AW M15x Throttling Issue Investigation - Stock clocks and overclocked.

Does upgrading my drivers cause any unwanted "unable to overclock the gpu" problems ? I have the 186.47 version now that came wif my m15x last friday.

 

nope its just an updated one that shoult fix your issues, if not you can always go back.

 

No clue, havent benched it.

 

hi i cant seem to find RivaTuner\Overclocking\Global where would it be?

 

Hey did you use ATITOOl to scan for artifact? because i could overclocked mine that high and play game just find but when i scan for artifact it show error every second.

 

ATI Tool or Furmark testing creates a lot of heat. An overclock that might be perfectly game stable might not be ATI Tool or Furmark stable. If that's the case then you'll need to back off on your GPU overclock or just play games instead of benching your GPU with ATI Tool.

 

Yea I got mine stable at 660/1660/950. I ran atitool for 2 hour without artifact. Is that good enough or should i run longer? I heard that overclocking the memory is not good is that true? That why I didn't overclocked my memory.

 

I ran furmark withouth crashing for several hours, thats enough stability for me

 

Hi, back to the auto-startup issue, i prevent the computer from restarting by yanking the power cable just right after the alienhead fades to black on shutdown. Can it spoil the alien if i do so ? I pull the cable on the first fade to black.

 

What GPU drivers are y'all using with Rivatuner? I still cant set my clocks :S

EDIT: Did a system restore to a point when it was working and that seemed to fix it..

 

that always worked on mine, lol.

 

Hey quick question.

Is it bad leaving throttlestop and riva tuner on for long periods of time? Because of it maxing out your hardware constantly? Also, if i close rivatuner, does it go back to my original setting for the gpu? How can i set everyday settings in rivatuner? If anyone can clear these things up for me it'll be great! and a well deserved +1rep from me! Thanks!!


Edit: ok so i figured out how to load diffrent profiles, but what would you guys recommend i use for everyday use then? (stock clocks, im not overclocking). OR do the rivatuner settings get disabled when i close rivatuner?? Thanks again!

 

CPUs and GPUs are meant to be used. Intel stands behind their retail boxed CPUs with a 3 year warranty. There is a lot of technology built into their CPUs to force them to run within specification no matter the circumstances. ThrottleStop won't change that. It just lets you use most of the performance that Intel has designed into your CPU. Dell has a variety of reasons why they don't think you should be able to use the hardware that you paid for. None of the reasons I've heard are any good.

 

Thanks for the fast reply!!! Got the best guy to provide me with answers too!! ( since your the brains behind this fix!!) As for the GPU though, its fine also? Like do you leave riva tuner on constantly? or only when gaming. And when i close rivatuner, can you explain to me what happens? ( if my clocks go back to default, or stay the same or who knows what else?) thanks unclewebb!! +1 rep!

 

After you set the clocks in rivatuner you can close it and your stocks will remain the same until you either shut down your computer or change the clock speeds manually. They shouldn't revert unless you have something glitchy going on or have stealth mode enabled.

 

Unclewebb, what effect on the afflicted m15x's does JUST running throttlestop have if you don't use the Rivatuner, anything at all? For some reason when I try to apply the setting that sets the clocks, I get prompted for rebooting to discover the clocks, etc, but there is no selector for the power mode at the top of the window, but the on below the clocks is there... so I can never do a full "throttlestop".

Thanks for all your efforts by the way, we DO appreciate it immensely!

 

Yea Docsteel i can help ya out with that, because i had the same problem earlier...
basically the current driver your using with rivatuner isn't supported 100%. So just :

1- Download latest 195.xx drivers from Nvidia.com
2- uninstall your current drivers ( what are they by the way?) using control panel, add-remove programs . You should see nvidia drivers there.
3- Reboot
4- Install new drivers, and uninstall rivatuner
5- Reboot
6- Re-install rivatuner and Voila! everything should be as directed in the first page of this thread. Also, you'll see the selector for teh powermode now and everything, AND youll be able to set the clocks Hope this helps

 

Good grief, again I should have posted in the owners lounge...

 

hi!! i've got the same problem cannot set the clock followed all the steps on the first page of the post even when i click apply it doesn't show the change in GPU-z but as soon as i click OK i can see the settings change to normal as well i.e. 300 etc..

Help Please!!!

 

Is stealth mode on?

Also, did you upgrade your Drivers like Jstarnino mentioned about 2 posts above?

 

Thanks man, this did enable the settings. My drivers were 196.xx, sorry don't recall the sub.

Oddly, doing exactly what the steps entailed for the throttling fix made my system run worse, not better. Not a lot of time last night to fiddle with it, but something is just not working right. I set all the settings *exactly* like indicated with the versions of Rivatuner and Throttlestop linked from the OP, and my frames drop into the low 20's when they should be like low 30's for the test game I'm using (Star Trek Online - lame, I know)

I am wondering if when I do this I am tripping over some power setting like Powermizer that is kicking in.... so that's my next target.

On a side-note, has anyone had problems with the Realtek causing hang ups while modifying sound settings in Windows 7 or in sound system dependent apps like X-Fire? I'm almost guaranteed of a hard lock if I diddle around with and test with the Windows sound tools or X-fire.... anyone seen this or know of a driver issue?

 

STO has a problem with Nvidia's 195.xx drivers. Guys on the forums recommend rolling back to 192.xx drivers, but since we're using mobile drivers, I had to roll back to 186.xx. Once I rolled back to 186.xx drivers STO ran a lot better. I hold 20-30fps in the most intense areas of the game, and when I'm navigating in space I hold 60fps. Its an Nvidia driver issue, not your comp.

 

yea what Irb digital said ^^^, .. however, the thing about drivers is that they perform diffrently from game to game...i have the 195.62 if im not mistaken, and for Far Cry 2 im getting avrg 35FPS on ultra high, 1080p, 2xAA... so experiment with diffrent drivers for diffrent games, and find the one that best suits your needs

 

Thanks guys, I haven't reloaded Rivatuner or Throttlestop yet, but just using the last 186.xx revision drivers STO is much smoother.... now to go try the throttling fix again...

 

Looks like M17x throttles problem is getting a fix. Even though M15x problems aren't nearly as severe, here's hoping to a possible fix in the future.

 

So this STILL hasn't been fixed?!? They *FINALLY* have Blu Ray drives again, and this is still basically the perfect system for me. ARRRRGH!

 

this really isnt an issue anymore since Joker found the rivatuner fix.

 

It is for me though since I don't want to resort to hacks or anything :-/

 

dude...it is still a bad system. I run 3ds max, photoshop, CAD and some of your more common video games on the system. I force this machine to do heavy rendering and it rarely hits the 100% marker on the clocks. It is a fantastic system and regardless of the throttling it will still perform extremely well. All the tests you saw on this entire thread is not based on live games and the rare situation throttling.

With that being said...yes at some point in the future you will probably have a game that will push this baby to that point. My guess...is when that day comes..so will a BIOS fix. If this system still does not satisfy you then look at the M17x.

Not trying to sound harsh, but be a little rational and reasonable.

 

I have shown 2 games in which throttling occurs. Needless to say, Rivatuner fixes this.

Most laptops I have seen have problems. I wish all were as easy to fix without the Company support.

 

Yeah, there ARE real games and situations where it throttles. I don't comprehend why Dell is being so stupid about this.

 

can you name a few games that make it throttle, i haven't seen it yet with the games i play. but yeah dell is still claiming that its powermizer doing it job, i guess we have to wait for a game that makes all M15x throttles before they would actual recognize the problem.

 

I just realized too that this started out MONTHS ago with a Dell guy looking into it/helping. For a while, I thought this was going to be fixed by early January...and instead they just decide it's fine :-/

I'm in no way exaggerating when I say they've lost my sale, at the least, and I've had to tell others about it :-/

 

I have to say again:

The problem is non existent as it can be easily fixed easily without doing anything which might endanger your hardware.

I have already forgotten about the throttling issue since I applied the fix. I do find it a shame that dell hasnt stood up to the issue, but at the end, the problem is fixable by the user.

If you look at other companies, you will also see major issues which are not that easily fixable, e.g. overheating. I myself bought a Asus F3Sv as soon as it came out. It happened to have a 8600 GS, but Asus did NOT mention (until couple of weeks later) that the card was using GDDR2 memory which made the graphic card as fast as a 8400.

Apple had nvidia gpus which were faulty, and did not notify their customers and instead waited for them to fry.

I could go on ... But this is really the best laptop I had and it does everything I need (and I need a lot).


Games which were confirmed to throttle:

* L4D2 (under certain conditions)
* Borderlands
* Assasins Creed

 

hmm i was thinking bout picking up borderlands... anyone play it? it any good? seems graphics looks cartoonish am i right?

 

I've just finished my second play through, it's quite addictive. The cartoonish graphics didn't bother me, it didn't look bad and the enemies were easy to see.

 

The cartoonish graphics gives it Style. Its a good thing, it doesnt look like just another game.

Now back on Topic ^^

 

On this topic again - hehe - i see dell are in a fix over the power requirements..

Why not just supply a higher power AC adapter option? It's not like the machine is overheating or anything..

 

The very first post shows that it has nothing to do with the power supply.

 

^^^^ Yea what Maxamilus said.

well what i'm thinking is, and by all means correct me if i'm wrong...when the M15x gets a revision...say with a souped up GPU...the throttling will probably go away (lets hope), since we know its limited to the 260M and doesn't happen on systems with the 240M....So maybe thats the reason Dell is ignoring the issue... because they know they'll just be releasing a revision in a couple of months time... no point to waste all that time and money to try to fix it now i guess right? (from their perspective).

What would REALLY suck is if they release a Revision version of the M15x WITH the throttling still current in their systems... now that would DEFINATELY prove that Dell just doesn't give a rat phoque about their clients...

 

Sorry it just looked like people kept on talking about exceeding the 150W threshold.

 

You are comparing apples and potatoes. The 240M is a lot weaker and there might be a lot of reason why it doesnt trottle. (e.g. lower power requirement, less heat generation.......)

 

Go to RivaTuner\Overclocking\Global, expand it and for "MaxClockLimit" set it to 300 and "DisableClockTest" to 1. Next under Rivatuner\NVIDIA\Overclocking set "EnablePerfLevelForcing" to 1.
how do i get to here my riva tuner does not show this.

 

Apples and potatoes are actually quite similiar when you peel them...(FUNFACT: did u know mcD's used to put sliced potatoes in its apple turnovers? Becuz apples would turn brown when left out, and potatoes wouldn't. And since they has the same texture, once drenched in apple sauce, you'd never be able to tell!)

i don't mean any disrespect but actually... You are quite erroneous. Erroneous on both accounts!lol
Judging from Joker's findings...its most likely not a power issue, or the bigger ac adapter/power supply would've probably solved the problem...and i don't know about you but my 260m never passes 66 degrees....so again... not a heat issue... its Most LIKELY... a conflict/problem in the Bios AND Powermizer (and i'm pretty sure most people would agree on that.)

 

Wasn't it confirmed that it was some sort of Powermizer issue?

Whoops... i mean, according to Dell it's a powermizer "feature".

 

yes...and powermizer is a feature on Nvidia cards....and apprently is causing some sort of conflict but only on the 260m ... it's more of a "software" conflict specific to the 260 for some reason if you will... not the system overheating or using up too much power is what im trying to say...

 

does anyone have the link to the rivatuner?? i thought i got the right rivatuner, but i cannot find the "global" from "overclocking"

please help!!!!!!!!!

 

does anyone have the link to the rivatuner?? i thought i got the right rivatuner, but i cannot find the "global" from "overclocking"

please help!!!!!!!!!

 

http://downloads.guru3d.com/RivaTuner-v2.09-download-163.html

 

Leaked Fermi Benchmarks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZXhR1ibj8