Aaron44126

ASUS has their "pinnacle of performance" event starting momentarily. The purpose of this event seems to be to drop new information on their Alder Lake HX laptop lineup, so, until recently I was expecting Intel announce Alder Lake HX this morning via press release or something, before ASUS's event. Something similar happened last year with Tiger Lake H45; ASUS announced their event in advance without really saying what it was for, but everybody "knew", so we suspected that was the Tiger Lake H45 reveal date — and then Intel indeed had a CPU information dump shortly before ASUS's event. However, nothing has come out of Intel this morning, and it is now widely expected that Intel will unveil Alder Lake HX tomorrow at Intel Vision 2022. So, I am supposing that ASUS will do something similar to what Dell did and announce these laptops but without including full details on the CPUs? (Unless perhaps Intel is going to be announcing Alder Lake HX simultaneously with this ASUS presentation, which would be a first I think.) The interest here being that Precision 7X70 laptops cannot go on sale before Intel actually formally announces Alder Lake HX, which is a pretty poorly kept secret at this point. Intel Vision 2022 starts tomorrow at 10 AM U.S. Eastern time (14:00 UTC). An announcement during the opening keynote seems quite possible, or it could maybe even come slightly before the conference starts via press material.

I noticed that if you start typing in the tag field, it will give you some suggestions of previously used tags. Not a drop-down but hopefully close enough as the tag list will be huge. (I imagine that mods are already able to edit tags. You just have to edit the top post of a thread to get access to the screen to do it.)

I can modify tags on threads that I have made. I was referring to threads that other users have made. I'd like to have some consistency with tags on each thread at least as far as to which systems the thread applies to.

So since Super Mario 64 has been fully reverse engineered, there is actually a proper PC release of it now as well (with support for mods and the like), you don't have to run it in an emulator. You can built it with sm64pcBuilder2, and you do need a copy of the ROM for assets. (Same thing is going on with Ocarina of Time, and similar work on other games is in progress.) For N64 emulation in general, look at RetroArch + mupen64plus-next core + paraLLEI RDP graphics engine. Using RetroArch is nice because it consolidates many emulators into one frontend, so while it does take some "getting used to", at least you will be able to put your know-how to use to run games for many different systems and not just one. paraLLEI RDP just came into the picture in 2020. It is actually a low-level implementation of the N64 graphics hardware that runs as GPU shaders, so it is fast enough to run games with the resolution scaled up but provides a highly accurate implementation of the N64 graphics system so you can run pretty much any game without visual bugs.

Tags: Is it OK if I send requests to the mods to add / clean up tags on existing threads? I'm looking at the Precision subforum in particular. I did just go add tags to threads that I started, and I'd like to use a consistent format for applying the model names to different topics so that you can just click on a tag and get a list of threads that apply to that system. There's some inconsistency ("precision m6800" vs. "dell precision m6800") and also a number of threads with no tags. NBRCHIVE & data transfer: I'll apologize for not spending more time on getting this tidied up. I do intend to make a more presentable list of threads, and I also want to build a proper sitemap so that search engines can build out the index more quickly. It'll probably be some weeks yet before I have time to work on those aspects, and there are a number of more minor "quality of life" improvements that need to be made as well. If anyone would like direct access to the files to facilitate a transfer of information to this forum, reach out to me via PM and I'll get you set up with SFTP access. A condition for now will be that you have something of a reputation here already and that you agree to not repost the archive in its entirety elsewhere. (I do plan to open the archive up for more easy "full dumping" in the future, so that the archive can persist in the event that something happens to me or my ability to host it; I'd just like to have it in a more cleaned up state first.) I would say, we should generally treat both NBR and NBT content as "owned" by the user who created it (even though I guess that NBR content is technically "owned" by TechTarget). if you are transferring over a guide or something that was written by a member who has joined on NBT, I think you should reach out to them first and see if they would like to repost it here under their name before you go and do it.

Almost there! Here are the full details on the HX CPUs. Noticing that while 12950 has vPro and ECC support, it does not have “unlimited core OC” that 12900 has (not sure what that means exactly). 157W max power, wow. (Dell may have limits set lower.)

Bottom right corner and unfortunately “invisible” (white icon on white background) unless you are using a dark theme. Hover around and you should see options pop out. You can switch themes with the drop down at the very bottom of any page.

Larger XPS systems ship with 130W power adapters. As an example, the Core i9-11980H CPU can draw over 85W of power by itself under high load (turbo boost), so a 100W power adapter wouldn't leave you a lot of headroom for other devices (the GPU, the display, the drives, the fans, USB devices attached, ...). So, if you push the system under load then you will most likely see some CPU and/or GPU throttling with a 100W power adapter. Under a light/"office" workload then it would probably be fine. You'd also want to test how the XPS 17 behaves with an underpowered PSU connected. I think most recent Dell systems handle this reasonably well but I have seen some that throttle very aggressively in this situation. (So, only buy one of these if you can return it, in the case that it doesn't work out.) I'd say maybe this would be a nice thing to put in your travel bag, but keep the original 130W power adapter at your desk or wherever the primary spot is that you use your XPS. USB-C power delivery is still advancing. Just now, cables supporting up to 240W of power delivery over a single USB-C connection are starting to hit the market. Maybe we will see combo chargers like this that can output more than 100W over a single port in the not-too-distant future.

I haven't tried streaming gaming yet but I have hard time believing that I'd be happy with it... Unlike streaming video where the endpoint client can buffer up several seconds or minutes of video, gaming has to be real time, so there is no room for buffering. Turnaround time from input -> transmit to data center -> run the game -> encode video output (compression artifacts!) -> send back to endpoint/client -> decode and display has to be what, 50 ms or less before you'd start noticing the lag? And no interruptions in the data flow at all. You'd have to have a really solid Internet connection.

So I am having to replace the HVAC system in my home, and I am figuring that I will take the opportunity to investigate smart thermostat options (Nest, etc.). Anyone mess with any of these and have any feedback? I’m mostly interested in being able to set up schedules, control it remotely, and HomeKit support. Not necessarily interested in having it do things like tell me the weather, and definitely not interested in having it listen to me (Alexa, etc.). I’m investigating on my own but was sort of wondering if anyone in the crowd here has experience with one of these and has something that they would recommend or not recommend.

Are you running at >100% display scaling in Windows? You could try disabling hardware graphics acceleration in Thunderbird and see if that makes a difference.

"Lower temperature threshold" needs to be something that is achievable. (65 °C maybe?) The program will not try to lock the fan speed unless the temperatures are below that value. If it says "waiting for embedded controller to activate the fans", I guess that the fans are off (0 RPM)? The program can't lock in the fan speed until the fans are running. Wait for the EC to decide to turn them on, or run something that will generate a bit of load. (I never have to generate load. The system will kick them on eventually.)

Hmm, interesting, I didn't realize that this was a thing. Regarding high-end GPUs, HP does make some Quadro RTX (Turing) MXM cards. The layout is off a bit but RTX 3000 has been demonstrated working in the M6700 (by drilling new holes through the GPU heatsink). It doesn't even have the vBIOS/BSOD issue the Pascal cards have in the M6700/M6800. RTX 5000 has the same layout so it should also work. I'd think that these cards would also work in other systems, if they physically fit (and with a heatsink mod). https://www.nbrchive.net/forum.notebookreview.com/threads/dell-precision-m6700-nvidia-turing-rtx-card-discussion-thread.833140/index.html (Sorry you can't really see the pictures. Still need to fix attachments in NBRCHIVE.) I also haven't heard a whisper about the possibility of Ampere MXM GPUs. You would think RTX A1000/A2000/A3000 at least would be possible on a regular card.

If you did want to raise the power limit it would probably just require flashing a different vBIOS on there... If you could find the "official Dell" vBIOS for this GPU then that would be ideal. It's hard to get to the point of a temperature problem with these beefy NVIDIA GPU chips that are intended to run in desktops at higher power levels. When I tried P5000 in the M6700, it would pull around 110W and I was still never able to get it anywhere near thermal throttling. I have noted that it leveled off at around 76 °C when I put it under an extended load. (That was with the fan running full tilt, though.) Also, doesn't matter to you since you are done already, but to anyone else: the X-bracket is easier to get off if you apply some heat (heat gun or hair dryer).

It's not a Windows problem. The BIOS can't see the drive either. I can go to the "Storage" section of BIOS setup and it will show no drive installed int he slot, and in the case of me moving the Windows drive into the PCIe4 slot, the BIOS throws an error about no boot volume available. (It will also be completely absent from Disk Management and Device Manager when this is going on with a non-Windows drive.) Sorry, I missed this post. The setting is under security and it is called something like "UEFI Capsule Firmware Updates". If it is on, you will see a "Firmware" category in Device Manager. If the "firmware" device gets updated with a new driver (which contains a new BIOS image) then the BIOS will be flashed. Microsoft sometimes pushes these down through Windows Update.

1.10.1 is removed as well. (Don't know if anyone noted that.) They're all the way back down to 1.5.0 as the only option. All of the newer ones have a note saying that once you upgrade, you can't downgrade below 1.8.0, so if there really is some issue with these newer ones, and you have upgraded to one of them, then you are stuck. I also noticed that MS is pushing either 1.10.1 or 1.11.0 down through Windows Update as of a few days ago. It could be automatically installed if you have capsule updates enabled in BIOS setup (which is the default configuration). If you would like to make sure that you are in control of when BIOS updates happen, turn that off.

I have this thread on installing a M.2 Wi-Fi card in the M6700, it would be pretty much the same with M6800. You need U.FL to MHF4 antenna connectors/adapters as well. I have AX200 installed right now; I think AX210 should also work, but haven't tried it. https://www.nbrchive.net/forum.notebookreview.com/threads/m-2-ngff-wireless-cards-in-precision-m4x00-m6x00-my-experience-with-m6700.821863/ (I am pretty sure M6800 does not support XMP memory profiles. I don't think that Dell added that until Precision 7730.)

The reason for this, I believe, is that 8GB 1866 modules were not available when the M6800 first released. Intel Ark says that 1600 is the max but I think 1866 will work (from other users' experience as I recall). Anyway, it doesn't matter that much. An increase in memory speed also yields an increase in CL and the performance difference will be negligible for most applications. Agree with @Hertzian56, the "MX" CPU is probably not worth it unless it hardly costs any more than a lower-end quad-core CPU. It will thermal throttle under an extended load and you'll end up with around the same speed anyway. I am not aware of any working BIOS unlock options for any Precision system. Don't think this matters that much either. The CPU turbos to the point of thermal throttle (no point overclocking). You can control the fans through other means. The closest I can think of to a BIOS mod would be @jeamn's attempt to get a GeForce 1070 booting; he managed a boot-time override of some of the BIOS tables. You want a 240W PSU to avoid throttling. (These era of Precision systems are pretty picky about this even if it seems like you have power headroom.) Look at PA-9E on eBay. They don't cost that much. I think the LVDS motherboard is fine if you are satisfied with the display panel and don't plan on installing a Pascal (or better) GPU. A 4K panel is not possible even with the eDP motherboard in this system. It doesn't have enough display bandwidth. If you ever need to replace the display panel then you might need to get the eDP board. Good 1080p LVDS panels are hard to find now. (I tried putting an AUO 1080p LVDS panel in my M6700 and it was pretty bad quality compared to my current LG panel, especially dealing with dark/blacks on the screen. I was not able to find the LG panel for sale anywhere when I was looking, about three years ago. I managed to get my LG panel fixed so I ended up not doing the swap and returning the AUO panel.) No idea about soldering on an eDP port. I have never heard of anyone trying something like that. Other considerations: M6700 had one-pipe and two-pipe versions for the CPU heatsink. I'm not sure if the same is true for the M6800, but if it is, try for the two-pipe version for better cooling. I think that 4th-gen is the first generation of CPUs that you can undervolt with Intel XTU or ThrottleStop? If you can undervolt it that will help with temperatures some as well. I also keep the CPU temps (and thus fans) under control by keeping turbo boost disabled when I don't have a high CPU load. You can do this with Windows advanced power options — set "max CPU utilization" to 99% and put the power slider (click battery by the clock) in the middle setting to disable turbo boost. Slide the slider to the right to enable turbo boost. Easy toggle. You can check to see if it is working by observing the clock speed in Task Manager "performance" tab.

Well, that was a bust. My new configuration had the Windows / C drive in the PCIe4 slot. After booting up, I was in short order (≈5 minutes) greeted with a BSOD, and then a message from the BIOS saying that no bootable drive could be found. Opened the system up again and carefully reseated the drive. Same thing happened. Tried one more time, extra-carefully reseating the drive. Same thing (but this time it lasted a few hours). So. It's definitely the slot and not the drive. Replacing the motherboard doesn't seem to have fixed it. Best I can come up with is I'm somehow missing the "trick" to properly seat a drive in this slot with that plastic caddy thing, but it sure does look like it is snug in there to me. Anyway, I'm working on rearranging things so that I can work off of two drives and not three and just leave this slot empty for now.

Eh, this is my work system and things are quite busy right now so I sort of want to spend as little time as possible dealing with this :-/. I need all three drives working so I’m not going to be experimenting with swapping different drive models in for now, if rearranging them “solves” the problem. I’m more concerned with stability than with the PCIe4 drive running at full speed. Diagnostics report nothing amiss. [Edit] Drive switcharoo complete, we'll see how it goes...

Well, it didn't last that long. Now, I had the PCIe4 drive up and completely disappear again. This is on the version of the motherboard that does not have a physical switch by that slot. I'm going to be swapping the drives around to different slots, back to the configuration that I had working before — no PCIe4 drive in the PCIe4 slot. Seems like it could be an issue with my Sabrent PCIe4 drive, but the fact that I had the same drive disappearing issue with a coworker's system and a Samsung 980 Pro drive makes me doubt that. (Really hoping that the 7770 doesn't have this issue. I have four PCIe4 drives ready to put in there.)

I remember seeing notable differences in some of the older models (7X30?), like the UHD panel being required to avoid 6-bits-per-color or to get a higher brightness panel. In the case for this generation, it looks like the two panels on offer for the 7770 have the same specs in terms of brightness and color coverage. The 7670 has two different FHD+ options and I think the baseline/cheaper one should be avoided (max brightness is quite low). Normally it would be the case that a lower resolution screen saves you battery life. UHD panels draw a bit more power and also require more "oomph" from the GPU in order to drive them. But... in the case of the OLED panel in the 7670, there is a whole new consideration to the panel's power use. In a normal LCD panel, the power use by the panel itself is fixed, changing mostly only based on the brightness level that you have selected. In an OLED panel, the power use is determined by the overall brightness of the image on the screen as the pixels are individually lit (there is no backlight). If you operate in mostly "dark mode" applications then you can keep the power use pretty low. OLED would also offer the best color with a huge contrast ratio (true blacks are possible as the individual pixels can be shut off). I'm getting a 7770 so OLED is not in consideration, but the UHD panel there does offer 120 Hz which is also a nice upgrade. Also, I really appreciate the increased sharpness of a UHD panel (clarity of text, detail in images, etc.) even though it does not offer increased working space when running it at 200% scaling, so that's the way that I'll be going for sure. I don't use the system on battery very often, though, so power use isn't factoring in as a consideration for me.

Windows 11, version 22H2 might hit RTM this month. https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-22h2-to-reportedly-to-reach-rtm-this-month/ (..."RTM" doesn't have the same meaning that it used to, though.)

Correct on the timeframe. Member list shows the count at 398 with new users joining daily.

I’ll probably let it run with both “fixes” for about two weeks. And if I don’t have the problem in that time, I will then switch back to AHCI/NVMe mode and see what happens.