S-XPS 1645 Throttling Info. and Updates

[Zlog]

So my first call to Dell didn't go well. They did the remote log in so i could show them throttlestop and everything. whats funny is i showed the guy blatant lag and poor performance, then enabled throttlestop and it worked great. The guy said he couldn't tell a difference. I asked him (again) if he could actually see, in real time, my game's performance, and the FPS meter and he said yes. THen i asked him what corner of the screen the FPS meter was in, and he tried to dodge the question. I asked him again, and he said he couldn't see it due to some error. I called him out on his BS and asked for a supervisor.

Then i got disconnected while on hold for 10 mintues.

So anyways, tomorrow I'm going to start persuing a return for a full refund.

[Fenikkusu]

WOW That's blatant. If you don't mind me asking Zlog, what system will you go with as an alternative? I've been giving the question some thought and I don't really know what a good alternative would be seeing as similar laptops are either heavier or more pricey.

[Zlog]

Thought I'd add on that I really do feel like we should start pressuring for returns.

We need to send a message to Dell that says "Your company needs to respect it's customers before AND after purchase by providing properly configured and tested hardware, and properly monitored customer service."

Most of us went through the hassles with trying to get these systems in the first place, weeks and months worth of waiting and calling and being lied to. We went through all of that FOR THIS? To receive systems that do not do what they are advertised as being capable of doing? In the United States, this is called false advertising if its by design, and a Lemon if it was an unfortunate outcome.

Either way, we are letting Dell hold our heads underwater and they are essentially going to keep doing that until we stop trying to get air. They are hoping that sooner or later we will stop gasping, and just quietly go away and deal with the problem ourselves.

I'm personally not that kind of person. I'm not a rich person. I make enough money to live, and just enough beyond that to occasionally splurge and buy a new toy. I want my new toys to work, and I don't appreciate being lied to, told to wait, told that its not a problem, and being told contradicting information about what it's designed to do (i.e. dell reps saying its not designed for games when every advertisement I've seen for this system talks about gaming performance).

Lets send a message, folks.

[atlstang]

Yeah im in the same boat, i dont wanna spend any more then the 1800 i spent on this. I think i might see what the new processor line up shapes out to be and decide. Anything but from dell of course. The hp has some i7's for a lot cheaper but not the 1080p resolution i want, unless ya go into the envy's their uber expensive.

For me its performance over looks/feel. It was a plus for the xps 16, but i mainly wanted the performance. So i might look at the asus laptop as well. Even tho its a gaming type.

@frox, Tstop works pretty good for the most part. But sometimes modulation will kick in for a split second before it has a chance to reverse it. If ya run real temp along side a game in window mode ya can sometimes notice it. And for the most part dragon age runs fine, but sometimes it chops for a split second here and there. Its a very very good bandaid, but not a final fix i dont think as it still has quirks. especially that keyboard thing, didnt pay so much for all this trouble thats for sure.

[Zlog]

WOW That's blatant. If you don't mind me asking Zlog, what system will you go with as an alternative? I've been giving the question some thought and I don't really know what a good alternative would be seeing as similar laptops are either heavier or more pricey.

Honestly, if I have to make a sacrifice in "expected performance" I will. I'm not at this point really concerned about getting an i7 rig, but I'm concerned about getting something that doesn't need modifications (software or otherwise) right out of the box. I haven't started looking at potential replacement systems yet, I plan on doing some research tomorrow.

I've really fallen in love with this laptop, though. The styling, the keyboard, the backlighting, the screen, its all fantastic. Its such a shame that it's so nerfed. It's a touch bigger then my ideal system, I really wish I could get the XPS13 with a little more juice. Maybe an i5 with a better GPU? That would be ideal. My wife has an XPS13 with the n210 that she loves for WoW and L4D2.... If it had a little bit more GPU power I'd have gone with that one in the first place. I might wait a bit and look at smaller form factors or just build a desktop i7 rig and a netbook. I might also wait for the next iteration of XPS laptops or if this issue gets resolved reorder again, assuming that I get an RMA at all.

[Fenikkusu]

My sentiments exactly, this laptop is PERFECT with the exception being the current issues with throttling, it's definitely one of the best looking systems I've ever seen and the keyboard, I think someone would need to remove my hands to part me from it. I might ride this out for another month or two, if nothing has happened by then I'll return it and wait to see what crops up in the laptop sector. CES is right around the corner so who knows? If you do come across something good in your search post it here lol I'd be interested to see it.

[jdsnov73]

Lets send a message, folks.

I sent my message on Monday.

I agree.....send Dell a message.....and send back their laptops.

I think ThrottleStop is a great application but I just didn't want to use a back-door program to solve an issue that Dell should solve. The longer you keep the laptop and run this program in hopes of Dell solving the issue, takes away from your allowed return period, which is most likely what Dell is trying to do.

I'm looking at the ENVY, but appearently, it has the opposite problem of the XPS1645, where it locks the multiplier at 7X on battery. I use my laptop on AC power 90% of the time, so it will probably be fine, and I think there will be a BIOS update to solve the issue.

Other than the ENVY, I was looking at the ASUS G51J. I really like the form factor of the ENVY. I will most likely end up going with it.....

[atlstang]

Its one thing if they kept us up to date, like they where at the beginning. With those getting capture request and talking to engineers etc. But so far been extremely quiet about it, for a while now. My biggest fear is they will release an update, and the sleep trick with the keyboard will no longer work. Then we're really up the creek.

the g51j must of been pretty decent as the i7 version is sold out on newegg. Was looking at that too. 1 year accidental warranty + whole system + backpack and razer mouse for just 1500 bucks.

This situation just really sucks, as i rather not go through the hassle of a laptop search either. Neverless ill be livid if i cant get my money back.

[Zlog]

Please delete, multi-posted.

[Zlog]

Please delete, multi-posted.