m15chief

I don't think that file makes a difference, if you use UEFI you get the Alienware logo, if normal boot you get the windows logo after the POST screen

Thanks chaps, tried with both and the difference is marginal, some gentle messing and 1150/1280 seems to be the sweet spot. 3d11 score of a shade over 3200 with no artefacting. I left turbo on, can see in the bios that it will throttle at 85c and I never get close to that. Hwmon and gpu-z logs show only as high as 72c even on intensive load for long periods. (Sniper v2, hitman, ghost warrior and black ops on high settings) Also using ic diamond repaste and a coolermaster u3 so all good thermally. I also noticed an improvement in my score by around 400pts even without clocking after the new a11 bios was flashed. Thanks for all the effort put into the unlocked bios, very much appreciated. Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

Does it make a difference having turbo boost on or off in the bios? Managing a 3d mark of just over 3000 on 1100/1300 Which considering i have the top end i7 chip is a bit less than i expected. Seen users with the older sandybridge and the lesser spec ivy bridge with higher scores using the same overclock.. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

+1 for the tutorial dude Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

A custom power plan restricting the processor to 75% on battery seems to be a workaround Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

I tried again without the rat3 & the cooling plate, and im still using the factory shipped HDD +mSATA instead of my crucial mSATA and Samsung 840pro SSD. Took a bit extra, i kicked off a malware scan & i set ie to use the GPU instead of the HD4000 for the HD youtube vids, but the same result. Just as the fans kick in the lights go out. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Confirmed.. I decided to try a different test to see if i can overstress the power system without gaming. Loaded up photoshop (using the nVidia and Cuda) and started some 3d modelling Loaded up a massive spreadsheet 30k lines and performed a vlookup query Loaded up YouTube and started up some HD trailers, All while keeping my U3 coolermaster plugged in, my rat3 mouse and a usb3 stick Last thing i started doing was transferring a large file from the usb when all the lights went out.. Has to be a power drain issue, because its happened across 3 boards, 3 batteries and a second brand new replacement it has to be the combination of the hardware that is the issue not one single component. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

I do have a coolermaster U3 but for testung i leave it unplugged, i do also use a rat gaming mouse, but again for testing i leave it unplugged. My config also has the killer-n wifi and a mSATA ssd as well as a SATA SSD. The battery does indeed drain at an alarming rate when gaming but 1-2 hours shouldnt be impossible to ahieve. I think you are correct that a surge of requirement causes the shutdown. The power system is being overwhelmed by the demand and tripping some sort of protection switch. I originally suspected the GPU as testing using the intel 4000 didnt cause a shutdown. Then with your results along with being able to delay the shutdown or even prevent it by reducing the available power to the CPU in the power management made me think it was the CPU However, it has to be a combination of all of these, as well as the additional peripherals thats causing the power demand to outstrip the available power while on battery. Im going to do some more testing maybe adding peripherals, usb3 disks and other stuff to see if the shutdown happens faster. IMHO i still think thats a manufacturing flaw, if you can configure such a system it should still operate as advertised. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Ok, Thanks again for testing. Ive only been able to test using the i7 3740, so an alternative hardware config is a massive help. So far it looks like you dont have the same problem then.. perhaps it is a CPU issue rather than GPU Some quick searching via google shows a lot of affected users, i assumed it was the GPU and therefore all users. One forum runnng a poll where almost 70% of users reported as having the issue out of about 95 respondents. Ive also seen users with the r1 with the issue, but i'd never even considered the CPU as the culprit, i always assumed the GPU until my recent tests with the CPu power plans. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Also which Assassins creed? Im thinking of buying the newest one. If i do buy it i can test on my system using the same game. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for testing ratinox, very much appreciated. My latest discovery, if i reduce the processor power in the power plans to below 75% on battery im seeing a lot less failures, so it might not actually be the GPU after all, but the CPU thats drawing too much power leaving less for the GPU essentially causing a phantom overheat condition. Hence the error message about the battery being disconnected. Could be that the slightly lower clock on your CPU is why you aren't seeing the issue, when i underclock mine using power plans it happens far less. Let me know how it goes with Guild Wars, also make sure the graphics settings are high or ultra. To speed the process up a little. I have also been using the standard 720p test in furmark as a way to replicate the fault without a game. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

OK, for those following the saga on here instead of Timeline | FalienwareFalienware I now believe this to be a design flaw, either with the GT650m itself, or the surrounding hardware and its configuration. I've isolated and tested every possible component and OS that I can, and i'm still able to recreate the fault. Also some googling has found various polls where up to 70% of respondents encountered the same issue. I also found scores of forum posts littered around the web where people have the same problem. Heres how I have successfully recreated the issue every time. Charge the laptop fully, then unplug the AC before you boot (also happens if you unplug while windows is booted, but in order to get a clean test do it before boot) Boot into windows and fire up steam Load up a graphically intensive game (I use Hitman Absolution on ultra or high in the native resolution) Other ganes the mileage varies play Within minutes the laptop will power off and refuse to restart despite the battery indicator showing as full or near full. Ok to get your laptop working properly again, plug in the AC, boot, then do a proper shutdown then boot again on AC. All should then be back to normal and you can use the battery again. I've repeated the fault with a couple of different games, with various detail settings so I know its not the game, or that the card can't handle the settings. Some take longer than others before it happens, but in around 80% of games i've tried so far the issue occurs, i assume its based on how graphically intense the game is. I've repeated this fault successfully across 4 different GPU's boards and batteries. 2 different processors, various drive configurations, SSD, HDD, RAID and AHCI across multiple OS's Win7 pro, Win8 and Win8 pro. I've also repeated the fault across various BIOS version A08, A09 and A10 and various nvidia card driver version 307 thru 310.9. Finally although some games the fault manifests itself faster than others i've also been able to replicate across various games, as well as using some popular benchmarking tools. My config m14xr2 Core i7 3740 ivybridge 16GB Ram 2GB nVidia GT650M

Fair enough i suppose. I just assumed that something as basic as an OS would have been properly setup. Another lesson, never assume. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Really?? From the Bios modder?? I think there is every right to complain. The random screw lying under the DVD drive is justification enough to complain, & the fact that a replacement system still has the issue with completely stock settings and hardware suggests that its a manufacturing issue. The unactivated os is just a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things, not major although the dvd media does not come with an activation key, so i've used one from the numerous board replacements. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

No i didnt, i swapped out the HDD without even turning it on. So technically, when i took the SSD out and reinstalled the HDD it should have been as if it was the first time it was booted. Its not a major deal as ive got cd keys from the multiple board replacements, if i really need to i'll just use one of those. Just shoddy from Dell/Alienware, and the loose screw rattling around the case is unforgivable.. i wanted the replacement quickly to minimise my inconvenience bur not at the cost of a proper build :-S Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2