S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

Does the 130W adapter "fix" work with the latest BIOS?

Also it's weird...some games cause throttling, some don't...and depending on what version of the BIOS I have, games that previously never caused throttling do. Ah, it's so frustrating!

 

Those CPU temps are ridiculously bad.

Just to cover every angle-

Do you use the laptop on a flat surface like a desk?

Do you have the 6 or 9 cell battery? (the 9 cell sticks out under the laptop)

Is your room temperature normal (under 80F)?

 

what are your cpu temps before gaming? I usually am at high 40s, no modifications to my system (one of the first 1645s shipped)

as for the comment on why tolerate the throttling? Why replace the computer so early, when you can wait until the end of your 3 year warranty to get a replacement?

 

I think my computer was just exceptionally hot that day.

Since then, my idle temps are 50-60, and gaming temps depends on the game, between 70-85.

It's on a flat desk, 6 cell battery, ambient temperature is 20C.

What else besides whats monitored by ThrottleStop might cause a decrease in performance? Because I noticed from A12 and A09 bios, even though CMod and FID and everything else was normal, there was still some performance difference.

 

Has anyone had success with just Dell's proposed fix?

 

Elaborate?

 

i think he means using the 130W adapter vs the 90W adapter.

that _should_ fix your issue, but i've never had any throttling problems before, so i can only speculate given results from other members in the past.

 

Hey, I recently decide to keep my current S-XPS 1645 over the XPS 15 in my sig.

I just didn't like it..
And it ran hotter than my S-XPS 1645 even though it's vent isn't blocked by it's monitor!


Today I was informed by a Dell supervisor tech that they are replacing the bottom ventilation of the S-XPS 1645 for me. They said it was a new procedure that they're trying. Anyone else have this done? Just wondering.

He said, "I understand, This time I will have my technician add redesigned Bottom parts for better ventilation."

 

Am I to understand from your signature -that they replaced your first XPS 16 with the 2nd one free of charge, and now are replacing it with the XPS15?

You got a great deal from the first to the 2nd one...

 

The first S-XPS 16 was replaced by the current one. The current one was replaced by the XPS 15.

The XPS 15 should be the new "current" one, but I was unhappy with it, so I am sending it back this week.

 

My xps 1645 is stabel in cod black ops when brightness is about 40% and throttlestop is on.. When brightness is higher then i got creepy sound, big fps drop and hard throttling in game when I play about 10minutes.

edit: with or without throttlestop, things are the same...

 

Sounds like you still have the 90w power adapter (or possibly an RGBLED?). Get the 130w adapter.

After seeing your update, I hope you already have the 130w adapter- you really shouldn't enable TS with the 90w adapter since it may melt if you are lucky, or worse if you are unlucky.

 

RGBLED and 130W adapter... With or without throttlestop, things are the same...

edit: or I'm doing something wrong?

 

I have a Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop, stumbled across this thread yesterday when searching the web with my mate google, because I have had enough of only being able to play games for 20 mins and then it turning into a slideshow.

So I saw the youtube video when playing crysis and it started throttling, then unplugging the 90w power cable, it stopped throttling. I tried this on Dirt2 today, but it does not have any effect? Also, If i pull out the adapter pre-Throttling, my FPS drops to 15, compared to 45-50 with it plugged in.

Whats up with that? Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

1) you need a 130W adapter. Do you have it?
2) Download Throttlestop
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/3/1794507/ThrottleStop.zip

Turn it on and set 100% clockmod + chipset clock mod and 13x multiplier

 

Sounds like my wife's 1640 that was replaced. I'd suspect the reason you see the drop when you unplug the adapter is because it throttles on battery power like her's did. As soon as I would unplug the adapter the clock multipliers would drop and her laptop would throttle.

If your still under warranty I'd suggest you download Throttlestop and start logging you behaviour both under AC power and battery and keep a record of when you laptop throttles and what behaviour causes it. A sure way to test it would be to download and run both Prime95 and Furmark at the same time while recording your info with Throttlestop.

Then once you have the proof that your laptop is indeed throttling, contact Dell and patiently describe your problem you them. If it goes anything like my ordeal, they will first send you a 130W power adapter and a motherboard replacement. This should fix your throttling issues when plugged in, but will do nothing for your throttling on battery power.

It's up to you if you want to pursue it further at that point. I for one was unwilling to live with a laptop that runs at 35% of it's advertised performance when running on battery power and pushed further for a fix. After another pointless motherboard replacement I was able to get a replacement system issued (XPS 15) but only after contacting their corporate office at [email protected].

I would not hesistate to push for a replacement if you are still under warranty. There is no reason to live with an obvious engineering flaw on a system sold as a performance laptop.

 

agreed, first step is to try and get a 130W adapter and/or motherboard replacement. if that fails, get an entire unit replacement.

finally, if your replacement is still throttling, bug Dell to replace it with something that doesn't throttle.

i got lucky and received a unit that has not had any problems yet. but i don't see any reason why you, as a customer, shouldn't at least expect a fully functional (and as advertised) notebook for the premium you pay.

 

Whats the best way to get one? Firstly my laptop is out of warranty. Secondly, I live in the UK, so should i give dell a ring? or search for one online? I found one for about 20 quid.

 

For a long time they were treating the 130w power supply upgrade program as a somewhat of a "recall" (not a safety recall), meaning that even if you are out of warranty you should be able to get the upgrade for free. Not sure if this is still the case, but it couldn't hurt to try, except for losing valuable time on the phone.

Note: XPS 1645 only

 

I received the 130W adapter for my 1640 by just calling in but I was still well within my 3 year extended warranty period. Not sure what they do if your out of warranty. Regardless it's probably worth buying it even if you have to pay to at least stop the throttling when your plugged in, otherwise your getting a fraction of the performance you paid for when you push your cpu and gpu at the same time.

I really wish I had listened to my wife's complaining sooner and had pushed for a replacement a much sooner. I had always assumed her hardware was more than capable of running the games she played, I would have never guessed that an engineering flaw that big could be overlooked and allowed to enter production. If you pay for a 2.53ghz or 2.66ghz CPU or whatever that's the level of performance you expect 100% of the time, not 2.53 when light surfing but only 1ghz or less when gaming thanks to the throttling. That's ridiculous.

IMHO these laptops should have all been recalled. Dell knew full well what was wrong with them and the 130W adapter is a band aid solution at best.

 

Does a motherboard replacement mean the cpu and gpu are also replaced since they are soldered on the motherboard?

 

GPU yes, CPU no, the CPU is not soldered on the motherboard.

 

Has Dell run out of the 4670 motherboards?

Hoping to get a 5730 for the throttling.

 

They still had motherboards with the 3670 for my wife's 1640 last month, so they probably still have them with the 4670 as well.

 

I just thought that I would post a ThrottleStop log here because it doesnt really make sense to me, so if someone else could digest it that would be great. As soon as I started getting throttled I stopped playing.

 

Does a motherboard change mean a fresh install of Win7?

 

Everything is fine till you hit multiplier modulation at 23:42:16 (multiplier cut from 9x down to 7.58x to 6x, then at 23:42:23 you also get a dose of chipset clock modulation cutting clock performance down to ~37.5%

Your system must run like a one legged retarded fish at this point...?

 

Nope, if most else stays the same it should be all g

 

Yea sounds about right lol. My game turns into a slideshow. Thanks for the info. I will be getting a 130W adapter in a few days hopefully

 

Your Windows install will be fine, they don't touch you hard drive but I would back up your data just to be safe.

The only problem we encountered was with iTunes since we didn't realise that iTunes would recognise the new M/B as a new PC AND as we already had 5 PC's authorised on our account AND had not deauthorised before the swap we could now not authorise the 1640 for iTunes purchase without deauthorising all 5 PC's which is only allowed once per year.

Just a heads up in case you have multiple PC's sharing one iTunes account.

 

Just ordered my 130W adapter. Lets hope it solves all my gaming problems.

 

That's the TS log when I play Black ops.. I got hard fps trops about every second.. TS is ON..

 

I have an M17X R2 and for the life of me I cannot find a post explaining what I should set on ThrottleStop. The first post has a different, I guess older, version screenshot - those options are not on the new version.

What am I supposed to check off and what are the settings supposed to be? Do not want to fry my newer notebook.

Thanks.

 

A dell-guy came to my house today and replaced my motherboard. I was hoping for a 5730 but got the 4670. Will do some testing later, but I dont see why it shouldnt still throttle.

 

For max performance: 100% ckmod and chipmod, and turbo multiplier (13x on i7)
Press save and turn it on.

 

I just removed the dustfilter from my XPS 1645 ..and all i can say: wow
Here's 2 GPUz logs with and without filter
(I downclocked to 650mhz before to see if it was any better)


That's from max 97c to max 87c..-10!

 

Ya, my system doesn't suffer from throttling heavily, but it will start to throttle after a month or two if I don't clean out my dust filters. I've considered taking them off, but so far, I can solve my throttling issues just by keeping them clean. Still, for those having throttling issues, definitely take a look at your dust filters.

 

Yeah the same thing has happened to me quite a few times...... The games like SC2 or NFSHP start lagging or stuttering where they used to run fine and then i turn the laptop to the back and find that the filter is clogged with dust..... After i clean the filter with an air spray and put it back on the game runs like a charm.....

But i would recommend people taking off their filters if it is not a dusty environment, as the performance is way way better when the filter is taken off as the amount of air blown out is almost twice and hence better heat dissipation.....

 

So I have finally got my 130W adapter. Ive downloaded throttlestop. Earlier on in the thread it says to set the multiplier to x13. But mine only goes up to 9.5. Whats with that?

And just to claify, throttlestop is completely safe with a 130w adapter?

 

What CPU do you have?

 

Just copied this from dxdiag:

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.100608-0458)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Studio XPS 1640
BIOS: gPhoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A10
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8600 @ 2.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 4060MB RAM
Page File: 2185MB used, 6149MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode

 

You don't have the new i7 so your laptop shouldn't throttle.
Why do you think it's throttling?

 

Because playing a game for 10-20 minutes on high graphic settings turns it into a slideshow.

My log from a few weeks ago which I posted before is attached. The only thing that has changed is I had to install Vista whereas previously i had windows 7

 

Well, your CPU isn't overheating.
Try sleeping the laptop and play again.
The log you posted, is it with TS turned on? or just TS logging?
If not set it to max multiplier and 100% ckmod/chipmod

 

Btw here's a log with my 4670 overclocked to 700/830 from 650/800 (previous log)
The 4670 gets only 1c hotter !

 

I know the laptops are all XPS 16's, but this really is the XPS 1645 Throttling thread.

As far as I know the 1640's won't use more than 90 watts at a time even with a larger power adapter since the BIOS tells it not to. That's why I specified "XPS 1645 only" with my recommendation to get the 130w adapter.

Can ThrottleStop override the 90w limitation? I believe it could but I don't think that is your problem.

What you should do is monitor the GPU temperature. Your graphics card is probably overheating. Since you already have ThrottleStop, open up the config file in the ThrottleStop, and do the "GPU=2" thing (there are easy directions in the file itself). The GPU temperature will now show up in the log file. The Throttling points are usually 84C for the CPU and GPU on the XPS 1645 (few exceptions in certain BIOSes), probably the same for the 1640, but I'm not really sure.

Edit: Looks like Unclewebb (the Throttle master) still reads and posts in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/458668-1640-throttling-post-here-124.html . You should definitely post your log there.

 

725/850mhz..no change in GPU temp! WTH?

 

Those are pretty tame clocks . My 4670 is stable at 800/925 and mostly stable at 845/955, although most of the time I just leave them stock.

 

I've gotten it to 800/900 and my temps were about 7-10 degrees higher after a few hours of gaming, without a cooler or anything

 

Thats crazy.. I just pushed it more and it doesn't seem to have any effect on the temps whatsoever! 750/875 now.. might go higher tomo