E6400 overheating throttling

Yea ok, that is normal... and probably your GPU throttled as it reach 105 in reality (there is always a few degree off from a program that tries to read the sensor information, and the what the sensor really is, unless the program comes from the manufacture (ie: Nvidia)).

Again, Laptops != Desktops, you can't use a laptop like you do a desktop, the computer will ALWAYS (no mater what brand or model) throttle (normally, not using hacks).
Basically what your doing is passing your GPU (and other processors as it's on the same heatsink), from medium heat (38-40) all the way up to extreme temperature of 90-100C... in result the silicon will eventually crack. And your laptop won't last very long. Maybe 2 or 3 years max.

 

Dell laptops never used to throttle, even when fully loaded. I was curious to find out when Dell lost focus so I purchased a Latitude D830 to do some testing with. This is the model that immediately preceded the Latitude E6000 series.

The D830 for this test has a 45nm Core 2 Duo T8100 and is designed to run at 2.10 GHz when fully loaded. It has 3M of L2 cache and is similar to a newer P8400. One difference is that the T8100 has a 35 watt TDP vs the 25 watt TDP for the newer, more efficient P8400. If anything, the T8100 should be more likely to throttle.

The D830 uses an Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M which is slower than the NVS 160M used in the Latitude E6000 series. The difference in maximum power consumption is only 2 watts. 12 watts for the 160M and 10 watts for the 140M so not a huge difference.

Quadro NVS Mobile - Tech Specs

When testing, ThrottleStop was in monitoring mode only and the VID voltage was at its default value of 1.1375. This laptop was setup like any other D830 without any special hacks or tricks to keep it from overheating or throttling.

For the test I ran Furmark plus two threads of Prime95. This same load causes many newer Dell laptops to throttle like crazy and run at 10% or 20% of their rated speed if you're lucky. The D830 was able to run this same load without a hint of CPU or GPU throttling for the 30 minutes that I tested for. The GPU temperature was stable at about 75C and the CPU was steady at less than 65C and no, I don't live in the Arctic. It's the beginning of summer here.



One reason Dell laptops went down hill is because of the expectations of users. If you are willing to accept high temperatures and throttling as the norm then Dell will continue to produce and sell junk that throttles and runs at a fraction of its rated and advertised speed when fully loaded.

If your laptop can not run the above test at full speed then contact Dell and ask them why not? There's no point in building laptops with faster GPUs and CPUs if this performance can't be used because the laptop is throttling.

Poorly designed laptops might "ALWAYS throttle" but a properly designed laptop shouldn't unless the heatsink falls off or some other catastrophe happens. It should never throttle during normal use, including when you run whatever benchmark or test programs you like.

 

This issue went on the news everywhere, and it did make Dell make a new BIOS (A20) which solved the problem. On multiple forums including this one, Dell asked if the problem still persisted, and people said that everything is fine now. Soooooo...

 

Does this mean that if means are taken to prevent throttling (by using
ThrottleStop and a sufficient power supply for example) that the CPU
can safely run full blast ? Or is the cooling system (heatsink, fan, layout)
not up to the task ?

Paul P (who's E6410 has arrived but has yet to be opened...)

 

GoodBytes: Do you work for Dell?

 

And make sure the rubber feet are still on the bottom so it's not resting on the bottom air intake... perhaps.

GK

 

listen guys, I totally agree with unclewebb here. The A20 bios didn't fix a thing for some people. I wonder why this happens, is it because they don't want the laptop to get too hot because it is designed poorly and it will cause its failure sooner, and therefore raise costs for warranty repairs?

without any throttle management program the laptop runs very hot on minimal load, this is not acceptable for the price tag.

one of my feet is gone now, I need to try superglue, also a few white dead pixel showed up in the last few months, this laptop is falling apart.

 

It could be that because this laptop comes with 3 year warranty minimum, Dell doesn't want to take any chances. This is just a possibility. But why some don't and some do have the problem, is a mystery.

Ok this is not normal.. your laptop motherboard or CPu or heatsink is faulty. You should check this with Dell.

I think your whole system is badly built, see with Dell for a new system or repair everything. A new pad means that they will send you the part that has lost the pad. So, if it's on the base, it's a new laptop base, if it's on the base panel, then it's a new panel. Don't try and fix it yourself. Have Dell fix everything for you. It's their fault. You got a lemon. Make a list of all the problems you have, and CALL during business hours for the best service (if you can, else after), and explain your situation. Tell everything that is broken, and make him realized that they are about to send a technician to fix all the problems, might as well for them (and cheaper too), to build you a new laptop (you might need to take this issue to the the supervisor/manager).

If you can hold you anger, you can type up a polite, well detailed (with your personal information, service tag, date of purchase, and your e-mail typed at the end (yes, even if they can hit reply (it's for formality and professionalism. If it looks professional, they will read it, if not, they won't). Explain your situation, all the problems you have, and your contacts with Dell, including everyone you talked too name and last name or first name and ID, all nicely laid out. To CEO and founder of Dell (Doesn't go to him directly). Of c...board + heatsink replacement and/or A20 BIOS.

 

I wouldn't say "never". A few weeks ago a found that throttling was happening on a colleague's D620. We reduced the frequency at which it occurred by undervolting the CPU, but the underlying cause is the nVidia GPU which runs hotter than the CPU.

I suspect that the real cause of throttling is more conservative thermal management in the wake of the nVidia GPU problem. On paper, this shouldn't affect hardware without nVidia on board, but I wonder if Dell didn't include a detailed hardware check when writing the new thermal rules. I also wonder if that D620 would still throttle if one changed the BIOS to one which predates the nVidia GPU problem getting into the public domain.

John

 

Huh? My son's E6400 with Nvidia GPU throttles badly. Have not complained here, because multiple users have complained. A20 did not help a bit.