Dell XPS 13 2015 Broadwell Infinity Display Owners Thread

Another suggestion which has likely already been mentioned: have you guys attempted an install of the latest Dell Power Manager package and fooled around with the available schemes? This helps on the Latitudes I've found.

 

I have the i5/FHD model.

I uninstalled Chrome and will see how this plays out.

The only other thing I installed is NOD32 antivirus. Everything else is stock applications.

 

NOD32 is great for CPU too. I would be wondering if there's something else going on, such as an unwanted extension in Chrome that's eating up CPU.

 

I never install any vendor software. Clean copy of Windows 8.1 Pro + essential drivers. While I doubt Dell's power settings offer anything over native Microsoft's, I'd love to hear from anyone who's willing to play around with that power management package.

 

They offer firmware-level fan speed management to a degree, something you cannot get on most Dell models from a conventional power plan IIRC. You can choose to have the fans be more or less aggressive at cooling the system. There's even an option called Quiet Mode, and with the very good thermal dissipation that this system seems to offer, it might help.

I have worked on hundreds of Dells (mostly Latitudes) in my profession and I can recall at least half a dozen times where it satisfied the users and reduced the complaints.

 

After uninstalling Chrome, I do find that the fan rarely, if ever kicks in.

I have two local profiles. One for me and one for my wife. Here's the thing I notice, if I switch to my wife's profile without signing out of my own, and switch back to my profile without signing out of hers, the fan will kick in.

So now I'm second guessing if it was Chrome to begin with. The first day or two of using it, I was just back and forth between profiles without signing out.

I can replicate this over and over again.

The fan will only stop after I sign out from both profiles.

 

I am evaluating both (xps 13 and mac pro 13 retina) so I am interested in your opinion about them.
Are you always happy about this choice even if there is the adaptive brightness issue? Is it not very bad for you?
Other than the reasons stated before in the quoted message are there any other Dell strenghs against Mac?

 

Is there anyone who ordered the XPS form dell USA and got the Intel 7265 wireless card instead of the Broadcom one?

 

I'm not using Chrome at all on my PC, I've used Vivaldi briefly which is Chromium based but it doesn't seem to make the fan any worse compared to using IE.

 

If it seemed to improve after Chrome was removed, can you check your Chrome extensions to see if anything unwanted is running? You may simply be dealing with some low-grade adware. Some of it may be running in Chrome, and some externally to it.

What security do you use?

You might even try a quick run with something like ADWCleaner and possibly even a diagnostic run with RogueKiller (don't let it remove anything however, tons of false positives!) to search for difficult infections such as Poweliks (I linked to it earlier).

 

it is also possible that cause is something touchpad+chrome... it has been reported that touchpad doesn't work with chrome/FF


maybe:

chrome -> "scrolls" (memory leak, bug, infinite loop) -> cpu goes crazy -> fan starts spinning
chrome closes down -> memory leak/bug still going on... -> permanent FAN noise

 

The last time I had a 17" Dell laptop (~10 years ago), I used http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/ to control the speeds. AFAIK there is nothing that Dell does at the low (firmware) level that can't be replicated by third-party non-bloatware tools. Coming from my 18.4" Sony Vaio back to Dell reminds me again of the time I had to use something to control the noise Ahhh, memories.

 

Haha, well, that may be true, but unless that utility also functions properly with the newer machines, you may be stuck with the so-called "bloatware" that is their Dell Command Power Manager.

(To be honest, it really isn't all that bloated in my experience.)

 

People need to understand that for any given product, a consumer will have more chances to actually take the time to go on a forum and comment his experience if he got a bad experience. In this case, a bad computing experience. I just wanted to take the time to make an account and comment my pleasant experience with the xps 13. I have the i5 128gb with the regular 1080p screen. My delivery (in canada) was faster than expected. I was suppose to receive the computer the 13th of february but got it on the 5th. Also, I am NOT experiencing any of the problems seen on this site. My fan almost never kicks in, even when multitasking and using Chrome. Even when it rarely comes in, the sound is really small and almost unnoticeable. The touchpad issue is real, but I feel like people exagerate the real issue. Even if it is not as smooth as a macbook air touchpad (best one i've used yet), the experience is still pretty solid and nowhere near a dealbreaker if you think about buying this laptop. The general build of the laptop feels really solid, except for the keyboard that seemed a little cheap for a 1000+ machine. Not to mention that the infinity display is simply gorgeous and the absence of a bezel is a Wow factor for everyone that sees your laptop. Anyway majority of problems seems to come with the QHD+ model so I would stick to the regular 1080p screen,

 

Well the touchpad has been a dealbreaker for me, as well as the auto-contrast issue on which DELL has yet to make a statement.

And the cost of returning it back to DELL (15%, which is gonna cost me around 300 bucks) is making me think about boycotting the brand definitively. I had a VERY bad experience with this laptop, and judging by how the forums are filled with these kind of bad user experiences, I tend to believe I'm really not alone in this case.

Well you should read the thread again, you'll see both versions are equally impacted by the issues aforementioned.

 

This touchpad and auto-contrast stuff is almost certainly going to be ironed out with software. I don't think I'd get all bent out of shape over it.
Honestly, I know this thing is expensive and all, but the touchpad is overall still excellent, and the auto-contrast issue is... well, if that's the biggest thing you have to worry about, I'd say you made a fairly successful purchase.

 

I hope you're joking.

People are returning them over this. I have a $1500 laptop that won't let me set my own brightness? What part of that is successful?

 

I get that it's a lack of options where options should exist, and I get that it lowers the overall effective (average) brightness when the screen is dominated by darker elements. But it's fixable, and it's not like this is a debilitating problem; it's merely the lack of an option that leads to a dimmer-than-it-could-be screen at times.

The screen is still 400 nits brightness at its brightest. That's 100 nits brighter than most every other screen out there.

People will return a product over just about anything. I get being upset over not having the option -- but it's got to be a tiny subset of users who find this to be a game-breaking situation. I'm not belittling it, I respect it. I'm just saying, for most people, this is hardly a crisis. Especially when you consider the bevy of problems which comes alongside most product launches following a major redesign. [$./02]

 

Hey airmt,

Just now saw this, wanted to let you know that unfortunately our review unit is already on the way back. But to answer your question, I didn't remove the stock antivirus or adjust anything else -- however I do think most or all of the critical Windows Updates had been completed before the test began (that's a BIG deal; some of the most recent update packages are VERY heavy on a system). The browser used for the test was Internet Explorer... Chrome is heavier on battery. So the conditions were typical I'd say, but the software configuration was certainly light.

Naturally as more items are installed which require background processes, autoupdates, etc., this figure should be expected to decrease.

But yeah, 9+ hours. You see the graph -- it's impressive. The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 achieved comparable results with a similarly-dense screen if I recall correctly.

 

Auto-Dim-Gate 2015!

XPS 13 laptop refunds outnumber new purchases. Epic failure brings Dell to its knees. Anarchy!

 

Cool thanks! But because of the high resolution you should have plenty of space right?

 

If there is an issue with the laptop (such as the touch pad not working / responding, or the laptop not turning on / or problems with the screen) then they waive the restocking fee. Usually you inform Technical Support of the ongoing issues with the laptop then request a refund as you are not satisfied with the purchase. I would not just roll over and accept the restocking fee when there is an issue with the laptop.

If we refer to the Terms of Sale on the Dell Website:
Restocking Fees: Unless the product is defective or the return is a direct result of a Dell error, Dell may charge a restocking fee of up to 15% of the purchase price paid, plus any applicable sales tax.

Defect has a wider and liberal definition under Consumer Law, including having blemishes which results in something falling short of being perfect, a product doing something it was not designed to do, to something being faulty.

 

I'm curious as to which video driver people are using. I don't have any issues with the adaptive brightness. I'm using everything stock- 10.18.10.3960 9/29/14. My laptop is factory direct and have been using it for over a week. So far I've had no problems with the brightness or the touchpad except for 2 finger tap right click which can be off sometimes and the battery life which is not great even with bluetooth off and windows index off.

 

Thank you very much for this information. Coming from Europe but living in Canada, I'm not used to this kind of legislation, and I didn't even think about it.
The problem is that I called the DELL customer support yesterday and I told them I wasn't satisfied and I wanted to send the unit back. The representative didn't ask me anything about why I wasn't satisfied, he just told me there was a 15% restocking fee.

I'm supposed to send the laptop today. Do you think I should call them again and try to convince them that the product is defective? I'm not sure they'll accept it, as I already told them I wasn't satisfied...

 

Yes. You will likely need to contact Technical Support and speak with them for a while (have fun with that ;-)) to create a case regarding your issues. Following that they can forward your case to Customer Care, who will then handle the exchange.

Alternatively, you can speak with the Sales Resolution Team at 800-624-9897 x2169555. They will probably offer you a $100 credit for trying to return the machine if you wish to keep it instead.

Hope this helps.

 

are you sure you have the XPS 13 (2015), since you mention a 2014 date?

Or did you accidentaly install "old" intel drivers (Intel graphics 4400, instead of 5500, I believe?) and this magically solved the adaptive-brigthness problem? If the latter was the case, please let us know.

 

Incredible...just unpacked my XPS 13 and the "O" and "L" keys do not work.
Is this really hardware?

Or just send it back.

 

It's got to be a bad keyboard, yeah.

You could probably also have a tech do the replacement at your place. If you're unhappy with the results, you should still be able to exchange the unit.

 

My laptop is factory fresh. That's the original driver. I never had any adaptive brightness issue which is why I'm wondering if it's worth messing around with.

 

You most certainly have the problem but don't see it as it's quite subtle if you're not paying attention.

 

Which SSD do you get when you buy the i7 model with 256GB and i7 with 512GB? Liteon or samsung? And which one is the faster one?

 

Question guys. How long did your laptops stay in the "production" phase before shipping. It has been about 5 business days for me now where it says it is "in production"

 

Mine has been "in production" since 1 Feb.

 

In the UK, it was a Samsung drive I received with the i7/512GB model but I haven't benchmarked it yet.

John

 

For anyone running Arch I created a package for fixing the touchpad. You can get it here. It reverts a patched made around 3.18.3. It sounds like the official fix will try to fix it in how it handles multitouch instead of in i2c-hid. I've tried multiple patches and configurations and I still haven't been able to get the sound working properly. The sound driver is snd_soc_rt286, which doesn't currently appear to even be built as a module in the current arch kernel image. I'll have to send a request about that.

 

Thanks soleblaze, I'm intending to install Arch as soon as I get the PC.
BTW, what boot manager are you using on the xps?

 

I got the i7 with 256 GB SSD and mine is Samsung.

I don't know which is faster, but these are the results I got when I used CrystalDiskMark: http://i.imgur.com/W34XnCk.png

 

gummiboot. It loads faster than grub and it'll get integrated with systemd sometime in the next few months. I did have grub on it when I first installed it and that also worked fine.

 

The drive in my UK i7/512GB unit is a Samsung SSD PM 851 M.2 2280 512GB and these are the Crystaldiskmark numbers from it:

 

Anyone have any issues with the SD slot? I have a microSD inside an adapter plugged in, and it detects the drive at first but after I try to access some files it stops recognizing it. Very annoying... any suggestions on what I can try before I take it back to the MS store?

 

No issues here. Used a Samsung 64GB microSD With generic adapter

 

I think I've managed to calm my fans down slightly by disabling turbo boost, they only seem to kick in when they're actually needed now - on battery at least. However as soon as I plug it in, the fans go full blast even when I have the exact same things open. I'm obviously missing an option or setting somewhere, I don't know if it's turbo boost or something else.

Almost everything is default, aside from the Maximum (and Minimum) processor state which I lowered to disable turbo. Same power plan all the time.

Where/what should I be checking?

If I can get this solved I'll be one step closer to keeping the laptop.

 

I have the same drive (purchased in US) with slightly different results.

 

How is the fan noise of the New XPS 13 (i5/4g/128g) compared to Surface Pro 3? I currently own a SP3 and occasionally (actually, pretty often) run a Citrix virtual machine, which allows the fan kick in pretty hard. If the XPS fan is quieter, I might migrate over to XPS but it seems that this one has fan issues as well. Any enlightenments?

 

on the QHD+ all screen is gorilla glass (incl. edges).

I looked on a youtube movie: are the FHD borders plastic? could not figure it out... is the transition between screen/border continuous or discontinous?

 

What about the keyboard flex? Is the keyboard sturdy and premium like the overall machine? A couple of users had slight complaints about that.

 

I think the keyboard is great as it feels sturdy to me and while the key travel is shallow I found I could easily get a good speed and accuracy. The only minor gripes I had was that the right hand side is a bit short so the enter and backspace key are a bit narrow, initially I was catching the side of the case rather than the key itself but I quickly got used to it. Id prefer the space above the arrow keys to be used (Lenovo put PgUp/PgDn keys here, Sony put a Fn key) so I can get PgUp/PgDn one handed but those are minor grumbles.

John

 

Would someone who is dealing with the adaptive brightness issue be willing to post a video of it in action? I'm really curious to see what it looks like.
I couldn't notice it on the units I looked at in the MS Store.

 

Does anyone know the SSD interface? I know it is M.2, my question is whether is PCIe 3.0 based - if that makes sense - newbie? So if I spend the extra money for the newer M.2 SSDs will the XPS13 be able to take advantage of the speed? I bought the XPS 13 with i7 and 512Gb drive. But the included Samsung PM851 is a least a generation back and I was hoping Dell would include the new Samsung SM951 M.2. Thanks

 

Can one resize the QHD (3200x1800) option to 1920x1080? or can one only resize it to 1600x900?