Dell XPS 15 L501 *Owner's Lounge*

If you have any suggestions of something you would like to see pictures of, just say so!

You can see it on my pictures:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-xps-15-l501-owners-lounge-2.html#post6890548

If it's not enough I'll make some more for you.

 

yeah i was hoping for side by side comparison shots

 

Hi all,

Is there only one guy who ordered standard "1366x768 LED-backlit LCD" ??

I can only see all your feedback on great "1920x1080 "B+RG" LED-backlit LCD", same on all reviews... fine...

But for simple users, who prefer lower resolution and who prefer to avoid to 200€ for a wonderful screen, impossible to have a advice on this simple standard 1366x768 screen...

so please, if somebody has it, please give us your feedback

Thks a lot !

 

Whats the best resolution to keep the XPS 15 on?

If your watching a video of 1080p do you need to have the resolution on full hd (1920x1080)?

 

Can anyone tell me how to remove the media card reader "blank" from it's slot?

 

Is the performance difference between the ATI 5730 and the Nvidia GT 435 large?

I have an XPS 1645 with the 5730 now that will soon be replaced by an XPS 15 with the 435.

Anyone know?

I'll end up testing it when it comes in, but I can't wait!

 

Nah, only for Mechanical Drives. I'll be sure to add that to the main post.

 

My computer screen dims in 2 minutes no matter what power management setting I use. Is there a way to fix this?

 

Try Gently Massaging the area where the pixel is, see if that clears it up for you.

 

I've had some issues with the power options as well. They don't seem to be sticking, try doing a reboot after changing everything in advanced power settings and see if it will use the new settings.

 

Believe it or not, the size of the taskbar on this XPS 15, is the same size as on my HDX18T.

I was pretty surprised at this as well when I first got them both side by side.

 

Thanks! I'll try that. I'm burning recovery media now so once that is done, I will try to play with the settings.

 

I had this problem too. Just go to the facial recognition program and disable the power settings that it has. Once you do this, it'll go off of the Windows 7 power settings.

 

The stuck pixel fixed itself, didn't have to do anything about it. It went away after rebooting (was still there during the actual boot, but went away once I got to the login screen).

Question... VLC Media Player seems to always want to change it's volume when I try and change the system volume. i.e. I hit F8/F9 and VLC's volume goes up/down along with it. How can I make VLC not change when I use the windows volume controls? That's a slight pain.

 

You push it in just like a SD card.
Pretty simples to be honest!

 

Is there a way to keep the backlighting on?

Mine goes out when I don't type for awhile and once I hit a key it comes back on, but I would prefer that it just stay on if possible.

Thanks for any help.

 

I just move the mouse on the trackpad when I want it back on. Seems to work.

 

Dell has a tendency to do that. I'm not subject to OCD but seeing that every day drove me insane.

If you want to remove them, and they leave the glue behind, do not try to rub the glue off. That just smears it and makes it even harder to remove. Instead, rub petroleum jelly onto the glue patch, and rub it in gently. The petroleum jelly breaks up the glue and suspends it from the palm rest, making it easier to remove. Wipe it off gently with a dry cloth, carefully so you don't accidentally rub the glue back onto the palm rest.

 

I have a XPS 15 (UK) with 1080p screen. This machine is a replacement for my old M1530 (also with a full HD screen). I'm finding it hard to get used to this screen though. The colours don't seem right and it is too bright. I can deal with the brightness (I have it turned down to about 75%) but the colours just don't seem right. The reds are a vivid orange colour and just look over saturated. Perhaps I have justr been used to quite dull colours on my old laptop... What do orher people think?

 

God damnit... I tried everything to fix this stuck pixel. It came back a few hours after I noticed it being gone... I ran UDPixel overnight, no effect. I also tried massaging it (pencil pressure over a cloth, turning monitor on/off). This sucks.

 

Possibly screen calibrating might help?

Gamma calibration - Lagom LCD test

Or maybe finding the settings in order to switch between sRGB and ARGB1998 might help.

From the anandtech review:

"In an ideal world, you'd be able to choose between 82% sRGB backlighting and 100% ARGB1998 backlighting at the flip of a switch, but for now you'll have to settle for one or the other"

 

Unfortunately this does happen on LCD's/LED's, my 24" iMAC has a pixel that is stuck red. Happened two days after booting it up.
Apple would not do anything about it , because at the time it did not fall into there so may dead pixels per sqaure inch.

What is DELL's deal with issues such as this?


M

 

For the students out there, here is the 9-cell on one of the world's smallest university desks in the world. The 6-cell probably would have been better for this itty bitty kindergarten desk as it would sit more flat.
Still fits, but barely...

 

Dells LCD Replacement Policy:

Pixel Quality Standards for Dell Flat-Panel Monitors and Laptop LCD Screens | Dell Australia

 

According to this MaxGhost can contact Dell to replace his screen because of one defect bright Sub-Pixel. For XPS System one dead pixel is enough to return it. Or do I have something wrong with the chart?

 

It all hinges on whether a) his screen is standard (6 pixels) or premium (1 pixel)

and b) it is bright or dark (bright means they'll change it):

Bright Sub-Pixel defects: A sub-pixel remains permanently lit, resulting in a white or colored dot on a Black background.

Dark Sub-Pixel defects: A sub-pixel remains permanently unlit, resulting in a black or colored dot on a White background.

 

Just got the laptop and it looks pretty good.

What resolution is best to set it on if you have a 1080p screen because sometime the screen looks very small?

Also are all of you using the DELL Theme on Windows? It makes the text a bit different and has some different style....

 

I have the 1080p screen and the stuck pixel is lime green (bright). How long would it take to replace? I don't want to be without a decent laptop for a long time.

 

Last time I had to have a screen replaced, they sent a tech out within a couple days and he replaced it. I guess it would depend on if you have in home service.

 

Just got mine! I'll check with the power option issue and post it soon

 

HAHAHAHHAHAHA

Those desk are huge and comfortable compared with the wood desks at the Math Faculty building during my time at LSU!

We always joke about how only half the test was inside the desk and we could only write with one hand (no space to place the other XD).

 

as per chart xps panels have "1 or more" criteria for bright sub pixel...

but confusion is that whether one requires to have both (in total) bright (1or more) and dark (6or more) to have replacement?? or any one is sufficient

 

You could probably get them to send you another one and then send yours back when the second arrives (you could arrange for both to happen on the same day or thereabouts). That's exactly what they suggested with my faulty vostro desktop earlier this year.

Then again, not sure if they are as helpful and flexible with home compared to business.

 

Anyone? I cant get the resolution to be right.....

How did everyone setup their resolution on 1080p so words are easy to see?

 

For the best picture quality you should take the native resolution which in the case of the BG+R LED screen is 1920 x 1080 if I recall correctly. It should have in brackets next to the resolution "recommended" beside the native resolution.

Edit: Sorry missed the reference to font size, like the next poster mentions you can scale your font size to make it larger and keep the same resolution.

 

The higher the resolution the better for me ..

You can always scale your Windows settings to make you Icons and text bigger ..

M

 

wow... im using it side by side with Dell XPS 15 and Dell Studio 14.
and its amazing. especially the sound.
the system itself isn't that heavy either..
power management issue can be taken care of when going to settings under face recognition program..
nice screen
nice built
love it!

 

Are you guys using the DELL Theme on Windows that the laptop came with? I think the dell theme already makes the font good size to see, so thats no problem but when your browsing websites like youtube, the video size is very small due to high resolution, or another example is the POST REPLY, SUBMIT buttons on this forum are very small....so how do you deal with that?

 

I use my fabulous touch-pad - pinch-to-zoom works perfectly in all modern browsers

 

Hi Shaolin,

I am getting the standard screen as the upgrade in the uk is much too expensive. My understanding from cnet is that the standard screen is as good as any other laptop.

I personally would prefer the standard screen as well to avoid resizing the letters / numbers onscreen on a 1080p screen because of the small size of the screen. I have had several laptops over the years and there is generally nothing wrong with the standard screen for notebook use. Bear in mind that many on this forum are very discerning!

 

Hi vovano,

Is it possible to lower the resolution to 1600X900? My Sony FHD F only supported 1920X1080 and 1366X768.

 

That ones a little different as thats not controlled by windows, rather its being rendered by your browser. I don't find that the stuff you are asking about is difficult to read or very small. You could take a look at this site and maybe it will help some.

How to Change Text Size or Colors

Edit: Oh and not shown there is Google Chrome. In Chrome under the wrench is a zoom setting that will zoom web pages etc which should help you out.

 

You can actually get 10% off your order making the cost of the 1080p upgrade around £50 instead of £170..

 

Er... 10% of £170 = £17

 

No wise guy, 10% off the cost of the entire order..

10% of an xps configuration in the region of £1000 is £100

 

I have one problem (well, not a REAL problem, just some annoying stuff).
I listen music on my XPS 15 (.flac via latest foobar2000) and go away from it for some reason (have a bite, etc). FaceAccess dims a display (that's ok) and then my lappy makes a half-second disruption in music playback.
Does anybody have any suggestions why is that and how to amend it?

 

So, on a system that costs £1000 (inclu screen upgrade)- 10% (£100) = £900, how do you get your screen upgrade costing £50 instead of £170, 'wise guy'?

 

You are a prized muppet! Not all configured systems cost £1000, a configuration could cost £1200 %10 discount = £120 £170-£120 = £50

Take a standard i7 build £779 + £170 screen upgrade apply 10% discount cost of upgrade = £75.10

 

Well that's a strange way of working it out but each to their own. And hey, you really don't need to sound so aggressive with the wise guys and muppets

 

Guys - would you make it up in private chat, please.