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BIOS BUG REPORT: XPS 15 9550, CPU Speed capped after switching from battery to AC power
I noticed a very similar bug for a Dell Latitude posted on this forum and am shocked that Dell has not fixed these bios bugs.
I have a brand new XPS 15 9550 and I noticed that when you connect AC power after being on battery power, the CPU frequency gets capped at 1.69 GHz as opposed to the usual 3.5 GHz. The only way to fix this is to then reboot or sleep/resume the system. What is the best way to report this BIOS bug to Dell? There has to be some way to get Dell to fix the issue in a BIOS update.
I have found several other users also complaining of this same issue:
forum.notebookreview.com/.../help-needed-from-new-xps-owners-report-serious-bios-bug-to-dell.783715
I really hope Dell fixes this issue since it is unacceptable for Dell to sell such an expensive and premium machine with a glaring firmware bug that turns your i7 performance into a Pentium level of performance.
Burtandernie
38 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2015 22:00
I kgor a surface book instead. Yes it is not as powerful spec wise but since the cpu does not work to spec and the manymanyissues that make this comp a paper weight the book is such a better choice. I had issues with 3 books but the fourth is smooth and working great. Microsoft has publically said we have issues that we will fix and have been working overtime to deal with. Dell seems to be on vacation. Like someone saying we will get to it when we get to it. Then half assing the issue and saying we will fix it chill. Such a *** computer. The worst part is when you call tech support they say we have no record of this issue. No matter what you say. Seriously dell you *** a big one. Also i do not fault dells social tep colin. Hos hands are tied. The Sr as you said and the people who should be dealing with all the issues are to blame. These issues are going on 2 months lol. So sad. People called me dumb for getting a first generation laptop. Dells xps 15 is not a first gen at all.
Burtandernie
38 Posts
0
December 23rd, 2015 22:00
Do you wipe your *** with toilet paper that already has *** on it. I mean its still useable with your definition.
elter
18 Posts
0
December 24th, 2015 05:00
I don't even know what to say... Some people just refuse to grow up
boidsonly
25 Posts
0
December 25th, 2015 18:00
Dell needs to get focused on this issue. The throttling bug has been reported by a major review site and included in the review for all to see. The review can be found here:
www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-15-2016-9550-InfinityEdge-Notebook-Review.156354.0.html
Look under the performance section.
Zaim2016
16 Posts
0
December 26th, 2015 09:00
I have the same issue, I've found disabling speedstep helps.
However my CPU seems to throttle randomly whilst browsing, it'll just sit at 0.6ghz and everything is very laggy, after 15 minutes it improves again, this issue stops to some extent when I disable speedstep.
I also find after a 15 minutes of gaming my fps tanks and from what I can see in MSI Afterburner the GPU usage for the 960m drops down to 10-20%, and GPU 2 aka Intel graphics shoots up to 100%.
I'm not sure if its part of the same problem or if I have two issue's here. Disabling speedstep seems to help a bit.
RaymondCDijkstra
8 Posts
1
December 27th, 2015 03:00
The interim 1.1.13 and 1.1.14 bios versions are withdrawn. These versions solved speed cap issues, gave also full single core CPU speed on battery, improvements of the battery runtime with NVMe configurations (devSleep bug). But no overall battery-runtime, which was apparently one of the goals (1Hr+ ??) of Dell.
Source: www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-15-9550-i7-512GB-UHD-InfinityEdge-Notebook-Review.156462.0.html
Waiting voor a 1.1.15+ version, this or next year ??
randok
2 Posts
0
December 27th, 2015 03:00
I confirm same issue here: performance slowdown,cpu overload
XPS 15 9550
SDD 32, 1T HDD, i7
boidsonly
25 Posts
0
December 27th, 2015 08:00
I can understand them wanting to fix the runtime issue since it can open Dell up to false claims of performance (GTX 970 anybody?) but, personally, that 1hour+ means nothing to me. I would have been happy with the throttle/NVMe fix. Let's see how long it takes to iron out that runtime issue, assuming it is at all possible.
ejyankees
10 Posts
0
December 27th, 2015 09:00
I have same issue as reported by you
Same issue with Bios version 01.00.07 Build date Dec-16-2015
In power option Would set min and max processor state to "100"
on battery it would get to 2.57 witch is fine considering max shown as 2.60 and it is battery after all need to conserve a bit lol
but as soon as I plug the AC it lowers speed to 1.66 instantly (capping when AC plugged in) but when unplug it will go up to 2.57
putting computer to sleep with AC on will boost to 2.60 -2-78 considering laptop don't have a load.
also FYI not sure if that's by design Did a stress test and I was not able to get CPU speed higher then 3.07-3.10 it was advertised 3.60 I believe.
Wish the manufacturer's stop misleading the promised specification.
Hope they will fix this bug/settings in future updates soon as this is suppose to be premium line XPS after all lol sure seems to be when it is priced that way.
kirkd
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
5.2K Posts
0
December 27th, 2015 18:00
Several comments:
Speed Step should usually be defeated. Then you shouldn't need to set min and max speeds to 100%. Did you set both the battery and AC sections to 100%? You did not specify but I assume you did both.
Periodic slow downs can be caused by overheating. After cooling because of the slower clock, speed increases to the max, thwn cycles downand up. Did anyone check CPU/GPU temperatures? Could be a problem with the BIOS temperature/fan control program.
This type of problem has occurred before, and was caused by underpowered power supplies. Increasing to the next higher output supply cured the problem. However, this could also be a BIOS issue where the voltage/current values that the BIOS uses to determine if enough power is available to both run the laptop and charge the battery.
Sorry I don't have a pat answer. These problems can be difficult to solve.
ejyankees
10 Posts
0
December 27th, 2015 20:00
Yep both set at 100% so to see the diference
when on battery it always gets in the 2.5 with max 2.6 but as soon as plugging AC drops instantly to 1.6 restart/sleep bring the clock speed up on AC.
Did clean install same issue.
hoping for that miracle patch lol
Thanks
ivan92
3 Posts
0
December 29th, 2015 03:00
Hi guys,
Might be a stupid question but if they manage to fix this problem in the new bios, will I be able to safely install it from an older version of the bios? i.e I am running bios 1.00.05 as opposed to the latest available version being 1.00.07. Do I need to first update to 0.7?
Thanks
Ivan
ivan92
3 Posts
0
December 29th, 2015 03:00
Hi everyone, just a quick question that may be stupid. When they eventually release this updated bios to fix the problem, can you update your system to the latest bios from an older version? i.e I am running 0.5 however the latest bios available is 0.7. Will it damage my computer to update from my current bios?
Thanks
Ivan
RemySphere
9 Posts
1
December 29th, 2015 05:00
If not stated otherwise, you should be able to jump from one another without going through all the versions, as common BIOS updates erase then rewrite the whole dedicated EEPROM.
boidsonly
25 Posts
0
December 29th, 2015 06:00
I sure hope this is a BIOS issue and not something as sinister as an underpowered PS. If it is indeed a PS issue, Dell needs to immediately stop the sales of all XPS 15 9550 machines. Then figure out how to best handle the problem with machines sold.
It never occurred to me they would be naive enough to under power this laptop.