Dell Precision 7670 & Dell Precision 7770 owner's thread

[win32asmguy]

12 hours ago, Sid3ways said:

To note: I did have 1.18 but went through the updated bios to allow me to kick it back to 1.16 so that is normal. I also have the 330W Alienware power supply hooked up to the unit. When going to 1.18, did it somehow relock the ability to undervolt or something? Can someone recommend what I should be changing/using, setting wise? I did read in here about the BD PROCHOT, that seems to be constantly on, so I should look into how to disable it?

 

I can see from your third Throttlestop screenshot that Undervolting Protection is enabled, so any undervolt setting will not be applied. I have not spent much time trying to work around it but my theory is to try enabling a hidden setting which would require System Agent Overclocking Support, like XMP. If both SaOcSupport and regular OcSupport are enabled then then Undervolt Protection can be modified. Here are the relevant options listed by Intel:

 

https://github.com/intel/FSP/blob/master/RaptorLakeFspBinPkg/Client/RaptorLakeS/Fsp.bsf#L3030

https://github.com/intel/FSP/blob/master/RaptorLakeFspBinPkg/Client/RaptorLakeS/Fsp.bsf#L3566

https://github.com/intel/FSP/blob/master/RaptorLakeFspBinPkg/Client/RaptorLakeS/Fsp.bsf#L4245

 

These options are present in all newer 12th Gen HX bios and up, regardless of if they are visible or accessible. From my experience a few models (Thinkpad P16, Zbook Fury 16, Asus Studiobook) have some kind of tamperproof protection enabled so those machines and also use Intel Boot Guard so only a signed bios will boot and unlocking would likely never be possible.

 

In the case of XMP and the Precision, I believe if you are using the SODIMM interposer and select a memory kit with a realistic XMP profile (5200MT/s for 12th Gen HX for instance), it should be visible in the bios as an option to enable within the Performance page.

[Phantomroams]

12 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

Note, I have found that the GPU can actually be on when this activity indicator says that it is off.  You have to use NVAPI to check and see if it is "really" on or not.  Anyway, if it gets stuck on you can "fix" it by going to Device Manager, disabling the dGPU, and then enabling it again.  That seems to kick it into powering off properly.  (On my Precision 7770, I had to do that after every reboot.)

I tried disabling the gpu. I am also concerned with the cpu package power. There is no clear reason why the system agent takes so much power. Can anyone else check how much power it uses? 

[Sid3ways]

On 2/28/2024 at 1:44 PM, win32asmguy said:

 

I can see from your third Throttlestop screenshot that Undervolting Protection is enabled, so any undervolt setting will not be applied. I have not spent much time trying to work around it but my theory is to try enabling a hidden setting which would require System Agent Overclocking Support, like XMP. If both SaOcSupport and regular OcSupport are enabled then then Undervolt Protection can be modified. Here are the relevant options listed by Intel:

 

https://github.com/intel/FSP/blob/master/RaptorLakeFspBinPkg/Client/RaptorLakeS/Fsp.bsf#L3030

https://github.com/intel/FSP/blob/master/RaptorLakeFspBinPkg/Client/RaptorLakeS/Fsp.bsf#L3566

https://github.com/intel/FSP/blob/master/RaptorLakeFspBinPkg/Client/RaptorLakeS/Fsp.bsf#L4245

 

These options are present in all newer 12th Gen HX bios and up, regardless of if they are visible or accessible. From my experience a few models (Thinkpad P16, Zbook Fury 16, Asus Studiobook) have some kind of tamperproof protection enabled so those machines and also use Intel Boot Guard so only a signed bios will boot and unlocking would likely never be possible.

 

In the case of XMP and the Precision, I believe if you are using the SODIMM interposer and select a memory kit with a realistic XMP profile (5200MT/s for 12th Gen HX for instance), it should be visible in the bios as an option to enable within the Performance page.

From the third screenshot, what on that page is the indication that undervolting protection is enabled? I initially did the manual bios changes in the first pages of this thread LONG ago, then upgraded to 1.18 or whatever the bios was that eliminated the need for it. I assume the latest garbage BIOS version then re-enabled the undervolt protection? Playing my FPS game, it's 100% evident it's throttling like mad now, used to get 80-100 fps and now I'm like 30-80, with a very high interval of tanking back down in the 30s and 40s.

 

I'll attempt to unlock the BD PROCHOT that was mentioned a few pages prior. As far as enabling XMP, you have lost me there as I'm not familiar with it. I'll go through the three threads above to see if I can make any progress.

 

Thanks!

[brunooo84]

after all the mess around bios v1.18, I downgraded and it seems like it did a factory reset, which is ok. The problem is that most of the time (no always tho) when the computer sleeps, it restarts, just like if a reset button was pushed.

 

I remember reading something about this, that needed something in the bios to be disabled/enabled but I can't remember what.

 

Does anybody know what I should do?

 

I think this is the log event from that reboot:
The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck.  The bugcheck was: 0x0000009f (0x0000000000000003, 0xffff970dce288060, 0xffffb90bf06ef738, 0xffff970dd7090bb0). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\Minidump\030224-28531-01.dmp. Report Id: ccce6d36-ab2e-49fa-b41e-e508baac4eb9.

 

thanks!

[Few-Definition533]

On 2/22/2024 at 12:00 PM, RYANKO said:

A guy from Dell's forum got Dell Engineer's reply and shared a bridge BIOS which allow us to downgrade to version 1.16.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mgZK-zpZ_x060i5KGJL78sr7DTxqjJO2/view?usp=sharing

Hello. 

Can you share this file again please ? Link is dead

[Light]

Are double sided SSDs supported, or are single sided SSDs required?

[Aaron44126]

3 hours ago, Light said:

Are double sided SSDs supported, or are single sided SSDs required?

Double-sided works fine in all slots.

[Augusto]

Hi all:
 

I recall a past discussion here where some top-tier SSDs like:

• Sabrent Rocket 4,
• Seagate FireCuda 530, and
• Kingston FURY Renegade

were mentioned. They caught my eye, and now that I'm in the market for an upgrade, I've stumbled upon the Sabrent Rocket 5 SSD. It boasts PCIe 5.0, which sounds promising, but I'm uncertain about compatibility with my Precision 7770.

 

Has anyone ventured into PCIe 5.0 SSD territory on the Precision 7770? Your experiences with these SSDs or any others offering peak performance and substantial storage would be invaluable as I weigh my options.

 

Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

[Aaron44126]

3 hours ago, Augusto said:

Has anyone ventured into PCIe 5.0 SSD territory on the Precision 7770?

 

Precision 7770 does not support PCIe 5.  You can install a PCIe 5 drive and it will run at PCIe 4 speeds — There is no point in spending extra money on it, unless you think you might want to reuse the drive in a future system down the line.

 

I had three Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 8 TB drives in my Precision 7770.  One of them died after less than a year.  Sabrent replaced it without hassle under warranty (took about two weeks) but the replacement drive has very audible coil whine noises or something coming from it that kick in when there is a sudden burst of write activity.  My opinion of Sabrent has thus soured and I will not be purchasing any more of their SSDs.  Since I stopped using the Precision 7770, I have repurposed all of that storage as NAS storage in my basement so the noise is a non-issue at the moment.

[Augusto]

Thanks, @Aaron44126, for shedding some light on that! The compatibility insight is super valuable, and your experience with Sabrent drives made me think twice. I'll reconsider my options with PCIe 4.0 in mind and explore other brands too. Really appreciate your input!

[Phantomroams]

Has anyone found a solution to the battery drain issue?

[heikkuri]

On 3/30/2024 at 9:57 PM, Phantomroams said:

Has anyone found a solution to the battery drain issue?

 

Sorry what battery drain issue do you refer?

[Phantomroams]

On 4/2/2024 at 9:25 AM, heikkuri said:

 

Sorry what battery drain issue do you refer?

On battery power the laptop consumes 20-50 watts of power when idle or in the web browser and dies in 2-3 hours. The graphics card is switched off. 

[heikkuri]

Here is my status running on battery about 5 min in idle mode. I have not disabled my NVIDIA GPU.

External display, Bluetooth headset and DAC is connected.

Dell Optimizer 4.1 is installed with only Audio and Power options.

I use Charging Mode => Primary in AC and Thermal Management => Optimized.

I never use on battery because this is Precision and not any Latitude.

 

[win32asmguy]

On 4/3/2024 at 7:02 PM, Phantomroams said:

On battery power the laptop consumes 20-50 watts of power when idle or in the web browser and dies in 2-3 hours. The graphics card is switched off. 

 

It sounds like the Nvidia GPU may still be active based on the CPU power consumption. Double check these things:

 

- Nvidia GPU and its audio/usb devices must be enabled in device manager in order to reach the lowest power state.

- Overclocking apps like MSI Afterburner must be disabled as they keep the Nvidia GPU alive. At one point I even found the Intel "Command Center" tray icon to be keeping the Nvidia GPU alive as well!

- Fresh boot after having all external displays connected so the Nvidia GPU isn't determined to be the primary by the OS

- Try clean installing a dell supplied driver to ensure it has any OEM specific tweaks they apply. Upgrade from the dell driver (not clean install) if you need driver specific fixes which usually keep the OEM tweaks intact

[rintalahri]

Is it possible to upgrade the 7680 FHD panel to a UHD oled panel.

Do the connectors on the motherboard work?

[Aaron44126]

3 minutes ago, rintalahri said:

Is it possible to upgrade the 7680 FHD panel to a UHD oled panel.

Do the connectors on the motherboard work?

 

The mainboard is the same.  However, you'll probably need to replace the entire display enclosure (OLED panel has glass or something covering the front) and possibly the display cable as well.  The best bet would be to get the display panel + enclosure + cable (+ webcam) all as one pre-assembled part, which is how Dell does it when they are doing a display replacement under warranty with these systems.

[Phantomroams]

On 4/5/2024 at 8:52 AM, win32asmguy said:

 

It sounds like the Nvidia GPU may still be active based on the CPU power consumption. Double check these things:

 

- Nvidia GPU and its audio/usb devices must be enabled in device manager in order to reach the lowest power state.

- Overclocking apps like MSI Afterburner must be disabled as they keep the Nvidia GPU alive. At one point I even found the Intel "Command Center" tray icon to be keeping the Nvidia GPU alive as well!

- Fresh boot after having all external displays connected so the Nvidia GPU isn't determined to be the primary by the OS

- Try clean installing a dell supplied driver to ensure it has any OEM specific tweaks they apply. Upgrade from the dell driver (not clean install) if you need driver specific fixes which usually keep the OEM tweaks intact

I've done many clean installs of windows and linux with dell drivers but it does not solve the issue. Ill try physically disconnecting the gpu and see what happens.

[Aaron44126]

They finally posted another BIOS update.  Let's see if it really fixes the performance issues introduced by 1.18...

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=PT1RT

[Melkor]

Anyone brave enough has tried the new BIOS?

[heikkuri]

5 hours ago, Melkor said:

Anyone brave enough has tried the new BIOS?

Yes always for all Dell Precision models from 7X40 to 7X80.

[Melkor]

20 minutes ago, heikkuri said:

Yes always for all Dell Precision models from 7X40 to 7X80.

But this is for 7X70... that was the model that had problems with BIOS 1.18.

[SilverAzide]

9 hours ago, Melkor said:

Anyone brave enough has tried the new BIOS?

Yes, installed it on my personal 7770 and it is working fine, but I should mention that 1.18 ALSO worked fine for me.  I'm about to try it on my work 7770, which is about 6 months newer but was never updated past 1.16. Fingers crossed.

 

Update:  Both my 7770 laptops patched with v1.20.1 with no issues.  It takes a scary-long time for the machines to reboot before applying the update, but eventually it works.

[mkolejak]

18 hours ago, Melkor said:

Anyone brave enough has tried the new BIOS?

Yeah, I tried it also, because I have that recovery bios, so it's fine for me now to check it. Immediately after update I can hear my cooling is more reacting to actual workload situation = little bit lower temperatures on CPU and GPU, few Celsius down, so I actually like this update. No issues so far for two days.
PS: as SilverAzide commented, it take some time to restart and update it, I was also scared like for 10 seconds 😄I was updating it directly from bios, no capsule updates from win or linux allowed on my machine from that "good bios update" 😄

 

[Aaron44126]

5 hours ago, mkolejak said:

I was updating it directly from bios, no capsule updates from win or linux allowed on my machine from that "good bios update" 😄

 

As a note, even if you disable "capsule updates" in BIOS setup to prevent Windows Update from updating the BIOS (and I definitely recommend having that disabled), installing a BIOS update via the downloadable .exe file from within Windows still works.