Dell 17r N7720 SE - user review

So by doing this the temperatures wont reach that high?? Hoping it helps with the shutdowns

 

Yup, same issue. My guess initially was the GPU, but the temperatures you noted point to an issue with cooling the CPU (try running Prime95, if you overheat the CPU and get a shutdown, you can rule out the GPU). Either way, the CPU and GPU share the same heatsink, and either can trigger the auto-shutdown when temperatures reach the inbuilt limits (which in theory they should not be able to do, when you have a properly working cooling system in place).

...also a side note. I've seen CPU and GPU chips trigger a shutdown even when the temperatures being reported to the OS were within normal operational limits (50-60C). This was due to a badly seated heatsink, which was not making contact with half the chip (the half with the OS temp sensor was cooled ok, the rest of the chip was being fried alive)... so don't take the reported temperatures as gospel. A visual inspection of the heatsink is the best place to start at this point.

 

Unfortunately not. You definitely have an issue that needs to be sorted out. Under normal conditions, even when stressing both CPU and GPU to 100%, all you should see is automatic downclocking once a certain temperature threshold is reached. Automatic shutdowns indicate a problem.

 

Could it be that your internal HDDs are SATA 2? Panther Point M SATA controller has two 6 Gbps ports, but if the connected drive is slower, it will run at its speed.

 

Ran Prime65 for 1/2hr and the CPU temperatures did not cross 90 C. The cores down clocked to 2.3ghz every time it was about to reach 90 C, don't know why this wont happen during a gaming session.

Can you suggest a good GPU stress test too? I think we can give it a try too as the CPU seems fine.

 

FurMark. In my case it takes about 6 minutes for the GPU (100% load) to reach 90C.

 

you dont need any (2,4ghz - 3.2Ghz) Turbo boost on the CPU when you play ruff games,

(the games runs perfect with just 2.3Ghz (mostly because its a real quad CPU and have a great 6MB cache)

the only times i "enjoy" pure +3Ghz speed on the CPU is when i render videos/3d programs or doing a lot of Photo shop

 

That makes sense. I checedk the model of the hard drives and yes, they only support sata II. They came with the laptop. Thank you.

 

This thread is about a PC computer, not a game console. And some games do indeed take advantage of extra processing power.

Currently, there is just a few games that utilise quad cores. BTW, Battlefield 3 is not one of them, not in a single player.

There you go. What is the point of paying extra hefty amount of cash for a great CPU and then run it in "crippled mode"? Hope Dell addresses the issue one day.

 

I tried most of 2012 high end games and non of them have got a slow down of the i7 3610 in 2.3ghz speed.


Render videos and using photo shop does Not effect the GPU in the same way as in games. Therefore the PC works ok having a warmer CPU in this type of works.

Im just using 2.3ghz speed in games. Thats all

 

The A11 BIOS doesn't really have any new features for folks with Windows 7? Is it worth updating?

 

While playing Nfs Mostwanted ....the new one, Gpu(650mGT) reaches 90 C and under-clocks within..say 15mins of playing. The Gpu seems to be in 80 to 100 % load most of the time.Is this normal?? Or should I ask Dell to change the heatsink or the Gpu maybe??

and with which graphics settings are you all enjoin the game??

 

There are no replacement/aftermarket heatsinks, and no alternative GPU chips to swap. You're stuck with what you have.
Options are:
1) tweak game settings, lower resolution etc.
2) apply better thermal paste (could lower temps by about 5-10C...might be enough in your case)
3) return the 7720 and get a better laptop

 

Am not lookin for alternate gpu chips or heat sinks.... I just wanted to know,
1)what your temps were while playing the game and if mine was higher
2)Is it enough if I changed the heat sink only.

Dell will change the heat sink as I am in warranty.

 

Hi ,

Can anyone try and play Assasins creed III and tell whether it can be run on 1080p on our 7720 ?

Plz reply ...

 

Sorry, should have made my post clearer. While I do not have the new NFS installed, my temperatures while gaming older stuff (Assassins Creed II, LA NOIRE at the moment) are around 73-75C. NFS is a brand new game, probably a badly optimised console port to boot.. so no surprises if you're reaching 90C with full eye candy on.

If you read a few posts back, you'll see a few people mentioning how long it takes them to reach 90C with a benchmark/stress tool, like MSI Kombustor (usually around 5-10mins, even with better thermal paste applied). Truth is, if you run the GPU at 100% utilization, you will not be able to keep it under 90C for too long. The laptop is just not designed that way. A change of heatsink will not solve anything. The only small tweak you can try yourself is to apply better thermal paste.

 

Thanks for the info man! Much appreciated

 

Can anyone please reply ..?

 

I just did the A11 vbios OC mod (core locked to 835) was tired of the boost bug. Then the Mem at 2850 with afterburner.

Originally my GPU temps were getting to 90°C so it would throttle down a P-State and a few degrees under but then would reach 90°C almost instantaneously and it would happen again. Hiccups in games. Vicious cycle, usually indicating a cooling problem. I wasn't too happy seeing that but forgot to elevate the back of the laptop up (preferably 3") and it always stayed under 80°C the entire time after that. This is under 3 hours of BF3 @ 1080p on High Settings, fov-90 (with cfg commands,) No AA on a 46-52/64p server.

If I left it flat on the desk, sure enough the GPU temps climb quickly, 87,88,89,90°C...(throttle)

GPU load is 99% majority of the time, may dip to 97% for a brief second and still GPU temps do not rise past 80°C.

CPU still running at 100% "High Performance" mode, max temp it saw was 82°C. I didn't use the 99% fix to help reduce temps either.

Idle temps on GPU using GPU-Z is 28°C core/mem - 270/203 VDDC .812

*NOTE*

Kombustor - around 65-70% memory controller load and runs a max VDDC of 1.037 @ 99% Load, Temps: 90°C-Throttle
BF3 - around 37-41% memory controller load, with A11 bios core mod runs a VDDC of 1.012 @ 99% Load, Temps: 79-80°C
Max Payne 3, Most Wanted, StarCraft II and many others all run within or under 80ish.

 

Where is this BIOS mod you speak of?

 

well, as i have said before..... i (and some other people) replaced the stock thermal paste and got 8-10C less temp on the CPU/GPU during games.

thats your answer.....

(the funniest thing, is that "some" people said....- there is no need doing that...(dumbest answer so far)

 

Yeah, but some people migh get a decent TP.

 

Dell Inspiron 7720 650m GDDR5 modded vBIOS - Page 2

 

Finally we have a working vBIOS mod that solves the Boost bug and retains the 835 MHZ freq .. Dell Sucks .. Thanks a lot svl ..!

Getting 835 MHZ after 2+ hrs of BF3 gameplay at 1080p ...

 

Can you post links here. Unsufficient priviledges on my account there

 

can some1 recall which vbios version our 650m was updated to? dell released a new driver (307.07, fixed my problem btw) and i always wonder whether the vbios version was updated or not.

 

Has anyone had any problems with the left side of the palmrest (right above the video card) heating up to uncomfortable temps after playing high-performance games for short periods of time? Mine has been doing this ever since I got it - it warms up right away and gets quite distracting after a little while.

Currently working with Dell support on reinstalling drivers and running hardware diagnostics, but not sure if that's going to pan out. Anyone have any suggestions on how they got their temps down enough so that it's tolerable, or if not, how they're dealing with it?

 

Has anyone figured out yet if the mSATA port is capable of 6Gb/s (SATA III speeds) yet? If not, I'm gonna pull the trigger on another Samsung 128gb 830 Series drive while they're still on sale for $80.

 

I've found one more thread that has me worried it's only capable of SATA II speeds...

"I had to research this a bit, but I believe the motherboards BIOS initially did not support it, but now it's possible. The drawback is that the mSATA port is SATA II (3.0Gb/s). I went to the Intel Datasheet for verification of this. Apparently there are two SATA III (6.0Gb/s) ports (port 0 and 1) and I'm assuming those are used for the two 2.5" slots. I can verify that in my BIOS my primary HDD is connected to port 0 (shown as S0 in BIOS). The mSATA is connected to port 2 (S2 in BIOS).

The thread below talks about using an mSATA SSD as a boot drive.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-inspiron-dell-studio/691645-inspiron-7720-os-msata-drive.html

This is all assuming you meant you have a 17R SE earlier. The other 17R's may be different, not sure. Also, I do think you'd probably want a bigger drive than 32GB for a boot drive. 32GB would be tight."

Dell Home Outlet Sale - Inspiron 17R SE 3rdG i7,8GB,1TB,GT650-2GB,1080p"CR"$695 *XPS 13 i5,4GB,128SSD,"CR"$695 *Insp 15-N5050 i3,6GB,500GB,"S&D"$295 *Alienware M14xR2"New"$785 - Page 8 - Slickdeals.net

 

Beneath the palmrest on the left side is your primary HDD. Not the video card.
If you only have one HDD, you can try moving it to the second slot. (should still boot etc.)

 

Yes, I have. Go back a few pages, I posted speed results from my system. Sata is capable of 6Gbps but the msata only 3Gbps.

 

Ok, moved the drive to the other bay and that spot is still pretty warm. Are you positive the video card isn't in that area? I've posted a question about this on Dell's support site and they indicate it's in that spot. However, I'm wondering about that, since the pictures in the owner's manual don't seem to show much of anything in that area other than the hard drive. The heatsink doesn't appear to go anywhere near that area. I'm not trying to call you out here or anything, just trying to understand how the laptop is designed so I can keep it cool as possible.

 

Just checked the pictures again, and you are right. There is more underneath the left palmrest than the primary hdd, but not anything that could (in my opinion) explain the temps you are discribing.
Looks like nothing more than some logic chips for sound, but that's about it.
If it is still unconfortably warm, I think you can't do anything other than request a mainboard swap.

 

GPU sits roughly under '7' key. Combined heatpipe goes under bottom row of the keys and I think this is the source of heat. I'm having similar issue with my 7720. Initially I though it was primary HDD which was idling at about 45C. However, I think it is elevated due to proximity of CPU heatpipe. The chip temperature is 55 - 60C at idle, so that may be the reason. Whenever the fan is activated the palmrest cools down quite quickly. What's your experience?

 

Hello all, I have short question regarding the screw size for msata. I know it is m2x3 but I also read from somewhere that the screw for msata is the same as the one for Wlan card. I tried to used the Wlan screw for msata and it Didn't fit. If I buy some m2x3 screw from Amazon, will it work with msata?

 

It is cool when I start up the computer and usually while I'm running a few undemanding apps (a couple of instances of Firefox, Steam, monitoring software.) Have all of the above open right now and video card temps are bouncing back and forth between 41-53 degrees.

Once I start up a game, though, the fan kicks in almost instantly. By the time I get the game fully loaded, the fan is going full blast and the wristrest heats up fast. By 5 minutes it's noticeable, and from about 10 minutes on it's uncomfortable to the point where I have to put something between my hand and the wristrest just to make it bearable. It stays hot after I quit out of a game, too, and the fan slows down - I expect that's because it's getting it's temps off the video card, not the corner of the laptop where my hand is.

I'm about ready to tear the thing apart and see if the heatsink is on there correctly...maybe it's not seated right, or needs a new application of thermal paste? I don't know...

 

i know..............every single gaming-laptop" (with stronger GPU/CPU) out there....runs cooler with a more effective paste.

DELL and all other big laptop company's dont use high end thermal paste from start (cost little to much to grease up every single laptop with AS.5, etc......they use their own standard thermal paste)

replace and you see the difference !

 

How is better thermal paste going to reduce heatpipe temperature? Please explain.

 

I agree with someone before me:

can someone paste these files on this forum, since i can't download them due to insufficient permissions.

tnx in advance!!!

 

Hi everybody,

I've just ordered a Dell 17R SE with a 2D Full HD screen.

Since i own a Spyder 3 Elite, i will able to share an ICC profile for those who want's a more real life colors matching.

It's always better to calibrate YOUR screen but a profile matching your screen model is better than nothing at all !

 

Hello Wuinny89, congrats on your purchase and thanks for your offer.
When you get your 17R SE dont forget to check and specify the exact type of panel you get - apparently it is either CMI or LG

 

I was actually quite disappointed with the default colours on my anti glare screen. The default settings appear to be way off from reality and actually worse than my dell xps screen from 2007 [1680 screen]. Some areas appear to be very dark and some whites are completely blown out.

Looking forward to your post with color profile.

 

Laptops screens are generally way too much blue. I'll specify what screen i have and bring a profile for it.

I did it for my last laptop (Asus G73SW, a piece of junk) and the difference is simply incredible.

 

Nice, looking forward to it! The default setup is definitely too cold/blue. At the moment, I'm running the ICC profile posted in the notebookcheck.net review, and it's a night/day difference, but I'll want to compare yours and see which suits my screen better.

 

is the icc profile for the 3d display recommendable?

edit: ah i found the menu for color management

 

A color management menu is not accurate at all. Imagine the default color rendering as a straight road. If you don't use a monitor calibration device, you just move the entire straight road toward more blue, red or any other color. (As well as any color that was accurate !)

A calibration device will see where your road is not accurate and will be able to move it in any shape (at a certain point more blue, at an another point more red...) This way, you can just change the tone of the color that display wrong, not the entire colors.


It pretty difficult to explain but nothing can replace a monitor calibration device.

The problem with a profile that have been issued for another computer is... You simply don't know witch one is the more accurate.

You could print a color chart to see wich ICC profile suits the best. (But you have to be sure that your printer is... calibrated or at least sure that you use the right paper with the right ICC profile for that paper )



But still, as you said a not so accurate ICC profile is WAY better than no profile at all.


The only downside we will experience (Thanks to Nvidia) is : no color management is possible in games or any 3D application. ATi supports that :/ (You'll simply don't have the ICC profile loaded when you'll play)

I can't wait to have this Dell !

 

i know what u mean. i calibrated my monitor on my own with the intregrated calibration tool of win8. at first it looked really nice, but after i tested the standard icm profile and the one from notebookcheck, i realized that my profile was blueish (looked nice because my wallpaper and scheme are both blue).

currently i´m using the notebookcheck profile, because it slightly looks better than the standard one, but i´m not an expert. could be my imagination.

 

Thanks for that. I must have missed the profiles on NBC website. Just applied ICC profile for my panel (LGD02DA) from M17x R4 review. It looks amazing on full brightness - much more natural and no longer freezing blue - however on 30% that I like, red tint is definitely present. Strange, I did not think backlight had any impact on colour reproduction.

 

if you want cream of the cream:

IPS.....
Macbook pro retina (best screen on the market)
Studio xps 16 (RGBled) or Precision photographer, etc.
......................................................
TN.....
Vaios X-Black, DELL True Life or the new HP Envy
.....................................................
then standard TN screen comes.

.......if you want a better screen.....you have to pay more...thats simple.

 

I disagree. While it's an excellent screen, there are better ones. Have a look at HP Dreamcolor (EliteBook 8740w), as an example. And the whole Retina fad is way over-hyped. At 60 cm I'm unable to see individual pixels on my 7720 FHD display despite having perfect eyesight.