Dell XPS 13 2015 Broadwell Infinity Display Owners Thread

This review seems to indicate that the Microsoft Store version doesn't suffer from the adaptative brightness issue.
Could someone elaborate on this please?

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/6151-dell-xps-13-2015-9343-review/

 

I received the i3 version from Dell today. Someone at the engineering team seriously didn't pay attention - the CPU is firmly stuck at 500MHz. I knew right away something wasn't right. It took like 2 minutes from creating my ID to getting to the desktop. Went straight to view the winsat score. The CPU score is a 4.1, what??? Then I confirmed that no matter what I do the CPU is stuck at 500MHz.

This will be fun trying to explain it to Dell support..

PS everything is set the same in the BIOS as the i5, except of course there's no turbo boost being an i3. I guess Haswell i3 is forever stuck at the base clock without turbo boost.

For those contemplating on ordering, go with the i5.

 

Yep. definitely not a UK/European layout as there's no key between the left shift and the Z key.

Pleased to see my XPS 13 has shipped although the courier company doesn't know where Scotland is so based on my last few deliveries they'll lose it a few times before it finally gets going in the right direction..very much hoping that doesn't happen this time as it usually delays it by two to four weeks.

John

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/26175008471...48&var=560624983690&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

SLEEVE!

 

Hi everyone. I'm still enjoying the laptop at the moment. I have a few questions/concerns:

1) Where can we order replacement batteries in the future? I'd like to keep this laptop for at least 4 years, meaning that I'll probably need to replace the battery in 2-3 years time.

2) I'm using the Dell Command Power Manager to keep the battery from charging beyond 80% (to prolong battery health). Is it fine to keep the laptop plugged in with it set to 80% as a charging ceiling? What I don't want happening is the battery constantly topping off every time it loses 1-2% charge. Ideally it would just use AC power and not use the battery at all.

3) Is it okay to use the laptop on a bed/blanket since the fan vents are located on its underside?

 

Hi Dellienware,

I was talking more about thing like this that offer some more protection:

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-...609011_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1422644701&sr=1-4

or

http://www.amazon.com/11-6-inch-Chr...oprene/dp/B00DUN2PBQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

FURTHER UPDATE 2 (Windows 7):

After updating all drivers (OS re-installed) and entire windows update, I had the laptop on sleep overnight.

Upon resume, the touchpad is in the same situation of reverting into weird settings, and I cannot change back any settings. It won't save the settings.

So I am stuck with the SAME situation. Will just call up Dell today and see what's up.

Until then, Windows 7 continues to be a plague..

 

I got mine (2 of them) from the MS Store and both have had the color dimming issue/feature.

 

I had such high hopes lol. Im sure Dell will release updated drivers soon.

 

I fixed this by disabling adaptive brightness in power options, in addition to disabling the Intel display power saving features.

 

Are you 100% positive that it's disabled? Cause I've been doing this in the power settings to no avail. I don't have access to the Intel display power saving features in the Intel display control panel : do you use the last version of the drivers that have been updated yesterday? (9343_Video_Driver_MD9FG_WN_10.18.10.4013_A01.EXE)
I'm at work right now, so I can't do any test

Thanks!

 

Obviously you're a Dell guy, but if using Win 7 is the top priority for you, would you consider a different OEM that have Win 7 models?

 

I was indeed in the market for a new laptop, until this XPS came out.

Well every other models are extremely ugly and just embarrassing to use. Design is such a big thing for me. Yeah I go for the dumb but hot blondes.

I am on the phone with Dell right now. The dude doesn't sound so smart, but he is saying that Win 7 isn't fully officially supported. Hmm!

Going to install Win 8 when the CD comes next week.

Yea. Goodbye Win 7. I guess this is how Microsoft makes people to force into Win 8. Mess with their touchpads!

 

Yes we have done all of this, even test the newest driver just a few minutes ago. In the previous pages of this thread are our findings. Again, there is a difference between display brightness, video driver power savings and the dimming that is occurring.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Dell-XPS-13-2015.htm
"Dell claims high brightness and indeed the panel looks bright, though it was impossible to accurately measure with our Spyder Pro colorimeter since the panel dynamically adjusts brightness in zones and for certain colors to save power (this isn't the same thing as auto-brightness or ambient light sensor brightness that can be easily disabled)."

 

Dell's "updated" v4018 GPU drivers do not address the auto contrast issue. Why even bother with releasing that when Intel's official latest v4080 was released like a couple weeks ago. It's not like they customized the driver in any way or that it needs to be tested for compatibility when the HD 5500 in the XPS13 is bog standard. Except for one thing: Dell locked out the option to control what would normally be present in the Intel graphics control panel: "Display Power Saving Technology" aka dynamic contrast adjustment.

I noticed this issue (along with the touchpad small movement input delay) within 5 minutes of turning the machine on. How does this stuff get past teams of engineers and product developers/testers? I can go insane just wondering WHY WHY WHY.

 

Yeah, I'm clearly thinking about returning the laptop if this auto-contrast issue is not adressed in the next few days. It's such a shame because it's a near perfect device! Let's hope for the best.

 

I am pretty sure Microsoft deliberately screws up with touchpads on Win7. Synaptics drivers is pretty generic, but just does not work. It's so random too.. But it is 100% software issue at this point that I can tell.

All Dell said was since the machine does not officially support Win 7, absolutely nothing that they can do. I will try to continue fixing this horrendous touchpad situation this weekend. If I fail, I will have to move on to the Win 8 unfortunately..

 

I will ask question (again), since it was not explicitly answered. Some people seem have (or just notice?) the auto-dimming issue, other's don't.

Maybe there is a correlation between screen option QHD vs 1080p and the dimming? Can some people having and not-having the issue say which screentype we have; this helps finding the source of the issue (as well prevent potential buyers of buying the problematic type)

Thanks!

 

Ordered this for my wife (and contemplating getting one for me, even through I'm perfectly happy with my HP Envy!), so if it helps anyone this is the sleeve I just ordered for her off of Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N5JAVKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo

 

Both 1080p and 3600x1800 versions suffer the auto-contrast issue. I'm pretty sure every new XLS 13 is impacted.
It seems to be hardware or firmware related : I guess a BIOS update could fix it, we just have to wait and see what Dell is eager to do about it.

 

"I am on the phone with Dell right now. The dude doesn't sound so smart, but he is saying that Win 7 isn't fully officially supported. Hmm!"

LOL. I sure could've sworn that I was told something completely different! Funny how all these reps give you different answers. Unbelievable.

Speaking of 8.1, after spending a few hours messing with settings and downloading a couple programs, I've gotten my laptop to look very similar to 7. Almost identical, actually. Does everything that I required of 7. No charms bar, classic start menu, local account, never see the metro start, etc. I'm going to make a YouTube video either today or tomorrow with a very brief description of what I did, just to give people some direction.

 

Yea I found some specific guide to make it like Win 7 in appearance. So I am just going to do that instead of dealing with this hassle. I miscalculated this.

But same time, no one expected THIS!

 

I haven't used it much in a week. Just noticed it the brightness change again even with all that stuff off. My bad.

It's very subtle. I noticed it when I went from Google to Bing and back to Google, from white to dark to white.

 

I'm not sure what you guys mean with adaptive brightness?

My display does not seem to adjust automatically

I have 4k

 

The ATIV Book 9's are very sleek looking with excellent craftsmanship and only weigh 2.5 lbs. Their bezels are a bit wider than the 2015 XPS 13's bezel, but are still pretty minimal. Trackpads and keyboards are excellent.

Here are 4 models that come with Win 7 Pro. They're considered business ultrabooks, hence the availability of Win 7 Pro..

2 Haswell models (i5 or i7). These 2 models come with non-touch FHD matte screens (Samsung VA panel):

http://www.amazon.com/ATIV-Book-NP900X3G-SuperBright-Ultrabook/dp/B00HWHWG6K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131737


2 Broadwell models (i5 or i7) which are coming out now. These 2 models come with non-touch QHD+ matte screens (Samsung VA panel):

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/computing/laptops/NP900X3K-S02US?CID=AFL-hq-mul-0813-11000170

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/computing/laptops/NP900X3K-S01US?CID=AFL-hq-mul-0813-11000170

 

I think it's just subtle enough that some people aren't noticing it. To be honest it doesn't bother me all that much. It's only when switching between white backgrounds and mixed color media that it's evident for me. If it helps prolong battery life then I probably wouldn't disable it if I had the option to.

 

I don't even know what ya'll are talking about. I haven't noticed any "adaptive brightness" at all. My screen only changes brightness levels when I tell it to.. as far as I've noticed.

 

Try this
http://tylerwatt12.com/dc/

I'm pretty sure you'll notice it

 

Final Update:

Reverted back to Windows 8.1. Everything working fine as should.

Only complaint with this Windows precision touchpad is that you can't quite multitouch gestures. And when you try to click and drag using two fingers, majority of the time the cursor will do spasm. More of just Windows limitations. I will try to play around to find more settings.

Final verdict for touchpad: navigation is solid and scrolling is pretty good on Win 8. Just wish there was more settings available, since conventional Dell touchpad settings software isn't available!

 

Never noticed adaptive brightness issue, used your tool and the image apears instantly.

Own the mid range i5 spec from bought from Dell Australia.
(i5, 1080, 8gb ram, 256 ssh)

 

No, you just did it incorrectly. Trust me, I did too. You must follow the instructions exactly as shown. Except, ignore when the webpage tells you to press f11 and then fn + f12. Its reversed, he obviously didn't totally think it through. Press fn + f11, then f12.

Chances are that you didn't press F11 (which for the XPS 13 is actually reversed, you have to press Fn + F11 to issue the command F11) which will make it go full screen. Then, make sure your brightness is set to max by pressing F12 without pressing Fn. Then, be sure to wait at least 10 seconds before continuing.

If you fail to perform any one of these steps correctly, it may not work.

 

As for your test, well, great, but I still don't understand the problem. The only time my screen has faded or done anything like that is when I took your test. It doesn't affect me whatsoever. I didn't actually read back to see what the issue is for you guys.

 

ohhh yep got it to fade in, but like your last message, the only time ive notied it is in this test, its doesn't effect me in the slightest (even during the test i cant see the brightness change) so it's a non issue for me

 

Got the QHD model from Dell Canada.

The auto-dimming is driving me mad, and my backspace key squeaks when I press it.

I don't think I'm going to keep it unless they come up with a way to disable the auto-dimming in the near-future. It's a shame, the laptop is very nice otherwise.

 

If the problem of auto-dimming is so serious, perhaps people can start posting it on dell community boards, so that Dell tech can start working on a solution.

I suspect there is an easy solution (my XPS 15 has similar behavior, but I can easily disable it from Intel panel). I guess the new XPS 13 cannot access that part of the Intel software to disable it. I suppose this can be easily fixed by either software or BIOS update. But Dell technicians need to be aware of the problem...

 

someone tried the following

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ble-auto-brightness-and-auto-contrast.716567/

especially the part "Hit the windows key, type services.msc, and open it - a window will pop up. Scroll to "sensor monitoring service"..."

===

OR:

try also this option from BIOS: (secure boot)

https://communities.intel.com/message/208871#208871

===

alternatively, see also:

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/6042-adaptive-brightness-turn-off-windows-8-a.html

===

Finally, can someone go to "advanced power settings" menu, in Windows, and go to

"Intel(R) Graphic settings"

and put on high-usage OR energy-saving power-plan instead of "balanced" maybe that will help?

===

Can you guys let me know if problem is fixed (I don't have XPS 13 yet...)

thx

 

Has anyone else noticed Chrome has a really bad screen redrawing problem when scrolling fast? I am using the 64-bit regular release.

i5
QHD+
8GB RAM
128GB SSD

 

I can't get Chrome to scroll smoothly at all on this, even with extensions. I've switched back to Firefox for the time being.

 

I've been playing around with my xps 13 i7/256/touch for a good while now, and while its a great computer overall, I have to agree with some of the others that this touchpad - as of now - is defintetely not precise or responsive.
touchpad issues in order of annoyance...
1. The cursor doesn't respond until your finger has traveled a certain distance on the touchpad. This makes it extremely frustrating when trying to make small precise movements of the cursor.
2. If you move the cursor around with your finger, lift it up, then click left on the mousepad, the cursor tends to jump around. Only way to consistently prevent this is by leaving your navigating finger on the touchpad when clicking. You can't, however, leave your clicking finger on the touchpad while navigating or the cursor tends to jump around (There is no way to set dead zones on the mousepad)
3. There's a delay when 2 finger scrolling on any browser other than internet explorer, and even in internet explorer the scrolling is way too slow. Changing the scroll speed in mouse setting doesn't do anything on internet explorer for some reason (I strongly dislike internet explorer anyway and have no intentions of using it).
As for the auto dimming, it's definitely present, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest bit. It would be nice to have the option to shut it off when plugged in though.
It is important to restate that this is a great computer overall. Each of my issues are driver/firmware issues, thus I'm holding out hope that dell addresses them in the near future.

 

Hi, Excuse my bad English in advance.
I found a metod to see the adaptative brightness in action.
Open intel graphic panel
Go to the display section
Switch between 59 hz and 60 hz (make sure to click on "apply" between changes)

When the panel reset it is at full brightness and slowly dim

Sylvain

 

Are these new? They look excellent, but i thought Samsung was going to announce only the core M laptop.

 

Anyone tried playing some games? Will it play bf4 on low or is it more suited to RTS games?

 

I really wish the new XPS or Samsung laptops had more than 8GB of RAM. I'm wondering how many people create a larger page/swap file on the SSD for this purpose? I have a Samsung NP520U that is over 2 years old now. It's a great laptop.

 

Thanks for the links. I saw the Samsung ones. Generally Samsung books are very nice in performance and all, but I find them to be the ugliest of all. I just do not like the curves they put out. Like Toyota cars man. Rather see more industrial and aggressive rigid designs like Cadillacs. You feel me?

 

MORE UPDATES & THOUGHTS:

Fully got Win 8.1 installed back! (And realized that Win 8.1, I can work with.. hehehe)

1. Touchpad is working great. So far I got the functions/settings to work the way I want, so I cannot complain. If you had previous gen XPS, you will find this touchpad on WIN 8, SO MUCH better. I will have to recant my previous bashing on touchpad when I had Windows 7. On Win 8, I find the touchpad overall 4 stars, which is very pleasant to work with. Again, I do not have specific complaint I can lay out since I messed around with settings just enough to have functionality just the way I want.

2. Battery life is sooooo much better on Win 8! Not sure again if it was drivers issue with Win 7, but on this particular machine, it makes A LOT of difference.

Conclusion: DO NOT install Win 7 on this machine. Stick to Win 8 and you will love the machine. TRUST ME.

Around 5.5whr when perfectly idle on low brightness. I look around 8whr light browsing USING touchpad.

9.5hr - Completely idle, no use of touchpad
7hr - light office task USING touchpad

Win 8 continues to pop the cpu by good 15% when you suddenly use the touchpad. But 7hr with this screen on Windows isn't bad number at all.

I continue to say that speakers are darn amazing for ultrabooks, even for full sized laptops. Headphone jack sound quality is superb as well. No issue with sound and audio.

By the way, microphone is located in the front of the machine, left and right to the status/battery charging indicator light. There are two little holes that you cannot notice unless you try to locate it. Pretty functional to hinder catching fan noise if was situation at the bottom of the bezel on the screen itself.

Underneath the laptop, the side opposite from where fan is located, gets warm. Nothing bad, I say pretty generic. It's a laptop and things can get warm. But I say overall no heat complaints.

You can ask me any other questions regarding OS and the machine. Currently, I am bumping this machine rating to 4.25/5 stars.

Something that continues to need improvement:

1. Charging rate is EXTREMELY slow. This is fact with meager 45whr. Dell needs to learn from Lenovo and their express charging function. Takes like 3 hrs to charge fully when using light load.

2. Keyboard isn't issue with productivity, but I just wish they bring back the depth of the keys. You notice right away it's little shallower than previous gen. Of course, absolutely no flex!!

3. Fan noise - One major complaint. Even at the most basic load and power saving mode, it kicks just enough to be able to hear and get you thinking, "Darn the fan noise is here to stay.." My friends in the library and their ultrabooks, I cannot hear any fan noise so it makes me awkward in very small rooms. Bios update can address this with better fan speed profile. At cpu 100% load, again 85c ish is the highest speed and cpu throttles under 2.5GHz (2 core speed) briefly by seconds at most. So I think the design itself is decent and not the issue, but rather fan control profiles. DELL, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FIX THIS OMGGGGGGGG!

 

Glad to hear you're having better experience. I still hate the lack of customization with the trackpad. Tracking is great, but not having basic gestures on the pad is very disappointing.

I tried the new Windows 10 TP on the XPS yesterday. Lots of neat stuff going on, but I also couldn't get a graphics driver to install. Played around for about 3 hours, and reinstalled the original installation. The task view (three finger up) was awesome, but why on earth do I need an application switcher with 3 finger swipe. Just give me forward / back pleaseee...

 

Can some other users which were annoyed by the auto-dim issue test this SOLUTION, and give some feedback?

It will greatly help me deciding whether to buy this expensive laptop! Thanks

 

This is not a solution.

 

I have just read through all 20 pages as I impenitently wait for my unit (i7, 8GB, 256 SSD QHD) to arrive which is currently somewhere in China.

Sounds like a great machine but glad I read through this thread as the first thing I was going to do was flatten the HDD and install windows 10, now that I know there is a issue with graphics driver I will hold off and glad that i saved myself some time and headache.

 

Ok, maybe I used the wrong word. Maybe it doesn't qualify as a solution.

But is it somekind of trick to avoid it? or does it not make any difference at all...?