AW M15x Throttling Issue Investigation - Stock clocks and overclocked.

Temps cooler then they ever have been lol, they dont even break 70c

 

As I just posted when using Riva Tuner I just set the clocks to a fixed stock speeds that's it. No Overclocking what so ever.

 

Some people have been upgraded? Is that fact 100%? I mentioned that to AW and they said I was wrong and who ever told me that was lying.

Also does the M17x R2 have throttling like this?

 

Hey Deex, seems we are suffering from the same issue^^.
Techsupport never offered me a replacement yesterday but they did offer to take it in for studying.
With the use of Riva Tuner and Throttleshop I have resolved the issue under BIOS A05 and this fix still operates under A06.
Here attached is a link to Imageshack which shows temp readings from 3 programs and the operating clocks (Idle temps = 52 for GPU and 48 for CPU).
If you are seeking a replacement, you have to be extremely insistent (10 calls or more and several cases open by Dell/AW for the same issue).
If 5150Joker's fix doesn't work for you when well carried out, urge to AW support the importance of a well functioning system to you, it can only help. Best of luck with that

Back to the clock issues, would overclocks stop a driver from responding?

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9052/developments.jpg

 

hahahha "Jocker's"

man farmer still haven't fix this yet. so the problem is your temps???? or throttling???

 

Throttling at stock speeds is still here.
Applying an overclock on the GPU to prevent downclocking while forcing CPU turbo mode seems to work however. Temps are high (70) while running games but nothing dramatic. If this issue persists with the 5870, I will take dell up on the offer to look at my system
But until then, I will spectate and help where I can (And thanks for the correction ^^)

 

actually temps seems good to me especially with an oc. with 5870 you will be looking at much higher temps. you forcing the laptop to work at a 100% so you kinda have to expect higher temps.

 

Well I did get one rep to tell me that the only way I would have a chance at getting a M17x replace would be with the same specs would be if I could prove it has been done before.. they tell me it hasn't. This rep was cool though.. Also it will be nice to have two M15X side by side .. mine and a new to again prove theres a prob.

I hope by some miracle that the planets have aligned in such a way that this replacement has no issues.

So again.. are there indeed reports that some cases have been resolved by replacing the systems with M17x's as Uncle mentioned prior?

 

I know that the guy who started this thread, Joker5150, shipped his M15x back to Dell and got that replaced with an M17x. I don't know if that was a straight swap or he had to pay to upgrade to the M17x.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/5736560-post755.html

After all the testing he did and after he found out a way to make a troubled laptop usable, they should have given him an M17x.

There are a few users in the throttling XPS 1640 forum that have been upgraded from a Core 2 Duo to a Core i7 XPS 1645.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6129427-post792.html

and Elkay over on the Stuttering M17x thread is in the process of getting his M17x-R1 upgraded to an R2.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/410440-m17x-stutter-91.html

I think upgrades are quietly happening but it's not something that Dell reps like to talk about. Let's face it, this issue could bankrupt Dell if they had to upgrade and replace every laptop they've made in the last two years that has throttling issues.

 

Not sure you're ready for this^^
I replaced my 920xm (with which I was having issues since the BIOS update) with the 720qm my system arrived with and the throttling is gone...
GONE!!!
Now I am going to throw the 920 back to check and see if it wasn't the CPU driver that was corrupted in the BIOS update.
Keep you updated.

Evidence! http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/5194/wownb.jpg

 

glad to hear that you have a system that is functioning properly.

good luck with the 920 hope its just driver issue

 

I contacted Joker5150 and he says that this thread and the evidence presented here helped him get a full refund for his M15x. He then bought an M17x in a separate transaction.

 

Now that is good news for Deex and any other poor bugger with throttling issues. Thanks for the information.

 

The M15x is awesome. The throttling issues are easy to fix with RivaTuner, and once you fix it it stays fixed without you having to do anything extra. The only drawback is that your clocks are always running in performance mode so you might not be "environmentally friendly" when surfing the web. The decision on whether to own an M15x or M17x should not be based on the throttling issue.

 

Ok I changed my 720 back with my 920 and the throttling problems are back (including extreme temperature oscillations).
So is there anyway the BIOS could have corrupted my cpu? or any linkage the CPU has with the motherboard?

Much improved idle temps however with the fan finally taking a spell for 20 seconds or so^^(applied a very thin layer of TCP and scraped all residues from the heatsink)

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1642/therewegobackagain.jpg
In order - startup - gaming (throttle issues) - chrome and basic operations.

 

you might have a faulty 920 but im just guessing at best. if you could test the same proc in another system to see if its faulty might narrow down whats to blame here.

 

not for me .. when I use riva / throttlestop.. now my comp will be in the game and will either black out and go in to nevernever land or today in a time where it would usually black out the whole comp just froze. This is crazy :O

Not quite, for one I got it during a sale so it will never cover the cost of a M17x.. plus as of now they are not offering anything to me but an exchange.
They have evidence in their face, plus themselves have admitted they have been able to recreate this. I will see what I can do lol... Once I get the exchange I will use that to prove that it happens out of the factory as this exchange will be new.

Hmmm. Have you tried with furmark? please do.. even if it throttles I would be curious to see how frequent it happens.
It is really really crazy that there is mountains of evidence pointing to a design issue yet they still suggest for me to do an exchange lol.


Does that M17x R2 With a 920 throttle?

 

No I haven't tried Furmark yet as I am still using the 920xm.
Faulty processors I rare but I guess it is not impossible.
I will give it (Furmark) a run before tomorrow. As for testing the 920 on another system, I'll use my mother's when I go home in less than a week's time.
It's a joke that has long grown tiresome and it pains me to see Alienware folding its arms and throwing a blind gaze at our complaints.
But Deex, not all M15X systems are faulty, provoke them into replacing your system with an equally specced one without throwing mountains of cash at an M17X.
I will keep you updated on this post regarding the furmark results with the 720qm.

 

Ok, dear Deex, running the test, I noticed the throttling hasn't completely disappeared. High temps got the best of the Card which had to kneel before the cumbersome Furmark.
Here attached are 3 screens, in order before, during and when I stopped the program. Hope fellow owners can assist me in interpreting the results.

1. Before (parameters) : http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/1908/priortotesting.jpg
2. During: http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/6185/duringx.jpg
3. End: http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/4176/lafine.jpg

 

well just ran futuremark for 11 mins max gpu temp 82c
cpu maxed at 49c and stayed at 46c

this system has the stock paste still in it hopefully will soon reapply when i get new thermal paste for both cpu and gpu.

also was run at stock clocks

 

Throttling? no Throttling? What Drivers? hmm.

 

no throttling lol
the drivers im using are 197.31 off dells driver site for the M17xR1 its the beta driver listed for it.

also this was done the Nc-2000 cooler on max with the vents above the airways(the laptop is moved forward considerably by an inch and a half for improved cooling)

 

Suffice it to say I was shocked!

Seriously, why? Vista? really? http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6649/whatq.jpg

Edit: System specs are I7 720qm, 250GB HDD, 8GB Ram, 260M GTX annnnd Vista Home Premium 64bit!

 

um busted link dude.....

 

fixed the link

 

i beat your max temp by 6c. No didn't im using a zalman that's posted in my sig drops temps very nicely

 

That's a shocker indeed (not the hand sign lol)

hmm wonder if win 7 has minor bug

 

lol yeah Bummer indeed. Maybe the BIOS update corrupted my version of W7 - but how.
I will try to do a clean install on my SSD in the evening.
Clean installs might be the solution to everything after-all ^^

 

i don't think it was the bios that currupted your win7, more then like it was one of the oc tools, but a clean install should solve everything.

 

PLEASE HELP!

I havent had time to read through 130+ pages so I will ask it here...Is anyone experiencing crippling HOT temperatures while using Rivatuner AND throttlestop??

My computer never got hot when I used it while throttling occured...then I learned about this thread and noticed how many games ive played get crappy framerates all of a sudden out of nowhere...

Anyway since Ive installed these, if I game for a few hours (WoW), my temperatures appraoch 100 degrees celcius...and even sometimes shutting down my laptop out of nowhere (and having to wait for it to cooldown). Not thinking I called Alienware and they sent a tech out to replace the videocard (which I guess is nice), but didnt fix a single thing...it still gets SUPER hot...so hot my hand burns when I touch the bottom.

What gives?? If I HAVE to use throttlestop and Rivatuner to get full performance then that means my laptop wil constantly overheat... correct? Is anyone else experiencing this or is this just me? I am going to call them tomorrow because for the price I paid, I shouldnt have a single issue.

 

holy crap uh call dell immediately and demand a replacement.

seems like a shoddy build if that's happening meaning the thermal paste is not making proper contact.

 

Imagine the M15X was built with plastic! ^^

 

could be hitting 100c is like any asus with the 260m

 

does not sound good bro, yeah call dell and complain about it. also check if your fans are running properly. also could be the tech didn't apply the paste correctly.

 

Wait a min... How the heck?!?!?!?!

Is that not throttling even with Furmark going ?!?! :O

 

I don't get throttling either with furmark if I run at 1v with the base clocks (using a 720qm)..

That shouldn't come as a surprise, i think that's what all 720qm users have been saying all along!

 

Oh, well that was a short lived glimmer of hope. Oh well.

This is a nightmare for me and there is nothing I can do about it.

Even the Riva fix doesnt work for me. It locks the clocks but then when I would see throttling normally, my screen goes black and comp gets funky.
I assume because I have a 920.. and the 8gb of mem. Who knew that getting the high end would come back to bite me.

Now I have wasted 5 months dealing with this issue..

WTB The XPS Gaming line back!

 

Sorrow...
Swapped my 720qm for my 920xm and there we go for another round.
Exact same system settings, only less depressing results in the 720qm run.

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4495/sorrowc.jpg

 

yikes!!! probably best for you guys to start calling dell, hopefully you can get a 5850 and everything would be solved.
but testing it in real games would be a better idea since pretty much all 260m will get throttling in furmark.

 

i dont.......

 

hahah i forgot should edit to add 720 and up hahhaha.

 

On the phone with DELL Tech support as we speak...Running a bunch of tests and saw that during Futuremark my GPU got to 101 degrees C. While playing WoW yesterday I saw it go to 105 so I shutdown and waited for it to cool off...Just imagine if my laptop was actually on my lap instead of my desk! Its like a frying pan!

Food for thought: While the tech was over, ZERO thermal paste was applied to the GPU. Not sure if thats why or not...because the last GPU had thermal paste on it (When he took it out) and it still reached these temperatures.

 

more than likely your tech didn't put paste on there, dell on site tech strikes again, hahahah. other than that only a bad fan would cause temps to go that high.

 

They are having a tech come and replace (AGAIN) the GPU...but this time they are going to replace the heatsinks and fan as well...so ill make sure he applies paste.

 

So is it confirmed that the m15x with the 5850 doesn't have any throttling issues?

 

Check out how well this guy made out when he complained to Dell about his throttling XPS 1640.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6303575-post949.html

He made out like a bandit.

I guess Dell is starting to realize how bad all this throttling stuff makes them look.

 

Back for some more ^^
Here attached is a screen capture that shows a variance in temperatures of the 4 cores that seems abnormal (see real-temp).
Riva does seem to be the only tool capable of forcing the clock speeds as I tried NST to no avail.
Also, while not thread related, why does the computer restart every time I ask it to sleep or shut down?
Hope you're all well and enjoying the warming temperatures!

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/4982/temprange.jpg

 

why this temps are abnormal?

 

your temps are looking fine thenzfarmers. the restart issue can normally be solve with an updated nvidia driver.

 

The sensors that Intel uses are a long ways from 100% accurate. The amount of error in their sensors is completely undocumented so +/- 5C of variance is excellent. No worries.