AW M15x Throttling Issue Investigation - Stock clocks and overclocked.

EIement · 12-21-2009, 04:09 AM

Power management, yes (albeit completely irrational, yes it is power management, this has been known) you tried telling us it is Powermizer, which has a very narrow application which has nothing to do with downclocking a GPU when it it lacks the necessary power. Powermizer downclocks a GPU when 3D/Gaming speeds and the power to produce those speeds is not needed, i.e when at idle and browsing the web. Powermizer does /not/ downclock the GPU when it is under stress.

tangtang2002 · 12-21-2009, 04:42 AM

m15x, 920xm 260m gtx 4g1333
Problem sloved! Joker, thank you so much!
Again, confirmed! Problem sloved!
sdfsdf获.JPG

Smeggit · 12-21-2009, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5150Joker

Well at least we have a fix now. I'm going to be creating profiles with RivaTuner, one for gaming and the other for regular use. It sucks that we have to hack our way to a stable GPU clock but at least that option is now there.

Would appreciate it if you could share the 2 configs with us who only know enough to be dangerous, thanks.

Using the 150w brick I ran the test for 30 minutes with RivaTuner and didn't crash

GPU temp maxed at 70c.

I also did another Vantage run and got good scores with the stable system:

Original Settings:
CPU = 11665
GPU = 4941

Stable with RivaTuner:
CPU = 12014
GPU = 4874

tangtang2002 · 12-21-2009, 05:27 AM

I tried 3dmark vantage too, these are my scores
First time, normal state, turbo mode off
捕获.JPG
Second time, turbo off, overclocked GPU to 650/1075/1475
捕获1.JPG
Third time, turbo off, overclocked GPU to 675/1100/1500
捕获2.JPG
Fourth time, turbo on, overclocked GPU to 675/1100/1600
捕获3.JPG

5150Joker · 12-21-2009, 07:44 AM

I should be asleep but I couldn't help testing further. Everyone needs to keep in mind that the 3D clocks you are force setting in RivaTuner are the 2nd tier 3D clocks. What i mean by that is that there are 4 clock settings with the nVidia card, they are as follows:

1. Extra: default 550/950/1350 @1v
2. 3D: 383/301 @ 0.9v
3. Throttled @0.9v
4. 2D @0.85v

The clock we are altering with RivaTuner is #2 that operates at 0.9v. What this means is that you are essentially running at undervolted clocks even when at 550/950/1350 so your system should theoretically run cooler but it will also severely limit overclocks. Case in point, I was maxing out at 580 core before it would crash.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD YOU END UP BRICKING YOUR SYSTEM BY DOING WHAT I OUTLINE BELOW!! FURTHERMORE, I DON'T RECOMMEND EVEN ATTEMPTING IT!

Now what I did (and don't recommend) is went ahead and flashed my bios to alter the 3D clock (#2) to 1v. With this change and armed with Rivatuner, I'm pushing 640/950/1600 right now and it's rock solid with furmark + p95 running. I'm pretty sure I can reach at least 680 core but why bother? I would recommend everyone keep their default bios settings and don't flash their cards. I just put this information out there for the enthusiasts that are familiar with flashing a vbios and who may choose to get some extra performance out of their system.

So in conclusion: The throttling problem has been temporarily fixed using a Rivatuner workaround. Dell needs to issue a true bios fix so that we do not have to resort to hacks in order to get full use of our gaming systems.

tangtang2002 · 12-21-2009, 08:57 AM

I tried NiBiTorV5.2, it doesn't support 260m, is there another way to edit 260m bios?

dfanucci · 12-21-2009, 10:00 AM

"So in conclusion: The throttling problem has been temporarily fixed using a Rivatuner workaround. Dell needs to issue a true bios fix so that we do not have to resort to hacks in order to get full use of our gaming systems."

Joker,

Just wanted to say thanks for all the work you have done on your own time to get this squared away. In the end the M15x did not work out for me as I don't think a workaround is something that should have be done on a brand new system. Needless to say, I think the M15x is a nice machine, but Dell's complete and total "look the other way" attitude regarding this issue is leaving a bad taste in my mouth regarding any kind of fix in the future.

Keep up the good fight Joker. It's refreshing to see someone fight back when someone (ie Dell) is trying to force something down our throat.

All in my opinions of course....

-D

Wolfpup · 12-21-2009, 10:15 AM

Oh man, I can't wait if they issue a BIOS update that fixes this

Sounds like all PM55 chipset based computers also need a BIOS update to fix the USB issue (and Asus has issued ones for their systems?)

Wolfpup · 12-21-2009, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfpup

Oh man, I can't wait if they issue a BIOS update that fixes this

Sounds like all PM55 chipset based computers also need a BIOS update to fix the USB issue (and Asus has issued ones for their systems?)

Avengement is reporting in the main thread that BIOS A02 fixes the USB issues! I'm hopping to hear more confirmation, but that just leaves the throttling. Yay Dell for fixing the USB problem! (And the USB problem isn't Dell specific, it's Intel.)

Wattos · 12-21-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5150Joker

Well at least we have a fix now. I'm going to be creating profiles with RivaTuner, one for gaming and the other for regular use. It sucks that we have to hack our way to a stable GPU clock but at least that option is now there.

Thanks a lot Joker for all your work. Just out of curiosity, can you tell me which version of drivers/RivaTuner do you use?

For some reason, RivaTuner detects that the default clock speeds on my 260m are 383/767/301. I can change the shader clock and memory clock, but the core clock keeps reseting to 383 (or anything below it). I installed the 186.82 drivers and followed the steps you provided