XPS 1645 Overheating Issues

Hey. I'm having some issues with my 1645 overheating when I play just about any game for an extended period of time (I have the 4670/i7 model). Some games (CodBlops) make the laptop heat up rather quickly, but even older games (Knights of the Old Republic) will eventually heat it up as well.

When the laptop heats up to a certain point (something about 90C), it will start locking up and the game I'm running will run very slowly. The audio gets fuzzy and my frame rate drops to an unplayable level (below 10). I know that it's the temperature causing these problems, because my laptop has no problems running any of these games until it hits about 98C (logged with GPU-Z).

I've updated to the latest video drivers available from the AMD site, and this is a nearly fresh install of Windows. I've also tried flashing all sorts of different BIOSes from Dell. A09 gives me pretty good results, as do A08 and A07. I noticed some symptoms of throttling with those though, so I've been using the modded BIOS I found in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/521990-bios-modding-gpu-oc-fun-profit.html

I've just cleaned out the fan with compressed air and it seemed to have no effect. There was a bit of dust but not too much, as I do clean it regularly.

What can I do to reduce heat? This laptop is just about a year old, and I have the 3-year warranty if that ends up being necessary. Otherwise I'm lost. I bought a dual-fan cooling pad that I've tried using as well, and it seems to make no difference at all. Should I ask Dell for a replacement? (Alternatively, will they give me a refund do you think? I've been thinking about going the Desktop/Netbook route instead.)

Thanks in advance for any help, I'm totally lost when it comes to hardware.

 

It very much sounds like you are suffering from throttling. You should not be hitting 90C or more, at all. That's pretty close to the danger zone (nobody dare the start singing that song!). Do you have the 90W adapter or the 130W adapter?

If you've got the 3-year warranty, contact Dell and demand a unit replacement or hardware replacement (e.g. they might swap out your motherboard and it may work flawlessly afterwards). I don't think they'll give you a refund just yet, maybe not until you've had countless problems after multiple replacements, etc.

 

You got a couple of choices:

1. Tell Dell that you're having problems, they WILL (eventually) fix it, possibly requiring multiple attempts.

2. http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/500027-how-keep-your-sxps-cool.html

Try steps #10 and #4. My GPU used to hit 98C with certain "older" games like Left 4 Dead and 84C on the CPU. Step #10 by itself solved my throttling problem, and it's quick, easy and free. I later did #4 "for fun" and got even lower temperatures. Now my GPU rarely goes above 85C and the CPU rarely goes above 77C.

 

I have the 130W adapter, I requested it from Dell because I was having throttling issues with the 90W one. Hopefully I don't have to send my laptop in - I'm a university student and this is the only computer I have.

Thanks for the help though, I'll give contacting Dell a shot.

 

IIRC, all the Studio XPS series laptops came with in-home service (in the US at least), so you shouldn't have to send it in for repair, the tech will come to you.

gpig is right though, the best things you can do is remove the fan filters, upgrade the thermal paste, and dust out the fan. You already have a cooling pad. You can't undervolt the core-i series CPUs, and you don't want to undervolt the GPU if you game with it. If you're running the 1645 A12 BIOS with the A09 vBIOS from my thread, that's the best one for you. There's not really much else you can do. If re-pasting doesn't fix it, then it's time to call Dell.

 

I contacted Dell and they're sending a tech out to (apparently) replace the motherboard, fan, and thermal paste. I don't know what they mean exactly (are they going to give me a new, repasted motherboard?), but I can only assume that it will be an improvement.

Thanks for the help guys, hopefully the Dell tech's repairs will make this thing run a little cooler.

 

Just updating:

Issue is resolved; the Dell tech came to my dorm (the second day after I contacted Dell initially, wow) and he replaced the heatsink/fan unit (which included new thermal paste). He showed me the thermal paste on the CPU before he replaced it - it was almost completely gone. I have no idea how that happened ._.

I can run GTA IV like new again, and it never goes above ~70C even after sustained play. I was hitting 98C before, so this is a major improvement.

Thanks for the help guys, Dell really came through for me on this.

 

it's not "almost completely gone" but rather probably MIA from day one.

there's been many stories and posts that Dell's default thermal paste job is abysmal from the get-go. glad to hear it all worked out!