fps drop and static noise from speakers (studio XPS 16)

About a week ago I noticed a huge drop in fps and static noise from speakers while I was playing MW2. I'd get it in less than an hour of playing time. I thought it was dust in the heat sink, called Dell and got my CPU fan and heat sink replaced. Then I upgraded the BIOS (A14) when the problem didnt go away according to the support. Even after that, I still didnt notice the difference so I called again and got my AC adapter replaced from 90W to 130W, which I got today. I did not get the drop in fps and static noise when I played with battery only. Whenever I use my laptop I just use only AC adapter not with the battery or only with battery. Even with the new AC adapter I still get the big drop in fps and static noise from speakers. I use to able to play around 3hrs non stop only with AC adapter. What is the causing this problem? I didnt get the motherboard replaced though. Is it just too much heat?

 

fps drop = Throttling Please post system specs. The static noise is probably faulty speakers.

 

What CPU do you have? Use CPU-Z. I'm assuming that you have an XPS 1640 with a Core 2 based CPU.

These can get throttled down to 20% or less of their rated performance based on heat but mostly based on power consumption. The 130 watt adapter and the latest A14 bios does not solve this problem and when users posted that on the NBR forums, the Dell rep ran away and has never been heard from since. This long time problem has been shoved under the carpet and ignored by Dell.

Here's the post where A14 was released. There are many pages after that post with XPS 1640 laptops that still throttle but with no solution.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6091362-post610.html

The only solution is to waste days, weeks and months of your time trying to talk to someone at Dell that is willing to admit that there is a problem and then getting them to replace your laptop with a newer model that isn't defective like the XPS 1640 is. No need to continue this thread. Keep posting over in the main XPS 1640 throttling thread.

Download ThrottleStop and you will be able to log the performance of your laptop. That makes it harder for Dell reps to argue about the throttling issues.

 

Alright just let me post a reply
I talked to support last night. Explained everything that has happened so far and I expected to get my motherboard replaced or something. Then the support told me that Im getting an replacement!!! With better specs!!! They're gonna make sure I get the same other specs, like RGBLED screen and back up my files and move it on to new HDD. But they could just move my current HDD and put it on to my replacement but w/e.
This is my old spec:
Core 2 Duo T9600 2.8GHz
4G ram
RGBLED screen
ATI Radeon 4670 1G
500GB HDD
read blue-ray
bluetooth

New Spec that has changed:
i7-720QM
6g ram (the support guy decided to throw extra 2g in)
ATI Radeon 5730 1G

overall Im very happy cause I didnt have to pay for the upgrades or replacement because I was under warranty and it was about to end in a day. The only thing I had to pay was extending warranty for another year for around $300CAN. I never bought a warranty before so I dont know if this warranty is expensive but compared to what I got, its nothing. The down side is that I have to wait 4weeks?? But should be worth the wait.
Another great reason to live in Canada!

 

The problem you're experiencing is CPU throttling, there is nothing wrong with your speakers. The reason why you hear static is because the CPU handles the sound from the game you're playing and when it throttles, the sound chokes.

The reason why you got upgraded is because the SXPS 1640 is a hopeless case. Sorry, or congratulations?!

Enjoy your new 1645, it's delicious P:

 

how do u change the gpu? 4670-5730

 

i tought the gpu was integrated and cannot be change.. how u replace it? from 4670 to 5730

 

You cant change your gpu, and why would you want to change it anyways? There is hardly any difference between those two cards.

 

Except, you know, DX 11, lower temps, lower power consumption, and higher performance...

 

The increase in performance is not discernable from the 4760. Thats all I have to add to this haha.

 

Haha, reading how all of you guys are having troubles with over heating and throttles, I guess the newer card really does run better. Ha Ha

And I am on Windows XP, I couldnt care less about DX11.

 

Well, your sig says 8008 3dmark06 points overclocked, but I get 8052 points without any overclocking. And my GPU temps don't exceed 63C in 3DMark06 or the high 70s in FurMark. I'll have to try overclocking it and see what I can get

Besides, why run Windows XP?? The old OS can't really take advantage of all the new tech (DX 11, multi-core/threading, etc) in the XPS16. At least XPx64 can take advantage of 4+GB ram, but most reviews I've read of it say it's horribly buggy.

I would also argue that based on the people around here, the 4670 is more likely to cause throttling than the 5730, though there are people that have some trouble with both. Also, running XP puts you in a very small minority, and DX11 applies to the vast majority of people here, even if nothing uses it (yet).

 

You do of course realize that your higher result in 3dmark06 is due to the fact that you got a quad core processor, while I do have a P-Core 2 duo processor.

Anyways, I am glad you enjoy your system. Tell us your results if you manage to overclock it.

 

I'll play around with it and let y'all know. In order to make the comparison more accurate, what are your individual scores?

I have:
Total Score: 8052
SM2.0 Score: 2907
HDR/SM3.0: 3606
CPU Score: 3032

 

Overclocked I get:

8094 3d Mark

SM2.0 Score: 3123
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 3984
CPU Score: 2154


Seems like your CPU score is 40% Higher than mine.