XPS: Trouble in "paradise".... - Page 2

you can get the same specs(the same exact laptop actually...) in the Sager 8790 for $3365...

curious, did you wipe the HDD when you first received it?

Does everyone else who has already received an XPS have the same problem with the Radeon 9700 as this ? Sounds like a bad card or heat or both.

Yes, I wiped the HD and reinstalled as well...I'm going to try and set it back to the default 'crap' style they had it set on when it arrived and try benching it then (all original drivers, etc.). I want to do this before I haggle with tech support this morning. Has anyone called to receive the 'special' XPS tech support yet? What the heck was their excuse?

Anyhow, Aussie, about the wood thing...yeah, it's a wood desk...but what other kind of desk are you usually going to be setting it on?!? Silver alloy? Aluminum? That's crazy, I mean absolutely CRIMINAL, to advertise a product and nowhere indicate that special cooling procedures need to be exercised to get the thing working right! If this ain't fixed in a replacement notebook....hello 8790!

Are you guys running fangui to check the temps?

NO...does it work with XPS? Where do I get it? N/M, I'll google...

Edit: XPS is not listed as a working chipset, so I doubt it'll work, but as soon as I get done running diagnostics, i'll give it a go...

I ran 3 back to back benchmarks (aquamark, 3dmark2001, 3dmark2003) and gamed for about 2 hours and didn't have a problem??? Max Payne 2 was the game I was playing?????

I've only played the games twice but I will be doing more this afternoon just to test this out, I will let you know if I have any problems. It didn't even seem to get warm.

I did reformat and reinstall prior to even running a game or benchmark. I did only minor gaming prior to the reinstall (15-20 minutes of Max Payne)

My fans are on constant, the same speed, is that the case for the rest of you???

More info, just in case it helps, I have XP Home. I'll be putting this thing through some testing later

FYI, I did get an Antec cooler, it's a little small for the XPS. If you get a cooler, you may look for a bigger one. Vantec makes one, but I don't know if it is bigger.

Minority Report

How can LurkingJay be the minority when we only have two (2) confirmed heat issues (Karl & Hammermd)?

I'm not sure that I'm lucky yet, just haven't played much. Will update you after lunch. Do you're fans stay on constant at the same speed? Even when not gaming.

Okay, NO! This is a big difference I'm seeing...I am currently running diagnostics from Dell's Boot Disk Diagnostics CD...actually, I am impressed with the thoroughness of the tests...they are testing every part of the machine systematically...of course, there's no 3D tests!

Jay, your comment about the fans gives me hope, though, because when the diagnostic program turned on the three fans to their max RPM (~4300), I was BLOWN AWAY! These things are Uber-Powerful; however, I have NEVER heard them kick in like that during 3D gaming...I can hear them kick in to 'medium' roar sometimes, but that usually only lasts for a few minutes, and if I stop the 3D action for ANY reason (i.e. hit 'escape' to save a game) they turn off (or go back to 'quiet' mode). But now I'm second-guessing myself, thinking maybe the sound was on too loud for me to hear, but I could SWEAR they never came on at 4300 RPM! Anyhow, I'm going to game some with sound turned way down after the diagnostics finish, and I'll let you know for sure. Anyhow, I'm CERTAIN there is NO WAY all three of the phuckers could have been blazing away, 'cause it would have blown me out of my chair!

My guess is, the MB settings are not kicking the fans in EARLY enough, turning them on LOUD (high) enough, or keeping them on LONG enough to blow the parts back to spec. This is really unacceptable, and definitely means that Dell did not bother running any 3D apps on the box before the sent it out the door. Anyhow, please, for the love of god, make it your mission today to get through the entire Max Payne2 game in one sitting! This should tell us if your fan settings are making the difference...else just set the 3dmark2001 demo or benchmark tests on infinite repeat.

Seriously, Dell should have done this for at least 12 hours on each machine leaving the factory to ensure stability! It is common sense...I do it with every desktop machine I build...if I wake up after a 12-hour nap and the screen is frozen or the machine has rebooted, I know it's time to

A. Turn down the clock speed on whatever part I'm pushing beyond spec
B. Get more cooling in there
C. Make more space for air flow with existing cooling

I mean, christ, isn't this the first law of 3D-crash thermodynamics or something? I'm not even an engineer, just a bloody hobbyist!

Wait, I don't think Sage actually has a machine...he's just sympathizing with us because he's thinking about getting one...here's my list:

Broken:

Hammermd
Karl
Meddude

Not Broken:

LurkingJay

Status Unknown:

TheNixxed

Add me to the list of XPS "gamers".

So far I have only enountered a problem playing Soldier Of Fortune 2 in multiplayer mode. Within about 2 minutes of playing I get a hard lockup - screen freezes but there is no display corruption - power reset is needed to clear it. Here is the funny part... when I play SoF2 in single player mode I have not yet encountered the lockup - only during multiplayer.

Single runs thru Aquamark and 3DMark2003 are fine.

I will do some more extensive game tests today and report back later this afternoon.

-Geed