Dell XPS 15 (Skylake) 9550 Owner's Lounge

but is the rendering that much of a difference? Because if its a quad core even if its i5... then thats a huge improvement from a nonquad core i7 right?


I recalled typing control alt delete in my dell xps and it showed how much data im using on my laptop when i am using internet wired.

 

Assuming the CPU is 100% utilized, the i7 performs roughly 30% better. However, I often find my rendering programs using 85-95% of my i7, meaning that it really is only a slight improvement unless you're using a very well optimized program. The extra threads do however make multitasking while rendering much smoother.

ctrl-alt-del only summons a menu. If you need to see data used there's a data usage is setting for the past 30 days, and if you need detailed information perhaps look for a program that logs.

 

Network properties can show it? Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network and Sharing Centre then click the active connection

 

Reinstalled Intel drivers and gfx drivers and changed wallpaper. Still running 1080p mostly because of compatibility with work software on my 4K screen. No issues with flickering or black screen for a couple of months now!

 

I found a nice solution for heat problems, or at least it work for myself. I think all of you noticed that 9550 could be pretty hot and loud if you play games.

Sometimes a play World of Tanks (in Full HD , High Setting) temp is about 80-85Celsius after 30 minutes.
With the following method i was able to limit it to 67 Celsius.

-First of all i changed Power plan settings, as for me there is absolutely not point to run CPU @100% in balanced mode. I set maximum cpu usage to 80% in balanced mode (which makes 2096Mhz on each CPU Core)

-With Nvidia inspector i set frame rate limiter to 50 fps. By this way Gpu wont run @ 100% all the time.

-Also with Nvidia inspector i was able to set Power state limit to P5, which basicly lowering gpu Core voltage on lower frequencies( instead of 1.1v).It is possible in P5 State to set any clock speed for GPU ( not just 135 mhz change) and Memory if you click on unlock min and max levels. (nvidiainspector -setPStateLimit:0,5)

My notebook runs much cooler, and run games pretty well.

Hope it helps!

 

Earlier today I noticed that after putting my laptop to sleep and waking it or hibernating and waking it, the CPU refuses to go into a C state less than 3. If I restart the laptop, it will go back to normal and go into lower c states like 6-7. This happens on both my personal xps 15 9550 and my work Precision 5510.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks!

 

Hi guys, I am so sorry for the noobie question. But I was wondering whether the coil whining and CABC (dynamic brightness) issues affect day-to-day performance or not. Is it really that noticeable/annoying? And are there concrete solutions to fix these problems yet? I am asking because I am planning on getting a 9350 or 9360 FHD model. Thanks in advance!!

 

Usually providing a modified external manifest file resolves any scaling issues.

 

Just took ownership of a second hand XPS 15 9550 that is only 4 months old - i7 / 16GB / 512GB / 4K, excellent condition throughout apart from a few minor scratches here & there, and also 2 x dead pixels! I was fortunate enough that this one came with the Toshiba version of the 512GB - and to my amazement according to Crystal Disk Mark 5 after a clean OS install, read speeds were in excess of 2500MB/s & write speeds in excess of 1500MB/s - a huge difference in comparison to the Samsung PM951 which is also supplied on these models.

Just to also point out that I've not noticed any CABC with mine as of yet, the 4K flicker was instantly noticeable when tweaking in the BIOS when I first got it & also at lower brightness once I re-installed Windows. However after installing the 4331 version of the Intel display driver it appears to be gone, as already documented on here - this is also with me running on the latest .14 version of the BIOS.

Liam.

 

If it is still under warranty, have Dell replace the panel.

 

Good call - it's got just over 7 months warranty left according to Dell when I registered the service tag online this morning on my account, am I right thinking that they would still send someone out to me to get it replaced even though I am not the original owner?

Many thanks - Liam.

 

The warranty is transferable but I doubt they will swap it as it is probably well within dead pixel specs, you can only get them to do with a new unit normally.

 

If the dead pixels bother you, return the laptop to the seller.

EDIT -He should have disclosed this obvious defect

 

They don't bother me that much really, I only picked up on them after the first hours of use when web browsing and they're only really noticeable when it's practically nose pressed the to screen.

I also imagined too that Dell probably have a 5+ dead pixel policy in place as well, I can live with it for now.

Not only that, but after hearing of the horror stories with Dell's engineers being third party and doing poor repair jobs on the 9550's I'd rather undertake the procedure myself in time.

Liam.

 

Mines always in bits when they arrive after the messes they made in the past.

Sent from my SM-G920F

 

I don't blame you to be honest mate, plus I've worked with laptops for years anyway.

Just noticed you're Derby based, I'm only down the road in Leicester

Liam.

 

Anyone experiencing cursor/pointer lag after Nvidia 375.70 update? My cursor lags when i have Windows Start tab open and desktop at the background. It works fine when the background is other than desktop. It also lags when I have skype open in a mini box and have desktop at the background. Everything was working fine after this Nvida driver update....

Update:
It also lags on desktop...

 

Hi All,

After years of using my Dell Vostro 5470 I decided to renew it with anew model. And my dreams are all about XPS 15 9550 with 32gb memory and 512ssd
Should I buy it right now?
Or is there any new build coming for XPS 15?

 

A refresh "may" be out in the next (insert guess) months as no one can get a definitive answer and the idiots people phone for an answer have no idea and all say something different.

If you want one just buy it, only upgrade will be the next CPU that apparently may be slower so whats the point?

 

I think the new chips are coming out end of this year.

A refresh could entail a 10 series GPU and could have other motherboard related issues resolved.

 

Something I forgot to mention the other day after I did a fresh install on my 9550, after installing the latest Nvidia drivers I noticed that for some reason the GeForce Experience facility appears to be missing - the control panel icon displays on the bottom and allows me to open the basic control panel setting. Am I missing something like is the GeForce Experience facility now separate from the entire driver package moving forward with new releases?

Edit - I've noticed that Nvidia released another new set of drivers dated on the 28.10.16 (375.70) whereas I think the current ones I'm running are 375.63, and there is a 70+MB size difference between the two - I may give the newer ones a try.

Many thanks - Liam.

 

when the new XPS 15 9550 with pascal VGA will came out?

 

Is anyone having problems with thunderbolt docks? I bought a startech thunderbolt 3 dock. First one was DOA - no sign from the computer that it was connected at all. The replacement worked fine, but only for a day. The laptop again says nothing is connected. It seems unlikely that I've had 2 dead models. BIOS & thunderbolt drivers/firmware are all up to date. Does anyone else see this behaviour?

 

****s sake, ring Dell as no-one knows. Fed up of people asking the same question...

Sent from my SM-G920F

 

I have two of these and they both work perfectly.

 

Most likely early next year.

Liam.

 

Thanks pressing and CHJC for your replies, helped me a lot...

I decided to get the xps 15 and aside from the audio/speakers, everything is nice... I already updated the Intel and the NVIDIA Display adapters but why is the Graphics Performance Index only 6? Did I miss something?

 

Only it being a laptop?

 

My ATIV 8, also a laptop, went up to 7.8


http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5e-np780z5e-np870z5e-np880z5e.713184/page-128

 

Did I miss anything?

 

Did you make sure the nvidia card was running?

 

How do I do that? I updated it but I'm not sure I'm using it

 

My trackpad gets very stiff from time to time, is that normal? It returns to normal the next day and it's getting rather annoying

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

 

Here is an information that might be interesting to some. Today I had the opportunity to try Apple's new USB-C to Thunderbolt adapter (which currently is sold with a heavy discount, although brand-new). It does NOT work with the 9550. It throws an error message about some USB incompatibility, although a pure TB device was attached. That fits Apple's information that the new adapter is built for a newer TI USB chip within the MacBooks, which obviously is not present in our Dells.

The USB error message is just a side-effect, as neither the adapter nor the connected TB.device will ever show up in Windows.

Personally I am pretty sure that a firmware and driver update from Intel can fix this incompatibility, and I think Intel will provide it to make sure their stuff is not drawn into an bad-mouthing ****storm campaign. This is idfferent to Apple's situation, where the newer chip is inside the MacBooks, making them incompatible to older (all other current) USB-C to TB adapters.

On a side note: Apple's new USB-C to USB 3 adapter worked without a problem (also currently heavily reduced in price). But that was expected.

 

what test are you running?

 

I'm sorry but I don't know the tests, which should I use??

I updated my Nvidia through the Device Manager and downloaded some features from the Nvidia site. What's weird is whenever I do this...

From NVIDIA Control Panel
3D Settings.Manage 3D Settings
Tab "Global Settings"
Preferred Graphics Processor
Select: High Performance NVIDIA processor


Games like Far Cry 4 greatly slows down... What should I do?? Thanks

 

Also the battery... Some reviews and owners have been saying it could last up to 10-11 hours, mine goes only up to 4-5. This when I'm working on office files only while the Battery Saver and Power Saver Plan is on

 

You need to read the forums then, plenty of information in a thread about temps and battery life had been answered many a time. Use the search at the top of the page.

Sent from my SM-G920F

 

this happened me before when i opened up the laptop to upgrade the hard drive and it turned out i had tightened the screws to much on the bottom panel after loosening them ever so slightly the trackpad no longer stuck

 

I'll do that... Thanks

 

I really need help with my display adapters. Been doing a lot of research but I couldn't find an answer that works...

I know nvidia is nicer than intel. But whenever i disable intel using the device manager, the graphics of games like civilization v slows down big time. I updated my nvidia and downloaded geforce experience but it is still way slower than whenever i use intel.

I know its a simple problem but I couldnt find an answer. Thanks

 

Hi everyone. Short question: the status LED in front consists of two LEDs (one left, one right). Do both of them shine white when charging? At my device only the left one is lighting and the Dell support tells me that the right one is orange and lights up when the battery is "nearly full loaded". Is that true of bullsh....?

 

You do not disable intel you open the nvidia console and make sure the game is set to run on the nvidia card.

Utter bullsh1t, it stays white. not sure about 2 led's without opening her up but I assume it has a red/orange in case something is wrong.

 

Seems there's a new Thunderbolt Controller driver on the Dell support site which claims to support the newer TI chipset (TPS65983). If you update would you mind letting us know whether it enables the Apple adapter? It would be good if it did as it's the cheapest around at the moment.

 

Yeah, this one is from August 25, and Dell had nothing better to do than hiding it in the drawer until yesterday. What a bunch of &%$§"!

This new driver solves 3 (!) problems that drove me nuts on my machine. One of them is only half fixed, but at least no longer causes a BSOD with 'WDF Violation'.

Now I have to organize the Apple adapter again, as I already returned it. It indeed reads like it should work now.

 

Wooow!! As they say "the best solution is always the simplest one."

Thanks so much GoNx0...

 

Buyer beware - there seem to be a lot of 9550s available WITHOUT the nVidia graphics cards.

I am seeing quite a few Intel HD graphics ONLY 9550s popping up, particularly for the 4k model. I don't remember many of those. Just know what you are getting as the graphics choice is not only FHD vs 4k...

 

Buyer beware - they still sell 9550s.

 

These are probably hack jobs from companies buying damaged or even the companies that deal with the returns passing then to a processing centre to make good ones.

Sent from my SM-G920F