New M6500 Discussion Thread

If they ask to repair it, please give them a finger for me.

 

I'd rather have a stable audio stream!

I downloaded CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting s' TMonitor and ran cubase: First of all, TMonitor displayed a clock frequency of around 1090... for each core of the 920xm, or a multiplier of 9. I guess TMonitor is wrong, because ither tools displayed aproximately 2000 per core...

however, I noticed that whenever there's a huge spike in one core graph, mostly when turbo boost is involved, I get an audio droupout.

Or I get that cpu core graph spike, because something in the system keeps the cpu too busy so that the audio driver get's no time shuffling the audio data around. But what could this be?

So, either I'll find the reason for these cpu core graph spikes, or I'll find a way to disable cpu turbo boost switching and/or HT, or whatever...

Is there a software tool availabe to prevent cpu cores to switch turbo boost and leave them running with highest possible clock rates?

 

Hi, I'm about to buy an M6500 but the choice of display among a couple other minor issues has me doing some last-minute thinking.

From what I understand from this thread and other sources (specifically the Anandtech review), the WUXGA RGBLED is an excellent display that needs proper calibration to show its best and before that it might actually misrepresent colors and be pretty far off in gamma settings. But how is the case with what I assume are non-color managed applications like games and video playback, which I guess are not affected by calibration and color space settings (I don't know all that much about color management etc.)? Could the colors actually be worse than the WLED, or are they still better but just maybe not worth the extra money? Because to be honest, those are the applications where I care the most about image quality..

To put it blunt: Is the RGBLED (at least somewhat) better than the WLED at general applications like gaming and video, though maybe a little bit of a waste of cash, or could it actually be worse (or show absolutely no difference at all) and by that be a total waste of cash? I'd hate to feel after buying this thing that I missed out on the "RGBLED experience" to save a bit of money, but if the WLED is actually better for me and other people like me who are not really all that serious about Photoshop etc., I will of course be going for that instead without question.

Edit: Also I was wondering if the Intel Pro Wireless 5300 provides any advantage over the Dell 1397/1510? Which is the popular one to go for? =P

 

TabSel: Turbo boost is part of the Core i design so I don't know if there is an application that will give you the control you're looking for. Most of this has to be taken care of at the bios level.

Having said that, I have recently added a few options for 920XM owners to ThrottleStop. When ThrottleStop is running, right click on it and you should see 2 menu options that might give you some more control of your i7-920XM. You can use it to adjust your turbo multipliers as well as the TDP/TDC turbo power limits for your CPU.

ThrottleStop 2.70
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/3/1794507/ThrottleStopBeta.zip

I don't believe that TMonitor accurately reports what the CPU is really up to.

DPC latency checker is a great program for discovering audio drop out problems.
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

 

I have the WLED display and have never seen the RGBLED display in real life. So I can't tell you if an uncalibrated RGBLED is better or worse than the WLED display. But I can tell you that the WLED display is still the best notebook display I've ever seen. If you don't need an accurate calibration it is definitely not the wrong choice for gaming or videos.

The Dell adapter actually is a Broadcom BCM4322, which is a terrible choice if you ever plan to use an open source operating system. Broadcom doesn't release the specs and reverse engineering a driver is always a pain.
I would not have chosen this one if I knew it in advance and will swap it as soon as I get my new TP-Link TL-WN861N (most likely next week).

 

All,

Anyone have a mobile surge protector suggestion for the M6500? I’m interested in something with a small footprint and found the following:

Newegg.com - TRIPP LITE ULTRABLOK428 2 Outlets 1410 joules Direct Plug-in Isobar Surge Suppressor – Tripp Lite ULTRABLOK42

Newegg.com - BELKIN BZ103050-TVL 3 Outlets 918 Joules Mini Surge Protector with 2 USB Charger - Wall Mount – Belkin BZ103050-TVL

I’ll be using the 210W/240W switchable slim 3-pin AC adapter with the system.

Additionally, any thoughts on an external USB 3.0 Hard Drive? I’d like one which doesn’t utilize an external power source such as the following:

Newegg.com - BUFFALO MiniStation Cobalt 640GB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive HD-PE640U3/BK – Buffalo BUFFALO MiniStation Cobalt 640GB USB 3.0

I don’t know much about Buffalo and am thinking about using WD since I’m familiar with the company. I’m unable to locate a USB 3.0 external drive from them using the USB port for power but they do have the following:

Newegg.com - Western Digital My Book 3.0 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive - HBA WDBABP0010HCH-NESN - Western Digital My Book 3.0 1TB USB 3.0

Pirx / Razibus,
Thanks for the replies on my previous post about my screen type and power supply.


Thanks

 

I just recieved my New M6500 Covet from Dell today to replace my M6400 Covet. Still wish I could get the silver though I have the parts to make it Silver besides the base which has changed a lot from the M6400. I took the bottom covers off to switch drives out. Installed the drivers to update and its good to go.

I also have a company locally that will powder coat it silver for me or paint it Yes I am an idiot at times

Ordered 6/17/2010 and shipped 7/08/2010. Not too shabby in my mind. It was actually completed 7/02/2010.

I got the Extreme i7 Covet version. The system is quieter than the last. The spring hinges feels "springier" and they managed to keep high enough to keep my greasy keyboard from hitting the screen and leaving behind its mess. I am sure if I press down on it I could get it. But with the M6400 I didn't have to do anything and it would cause smudges immediately. The N6300 Wireless from Intel has got some Range on it. It's amazing how much better it is. I have a docking station that is mounted below my desk for my Dual Monitors and previously I had to use an external USB Wireless N to get better signal. With the N6300 I get 4 out of 5 bars with the lid closed and below a desk keyboard tray.

Gobi2000 drivers were crap for M6500 so I installed the M4500 that matched the specs better ( thanks for the posted who mentioned this in a previous post) and its all good now. It's actually gave me so many more options than the M6500 drivers/apps did.

The only mistake they had on the delivery was that they sent me the LARGE BRICK POWER SUPPLY 240W rather than the slim 210W that I asked for. I have a few of the 140W that works well with these. It barely charges it but maintains the battery at least. Saves me a few pounds.

I got the tray load this time as the slot load didn't seem to reliable and it was loud. I don't mind it and I have a slot load cv/dvd if I want to switch.

Just curious even someone can answer this for me.

The left side has USB 3.0 but the right side where one of the USB ports seconds as a E-Sata are they USB 2.0? Just curious.

To Rlabbe - I have read good things about the Buffalo as well as EGO from IoMega for USB 3.0

I am looking at the portable usb 3.0 drive from them.

 

You won't find a 3.5" HDD that you can run bus-powered via USB 3.0. Even the WD Caviar Green HDDs need at leats 5.4W while USB 3.0 cannot deliver more than 4.5W.
Either go for 2.5" drives or look for self-powered ones.

Theoretically a solution via an evil hack like these Y-cables that we already know from USB 2.0 is possible. But I hope the vendors will be smart enough to skip it this time.

 

Like mrmomoman, this being NBR I'd feel remiss if I didn't at least point you to their recent review of the Iomega eGo (Iomega eGo USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive Review).

 

Problem is, DPC latency checker does NOT indicate any problems, no spikes in DPC latency... with other monitoring tools, I don't see anything that suddenly consumes CPU in a way that causes dropouts, no background service or anything, but still, I get the occasional ASIO dropout...

with TMonitor, I noticed that everytime the ASIO stream is interrupted, there's a spike in one single core.

I am out of ideas... :-(