Aaron44126

No go ..... It still hangs at the same spot. 😕

He says DC dimming for panel backlight output, and I was wondering if that maybe doesn't apply to the OLED panel (since it doesn't really have a backlight).

Yes, the heatsink is a different (smaller) part in the 7670. And also it is pretty normal for the CPU temperature to ramp up very quickly up if you push it up to (nearly) 5 GHz. The fans in this system are pretty slow to react to a change in the CPU load, it might take them almost a minute to crank up to full speed.

Thank you, I will give this a try later ..... but this is the sort of thing that I would expect Ubuntu to automatically configure. (Granted, Ubuntu 22.10 is still beta for another few weeks, and it's also not unusual for non-LTS releases to come out a bit shaky.) Ubuntu doesn't load the proprietary NVIDIA driver by default but there is an option during the install to add it (which I did). So, it would not have been loaded in the "live CD" environment. I did not have this issue with Ubuntu 22.04 (kernel 5.15) but I see from your links that this popped up in maybe 5.18. It also seems like kernel 5.15 is too old for Alder Lake iGPU graphics support, so I think it was just loading a generic VGA driver. I don't see boot messages blaming the graphics driver like some of these logs posted show. It seems to be blaming dell_smm_hwmon, if anything. I was wondering if there is some breaking change with that module in the newer kernel version, and I thought about trying to blacklist it, but that's also not a module that I'm wanting to run without either. I'm actually pretty familiar with that one, as I spent a lot of time digging around that code when working on my own (Windows-based) fan control solutions. You may recall the time I had you helping me dump "tokens" from the BIOS trying to figure out undervolting, and we stumbled across the fan sensor values. The code for that dump was partly derived from the Dell SMBIOS code in the Linux kernel. If I do end up switching to Linux, I'll want to set up similar tooling to what I have now in Windows on the Linux side, and I'll be relying on making calls to the appropriate kernel modules... [Edit] Actually, after refreshing myself on this stuff a bit... Maybe I can blacklist dell_smm_hwmon. I think that one is obsolete with newer Dell systems (Tiger Lake and up), unless something has changed in there recently, and I really just need Dell's libsmbios for my stuff.

That may be the case, but it doesn’t immediately follow that the same brand of heatsink/fan is in use or causing the same issue. Need more data!

That's about normal for stock 7770, assuming you got the original heatsink (with Delta fans), unfortunately. It thermal throttles very quickly. ———————————————————————— Installed Ubuntu 22.10 with kernel 5.19. Well, tried to. The live CD environment booted fine, but after the first reboot, I got exactly the same error I did when trying to slap that kernel on 22.04. (Maybe I didn't do anything wrong after all... It's just a bug.) This text appears with timestamps to the left: spi-nor spi0.0: BFPT parsing failed. Please consider using SPI_NOR_SKIP_SFDP when declaring the flash dell_smm_hwmon: unable to get SMM Dell signature (...Then it just hangs there.)

I don't think that it can be assumed that the particulars between the Sunon/Delta versions that we are seeing with Precision 7770 will also apply to Precision 7670.

Yeah, I saw some articles on that, seems like in some cases it was actually able to cause damage to the display panel. Anyway, I don't think that was what happened to me here. It got stuck at the black screen with terminal text at bootup, showing an error (don't remember what), and it wouldn't advance to the login screen. I think it is totally because I tried to wedge a new kernel on and I don't know what I'm doing 🙂 I might install Ubuntu 22.10 (with kernel 5.19) instead temporarily, just to see if the Intel GPU driver seems good (with decent 3D performance + 120Hz available), but I would rather be on a LTS release for any real attempt to use it.

E cores are always listed last. First 16 are P cores and last 8 are E cores.

I remember @jeamn posting at NBR about attaching a GeForce 1070 MXM card to a Windows VM running on Linux on, what, Precision M6800? Seems like it could be doable in a laptop. I broke my Linux install by trying to install the 5.19 kernel from Ubuntu 22.10. It won't boot anymore. I'm sure that I could get it to revert to the 5.15 kernel, but... I think that I'm going to let it sit until 22.04.2 is out (February-ish). Not really interested in pushing forward with it if the Intel GPU driver isn't even present.

Linux install quick feedback. Installed Ubuntu 22.04.1 with minimal hassle. Had to do manual partition option to get around it wanting me to disable BitLocker... Even so, it automatically set up Grub with an entry to boot Windows. So, now I have triple boot, Windows 10 / Windows 11 / Ubuntu Linux. Installing Ubuntu with UEFI + Secure Boot enabled is a bit weird. You have to set up a password and then enter it again at boot time so that it can sign some binary packages. This is needed for third-party drivers like the NVIDIA driver. This is not explained very well and I had to look up what to do when I got to the blue MOK screen. Even so, I had to jump through some hoops after the install to get it to load the proprietary NVIDIA driver. I installed a few pieces of software from third-party PPA's and they seem to work fine. It boots fast. I clicked to reboot for updates and looked away for what I felt like was 10 seconds and it was already sitting at the login screen again. USB mouse attached. Cursor movement seems too slow, even with the cursor speed slider in settings set all of the way to the right. (Looks like there are some terminal-y things that I can do to try to improve this.) With graphics switching enabled (Intel GPU driving the display), it won't let me pick 120Hz, it is limited to 60Hz. Hmmm? I wonder if the stock kernel has an appropriate Intel graphics driver included. (I haven't tried with graphics switching disabled.) Windows made me re-enter the BitLocker recovery key the first time I booted it after the Linux install... That seems to have been a one-time thing. I was worried that it wouldn't like Grub being loaded before the Windows boot loader and that would make it ask for the key every time. I have a laundry list of things that will need to be addressed & investigated before I can consider running Linux as a daily driver. I am interested in taking a stab at it though, since I am continually frustrated by the direction that Microsoft is taking with Windows. I might post about it over in the Linux section here. I'm not that worried about games — that used to be a sticking point with Linux, but in the days of Wine + Steam Proton + Lutris + etc., it looks like almost everything will work fine with a bit of tweaking. It's mostly "all of the rest of the computing stuff" that I am worried about. I do have Windows software that I rely on which has no Linux equivalent, so I expect that I'll be keeping a Windows VM around and on pretty much all of the time, even if I do pull off a switch to Linux. Anyway... I plan to continue running Windows 10 LTSC for now but also pop over to Linux from time to time to try and whittle my list down. [Edit] Looks like Ubuntu 22.04 ships with kernel 5.15. For Alder Lake graphics, need (at least) 5.16. And, 5.18 for proper Alder Lake scheduling. I don’t want to finagle with an unofficial kernel build, so I guess I am waiting for 22.04.2….

I'm surprised if it let you start the install without a driver. Download & extract the Intel Rapid Storage driver from the Precision 7X70 support site. Inside (a few levels down) you will find a folder called "f6vmdflpy-x64". Copy it to a flash drive. In the Windows installer, when you get the part asking what drive you want to install on, click the "Load driver" button and point it to that folder on your flash drive. .......Then try running the install and it "should" work?

See if there are additional options in the F12 boot menu and try booting a different one, to see if that will get the Windows install to continue. (It seems like it is "remembering" the pre-RAID configuration and trying to boot that.)

If you included the drive containing your Windows install in the RAID array, you are toast. You have to reinstall. The proper thing to do here would be set up the array before you do the Windows install. You can set up RAID arrays from the BIOS. Hit "F12" at boot to get the boot device select screen. It's one of the obscure options on this menu, something generic like "System configuration" will get you to the Intel RAID setup.

No. The CPU is soldered to the motherboard. The GPUs are separate, but not physically cross-compatible between the 15" and 17" systems.

They all run at full PCIe4 speed. The slot in the middle, under the SSD door, has direct lanes to the CPU. The other slots are behind the PCH so they might have to share bandwidth in high-load situations. That is odd, you should definitely be able to change that. Make sure that you are giving it time after switching the video options in the BIOS. I have noticed that it could stay at a black screen for 20-30 seconds before finally booting up after making a change here. (Seems to be a one-time thing, subsequent reboots are fine.) ————————————————————— Tried to do a Linux install last night, looking to set up a dual(/triple) boot situation with Windows. Ubuntu really wants me to disable BitLocker before it will install. Not sure why that would be necessary (I have some empty partition space available). I didn't end up doing it, I'll fight with it more some other time... [Edit] Got Ubuntu to install, just had to do the option for manual partition layout.

Not all M.2 slots are the same. The WWAN slot is B-key. Most NVMe SSDs are M-key. (If they have a cutout for B+M key, then they cannot use four PCIe lanes.) You'll need an adapter or an unusual card to fit it in the WWAN slot. (...But, if you can get it to work "physically" then it will "probably" also be detected by the OS for use. But not by the BIOS for booting.) The illustration shows a B+M key SATA M.2 drive which will fit into a B-key slot. ...This won't work, though, because it requires the slot to be connected to a SATA controller which is not the case in this system.

You can toggle it in the BIOS. If you turn off “hybrid graphics” then all displays will be wired to the NVIDIA GPU. I didn’t have trouble with brightness control when switching to the NVIDIA GPU on the 7770. You should reinstall the NVIDIA graphics driver after doing the toggle, I think, I’ve had that fix things for me before.

This is a "lottery" situation, with (at least) two different versions of the part with the same part number. Dell won't be able to promise you a certain variant, but hopefully by this point they are only shipping out the "good" one. The "good" one has Sunon fans and the "bad" one has Delta fans. That's the differentiating factor that we have right now. (You might have to remove the heatsink and flip it over to see what type of fans you have.)

For Precision 7770, it seems like the initial batch of heatsinks has some issue keeping it from reaching its "potential", with both @win32asmguy and myself reporting the same throttling issues when first receiving the system. I'll be poking in tomorrow to try to get a new heatsink for myself. See:

If you are in the U.S., put a “vacation hold” up in FedEx and that should at least keep your laptop from being delivered while you are gone. Obviously it would be better if it arrives “on time”, but that’s not something that you can count on right now.

Typically, the given top boost speed is for a single thread and (in my experience) is tough to hit with any background activity.

Two months ago (to the day):

Never saw that coming ......... /s https://blog.google/products/stadia/message-on-stadia-streaming-strategy/ https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/29/23378713/google-stadia-shutting-down-game-streaming-january-2023 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/google-stadia-officially-shuts-down-january-2023-will-refund-game-purchases/

There are no DP or mDP connectors on this laptop. If you saw a photo with one on the back, that was a prior model (Precision 7X30-7X60 featured this). There is also no situation where the GPU that you pick changes the port layout on the laptop. There are three USB-C ports which can pass through a DIsplayPort signal from the GPU, with an appropriate adapter. That would be the best way to connect a high-spec display. Get a USB-C to DisplayPort (or mDP) adapter that supports DIsplayPort 1.4 (something like this), or a dock that supports the same. I am not sure of any docks that support two monitors at this high of a resolution and refresh rate.