Dell XPS 15 L501 *Owner's Lounge*

Yes, I just did so recently. Had a tech come out and simply swapped screens. It looked very simple and results are awesome. The higher-rez screen in MUCH better in quality.

 

Can anyone tell me how to configure the 3 special keys in the upper right? I had to reload my system and the only one that works now is the windows mobility center (left-most). The middle key and WAVES key no longer do anything.

 

Did he just swap out the screen or did he swap out the ribbon cable too?

Install Dell Quickset

 

The new screen came with its own ribbon cable attached so he just unplugged the old one and plugged in the new one.

 

Has any one successfully installed Windows 7 via USB on the XPS 15? If so I would be interested to know how you did it eg: how you generated the USB installer, what usb port you used, bios settings etc.

So far I can boot via the usb drive ( WinToFlash - Install Windows from usb - Home page) and the installer starts up. Once the installer UI is initialised I click install and get prompted a few seconds later for a cd/dvd driver?

The funny thing is if I put my original Win Ult 64 DVD in the dvd drive it continues with the install (obviously I don't need a cd/dvd driver as it's working).

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

For the install from flash use the USB port on the right (the esata port is a powered one and doubles for a usb port as well. That port is USB 2.0. The issue is that the other 2 are USB 3.0 and therefore once the gui loads it can't access the drive anymore unless it has a USB 3.0 driver to mount it with again.

On a side note for anyone wondering and I honestly don't know if it was mentioned. The XPS 15 (L501X) does NOT support port multipliers on it's eSATA port. I just verified it...

 

What's up guys... just received my XPS 15 tonight. Ordered 2/9 with free shipping. Still shows In Production on Dell's site with an estimated delivery date of 2/24.

Core i5-480
4GB
Nvidia GT420 1GB
500GB 7200RPM
1920x1080
Backlit Keyboard
Intel 6200 Wi-Fi
9-cell battery
Bluetooth 3.0

 

WOW! And I was just going to buy one! Good thing I logged in first. How about on the 3.0 ports. Would a 2.0 replicator work on the 3.0 port?

 

Thanks, see: xps-15-usb-win-ult-64-install

 

Hi guys, new forum member and just wanted to let you guys know that Dell might be doing some free upgrading on these. I ordered a "ships fast" pre-configured XPS15 last Thursday, with an I7-435 combo, that was supposed to come with a 15.6hd tlf wled lcd l501x screen, which is 720p, but when it came, it has a 1080p native resolution screen, that is a sight to behold. I thought something looked too good and sure enough, when I checked it, the machines resolution is 1080p and nvidia's control center reports it as native 1080p.

 

Anyone else have difficulties getting CPUid's Hardware Monitor to show the CPU temps? All mine will show is the battery information and nothing else.

Nevermind....Once I ran it as administrator, everything showed up. Is 47 to 51 degrees celcius a normal temperature for the I7?

 

ya thats pretty much normal

 

I probably should have noted that those temps are basically just web browsing. I haven't tested it running a game, but I'm going to assume it will climb substantially. When gaming (I mostly play Company of Heroes and Civ V) what is considered "normal temps"?

 

Civ V gives me 63C GPU. I'm not sure what my CPU is. I will have to check it.
Kane and Lynch 2 Demo gave me like 79C GPU. Everything else is usually in the 60s C.

 

Another nvidia driver bug (official dell video drivers).
I updated to IE9 RC and now the "About Internet Explorer" pop-up is blank. "Organize favourites..." has the bottom half of the window blank as well.

The fix - Make IE9 RC run on Integrated graphics. That solved the issue.

I really hope DELL released an updated video driver.

 

Frequent screen flickers happening on ST2220M Dell monitor connected to Dell XPS 15 via Apple Mini DisplayPort ended VGA cable.

Any ideas?

 

Have you tried using the official Nvidia driver rather than the Dell one?

 

Yes. Try the Nvidia driver from their own site and not the one from the dell site. You also should know that ie9 RC has issues rendering some web pages correctly.

 

For those of you who like the Google Chrome browser but have difficulty using it with the full HD display on the XPS, you might want to give the Canary Build of the beta version a try. I'm using it right now and it has finally implemented a Global Page Zoom that actually seems to work right. Be warned, however, that they don't advise using this beta unless you are prepared for things to be broken at times. This build will run along side of your current version of Chrome, so you can switch back and forth at any time.

Google Chrome - Get a fast new browser. For PC, Mac, and Linux

After getting hooked on Chrome's Sync feature to keep my bookmarks and settings synced across browsers on multiple computers at home and work, I just couldn't give up on Chrome without a fight. Glad I didn't, as Canary really seems to have addressed the issue that affects us XPS users.

You can adjust the default Page Zoom by clicking on the wrench icon in the upper right corner, then it's Options > Under The Hood > Web Content. I'm using 144% right now as 120% was just a tad too small. You can also adjust various font options in that menu, including the minimum font size. I haven't played with those on Canary yet though, as they didn't work at all in the stable or previous beta I tried.

 

Actually, FastAccess (facial recognition) is highly mature, very functional, and even fun. I would strongly recommend trying it. You may download a free trial version at the Sensible Vision website.

Yes, I work for Sensible Vision so I'm obviously biased, but I can honestly say that I also use it at home quite extensively. The recognition is very good (and the recently released version 3.1.20 is even better) and I just couldn't live without the web login. Power savings, automatic desktop locking, user switching, parental control enforcements, etc. are also bonuses. If you have any questions while running the demo, please feel free to PM me or write to any of the publicly available email addresses on our site.

 

If you're having difficulty with FastAccess, please contact me directly at any of the email addresses on our website. I'd be more than happy to listen to the details of any challenges you're having and to see what I can do to assist. Thanks.

 

Hmm, I might just take you up on that. Sadly they do say there is a special version for the dell xps?! So will this version of yours work well with the xps? What restrictions come with the demo version?

 

There is a version that comes pre-installed on many XPS machines (I don't know whether your particular machine has it or not of course) but it's not "special" in any way really. The version on our website will work just fine. The only restriction on the demo is that it will only work for a period of time then it will stop (Not to worry, though....you'll have plenty of time to get to know it.). It's otherwise 100% fully functional.

 

hows the non HD lcd?

 

I was gifted an xps 15 for christmas. Being an IT consultant I hate having all of the "dell" software and trials installed so I imediately logged into eopen and downloaded win 7 ultimate 64 to install. After install i used the dell drivers cd to install the drivers.

After installing the drivers I did a reboot...

the screen came back up with long jaged lines looking like a broken mirror.. no matter what I do it wouldn't go away but on occasion it would stop long enough for me to do 1 click.. i managed to get to the nvidia site and download their drivers.. now it only does it when I unplug the laptop from the power outlet... im tethered to the wall

also i noticed that on occasion you can hear the speakers "click" and my power adapter was making odd crunching/grinding noises..

I contacted support and they replaced the power supply. The other issues persisted so I contacted them again.. this time they are replacing the LCD, PSU, and GPU.. I'm wondering if the faulty AC Adapter might have sent a power surge throught he laptop and screwed things up?

Anyone else having issues like this? If so, how did you resolve them?

 

There must be something wrong with your machine!!! I just bought a 4-port replicator and it worked on ALL ports. The 3.0 and the 2.0/eSATA. Unless you want to tell me there is a difference between "replicator" and "multiplier"?

 

Hello again. I downloaded the app from your site and installed it. UNFORTUNATELY, before I could "get to know it", it had expired. 3days is hardly enough to get to know an application! I was hoping to test it and probably try to sell it to some companies here in Nigeria. How can you help with an extension? It says 30 days on the site. And no, my system did not come with it preinstalled.

 

I just played a movie on my rig. And I have to reiterate, the audio is AWESOME!!! And the screen? OMG!!!

 

Anyone notice a "dynamic contrast" like effect with the FHD screen? It seems most noticeable when I'm browsing and go to a page with white text on a black background then go to another page with black text on a white background. The screen seems to dim itself while on the black background and then slowly brighten back up when you go to the white background page. It's very annoying.

 

Who did you contact to have it done and how much did it cost you?

 

Yeah that happens to me all the time. It's really annoying. I haven't figured out the source of the problem yet.

 

I am not very sure of this, but i think the problem is with your adjusting.

Even I had observed this problem and finally concluded that it was just my eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness increase. You can reduce the effect by turning down the brightness of your monitor a little but. I am not very sure that this is the cause though...

 

Its just your eyes adjusting. The FHD screen is quite bright. On battery I have it turned all the way down and on AC I have it at 75%.

Edit: I just experienced it too, I stand corrected!

 

No difficulty, it just works maybe 50% of the time. And after several months, it should be working 99% of the time.

 

Glad it wasn't just me with the dynamic contrast fluctuating... I finally switched my Gmail theme from the dark setting I had before to a lighter setting because that was where I seemed to notice the effect the most, when I switched back and forth from my dark Gmail screen to another tab with a lighter background.

I'm really amazed at how bright this screen is though. I have it at it's lowest brightness setting at all times and it's perfect. On my last laptop, a 3 year old HP, I had the brightness cranked to 100% at all times.

 

Anyone know the min/max storage temperatures for the Dell XPS 15?

I mean the environmental temps, like how much cold/heat it can safely withstand when using or storing in various places? Thanks.

 

I've just received a Dell XPS 15 laptop and have noticed a slight problem with the keyboard. I was wondering if this problem is by design or if it is something which can be fixed.

In one specific area, the keyboard flexes and is not especially sturdy. The problem occurs around the following keys: poil,./;'#][=-0

In all other areas they keyboard is solid and robust, but in this area it flexes a good deal. The keys on the left and middle of the board are very solid and good for typing. As I do a lot of typing, this flexing of the board is quite irritating. It is also disappointing as one reason I bought the XPS 15 was on the strength of its keyboard.

When I press the keys mentioned above, it almost feels as thought the area below them is hollow, such is the degree of flex. I have contacted Dell support and they have offered to have someone come round and replace the keyboard. Is this something which is going to be able to be fixed? Or is this a design feature (flaw) of the XPS 15?

 

Had mine for a while now and have not experienced any of this. My KB is sturdy, with no flex. Maybe a bad batch u got?

 

Has anyone installed the ServiPack 1? No problems?

 

anyone know any software (if its possible) to OC the CPU for dell xps 15?

i wanna OC it abit, even if its not much, but just to pass the 3.0ghz bench (with turbo boost)

 

I am typing this on my XPS 15, just checked that whole area of the keyboard and have zero flex at all. My keyboard is uniformly solid from one side to the other.

I received my XPS last week if that helps.

 

I run cs5 off my system. Every now and then After Effects hangs saying the nvidia driver (255.58 whql) encountered an error but has recovered after which I will no longer have access to my project. Any ideas as to what may be causing this?

Also, can I get the backlit keyboard to buy and install myself or are there hardware restrictions to doing this?

Thanks!

EDIT: I got the answer to the keyboard question in the XPS Backlit keyboard and Price forum.

 

Just got my XPS. Can someone recommend a laptop sleeve for the XPS(UK)?

Cheers

 

So, this may be a dumb questions but has anyone try to swap out the i7 with an i5 and try to take advantage of Optimus using the 435M?

 

Yes, I do without problems, it seems that SP1 only contains a compillation of 750 hotfix and 39 security updates. There isn't big changes on it, only a new remote desktop protocol (with remote graphics acceleration support) and virtualization improvements for w2008.

So you can install it, there is no problem.

 

Any takers? Maybe I should try the Dell forum?

 

Is anyone using a PCIe SSD on the first gen XPS 15? I assume the port for WWAN or TV tuner can hold an SSD. If this can work I'm wondering what specific SSDs have been used successfully.

Sorry if this has been discussed before, I can't search this thread because it always returns no results.

 

This has been discussed before, can't remember if its in this thread or another. And i don't know much about it but i'll tell you what i remember from reading it before.

Simply, Those ports don't have a SATA (or another connector with a similar acronym) connector or something so i can't work.
(Correct me if I'm wrong)

But you can add an SSD as a main HDD and add a 2nd HDD in place of the Optical Drive. That's an option.

 

Finally found the fix for the "Dynamic Contrast" problem I had posted about last week. Thank you Lord, er, Knaadhan!

 

Hi tehere, i have an i7 1.73 and the gt 435, questions

1. Can you see 8 cores or 4 cores a 4 threats on the CPU Usage Widget or the taskmanager??

2. How fast has your turboBoost ever gotten?

3. How good can you Run FSX and Battlefield Bad Company 2?

Thanks