SXPS 1645 shutdown when gaming

You would think it's a heating issue, but then again, I got a Zalman NC2000 and the room's temperature is 23 celsius and it doesn't even warms up.... I can reproduce the error with consistency on League of Legends on 1920 * 1080 and it happens aswell on starcraft II.

I'm using latest drivers, graphics, bios, etc.

I have no idea of what's going on, it just shutdowns... no error, it starts with a minor graphical lag, as if it has problems, then it just turns black and shutdowns...

Really frustrating...

 

Could you install a program to look the max temp of gpu and cpu ?

 

Run throttlestop
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/3/1794507/ThrottleStop.zip

Go to options and select nvidia/ati gpu.
Press the button right next to save so that the button shows DTS.
Tick Log File.
Turn throttle stop ON

Post log here

 

I'll be looking at the temps in a moment, but as far as I can tell, it's a cold brick. I did make some adjustments to the frame rate of the game and it's now around 30 fps. It stop crashing after that, although I placed a BIG fan + NC2000. That seemed to work.

As of throttlestop... wouldn't it be a problem if I still have the 90W adapter?

 

Why would you still have the 90W adapter??
I don't think TS will push your adapter unless you force the multiplier/ckmod on the CPU.

You could also use HWmonitor

 

There's no excuse for still having the 90w adapter. I believe you don't even need to speak with anyone from Dell to get your 130w adapter. The 90w adapter is certainly one of your problems, if not the only problem. Studio XPS 1645 Power Supply Upgrade

You can run Throttlestop in monitoring mode (with logging), it won't damage your computer or adapter. The advantage of this over HWMonitor is that the log should still be there after the system crash. Read the readme to set up GPU temperature monitoring. But the first thing you should do is get the 130w adapter (I got mine in about 16 hours), and see if that fixes your problem.

 

Thing is I live on a country different where I ordered. So, I'm not sure if the policy for the power supply is valid in my country. I had a previous problem with the keyboard and I had to replace it, so they sent me the piece to mexico. They told me the upgrade (130W) wasn't possible and haven't tried since then.

I'll be trying now, will be posting results when it arrives. Thanks for the links and the support.

 

Well after doing some tests with TS, It seems my GPU is going all the way to 90C and then it shutdowns. With my huge FAN + NC2000 I can get it to 84C while playing.

Even while my room is at 21C... it still shutdowns when it gets to 90C. Which I'm guessing it's a good thing. I haven't been able to get the 130W (hasn't arrived) but I don't know if that will solve this problem.

It usually stands at 70C while idle. Any suggestions?

 

My room temperature is usually quite a bit hotter than 21C, and my GPU low idle is around 48C. Before I removed the dust filter vent covers, I would hit 98C in some games, with no shutdowns or GPU Throttling.

70C isn't close to normal for idle, and the laptop shouldn't just power off at 90C. The laptop is supposed to throttle the GPU at 100-101C to avoid the power down that would take place at 105C or higher.

 

The GPU may throttle at 91C depending on your BIOS version, so that's fine (though I don't know why Dell set the limit so low, it is capable of much higher temps without damage). Mid-80C temps under high load is within normal range. Idle at 70C is just crazy. I idle 46-50C, and my room is about 23C with no fans or external cooling.

Is your fan/heatsink all clogged up with dust? Try cleaning it out. Also take off the bottom cover and remove / clean the dust filter that sits over the fan intake. If that doesn't get your idle down to the 50s you need to call Dell and have them send a tech over, you may need a new heatsink/fan.

Also, you NEED the 130W adapter. The CPU+GPU eats 70W by itself, leaving next to nothing for the rest of the laptop on the 90W adapter.

 

I hit 100c while gaming..

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I already cleaned up the fan plus the filter. It's somewhat cooler. Though, it still goes to 90C while playing. It didn't shutdown though.

The temp indicator is kind of crazy... sometimes I'm playing ALT+TAB it says 87, then it says 75... in like 2 secs. I doubt it can cool 12C just by alt tabbing in 2 secs.

 

You should try using HWMonitor or something similar and focus most on the maximum temperature which automatically gets record.

 

I'd freak out if I hit 100c. I haven't been able to break 81 yet.

 

Modern CPUs and GPUs are tiny and have temperature sensors located at the hottest spots on the core. When you ALT+TAB out to the desktop, it instantly cuts the power flowing through the GPU and the core temperature will change instantaneously. A drop of 12C within two seconds is not unusual at all.

 

Last time I tested (fairly sure it was A11 not A10) the computer shutsdown when the GPU hits around 91 degrees (throttles way before that of course). Just check your eventlog and that'll show you if that's the cause (there'll be plenty of events about it).

 

Yes, I recently installed A11. But what can I do about it?

 

Go back to A09. If cant go directly, I believe you can flash to A08 and then to A09.

I heard this is the best BIOS version.

 

Temps on A09 are much better than A11? Or is it just a few C margin?

 

Temps aren't better on A09, it just has a higher temp threshold before it starts to throttle, helpful for people with the hotter running 4670.

 

Well, I can't download the A09 BIOS from the dell site :/, it sends me to the IDT audio drivers, anyone got a mirror link?

 

This is really weird, I've been playing with A9 and now I'm not getting anywhere near 90. Plus it's all cool.