S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

Just popped in to say thanks to the hard work that went into this thread. Dell UK are sending me my 130W adaptor on Monday apparently.

What did people do before the internet!?

 

Unusual problem,

Firstly a big thank you to those who pro-actively pushed/helped with the throttling problem allowing the basic user like myself to become aware of the issue and ultimately see it solved, at least to my satisfaction.

Secondly the 'dell bash, the world is about to end soon' posters; C'mon really?

Thirdly (this will most likely fuel the second but can't be helped) my 1645 died on me today or more accurately it doesn’t recognise that an adapter is plugged in and therefore I can’t charge nor use it anymore as the battery is dead. I have both the 90W and 130W adapter (purchased myself) and have predominately been using the latter especially whilst gaming (with bios A07).

The machine, even at bios level, just refuses to acknowledge there is anything plugged in following the machine being turned off for about 30 minutes. All usual checks are done even to both chargers, with laptop, being tested at separate buildings/power supplies and there defiantly seems a fault at the power input socket/motherboard level with the charging. Although I imagine/hoping that this is just happenstance and I am an unfortunate statistic, I have to ask if anyone else has a problem since using the 130W adapter?

As additional point the rest of the laptop is working perfectly.
Regards

 

Maybe that is why Dell doesnt want BIOS A07 to use the full pontential of the 130 watt adapter, just guessing..
This theory only applies if you where using ThrottleStop the hole time..

 

I'm sorry, but that's really not a fair statement to make at all. I agree that cluttering threads with nothing but Dell bashing may not necessarily help, but it is the complaining that gets noticed the most. Not to mention that most of the bashing was completely justified considering that these were supposed to be premium products.

Personally, I'm happy that Dell took some initiative and are trying to address the problems now, but the situation should not have happened in the first place. When we have no direct, "real" people to
complain at (there's only so much CSRs can do), it's only natural to want to vent. And most of it has remained fairly civil here, all things considered. I, for one, am probably never going to get another Dell again. Just don't want to go through this ordeal again.

Nope, no major problems with the 130W adapter so far. However I have had 2 lockups since installing A07.

 

I would expect that one would learn from his own mistakes, and never make same mistake again?

 

Hello All! Long time reader, first time poster on here. I just received my new XPS 1645 after ordering it only one week ago. I ordered it on Feb, 15 and couldnt believe how fast it arrived considering the EDD was March 5, 2010. I thought I would have received it with a 130W PSU, but received a 90W PSU. I have called in to teck support and they are sending a 130W PSU. If I am not mistaken, I remember Dell Bill saying that North American custiomers were allowed to keep their 90W PSUs. I was informed by tech support, from i beleive India, that I would need to return the 90W PSU or my account would be charged. Please clarify this, thank you.

 

sorry, only those who got their adapter via PM'ing the reps before the official fix were allowed to keep their 90 watt adapters, Bill stated this on another thread too.

 

Thank you Wezley for your reply. Greatly appreciate it. Guess the 90W PSU is going back!!!

 

I played Crysis for about an hour on the plane today. Max performance. I was still getting turbo boost. No throttling on my system with battery. Too bad the game only lasted 55 minutes.

 

Heh. Sadly, as we all know, you can't expect performance and battery life in the same package.

 

@unclewebb

I see that Throttlestop is enabled by default (upon fresh install). Can it be disabled from the INI before running it?

Thanks in advance

 

In the throttlestop folder open ThrottleStop.ini
change StartMinimized=1 to StartMinimized=0 to stop it from loading at start up, or change TSEnabled=1 to TSEnabled=0 to have it deactivated whenever it loads

 

I am not recommending for anyone to run throttle-stop constantly for longer than a month ...it will kill your laptop with current A07 bios and 130w adapter.

This is the reason why DELL won't eliminate throttling totally on XPS 1645 because components simply can't handle properly without being damaged.


Any updates on vent redesign ?

 

LOL I did look at the INI file but must have had a black out on that one line..

Thank you

 

famx - what is your problem? the vent isn't going to get fixed in 1 day - let Bill work on getting them to put a fix in place.

As far as throttling is concerned, I don't really know what you are complaining about - you keep making accusations but have no throttling data to support it.
Why is it only you and maybe 1/2 others that still have issues.

A main issue with the laptop is the 4670 graphics card limitation - this is not a dell imposed limitation - this is the hardware you bought it with....live with it. if not - return it - and buy the 1647 with the 5XXX series....

 

You're joking right? It's got nothing to do with 4670 'limitation'. It's proven it's done by Dell. You reckon that every single laptop with this card clocks-down when it reaches that temp?

 

Again, you're joking right. It's proven the CPU still throttles when pushed [edit: with GPU] - now does that matter to 99% of people, it's up to them to decide but that doesn't remove the fact it does still throttle and it's not due to temps.

Before someone jumps in that it's artifical tests only, true in my case at least, but again that does not remove the fact it does still throttle which is not caused due to temps.

If Dell considers the issue closed due to the type of tests/games run today is different than people like you saying it doesn't exist at all.

 

Bill said the the CPU throttling is over. Now they're looking into the heat vent issue that, as side effect, will bring relief to the GPU if fixed. Isn't that enough?

 

I think its just the thing of things. Some people like me feel that its a lot of money to put down on an improperly designed laptop as it would seem the 1645 is. After A07 and adapter some users showed cpu mult's dipping and some reported stuttering with certain games, its just a matter of time til new games etc come out that abuse it even more.

Whats really bothering is they upped the wattage cap to around 110w at the wall, but now implemented this gpu throttling when the temps get up there, which is totally new to the A07. putting 2 and 2 together, its obvious theyre afraid as hell to allow this laptop to run off what it needs. Probably due to it was originally designed for 90w draw from the wall. Its very easy to tell why some people would still be upset, as the money for these laptops isnt trivial and would expect a properly designed laptop.

To me the gpu throttle + power limitations are very well connected because of that. Its good its a ton better, but overall has a long way to go before being right, as these new problems arnt small ones :-/

 

Throttling.

Not just Dell.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=458358

Glad I sold off that MBP.

I'm afraid that the performance that some of you are looking for is just not going to happen with the 1645.

My suggestion for gamers is to dump this one and move on.

This is GREAT for multimedia.

Bill, I might suggest a marketing change on this one, as it is still not exceeding the expectations of the most vocal in this chorus, and Dell is not winning the Google war, the sweaky wheels are.

 

I really do miss the 1645. I loved it for everything it could have been.

The 4670 is not a limitation, or a problem. To who ever said it was. Otho a 5730-5830 would be a god send.

Dell, Fix the screen flicker w/RGB, throttleing, add 5730/5830, and pick up my check.

 

Pardon? The only effect the size of adaptor can have is that the 130w maybe has some power left over to still charge the battery, where the 90w was expending it all on running the laptop's innards.

Maybe Dell has changed the battery charging algorithm in A07, and maybe there are differences in this for 130w versus 90w, I don't know.

But if the battery behaves differently in the brave new world we are now in, this must be down to A07 versus A06 or earlier, and not 130w versus 90.

Mustn't it?

 

But I don't want my graphics discreet. I want them loud and brash

 

I didnt know that they have the 5 series out yet. Am I missing something?

 

You can still get an RGBLED on a 1645 on the UK Dell site. There's no preconfigured ones, but you can step through a WLED configuration and get the option to upgrade to RGB.

I'd give you a link, but the site doesn't want to show me any details of Studio XPS 16s at the minute - it's looping endlessly between two copies of a 'please wait...' screen. Hmmm. Maybe something new afoot?

 

If I understand correctly, although it's 'Enabled', it won't actually change anything at first install, as none of the top three boxes are ticked. So it's just in monitoring mode.

 

Thanks Bill, it worked! Today Dell Spain contacted me to deliver the 130w adapter. Also, I'm in touch with the coordinator, so if there's any problem in shippings, we'll forward him.

 

Buddy why don't you wake up and smell the coffee whatever DELL did with A07 bios optimization and 130w adapter is almost nothing other than power adapter does not overheat anymore and that was their main concern. Throttling although adjusted some its pretty much as it was before. So DELL has eliminated safety issue with power adapter but throttling still exists. Shame on you DELL!

Next Safety Issue on the agenda is vent ....which must be overcome asap before some RGB or WLED panels begin to melt or catch fire.

 

Is that really a fair statement? Out of curiosity, what are the specifications of your machine? Do you have the 1640, 1645, or 1647?

As a concerned owner of a 1645 with the RGB screen, I'm curious whether there are any reports from 1640 owners of screen damage caused by heat. That system has been plagued by a variety of heat issues, yet I haven't heard about any damage to the screen. Wasn't the vent an issue with that system as well?

 

Question: If you install the new BIOS update (say A07 for example). Do you have to install/run it everytime you wipe your computer or do you only have to do it once?

 

Are you on Crack?

 

Just once.

 

That's nonsense. That sounds as crazy as what Dell was originally saying about how these motherboards could not handle a 130 watt adapter. Guess what? They can handle a 130 watt adapter and now the company that said this isn't possible is sending 130 watt adapters to anyone that asks.

The throttling schemes introduced into many Dell laptops is mostly about EnergyStar compliance and has next to nothing to do with protecting the motherboard. Bios A07 hasn't even been out for a month so what testing is your statement based on? If you don't want to use ThrottleStop that's fine with me but stop spreading FUD.

Another statement that isn't true. No need to reply. I've read enough already. Time to put you on the ignore list like a few others.

 

I have to echo surfed (and unclewebb) here. Famx from every DOCUMENTED source in regards to the laptop being underpowered and throttling the Bios A07 has been an agreed upon as a 99% fix. What would seem to be the issue now is simply poor heat management & ventilation that has caused the GPU to throttle. This though is another issue altogether not related to the system being (at least entirely) underpowered. But seriously, if you're going to game it doesn't take anything more than common sense you use a cooling pad. Would people say I'm pretty spot on here?

 

I would only use one that relies on a power source other than the dell laptop.

Anything to keep the power usage to a minimum to not reach the currently W draw limit would be desirable. If the exhaust gets fixed, an external cooling source will not be needed if the laptop is used as a laptop.

 

Cooling pad? What? Why?

Dont be so naive, Im not going to buy a laptop and then a cooling system

 

Cooling pads are used even for laptops that have good venting on them. It just makes the entire system cooler. The pads feel cooler, my hands don't sweat, etc.

And the power draw from something like the Zalman NC2000 is ridiculously low. The fans in the cooling unit are large and don't run very fast, but it still blows enough air to cool the system down.

 

I dont care. I know they are effective, its just that I wont buy it, nor I shouldnt. The cooling system from the laptop needs to be adequate.

 

I'm not saying that the 1645 doesn't need better venting or that it shouldn't be self-sufficient. I'm just telling you that for gaming or very processor/graphic card intensive apps, there are very few laptops that don't get hot.

It's very common to need a cooling pad for them; this is just the nature of laptops in general. Obviously, there might be a few exceptions, but for the most part you can't expect the world here. Not to mention, a good chunk of people find them more ergonomic to use (the slightly slanted/tilted ones).

The 1645 needs a redesign for cooling, but that's because I'm more concerned about the air being blown over the screen and any possible long term effects to the screen from doing so. For regular usage, this thing doesn't get very hot at all right now. It's only when gaming that the temps increase considerably from my experience.

Don't get a cooling pad if you don't want to, I'm not forcing you obviously. Just saying that I think you might not realize that this is a problem more inherent to laptops in general and not just the 1645.

 

That about summarizes my thoughts/reasons/expectations fairly well.

 

I agree with you too. I mean, we are on the same side here, complaining about the vent blowing hot air directly to the screen.
The only thing that made me disagree with you is to consider a cooling pad as a solution. That is NOT a solution for the screen and that is NOT the way it works > consumer paying for additional accesorie in order to fix a manufacturer problem

 

mods.

Can we please close this thread, as Bill has stated that the Throttling issue is closed on the 1645, and once again; we're back to bickering.

Perhaps a second thread for the GPU Throttling that is heat related as opposed to CPU throttling that was power related.

 

*laugh* Closing this thread doesn't seem unreasonable. I've mainly stuck around because I'm still waiting on my order for the SXPS 16 and this place has been relatively helpful/informative and especially nice since Bill has been around to relay users other concerns. I didn't really mean to start a whole new debate, I just wanted to put down famx's ravings.

 

There seem to be a lot of things happening here all at once.

1. CPU Throttling.

2. GPU Throttling.

3. Increased Heat. Due to fixing #1.

4. Under-performing chassis cooling, vents.

5. Display Flickers, at low brightness. Related to power?

6. Sound Distortion on some machines.

7. Creative Software Drivers causing mayhem.

8.Hardlocks/ Crashes, not related to Flash.

9. Light Bleed from RGB displays.

10. Keyboard Backlight Bleeds.

Am I missing anything?

My point is that if there is going to be a resolution, now is the time to be clear and concise.

Document what is wrong, and try and gain consensus with others on these boards.

Bill had said that YOU all have the undivided attention of the engineers, I'm sure that we can do better than arguing amongst ourselves?

It's like a treasure hunt. What new problem can we find today?

Not interested in looking for bugs, looking for reliability.

/end rant.

 

Sorry, wasn't trying to say that Cooling pads were the solution to the screen issue. I was merely pointing out that cooling pads are, in my opinion, almost essential for any laptop if you want to game for extended periods of time. Laptops tend to get hot and being comfortable is important in my books. Was also relaying that the good cooling pads don't consume much power from the USB port, so that shouldn't be a deterrent.

 

According to Bill, CPU throttling is considered a dead issue. Fixed or working as intended... even if some folks here disagree.

Thermal related. Can anyone get the GPU to throttle before 84C? It's been demonstrated that running Prime95 and FurMark at once throttle the CPU. What's a good threshold for the GPU? I recall Bill saying that he would take the 88C suggestion to the engineers.

Not much to do about more heat. We asked for the system's real performance to be unlocked. One of the issues here is that a lot of people either bought the 1645 before any reviews were available (guilty!) or they've disregarded comments about the 1640 and heat. Personally, I haven't had any complaints about heat... taking into account that the system is a quad-core and that it's a desktop replacement for my purposes.

No debate here. Dell really should have completely revamped the design prior to shoving quad-core i7s in, but I know there's no way we'll be getting anything more than a redesigned vent (if even that).

Not a wide-spread issue or one that most people can't register. Either I'm very lucky with my screen or it's indistinguishable to me; I'm 28 years old without glasses, so I don't think it's poor vision.

I'm surprised that sub-woofers are even included in notebooks. What I'm not surprised about is distortion resulting from a bass driver pumping in such a cramped area.

The whole X-Fi thing was a clusterf_ck. I actually paid $20 for the upgrade thinking I was getting a better sound card. I found out it was software shortly before I received my system, but after waiting two months to receive my 1645, I didn't let it phase me. I promptly wiped the drive and did a fresh install, but since the X-Fi software wasn't included in the recovery software, I've never actually used it. Seems like this was a blessing in disguise, in spite of being out $20.

I experienced a hard lock once prior to my fresh install of Windows 7... while watching a video on Hulu. Obviously that's Flash related, but I actually haven't experienced ANY crashes or lockups since reinstalling and keeping my drivers all up to date. Lucky me?

Is this uncommon with LEDs?

I thought this was working as intended. Personal preference or legitimate concern?

 

Just summarizing what I've seen here.

Me personally, I've had ZERO issue. I'm 42, and I think that I may need glasses.

The point I'm making is let's look at what some of the other problems may be rather than beating each other up over this dead horse CPU throttling issue.

Is there a flickering problem?
Hard locks, anyone else? Able to reproduce?
Keyboard back-light bleed. Some have had the amount of bleed reduced by replacing the keyboard. Is this an issue with anyone else?

Screen flickering. Similar problem with the old CRT's, some people were sensitive when the Hz were approx 60 or so. From what I'm reading, this could just be a power tweak at the bios level. How many people are affected.

If we have the attention of the engineers, then let's document the issues; or not.

/whew.

 

@danp224
I don't find your posts any more helpful here than on the Dell forum.

There are issues, and they are real, and they are largely being discussed in a helpful and constructive manner.And we have already 'lost' one thread to controversy, and I do not wish to lose another.

I am sure this thread will die naturally, when and if its purpose is accomplished, but that does not seem to me to be quite yet.

This does not seem to be the situation as you see it, though, and I do not understand why? You are clearly not a Dell shill, as we have Dell people here who understand all the issues, and are more than ready to tackle them; but you would thwart them as thoroughly as you seem to want to thwart us. That's not good.

Now please, can we just get on with it? Thank you.

 

I agree, CPU throttling is no longer an issue, running TS other than for the diagnostic features with the A07+130 seems redundant at this point.

Only issues I have now are the heat and hardlocks from wakeup which I think there is a solution for most with the wakeup hardlocks somewhere buried in one of the many threads.

I notice stuttering in games when my gpu hits 77-80C+. That's with any resolution or game setting I run it on, just takes me longer to make it to that temp and then I notice the decreased performance.

 

Midnight,

I'm shutting no one down.

I'm just saying that there is a finite amount of time to get all of the problems out into the open, not just one.

Peace