Xi 1546

I just can't play on 1280x768 'cause picture is really stretched to much. That's why I'd like to use Omega drivers (1280x800 allowed). I don't do it (reinstallation) after each driver reinstall but at this time it seems that I'll need reinstallation. I don't use any texture packs 'cause I haven't free internet download and that's why I don't use OMM (all mods in OOO1.3 work fine). Maybe I really need unofficial patch. Thanks for advices.

 

I've just clocked my machine back to ATI's spec using Powerstrip and seen a jump from 56 to 123 FPS in the CS:Source Stress Test!!! This seems to good to be true

I'm running at 1440x900 with everything maxed out, except AA / AF and HDR switched off and using Trilinear filtering. T2500 / 1GB 533MHz / X1800 / 2x100GB HDD Raid off

I'm hesitant to run the game though, I've ordered a USB Cooling Pad before I try that. Can anyone confirm / explain this sort of performance gain (120%!!).
Will the Cooling Pad be enough to take care of the additional heat?

Chrz,

TReBeL

Btw, a mate of mine gets 93 FPS without oc'ing the graphics card on the same settings on his machine which is the same in every respect except that his has the Core 2 Duo (also 2.0 GHz)

 

That sounds pretty strange.. Are you sure your clocks were at 398/468 before the OC? But it certainly is true that this card really seems to be choked when underclocked. I noticed this when playing Oblivion as mentioned earlier.

What cooling pad did you order? Akasa NBC-02 is propably the best fit for this notebook. I personally use Coolermaster Notepal W1 which is not very suitable for Xi 1546.

Next thing I will buy for this laptop is two 1GB 667Mhz ram sticks and give those 512MB sticks as an exchange. 2GB of ram will really smooth out performance in games which use high resolution textures, e.g FEAR.

 

I am sure that it is a Powerplay issue. After installing drivers from ATI (or FSC) go to Catalyst Control Center. There is an option there for Powerplay.
Make sure that when the notebook is plugged it runs on Maximal Performance (slide all the way to the right).

Another thing that is possible is that Speedstep is enabled. Download NHC (Notebok Hardware Control) and make sure you also install the patch.
After doing this set the Powerscheme of NHC to Maximal Performance.

I added some screenies to clear things up.

Good luck,

Charlie

 

Hi,
Does anybody tried to unlock rest of pipelines in GPU ? Mobility Radeon X1800 (device ID 7102) and Mobility Radeon X1800XT (device ID 7101) seem to be the same core (except model number and of course number of pipelines).

Other issiu,
My 3DMarok2006 in default settings is 3060points, when i oveclock GPU (AtiTool) from 398MHz to 420MHz, the result lower to 2050points. Any suggestion why? (Amilo 1546, T7200).

Thanks, Martin

 

Hello.
I just got my brand new amilio 1546 three days ago. I started it up and it worked for about 20 minutes beforing shutting down abruptly. I tried charging for three hours and then pressing the power button but the machine just blinks it's pretty blue lights for a while before dieing. Fujitsu Siemens is sending a transport to get my laptop to a repairshop on monday.

Has anybody else had problems like this?
Does anybody know how long reperations like this take?

 

I have. Read about it somewhere in this thread...

 

Yes, I had this same problem, and it was quite annoying. The comuter turned on, and then it would stay on for about 5 seconds and then turn off. It would then start up again, without anything being pressed. In the 5 seconds it was on, nothing shows up on the screen. I rang Fujitsu Siemens and they agreed to take in it, and repair it. They said they replaced the motherboard, graphics card, processor and the power board. To be honest, I think it had something to do with the motherbaord, or the graphics card then anything else. The repair took 10 business days, so about 2 weeks because mine was sent out on a Thursday. I asked them, what the status was a coupld of times, and the first time (1 week into repair), they said they had ordered the parts. So bassically, they took a week to fit the components, install Windows and that stuff, and send it out. I was pretty satisfied with that.

Anyway, I have got it back, and it has been working perfectly from then on. I have been using it for about 2 months, without any problem. Seems to me, like it could have been a problem an initial batch of components.

 

I got a Xi1526 here at home (same as Xi1546 but with a 7600Go) and I am planning to review it if Chaz agrees. The Xi laptops sure look nice, but you really need to get used to the keyboard. But great screen for sure...

Charlie

 

I totally agree with you Notebook Solutions. The screen they use on the 17" notebooks with a resolution of 1440 x 900 are amazing. The clarity and sharpess really stand out.

You have an Xi 1526. Thats a nice model, only difference between it and the Xi 1546 is the graphics card, being a 7600. A review of that model will be really nice, and maybe we can see how it performs. I'm sure it will be good though.

 

How future proof is the Radeon x1800 in the xi 1546? Does it support DX10?
Dell sells laptops with a similar configuration and price as my xi 1546 but with a Geforce 7900GS GPU. I hope I havn't made a wrong decision in getting the xi 1546.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Core 2 Duo 5600 [1.83 GHz]
1x 1 GB RAM [533 MHz]
ATI Mobility X1800 256 MB
17" WXGA+ CrystalView [1440 x 900] Display
120 GB 5400 RPM SATA

 

The Mobility X1800 doesn't support DX10. At the moment, no notebook graphics card supports DX10. Only 2 desktop cards, the nVidia 8800 GTX and 8800 GTS support it.

Compared with a Dell, the Xi is a little different, but the majority of the specifications can be configured the same. Both are very powerful notebooks, and both have strong graphic cards. The 7900 GS is a little bitfaster, but it really depends on what games you play on it. On some the 7900 GS is faster, and on others it is the X1800. I don't think you have made the wrond decidion in buying this notebook.

 

Try to use Powerstrip instead of ATT.
ATT has a tendensy to drop the clock rate, both GPU and memory, when running benchmark programs like 3dMark05/06. but in my experience only in benchmark and not in games.

swank

 

Actually it resets the clocks after you run any 3D app; game, 3dmark or other. I have tried latest versions of AtiTool, Ati Tray Tools and RivaTuner with Catalyst 6.11. Powerstrip is the only one that seems to work without resetting the clocks.

 

Well, not on my setup. ATT works fine when playing games, but as I said, not when I try to benchmark, so I used Powerstrip for that purpose.


swank

 

Im thinking of buying the Xi 1546 or a Dell Inspiron 9400 with the go 7900, I just want to see the difference in graphics so could anyone post any screen shots of the Xi 1546 in action with framerates.


Thanks.

 

Here are Oblivion screenies I posted a while ago..

 

wow the graphics look good, does anyone else have any screen shots from other games.


Thanks

 

Ronkotus I actually prefer Bloom with 2x AA and 16x AF then HDR and no AF and AA. What settings are you playing on?

Charlie

By the way: how can you enter a city with a horse?

 

Whichever you decide to buy; Inpiron or Amilo, get a one with 2GB of ram if you plan to play the latest games. This allows you to maximize texture resolution settings in every game, so you can use the x1800/go7900 at it's full potential. I.e. I can't use maximum texture setting in FEAR since I only have 1GB of ram. I have to settle for medium to avoid heavy stuttering and keep the game playable. Other settings are ofcourse at their maximum but that texture setting has huge impact on picture quality. It depends on the game, because not all new games use very high res textures and ofcourse different rendering methods.

This also means I can post you screenshots from FEAR with maximum texture setting, they would look amazing and have good framerate. But in reality I couldn't play with maximum textures since it just stutters way too much because my harddrives have to swap all the time without that 2GB of ram. I have this problem also with Oblivion but it's not even close as bad as with FEAR.

 

If you play with high enough resolution, there's no need for AA. It just kills framerates (as does HDR) and doesn't improve image quality as much as does higher resolution. I just love HDR so much and I think it's more worth the fps hit than AA. I also use 8x AF at Performance and without the High Quality AF setting (have tried 16x, but don't see enough improvement). The screenhots were taken at 1440x900 resolution. I prefer 1280x768 for higher fps and smoother gameplay. And yes, I know AA removes jaggies, but I really don't notice them when I move around in the game. I only notice them in screenshots..

My full settings and mod list. Horse Commands mod allows you to take your horse into cities.

 

Hi,
I have used powerstrip (thanks swank, ronkotus) and there are some result in 3dmark06:
core/mem
400/468 - 3060 (default)
450/468 - 3314
450/500 - 3366
500/500 - 3569

Max temperature - 62`C, stable, without any artefact.
Martin

 

Thanks for the info Zero. My notebook is finally repaired an it only took about two weeks like you said! I have to try it with F.E.A.R and Oblivion to see how they run.

To Ronkutus; Doesn't the screen feel a bit stretched when you play at a resolution lower than the native 1440x900? With a regular CRT monitor I would have agreed with you that HiDef res is visually more impressive than antialiasing but with an LCD i'm not so sure.

On another note; does anybody know if the warranty becomes void if you upgrade the RAM on the xi1546 yourself?

 

No problem Razer-D. May I ask what they replaced on your notebook? On your question on the RAm upgrade, I don't think it voids the warranty. Fujitsu Siemens say that you can upgrade the hard drive and they don't mind that, so I assume the same goes for the RAM. Ring them up, however, just to be sure about it.

 

Apparently it was the motherboard that had to be changed. I was lucky that they had the parts in supply or I would have had to wait at least a month

 

Their motherboards are pretty much always in stock. They use the same motherboards on a number of models, so they have quite a few. They replaced my processor and graphics card aswell, so they had to order them. The reason they probably replaced the motherboard is because of a BIOS problem. I think the newest one sorts it out. I'm not sure if its stated in the brief on the Fujitsu Siemens website.

 

Thats quite impressive, great that things worked out for you. I use the setting of 450/500 and have a similar score, around 3300-3400.

I have another question for you people. I'm looking for a good headset to use with my Amilo Xi (and my Zen Vision M) and are considering AKG 26P or Creative's HQ-1700, Any thoughts???????????


swank

 

Great; it looks like I have a new problem. For some reason I get sound coming from both my inbuilt speakers and my headphones when I play music. This problem started after I reinstalled the sound drivers(the sound output was extremelly low before, hence the need to reinstall).

Does anybody know a solution. Any help would be appreciated .

 

Where did u download the sound drivers from? FS or Realtek? Stick to the drivers from Realtek as they r the latest.
Try to uninstall all sound-drivers. Clean up your registry, reboot and then re-install the sound-drivers.

Also, if things works as they should, u r supposed to get a "pop-up" when u connect your headset, where u have to choose what u have connected i.e. headset, speakers, amplifiers. If u don't choose u may get sound from both your laptop and your headset.

swank

 

I reisntalled the drivers from the FS CD that came with the laptop. Whenever the pop-up comes I always choose the head-set but that only activates the head-set, the in-built speakers are still on.

Problem solved! Thanks a bunch Swank!
Everything is working as it should.

 

hmm.....do you experience any shut downs when if you reach any high temperatures..is that the temp for the gpu or cpu? ive clocked my gpu back to 450/500 and after a while thin the notebook gets a little too hot that it closes teh game by itsself!!! any ideas?

 

Kamikazefly, can you monitor your temperatures? If they seem a little high, then that is probably why the game is shutting down. Also, does the whole notebook turn off, or is it just limited to the game? If it is just the game, then that would indicate something else, beside the graphics card.

 

yup, its jsut the game. and i kinda half guessed as much. because a note popped up yesterday after half life episode 1 shut down that said soemthing along the lines of "idirect3.." etc something something...im not at home so i cant really test again. any reccomendations at to what prog i should use to test gpu temps? thanks again.

 

I have searched endlessly for programs to try and pick up my temperatures, but they refuse to come up with anything. I think, if you have a temperature sensor, the Everest program should pick it up just fine.

 

Hey Zero,

My M1437G also has no GPU temperature sensor. I just hate that

You can try a few programs: Mobmeter, Speedfan, Everest. If they do not give a good result then I am afraid you have no GPU sensor build in. The reason therefore is that the GPU has not its own fan but uses the CPU fan to cool itself.

Charlie

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it. I have tried a few of them already, to no avail. I'm supirsed that you don't have a sensor in your graphics core. Then again, it appears that most of the ATI range don't have any temperature sensors. Chaz's X700 doesn't have, neither does your, and mine either. I wonder if ATI do put any temperature sensors in any of there graphics cores.

 

You have a point there Zero. Nvidia however always has a sensor. I really see this as a downside for ATI cards.

Charlie

 

Hey guys, I've got an xi1546 with the core 2 duo t7200 2ghz, 1gig Ram, 2x120gig hdd, and Mobility Radeon x1800 256mb.

I've been reading the forums and everyon talks about how well oblivion runs on their xi1546's. My oblivion lags on 800x600 with no screen effects and small textures and no AA. It runs fine sometimes but lags even in the opening level, before I go outside. I have the latest catalyst drivers and my 3Dmark06 score is 3095. Why is this happening? Is there anything I can do? I run Battlefield 2142 on medium graphics @ 1024x768 with no lag. Whats the matter with oblivion? I also have poor performance with FEAR on less than average settings. Help someone. Please.

 

And your operation system is Windows XP, right? How many/what background programs you have running? Have you tried clean boot? Have you updated everything: Bios, XP, directX, all other drivers and games themselves? Could you also tell a bit more specifically what do you mean by lag in Oblivion? I ask this because your 3DMark06 score seems perfectly normal, so there shouldn't be anything horribly wrong with your system. The game is badly optimized and there's always some background loading it's doing. Even the most high-end systems have some minor "stuttering" with the game. With Xi 1546 it should run comfortably at native resolution (1440x900) with Medium/Maximum textures if HDR is set off. FEAR should also run well at native res, with Medium textures. It can actually run smoothly with Maximum textures if your system had 2GB of ram.

 

The reason you got lag in FEAR and Oblivion is that those 2 specific games are very RAM-demanding. You have just 1 GB in such a great notebook, and that is the bottleneck.

Before upgrading, try a format and set your page file to 4 GB. You should play Oblivion at beautiful settings (1440*900, HDR on and AF).

-Notebook Solutions

 

okay, question.. everyone here have Xi 1546, so what scores you get
with 3Dmark06 ? because I dont know whats wrong with my comp as im
getting only 2000-2200.. am I doing something wrong ? because
i tryed to check this Thread and with my amateur skills i noticed that
some of you have gotten +3000 so, could anyone help me.

so is there something that im doing wrong with the program? or is there
something progs that i have to always shutdown before running 3dMark?
or so on..

t.spw07

 

You should get a bit over or atleast near 3000 in 3DM06 with the default clocks (=core:398, mem:468). Check that Powerplay is set to highest performance in the ATI Catalyst Control Center. Always disable all unnecessary background programs when benchmarking. Preferably make a clean boot.

 

hey, thanks for the fast reply.
i tryed the clean boot, also i closed all other programs that i wasnt
using, and i still got the same results..
as followin

3Dmark Score : 2181
SM2.0 Score : 985
HDR/SM3.0 Score : 1044
CPU Score : 487

Not sure whats the problem but i heard rumors that my CPU score is
somewhat too low. Is that maybey the hang up? also are there any
programs that might help me, like regClean or etc..?

t.spw07

 

Those other scores seem a bit low too, but that CPU score is certainly way too low. Of course it depends on your actual CPU, but I don't think that under 500 is normal with any Core Duo or Core 2 Duo. Here is my score with default clocks for comparison: 3Dmark Score 2994, SM2.0 Score 1097, HDR/SM3.0 Score 1207, CPU Score 1541

I think the Windows XP multicore hotfix will do the trick for the CPU. Read about it here. You might also consider doing full update process to your system. Meaning that you get all the latest XP updates, DirectX and drivers (not the ones found from Fujitsu-Siemens, they are outdated). Remember to defragment your harddrives also. You can find the latest drivers from the corresponding component brand's site using the Fujitsu-Siemens Driver page as reference. If you have patience, you may also want to do a full optimization of your system. A good place to start is here. On that guide there's also about programs to optimize registry etc.

 

Hello all.
Just recieved my xi 1546 today and is quite happy for it, but I do feel it is a bit noisy and I'm not really sure if it's a bit more noisy than it should be. Let me start my saying that I am using the newest bios (1.17) and the newest catalyst drivers (7.2). All the rest of the software is the versions that was pre-installed on the computer.
My fan(s) is running all the time and I would not call them quiet. I think that FS writes that the computer should be about 5db in idle mode? Doesn't sound right to me. When running e.g. 3dmark06 the fan(s) get louder, but not that much I think. I have also tried that noise reduction button, but that does not lower the fan speeds.
Right now speed fan measures:
Core: 37 degrees Celcius, HD0: 38 degrees celcius and Temp1 (ACPI) is 57 degrees celcius.

To the rest of the xi 1546 owners. Are your fans running all the time and do you find them noisy?

 

Yes, my fans are running fine. I have had no problems at all with anything to do with overheating. When you start the notebook, the fan shouldn't run at all. After using the notebook for a while, maybe 10 or more minutes, the fan comes on then, except when you go straight into a load situation, where the fan would begin to speed up. When the fan does come on, it normally spins at full speee for a matter of 4 seconds, and then quietens down to just a moderate spin for a few minutes. At that point, the fan is on, but you shouldn't be able to hear it, unless you put your ear close to the it.

After a few minutes, it will turn back oof, and until it feels the need to, it won't turn back on. When it does begin to spin, you will know, because it always runs at full for that 4 seconds, but it should become quiet straight after that.

 

Great. So I have recieved a faulty laptop. Thats just great My fans are running all the time. Right now after 1 hour's internet surf + a few downloads the fans are running pretty loud. They also run from when the computer is just started up. Even when I'm just in the bios the are on.
Crap. I hate to have such problems and RMA's are never easy.

Thanks for the info.

Edit/
I guess that it should not matter that my xi 1546 is a newer version than yours. I have a core 2 duo 1.8GHz in mine. No difference in fan speed when idle compared to playing cs in 30 min.

 

Yeah. Finaly I got my 3Dmark06 results working as I thought they should: 3Dmark Score 2991, SM2.0 Score 1102, HDR/SM3.0 Score 1202, CPU Score 1529. I dont know actually what was the fault in my BAAD results but after I run several different spyware, antivirus and trojan cleaner programs, also other regcleaner and etc it started working yey, i think the clean boot work for the CPU.. so thanks A LOT Ronkotus for your wise advices, (kyl suomesta tietäjiä löytyy) .. now i shall admire my "normal" results .. yey

t.spw07

 

Don't worry about it. I doubt anything severe is wrong with the notebook. If you contact Fujitsu Siemens, they should be able to sort the notebook out. It shouldn't take them a great deal of time to sort the notebook out, as it is probably a case of reseating the heatsink, if the problems are caused by a hot processor or graphics card.

On a side note, have you tried downloading a temperature monitoring program to see which components, if any, are running hot and what may be causing this problem.

 

Maybe your fans run all the time because your CPU runs at Maximum Performance? Go to Configuration, then Energy and you should see something like Energy scheme there. Select Notebook/Laptop and accept that change. Now your CPU runs at 1 GHz and your fan should not go on so frequently.

Or you can use this beautiful program called Notebook Hardware Control to measure CPU speed, CPU temps, HD temps and things like that on the fly.
Make sure that you install the Core 2 Duo patch too. First the normal file, and then the patch. Or else terrible things may happen