Dell Vostro 1500

Bradmax57 · 27 Mar 2008 at 12:17

fish99 said:
Any ideas anyone about why speedstep might not be working? It's definitely enabled in the bios, and I've tried every power profile, but the CPU remains fixed at 2400 MHz (according to CPU-Z) all the time, even when CPU usage is 0%. Checked the intel website and there doesn't seem to be drivers for intel cpus, so I'm a bit stumped. Also looking at device manager there's no obvious problems.

I hope Dell haven't somehow disabled it due to the whine people keep mentioning, because that would really kill my battery life. Having said that I haven't tried the laptop on battery at all yet, but that's not really relevant since speedstep should work on AC too.

which bios?

fish99 · 27 Mar 2008 at 14:58

1.04 I think.

Bradmax57 · 27 Mar 2008 at 15:00

fish99 said:
1.04 I think.

A04? think the newest is A05 possibly worth a try?

fish99 · 27 Mar 2008 at 15:54

That's a last resort solution TBH

Bradmax57 · 27 Mar 2008 at 16:07

fish99 said:
That's a last resort solution TBH

whysat?

thephantom114 · 27 Mar 2008 at 16:45

What's the difference between 1280 x 800 and the 1440x900 screen on the Vostro and is there any advantage/any significant difference between the two?

peetee · 27 Mar 2008 at 16:53

the higher res the crisper the image etc.
The advantages of 1280 are its cheaper and easier to run games at the lower res with graphics card.

1440 are its crisper image allowing more to be displayed in the same space due to more pixels being in the same area.
1440 is slightly higher resolution that 720p video files meaning you get the full video(although it will upscale it if you dont want blackborders) whereas the 1280 will have to squash the video into fewer pixels or you will be missing parts of the video.

**edit**
If you have the money get the highest res possible.

thephantom114 · 27 Mar 2008 at 17:05

Bugger, I bought the 1280. Its in pre-production, do you think they'd be able to change it? Or is it too much hassle for the minimal difference it will make?

fish99 · 27 Mar 2008 at 22:42

Right, updated my BIOS to A05 and it didn't help AFAICS. The weird thing is when I turn speedstep off in the bios, the cpu runs @ 2.4 with a 531 FSB and a 4.5x multiplier, but with speedstep on the cpu runs @ 2.4 with 398 FSB and a 6x multiplier.

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what speedstep does on mobile C2Ds. On my desktop C2D (E6750) speedstep actually results in a slower CPU speed - it drops from 2.6 when the CPU is being used to about 1.2 when it's not.

Can anyone have a look at what speedstep is doing on their 1500?

Bradmax57 · 27 Mar 2008 at 22:49

fish99 said:
Right, updated my BIOS to A05 and it didn't help AFAICS. The weird thing is when I turn speedstep off in the bios, the cpu runs @ 2.4 with a 531 FSB and a 4.5x multiplier, but with speedstep on the cpu runs @ 2.4 with 398 FSB and a 6x multiplier.

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what speedstep does on mobile C2Ds. On my desktop C2D (E6750) speedstep actually results in a slower CPU speed - it drops from 2.6 when the CPU is being used to about 1.2 when it's not.

Can anyone have a look at what speedstep is doing on their 1500?

working fine on mine with T7500 drops multi to 6x for 1.2, which version of cpuz you using? ive got 1.44.1 here?

fish99 · 27 Mar 2008 at 22:59

Bradmax57 said:
working fine on mine with T7500 drops multi to 6x for 1.2, which version of cpuz you using? ive got 1.44.1 here?

Lol, problem solved, my CPU-Z was way out of date

Now showing 1600 MHz and 8x multiplier with no CPU usage, and 2400 MHz and 12x multiplier when the CPU is busy.

Thank for the help, much appreciated :cool:

Bradmax57 · 27 Mar 2008 at 23:07

fish99 said:
Lol, problem solved, my CPU-Z was way out of date Now showing 1600 MHz and 8x multiplier with no CPU usage, and 2400 MHz and 12x multiplier when the CPU is busy.

Thank for the help, much appreciated

hehe, no probs, at least your sorted and have an upto date bios

the39steps · 28 Mar 2008 at 00:06

Bugger. I was filling in a job application last night so didn't get a chance to order a vostro. Went on tonight, and now they are charging £30 just for selecting XP over Vista. The cheeky sods. I'll wait and try again in a few days to see if the price goes back down.

thephantom114 · 28 Mar 2008 at 00:52

I'm annoyed at the lack of a 9 cell battery. Is the 1440 screen loads better than the 1280 and is it worth it? I've ordered already so would it be worth the hassle of ringing up etc and getting them to change it?

peetee · 28 Mar 2008 at 00:54

depends what you are used to.
im a 1280x1024 guy, sometimes dual screen and wanted 1440x900 because i wanted as many pixels as poss, I really wanted the 1680 but couldnt afford at the time.

thephantom114 · 28 Mar 2008 at 00:59

Will it make much of a difference to anything I really do?

thephantom114 · 28 Mar 2008 at 01:05

Also is windows vista business any better than home?

fish99 · 28 Mar 2008 at 03:10

Got some power consumption figures from my 1500. Not desperately interesting but here goes anyway-

Plugged in but turned off - 2-3W
Sat at desktop (screen on full) - 26W
Sat at desktop (screen on min) - 19-20W
Sat at desktop (screen on half) - 21W
Sat at desktop (screen off) - 14-15W
Running super-PI on one core - 44W
Running Portal (1280*800) - 66W

So for web browsing it's as energy efficient as any modern full size laptop (including my much slower Amilo), and it uses a modest amount playing games.

Also tried plenty of games on it now, so here's what I found - World of Warcraft (1440*900, full) - very smooth, Stalker (1280*800, medium) - playable, Sims 2 (1440*900) - very smooth, HL2 (1440*900, full) - very smooth, Portal (1280*800, high) - playable, SupCom (1440*900, medium) - smooth (2.4 cpu helps here), Titan Quest (1440*900, full) - very playable, Far Cry (1440*900, full) - very smooth, Oblivion (1280*900, medium) - playable.

Only gaming issue is the heat is excessive if you're going to have it on your lap (which blocks the fans intake btw). I might invest in a LapDesk and maybe a cooling stand at some point. The performance of the 8600M GT is excellent for the price though, it seems to give a good gaming experience in pretty much everything.

Captain Kirk · 28 Mar 2008 at 12:05

ARGH! I have just seen a promotion on the Dell website where you can upgrade to the 9cell battery for free on Vostro 1500 laptops. Do you think I will be able to ring up and ask for this with mine as it is still in Pre-production phase?

peetee · 28 Mar 2008 at 12:12

yea, you can still cancel if you want so say you would rather order online for the battery etc

thats how i got my good deal, they rang me back about something(oh yea she forgot to take verification of my card number) and i said OH iv decided iv changed my mind, iv fouund another laptop etc; )