S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

A08 now has both cpu and gpu throttling. 82C onwards the cpu locks to x7 and GPU osillates between 400 and 675.

 

Most likely it seems it's GPU throttling.

Have you monitored your temp on the GPU? And is Power Play active?

If I disable that I get a consistent 400Mhz (not the full ammount I know) but I've been able to play my games consistently on high at 1280x720 with no AA

 

Are you producing these results with Prime95 + FurMark running?

If so, then this was already known; even with the A07 BIOS you can get CPU throttling when running Prime 95 and FurMark simultaneously. It'd be disconcerting, however, if you are able to achieve CPU throttling with Prime95 only, since that was fixed with A07.

Put differently:

A07, 130W: FurMark, No throttling
A07, 130W: Prime95 (8 Threads), No throttling
A07, 130W: Prime95 (8 Threads) and FurMark, CPU and GPU throttling

Are you saying?

A08, 130W: Prime95 (8 Threads), CPU throttling?

 

High performace mode , max brightness , 130w

result with Prime95 + FurMark

seems the throttling worsens as the temp goes above 80


1

2

 

This is not new to BIOS A08. The 1645 experienced CPU and GPU throttling with A07 as well when running this combination.

It is possible that Dell has tinkered with the exact level of throttling or when throttling kicks in, but it's been a known issue of A07 that you could still not run Prime95 and FurMark together without ThrottleStop. Dell-Bill has stated here that this is not considered a realistic test and as such CPU throttling is considered fixed.

 

ok so its same as A07. I never tested with A07 because my games were working fine and A08 changes nothing about that. I tested this time because i wanted to make my laptop hot.

Prime95 + FurMark, doesn't bother me. I use laptop cooler and but i did Prime95 + FurMark because thats the fastest way to get the temp over 80. My room temp is around 12C.

 

Can someone help me and instruct how i messure how hot my laptop gets? is it realtemp ?

 

I ordered a XPS 1645 today (3/15/10)and asked what power adapter will be sent with my new XPS. They checked with tech and said it is a 90w adapter.
I assume Dell will want me to update the latest BIOS when the computer is delivered so in that matter, is it my responsibility to go back to Dell tech and ask for a 130w adapter to go with the new BIOS update??
Did I just pay for a 8 cylinder muscle car and it will perform like a 6 cylinder car without the 130w adapter?
Here is my order specs:

1 224-6716 Studio XPS 16 Notebook
1 317-2361 Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
1 317-2364 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz 2 Dimm
1 320-8339 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p Full HD WLED LCD, W/2.0 MP, XPS 1645
1 421-1010 Dell Webcam Central v1.4
1 421-0188 Facial Recognition
1 320-8350 ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 1GB
1 330-5460 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,XPS 1645
1 341-8989 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
1 320-8354 Arctic White High Gloss Finish with Leather XPS 1645
1 421-1737 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron
1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer
1 420-6436 PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 421-0187 Dell Support Center Software 64 Bit 2.0
1 420-7938 Dell Connect 2.1
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 330-6222 Windows 7 Label
1 420-9352 Dell, Software, Wild Tangent Inc Games
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
1 421-2086 eBay Webslice
1 430-3605 Integrated 10/100 Network Card
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
1 313-7056 BluRay Combo Drive
1 421-1361 MOD,SW,RXO,EZCD,10.3,DE,FI
1 421-1583 Cyberlink Power DVD 8.3 Blu-Ray Disk Playback
1 421-2000 Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio Software Enabled
1 430-0737 Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11AGN Half Mini Card
1 410-2090 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 15-Month
1 312-0950 9-cell Battery
1 412-1397 No Productivity Software requested
1 950-3337 1 Year Limited Warranty
1 905-5637 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus At-Home Service, Initial Year
1 906-5380 Banctec In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis , Initial Year
1 950-9797 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
1 412-0360 Soft Contracts - Banctec
1 960-8710 Warranty Support,Initial Year
1 467-7771 Thanks for choosing Dell!
1 991-1179 LoJack Theft Recovery Service,XPS - 1 Year DHS
1 420-8655 LoJack Theft Recovery Softwarefor Laptops, 1 Year
1 988-7707 2GB DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 FOR SDO/DIM/INS/XPS
1 420-9518 DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 2GB
1 988-0099 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online
1 330-0171 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
1 430-0700 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
1 464-7492 Special Offer - $50 off (included in price)

 

Or the need for a Core I7, which they are not really getting if it has to throttle underload. Whats the point of buying the power if you can't use it?

 

I could not agree more with this statement or the comment that prompted it.

In my instance I purchased an i7 recently, as it was at a time I could afford it, and more so as a means to future proof my purchase a little. It is not so much about the horsepower I need today, but also about what I might need tomorrow. When I get to that point in the future and need the extra umph, I do not want to be worried about going back to Dell and arguing with them for a replacement adapter. The machine should be capable of Max performance off the bat with no special aftermarket add-ons, purchases or fixes. The 130W adapter should be standard today, and not an option the customer has to request tomorrow in the event they need the extra power.

 

WOW this machine definitely can't play Bad Company 2 on High at FullHD (and definitely not with 90W adapter) and 4 hours of battery life is a pure fiction...

 

Actually with my config and a custom power plan I've gotten near 3.5 hours so if he has a WLED he could probably just squeeze out 4 hours.

 

If you don't play any games and are using it just as a normal PC with normal web browsing and apps, my 9-cell gets about that with my WLED.

When I play games with it, I get aboout 1.5 hours.

 

I've ordered my XPS 1645 - and am guessing that I will get a 90W supply with it.

Which one of these should I buy as a replacement?
http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=bsd&cs=ukbsdt1&sku=450-11261

http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=bsd&cs=ukbsdt1&sku=450-10540

 

I don't get it, I can't watch 110 minutes movie on battery (brightness on max, processor and powerplay on powersaving)...is RGB display so demanding?

 

The problem is brightness on max. The RGB is a powersucking vampire. Just like the i7 those two put together the poor little 9-cell into submission. Power saving profiles (like he and I were talking about more likely than not have the brightness all the way down) which IMO is quite fine. I actually can't use the laptop on brightness max it's quite blinding.

 

While surfing it's too much, but for movies and games it's the only way to go...at least for me...
Do you know how long does the battery last for you while watching movies with max brightness?

 

No but I'm wagering not very long maybe 90-120 minutes? If that. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've used this thing on max brightness. Everyone who has seen my laptop goes when I show them that my laptop is actually on minimum brightness and I think the max is ridiculous for the close range I'm at when gaming, for a movie I see your point though.

 

Indeed I also experienced on quite a lot people showing them exactly the same thing...

 

lmao I love doing that though even though I NEVER use it that level

 

I did the same thing when I bought my first 1080p display for my media room years back. I never watch it on high brightness and when I show it off, I turn the display up for them to get the wow effect. When guest come over t watch a NFL game I tell them I can turn the display down and normally most people want it turned down by half time. The clarity and brightness fatigues their eyes quickly.

 

Sorry for OT...How do you do this?! Mine will only last 1:40 even if I only browsing websites. please do share.

 

I created a power plan based on the power saver plan. Obviously the brightness is turned all the way down. The display is set to dim after 1 minute. Turn off after 2 and sleep after 5 (given that it takes all of 10 seconds to wake up I find this convenient). In the advanced settings:

Hard Disk:
Turn off hard disk after 2 minutes on battery

Desktop background settings:
Slideshow paused

Wireless adapter settings:
Power Saving Mode: Maximum Power Saving

Sleep:
5 minutes

Hibernate after 15 minutes

USB Settings:
USB selective suspend setting-Enabled

Processor Power Management:
Minimum processor state-5%
System Cooling Policy-Passive
Maximum Processor State-20%

Multimedia settings:
When playing video-Optimize power savings.

ATI Graphics Power Settings:
ATI Powerplay settings-Maximize Battery life

I also right click the battery icon when using this plan and enable Dell Extended Battery life (it disables Windows Aero and sidebar widgets)

 

There's the gold....

 

I find that's more that sufficient for the lightweight stuff I do on battery, web browsing, IM, doc editing etc...

 

I feel! Matter of fact, I'm going to go do that now.

~Ibrahim~

 

Just wondering if @uncleweb had any comment on the A08 bios Dell released for the 1747? How can we tell if everything is fixed and if there is GPU throttling? I know in this thread Dell said throttling was solved when there was still GPU throttling. I have not followed this thread for a while and it is very long so I am not sure if that has been addressed by Dell.

The 1747 thread on the Dell website is: http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19325689/19678351.aspx?PageIndex=1

Thanks,

Mitch

 

I have to say I'm extremely dissatisfied with A07 now that I finally have a day off to play some games I can't. Not only is the extremely annoying GPU throttling an issue I'm also seeing clock modulation again! It's gone as low as 25% Has anyone gone back to A03 + TS as the better solution? I'm considering it because this is totally unacceptable.

 

Which game did you try? Because I have no throttling in bad company 2, or crysis...

 

Dragon Age Origins is what I've been playing My processor hits temps as high as 88C and the GPU hits that 84C thermal wall and starts to choke. This happens within 5-10 minutes of gameplay

 

Same here. Not only during games, but also legit work can cause this system to throttle, or in my case even crash. Try running Dragon Age on battery for a few minutes... If you dare.

I have already received two new batteries, a number of screens and a motherboard from Dell, and I'm *not* using TS anymore.

Today I have started the return process, even though my machine is way out of the regular return period. I think I'm going for the M17x, which - as far as I can tell - seems to be fairly dependable now. It is more expensive, but the 1645 is not much more than just pretty.

 

Wow, I'm using throttlestop regularly to log (only log), also gpu-z and I have absolutely no throttling unless I run Prime + Furmark...

Today I played Bad company 2 for an hour, max CPU temp was 75, max GPU temp was 77, min CPU multiplier was 14 (12 when loading another level) or something like that...no CPU or GPU throttling and it was on MAX brightness with RGBLED.

The same applies to Crysis

I don't have and won't have Dragon Age...

And also I see no reason to play on battery, I would never do that since I know that it's not good for battery and it would still give me under an hour of playing...so what's the point?

 

Bad Company: resolution 1400x1050 or something like that (I'd use 1600x900 but there is no such choice and editing .ini file screwes menu), HIGH but AA switched off, fps are sometimes well below 30, but It's fairly playable...
I don't remember for crysis and I have modded it with CCC and so on so you can't compare it...
But still if you can make it throttle I should be able to do that too, which doesn't seem to be the case...

 

I'm happy for you, and wish my machine would act the same. In a room with an ambient temp of around 18c my GPU shoots towards 84c, and my CPU does the same. I really don't want to think about the summer, when my ambient temp will be at least 5 degrees higher.

I'm not really going to argue this point, but just want to say two things.

1. This machine has a battery, so I expect (and need) to be able to use it.
2. The machine up on battery when I work, and the games are at least as demanding as my work, probably more so.

I bought an i7 because I intend to use it. When encoding video for a client all 8 threads are loaded up pretty close to 100%. If the machine cannot handle that, it shouldn't be sold.

I have been patient with Dell, and with this machine, but now it is enough.

(whoops, I did argue the point...)

 

You and I are in the same situation, I do a lot of video editing and such and when I told that to techsupport they actually told me that I should not be doing that on a laptop (lol) and that I should be using a Mac... I told the tech agents that it's the same with gaming and they just shut up about the subject.

 

Folks, a quick warning and reminder of the forum rules as I have had to remove several posts in this thread:

OT posts are also not permitted. Simply posting with a 'Sorry for the OT' is not enough. If it is OT, do not post. If you have a question for another member which is OT, take it to PM.

Any questions on the forum rules, send me a PM.

Thanks.

 

Haha, in my case the battery life is literally less than an hour. I have had new batteries die within the hour, while using the system for video encoding.

On wired power the system is pretty much ok for me. It could probable be bettter, but I will not strive for perfection, as that takes simply too much effort.

On bettery though, the system dies. That I cannot accept. I'd rather have it throttle a bit than simply die. But even if they fix it now, it's been too long. I need to move on. And I think more people need to move on and make a statement. There are so many flaws with this system it is just not funny anymore.

The tech I've been working with is actually ok. It's the machine that has a fundamental problem.

Yes, and there lies the problem. The system has better hardware than it can handle, unfortunately.

 

OK. If you have received yours yet, then try this, and have the phone handy.

Take a 30+ minute AVI file, encode it using HandBrake on battery. After ten or fifteen minutes change the brightness on your screen. For me this is a realistic scenario because of the environment I work in.

If you're lucky the screen will just be messed up. You can turn the system off and it'll be fine.

If you're not so lucky you just lost a battery.

On wired power the hardware is not a problem. On battery it is.

 

Mitchell,

I just ran that very scenario.

Handbrake, Encoding a 697 MB .avi file on battery power, with Full Screen Brightness. I had the power profile set to Dell.

I did not encounter any errors. I did adjust the brightness up and down a few times during the test, as well as open a few different programs.

There might just be something wrong with your particular machine.

I'm attaching a screenshot. Please tell me if I missed something.

Dan

 

Did anyone test the A08? I want to try it because my laptop is way toooo hot now with A07, but I am scared that A08 is going to make my computer throttle as much as the A03,A05,A06 did...

Any results, guys?

 

It's the same. No real changes related to throttling either way.

 

they never said A07 was related to throttling in the description either...

I remember for A06, they claimed that it only fixed a problem with Iphone, however, they actually increased the max voltage allowed...unfortunately, it wasn't enough. so you never know what they really did with the Bios update.

Well, but this is only my guess.

 

Dan,

First of all, thanks for taking the time to test this.

The only difference I can see with your setup is the lower CPU temp. Mine is about 8c or 9c hotter. Given the current (spring) room temp of ~18c, this doesn't look good for the sumer.

But, I'm glad to see it is possible to use the machine as I need to do.

Apparently this machine is a bit too sensitive to heat.

 

What deleted thread? This one?

What are you guys talking about? I just looked at the thread, and it's on the laptop/general hardware boards.

 

Bahaha! That's great Bill! Lol! Everyone here got worked up over nothing. Rofl.

 

That thread was entirely gone. My bookmark no longer worked and I looked through the Dell forum and could not locate it. Perhaps it was brought back but from where I sit it was gone.

 

Hmm. No clue on what could have happened. I would chalk it up to some human error that may have been corrected. I just searched by title when I saw the first post here this morning about it being removed and found it. Sorry for any inconvenience.

 

Bill,

I am not that happy with my DELL STUDIO XPS 1645... Is it possible to exchange it with the ALIENWARE M15X??? Ofcourse the extra charges is acceptable by me.

But i want to know whether it is feasible in US & INDIA too????

 

They have policies in place for that. I think if you are inside 21 days from invoice date, they can do a return and re-order, where they process a full refund for the first system and place an order for the system you would rather have. If you are outside 21, you would probably have to take it up with a supervisor and make your case.

I say this, but just be aware that I don't work in the contact centers and am not the most reliable source on current policy.

 

Guys.....

Anyone tried a 6-cell battery on this laptop???? cuz i dont like holding this with the extended battery.... If you have tried it.... How many hours(or should i say minutes ) did you get out of it???