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2020 Dell XPS 17 9700 enfrentando preocupantes problemas de carga, cai de 100% para 65% de bateria enquanto "carrega".

Dell XPS 17 9700 enfrentando preocupantes problemas de carga, cai de 100% para 65% de bateria enquanto "recarga
Dell XPS 17 9700 enfrentando preocupantes problemas de carga, cai de 100% para 65% de bateria enquanto "recarga
(Atualização: a Dell diz que a drenagem lenta da bateria é intencional e não um bug, a série Precision 5750 confirmou ser a mesma.) Seu novo XPS 17 pode não estar carregando mesmo que esteja conectado à tomada. Se você estiver rodando jogos ou outras cargas exigentes, então o sistema pode estar realmente consumindo mais energia do que ela pode consumir do adaptador AC.

(10 de julho de 2020 10:59 AM atualização: a Dell respondeu ao nosso inquérito dizendo que o XPS 17 "pode puxar mais de 130 W" devido à CPU onboard Core i7 e à GPU RTX 2060 Max-Q, apesar de sua PSU ser classificada para fornecer 130 W.

"Por projeto, permitimos que o sistema toque a bateria para obter mais suco quando isso acontecer", confirma o representante da Dell. "Então sim, quando for necessário, o sistema pode mergulhar na bateria, e depois recarregá-la".

A alternativa, de acordo com a Dell, teria sido enviar o XPS 17 com um adaptador AC maior e mais pesado, o que teria tornado o sistema menos amigável para viagens.

Atualizamos nosso artigo original abaixo para refletir as novas informações, já que este comportamento de descarga da bateria não é um bug, mas uma escolha intencional de projeto. A taxa de descarga constante ao executar altas cargas de processamento é um compromisso infeliz para a CPU de alta potência e GPU envolvida).

(10 de julho de 2020 14:00 PM atualização: a Dell esclareceu conosco que estará investigando a fonte de alimentação do adaptador AC de 130 W. O adaptador deverá ser capaz de fornecer 130 W de energia ao laptop em vez dos ~105 W máximos que estamos registrando. Assim, embora a taxa de descarga lenta da bateria possa ser normal quando a bateria está funcionando exigindo cargas, ela pode ser mais rápida do que o que a Dell inicialmente previa. Continuaremos a atualizar esta página conforme apropriado).

Estamos muito perto do joelho em nossa revisão do vaunted XPS 17 9700 equipado com o núcleo octa-core i7-10875H CPU, GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU, e 4K 16:10 touchscreen e ainda assim já descobrimos um grande bug. Neste caso, o laptop de 17,3 polegadas parece estar tendo desvantagens de recarga de bateria quando sob altas cargas de processamento como jogos. Somos capazes de reproduzir isto de forma confiável com uma unidade fornecida pela Dell.

Qual é o Fenômeno?

A execução de qualquer carga de processamento que requeira mais de 100 W fará com que a bateria se esgote lentamente ao longo do tempo, quando deveria ser recarregada em seu lugar. O problema não é exclusivo do XPS 17, pois alguns modelos mais antigos de Razer Blade Stealth e Microsoft Surface Book apresentariam problemas de carga similares. Todos estes sistemas podem ser recarregados via USB-C.

SKUs XPS 17 inferiores sem a GPU Nvidia RTX discreta podem não sofrer deste problema, muito parecido com o que observamos nas SKUs Razer Blade Stealth mais antigas com e sem a GPU Nvidia MX150 discreta.

How We Reproduced The Battery Drain

We first started on a full battery charge of 100 percent and a battery capacity of 91 Wh as reported by HWiNFO. Then, we would run Witcher 3 at 1080p High settings while observing for any changes to the battery. Sure enough, battery percentage and remaining capacity would drop to 65 percent and 60.5 Wh, respectively, after two hours of gameplay. The steady decline in battery capacity can be observed and recorded by the second.

When we closed the game, the recharge rate would jump back to normal.

System vitals before initiating our Witcher 3 test. Note the full battery percentage and capacity
System vitals before initiating our Witcher 3 test. Note the full battery percentage and capacity
System vitals after running Witcher 3 for two full hours. The battery discharged by 35 percent over the testing period
System vitals after running Witcher 3 for two full hours. The battery discharged by 35 percent over the testing period

Why Is This Happening?

The official specification for power-over-Thunderbolt 3 is up to 100 W, but Dell’s unique implementation for the XPS 15 and XPS 17 series is set to 130 W instead since these are high-power laptops running on demanding Core H-series CPUs and GeForce GTX/RTX graphics. What we’re seeing is that the total system power when running Witcher 3 is around 135 W, but our Gossen multimeter reveals that the system can only pull a maximum of 105 W from the AC adapter as shown by our graphs below. It’s safe to assume that this difference is responsible for the slow battery drain when running the game.

Power consumption when running Witcher 3 on the XPS 17. The consumption rate is oddly very flat at 105.07 W and never any higher
Power consumption when running Witcher 3 on the XPS 17. The consumption rate is oddly very flat at 105.07 W and never any higher
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 10s mark on the XPS 17. Power consumption hits the same 107 W constraint yet again despite having a 130 W AC adapter
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 10s mark on the XPS 17. Power consumption hits the same 107 W constraint yet again despite having a 130 W AC adapter
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 10s mark on the XPS 15 for comparison. Power consumption from the AC adapter can be as high as 135 W which is likely what *should* occur on the XPS 17
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 10s mark on the XPS 15 for comparison. Power consumption from the AC adapter can be as high as 135 W which is likely what *should* occur on the XPS 17

Are Other XPS 17 Users Experiencing The Same Phenomenon?

A quick look at the Dell Reddit page shows several posts with similar charging problems as what we’ve described here. We certainly can’t confirm each source, but we can’t deny them either based on our own experience here. 

(July 10, 2020 update: The Precision 5750 series, which is based on the same XPS 17 chassis, will also exhibit the same battery drain disadvantage when under demanding loads. This will probably be a greater annoyance to Precision users who are more likely to run high loads for longer periods than XPS 17 owners.)

Can This Be Fixed? 

Dell has confirmed that the battery discharge behavior is intentional and no "fix" is planned, but there will be an investigation on the 130 W AC adapter. The bright side is that this likely won't impact most XPS 17 owners since you would have to be running extreme loads for about 6 hours straight to fully discharge the battery ⁠— an unlikely scenario. From a consumer's perspective, however, plugging in your laptop comes with the expectation that the battery will not drain. To have the opposite be true will indubitably confuse the user base as exemplified here.

It's worth mentioning that Razer faced a similar issue with its 2018 Blade Stealth series before ultimately addressing it for the 2019 refresh. After all, it's hard to argue with the phrase "If I plug in my laptop, I expect it to recharge".

It’s important to note that the XPS 15 9500 uses the same 130 W AC adapter as the XPS 17 9700 and we experienced no such charging issues on the 15.6-inch model. In fact, we were able to observe power consumption rates of up to 135 W on the XPS 15 whereas the XPS 17 is "capped" at 105 W.

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> Análises e revisões de portáteis e celulares > Arquivo de notícias 2020 07 > 2020 Dell XPS 17 9700 enfrentando preocupantes problemas de carga, cai de 100% para 65% de bateria enquanto "carrega".
Allen Ngo, 2020-07-10 (Update: 2020-07-10)