D830 Owner's Lounge

Are you sure? AFAIK activation only depends on the motherboard and not any other computer component. Even if its replaced with the same model, Windows shouldn't notice the difference.

With Vista Business, my D630 (1440x900 screen, Quadro graphics) lags as well. I'm quite happy I got mine with XP Pro seeing how it struggles with Vista`s Aero Glass

 

Hmmm, that's odd. My system is detecting an unusually high CPU usage even when the system is idling. Never going below 14%. I wonder what could be the issue.

The first driver I installed was from Dell.com/support then the second I installed was from laptop2go.com which was the 167.45 version.

I don't know what it could be.


thanks

 

Did you read my other, more recent posts in this thread and in the D830 Review thread? There may be a problem with your motherboard and / or the processor itself. I'm currently waiting for yet more parts replacements (the mobo, the processor, the palm rest and the RAM) to resolve the same issue (I've two Firefox windows open with a total of 10 tabs, YM and WLM but my cores are "idling" at 60%.) Then there's my issue with the TPM...

Here's another strange thing I'm noticing (though I think this is far more appropriate in the Windows section), but Sidebar occasionally takes up way more resources than it should be. I never had this issue before, but now I find that Task Manager identifies sidebar.exe as taking up 84MB of RAM and up to 60 CPU cycles.

 

That's interesting. I don't believe it's my CPU. The likelihood of both of us having the same issues on different CPU's means that it is most likely a motherboard issue.
It could also be possible that it is a firefox issue in and of itself.

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=513497
(though he says uninstalling quicktime solved the problem. I don't even have quicktime installed.)
http://9rules.com/Technology/notes/613/


Firefox seems to be the issue culprit with the CPU usage. For me, opening right away and having a few tabs opened shoots the usage to a 10% average idling.


I still wonder why there are so many processes running after I did a fresh reformat. Anything look suspicious here?








By the way, which post are you referring to? I can't find a "recent" post made by you in those threads.

 

Yes, I'm sure. It happened to me. More documentation on the problem at http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=271. If you are running the Windows either pre-installed with your laptop or from a Dell Recovery disc, then as you say, it is locked to your motherboard and you will not have to reactivate. If you installed Windows yourself from a retail disc (as I did), then you may have to go through the normal phone re-activation process. Windows will tell you what you have to do, if anything.

-Pascal

 

Hey Pascal!

I finally got my system back today. As I've said in multiple previous posts, I had a lot of system components changed. Here's a list of what was replaced over the Holy Week:

1. LCD (WUXGA)
2. DVD-RW Drive
3. Palm Rest (with TPM)
4. Motherboard
5. Processor

I got my system back and everything's finally fine. So the motherboard was replaced and the OS was not reinstalled. I also asked, and they did not have to reactivate it.

 

I believe, in the end, the culprit was the processor. It's the only component that's been changed for the first time and now my cores idle at 3-9%. I ran Lightroom and did the exact same batch process and it only pushed my activity to 35-55% on both cores. No more redlining.

I'll continue to observe this over the next few days and try to give you all an update on it.

 

You don't state which OS you tested under and with which utility. However, I am running Vista x64 and GPU-Z also shows a maximum speed of 400Mhz. I tested using both ForceWare v156.69 from Windows Update as well as v174.31 from LaptopVideo2Go. Due to PowerMizer my NVS 140m runs at three different memory/core speed pairs based on utilization:

memory core
100Mhz 169Mhz (idle)
200Mhz 275Mhz
400Mhz 400Mhz

Running WEI update while monitoring with GPU-Z I can see it kick up to "high" performance and back down to idle after the "benchmark" finishes.

The top of the Notebookcheck.com page you link to states the NVS 140m is "Based on the GeForce 8400M G or GS for notebooks." However, the "Link to Manufacturer Page" is actually to the 8600M. This is where the 700Mhz number comes from. The NVIDIA 8400M page shows the GeForce 8400M G and GS having maximum memory/core speeds of 600Mhz/400Mhz.

I also came across a Phoronix review of the NVS 140m inside a T61, complete with screenshots. The three memory/core performance levels they show under Ubuntu are:

memory core
100Mhz 169Mhz (idle)
301Mhz 275Mhz
600Mhz 400Mhz

Bottom line:

1. The 700Mhz memory speed quoted on the Notebookcheck.com page you linked to is not correct.
2. The GeForce 8400M G and GS the NVS 140m is based off of are capable of achieving a memory speed of 600Mhz.
3. The NVS 140m in a Thinkpad T61 running Ubuntu is capable of achieving a memory speed of 600Mhz.
4. The NVS 140m in my Latitude D830 running Vista x64 is only achieving a top memory speed of 400Mhz.

It would be interesting to hear from someone running Ubuntu on a D830 to confirm if this is a hardware or OS issue.

-Pascal

 

umm where can I download the Ethernet driver for the D830 (XP)?

Im fixing a friend's laptop, but im having some difficulty finding the correct drivers (they lost the drivers CD -_-')

 

Well, I don't own a D830 anymore, but you can download all the drivers straight from Dell. Ethernet driver for XP and Vista 32: http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R151327.exe. Not sure if you should be resurrecting an eight month old thread though XD