M1330 game fps slowdown fix

***edit for atitool fix***

Using 158.36 drivers as most of the 16x.xx don't allow overclocking.

The M1330 unoverclocked can run upwards of 104 degrees C indicated in the Dell temp censors. Many of us think this is just a misread, but the system acknowledges it anyhow. The problem is that the temp will peak to this on certain scenes and when it does, the 8400m GS card will downclock to low power 3d, resulting in these fps drops at, say, transporter globes on UT. This is also the same reason why people see much lower scores in 3dmark with it constantly reaching max on the 2nd bench of 05. You can monitor this using rivatuner's monitor.

I fixed this by using ATITool, not ATI Tray Tools and not Rivatuner, to set the low power 3d AND 2d clock settings to the same settings as the high power. Rivatuner won't allow you to set the 2d to the 3d settings, even when telling it to keep all settings the same. Another option would be to use rivatuner and set the 2d to max memory it will allow you and you'll keep the downclocking protection as well as not see as much of a drop in fps. Keep in mind that dropping performance on this about 5% will drastically reduce the temp fast.

At 104 the card downclocks to low power 3d, at 105, the card downclocks to 2d. That's why you have to set 2d. Also, people have mentioned that the actual temp is 10-20 degrees lower than indicated AND the card is rated up to 150 degrees due to newer design over the 7xxx series and so on.

I hope this helps.

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ATITool would not run correctly in Vista 64 but I have finally fixed it:

FIXED, I figured out what to change to get ATITool 100% functional in Vista 64.

1) We know about the certification thing, I'm doing my method of test certifying and then removing the test watermarks. That problem solved, though ATITool is to have it's own cert in the next release, thank you =)

My driver cert method:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=96785

2) I have been having to disable and re-enable the atitool driver in the device manager about 10-20 times, resulting in some crashes. I fixed this finally by going into regedit and changing this key:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\ATITool]
"Start"=dword:00000003
I changed to
"Start"=dword:00000000

I've tried this multiple times, if start is 1,2,3, or 4, ATITool will "kernel mode driver does not seem to be running" about 95% of the time; at 0 it will load 100% of the time!!!

Congrats! With this fix this is now 100% vista 64 capable! It also beats out rivatuner because you don't have 2d limits. Since my card thinks it runs at 105 degrees constantly, it always downclocks, but problem solved.

 

Just bumping this.

 

what for? I think you already have a thread where you are talking mostly to urself :laugh:

 

Finalized the fix to this.

 

thanx trebuin....

I've been using the 16x.xx drivers and noticed that it doesn't allow overclocking...

 

Yea, I found the same thing...but I also found 160.03 does allow overclocking, strangely.

 

sorry for the noob question, but how do i know which driver i have? is it he forceware version? mine says 101.36 , sounds wrong or am i way underdate

 

Thats the one you have installed. I'm pretty sure its the one that comes w/ the xps1330

 

Yeah, that's the default one Dell ships, but the newer drivers provide substantially better performance.

 

chuck232 what temps are you getting without the underclocking protection?

 

Refer to the review I wrote, but in case you're too lazy you find it p) around 95C under full load. I haven't noticed any of these slowdowns.

 

Another noob question here, but what's a 'safe' temperature range?

 

Is there a better driver that can be used other than the Dell/Nvidia provided driver??

 

go to www.laptopvideo2go.com and get the drivers off of that. They're the most compatible. 158 series is the highest that allow the 8400 to overclock.

 

Are you saying, for 32 bit to download the top 158 and not the top numbered driver because I will be overclocking?

Picture below...

 

i've got 158.36 and it's great, gave me a 15fps boost on CS:SOURCE over the standard drivers provided by Dell

 

Yep. The 158.36 is the most current 15x series...weird, isn't it.

The 16x are programmed to prevent overclocking. All we see is the settings either not change or pop back to the defaults upon selecting ok. It's too bad since the 16x series are newer and better

 

What program do you use to Clean the Driver?

Something like driver cleaner pro, etc? but is there a free one?

cheers

 

driver sweeper
http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=driversweeper

 

I'd be interested in some comparisons between 15x and 16x drivers: once overclocked, how much does the 15x surpass the 16x? And without being overclocked how much does the 15x fall behind the 16x?

 

The 163.44 drivers should allow overclocking.

 

Thanks. People have not been able to overclock them, but clearly you've figured out a solution - care to tell us?

 

It's nothing special, my roommate's dv2500t with the 8400M-GS overclocks fine with RivaTuner and the 163.44 forceware drivers. Make sure you've used driver cleaner or something similar, and the rivatuner.exe /ud command. Read the Rivatuner forums for more info.

 

i need help with ATITool, it doesn't find the clocks

 

Noob question. Hi everyone. I have never over-clock anything before, but I would love to start with my new M1330. Can someone write a step by step on what programs I need to use for over-clocking the Nvidia card, what Ghz to over-clock it to, etc.? I will rep all replies. Thanks.

 

I don't think a guide is necessary, just use Nvidia's control panel. It's dangerous to overclock, it depends on the airflow through your M1330, whether its on hard surface or soft. It should be safe as long as your game temp doesn't go over 100c

 

But with this fix, your gfx card is running on max all the time, even in windows in 2D mode = lower battery life and higher temperature. You have to use AtiTool profiles to avert this.

 

I downloaded RivaTuner and want to use it to set the 2d to max memory, but I am not sure how to do it. Can someone please help me?.

Thanks,
Fissics