SXPS 1640/1645/1647 GPU Throttling

Please note that my GPU Throttles down when it hits 84C. This cycle will continue up and down as the system system downclocks the GPU.

 

I'm having the same problem when running Dragon Age. After gaming for a few minutes the GPU temp reaches the 84c marker and downclocks. Once that happens its a regular cycle which severly hurts performance.

Then I hook up the external 24" and close the lid it takes longer for the GPU to hit 84C sometimes it doesn't even get there.

I'll try to post a screenshot soon.

 

Just a minor correction, it throttles the Core clock down to 300 and Memory clock to 500 at those temps.

 

GC-Extreme.

Prime 95 Plus Furmark.

Stable.

Test Stopped at 8:06.

Screen Open, "Balanced" Profile. NO Cooling Pad, dining room table!

Slight CPU Throttling, GPU not so bad.

Ten Minute Fix.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835426020

This worked "For Me," and I'm now a convert.

 

Let's keep in mind that Dell doesn't consider prgroams like FurMark and Prime95 to be concrete evidence of a real world scenario. The best thing to do is play a game or some other CPU & GPU intensive programs (that are actually meant to do something outside of stressing the CPU&GPU) and provide evidence of throttling. Granted if you already "fixed" the throttling it won't be much good for testing. . .

 

I dont know how you consider a multiplier of 8 "slight" but ok.
Im sure that if you chose GPU-Z to show the minimum core and memory clock speed it will be lower than that since you are at 83C, try it.

 

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste....worked for me, I now only get to 77 TOPS, and that's after playing intensive games for about 4-5 hours

 

Dragon Age same here! after around 20mins of playing i began to feel the lag.

 

I had GPU throttling with Neverwinter Nights 2 when hitting 84°C. I had it with 90W adapter (130W just arrived yesterday, didn't have a chance to test but I guess it won't be better).

 

Yup mine went up to 85C from playing l4d2, sc2beta, DA, ME2, etc... all of those throttles (gpu) after few minutes of playing .. I called up dell and they're going to send a tech to replace my heatsink... or so they say.
My question is why didn't it throttle before? I am recently having this issue with the high temp making GPU throttle, its really annoying.
*My guess is that the heat sink/fan/or stock paste went bad recently, but im not totally sure because there are few people in this forum that are having the exact same issues.

 

The reason it didn't throttle before, or you didn't notice it is because the CPU and GPU were already throttling due to a lack of power. Now that that issue has been remedied this new one has presented itself. Plus, we don't know if the engineers did something in the BIOS that might have effected it, or something else they did. Coding can be complicated and easy enough to make mistakes.

 

And if they had made mistakes, what is the "TESTING" team doing???

 

And also, i have noticed this a lot of times.... When i am playing CRYSIS on my laptop with the monitor closed (not all the way...jus a little open) with an external monitor, the temperature never hits the 84C mark (rarely after around 3-4 hours of gaming). But the same is not the case when i am not using an external monitor.... It hits the 84C mark in 15-30 minutes (max!!)...... I guess this is more than enough evidence that the lid blocking the vent is not allowing the heat to be dissipated at the fan's full potential and hence the temperature increases and the GPU throttles.

I think it is high time DELL does one of the two things.....

One.... Redesign the VENT portion alone as that is the main issue behind the GPU throttling... and send out the tech reps to change the vents for all the people who have bought this laptop....

Two.... Redesign the laptop as a whole.... Time to come out with a newer model that has better venting and also much more solid feel than this.... This model has been out for around 4-5 years now..... High time for a newer entertainment high end laptop from DELL...

Just my 2 rupees...

 

After applying AS5, Ive been getting 75C max after hours of gaming but I can confirm that before it used to throttle at 84C.

 

SXPS 1645
Bios A08
130W PA-13 AC adapter
WLED brightness - MAX
keyboard backlighting - switched off
Wireless & Bluetooth - switched off
mercury thermometer
Notebook cooler - none
ATI Driver Version - 8.14.10.0723

From the GPU-Z log, GPU throttling can be observed from 20:28:40(time) onwards.
The GPU Core Clock reduces to 300 MHz from 675 MHz and the GPU Memory Clock reduces to 500 MHz from 800 MHz. It can be observed that the GPU throttling cycles continuously repeats.
As the GPU hits a peak temperature of around 84-86 C (due to improper dissipation of heat - screen blocking heat vent) the GPU begins to throttle or underclock itself.
It can be observed from the Fraps attachment that Frames per second reduce to half during GPU throttling from 27 to 12.

This better be worth it Bill as I was supposed to be working on my Microcontrollers Assignment and Record.

Temperatures

Room Temperature 29 C

On windows startup
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu271/harsham05/windows_startup.jpg

During GTA 4
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu271/harsham05/GTA4.jpg

PS .csv files cannot be uploaded so bear with winzip.

 

I think most of the throttling you guys are reporting is due to improper thermal paste application my GPU never hits 70'c after hours of playing L4D2 or any game re-apply your thermal paste and if you have check it again max ever was 65'c and that was like or a minute or 2 with an OC at 750/875 soooooo

 

Can I make a small request? Would it be possible to add the 1640 and 1647 to the thread title? I think the symptoms and resolution, if any, would be similar or same, and I'd like to get the issue sized and scoped for all 3 platforms at once, rather than the cat herding episodes we all went through on CPU throttling. Thanks.

 

Not everyone is willing to apply AS5 and AS5 is unavailable where I live.
I doubt if its going to be available in Singapore when Im going in April.

 

No only that, but he's not running a Core i7, which run hotter. (Especially the 820.) And since they share the same heat dissipation channels and tight interiors of the Studio 16...... you do the math. I've applied AS5 to both the cpu and GPU, and done it properly, and while it has made a slight difference, my laptop still idles around 50-53 CPU and 50-52 GPU when absolutely nothing is open. Applying better thermal compound helps (and doing it properly unlike the people that built the system ), but it's not a true fix really.

 

True True! So should we spend our own money and time to fix something that dell couldn't do it properly? NO! People can do that if they want but I still think we need to encourage dell to fix this problem instead since we payed a great deal of money to buy this laptop.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=460540&page=31

 

No problem Park! I fully agree with you that we need to put the pressure on Dell on this one!

 

Accidently quoted yours. Edited my response.

 

Dude... Seriously????? You are comparing the likes of a C2D with an i7???? The i7 is a power hungry monster that creates as much heat as the power it sucks in..... And also... Have you ever touched the lower-left part of your screen where the vent is???? Is it hot or cold as ICE????

I think this is a serious issue. I will be anyway reapplying my thermal paste tomorrow and will compare the temperature difference and post it!!

Any suggestions on a good video for APPLYING THERMAL PASTE will be really helpful!!

 

ORLY?? you missed the gazillion post heat issue topic on the 1st page?

 

Did not get the reference!!! I know this heat issue affects all the variants of the STUDIO XPS... And yeah.. I now remember... The 1640 was the worst laptop at dissipating heat.... And they had changed the internal design to allow more heat to be dissipated in the 1645 n 1647......

So yeah... I think this issue is an equal issue between all the variants.... But i think the 1647 does not get that hot..... It has the same design as the 1645 and it is not an i7 and hence lesser amount of heat..... Atleast that is what i am thinking...

 

Even if AS5 is applied properly its very difficult to get consistent temperatures from all 4 cores.

Exactly!
Anyway Bill is on it. He said he is going to inform engineering Tuesday morning.

 

Now the wait starts..... Lets see on TUESDAY what they come up with...

 

VERY difficult. I've noticed that monitoring my temps, it's all over the place. I get a lot of spikes for no apparent reason as well. Hopefully they give us some good news!

 

How big are your spikes? Even on my self-built PC in which I used AS5, I get spikes from an occasional core by about 5-8 degrees, I think it's normal (ish). My PC is also an i7 CPU.
On another note, however, my 1645 certainly gets roasty hot on the bottom corner of the screen due to the vent, it's plain as day. And I will NOT pull apart my laptop and reapply thermal paste just because DELL engineers didn't do a very good job of it (and in the off chance I screw something up I don't want to have an un-returnable laptop because I'm told I tampered with it). And even if I did reapply the paste and it totally fixed the heating issues (unlikely), it still wouldn't fix the placement of the vent and the direction it blows. This should be DELL's responsibility to fix, not mine.

 

Dude, the SXPS 1640 has only been out since 2009, and the 1645 has only been out sometime fall of last year, and the 1647 even less-so. A redesign is asking for a bit much. Plus, I like this machine well enough it doesn't need to go away. The GPU throttling would seem to be the last big issue for the machine, and then I can only imagine the wonders to behold. XD

 

Yeah.... well i did not know the exact facts.....

Well... when these guys were thinking of putting this kind of config into the existing base they should have thought about the heat dissipation.... What i am trying to say is that they should have atleast redesigned the vent part.... Or do you love that part also the way it is????

Or they should have added an extra vent at the right side so that more heat is given out..... But i still sit firm on the fact that the best way they can modify the vent part is change it to face left... i dont see a more cost - effective way for them....

Just some more of my coins....

 

Hey guys, now that we have Bill's attention, I think we need to make use of it to the full extent.
I urge all of you to start benchmarking games using GPU-Z to log a file and Fraps to log a FPS excel document.

Take my post as an example on page 2 of this thread.

Bill will be soon posting on this thread.

 

I think people with RGBLED compared to people with WLED would have more trouble with Throttling since rgbled and it's 1920x1080p resolution would stress the GPU more than 900p. Same with the power consumption between these 2 screens.

 

WLED on 1645 and 1647 is 1080p also

 

Awesome, played Metro 2033 today, GPU got to 85C and the CPU (i5-430m) got to 86C.

I could tell it was throttling in game as well, this junk is just garbage. I am starting to seriously question why, at over $1000, there are so many issues with this system.

Also, it was 65F in my room (thermometer sitting on my desk).

 

Alchemist, I'm not trying to pry on you, but your information was really out of proportions. Personally, while I'm concerned about the vent design damaging the screen this seems to have only shown with the RGBLED (and I have the WLED 1080p) in the long term, the way I see it, if it does by the time that happens I can just get their newest equivalent model. Anyway, my major concern at the moment is the way the poor ventilation handles heat, and whether it means they redesign the vent, apply better thermal pastes, or adjust the throttle limit as long as it gets the job done I'll be happy. I mean, while a redesign of the vent seems like a good idea, its hard to imagine exactly how they'll go about doing this. And I'm done rambling. . . Lol.

 

Sup guys, the system's been better with the 130 W adapter and A08...but i am using ThrottleStop with the clock mod at 100 % Yesterday i played Dirt 2 for about 30 minutes and the system shut down due to overheating. The vent was puffing out extreme heat so really dissapointed with the heat management system in this laptop. Thinking of probably using a small fan around the vent area

cheers!

 

Please upload a GPU-Z log file and a Fraps FPS benchmark excel document.

 

Perhaps if Dell can replace the vent cover with an improved version (maybe spread the holes above the vent as there's still enough room) it may help blow the heat upward and not just to the screen concentrate it to the screen.

 

Dell has replaced the vent cover and this thread really is not serving its purpose if ppl keep complaining about the vent here when they should be discussing the GPU throtling there is another thread for the vent discussion if they are connected then this thread is pointless.

Now the vent has been redesigned once from a 4 slot high config (such as you have described in the post above this) to a 5 slot med low config with a rasied bar for extra space for the fan to suck air what i mean by this is the old ones used to have some slots that would blow up on the screen two actually and the other two were blocked by the screen, hence no heat dissipation and abysmal heat issues what dell did to remedy this was ad an additional slot and move them all down I have three slots pointing down and two slots blocked by my screen, however, no hot air is blowing up my screen ill post pics on the vent thread, just count your slots.

here is the link to the thread about the vents: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=460540

EDIT: P.S. I'm not trying to play forum police just trying to get everyone back on topic and DInkleburg is right you need to submit GPU-Z Logs and fraps excel sheets to show throttling

 

Just clean the CPU and GPU and reapplied Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 (I don't have AS5), yes it does lower the temperature, and running Furmak test, the temperature will heat up slowler to reach 81C and if the internal fan run fast, it will settle at around 79C. Previously before I applied the CM ThermalFusion 400, temperature climb up fast and throttle at 84-85C.

Anyway, ambient temperature is around 28 and I use a mini USB fan to cool the LCD screen and improve air flow, though.

My observation, if the mini usb fan is off, the temp will climb up fast and has more throttle. So the design of the vent is important, but the ambient temp and free air flow is also 1 factor.

 

Just wonder, If so many complaints for an issue with SXPS, including other issues with this series laptop, How come still Dell continues selling these model without first solving these issues ? Is it like Dell is more happy to sell a buggy laptop ???

 

It seems your very unhappy with the laptop, and I honestly can't blame you I alone have had 8 service calls since October of last year, But to answer your question there are lots of ppl that aren't aware of these issues as Dell tries to keep them underwraps. Still doesn't make anysense as to why they wont fix them it could possibly be that they don't want to lose their energy star rating.

Very true, however you need to do some Real world testing like playing games and having GPU-z running in the back collecting a log and fraps as well doing the same. FURMARK and PRIME are not what dell considers valid tests. Also, I personally dont preffer thermalfusion as it doesn't do as good a job as other Thermal pastes out there

 

"Underwraps" how? The posts on our corporate blog here, here and the one coming out for the 1640 in a few days? Is that how we "keep them underwraps?" Do we keep them "underwraps" by no less than 3 Dell employees coming to this site to engage in the conversations about it, provide updates to what we are doing, announce fixes, and ship 130W adapters to forum members to save them the time of calling in to tech support?

And Energy Star rating? Hilarious. Hogwash. You might want to read up on how a system gets certified for ES rating. The certification is done in 3 states: off, sleep and idle. As far as I know, throttling does not take place in any of those 3 states.

 

Bill, I will ask you the very same question again - if it's not because of the ES rating, why did you throttle these laptops in a first place?

 

And I will answer the same way I did when I was asked that before: I do not know. I am not an engineer. But for sure, the ES theory is hogwash.

I do know CPU throttling is fixed (fix coming for 1640 soon), and that the systems are still ES compliant, and so are the 90W and 130W adapters. The GPU throttling issue has been escalated, which is why this thread was started.

 

Please sneer82 and others users, lets stop asking and demanding the same answer over and over again. We dont know if Dell did this on purpose, and if they did we will never know the reason.

 

The idea that Dell is trying to keep these problems underwraps is ridiculous. I don't see reps from other companies coming on to third party forums to address customer complaints and concerns like Dell has. While there have been a few issues with the Studio XPS series, Bill, Todd, and Brad have been very courteous in addressing our concerns and acting as advocates for us. If members keep bashing Dell and continue to ignore the good will of the company, why would they continue to reach out?

 

WoH !

Dell representatives @ NBR ! Its a really a good thing started by Dell to get the actual testing results from the real owners at ground zero.

But, we know there can not be smoke without fire. If many owners are making complaints about the throttling and heat issues, there must be some design flaw or hardware flaw with the laptop. So, I surprised after getting the very first complaint, Dell should have immediately fix these issues (like Windows patches for security flaws) and should have paused selling untill the issues are fixed (not to add more dissatisfied customers to their list), to keep the brand at top among laptop community.

 

I think one of the reason the SXPS received this response is the buyers/users expect a lot from this machine (and the price they paid), apparently the systems was throttled with the original 90W adapter, personally I think due to the design of a compact case and power sucking i7 and HD4670, which in turn generate lots of heat and blowing into the LCD worried the users.

Now the 90W throttling is resolved, I am happy if the second part : heat (caused the LCD to heat up and GPU to throttle) will be settle eventually.

Current work around is a cheapo USD4 mini USB desk fan, it does the trick pretty well (quiet and powerful).

Maybe dell ship out a deginer mini USB desk fan that can mount to the SXPS, I will happy for that, haha.