Dell Studio 1555, *Part 2*

Well I just let it run for about 10 minutes or so. My temps in GPU-Z got to a max of 89 but hovered around 87 for the most part. Interestingly HWMonitor read a max temp of 85oC. Never experienced any slow downs or bugs or anything. FPS averaged 238 if you're interested. I'll let it run for a while longer and let you know what I find.

 

Thanks so much for running it. Hmm, your temperatures are the same as mine. I ran the log until it crashed running HL2, and the temp never went over 89 degrees. So I geuss GPU overheating isnt the problem after all? I still think its a hardware problem though since the problem was there both before and after installing Win7. I hope i can convince them to take it in for repair without me having to reinstall again.

 

No problem, I ran it awhile longer but nothing exciting happened and my numbers were basically the same.

Are you sure its not a CPU overheating problem?

 

Hmm, so if its not the GPU overheating, the CPU overheating, or a software problem, what else could it be?

 

Are you undervolting?

 

Nope. Everything is stock.

 

Hrrmm.... thats a dilly of a pickle. I wonder if it could be bad memory. Has the laptop frozen while running ATI Tools?

 

I havnt run it long enough to, but since every other 3D application results in a shutdown 30-45 minutes in, I imagine it would too.

Modern chips downclock instead of shutting down during heat stress anyways, but now I'm thinking the heat could be doing funky things to some soldering somewhere? Like with the RROD's with the original Xbox 360's.

 

tipoo: If your problem is HW (I suppouse is it) Only think is to call to support that you have difficulties and want to fix it in HW way, if SW dont help. Then can change cooling, or hole motherboard part...

But if youre experienced you can try this trick. In studio 1555 is one big heatpipe that cools CPU and GPU together, so if CPU get hot GPU get hot too.
Trick is simple - undervolt your CPU. I havent difficulties with GPU overheating, but i did it for better temperatures and less consumption - bigger battery life. Temperatures in load drop significantly from 70(2533Mhz/1,087-1,2V) to 55(0.975V) degrees of celsius on CPU!

So if youre interresed try CPUgenie 1.4

 

Hi everyone, I am new to this thread. Anyway, regarding to the overheating issue, has anyone one of you try cleaning your lappy's heatsink? You know, after a couple of months of usage, dust will tend to get stuck around there which will dramatically decrease the heat dissipation.

 

Hi everyone,

I bought 1555 few days ago, and I'm having problem with external displays.
Until Windows boots up to the welcome screen there is no video signal on external monitor, regardless if it is connected via HDMI or via VGA port. Approximately when welcome screens appears, external monitor gets video signal from the laptop and starts displaying. I've tried this with different monitors, same thing is happening.

This means I can not get into BIOS using external monitor.

Anyone else with same problem, any solutions? Could this be by design?

Regards,
Mate

 

Thanks for the advice, but I shouldnt have to undervolt my 3-month old laptop to prevent overheating, its Dell's job to fix it now. We'll see what happens when they call at 6 today. I'll definatly try undervolting when the problem is resolved though.

The fan and heatsink are completely free of dust, thanks though.

 

I tried undervolting my old Toshiba laptop that had a 3.2GHz P4 and the results were RIDICULOUS. My idle temps dropped 14oC and my temps under load dropped by 20-something degrees.

I tried doing the same thing with the 1555 but the results weren't nearly as impressive. The CPU automatically drops the voltage at lower multipliers so there are really no Power Savings to be had. There would be benefits of reduced heat though but since I never really had a problem with it I never bothered.

 

Terbo : you are rigt, but ... its not that easy, but for example my CPU has this base ACPI P-states : 2666(x10) 1.212V, 2533(x9.5) 1.087V, 1600(x6) 1V, 800(x6, SuperLFM) 0.875V. So on iddle CPU osciles between 800 and 1600 - 0.875 and 1V!

CPUgenie can add other missing multipliers from 6, 6.5, 7, .. to 10
and mainly my CPU can reach 2133 MHz (x8.5) with only 0.875

Another think that in load i can drop voltage too from 1.087 to 0.975.

So at iddle isnt so important undervolting, but my fans and temps went down about 5-10 degrees of celsius. In load about 10-20 and i lower voltage only a bit

 

Could someone using HDMI output just confirm if this is by design or not?
For a few more days I will be able to return the unit and get a new one.

Thanks...

 

I have small question, its possible to control somehow fan speed and GPU clocks? In DXVA mode GPU clocks UP to 600Mhz (load only 10%) - so 200Mhz in DXVA will be cool

EDIT: I found that ATT can read clocks if i enable software method of clock reading in instalation, so i see clocks and voltage, but i cant change anything

 

Alright, Dell agreed to ship me a box. In which I will ship them my laptop. The guy said they will replace the whole motherboard, GPU, and cooling system, as well as look into the screen flickering problem (so they will pretty much send me a new laptop, chassis and battery asside ), and see if that resolves the problem.

Some advice, if you talk to Dell support ask to be escalated to a higher level if your problem is serious.

 

Its good to hear they're taking care of you. Keep us updated with your issue!

 

You bought the laptop a few days ago, so I take it you're using Windows 7? I haven't actually tried this on my Studio, but I noticed the same issue after installing W7 on my desktop where I have a dual-monitor setup. When I boot the computer, the only display will be on my primary screen right up until the point where the desktop is about to appear (I don't have the Welcome screen appearing since I log in automatically, but it's at the point the WS would appear).

I'm not really sure if/why this is by design...maybe there is a way to change it...

 

I am, but I do not think it has anything to do with Windows 7, external display should be used already in BIOS, before OS comes into the picture.

I expected to find some setting in BIOS to tweak this, but noting is there...
For what is worth, friends Thinkpad used in the same way does not have this issue, his external display on HDMI port is used from the power on.

There is something else I noticed - after I enter my password at the welcome screen it takes exceptionaly long (~ 1 min) to get to the desktop, and when it gets there, there is no login sound played, as if some process is stuck in the pipeline.
This is again in some way connected to the monitor, because after I change display to the laptop and again to the external, something becomes "unstuck" and login sound plays.

These all are minor issues, but they are irritating.

 

Correction, I found the reason for this - it is peculiar bug with desktop background - when set to solid color there is delay, but when set to image there is no delay. Really funny.

 

can anyone post what kind of temps there getting?

my cpu will hit 50 celcius while web browsing then the fan comes on, using cpuid hardware monitor, and this other thing called tz00 hits 60 celcius is this normal

 

These are my temps while surfing the net on battery on max battery life. Your temps are fine.

 

Guys, I would like to know where I can find the control panel for the IDT audio to enable the SRS sound effect. I heard from my mate said that it does enhance the audio quality, so I can't wait to try it out. >< Any help is much appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

So CPUgenie is not winner at all, i have difficutlies that svchost.exe takes one core CPU load after hibernation cause CPUgenie, i must restart system and monitor it for that, so CPUgenie 1.4 has bug after hibernation

 

Hey guys, have you set the display brightness to the minimum? If you did, try increasing the display brightness and do a reboot see if the issue still exist.

 

The box arrived today. So I'll be laptop-less for 9 to 11 working days, but at least they are fixing the issues. Not looking forward to having nothing to work on but my Athlon XP desktop though, and i really fear having to read my handwritten university notes for the next week

 

I don't seem to be able to wake up from sleep (Win7 x64) with either the keyboard or the touchpad. I installed both the latest A8 bios version and the Synaptics driver from the Dell site (actually I only noticed the keyboard not working only after installing those). My USB mouse on the other hand works OK (after checking "allow this device to wake up computer", option not available for either the Keyboards or the Touchpad). Is this the smth usual, or it's something wrong with my notebook?

 

hey guys, i will buy a notebook cooler soon
any good cooler recommended?
i wanna buy it bcoz my gpu temp way too high during gaming & my hdd temp also quite high

 

I think this is normal - in sleep the power button pulses and you need to push this to wake the 1555.

 

I got a 1555 too and I bought a Cooler Master Notepal Infinite. Works great and does what its suppose to do.

 

can u do me a favor?
i wanna know ur studio 1555 gpu temp during gaming (not alt-tab in the middle of game coz the result not accurate)

 

With mine I just close it to put it to sleep, open it to wake. It wakes up so quick my desktop is loaded the the time I have the top opened.

 

for anyone on the fence about the Dell studio 1555, here is my small review from my very neglected website.

http://im-geeking-out.com/2009/09/15/dell-studio-1555-review/

nothing too intensive

Also, how many of you are using microsoft Security Essentials for anti-virus? I absolutely love it and have since I tried it the day it was released in limited Beta. Its a revolution for MS and they need to promote it a lot more. Its completely free and it works like an anti virus should, very unintrusive and doesnt make your system slow. I will never buying anti virus again. I hope norton and mcCafee fail.

 

I used to be an AVG evangelist, but the interface is terrible and its slow and intrusive. I used Avast! for a little while too but wasn't a huge fan of it for the same reasons. MSE is clean, simple and well integrated.

 

im using avast too^^
until now i havent detected any virus, lolz
btw, anyone here use cooler? mind to share some own reviews or whatever, coz i wanna buy one soon

 

Zalman ZM-NC2000 is perfect for my 1555.

 

mind to provide more infos?
like the temperature of cpu & gpu b4 and after using this cooler? thx

 

i like MSE, ive installed it on a virtual machine and works great but not on my laptop, i use kaspersky because im not sure how good windows firewall is, ive heard it wasnt very secure in vista.

 

A newby question here. Just got my 1555 yesterday and noticed that the 320gig HD is showing as 261GB free of 283GB. Probably something obvious!?
Nick.

 

thats normal, cause system and some system files need space on HDD and use it. bigger space - bigger usage of system restore points, backups, temp, etc ...

Another think that 320GB is not 320GB in real, so its OK, dont worry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive - Capacity measurements

 

Hello my friends
sorry,I'm not fluent English

Since my laptop did not box, I did not know my led is what kind?
And;
Information through the service tag have achieved support dell :

STUDIO 1555 : INTEL CORE 2 DUO T9600(2.8
40 DISPLAY : 15.6IN WIDESCREEN HIGH DEFINIT
40 PALMREST : SILVER CHAINLINK WITH BLACK C
40 CAMERA : INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGA PIXEL CAMER
40 SOFTWARE : FACIAL RECOGNITION
...

Then a friend through the tips below:

control panel - system - device manager - expand the monitor tab - generic pnp monitor - details tab - on the drop down menu select hardware ids and then you can see monitor/XXXXX where the x's will be the initials of the company that manufactured your screen

I find such a feature for my led :
that was INL000A

Please Those who knows what kind of your LED ,Through this method detect my LED type
My LED= INL000A (Samsung or LG) & (720p or 1080p)

Thanks for your help

 

Right click your desktop and select 'Screen Resolution'. It will say what the current resolution is and if it says (recommended) after it then that is the correct resolution for the screen e.g. 1920x1080 = 1080p.

 

Hi guys,
I own Dell Studio 1555 for a week now. It came with T6600, 4GB RAM, 4570 graphics and 1080p screen.

I have a problem with it because it heats quickly, area around touchpad and palm rest is warm, so my palms can get sweaty a bit. Also, after an hour or two of light load (browsing the Net, CPU under 10%), the fan is working almost 50% of the time. This can be irritating in a quiet room. Temperatures as seen in HWMonitor can go over 60C on light to moderate load, and over 43C as seen in SpeedFan (not sure why's the difference).

Is this behavior normal? The thing I hate the most is the fan working on light load. I called Dell in my country, and they said this is normal as I have 4570 graphics. TBG, I don't find it normal to have fan working half of time under light load, no matter which graphics in the laptop, as it's not really used much while browsing the Net.

P.S. I posted this message on review page for Studio 1555, but later saw this thread as a better option for my question.

 

Consider this: You have a machine that is the same quality as some low end desktops, yet in a space that is considerably smaller.

Of course you will get some issues with heat - this is pretty much unavoidable in any semi-powerful notebook.

There are things you can do to minimise this though.

To start with, when you are not running things that are GPU intensive (i.e. no 3D rendering), you can switch powerplay on. This is within the Catalyst control centre, and basically switches your GPU to low power mode.

You can also undervolt your CPU - have a look in the hardware forum sticky for more information; but basically this reduces the voltage your CPU runs on without impacting performance in any shape or form.

Finally, if you are not using a wireless connection, switch the wireless off. This can be done in the windows mobility centre (press windows key + x) or using the built in hotkey on your notebook (Fn + F2). The wireless card is the source of heat under the touchpad, and disabling this when not in use will significantly reduce heat inside your notebook.

If you are using your notebook on a desk most of the time, it would be worthwhile considering investing in a notebook cooler, or at the least a notebook riser. Both of these assist in the cooling of your notebook - with the riser being the completely silent (but less effective) method.

 

So, you believe this is not just issue with my particular laptop or Studio 1555 series, but every powerful laptop these days? My last laptop was Precision M60 bought 5 years ago. It was top of the line I believe at the time. I didn't have any heat issues with it until recently, probably due to dirty fan/cooler. I guess things change after 5 years.

I tried using Coolermaster notebook cooler. It did reduce the temperature of laptop's undersite, but didn't reduce components temperatures much (fan still got turned one from time to time during light usage.

I already switched powerplay on and set it to maximize battery life while running on battery and while plugged in.

I played a bit with undervolting, but windows kept crashing under 1.05V (I think default voltage RMClock set for T6600 was 1.0625V) so I thought my CPU was not worth undervolting. Altough, I might be mistaken, and it doesn't use 1.0625V on highest multiplier. I'll give it another try.

I would still like to hear from other 1555 owners if they are having similar issues with heat like I do, especially if their laptop fans are being used during light usage.

Thanks

 

Yup, things change considerably in 5 years in terms of technology. In reality, things should be getting cooler due to die size shrinkage etc, and they probably would be if we were using our computers for the same things we did 5 years ago. However, nowadays we are asking much much more from our computers.

Yes, the vast majority of notebooks that have at least semi powerful components will suffer some heat issues. Though to call them issues is a bit of a stretch; they're hardly design flaws - it's just that more powerful components are being stuff into an every decreasing space.

The only way to make sure your fan never comes on with the vast majority of notebooks is to make sure you don't switch the notebook on. If you intend to power it up though, then expect some fan noise. Unless you are running a ULV CPU with integrated graphics, weak wireless and a fanless machine. Heck, even my pitifully weak netbook has a fan which turns on occaisionally.

You really need to ensure you are buying a notebook cooler which fits your machine properly - by which I mean the vents on your machine line up with the cooler. I guess you are talking about the notepal infinite - I used to have one and was actually pretty disappointed with it. I switched to a Zalman NC 2000 and have never looked back. They are kind of pricey though.

To be honest a cooler should only really be needed when you are going to push your machine. All other times, simply raising your notebook at the back will probably be enough. I used to use some empty business card cases (you know, the plastic boxes your business cards come in), until I bought a proper notebook riser. Worked a treat, fan still came on, but nowhere near as much.

 

Hm, I considered returning this Dell and getting another laptop, maybe even with integrated graphics, as I'm just occasional gamer. Would integrated graphics make much difference in terms of produced heat during light usage (eg. browsing the Web)?

Cooler I tried was Notepal B2. It has two fans in the middle. Most heat on Studio 1555 is concentrated under palm rest area and around middle of the keyboard area. So, Notepal B2 might not be the best solution, but it was only cooler I could find quickly. I'll probably return it and get something better, in case I stick with Studio 1555.

One question, is it normal for newer laptops to have warm palm rest and keyboard? Studio 1555 has known issue with warm touchpad, but I also noticed most of the keyboard gets a bit warm.

 

Well, it's one less component that is powered up, so it will make a difference. Not a massive difference in some situations, but it will still make some difference. If you are an occaisional gamer I would probably still recommend having a discrete graphics solution though.

It is normal for this notebook - if you re-read my original post you'll see that I mentioned the wireless card is under the touchpad - that's the main culprit for the heat there. Test it out if you like; disable the wireless (Fn + F2, or just F2 if you've not changed the function keys to function key first rather than media key first) and continue using it for an hour. The touchpad area should be significantly cooler.

"Warm" is also a very subjective term. I wanted to buy the HP Envy 15, but after playing with it in the store I decided that the palm rest was too hot for me; but then in the HP Envy 15 owners thread some people have said it's warm but not hot. Each person will consider different temperatures comfortable or uncomfortable according to their preferences.

 

Turn on power savings for your wireless card. is. from Max Performance to Max Power Savings. The touchpad is hardly warm anymore.