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3 Posts
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629243
Studio XPS 13" Audio Popping/Slow-Motion
I don't quite understand what it is with these new laptops that are coming out nowadays. It's as if the companies selling them don't test them fully at all. I don't make random accusations, I speak purely from first-hand, personal experience.
About two months ago I bought myself the 13" Macbook Aluminum. I never liked the Mac OS much, so I installed Vista Home Premium using Boot Camp. First thing I noticed was, when I played any music, videos, or games, the audio would at regular intervals play in a slow-motion manner, and distinct popping noises can be heard in the background. So I did some research and found out that it was due to the Broadcom Wireless N network card's driver having some compatibility issues. After updating the driver, the problem was solved. But I wasn't happy with the way the trackpad worked in Vista, so I returned the Macbook.
Now two months later, here I am with this very sexy Studio XPS laptop. I have to admit, the quality of these Dell computers (at least aesthetically) has dramatically improved. I can walk around with this thing in my hands with as much confidence as if I were to walk around with the sleek and sexy Macbook Aluminum. But as I turned on my Studio XPS, and I'm talking within the first hour of receiving this laptop, I came across two major problems.
1) My optical drive was definitely defective. It makes INSANELY loud grinding noises when any disk is put in, and at times the disk would stop spinning completely during an installation, and the installation would either pause or abort.
2) To my surprise, really, to my surprise, this Dell has the same problem my Macbook Alunimum had when running in Vista. The audio makes popping noises, and at regular intervals it would play in a slow-motion manner. So once again I Googled around and wanted to look for some answers, but nothing useful came up. So I called Dell Technical Support, and the lady was extremely patient and professional, but she wasn't able to solve the problem for me. So here I am, with a $2000 investment that I am not completely satisfied with.
Dell is sending me a box within the next few days so I can send this Studio XPS back for repairs. For some reason I really doubt the audio problem will be taken care of after it comes back to me. The optical drive should be easy, if they decide to swap a new (functional) one for me.
If anyone has the same audio problem that I am experiencing, and has found a way to take care of the problem without such compromises as turning off WiFi, please feel free to comment and share.
And lastly, on a side note, if anybody cares, I was extremely disappointed in the time it took for me to get this laptop from Dell. I initially placed my order on January 19, 2009. I received the laptop on February 20, 2009. It took an entire month for the laptop to finally come, and now I'm looking at another 20 days or so for this thing to go through shipping and repairs. Seriously thinking about getting a refund on this Dell and going for something else now.
nightspirit622
8 Posts
1
May 9th, 2009 18:00
Hey guys,
I fixed this problem by installing other Broadcom wireless card driver. The reference link is here. (http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=341918&page=10)
I used DPC Latency checker to find which device cause the latency peak then I found the DELL wireless 1510-N is the problem. Someone said you could change your wireless driver and fix it.
" Installing different Broadcom drivers for your Mini-1510 wireless card: http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R212337.EXE (These are actually for an 'Asus' card on the dell site, but stole the idea from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/...dpost&p=109543) "
Download the driver -> Uninstall your wireless card device -> Reinstall the new driver
Hope you guys could also fix this problem :)
l1am
16 Posts
0
May 10th, 2009 05:00
Hi nightspirit622,
Thanks for letting us know. I have one question for you.
Did your latency spikes disappear when you disabled you wireless card in Device Manager? Is that how you isolated the problem?
I'm asking becuase my spikes don't disappear when I do this :(
Thanks
nightspirit622
8 Posts
0
May 10th, 2009 15:00
l1am,
Yeah, just like you said. I disable the wireless card then the peak disappear. However, before I do that, I also updated the lastest IDT driver and the Videocard driver. I am not sure if these drivers relate to the latency peak. Maybe u should just update them, too.
After I fix it the latency peak won't higher than 4000. The audio is smooth without popping sound.
good luck
Robboman
35 Posts
0
May 13th, 2009 12:00
NO, it's NOT fixed at all - 4000 is WAY too high (if you're speaking of the DPC checker results http://www.thesycon.de/dpclat/dpclat.exe)
The core problem is the way Windows ACPI.sys interacts with this hardware. There is NO Vista (or Windows 7) workaround at this time, but it's been proven by a user who took great pains to install Windows XP on his Studio XPS 16 (XP is not supported by Dell on this laptop). He then found that when the ACPI.sys process is 'suspended' using Winternals Process Explorer, the persistant latency spikes immediately stop.
Read all about it in this thread with all the details:
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19270658/19484971.aspx#19484971
I believe this can be fixed in the BIOS, or alternately in the Vista/Win 7 OS, but since ACPI works fine on other hardware I can't see MS doing anything about it.
My fear is that this will NEVER get fixed because it's too insignificant an issue for the masses. As 'nightspirit' wrote above, 'audio is smooth'. This might be true if you're doing basic audio playback and not much else, but if you were planning to do any more advanced audio/video editing or multitrack with VSTi, this high-end machine is virtually useless. We, as a user community, need to demand better from such an expensive laptop.
zack183
14 Posts
0
May 14th, 2009 01:00
Thanks for posting that.
I also bought the 1340 thinking it would be the perfect solution for music production and playback via Ableton Live and have been fighting the dreaded DPC spikes ever since.
The price of the machine warrants some attention paid to this issue...I have been in touch with Dell repeatedly and hopefully other users have too......I like the computer, I just want it to work.
manuel.valdivie
1 Message
0
May 15th, 2009 22:00
Had the same problem but I am happy with your solution. Thanks heaps.
rpk_3
2 Posts
0
May 18th, 2009 15:00
Guys,
I also had the same problem. Solved it by upgrading (downgrade) the drivers for the wirelessN 1510 card from the Dell India website
(http://supportapj.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=in&l=en&s=gen&ServiceTag=&SystemID=STUDIOXPS13&os=WLH&osl=en&catid=&impid=)
I thought it was a downgrade since the driver release date is 22-Oct-08 and I had a newer one before. Anyway, the annoying problem is solved. Thanks for the help and hope dell looks into this seriously.
Regards,
Rob
zack183
14 Posts
0
May 19th, 2009 12:00
I have no desire to institute the dual boot solution either.
There is enough posted here and elsewhere online to warrant a solution from Dell.
Everyone is having exactly the same issue so it is not some isolated incident.
As I said previously, I like the machine....the size is perfect, it is compact and powerful......just fix the DPC issue and it will be perfect.
calvinball
1 Message
0
May 19th, 2009 12:00
I bought a Studio 1735 to eventually use for some audio work (recording/mixing). Stupid me.
I've been through a few different audio interfaces and ExpressCards because I thought there might be driver/chipset issues, and indeed found that disabling all non essential devices helped (the wireless card especially) however DPC latency spikes EVERY 5 seconds of >5ms are going to severely limit what I can use this for.
I've also raised the issue with tech support, but no reply, yet.
I don't really have the space, time or inclinition to install XP, dual boot and try the workaround at this point. (the acpi.sys suspend)
I'd love to see some kind of positive response... not holding my breath though.
Robboman
35 Posts
0
May 19th, 2009 13:00
I tried the latest BIOS A07 (May 17th 2009). DPC red spikes every 5 seconds as always. Just wanted to mention that.
syphic
6 Posts
0
May 20th, 2009 21:00
Recently updated to the new Bios A07 and installed new catalyst drivers as well as new Intel Wifi Drivers that just appeared on the Dell Website as well. Ran DPC latency checker and voila no more red or yellow bars at all!!!
Here is my setup
Studio XPS 16 (1640) Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (3MB cache/2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB) w/2.0MP Integrated Webcam
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
90W AC Adapter
125V Power Cord
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (2 DIMMs)
Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM)
512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670
16 inch Edge-to-Edge HD Widescreen WLED LCD (1366x768)
320 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
6 Cell Primary Battery
syphic
6 Posts
0
May 20th, 2009 23:00
I was getting DPC spikes every 3 bars. I never really had problems with live audio when I had the red bars. I use it to Dj and use Traktor Scratch Pro and had no problems at 5ms latency. But I Feel alot more secure with the DPC spikes gone. If you need anymore info, let me know.
zack183
14 Posts
0
May 20th, 2009 23:00
You have a different graphics card than my 1340.
I have always been suspicious of my Nvidia drivers and this makes me feel the suspicions were justified.
Were you experiencing the same DPC spikes every 5 bars?
I am really hoping to get this cleared up......all of my drivers are up to date.
Glad to see someone sorting it out....gives me some hope that a driver update will clear it permanently.
Robboman
35 Posts
0
May 21st, 2009 08:00
This is also making me suspect the Nvidia, my 1340 has the GeForce 9400 M and I can't get rid of red DPC spike every 5 bars. IRQ conflict?
I've tried disabling every other device in dev manager (incl wireless), but you need to have some kind of video display. Is it even possible to disable video? I'm thinking if you can outright disable video you could Remote Desktop onto it from a networked machine and then run the DPC Latency Checker, if the red bars are gone that would confirm it's the Nvidia.
The 9400 is still pretty new. From:
http://www.techztalk.com/techwebsite/10-15-08-nvidia-launches-geforce-9400m-notebook-graphics-card
*******************************************
October 15, 2008 - 9:58pm
Officially, today NVIDIA launched the new GeForce 9400M graphics card for notebooks. The 9400M is the first chip that merges chipset and true graphics card on a single chip. The chipset features both the memory and bus controllers, where as the graphics core comes with 16 graphics processors. The graphics card shares memory from the main system memory.
NVIDIA claims the new approach of integrating chipset and graphics result in 5X speed gain over Intel’s integrated graphics. In test done with benchmarking tool 3D Mark Vantage, NVIDIA 9400M offered five-fold performance gain over Intel’s GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset.
The features on the new 9400M include Shader Model 4 visual effects, full hardware HD video decoding, CUDA, PhysX and Hybrid SLI. The new chip is being used in Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro, and NVIDIA has yet not named any other notebook vendor who will use the new chip.
*******************************************
zack183
14 Posts
0
May 21st, 2009 12:00
This isn't the first time I've heard the suggestion of an IRQ conflict.
I've also been tempted to try disabling the video card....but wasn't sure what the result would be.
I'm trying to be patient in hopes of a solution from Dell, but it's been a couple of months now and I have heard nothing of them even acknowledging the issue.