Studio xps 16 4670 FPS Dips and slow downs in games

I wish I was brave like you guys and stripped my laptop to see what it was like inside. I really would like to re-apply the thermal paste aswell, as my comp. is running a bit hot and I am sure the more than necessary thermal paste is contributing to the problem. How do you take off the thermal paste? Thanks!

 

With a lint free cloth and some TIM clean (or 99% pure alcohol).

 

In my case it was well worth doing. The application of paste was very poor.
After re-applying last night I tested it thoroughly in 2D and 3D.

I get no throttling now (although I only gamed for 30mins at a time, will test for longer over the weekend) and I even see acceptable temps with the laptop sat flat on a desk.

My external temps are now lower as well and the trackpad is more comfortable to use (although still too hot for my liking)

 

The hard drive is under the left side of the palm rest so if you get a cooler HD you'll have a cooler palm rest

 

did you notice if your SSD made any difference? I would love an SSD but I couldnt cope with 120gb and 256gb is way too expensive

 

Not really as my Core V2 runs pretty hot anyway. I'm not sure what other more recent SSDs are like temperature wise.

The best upgrade you will ever make though. SSDs really transform your PC.

 

So I did the ol' undervolting last night. This is for a T9550 and a 1640 sitting atop a Zalman NC2000. Highest CPU temps during stress test:

- Zalman only = 70C
- Zalman + 1.0v CPU after undervolt = 57C

I should be good to go now. I should probably test temps when my 1640 is in a more mobile mode but it will live the majority of it's days stationary on the Zalman.

Swapping out the Zalman for the Cooler To Go:

- Cooler To Go + 1.0v CPU after undervolt = 57C

 

just wanted to say the disabling power play helped the throttling.. non-existent now. I can play CoDMW2 w/o it constantly dipping in MP. I did a 3Dmark06 benchmark, before is 4473 and w/o power play it dropped to 2934..fortunately I can still handle MW2 at 1368x768 at like 50FPS which beats going at 80FPS but constant dips that feels like lag. Other games I play won't be affected =)

 

did the sxps run with the x9100 in it? I understand the heat, but I just want to know if it was functional

 

Has anyone messed with their SXPS running i7 and SSD. I'm experiencing drops in FPS playing L4D with an i7-820 and a 256GB SSD...

 

Yeah I have severe framerates drops here with the i7 version. Did you try setting the display brightness to the lowest setting? I know it sounds crazy but when ATI PowerPlay is turned on I'm seeing a connection between display brightness and FPS. Maybe its monitoring the power usage? I don't know.

 

No i disabled powerplay as per previous posts but haven't tested that out yet...

 

w power play off I would assume you'd be okay considering you're more than good for the specs even if your performance will take a hit. I say, better than annoying dips.

 

I had no clue this thread Existed well an undervolt and thermal paste application as well as modded drivers + no CCC is all the 4670 needs to run great on this laptop Its worth it not sure how an undervolt on core i7 is tho someone should try

 

how do you go about doing a no CCC? Can it just simply be uninstalled?

 

Yes just uninstall it its worthless IMO

 

I also have a dell xps 16 laptop.
Cpu : 2.66ghz duel core
video card: ATI 3670
RAM: 3GB
Windows 7

When I play games on this laptop, the game will be running at around 45-60fps no worries because i jack the graphics down.. But after 10 minutes the computer drops in FPS and the game runs at around 8 FPS!!!

I then quit the game, and I find the entire laptop lags to do anything! I can't stream youtube, the computer only shows every 5th frame or something, and I can't even type on msn properly because the computer can't keep up with my typing it lags so much.

I've reinstalled chipset drivers and video card drivers and nothing seems to have helped, I also called dell asking what I should do and they told me to reinstall windows "because you have to reinstall the OS every 6 months", but i just installed windows 7 like 3-4 months ago .. What should I do?

p.s. When I reboot the computer runs fine again. It seems to happen when theres full screen effects or high graphic intensity scenes. Even after these scenes the fps stays as low as 8 fps.

 

I just played another 3d game on my xps16 then and the computer went over 100 degrees celcius and instantly turned off. I have the laptop on a piece of cardboard so the air vents aren't restricted.. Is this a manufacturer fault?

The laptop gets insanely hot, such that I can't pit it up from underneath for about 10 minutes till it cools.

 

u have to send that back! Thats just sick:S I have played lfd2 highest settings, empire total war: almost highest (ultra on everything but only 4aa) constantly for like 4 hours and mine never reached above 80.

 

frier, I would recommend not playing games if you hit 100c.

Couple things to try:
1) Open the laptop and check for funky things, I've heard a couple of people (probably out of thousands mind you) that found blockages like where a vent was covered by plastic, etc

2) Re-apply thermal paste on the CPU/GPU. Quite a number of people reported bad (or missing!) thermal paste. This would theoretically void your warranty so if you don't feel you can do a quality job and your laptop is under warranty then see if you can get dell to do it for you.