Solution S-XPS 1645/1647 Throttling Issues

This is what they sent me (in the Netherlands):

CM161 ADAPTER..., ALTERNATING CURRENT..., 130W, FLEXIBLE..., 3P, WORLD WIDE..., M09

6859D CORD..., POWER..., 220V, 6FT, ALTERNATING CURRENT..., 3W\3P, EUROPE/EUROPEAN...

That is the slim adapter with the straight-through type power cable.

 

My laptop has just gone into "Build Complete" (within last hour or 2, it only took 1 month and two days since I placed the order) on the order status screen, in the original quote it is listed as the 90w adapter.

Will it be upgraded to the 130w by default? or do I have to contact support.

 

Thanks for that info. When I'm on the phone with them they keep saying that they can only find the old brick 130W-adapter for replacement and the slim one is not in their database. I gave them this CM161 part number (adapter for the Precision M5400) and they found this one back but mentioned they could not give it for this XPS systems. For those guys who did get a slim one, did they find this slim one or did they say they only had the brick one but then in the mail you received the slim one anyways? (The rep on the phone said it was possible that the brick adapter would be replaced automatically by the slim one but that they could not confirm this). Or did immediately book in the slim adapter and confirmed that this one would be sent out to you?

Thanks guys!

 

GRRRR...They insist the only 'solution' to the problem is the 130W brick adapter (part number code X9366), even after I mention the slim version part numbers, and also mention it is the adapter for the Precision 5400, 2400, etc. and that this solution DOES FIX the problem!

Why oh why can this NOT be coordinated properly!

 

Use XPS email support and mention that you still have throttling on 90W after upgrading to A07. That should get you a slim 130W adapter.

 

Yea I think I'll cancel this current order (for the brick) and retry via XPS email support... Do you use the regional site for this? Mind passing the link?

Thanks!

 

I used the email link here:

http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/topic.aspx/emea/shared/support/dellcare/nl/contact_technical_support?c=nl&cs=nlbsdt1&l=nl&s=bsd

If i click it now, it gives an error, so try again later...

 

They say the 90W adapter will be sufficient for customers with both the WLED screen and the RGBLED screen? I am somewhat skeptical here that the engineers have really checked both systems, but I suppose we can test and find out. Regardless, thanks again for the work Bill!

 

Exactly what I was thinking, the RGBLED screen draws more power. I guess I am glad I have both the 130w and 90w

 

I am guessing that It will be sufficient, the thing is, the adapter may burn out during the process... In that case you cant request for a 130W psu due to heat issues..

 

Yeah so I'd make sure everyone takes Dell up on their 130w adapters like NOW lol. They'll stop doing this as soon as A04 posts I would imagine.

 

Just got my 1645 right now, came with 90w adapter. Bummer, put a PM into bill about it, hopefully he still has stock available to send.

 

I have a found tech support leadership contact for Greece/Italy. They are working on aligning their teams to the message.

In the US, we use JU012 for the adapter and K260C for the cord. Have them see if they have the same numbers available for dispatch in your region. I would use email support for this. No waiting. Everything's in writing.

My bad. Sorry, guys. I forgot this is a combined 45 and 47 thread. This BIOS applies only to the 47, which only ships with WLED. 90W is sufficient, but you can get a 130W for heat concerns if you email or call in.

Noooooo! Please do not PM me. I will only slow you down. Use email support for the fastest resolution.

 

I don't think you're right about this, Bill. I know many people who have the RGBLED in their 1647. Additionally, you can configure it with one on the website.

 

I will be getting my i5 with RGBLED delivered soon. No Bios for 1647 with RGBLED?? Can you explain more Bill?

 

Received my 1645 yesterday with a 90w adapter, though it looks like it says 85w. So i'm gunna call friday about that 130w, hopefully the slim will still be available. Oh and the laptop is a thing of beauty. Worth the wait

 

Dear Bill & Todd,

I saw the earlier post from GADiLAREDO and I have posted a similar post earlier in this thread but there was no response. I have contacted the technical support department at Dell Malaysia several times and each time they are not aware of the 130W PSU replacement program. Could you please help me on how I can deal with this issue. My 90W adapter is running really hot when I'm using my 1647 for extended periods of time.

 

Thank you for the part numbers...

What about 1647 Owners with RGBLED?

 

I would think that when A04 posts it would automatically include the RGBLED. They can't make bios for users on the 1647 with and without RGBLED. It just doesn't work that way. Hopefully A04 will resolve throttling Fingers crossed!!!

 

i tried to call, explained the heat issues, then for some reason they mentioned doing a BIOS update. i guess a bios update can magically decrease the amount of heat from my adapter? i believe the person knew what i was talking about, but was told not to give out anymore adapters, lol. cause i didnt even mention anything about throttling/slow downs in games. i just mentioned the heat. then after the rep pushed me to involve "call of duty modern warfare 2" and the slowdowns in my story, lol.


then eventually, asked me to start up the remote desktop so they can check things out. im like, nope, cant do that right now, dont have the laptop with me. i dont want to do remote desktop just so they can send me an adapter they probably should have given me in the first place.


what i wanna know is, if i stick with this 90W adapter, will it be dangerous? (when the A04 bios comes out to fix throttling)?

also, how do i go about emailing tech support (in canada), i only managed to call. i cant find an email anywhere.

 

According to Bill, they are testing A04 with the 90w and its going to be fine. Apparently it didn't get that hot when they were testing it. If you want the 130w adapter then maybe try another rep? Honestly I prefer the 90w over the 130w. Its lighter simple as that, however the 130w has a 6ft cord whereas the 90w has a 3ft cord.

 

glad to hear that. hope it works out. the extended cord would have been nice. its okay for me though because im usually close enough to an outlet, or id have an extension cord

i just wanted to make sure it wouldnt get dangerous thanks

 

Not wanting to spend needless hours on the phone to Dell I sent an email to Dell UK Support about a 130 watt adaptor. I explained that I had been aware of the throttling issue, quoted the Thread on the Dell user forum, said I had updated to A07 but was still seeing thorttling and asked if I could have a 130 Watt adaptor.

I received a response within 36 hours and my adaptor is on it's way. No mention of returning the 90W so far.

 

nice, luckier than me. apparently, every country offers email support EXCEPT Canada.

i tried on the phone, and i didnt get through. i guess i will just wait for the A04 bios, and then if my adapter burns someone or burns myself, i will send the burnt adapter back to dell with my "reference number" to the call i made today so they can find out that instead of the rep trying to help me, instead she wanted to do remote desktop because that will somehow fix the problem of my adapter getting hot? lol.

 

Hi everyone,

I wanted to stop in and let you know that we (finally!) got a post put up on Direct2Dell about the 1645 adapter program. You can find it here.

So, if you're getting resistance from Dell techs anywhere world wide tell them to pull up Direct2Dell and read the post, then go in and read their emails or talk to their managers, team leads, whatever. Because word was sent out.

That being said, I know there are some concerns with a few different areas that we're working through and hope to get them straightened out soon.

And FYI I've been working on the blog post for the 1647 as well. Still waiting on official verification of what is happening for that model. I'm looking into the 1647 / RGB screens but if someone in the US or Canada has a 1647 that originally shipped with a RGB screen can you send me a PM on the Dell Forums with that service tag? I'd like to look it up.

 

I couldn't believe that there would not be an e-mail contact for Canada, so I went to dell.com, selected support/Canada and 'Contact Support' and sure enough, no link by e-mail, that is very strange.

Oh and while I'm editing a typo of mine, thanks very much Todd for the support you have shown the Worldwide Community of Dell SXPS owners, I'm sure we would not be where we are today without the help you and your colleagues have given us.

 

even the small places in the Caribbean has email support, lol, but it says to only use it for low severity issues, lol.

well, i guess nothing to do, but wait it out until the bios release

technically, it hasnt actually affected me yet, but thats because i dont have time to be gaming right now i just like to prepare for problems before i run into them

 

The A04 Bios is available for the 1647, on the Dell website.

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&ServiceTag=&SystemID=STUDIOXPS1647&os=W764&osl=en&catid=&impid=

 

Wake up 1647 people and get to testing... (or maybe that's what you're all doing)

 

Time zone difference

 

updated to A04


Using stock 90w

EDIT: re-testing, I didn't have it at full brightness, Furmark + Prime95

Seems like it throttles more, hovers around 11-12, sometimes as low as 9 (was getting around 12-13) at full brightness.

 

so for turbe, its worse?

 

Well, there is one other thing that was different in my config between my previous test and the current one:

I updated to the Catalyst 10.2 WHQL drivers linked on strags.com (and after updated HDMI and Catalyst to the official/unofficial Dell 8.692.1.0000)

 

Here is some testing on A04 for the 1647 folks:

130w adapter, Full brightness, 1920x1080 resolution... CPU idles at around 13x multi

Prime95 multi=22x
Furmark Multi=22x
Prime95+Furmark Multi=22x



90w adapter, CPU idles at around 13x multi

Prime95 multi=22x
Furmark Multi=22x
Prime95+Furmark Multi=10-13x

I also need to run some more temp testing, however, so far so good....I am very happy...

EDIT: Here is more result for 90w adapter, seems still throttles on 90w, so go get your 130w guys~~

 

I think my Furmark only results are less than before with the new ATI Drivers

For Prime95 Only, I do get 19.65x (around that range)

Idle around 10-11 on 520m

 

expectedly , it's still throttling with my 90w PSU. With ThrottleStop I also noticed Radeon throttling at +84C. It seems like XPS thermal design isn't that good to handle discrete GPU's


ThrottleStop OFF
GPU: +80C, core Clk: 675, Mem Clk: 796
CPU: +62C, Multi: x10

ThrottleStop ON
GPU: +74C/+84C, core Clk: 300/675, Mem Clk: 499/796
CPU: +77C, Multi: x20

 

You're enabling TS with a 90w?

 

Ok, I did some tests.. all on the 90 watt adpater

Prime 95 - Load on 4 Threads
Multi between 18-19 (TurboBoost enabled)

Prime 95 + Furmark + Screen full brightness
Multi between 13-16 (Throttling)

Prime95 + Furmark + Screen low brightness
Multi between 16-17 (Some very low throttling, default frequency)

If they claim this BIOS as a ultimate fix, they are extremely wrong, at least with the 90 watt adapter. In my opinion, if this BIOS allows the extra wattage of the 130 psu, then this is fixed.

 

So the difference in our setups is the screen and I get a Multi less than that with the 90w.

 

installed a04 on my stock core i5 420m best buy xps 16 (1600x900 WLED), tested ONLY with a 130w adapter:

full screen light, prime95 full thread util, furmark: 19x like a rock
also ran borderlands for an hour-and-a-half, no discernable perf drops

heat stayed in 72c to 75c range according to gpu-z; was worried i'd be pegging 80c+

so, tentatively, a thumbs up if you have a 130w. i sent my 90w back two days ago so i can't run a control :-(

(edit: changed 22x to 19x because i can't read; d'oh me)

 

Great news. Maybe the fact that you dont have RGBLED neither 1080 screen helped with your setup.

 

well, as an anecdote, borderlands would turn into a slide show about thirty minutes in with the 90w and a03, and the heat would peg around 75c to 78c, weirdly enough. i can't fathom why it is running cooler under a04 with a 130w -- i expected the heat to jump up to 80c+ easily and throttling to kick in again. will run more tests tonight; the lower heat is probably anomalous

 

also, i'd love to know what kind of stress/perf testing dell engineering does. anyone who WANTS a discrete gpu is gonna try to play games or run power apps on it at some point, i'd assume -- although i understand h.l. mencken holds a differing explanation. ;-) also, it's not like a 4670 runs super-hot (relatively), and after the whole nvidia 8xxxx fiasco you'd think they'd be running stress for a couple weeks straight on their reference machines. dell customer service has been great great great on this issue -- and i was really down on 'em after i got the run around on my dell 10 last year -- but MAN this throttling issue just should NOT exist.

(outside of that, the studio xps 16 is a gorgeous rig and overall a good piece of engineering)

 

How can Dell have any credibility after above statement, because


after user testing it seems that 90watt is still insufficient.

Something also strange is that it seems

performance with A04 with 130 watt is better than A04 with 90watt.( ie. A04 with 130 Watt is alowed to draw more power)


Why would they let more power with A04 and 130 watt if they said power supplied with A04 and 90 watt adapter is all that is needed?

It's comical at this stage that Dell still expect nobody to see these lies.

Fool me once...

 

Exactly. I think there may be some disagreements between dell engineers and management (or whatever you wanna call it), obviously engineers are the ones who know. There is a reason for A04 to allow a 130watt and thats why I think engineers recommend a 130 watt psu, while Dell management doesnt want to deal with those costs. I mean, they definitely lost money with the 1645, maybe they are trying to avoid that now.

 

Considering the 1647 obviously also needs a 130W adapter to fix their issues, it just proves the 1645 with RGB which uses more power needs it's power level upped still.

This was already know from tests, but the 1647 90W adapter 'attempt' just puts the final nail in the coffin on that point.

 

Re: 1647 and A04


Just want to clear this up

The engineers said that there is not a need for 130watt

ie 90watt is sufficient

 

I know. Please read again what I wrote. Obviously a 90 watt psu is not enough, check the tests that I and other users did.

 

How are you getting 22x (2.9ghz) on the 420? It should only be going to 19x for 2.5ghz.

Also, did you have any troubles getting the 130w out of dell since you ordered from BB?

 

Ask Bill for a 130 W in a pm if you have any concerns whatsoever. I did, and I have received mine. It arrived within a few days..

This is a solved issue until a magical BIOS comes out.