Solution S-XPS 1645/1647 Throttling Issues

getting a 1645 soon. does bill still check on if u get a 130w or not?

 

Bill does NOT deal with adapters anymore ... its entirely in the hand of tech support

 

Hey Bill, i have an update for my 1647. During gaming the brick gets quite hot and also it makes an audible noise when the laptop is in "sleep" mode

 

Im getting 85c on my GPU and 84c on my cpu while playing L4d2 at less than medium brightness, balanced, and powerplay on.
Does everyone else get the same problem?
Or am I one of the few that has a bad heatsink/mobo...

 

I see an A05 BIOS version on Dell website, is that the A04 for 1647?

 

No, the newest 1647 bios is the A05, which includes all previous fixes + some other junk I haven't noticed...

I am not sure what the latest is for the 1645.

Also:
Just wanted to let everyone know that there is a new catalyst 10.3a posted on strags.com if you decide to install it, remember to uninstall your previous catalyst and use driver cleaner to get rid of any remaining ati stuff.

 

Sorry I haven't been following this since I started the same thread for the 1640. Whats the latest? Is the 130w needed for the 1647? and is there a biox fix with it like the 1645?

 

Yes, A04 was released that solves CPU throttling with combination of 130W Adapter.
Some news is coming for 1640 owners as Bill said on this thread.

 

I have just been given the ultimate throttling by Dell

A tech came today to replace a million parts on my 1645, and now the 720 only appears to have three cores and three treads, instead of four / eight.

Updating BIOS didn't help. So it's back to tech support... Or just shove the thing in a box and put a stamp on it

 

Mitchell,

If it's not too late, return it.

I'm afraid with these, either you get a good one or a dud. I'm afraid that you fall into the latter category.

I don't think that any collection of used, I'm sorry, refurbished parts is going to make that machine of yours right.

This machine can be great, so at this point I'd ask for a new machine with the EXACT same specs, or my money back and start over.

I know that it is an incredible waste of time and effort, but it's time to throw in the towel on this one.

 

I already started the process to send it back a few days ago, but tech support insisted on another parts replacement... I'll have to wait and see how they react now...

 

That's fair, you gave them the opportunity to make it right.

Good Luck with a replacement.

 

Anyone from INDIA know where i can purchase the ZALMAN 2000 NOTEBOOK COOLER????? Dying to know.....

Please reply guys.... Really wanna get one soon..........

Thanks in advance.....

 

Hey guys I know this is an older thread now, however I have been overseas and have just received my replacement adapter. It has a slip which states the old part needs to be replaced within 6 days or I will be charged for it. I have called Dell and advised others have received this for free and do not need to send back their old adapters. I live in Australia, can anyone tell me if they have had to send their old adapter back? I am sure I have seen many posts about this I just cannot find any at the moment cause its been awhile. I need to find some posts which back me up before call Dell.

 

I had to send mine back, depends on the rep Handling it I guess as some ppl did not have to return their 90watts

 

I have 1640 with 3670 GPU. Got the same problem here with my t9400. Multiplier drops from 9.5 to 3 then its too slugish to play. Sometimes it only drops to 6 and things are still playable. Havent had much of a problem with Crysis but i see the problem frequently when playing modern warfare 2. Anyone finds a solution please let me know. I play modern warfare2 at 1440x900 and anti-aliasing at 4x sometimes with no problem at all.

 

starsat,

See this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=458668

Also, AA at 4X will KILL your gamiing performance.

 

I'm wondering if the bulky, heavier 130W adapter will actually better the performance of XPS 1647? My 1647 crashed during BIOS update and the tech support sent me the 130W adapter. Then later I talked to another tech support, who told me the crash was not due to power/throttling issues and that I actually shouldn't use A/C power when updating BIOS.

Now i'm confused. Should I return my old 90W or give them back the 130W adpater? If the big 130W doesn't increase stability or performance of XPS 1647, then I'd rather keep the smaller and sleeker 90W adapter.

Any tech-savvy people could help me with this decision please? Thank you in advance!

 

You should ALWAYS use AC Power. The 130 Watt is the answer to the 1647 CPU Throttling Issues.

 

Thank you for your response. So I SHOULD run BIOS update WITH AC power, always? That was what I thought too. Hmm... that's REALLY incompetent of Dell tech support then if you are right. Wonder how many of these amateur people they got fooling customers around at "tech support"

 

Those people are stupid, you get much better quality through email, I have found. Also, yes you should ALWAYS be on AC when doing a bios update. ALWAYS!

If your computer shuts off half way through a bios update, you are screwed.

 

Funny thing is that's exactly what happened to my laptop. It froze/crashed when the BIOS update software is processing a block. I couldn't even turn off my laptop holding down the power button for 30sec. I called their tech support and I had to take out my battery for force shut down. Luckily i didn't lose any data.

I tried to run the A05 BIOS update again but now it's saying I already have the newest version and won't go through with the update lol. So I don't know what happened.

 

Thank you for this. My DELL rep insisted the 130 watt shows up only as the a docking station adapter in the Depot Inventory until I was able to provide the above referenced part number.

+rep

EDIT: Rep just informed me that I would not have to return the old adapter back. NBD Fedex. Oh and btw my warranty has expired. Dell being super nice lately.

Ria
800-232-8544
ext 6124584

 

Hello all I have a 1640 that I'm hoping will get upgraded to a 1647 because of my throttling issues.

My question is does the 130W adapter and BIOS update seem to cure all throttling issues with the 1647?

Also why no 16" screen available on 1647?

 

I don't seem to be having any issues with throttling using the 130w psu and the 1647. I have the rgb 16", the i5 520m processor and 4670 graphics card

 

Okay. I have read nearly all 48 pages from this forum. And although having not spoken to Bill from Dell, it is great to see someone handling these noted issues.

On a side. In Australia as of the 15th of July, 2010. They are offering two basic configurations.

Option 1
Dell XPS 1647 Base
CPU i5-540M or the i7-620M
ATI Radeon HD 4670 or 5730
RGBLED optional
Dell Wireless N card (no intel option)
90W adapter only.
BIOS Version A08 (throttling issue was supposed to be resolved with A04)

Option 2
Dell XPS 1645 Base
CPU i7-740QM or 840QM
ATI Radeon HD 5730
RGBLED optional
Dell Wireless N card (Intel 5300 Wireless option available)
130W adapter only (not sure if slim option however)
BIOS Version A10 (advised A09 is the better version)

Based on what I have read, if purchasing config. 1, I will need to request the 130W adapter at some stage.

As I would like the Intel Wireless 5300 card, I would need to go down the config 2 path but from what I can gather, people are still getting throttling issues.

Can people sum up whether these later BIOS updates resolve the issues and whether if I go for the Dell XPS 1647 base, whether I will need to request the 130W adapter.

I wouldn't also mind getting some dimensions between the 90W, 130W and 130W slim adapters. Since carrying this around a lot, the smaller the better.

In terms of what I need, I will not be using this for gaming but rather Matlab intensive simulation purposes.

Hope people here can offer some guidance.

 

I would pick the 1647 over 1645 considering that the 1647 has fewer throttling issues as compared to the 1645. Also the i5 processor would run cooler than the i7.

 

Why does this thread even exist? There is no acceptable solution available for many users. However these tips will reduce the risk of throttling:

1. Don't play games or run synthetic benchmarks. If you want to play games, pay an extra 40% and get an Alienware with the same specs. There was no promise that the XPS 16 could play games.
2. Buy a new one. There's a better chance that the laptop won't throttle if it has WLED+5730 rather than RGBLED+4670.
3. Keep the laptop off. If it's off it can't throttle. There was no promise the laptop would be able to function when in the "on" state, right?

 

I have a tip for you gpig,
1. Stop posting
2. Delete account
3. Thanks

 

I'm just pointing out the fact that threads like these misguide people into thinking that the well-known throttling issues with the XPS 16 series are solved, and then they buy the laptop only to discover the truth for themselves. Yes, Dell did make the situation a little better, but there is no "solution" since the problem isn't fixed. Seems as though a majority agrees, seeing the thread's 2 star rating.

 

Yes it's not fixed and what really gets my goat is that fact that this laptop is marketed as a high end performance laptop that can play games. I'm regularly getting email spam from Dell to tell me that fact....and yet my 1640 is pretty obviously throttling. I have applied the latest bios which seems to help a bit. I also run a Zalman 2000 cooler to help keep this laptop from overheating....yet another design feature. This is my first Dell and it'll probably be my last. It's not a great piece of engineering in my view. My old HP DV9000 is a better engineered laptop and doesn't suffer from any of these performance or heat issue. It also outperforms it when they are both hot...I'm surprised that Dell can even market this laptop as a performance laptop, what's the point in a high end processor and graphics card when the damb laptop throttles the hell out of it once it even gets remotely warm?

 

A11 Bios is out and piece of advice to all those wanting to update or have already done it.....

GET BACK TO A09..... The GPU limit of 84C has not been taken away and so it will still throttle when you play games....

 

Well for a 5730 I've never had more than 79C, even when playing Crysis Warhead for 1 hour... so for people with 5730, is the upgrade worth anything?

 

The hottest I've ever gotten my 5730 is 76C. This was when I went to my aunt's house and thought to play a bit of Battlefield (I love the game). She doesn't have air conditioning and it was like 80F in her house.... The CPU also hit 79C...

In my air conditioned room the GPU never hits 70C... I'm using A11 now and no throttling just yet. I'm still not counting the possibility, but since I only really play Battlefield, and it's not exactly the most GPU-intensive game, and it throttled me in A09 (which features CPU throttling while playing Battlefield)... I'm fine with A11.

Temperatures are slightly better with A11 as well, from what I can tell.

 

Forgot to mention: Only for 4670.... For the 5730, you can go ahead and update it..... No issues.

 

Im getting tired of this thermal throttling
Cant play without suffering

 

It's not just thermal throttling.

My CPU throttles at <75c temps.

 

Good thing we have this wonderful thread which solved our Throttling Issues!

Anyway, are you not on A07 (I guess that is the XPS 1647's equivalent of the XPS 1645's A09)? For my 4670 the GPU limit is raised from 84C to 100C.