Dell XPS 13 2015 Broadwell Infinity Display Owners Thread

sorry to hear that. Call dell. Person i talked to was really nice I'm getting my replacement! Mine was fine it was just the damn fan making the grinding noise I'm gonna give it one more try and if it doesnt work im going to return it.

 

What about the soft cover of the interior? Do you think it will last and be ok in a couple of years or more?

 

Can someone who owns an XPS 13 (2015) try to enable Bitlocker in Windows 8.1 Pro or Enterprise? Whenever I try I get an error: The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on this computer doesn't work with the current BIOS. Contact the computer manufacturer for BIOS upgrade instructions.

I have upgraded to the latest BIOS and still get the same error.

See this screenshot:

 

This is a software issue on your end. It has nothing to do with the ultrabook. 0 lag here.

Out of everything that you described, only the "over-aggressive" fan and "adaptive brightness" are legitimate concerns specific to this machine. However, even they are not "hardware" issues.

 

I had no issues enabling bitlocker. I used a Win 8.1 Pro key to "add features to Windows" to upgrade to Pro, then turned on Bitlocker without any issues. I did this on the original A00 bios.

 

Maybe it would be a good idea to specify what exactly kind of laptop you guys have when asking for comparison tests. For example, EU and US models might differ - unlikely, but still.
By that, it would be easier to track some issues, in case anyone cares.

The following comment is not directly to you, but rather the complains about Chrome.
Latest versions of Chrome are pure crap - extreme memory hog, quite CPU intensive and so on. It does not matter of the platform, it is just Chrome.
I do not know if its Google deliberately slowing performance on Windows, but many people ( even on HackerNews / NH ) are reporting alot of problems with Chrome. For me at the moment - Firefox with 190 tabs, around 30 active ( i.e. re-loaded ) is 1,1GB RAM usage, Chrome with 10 tabs is around 2GB RAM.
The only benefit of Chrome is Flash sandboxing, but I cannot imagine using Flash nowadays, except maybe FB.
For all other purposes, Firefox now is the king among browsers.

 

Running Windows 7 and trying to keep the bloatware to a minimum, I'm wondering which dell application is responsible for the OSD (monnitor brighness volume level on-screen indicators). I'm currently missing these but don't know which app to install to install these.

 

Which CPU are you using, Im guessing the i7 5500u?

 

Just bit the bullet and ordered one. i5, 8GB, 256GB, 1080p. Went into sales chat, said I was a student and the guy gave me $250 off no questions asked, so that's alright. Hopefully I won't have too many issues with it. We'll see in the few weeks.

 

FYI, dell command update works for me now. so i uninstalled dell update.

 

My XPS 13 came with one stuck pixel out of the box, as well as profuse light bleeding on both left and right sides. Called Dell yesterday and they are sending a tech with a replacement screen today. However, something still does not sit right with me. Is this gap between the touchpad and the body normal?

 

Hey guys,

is your alt+F4 working????

mines not...kinda frustrating cuz i use that shortcut alot to close out windows

 

Hello RFID.

I would say the gap is still 'normal' (it can be done better, yes, but it's not done really bad)

I also have a faulty screen (at least, I hope I am not imagining things).

I am hesitating to replace the screen
(a) because i suspect the new screen to have similar issues
(b) that it leaves permanent scratches on laptop to remove the screen.

Can you let me know how they removed the screen? I have the FDD with plastic borders. I saw on youtube that for glass screens they have to remove glue with heat etc. Not sure if the FHD screen is much easier? Can you describe the process?

Also, can you perhaps compare your two screens. How much difference is there in screens?

 

I think the FN buttons are standard linked to media options (volume, media, brightness); you can either turn off this option in bios; or use ALT+FN+F4

 

What kristof1234 said, basically. You can go to BIOS and have it set so that the function keys will not require the FN key to function as intended.

@kristof1234
Thank you for the reply. Mine is the i5 FHD model though. The problems on my screen are pretty noticeable (the bleeding and that one pixel near the center) and I suspect it's a mounting issue (for the bleeding.)

 

i havent seen a screen without lightbleed yet (QHD+). They all have lightbleed in the lower left and right corner

 

im not at home so cant check but isnt there an fn-lock key in the upper left on the keyboard? the lock sign.

 

Mine is FHD and they occupy about 80% of the side for the right edge.

 

aye. 80 % is too much. up t0 about 15-20% i'd consider as normal for this machine.

 

Linux update:

http://bartongeorge.net/2015/02/23/update-2-dell-xps-13-laptop-developer-edition-sputnik-gen-4/

 

So maybe FN key lock was on in factory setting? Once i get home ill check on it. all media keys seem to work without pressing the FN.

 

Damn good deal. I tried the same thing and best they could do is $110 off.

 

so i checked. indeed i have an fn-lock key (fn+esc)
fn is locked by default. so once triggered you can use alt+f4 until end of session

 

The light bleeding on the lower left and right sides doesn't seem to be uncommon though the degree may vary. I noticed it on mine only recently - oddly enough it shows itself more on a white background, an edge lighting issue. I was considering getting it looked at. As it happens I was visiting a Microsoft store to pick up their wireless display adapter (tired of cables!) and they had 3 XPS 13's on display, one QHD and two FHD. The QHD had similar light bleed to mine (in the exact same location) and the FHD ones also - and in the exact same locations - but it seemed to be less prominent in the FHD displays. Interesting how consistent the bleed pattern was which makes me wonder whether this is a design or production issue? In my case the bleed is most noticeable when looking at the screen from an off angle. Sitting directly in front of the screen it is less noticeable. As it happens the location and type of bleed is such that I never notice it watching a movie or looking at pictures. A uniform white background like this one shows it most clearly. Regardless I have decided it is something I can live with.

 

Regarding the lag while typing your message, I am guessing that is not hardware related. I experienced the same creating a message on this website/forum. I immediately opened up MS Word and few other tools and found all input to be super responsive.

 

@Doubleplusgood
I would have had let it slide if the stuck pixel was the only problem. But that bleed tho. Very noticeable in the night.

 

Totally understandable. Odd, but against a black screen mine is very hard to notice, being more noticeable on a white or bright screen. I'd be interested to see a picture of your screen if you can manage that. And also if you get a replacement how that screen looks. I've only seen three other XPS 13s in the flesh but each had it in the same part of the screen and even exhibited the same distribution - leak most pronounced at the bottom of the panel and then slowly falling off to pretty much zero by mid panel. And no noticeable leak along the lower edge. I'm sure the folk at the Microsoft store wondered what I was doing looking at XPS 13's upside down and sideways! lol

I also saw a review of the XPS 13 online where I also thought I could see the same thing - someone mentioned this in the comments too.

 

FYI - for anyone who travels with the XPS and wants to stream movies to their hotel HD TV I just tested the Microsoft wireless display adapter with the XPS. Everything worked out of the box like a charm. I used a Samsung Blu-ray reader/writer external drive as input to the XPS and PowerDVD Ultra for playback and wasn't able to discern any drop-off in quality between a direct connection and streaming over the wireless display adapter. Audio also transferred seamlessly. Note, this was only done at full HD (i.e. 1080p) - I don't think Miracast supports anything higher.

 

Switched the background to a solid white for the tech guy later. It is way worse in the evening. There's even a little action coming from the top.

 

Interesting, I think I am seeing a similar pattern with the bleed starting in the lower side of the panel and then falling off as you move up the screen. This is the same pattern as the panels in the store and my own, only the degree varies between the panels. What's odd is the consistency across a number of devices. Whatever was wrong in the production line was consistently wrong and went undetected, either that or it's something relating to the design. I wonder whether Dell will address this in future production runs? Are you thinking of a screen replacement or a device switch?

 

My uneducated guess would be it's related to the design (2thin4u.) As for my screen well believe it or not my main gripe is that one stuck pixel. I could live with the bleed. However my options are either have the screen replaced (with a "refurbished"panel which I was assured was actually new) or cancel this order, return this device, and wait for another week for the new one to arrive.

 

Yes, the dead pixel would bother me more too - I exchanged a GPS unit recently for just that reason. I would probably lean towards getting the screen replaced if everything else is OK. When they replace the screen do they just switch out the entire assembly, i.e. remove everything from the hinges up and replace? Will you be able to still return the device if the screen "repair" isn't to your liking? My thinking is that due to the consistency of this particular problem Dell will eventually find a fix at which time one could then request a new screen under warranty (say 6 or 9 months from now). Then again maybe I am being overly optimistic ! ;-)

 

Update:
Dell guy arrived at my place and he replaced the entire screen assembly. Took him less than 20 minutes. The difference between the new screen and the old one was noticeable to say the least. There is zero bleed on this one as far as I can tell. Also there are no dead/stuck pixels. I really did have a defective screen.

Update 2:
Either my old panel was poorly calibrated or was just really washed out. The colors on the new panel are much more vibrant.

 

How about this issue? Is it on your new one? http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/xps-13-2015-white-screen-issue.772217/

 

I don't have that issue thankfully. On another note does anybody know which device the 9343 is identical in dimension to? I bought a sleeve off of amazon for the macbook pro and it was way too loose. I don't want to get that leather ces envelope though.

 

I found 2 things that's causing the fans are going up on mine:
1. Windows defender that was starting a scheduled scan
2. The igfxEM module that's taking a lot of CPU resources! https://communities.intel.com/thread/57299 (reproduce this if you have multiple accounts and you switch between users or going to sleep/hibernate)

In the intel thread they are saying there is a new intel driver update with version number 15.36.14.64.4080 https://communities.intel.com/thread/59216
Currently I'm still on 10.18.10.3960

I'll try it out tonight, when I get back home. If someone else tries it, let me know if you see any differences please.

 

I'll confirm the lag. Spent an hour at the Microsoft Store in Atlanta looking at this model. I was noticing keyboard lag too - the kind you get when your CPU is spinning at 100% and doesn't have time for you. This was while typing in Word. So I don't know what to make of that.

I may have also had one browser tab open. And I may have had the scaling set at something other than default.

 

Samsung XP941 PCIe

 

Very nice, too bad it's so expensive, $1 per GB still

 

Do a clean Windows install (not from the recovery partition), don't install any of Dell's bloatware and get 0 lag.

 

This is what I did after the first boot. I do this on all my devices. In hindsight I should have run it for a while so I could have detected the faults in the panel an hour earlier.

 

The chances that any input lag is linked to hardware are as slim as a you being bitten by shark in community pool (there's always a kid who may bring a R/C toy shark...). Here's my current work session:

Chrome: http://i.imgur.com/jQAgwTX.png (one tab is streaming music and in another there's an Outlook 2007 virtual session running through Litmus)
Task manager: http://i.imgur.com/Kq2trU9.png

In the background I have 2 VirtualBox sessions (Ubuntu 12.04 virtual machines) running + Excel + WebStorm. There is no lag whatsoever and I'm not even pushing the system to the maximum

 

Same here. I was referring to how I could have had my panel replaced a day earlier if I took the time to boot into Windows and check for display faults before doing a clean install (I received my machine in the evening and discovered the problem a few minutes after the Dell customer care cutoff time. Dell technical apparently cannot schedule customers for replacements.)

 

Ah, my post was meant for those who experience mystical lag/slowdowns. Hope you get your panel issues resolved (if you haven't already).

 

I have. Dell guy went to the house and replaced the entire upper half of the laptop. The whole process, from phoning Dell to the actual repair, was a little over 24 hours. Screen is pretty much perfect aside from a tiny bit of bleeding on the lower edge (old panel had really noticeable bleeding on three sides plus one stuck red pixel in the middle of the screen.)

 

Not mystical at all. The keyboard lag I experienced was real. I stand by my statement.

I didn't notice the lag early on though, so maybe something I did while sitting at the machine in the store triggered it. Disconcerting though. Fans were off. CPU wasn't being stressed. There was no apparent reason for the lag that I was seeing at the time.

The sort of clean Windows install that you suggest is precisely the reason I was shopping at the Microsoft Store. A clean install is what they claim to provide as part of their "Signature Edition" experience.

I noticed the trackpad lag too, but that didn't bother me. I think I can adjust to it.

 

Hello RFID,

would you say that changing the screen is a safe procedure? how did they remove the borders? Did they have to break up the metal surface? Remove any glue? Is there a risk for any scratches? Thanks

 

He took the entire upper half off from the hinges. When I say the entire upper half I mean the entire lid with the screen on it. He then replaced it with a new lid+screen assembly. Took less than 20 minutes. No screens were exposed during the procedure. Only the bottom of the chassis, the wireless card (because it was in the way of some cables,) the battery, and the lid were removed in that order.

Now I only need a well-fitting sleeve which would protect this thing inside my bag. I got a sleeve for the MBP and it was quite loose.

 

^ Thanks for the info. The touchpad is next to battery. Hope that remains intact (after removing battery). I remember somebody messing up the place of my touchpad after replacement.

If the whole lid thing is removed, it would theoretically be possible to replace the FHD with a QHD? I will suggest it on the phone with Dell monday.

p.s. I have: http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=au&l=en&s=bsd&cs=aubsd1&sku=460-11999 I like the sleeve e a lot. It fits good + it also has nice leather smell.

 

Please report back with this. It sounds veeeeery interesting.