Dell Studio 15 1558 Thread

i had the same thing you need to download the NEW BIOS from the DELL site after that will run on low all the time and occasonaly goes high depends on aplications

 

I upgraded from the A08 BIOS to A11 first thing after noticing the fan cycling and running with no applications open, but did not fix the issue. I wouldn't characterize the fan as being LOUD, but it certainly is not a quiet fan and I notice it when it starts up, even with other room noise.

I also have a relatively new e-machines laptop (Walmart $298 special) which is silent.

Dell Studio 1558 i3 - 350M Intel HD Graphics 4GB 500gb Seagate
correction, it does not cycle on/off every minute, but after a period of several minutes it cycles on for a short while, then off.

This is not a bit issue to me, but I can hear the Seagate drive (I think I would try a 5400 rpm next time) and cannot get it to spin down after a period of inactivity. I have changed advanced power settings to "Turn off hard disk after" 1 Minute, but the system ignores that.

I'm just trying to get a rough idea if this affects all 1558 with similar hardware, or 50% of them, 25%.

I would like to exchange this is there is a chance I could get a fan that doesn't have the fan cycling problem, or is always on, or is quieter, because otherwise I am quite satisfied with the product.

 

My laptop fails to resume after sleep when the lid is opened.... it turns on for a few seconds and than the screen turns black and off

 

Mine has this issue as well. It's an i3, but people with i5's have reported it as well. The cycling has no fix currently. Bios updates don't help. I've the fan cycling issue from day one for about 5 months now, but I've been too lazy to call dell.There a long thread on the forum here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-inspiron-dell-studio/458719-fan-noise-studio-1558-a.html

read through it. I think this requires an entire logic board replacement. Though some have done this without any success on the fan cycling issue.

 

I had an i3 from the Outlet and the fan would spin up loudly every minute or so just while web surfing. Dell sent me a new i5 with ATI card instead of integrated graphics. All other specs the same. The new i5 came with an Energy Star sticker and the fan runs on low always when not doing anything demanding (like it's supposed to).

 

I also got an i3 based 1558 [i3 370m, 4GB RAM, ATi 5470, 320GB HDD 5400RPM]
I had most of the problems listed; loud eratic fan, poor sound et cetera. I wiped the drive, installed Windows 7 Pro 64bit, A11 BIOS, latest ATi drivers and the rest from the Dell site, audio, chipset... Every problem went away, fan only comes on if I play a fairly demanding game, a few more audio settings in the IDT control panel, in general much better sound.

Overall most of my problems were sorted with new BIOS and updated drivers, the driver disc Dell gave me was almost a year outdated. Pretty pleased with the thing now though.

 

Hi, what sort of adjustments did you make to the audio settings? apart from upgrading the sound drivers. many thanks

 

I've played around quite a lot to be fair... A problem I did have was; if I used an application equalizer, say in Winamp or Foobar the audio would constantly dip. After I upgraded the audio drivers, I noticed I had more settings and controls in the IDT control centre. Where you can increase the base (Which is just the same as using base boost through windows). I just don't have the problems, and can get a nice tone out of the speakers, although I rarely use them. Before they were vey tinny, and like I say would almost cut out during a song.

Sorry I can't give you any real details. 1.0.6267.0, 21 Jan 2010 is the IDT about... The only thing I do maybe different is, I set the SRS premium to Movie, medium sized speakers and don't select headphones, when I'm actually using headphones, I guess this is more to do with what you use. But even with Sennheiser CX300's it sounds better to me.

 

I can't edit posts for some reason, I do mean bass not the base of the notebook .

 

I've just purchased a 1558 Laptop, and for the most part am very pleased. I do have two annoying problems----and forgive me this is hard to explain.

After I am on for awhile I find when I use my touch-pad to move almost anywhere, and barely touch the pad to move a whole page or section will turn blue as if I had chosen a highlight command. . In fact as I finished writing this and moved my cursor up the box, it all turned blue.

Besides that, on occasions, I've had a whole page move without a command. I can move up with the pad to click the back or forward button and just before I give it the command, it'll just come "undone" and I can move the whole page around and only get it back in the normal mode by clicking off to the side.

I have gone to the properties of the touch-pad and thought this might be a sensitivity problem and if so, I'm afraid I don't know how to correct it. I was told to uncheck the "Drag Lock" which I did. Don't even know what that is, but after I unchecked it, I thought it improved a bit, but not so sure. Still happening. Bottom line, seems whatever I run my touchpad over activates without much command from me.

Sorry this is so difficult to explain, but I'm somewhat of a "newbie" and afraid my tech speak isn't what it should be. Thank you for whatever help you can offer.

BarbB

 

Many thanks for replying,it is much appreciated,i have completed a similar cycle to yourself apart from reinstalling the operating system. My fan is on most of the time but at a very low level,it is only noticeable when playing games. I have also updated to all of the latest drivers including the latest ATI one. My wife also has this laptop and has had not really had any issues apart from a black screen when launching a you tube vdeo. since i updated the graphics drivers this has not happened again.

 

It maybe worth downloading the latest Synaptics driver from dell and reinstall this.

 

New AMD drivers out

ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

 

anyone installed it yet? any improvements?
Lower GPU temps?

 

I've installed, not found any problems with it (only on one of my desktops been getting a black-screen problem with my 5770). Only noticed a slight drop in temperature.

Fan on mine has always quiet, seems however when playing FM 2011 now it doesn't kick into top gear as quick as it used to, in fact, it hasn't at all since updating when the 3D engine is on-screen. All good from me

 

I'm running them and no problems. The blocking artifacts are reduced, however they're still there. It's less noticable with VLC or GOM, but video playback isn't great.

 

Anyone out there with a Blu-ray drive in their 1558?

Mine has all of a sudden decided it won't play Blu-ray movies anymore :\

 

Is the Blu-ray drive for the 1558 slot fed or a tray drive? I've been trying to locate one and so far haven't been able to find a part number.

 

It's a slot-loading drive.

 

You wouldn't happen to have the part number? Ive been looking for the Blu-ray drive, but so far have only been able to find generic "should work" devices.

 

Where do I look for the part number?

 

1558 One Month Owner Report:

Well I must admit I have read most of the previous 152 pages and had some doubts as to my decision to buy an I-5 with integrated graphics, hi-res screen, and back-lit keyboard.
(The machine came with bios ver 11).

The computer is flawless; no really, I mean flawless; no overheating problems (I installed Piriform's "Speccy" to monitor things). The screen is spectacular, the sound quality quite good, and the illuminated keyboard very nice.

One question... I've been poking around in the bios and the control panel and am unable to default the illuminated keyboard so that it is always on. Does anyone know how to do this?

 

I'm finally getting mine that i ordered on Cyber monday this week. Its just the base i3/500gigs/intel hd but with the upgraded screen. Is there any out of the box guide, or things you guys recommend i do immediately?

 

It's not in the BIOS... But here:
C:\Program Files\Dell\QuickSet and double click BacklitKB and choose timeout to never.
See ya!

 

Question for everyone regarding the Catalyst drivers...
I have been running the updates as they come out (currently 10.12), but I don't think they are actually changing anything.
How do I know?
Here is what my Catalyst control panel reports for software:
Driver Packaging Version 8.762-100803a-103697C-ATI
Catalyst™ Version 10.8
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1059
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0000
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0775
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.10151
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.0803.2125.36577

 

emtownsend:

I am replying from my permanently illuminated keyboard!

Most Excellent and thank you.

 

Hi,
I think you have not updated it correctly. I installed the full program that is about 65MB not just the driver everytime I update. I have 10.11 you can see it is correctly updated.

Driver Packaging Version 8.791-101026a-107890C-ATI
Catalyst™ Version 10.11
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1094
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0000
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0791
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.10317
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.1026.2246.39002

 

u could force install the driver through device manager but strange that CCC hasn't updated... did u try custom instead of express install?? u can see wat components are getting installed

 

Hi, I'm new here.


I have a Studio 1558 with a Corei5 450M, 4GB RAM, 1GB ATI HD5470 and a 500GB 7200rpm hard drive. My laptop is able to run games like Bad Company 2 and 2010 Need For Speed Hot Pursuit but after playing for around five or ten minutes suddenly everything becomes super laggy. The audio becomes choppy and echoes and the FPS drops to unplayable levels.


The time between awesome gaming and laggy unplayable rendering is very variable. But usually it's around 5-10 minutes but if I'm lucky it can be up to 30min.


I use Microsoft Security Essentials, Malwarebytes' AntiMalware, Spybot S&D and CCleaner to maintain my system.


I've used the Task Manager but I do not see any unwanted processes sapping precious CPU time. Same with Resource Monitor.



The weird thing I used to be able to game properly without any problems when till around a month back. I have no idea what's going on now.


Can somebody please help me figure out what's wrong with the laptop?

 

Thats just the system throttling... It reaches high temperatures so the CPU is slowed down so that the system doesn't overheat.. Its a problem for all ppl who game on the studio 1558... Try using real temp or HWmonitor to check the max temperatures after u experience these fps drops..

Also how do u use ur laptop? try lifting the back since it helps ventilation.. also is the room temperature is high?

 

The system does seem to be a bit too hot. But the weird thing is that it used to work perfectly for over four months when I used to play Singularity, Need For Speed Shift, Blur, Formula One 2010 etc. Now it has these weird FPS drops.



I've used GPU-Z and Core Temp to monitor my system temperatures. The CPU hits a max of about 75°C while the GPU hits 100°C. But the GPU clock frequency remains high at 750MHz inspite of such high temperatures.


How come Dell hasn't addressed this if it is such a common problem? They already replaced my keypad for free after the Enter key suddenly decided that it didn't belong with the rest and just popped out. I really wish my problems can be solved by some software tweaks and I really really hope that it is not due to a defective design by Dell.

 

CPU max seems surprisingly low!! N yes the GPU frequency remains high.. its the cpu that gets throttled even if its the gpu thats being stressed.. I use real temp to monitor my temps n i usually notice that the CPU multiplier is stuck at 9 (i.e. 133MHz x 9) when throttling occurs.. u should probably check that just to be sure..

Really dunno wat the solution is.. its ineffective cooling system from Dell.. Let us know if Dell responds to ur problem if and when u complain to them..
I tried a couple of times n they tell me that it works fine for normal applications so its functioning like its meant to..

Edit: My CPU temp reaches max of 95 and GPU around 98 (when room temperature is 15 degrees) and it throttles maybe once in 4-5 days

 

Have you tried stressing your CPU and GPU with games or BOINC at the highest settings? The weird part is my laptop used to work perfectly alright till about a month back. My room temperature is around 21°C. Is every Dell Studio owner facing similar problems? I checked the Dell website and they seem to have replaced the Studio series with the new Studio XPS. If the overheating issue is resolved on the Studio XPS then I'm going to be really pissed that Dell used the old Studio owners as their beta testing crowd.

 

I just got my 1558 (i3, hd graphics 500gb 7200 rpm FHD) yesterday. The fan is always on, and rather loud even when the surrounding temps are really low. I read through the forums, and couldnt find a fix. So i guess just call dell support and ask for a fix?

 

Haven't stress tested it at all.. i just play the same game over n over usually n its strange that wen the room is below 10 degrees it still throttles one out of 5 times.. did u try contacting dell??

In summer it would throttle everyday n there was nothin I could do! But Dell din tell anythin useful.. Let us know if u find any solution from Dell

 

Yes so call Dell.. since its new if they think its a major problem they will replace ur laptop... But I think this is a common problem.. have u updated the BIOS?

 

One silly question, has updating the BIOS made any improvement with this throttling problem? I have updated mine just once. But back then I didn't have this throttling problem.

 

yea I updated it to the latest one on the dell support site, same problem

 

Just contact Dell.. I don think there's any solution to that tho... I usually don notice it coz i use a laptop cooler and so the fans don kick in on normal usage..

 

I don think the BIOS changed it much..

are u overclocking ur GPU?? That could also increase chances of throttling

 

Nope I haven't overclocked anything. GPU still runs at a maximum of 750MHz according to GPU-Z.

 

I contacted Dell again today... I was irritated after it throttled again!! So Dell have accepted to change the motherboard, heatsink and fan assembly thingy.. That'll be done by 29th or so.. I'll let you guys know if that helps in anyway...

 

I was supposed to call Dell yesterday but didn't get time. I'll call them tomorrow and let you know how they respond to my case.

 

hi,

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What temperatures does your CPU reach when it starts throttling? What is the highest temperature it has ever reached with or without throttling?

 

Hi there

i hope you guys can help me. i reinstalled everything from the windows 7 to the drivers and utilities. the issue i am having now is that the laptop only detects an intel vga video card and not the ATI 512mb dedicated card i have. when i look into the device manager i don't see the ATI card there, as well as when i run the DELL drivers source cd it doesnt detect the video card (no check mark beside the ATI driver).. is there anything i can do..

i have:

i5-430m
4GB RAM
500GB 7200RPM HD
ATI 4570 512MB



thanks.

 

Can you see the card in the BIOS? Is it enabled?

 

I stressed the CPU with BOINC at 100% and it maintained a steady 2GHz even though the temperatures hit 90+°C. BOINC doesn't use the GPU so it was at a calm 62°C.


When gaming the GPU hits 100°C, and that seems to throttle the CPU at 1197Hz even though the CPU temperature may be just hitting 80°C.


Is it the same for you?

 

yup! its very GPU dependant.. wen my system throttles the CPU temp ranges between 80 and 98 degrees..

 

So i got the heatsink ,fan n mobo replaced n now the cpu peak temp doesn't go above 70 while gaming (it was previously at 90-98) and GPU max was 86.. This was after a couple of hours of gaming..

Seems to be working way better and haven't had throttling as yet!

Idle temps have also dropped as compared to before so somethin is working well..