Studio XPS 1647 issue

Hey guys, I just bought myself an XPS 1647 from someone that was barely used. It still smells new. I was just reading up on some of the issues with these notebooks and throttling, and I guess it was supposed to be fixed in the lastest BIOS.

I just installed SWTOR on the notebook and I was getting real choppy performance at med/high settings. So I decided to connect the laptop to my LED display using DP @ 120Hz, and the game runs perfectly smooth at 50+ FPS. Do you guys think its throttling? Because it seems when I disable the RGBLED display and use the external monitor, it runs perfect.

The specs:

i7-620M
HD 4670 1GB
256GB Samsung PM810
15.6" RGB LED 1080P
Bluray Reader
Intel Centrino N 6200

It has the 90W adapter. From what I read on here, the XPS 1647 does not need the 130W after the updated BIOS.

Will Dell send a 130W adapter if I call up XPS Tech Support and ask? I still have like 140 days of warranty on it.

Also, the notebook makes an odd whining noise when I plug in the AC Adapter to charge the battery.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Some people still have problems, even after the updated BIOS. The problem was never really fixed as such.

The RGBLED screens do chew through a lot of power, so my best guess is that with your system maxed out it doesn't have enough power to run properly, hence the poor performance with the internal display.

Try turning the backlight right down low and see if that helps. If it works fine once you've dimmed the backlight then you can be certain it's the power supply which is holding you back.

 

Thanks for the response.

I tried dimming the display and turning off the keyboard lighting just now, and it definitely fixed it. So it seems like the power brick is definitely the problem here.

I am going to call Dell XPS Support and see if they can send me a 130W power adapter.

 

Well I called Dell, and after speaking to the tech support rep, they are sending me a new 130W adapter, along with a new motherboard and heatsink for some reason. I tried to explain that its not overheating, but they are just covering all bases apparently. Now I have to wait for a tech to show up instead of them just sending me the adapter directly....

I didn't know it was this much of a hassle. I understand they are trying to be more productive by covering all their bases with one visit, but now I gotta take a day off and wait for a tech to show up with extra parts that I will refuse to have installed, as it is not needed. I was thinking I should have just bought the new adapter for $99 from Dell. lol.

Anyway, I will post back once I get the new adapter. Funky Monk, thanks again for the advice!

 

isnt it supposed to be 1645 since you have i7? i thought all i7s needed the 130w adapter lol

 

Melthd, that is what I had thought, but my i7 is actually a dual core i7 with a max TDP of 35W. At least that is what CPU-Z shows, and what it says on intels specs. I think the i3 and i5's have the same TDP correct?

And my service tag shows an XPS 1647, and it also says it on my bottom cover, so I assume it is a 1647.

The tech is coming around 1PM today, so I will let you all know how it goes with the new adapter.

The tech is coming around 1PM today with the new adapter, so

 

Update:

The tech just came by, and we just replaced the AC adapter with a new 130W adapter, and all is working perfectly! No lag or throttling.

I don't know why Dell didn't use 130W adapters for these in the first place.

Thanks guys for helping out. + rep.