AW M15x Throttling Issue Investigation - Stock clocks and overclocked.

Usually its just a matter of getting the right person on the phone with Dell... I know it can be a hassle to keep calling though but i guess it depends how badly you want something ...

Seeing that for some the 260m makes the machine unusable in many instances i would not take no for an answer and keep fighting till i got what i thought was fair...

 

yes I know, but they keep redirecting me to the same person again and again... I guess I need to call them at a different time

 

I can only push so much, they are testing for the same error on other systems and they keep assuring me that this hasn't been replicated on other systems with the same specs.
So they said they'd ring me back in a few days and then, I will push for the final attack. Quad, why haven't you moved to an SSD for your laptop?

 

Mainly because of space ... I really want alot of space vs the speed of the SSD...

I had considered yanking the SSD from my desktop to put in the laptop but that 256gb is going to fill up to quickly so ill need to remove the optical drive and put another mechanical in there.... Just to much hassle at the end of the day for now....

I have my 500gb drive booting into windows in 26 seconds which is good enough as well... Might not be the 12-14 seconds of the SSD but still pretty good ...

 

Fair enough! Space is a major issue I admit.
That's where the two bays of the M17X would come in handy...

 

yea and filling up those two bays will also empty out your two pockets as well though lolll

And dell should call me anytime now... its 30mins after the time they said they'd call me.... i wont hold my breathe though lol... if they don't call back by the end of the day... im going to call back tomorow for my *final attack*.... i won't quit till they get me the frigign DELL ceo on the phone lollll

 

take em all the way jstar lol.

 

if you know me (which you do) you know i will

Hey its all about priciple here... i paid good money for a "gaming rig" that can't really "game". I think i'm rightfully entitled to a proper gaming rig... as advertised, that won't throttle

 

Ok so i just got off the phone with level 3 tech support ( the ones who makes calls instead of receiving).

This guy knew what he was doing, and we were on the same level. I told him i'd show him the throttling synthetically, and he said sure. so i connected remotely... ran prime95/furmark (whereas 1stlvl support told me those results were invalid...lol ) and showed him the throttling. He said perfect, and documented everythign from temps(didnt reach over 67) and clocks. Then he decided to try something i honestly never thought of trying. to run the beta drivers available for the m17x for the 260m on the m15x... i actually thought it might work...since i dont think it throttled on the m17x....seemed promising....yet when we ran the synthetic tests again... the same thing happened.... he then said he will definately escalate this to engineering, and see what they can come up with , and if they are working on a new firmware(not drivers) for the 260m or somehting of the sort and give me a call and/or e-mail tuesday or wednesday at the latest. If not, and if they cannot come up with a solution by then, he will then go over my options with me, and promised he will not leave this issue unresolved.

SO basically im waiting untill tues/weds of next week, till they tell me they have not found any solution to the problem ( why would they, its over 1 yr the card is available, and it is now near extinction in terms of gpu for the m15x... why would engieering be working on a problem they "apprently" have no records of)

I made sure to remain patient, calm and polite... but come tues-weds of next week... it'll be the last straw, and i will not take no as an answer.

It's been somewhat of a long process... but hey... why not?

 

awesome bro if there is new firmware made for your card please share with the community if possible. Also great job on being able to get someone who knows their stuff that this is a problem good job bro +rep.

 

Yea actually feels like i'm going somehwere with this... and if it'll benefit the NBR community in the end, then all the better!

Another member Pm'd me and told me that he too is working with head of AW engineering, and some other alienware guy to help get this issue resolved. He also suggested we work together and team up to get things moving. I strongly support and agree with his suggestion and urge everyone with a 260m ( even if you swapped out your 260 for a 5870m) to make calls to dell/AW and report this throttling problem so that we can raise further awareness, and get what we righteously deserve and paid for.

And yes i will most def share any firmware/drivers/solutions with the community... if i'm provided with any that is...

Fingers crossed. We might be able to end this throttling issue once and for all.

Only time will tell.

 

Calling all 920XM i7 / Geforce 260 GTX Users.
Could you please download the STALKER and the X3 Benchmark prog linked below and run it with GPUZ graphing the clocks etc. Its a free prog and you don't need STALKER or X3.
And of course then report your findings here please.
This will be usefull to me and there is a good chance that during my case two separate engineers will be viewing this data. Screenshots are a plus

Thanks in Advance!

http://downloads.guru3d.com/S.T.A.L.K.E.R-Call-of-Pripyat-benchmark-download-2433.html

http://downloads.guru3d.com/X3-Terran-Conflict-Rolling-Demo-Benchmark-download-2115.html


.

 

Theres my wingman keep it up buddy.

 

wish i had issues with my system due to throttling to help but i can't seem to even get anything i feel left out with the dual core i7

 

Good that you mention that as it shows that it happens more with the 920XM i7 / 260GTX combo.

Thanks for the feedback

 

doing some testing now, will keep everyone posted.

 

yup, and since the a05, it seems the i7 720QM / 260gtx combo is heavily affected as well. so much so that i downgraded back to a03 bios.

 

yupp....just got worse

 

how bad bro

 

during those benchies, i get throttling....first time i see it happen in a benchmark... 3dmark 06 and vanatge dont make it throttle... i suspect because it only puts the cpu and gpu under load one at a time and not simultaneously ... as where this game benchy does... and the problem only occurs when both the cpu and gpu are under load.Something to keep in mind when you call dell and they run 3dmark06 and it runs perfectly.. and they then try to tell you theres nothing wrong with your system.

 

i just ran all those benches and vantage, got throttling in every single one of them. geez

 

well just FYI to anyone interested.. get A03 from here . there is a thread that has a confirmed working safe A03. Test... Then go A05 and A06 testing each... it gets much worse A05 and higher.. but A03 exibits that old sound bug :S Been trying to point this out to teh engineers.

 

throttling has been an issue since A01... i went over this with a lvl 3 tech... its just alot worse with A06

 

anyone have the link for the newest throttlestop? THanks and +rep

 

This not it?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...stock-clocks-overclocked-155.html#post6438220

 

Yes I know but A03 and lower many "real world" situations were not triggering it as much if at all. It seems A05 and higher something happened. This is good for us though as its easier to show the throttling.
In my opinion even under synthetic situations this should be fixed, the throttling under any circumstance shows a problem.

 

Yea you're absolutely right.

And although the first rep i spoke to that connected remotely dismissed the throttling as "invalid evidence" when i showed him using furmark and prime95 because it was only shown in synthetic tests using programs not certified by "dell" ... when i eventually got bumped to lvl 3 tech support a couple days later... i showed him the exact same thing and he said the throtting i showed him was completely valid and that he would escalate the issue even further to engineering and give me a call back tues/weds with a solution.

So it comes down to lvl 1 techs not knowing what the hell they are doing... and just following the troubleshoot instructions manual and doing what it says without any knowledge about anything at all...

 

ok i just tried stock clocks on borderlands windowed 1600x900 and i expect it to play flawlessly at that res unlike 1080p but i get these stutters in game when there 5+ enemies after me but yet gpu-z says the clocks are staying constant. so im wondering if my cpu is being throttled and not the gpu. should i be testing with throttle stop for the cpu and see if the gpu throttles?

 

Yes I have ran the riva part of the fix before and it locks the gpu clocks and still the cpu throttles. Does anyone know of a good prog to view the CPU clocks? That would be really helpful.


Also curious, how many of you with 920s have the nvidia drivers from the Dell site?

 

Have you tried running ThrottleStop with the Log File option selected? That usually makes any CPU throttling issues very easy to see after you've been playing a game or whatever.

Post a log file if you're not sure what it's telling you.

The multiplier in Core i CPUs can be very dynamic so the only accurate way is to calculate the average multiplier during each one second sampling period. That's what Intel recommends in their November 2008 Turbo White Paper and that's what ThrottleStop does.

 

Deex,

I have had them installed for the past 2-3 weeks so that any return from Dell couldn't blame the video-drivers for any issue.
Gave them a 6 day deadline today, then I want an answer.
Ran Furmark with fresh Dell Driver install (to delete Riva-Tuner modifications) and I didn't notice any throttling (720qm qnd 260M GTX).
However, throwing my 920xm in there was a whole different story.
I'll run the Stalker test as I return from the UK in a few days, until then, good luck

 

WOOOOOOOTT!! Just got my answer from Dell!!!!

"Dear Mr. Starnino,
Greetings from Alienware. I am contacting you to check on the problem that you were having with your system. I would like to offer you the ATI video card replacement in order to get the issue resolved in your case.
Please verify the shipping address so I can send an onsite technician to install the part."


SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET 5850 here i come

 

I ran 3dmark and vantage with my new CPU and it throttle alot. After using throttlestop it solved the problem.

 

Hmm...that's too bad if their solution is to offer a different card. They should just fix their system. Can't believe this is at least SEVEN MONTHS later and they still don't have this resolved...just read one thing from a few days ago with a Dell guy claiming this was unheard of or something *sigh*

 

Yea they have no idea this is going on... and quite frankly.. if their solution is to replace the gpu with a better one.. (the 5850m)... IM ALL FOR IT

but i get your point... ud think those engineers would be able to com eup with a fix after so long...

 

hmm you know what.... i may be pushing my luck now... but im going to push for a 5870m... even if i have to put in an extra 100$... think they would do it? or they would simply say no because dell doesn't offer them in their m15x's... i think im dreaming now

and wattos... keep pushing for teh 5850m.. took me a week... but hey its all worth it now

 

I think I will. But I am on vacation now, so its kinda hard. Ill probably use skype tomorrow and call them again.

Anyway, Congrats on that. Youll be more than happy with the ATI card!

 

Congrats!! i just might do this as well... just so that i have a card that is covered by warranty =3

Also, I understood that the 5870 and 5850 are the same card.

You can probably just up the voltage for a 5850 and reach the same clocks or higher than a 5870, right?

 

yeah you can do that, overall the 5870 can oc pass 900 core, then most i've seen on a 5850 is 875, which is quite impressive.

 

ok this is what seems strange in HWMoniter it says my cpu is a i5 dual core????

second in throttlestop it says my qpi link barely goes past 3 ghz is this normal or do i have something wrong.

 

Blame Intel for their confusing model numbering schemes. A 620M is definitely an i7 Dual Core with hyper threading so it will show up as 4 logical CPUs in the Task Manager. The Specification box in CPU-Z reads this information directly from the CPU so you can trust what that says. If it was a Quad Core with hyper threading then that would show up in Task Manager as 8 logical cores.

When both cores are fully loaded, you will only hit a maximum of 3.06 GHz if the CPU is not overloaded. When you go beyond the default turbo TDP/TDC power ratings for your CPU, the turbo boost will start to throttle and you will be spending some time or all of the time at the default 20 multiplier which is 2.66 GHz.

The good news is that I was helping a user today and with the help of ThrottleStop, he was able to increase the turbo TDP/TDC limits of his CPU so turbo boost was fully engaged even when running 4 threads of Prime95. He only had to boost the TDP setting by a couple of watts to get rid of turbo throttling. Right click on ThrottleStop and you should be able to find these options. Hopefully they are unlocked for your CPU so you can adjust them. If you reduce TDP/TDC you will get more turbo throttling and if you increase whatever TDP/TDC value is holding you back then you should get less or no turbo throttling and a higher multiplier.

Adjusting these is at your own risk so don't get too carried away.

Have you run a ThrottleStop log file yet?

 

Hey Jstarnino,

Did they ship it right away? And when are they having a tech come over to install it?

Just wondering because my system also throttles badly after 30mins of play in BC2.. and im leaving florida in about a week... its gotten even worse since I just upgraded to A05 from A02.. atleast the sound is allot better now..

 

yea theres a06 also, but it just keeps getting worse.

Actually funny u should ask that because im trying to contact dell to find out when the heck they will be contacting me to arrange a date n time to send in a tech to replace my gpu! They should've called me by now and nothing! Its supposed to be next day service!

 

yeah my 260 is throttling more and more with each bios upgrade.geez

 

Ah, I see... I assume you also live in the U.S. ?

Thinking about giving em a call here in a little bit.. Preparing a hard to resist story

 

Well well gues they heard me down at dell! the on site service tech called me and hes going to come by at 630pm tonite! WOOOT can't wait

I also keep finding more and more things for them to fix... so now theyre bringing me a 5850m, a 9cell batt free of charge, and replacing my left fan as it makes a whining sound from time to time.

And to answer your question, i live in Canada (montreal, quebec).

Just remeber to be calm and PATIENT. Took me over a week to get where i am now (i think i called mon-tues of last week). If one rep tell you what you dont want to hear, call back the next day. Keep calling as each time u call it gets documented. So they are less likely to replace it the first time you call. but cal back everyday for a week, and they get the picture that something is in fact wrong, and your not goign away

Tell them everything you know about throttling (that it happens when gpu/cpu are at load, thats why it doesnt always happen with benches since it stresses one at a time and not simultaneaously - Tell them about the 155+ page son this site about users like yourself experiencing the problem - Tell them to connect remotely and you'll show them synthetically what you're talking about (furmark, prime95) and that you experience it in games.

Theyre going to make you do a bunch of things that wont work, so make sure u have alot of time on your hands (1-2hours... no im not JOKING)

IF you're lucky you'll get xfered to lvl 3 support. Then they'll call you, and you gotta go through the same thing. Also hint that the problem is ONLY with the GTX 260m, as you've been researching about the problem for months, since dell wont help you, and that users with the CHEAPER ati 5850m card dont have those problems. Mention that at this point you dont care about "downgrading" your gpu to a lesser value card, you're just fed up an dwant everything to work.


PAtience is key here. After all the BS, Hopefully you'll get a free 5850m replacement ( and a free 9cell+new fan if you're lucky ... hehe)

Goodluck my friend. The road ahead is a tiredsome one.

 

yup, a05 and a06 is almost 100% chance of throttling for me (gtx260). with the a03 it's almost nil unless i put ridiculous stress on the system (2x prime 95 while using furmark for example)

 

1 Call down, many more to go...

The guy wanted to change it out for the same GTX260M... I told him this would be pointless and I didn't wanna waste mine or they're time on it. When asked about the 5850 he said he would ask and was told that he could only change it out for the same video card.. I also updated to A06 which sure enough made things worse...

 

I have the same issue they are changing it for another 260. Once it in I will test it again and hopefully get a 5850.

 

Tech should be here any minute now! I'm getting things ready for him (downloading dell 5850m drivers, gna uninstall nvidia drivers etc..)

better get here soon im gettign impatient