memory clocks and hit "apply" then they jump back to default values. The voltage readings (and therefore setting) don't seem to work even with the advanced features enabled.

Maybe I have a mental block or the wrong driver version installed. I feel like the only kid who can't skate!

 

Sorry to go slightly off topic guys, but I've been harboring anger for the following system (m1530) for a long time. The XPS M1530 was a great machine...BUT...that thing was a FRICKIN' TOASTER. Due to the gfx card's defects and overheating issues, that thing would GPU throttle like mad. I had about 3 heat sink/graphics card replacements within a year and a half. I don't think the xps 1645 is on that level yet. The problems with these two systems are on different scales, the 1645 being on the better side IMO.

Famx, you're kind of over-exaggerating a little. A07 is a good fix (although probably not a complete one) and it makes the 1645 a lot better than the m1530 in my experience. I can play games on settings that my m1530 wouldn't even come close to. People have said that their temps. haven't really increased with the Bios change, so have made sure you've crossed out all variables to make sure it's in fact a heat issue you have (no cpu throttling)? If you do have a heat issue what temps are you getting, so maybe Bill can suggest to the engineers a higher temp limit? Although I understand your anger, the good detailed feedback is a lot better than straight bashing the system......(anger abated...slightly )

 

Exactly the same here

 

I have almost 0 knowledge about video cards because I'm a non-gamer, but from my limited attempts it seems like mobile versions of various graphics cards just don't have the same kind of tweakability as their desktop counterparts. The tweak programs either don't recognize the card or the cool options just aren't available.

I cannot remember the name but there is one app that you can use to export the video card bios. The purpose being to alter it with another program and then flash the result. But, once again, my card didnt support the bios export...

I just want an XML file or registry tweak that allows me to control the voltage or underclock without having to load any TSRs (except CCC maybe).

 

There is still 20% throttling on my system. ITS NOT FIXED
Hope A07 was a test version. Waiting for A08

 

20% huh? How'd you get that number? Is that CPU or GPU throttling? When is the throttling happening?

 

During gaming. The multiplier keeps dropping to 7~8x after being constant on 12~14x. Happened on both benchmark with GTA4 and FarCry 2. My latest log is here

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220696 Can run Crysis on high+ no problems @ 720P.

Tested with FurMark+Prime95+Full Brightness and it didn't throttle at all. It comes with a 90watt AC. The 5730 maybe slightly faster then the 4760, but still in the same ball park. About a 10% difference, however the 5730 supports direct compute and Open CL much better then the 4670 ever could.

 

Yes thats a good deal, only problem is screen resolution.. very poor for a 16'' screen

 

Good fix how so if laptop overheats faster, not much improvement with 130w adapter throttling still exist and when you remove power adapter video fps drops right away, yet when you used old 90w adapter system run cooler with lower performance per overall system design.

DELL must come into reality there not much they can do to this system especially now when they decided to go 130w power adapter replacement which when used with A07 bios settings generates more heat faster. Due poor vent design laptop can't be kept cool enough and fast enough and on top of that all these heat is blowing right into laptop screen which will get damaged in no time.

...patiently awaiting for some good news after that next week meeting!

 

Strange, just played GTA4 @ 1080 with medium settings and had no throttling issues at all, CPU nor GPU. The only other thing besides A07 & 130W i have is AS5 thermal paste.

 

What can I say?? Lucky you
Even I wanna apply AS5 but i cant find it in India. Lets see what happens.
Can you do a benchmark with GTA4 wid high setting at 1080p and post a throttlestop log here??
It would be really appreciated. Thanx

 

I am curious what your log would look like without VSYNC and 8X anti-alias in your game settings. It seems like these two settings would really be pushing this card. Also, as the CPU has an increasing load put on it, it appears that your CPU is increasing the multipliers to deal with the increased load. Maybe UncleWebb could comment?

 

Here we go,
I ran two benchmarks with gta4 at 1080 and 720. I also did a 30 min furmark run to test my gpu temps and they never went above 70C at 18C ambient but i do use a zm-nc2000 zalman laptop cooling pad with fans on minimum. Without it temps are usually 3 - 5 C higher. CPU temps rarely go above 60C under heavy load like compiling programs and such. These are real world numbers, i am sure if i would run furmark with x instances of prime my temps might go up but for me thats like driving your car uphill at redline revs... it too will overheat.

 

The log seems strange as the closest the cpu gets to the thermal limit is about about 33 degrees below the limit. It may be due to process cycles within the game rather than throttling. Can you notice frame rate drops during play? If so it may be throttling of the gpu rather than the cpu, try running the game with the same settings while monitoring gpu temps, core and memory speeds

 

Thanx alot guys for checking out the issue with me.

surfed, Thanx. It seems like your system really doesnt throttle.

danp224, Ok. I just did a same benchmark of FarCry2 with AA set to none.

Results:
* Total Frames: 1426, Total Time: 51.02s
* Average Framerate: 27.95
* Max. Framerate: 39.97 (Frame:94, 2.58s)
* Min. Framerate: 20.80 (Frame:789, 27.81s)

Log is attached below.
I guess its a bit better than before.

 

Here is some game play with Dirt 2:

1. i720 QM
2. 4 Gigs Memory
3. SXPS 1645 was set to High Performance @ 1080p (RGBLED)
4. FPS = 30-35
5. ThrottleStop was Disabled

The game played nice and smooth with no stuttering, and I have played for close to 1 hour. I only listed a few minutes since the rest of the log is the same.

Code:

  DATE     TIME    MULTI   C0%   CKMOD  CHIPM  DTS
02/21/10 07:33:40  13.00   54.1  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:33:41  13.00   53.0  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:33:42  14.26   33.7  100.0  100.0   46
02/21/10 07:33:43  17.92   13.2  100.0  100.0   49
02/21/10 07:33:44  18.34   15.4  100.0  100.0   45
02/21/10 07:33:45  17.99   19.7  100.0  100.0   47
02/21/10 07:33:46  14.14   10.8  100.0  100.0   49
02/21/10 07:33:47  15.41   12.2  100.0  100.0   48
02/21/10 07:33:48  16.48   25.9  100.0  100.0   47
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02/21/10 07:33:50  18.95   17.4  100.0  100.0   48
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02/21/10 07:34:18  18.91   17.5  100.0  100.0   43
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02/21/10 07:34:21  16.14   16.4  100.0  100.0   46
02/21/10 07:34:22  12.91   12.9  100.0  100.0   46
02/21/10 07:34:23  13.05   13.1  100.0  100.0   45
02/21/10 07:34:24  13.28   12.7  100.0  100.0   46
02/21/10 07:34:26  14.20   11.3  100.0  100.0   46
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02/21/10 07:34:28  14.33   12.0  100.0  100.0   46
02/21/10 07:34:29  14.60   12.3  100.0  100.0   46
02/21/10 07:34:30  14.50   11.7  100.0  100.0   46
02/21/10 07:34:31  13.14   11.9  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:32  11.34   16.4  100.0  100.0   45
02/21/10 07:34:33  14.56   16.4  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:34  14.12   19.5  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:35  14.24   14.0  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:36  13.99   13.6  100.0  100.0   45
02/21/10 07:34:37  14.08   14.6  100.0  100.0   45
02/21/10 07:34:38  14.56   14.6  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:39  14.46   13.0  100.0  100.0   45
02/21/10 07:34:40  14.33   12.7  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:41  13.73   21.4  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:42  13.74   23.2  100.0  100.0   43
02/21/10 07:34:43  13.77   23.7  100.0  100.0   43
02/21/10 07:34:44  13.63   23.5  100.0  100.0   43
02/21/10 07:34:45  13.89   23.1  100.0  100.0   43
02/21/10 07:34:46  13.75   23.0  100.0  100.0   44
02/21/10 07:34:47  13.82   22.7  100.0  100.0   43
02/21/10 07:34:49  13.70   22.9  100.0  100.0   43
02/21/10 07:34:50  13.67   22.9  100.0  100.0   43
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02/21/10 07:35:08  14.03   27.0  100.0  100.0   41
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02/21/10 07:35:12  13.95   27.1  100.0  100.0   41
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02/21/10 07:35:15  14.07   27.4  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:35:16  14.11   27.2  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:35:17  14.05   27.1  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:35:18  13.99   27.9  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:35:19  13.95   27.6  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:35:20  13.94   32.2  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:35:21  13.66   30.8  100.0  100.0   40
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02/21/10 07:35:23  14.31   27.8  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:35:24  14.40   27.7  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:35:25  14.33   28.0  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:35:26  14.41   27.9  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:35:27  14.37   28.1  100.0  100.0   39
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02/21/10 07:35:30  15.34   17.6  100.0  100.0   39
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02/21/10 07:35:54  14.71   15.2  100.0  100.0   40
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02/21/10 07:36:04  14.64   19.8  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:05  15.06   15.1  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:07  14.15   13.2  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:08  14.20   13.1  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:09  14.16   12.7  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:10  14.34   13.5  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:11  14.35   13.2  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:12  14.33   12.9  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:13  14.70   13.8  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:14  14.63   14.5  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:15  14.33   15.4  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:16  16.42   14.4  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:17  14.19   13.3  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:36:18  14.07   11.5  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:19  14.03   11.8  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:20  13.95   12.5  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:21  13.93   16.4  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:22  13.68   13.9  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:23  12.54   11.9  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:24  13.70   12.0  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:36:25  14.26   12.2  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:26  14.09   10.1  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:27  14.39   11.3  100.0  100.0   42
02/21/10 07:36:28  14.18   11.6  100.0  100.0   42
02/21/10 07:36:29  13.96   11.5  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:30  16.26   20.8  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:36:31  15.25   15.2  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:33  14.37   12.4  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:34  14.21   11.9  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:35  14.13   11.8  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:36  13.98   10.8  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:37  14.20   10.6  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:38  13.94   10.3  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:39  13.75   10.6  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:40  13.47   10.6  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:41  13.89   10.2  100.0  100.0   42
02/21/10 07:36:42  13.88    9.9  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:43  14.00   10.2  100.0  100.0   42
02/21/10 07:36:44  13.59   10.2  100.0  100.0   42
02/21/10 07:36:45  14.31   10.3  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:46  14.35   10.9  100.0  100.0   41
02/21/10 07:36:47  14.46   14.9  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:48  14.17   32.4  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:36:49  15.06   21.7  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:36:50  15.07   22.6  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:51  14.86   21.8  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:36:52  14.88   22.0  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:36:53  14.81   21.6  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:54  14.63   25.7  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:55  14.84   20.9  100.0  100.0   40
02/21/10 07:36:56  15.26   20.5  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:36:57  14.95   20.8  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:36:59  14.95   23.5  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:37:00  15.23   21.4  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:37:01  14.60   22.6  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:37:02  14.94   21.5  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:03  15.01   25.1  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:37:04  15.12   25.8  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:05  15.12   26.8  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:37:06  15.25   24.7  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:37:07  15.22   23.4  100.0  100.0   39
02/21/10 07:37:08  15.22   23.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:09  15.27   23.2  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:10  14.66   24.4  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:11  15.13   22.9  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:12  15.23   22.9  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:13  15.40   19.9  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:14  15.11   20.4  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:15  15.31   21.0  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:16  14.92   21.7  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:17  15.13   21.8  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:18  15.12   23.2  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:20  15.20   22.6  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:21  15.07   24.0  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:22  15.39   22.9  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:23  15.53   22.0  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:24  15.49   22.2  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:25  14.98   22.3  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:26  14.91   21.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:27  15.21   20.4  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:28  15.47   20.3  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:29  15.35   21.2  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:30  15.06   20.8  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:31  14.78   19.7  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:32  14.65   20.1  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:33  14.52   21.1  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:34  14.89   21.3  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:35  14.61   22.7  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:37  14.46   25.9  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:38  15.08   21.8  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:39  14.83   22.6  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:40  14.49   22.0  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:41  14.52   22.8  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:42  14.99   25.0  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:43  15.07   24.6  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:44  15.04   24.4  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:45  15.00   21.9  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:46  15.12   23.0  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:47  14.70   22.2  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:48  14.46   23.8  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:37:49  14.81   22.0  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:50  14.84   22.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:37:51  15.17   21.7  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:52  14.81   20.3  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:53  14.80   21.5  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:37:55  14.84   21.9  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:56  14.80   20.6  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:57  14.95   19.9  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:37:58  14.58   20.8  100.0  100.0   38
02/21/10 07:37:59  14.56   21.4  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:00  14.97   20.9  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:01  14.82   20.4  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:02  14.98   20.1  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:03  14.87   20.5  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:04  14.99   20.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:05  14.76   20.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:06  14.79   21.3  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:07  14.50   22.9  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:08  14.70   23.4  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:09  15.02   22.9  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:10  14.69   22.7  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:11  14.76   21.7  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:12  14.63   22.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:14  15.25   20.9  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:15  14.88   21.2  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:16  14.74   20.4  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:17  15.13   20.0  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:18  14.47   21.6  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:19  14.61   21.3  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:20  14.79   21.8  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:21  14.52   22.0  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:22  15.22   20.6  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:23  15.00   20.7  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:24  14.73   20.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:25  14.90   20.7  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:26  14.73   21.8  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:27  14.62   22.4  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:29  14.79   21.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:30  14.60   21.7  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:31  14.97   21.4  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:32  14.78   21.3  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:33  14.61   21.9  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:34  14.99   20.6  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:35  14.52   22.0  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:36  15.07   20.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:37  14.24   24.4  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:38:38  14.62   20.8  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:39  14.85   20.5  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:38:40  14.91   20.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:41  14.68   22.9  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:38:42  15.05   21.4  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:43  14.92   21.3  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:45  14.68   20.6  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:46  14.86   20.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:47  14.82   21.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:48  15.20   21.5  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:49  15.34   22.1  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:38:50  15.03   21.9  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:51  15.16   20.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:52  14.54   21.9  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:53  14.62   22.5  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:38:54  14.80   20.0  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:38:55  14.93   20.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:56  14.91   20.5  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:38:57  14.77   21.3  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:38:58  14.86   19.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:38:59  15.15   19.8  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:39:00  15.44   19.9  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:02  15.12   21.8  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:03  15.38   22.3  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:04  15.25   21.8  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:05  14.91   22.4  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:06  14.84   22.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:07  14.88   20.7  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:08  14.56   22.2  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:09  15.46   21.7  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:10  15.11   22.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:11  15.19   21.3  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:39:12  14.98   23.3  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:13  15.04   23.2  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:14  15.23   22.4  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:15  14.73   22.1  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:16  15.04   22.4  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:17  15.10   22.6  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:19  14.69   20.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:20  14.40   21.7  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:21  14.94   21.6  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:22  14.99   22.2  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:23  14.81   21.2  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:24  14.78   22.0  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:25  15.10   23.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:26  14.96   21.8  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:27  14.99   21.5  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:28  15.21   20.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:29  14.95   20.9  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:30  14.89   19.9  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:31  15.00   19.9  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:32  14.84   21.1  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:33  14.95   21.3  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:34  15.31   21.4  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:36  15.34   22.7  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:37  14.78   22.3  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:38  15.13   23.2  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:39  15.15   22.0  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:39:40  14.95   21.0  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:41  14.84   23.4  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:42  14.79   20.8  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:43  15.25   20.5  100.0  100.0   37
02/21/10 07:39:44  14.87   21.2  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:45  15.21   20.6  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:46  15.62   20.0  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:47  15.07   21.8  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:48  14.98   21.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:49  14.82   21.5  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:50  14.65   22.3  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:51  14.99   22.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:53  15.23   23.4  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:54  14.73   23.1  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:55  15.09   21.6  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:56  15.13   21.4  100.0  100.0   36
02/21/10 07:39:57  14.88   21.3  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:58  14.45   21.4  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:39:59  14.74   21.1  100.0  100.0   35
02/21/10 07:40:00  14.63   21.3  100.0  100.0   35

 

These results look much better. I'm sure that the if you disabled VSync, and lowered you Detailed Settings to High instead of Very High your scores would improve even further.

I think that your initial settings were a bit much for your card to handle.

 

The fan placement is seriously ridicolous.. as long as i have my external screen connected (= laptop screen closed) the GPU stays a lot cooler and hardly downthrottles.. I just dont understand.. :S.

Any official statements about this issue?

 

I've been lurking this thread since the start. I think the throttling issue is now shifting towards the capability of the GPU.

I don't own an XPS ,yet.
However, before I place an order I want to make sure the problems are fully solved.

Most of the tests and logs involve an i7 720QM core. I maybe want to order an i7 820QM (Dell offers a good deal in my country now). Can someone please inform me whether i should go for the 720QM or the 820QM?
(is there a difference in these cores in relation to the throttle issue/solution?)

 

Go for 720QM unless the price different isn't huge..but it probably is and it's only marginally faster

 

Especially because the performance is highly limited by the ATI 4670 and not the CPU.

 

Very True. Thats what I think. The graphics card is really the bottleneck .
I am gonna do few more tests. Lets see what happens.

 

It seems there's no other option but to buy the 820QM.
Dell offers an 820QM / RGB / 4G RAM for € 1.299 (total discount € 689)
The 720QM / 4G RAM is offered for € 1.199 but has no RGB screen (0 discount)

Before I place the order (I've been delaying it since december) I really want to make sure is there no difference in these cores in relation to the throttle issue/solution.

 

Have you tried running laptop on battery alone and run some tests ...don't be surprised if it throttles. I hope DELL is working already on A08 bios and will be releasing soon.

 

OMG!! I am so damn happy.
I wanted to check how will a game work for atleast an hour. So I Started Avatar The Game wid graphics settings at Ultra High at 720p. I was logging from Throttlestop all along. Ya I did find fps drop for about 20 seconds before the last five minutes I played. That might be GPU Throttling and setting the clock at 300mhz. Ok so the multiplier I got ranged from 13x~17x

 

I guess DELL followed the same system design off XPS m1530 yet for no apparent reason placed screen much lower. Also it forgot that 9 cell battery will block proper heat dissipation. Why not make vent on the side rather than on the back?

DELL-Bill please address this issue on upcoming meeting. Thanks.

 

Maybe your Heatsink fins are dirty? The air intake mesh dusty? I am just wondering as I never get my GPU temps above 70C. Maybe some Temp sensors on GPU are reporting wrong temps?

 

The 820 is not much faster and if you do gaming the bottleneck will be your videocard not the CPU.

 

How? it's only 2 months old.
Also, do you use an external screen or just the laptop LCD?
Try running furmark for 5min
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

 

I run dual screens, internal plus 24 inch external. I have run furmark and how i said, my temps stay around 70C after 10 min. My ambient is ~ 18C and i do use a laptop cooling pad (Zalman nc2000) but mainly for the reason of fan noise. Without the pad the fans in the laptop come on more and are to loud for my liking. Temp difference with the bad is 3 - 5 C plus i noticed a 2 -3 C drop after applying AS5

 

I know the GPU card has a certain limit. I won't be using the laptop for gaming (just occasionally).
Because the offer Dell has in my country I still need to know whether the issues are (partly) solved regardless of the chosen core (720/820). Before I spend the big bucks I just want to make sure I won't buy a faulty system even tho I'm not a gamer (have been delaying the purchase since December)

Dell offers an 820QM / RGB / 4G RAM for € 1.299 (total discount € 689)
The 720QM / 4G RAM is offered for € 1.199 but has no RGB screen (0 discount)

 

Yes it does. Not really an issue for me as its a desktop replacement for me.
On AC the only way i get it to throttle is to run Furmark and 4 threads of prime95. 8 x prime95 by itself does not throttle. For some this might be an issue but I doubt I will ever push my CPU this hard in a real world application. I dont compile and game at the same time.

 

I have the 820QM with RGBLED screen.

With the 130W adapter and A07, I get no throttling on the following test:

- Prime95 8 cores blended (This stresses CPU + RAM) while also playing an episode of House (HDTV rip) with windows media player streamed from my NAS (very minor video card use + stressing wifi card).

RGBLED is turned all the way up and keyboard lighting is all the way up.

With A03 and the 90W adapter, just the Prime95 blended tests alone were enough to cause throttling (significant, but not severe).

 

I am able to run FurMark for 30 minutes without reaching GPU temperatures above 71C. This is with the RGB screen at maximum brightness.

I'm not saying that your results are invalid, only that there are some of us that are not experiencing temperatures that high. Obviously one difference is that I'm not running completely stock (GC-Extreme)

 

I'm glad that the game is working out fore you. I'm sure that if you search this thread, you will find ways of reducing your GPU temps. Everything from using an external monitor, under-clocking your GPU to using a laptop cooler.

Cheers.

 

I don't think there is one program that you can use to downvolt your GPU that's been mentioned and works .. can't even export the GPU BIOS.

If you use RivaTuner to downclock: it's your 3D that you're downclocking and you're then stuck at 1.2V (same if you turn off PowerPlay).

 

Ya I know. I am keeping up with this Forum everyday. I think its time to put some AS5. My concern is that its not available in any store in India so will Purchase it online.

 

Dell-Bill can you update us if the meeting is on schedule and when can we expect any follow up from you. Thanks.

 

Kind of afraid I will F@#* things up if I try to apply AS5. Did anyone make a video of applying thermal paste to the 1645?

 

Looks like this guy will be doing a vid today. Im looking forward for doing this myself.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=461263