Dell XPS 15 (Skylake) 9550 Owner's Lounge

It's too bad none of these discount codes work in the UK, we are already getting shafted on price

 

Found the other coupon you can stack when purchasing any dell docking station

EXTRA10 - 10% OFF
GAIN10 - 10% OFF on top of the first coupon.

BOOM!!!!

 

Are you guys buying 180 or 240 models? 240 looks like it's a better and safer bet when it comes to 4K screens


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I ordered the 240 Watt one, aka the big boy.

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=450-AEVM

$258.00 after two coupons minus my $93.00 gift card. Not bad of a deal.

 

Thanks Pete, I think I am gonna go with that big boy as well.

Will use both coupons plus cash back site or Discover.


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I'm having the same issue

 

My touchscreen not working, too. Has anyone already fixed this issue?

 

I'm also debating whether it's worth it to jump from $92 256gb sata m.2 drive or a $189 256gb nvme m.2 drive ... Although the the nvme shows incredible throughput .. It looks like it uses more idle power and negligable performance on normal web browsing / office duties.

 

I was talking about the BIOS version

 

No fault, you are updated, stop installing the same BIOS over and over!

 

I'm also having this bluetooth issue - when using a lot of bandwidth on 2.4ghz wifi the mouse will skip and lag. Seems to fix it going to 5ghz. Would this be a hardware or software issue? I wish Intel had a 3x3 ac card I could upgrade to.

 

Because I hate the dinky little torx screws Dell decided to use on the bottom cover, I ordered a few in case I lose one. The chat tech tells me the part number is 63PDH. I wanted two complete sets for both my machines, but at $1.99 for each tiny little screw, I opted for only a few. Having had trouble already with parts for this thing, in case I get toilet bowl seats instead, I'll let everyone know what actually arrives.

 

Hmm, I think I will borrow a few from the 2 machines that are being returned just in case, but I will get one of those threadlock sticks as they already come with it pre applied
http://www.loctite.co.uk/loctite-4087.htm?nodeid=8802623553537

 

Does anyone notice when using the thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) port on 9550, the fan is working at higher speed and making more noise no matter what device you connect it to? I ordered a new TB15 dock but not sure how I can use it if this problem persists.

 

I've seen this posted elsewhere and never really noticed it until I got my ear very close to the computer and there is what I would call a quiet whisper. I unplugged the Sandisk 3.1 USB drive and after it completed the drive dismount there was no fan noise - I then plugged the drive back in and no fan noise heard. I really didn't find the slight fan whisper annoying anyway.

 

In my case, I have tried a USB-C to USB3 adapter from Amazon and the Dell DA200 dongle, both were causing the higher fan speed issue. I definitely won't call it whisper as it distracted me while the laptop sitting a foot from me.

 

I will do the same lol. You should grab some from the inside as well.


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Good plan, I still have a few from the base of my 9530 that went back Friday!

 

Hi Guys,

I am an owner of the 1TB + 32SSD version. Today I changed both drives and added 256Gb SSD to the M2 slot and 1TB SSD to the SATA slot. However, when trying to install a new fresh copy of Windows 10 to the M2 SSD (the SATA SSD hasn't been yet put in the laptop) it says "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one". I am running it in AHCI mode in BIOS.

Can anyone help me?

Thanks!

 

Download the iso in my sig, it has raid boot drivers and apart from the 3 updates this week most of the drivers to get you going without doing a thing.

 

You can also put the RAID drivers into a folder Drivers or whatever it's called, can't remember now and burn a new Iso with all the updates


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Thanks, GoNz0! Will download it. Before install Windows, should I change the mode from AHCI to RAID in BIOS?

 

Depends really, nvme likes achi (imo)

 

I get my XPS tomorrow. Here's the question I have. Should I format and reinstall? Or is there not enough bloatware to justify spending the time to do so. Should CCleaner be able to uninstall all the bloatware no problem?

 

Reinstall seems to be the consensus. Some trial apps that even when u uninstall not sure if all traces are wiped out

 

Clean install is always the best, but to be honest this Dell system is very clean, it feels like Microsoft edition.


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Thanks, but with your copy of Windows I am still getting the same message. My observation is that when in the SATA port is the other ssd, the windows installs on the m2 SSD but the laptop refuses to boot from it and boots from the SATA SSD. Incase in the laptop is only the m2 SSD, Windows does not want to install but displays "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one" message.

 

kalink you are installing on the m.2 drive without the sata one connected right?

 

That's my understanding as well and he should be able to do so.


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Clean install is really more about personal preference. I bought my 9550 directly from Dell and there was very little bloat ware on it. Used iobit to completely remove mcafee (that is some horrible sw), loaded up my preferred antivirus and other utilities, and was good to go.

 

I bought mine from directly from Dell. I'm probably just going to use CCleaner and uninstall the crap, including McAfee.

 

Not sure why unless you're trying to install to the install media? trouble is the scaling hides the other drives on mine until I scroll? I am in raid mode and my media works fine as it has the Raid drivers in the Boot.win

 

I managed to get it work. While googling came across the following solution and it worked for me:

 

I installed this driver http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...hpad-ptp-driver-with-synaptics-driver.783990/, after setting the cursor speed in the register (see same thread), every multi-touch gesture works perfectly

 

I'm pleased to say mine finally arrived and I've managed to install the new Ram - remove the M.2 PCIE card and hard drive and install the new SATA SSD with help mainly from using posts on this forum - so thanks all. I turned it on and updated the BIOS to the latest version and had a bit of a play with it, it felt sluggish and like it was being held back and I'm guessing it was the mechanical hard drive.

Just in case its of any use to anyone, the parts I removed were

32GB Cache made by Lite-on - model number C51-SP32-11, half size M.2 PCIE SSD with a metal adapter plate with CF4TP stamped on it.1 x 1.0TB WD Blue hard drive - 5400rpm model WD10SPCX and 2 x 4GB SK Hynix HMA451S6AFR8N.

It all went pretty straightforward which was good, the back came off easily enough with a plastic tool (like a guitar plectrum) and the ram was easy enough to swap out. The HDD was held in by 4 screws on a metal plate and I was able to carefully swap it to the SSD without having to take the small cable off the motherboard. The HDD had little rubber pads either side so I used them on the SSD and it was held nicely in place when tightened up.

16GB ram installed along with a SanDisk Ultra II SSD in the 2.5" bay, popped back together and installed Win 10 from a USB stick. I'm not kidding when I say I left it installing, went and made a coffee and by the time I returned it was ready for me to enter details!

Its now very much faster, booting up from cold or restarting and general use compared to when it had the cache/hdd combo in it. All in all a very worthy upgrade in my opinion and so far I'm impressed with it.

 

Hi guys, I'd like to know which is the best M.2 SSD to pair with an XPS 15 (9550)? Samsung 950 Pro with Nvme? Thanks, cheers.

 

I have the same problem. Many times (not all) when I try to enter sleep mode it just starts right back up, I'll hit the power button, or initate it rom the start menu and the screen will go blank for a second then start right back up to where I left off (I don't have it set to login after sleep). Also last night it was at full power, I put it to sleep, which did work, but then this morning the battery was completely dead.

Anyone please know how to fix this. Ive been thru so many problems with this thing...

 

I think the consensus is the 950 pro for the fastest speed or the m.2 sata works just as well for casual workloads and you want to save money.

 

My device started suddenly turning the fan to max speed (I was playing X-Com Enemy Unknown before for like 20 mins), even while in energy saver mode and being unplugged from the ac-adapter. The area left from the touchpad at the very bottom of the palmrest is getting really hot. Once I switch it off it cools down very fast, but when I switch it on it will heat up and the fans will kick in again... What the hell?
That's really bugging me, according to the teardowns there isn't anything down there, or is there some sort of heatpipe?



And another problem came up again while I was switching this thing on and off:

My device will freeze when I plug in the ac-adapter. The mouse/touchpad/touchscreen won't move. But when I unplug it again, it will continue to work normally, and then after plugging the ac-adapter back in it will continue to work normally.

 

That's true, but I didn't have any issues with my old Samsung Series 7 Ultra for the last 3 years. Now all the mice I used before will start skipping. I normally have the option to switch to 5GHz at work and at home, but 5GHz wifi isn't available everywhere and just the fact that this happens on this device is kinda ridiculous. So the problem didn't go away when you switched to 5GHz only, it's just not apparent anymore.

Thanks for that, it's interesting to read through these 100 pages, but finding fixes is a bit of a hustle
I just couldn't believe this would have been caused by the actual hardware.

 

Anyone know if there's any detrimental effects to disabling the motion sensor? I have an SSD, so obviously hard drive protection isn't an issue (I don;t know why they even include it in SDD configurations).

The sensor sucks and keeps waking my laptop when I'm walking around or driving. Its annoying to have my computer shut off with 100% battery in the morning and open it up in the afternoon with 50% or more of the battery drained.

 

You don't need that with SSD as you said it your self. It's only for drives with movable components where data loss can happen on impact.


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Well in looking through the device manager, I don't see the motion sensor. I swore it was there when I bought the laptop but maybe I was wrong.

However, I went through the event viewer, and something is causing my computer to wake up literally constantly. Today alone, there were dozens of wakes, happening every few minutes. The event viewer says wake source unknown, so I have no idea what could be doing it. I have all of the wake options in the power settings disabled and it's still doing it.

What's even weirder is I actually shutdown the laptop, not just put it to sleep, and it still keeps powering up.

Anyone got some ideas?

 

Motion sensor is a driver that can be uninstalled via Windows Software control Panel (Add/Remove Programs...).

 

Motion sensor won't cause your laptop to start up ... That's gotta be something in the bios or Windows that's setting it to wake on lan or something

 

Yeah I don't see anything about a motion sensor in the bios. I didn't install the software with my fresh install and nothing is flagged in device manager.

 

So whats the general consensus on the keyboard on the xps 15. To me it feels like they used the exact same keyboard out of the xps 13 and it feels pretty cramped for a 15' machine. Also the keys are pretty stiff and aren't as silky as say... the last gen with the domed keys. I typed out about 3 pages before I had to take a break, needless to say I don't like the keyboard that much. What do you other owners think? Does it bother you, does it get better after time?

 

Yes they just took the xps 13 keyboard and put it in the 15. It feels ok but not great. I don't think it feels as nice as apple keyboards. Also the backlighting can be seen thru the sides of the keys which gets annoying at certain angles

 

Got this laptop last week (i7/4k/512) and I really like it, most of it anyways.

When I first used it i absolutely loved the touchpad. Plugged in my Logitech MX Master, and when going back to touchpad it was extremely slow and almost unusably. Tried loads of settings but couldn´t get it good. Maybe I was imagining how good it was...
Was running in AHCI-mode hand had a lot of BSOD. Switch to RAID and reinstalled W10.
Now the touchpad was GREAT again. Was afraid to connect my MX master so kept using the touchpad, but after an hour or so it was terrible again.

I don´t know if it´s a driver update somewhere or what is going on.

Tried the Synaptics driver "hack" but that didn´t help either. I´ve read every post in this thread, am I the only one with this problem?

It when it is good, one fast swipe can get you across half the screen. Now the cursor only moves a few inches. Need six swipes to go from one edge to the other :-O

 

I've been using my 9550 for 24 hours now and haven't had any issues with it so far. Its all screwed together well and no visible gaps, I've updated all the drivers and touch wood - not had any BSOD's or it locking up at all.

Am I the only one not to like Windows 10? I much prefer Windows 7 to be honest, and if there was a way to install it with all the correct drivers on my machine I'd do it. Win 10 seems a bit to invasive to me especially with Wifi Sense basically password sharing your wireless key with all your contacts and all these apps having access by default to location and able to use camera - microphone etc - bit of a worry

If anyone does get Windows 7 installed I'd love to hear how it went.