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DELL Studio XPS 16 1645 i7 power problem
Update 4 (2/13/2010):
Bios A07 shows a significant improvement with the 130w charger.
There is still throttling that need to be analyzed, most likely this throttling is a machine limitation.
For now, the system is able to run near the advertised specs.
Please post your experience with the updated BIOS.
Update 3:
Dell is finally listening, they are replacing the 90 watt charger with a 130 watt slim charger with a promise of a BIOS fix version A07 that is promised to fix the problem.
Will update upon the testing of the BIOS.
here is how to place a replacement request in USA and Canada
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19320784.aspx
Update 2
DELL thinks a BIOS release will fix the problem and is working on it now.
ALL the people who performed all kind of testing in NBR assures the engineers at DELL that a BIOS fix will not fix the problem completely without the use of a charger of higher power. Using Throttlestop the system was able to consume 110-120 watts under load.
Some people will accept a BIOS that throttle up to the maximum power of the charger used so for a 90 watts charger the system throttles at 90 watts, for a 130 watts, it throttles at 130 watts.
Some people are planning a class action browse the thread for more information.
Update
Here is our group findings so far
1. The power conservative BIOS forces the system to throttle to 7x when the power consumption is around 90 watts due to one or more of the following reasons:
a. Limitation of the power supply capability
b. Limitation of the motherboard to accept more than 90 watts (This reason is from DELL, but we suspect it)
c. To increase the battery life
d. To limit heat generation
obviously DELL should be blamed for poor design if it is a, b, or d.
2. Thanks to unclewebb there is a software now to unlock the throttle, this one will almost certainly put the 90 watt charger to rest or fire.
3. Due to the power limitation, it looks like the people with the RGBLED are most affected by the problem due to the added power consumption.
4. DELL is aware of the problem, but according to them it only affects a small percentage of people that put the system on full performance.
5. DELL keeps saying that the 130 watts adapter is not the solution of the problem, which is quite true as it needs both an adapter and BIOS update.
6. After a long wait, DELL acknowledged that there is a problem and that they will address it soon without announcing a time frame.
7. We as a group lack the trust in DELL fixing the problem to our satisfaction.
I think most of our group will agree on the above.
With all the above said, i am quite happy that mine was returned back to DELL after a frustrating experience with DELL level 1, 2, and 3 technical support. This doesn't represent the other members as most of them are happy with their notebook but expect action from DELL.
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We are among the first to receive our DELL studio XPS 16 1645 with i7. We have some benchmark results that strongly suggest that the equipped 90W charger is not providing enough power to the system. To summarize, the performance of the system is correlated to the brightness of the monitor which suggests that the power provided is not enough so when the monitor is dimmed it allows more power to be consumed by the system. Here is some findings:
Here is the findings, if you stress the laptop using 3Dmark06 the performance is correlated to the brightness of the screen, here is the findings
Full brightness: 5003 3DMark '06
SM2.0: 1664
SM3.0: 2189
CPU: 2568
Lowest brightness: 5405 3DMark '06
SM2.0:1834
SM3.0: 2326
CPU: 2785
To further see the effect of the power consumption, i ran Crysis benchmark for two cases with one difference, the power source battery and minimum brightness vs charger and maximum brightness. I used the exact same settings for power plan (High performance and optimize performance for powerplay)
On Charger, Battery full, maximum brightness
Run #1- DX10 1024x768 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: Low ~~ Last Average FPS: 68.75
Run #2- DX10 1024x768 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: Medium ~~ Last Average FPS: 30.24
Run #3- DX10 1024x768 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 20.38
On Battery, minimum brightness
Run #1- DX10 1024x768 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: Low ~~ Last Average FPS: 80.31
Run #2- DX10 1024x768 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: Medium ~~ Last Average FPS: 50.93
Run #3- DX10 1024x768 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 29.50
To further test the claim that the power is not enough, an external monitor is connected and to our surprise the system showed its muscles with best performance.
The correlation to the between the brightness and performance, and the heat generated from the charger strongly suggested that the charger is not providing enough power under full load.
It will be a shame if the power adapter is not adequate specially after the whole mess of delaying orders.
[Poll]
Pieter-Jan
1 Message
0
February 16th, 2010 11:00
Hi
This is probably the wrong place to post it but i didn't know where else to put it. ( i called tech support first but they couldn't help me because i didn't buy a system or something like that)
Dell's products and support have always been to my satisfaction and now i'm planning to buy a xps studio 16, but now i read all these issues i have some questions.
Will dell send a 130W adaptor if you order or will they send a 90W which you have to send back to get a 130W?
Does the A07 bios update work?
Might anyone know how long you have to wait to get your system, because with all the problems and all the shortage of parts i suspect there will be long waiting lists.
thnx in advance
P.S: i live in Belgium
RaymondKL
37 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 12:00
Hi All,
Received my new 130 watt (Thanks Dell) from Australia, Sydney
Also received a letter mentioning:
Not sure what to do.. :emotion-39: rather keep both...
RaymondKL
37 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 13:00
I would send them back either the entire laptop, or just the air vent at the back (which is definately defective in terms of design). :emotion-2: :emotion-2: :emotion-2: :emotion-2:
[/quote]
I like the way you think, worst case scenario is they send me a invoice for AUD130 and i'll just hit them up again ... :emotion-11:
@97mg how are your experiences regarding all this!? been
97mg
14 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 13:00
I would send them back either the entire laptop, or just the air vent at the back (which is definately defective in terms of design). :emotion-2: :emotion-2: :emotion-2: :emotion-2:
Sirrob1
14 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 15:00
How many other folks emailed Dell/Todd per his instructions about the adapter last week and never got any reply?
I'd guess only the squeeky wheels get oiled.
Sirrob1
14 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 16:00
I also 'messaged him exactly how it was described to do' AND followed up two days later and still zero response. You are quick to make excuses and defend Dell/Todd.
I am still interested in how many others are victim of 'a very human and understandable mistake'. Perhaps the power throttleing is just as human and understandable?
Zarabadoo
14 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 16:00
I messaged him exactly how it was described to do and I got a response next day and the adapter the day after that. All without squeaking once. So if you did not get a response back, I doubt it was due to him ignoring you. I would assume with the sheer volume of requests that hit his inbox it probably just got missed somehow. To me that is a very human and understandable mistake. You may want to follow up, but it seems the situation is in the hands of customer the customer service department now.
danp224
7 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 17:00
Victim...I've heard it all now.
Please note the date and time. This was sent by Todd at Dell.
Re: DELL Studio XPS 16 1645 i7 power problem
At this point I've processed all the PMs that I received. Most have had their adapters shipped out to them. Others either didn't provide me with the correct information, their information didn't match what we had on file and they couldn't provide original / matching information, they were requesting adapters be sent to them internationally, they requested adapters for non-1645 systems, or a multitude of other reasons.
If you believe that you were missed or you had questions why an adapter was not sent to you feel free to PM me at this point. I will continue to process the adapter requests that straggle in over the next few days but at some point, and very soon, we'll transfer responsibility for sending out replacements to our Tech Support group. That is what they are designed to do.
aolee
25 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 19:00
I called DELL tech support (Singapore) and tech support told me that I need to flash the BIOS with the A07 first and check if throttle still exists. (what can you say guys?)
The reason why i don't want to flash it without the 130W is because... some say that it might draw more power on the 90W adapter and fry it.
Why don't they send it first?
Argh! they keep on saying they are aware of the issue, but in reality they don't! grrr!
Meggie13
190 Posts
0
February 16th, 2010 21:00
How can you tell which adapter you have? The one I have is PAM-510 family. They sent me one that had 2 prongs then sent another with 3 prongs. I was supposed to be getting the 130watt and not sure if that is what I got.100-240v input is also what it says. V85
97mg
14 Posts
0
February 17th, 2010 03:00
:emotion-2: lolz
The last Dell I bought was about 10 years ago... a laptop. The CD-RW drive failed after 3 months, so it was repaired, and then quickly sold second hand before it happened again. This was so long ago, that I was finally psychologically ready to entrust my very hard earned $ with Dell again, because lets face it, the 1645 is the best spec machine for the price... I researched all my options, Alienware, Toshiba Qosmio X500, HP Envy, Asus... and Dell was the winner. So after buying the most expensive computer I've ever owned (and I have been through many during the years), its pretty dissapointing to find that the area around the touchpad is not level, the top of the battery enclosure is not flush, and the thing screams to a halt when you really need it. I VJ and produce music, as well as play the odd game so squeezing every last drop out is essential!
On the other hand, I am glad that Dell is doing something to rectify this issue and have really come out of the woods through Todd and Bill to sort this issue out. Now my heart just goes out to the owners of other models with similar problems.
eg: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/167457,from-the-labs-heres-what-happens-when-you-combine-crysis-core-i7-and-a-1700-laptop.aspx
"If you're venturing into Core i7 territory with your next laptop, it might be time to consider a cooler to go along with your new purchase."
My cooler has 6 beers in it to dumb the pain :emotion-5:
Dell has heard the community on this one and really tried to correct it in retrospect.
Now one has to hope that this won't happen again, and the company will respect its customers and sell a quality product which has actually been tested properly!
Raymond, what about you mate? Your turn to rant :emotion-1:
RaymondKL
37 Posts
0
February 17th, 2010 03:00
@ Meggie13
Hi,
I got a PA-4E Family adapter
Output 19.5V & 6.7A (Watt is determined by = V * A)
Question: Did you have to return your old 90 watt adapter? (I've been requested to send it back which i tempted to not as this entire laptop was poorly designed - refer to hot air vent blown onto RGB 16inch screen design)
Meggie13
190 Posts
0
February 17th, 2010 06:00
I found my invoice and looked up the part number. According to that it is the right adapter. Mine also has the Same output as yours.
Yes, I did have to return the old adapter. I was glad to do so since I feel that Dell did what they could to help make the problem right. I have no upgraded the bios as yet.
I use a laptop desktop thing that I use on my lap or the table which lifts the back end of the laptop up which helps with the heat thing you mentioned.
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
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274.2K Posts
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February 17th, 2010 06:00
The message that was sent out globally to tech support in all regions was to replace the 90W adapter with a 130W adapter + have the customer update to A07. I think something has been confused along the way. I sent a note over to the team that does the global messaging asking that they send clarification, but the reality is some individuals may sometimes get the message wrong. Sorry for the inconvenience.
The 90W adapter should not "fry." It has a switch in it we call a "crow bar circuit." When the DC draw is more than the adapter can supply, the crow bar shuts it down, and you have to reset it by unplugging from the AC side, waiting a couple of seconds, and replugging it. For your situation on that call, you could have just said, "already updated to A07, and now my 90W AC adapter does not work. The green light is out. I need a new one, and it needs to be a 130W."
DELL-Todd S
1.8K Posts
0
February 17th, 2010 06:00
Some quick notes on a variety of issues:
I believe someone posted that they were still seeing throttling while running stress tests. There always will be some throttling due to the system protecting itself from thermal issues from the CPU & GPU being worked. I think that is what you're seeing.
As I said, I've been a bit out of touch the past few days and I'm trying to get caught up with all the posts going on.