We heard from some of our customers, like unclewebb, atlstang, and Zlog over on Notebook Review Forums, as well as from customers like Khaledseif, on our own Dell Community Forums, regarding some throttling issues on the Studio XPS 1645. These throttling issues resulted in power and performance issues which vary by degree, depending on configuration. This throttling of the processor, and sometimes the graphics card as well, hinders overall system performance while running highly intensive software applications, such as games, as the system approaches the maximum power available from the 90-watt adapters that shipped with the system.
It's worth pointing out that throttling issues occur for various reasons. In the case of the Studio XPS 1645, it's different than the throttling that affected some of Dell's Latitude notebooks and mobile workstations that Lionel has blogged about before. This Studio XPS 1645 throttling issue is a limitation related to the 90-watt adapter. The resolution is to update the system BIOS, and for some, replacing the 90-watt adapter with a 130-watt adapter.
We know that Studio XPS 1647 and Studio 1747 customers are also discussing throttling. We will provide details specific to both of those systems soon.
We released BIOS update A07 for the Studio XPS 1645 system and began shipping 130-watt replacement adapters to affected customers on February 12.
You can download the A07 BIOS directly or click on the image below, then follow the steps below to install the updated BIOS:
- When you click on Download you will have the option to download via the Dell Download Manager or your Browser. Unless you wish to install the Download Manager you may want to simply use your browser. Keep track of where your system downloads the file.
- Normally the installer will auto-run after you download it but depending on your system's Preferences settings, you may need to locate the file and double click it to begin the install. Many people find it easier to save the file to their desktop when it is downloaded.
- Once the installer package has begun, all you need to do is confirm the default settings that it presents to you.
- Please follow the on-screen instructions very closely and read the notifications about system restarts, etc.
Not all customers will find the need to use the 130-watt replacement adapter. If you do, contact Dell Technical Support to request it.
Contacting Technical Support
In the United States, use phone numbers on this page to contact Dell Technical Support.
Outside of the United States:
- Go to support.dell.com
- At the very bottom of the page, select your country in the Choose a Country/Region field
- Choose Contact Us on the left hand side
- Click on the More Details link in the Contact Tech Support section
- Click on the green Telephone button under the Call Tech Support section
Please note, the replacement adapters work in conjunction with the A07 BIOS. If you have not yet updated to the A07 BIOS then Tech Support can help you install it prior to sending out the replacement adapter. You will not be able to utilize the additional power available in the 130-watt adapter without installing the A07 BIOS.
Again, we thank the customers at Notebook Review, the Dell Community Forums and several other websites for alerting us to this issue. The information they shared with us about their testing methods helped to address the issue. Thanks also for your continued patience as we worked through the details. If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact Dell Technical Support. We're also happy to have discussions related to this post here on Direct2Dell or on this thread on the Dell Community Forum.