XPS 9560 throttling: tried everything, same problem.

I'm baffled that somehow Dell is unable to check returned/repaired components before sending them out as spares. With that said, it's completely ridiculous that a new laptop get's refurbished parts when it needs a repair. In my book this is completely unacceptable and would demand a new product or just send it back and order a new one!

 

I'm passed the first 30 days so I think I have to roll with whatever they offer me. Anyway I agree with you, ****ty quality control.

 

I ran a few more tests here, if anyone can help me make sense of them...

So on HWINFO64, during gaming and the throttling phase, thermal throttling and everything else was on "No" except for yeses on "Core power limit exceeded" on all four cores. In the "CPU performance limit reasons" section, the only yeses (except for "IA: Max turbo limit" and "IA: Turbo attenuation" which seem to always be set to Yes) were on "IA: Package level RAPL/PBM PL1" and "GT: Inefficient operation". What does it mean? I'm a bit new to this.

When I Alt-tabbed out of my game to check out the stats, well I'll be damned, everything went right back up to 60 fps and the cores went back to around 3 GHz. I managed to play for a little while in that little window without any more drops, until I brought it back to full screen.

What does it all meannnnnn? Thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom

 

This is enough for you to phone Dell back, tell them they lied to you on the phone and a faulty & refurbished part was sent meaning you have wasted a day costing you (insert amount in euro's)
Give them one option to replace with a new build or you will be starting a chargeback against them.
It normally throws enough sh!t against the fan to get a new build put on order, they will arrange to collect yours after the arrival date of the new one.

Doesn't mean much when they lie and send faulty parts wasting your time and money so use it against them.

Not sure but you could try removing both video drivers with DDU http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

You can then try this intel driver https://downloadcenter.intel.com/do...phics-Driver-for-Windows-15-45-?product=98909 and the latest nvidia driver. Not sure if you can get the intel driver in German if you need it?


The intel drivers it forces you to have can cause issues and unfortunately it may force the old driver back on but you can use the driver roll back feature to get around it.

 

Well I'll be damned. I need to make a few more tests but so far, I've played two full games without it throttling. The CPU went down to about 1.60 GHz but it didn't affect gameplay at all. The solution was so dumb and simple: instead of uninstalling the DPTF drivers, I just ended the task in task manager. Crazy. I'll test more later but if that's it... well holy **** haha. My temps were in the 70s during gaming as well.

 

Alright, little update. That didn't work on the external display, only on the built-in. The tech swapped my motherboard for one that works 100% like the one I had previously, so that can't be the problem. Still good temps overall, except I noticed one ambient sensor in HWINFO64 hovering in the 90s, once or twice at 100 close to when the throttling started. Every other reading was low, nothing over 72.

I still need to try and disable DPTF drivers but I can't figure out how to keep them uninstalled when online. They even reinstalled when offline, earlier. Does anyone know how to change the NTFS permissions for their folders?

Any other ideas on what could cause this one high ambient reading? VRAM chips, maybe?

 

Afraid it is normal for the ambients near the chokes/mosfets to get up to 100, it throttle around 90. At least you know what is causing it, I did ask a lot earlier in the thread and you came back with nothing, had you found that I could have saved you having Dell rip it to bits 2-3 times for bugger all.
Maybe try a cooling pad or go down the path of trying to cool everything to the chassis but that just seems to delay the inevitable.

You could tell Dell where to shove it and get a refund now they have been out a couple of times with no resolution and pick something with better cooling.

 

Well true, but I also mentioned I was new to this and I just learned about HWINFO64 and how to read it in the meantime. Anyway, no big deal since even though they swapped parts twice, it works as it should now (well, sort of).

I'll try the cooling stuff, but I'm trying to figure out which ones heat up that much so I can try padding them and experiment a bit. I also still need to figure out the NTFS permissions so I can at least try that whole DPTF thing and see what happens.

Otherwise not sure I could get a refund, I'm like 6 months in my warranty. I'm also not sure there's anything better out right now for that price point, especially for my job (graphic/motion designer). Gaming aside, it works wonders at what I do. No chance I'd get a Mac either

 

I got a full refund 2 years and 11 ok months into my 3 year warranty and that was after being upgraded to the new model!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

Good to know, but I don't really see any better alternatives for my needs.

 

The Aero 15 is a very good alternative. Too bad it's looks aren't as good as the Dell.

Asus has 2 alternatives available soon too, so it might worth looking in to that.

The only other alternative left is the new MacBook Pro 15 inch,. But that will cost you (much) more and you will get a GPU that gives around 70% of the performance of the 1050. One thing you do get it superb build quality and awesome QC overall...

 

The Aero 15 is interesting but isn't available with a 4k screen yet, and the current version has poorer RGB coverage compared to the XPS. It's also pretty hard to come by in Germany. Plus the reviews overall aren't as good.

ASUS also has crappy color coverage compared to mine, and a Mac just isn't an option for me. Not a fan of Apple at all.

 

The Aero is good in papers, but not necessarily in real life. The screen is nowhere as good as the XPS15 FHD, let alone the UHD version. Keyboard and mousepad are also worse than the XPS. The Aero has only better graphics performance.

I wouldn't say that you get necessarily better QC nor service with a MBP. I had to change three mobos on my 2011 MBP 17" due to overheating and once the "genius" at Apple, screwed up the repair. He forgot to connect the microphone and left a tiny screwdriver head inside the body! At least with Dell, you get service at your house, infront of you.