Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

I am in the UK and I was able to get a backlit keyboard plus the tv tuner using the code provided by Dromi (e-code 123456-N00X5M59):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/566100-xps-15-l502x-uk-price-good-3.html#post7322545

I placed my order on April 2 and received the laptop on April 8, I was extremely pleased by how fast I was able to get the laptop (see my signature for the components)

Unfortunately it does not give the option of having no OS loaded though. Good luck with your order.

 

Yes. There's plenty of room on both sides (left and right) of the battery for your legs.

 

Thanks very much for the quick reply and e-code! Only problem is that system doesn't include all the other discounts going on the moment (free 6GB RAM and 640GB HD upgrades) and I don't really need the TV tuner (you can't deselect it)

So far my current pricing is coming out at:

New XPS 15 Qty 1

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz, Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English Unit Price £1,573.01


Get Free Memory Upgrade to 6GB until 13/04/2011
Expires 14 April 2011


Get Free Hard Drive Upgrade to 640GB until 13/04/2011
Expires 14 April 2011


Upgrade to 3 years for the price of 2! - Offer valid until 27/04/2011
Expires 28 April 2011
- £45.00

Includes Antivirus Upgrade Valid until 13/04/2011
Expires 14 April 2011


Save £454 (Inc Vat) until 13/04/2011
Expires 14 April 2011
- £454.00

Get 10% off!
Expires 13 April 2011
- £107.40


Catalog Number: 202 N00X5M06

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Module Description Show Details
Base 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Memory 6144MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [1x4096 + 1x2048]
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Video Card 2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M Graphics Card
Hard Drive 640GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Optical Devices 8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
Wireless Networking Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (EUR)
Cables UK 250V Power Cord
Shipping Documents English Documentation
Bundle N02X5M06
Standard Warranty 1 year Collect & Return Hardware Support included with your PC
Enhanced Service Packs 3Yr In-Home Hardware Support
Integrated Mobile Broadband Mobile Broadband Module - no SIM card included
Order Information XPS L502x Order - UK
Primary Battery 9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery
Carrying Cases No Carrying Case
Dell System Media Kit XPS L502x Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Color Choice Metalloid Aluminum Cover
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Protection
Online Backup DataSafe Online Backup 2GB - 1 year licence
TV Tuner and Remote Control TvTuner Not Included
LCD 15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) 1080p with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera
DataSafe Datasafe Local 2.3 Basic
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
Protect your new PC McAfee® SecurityCenter 15 Month Subscription
Power Supply 130W AC Adaptor
Operating System Recovery Options OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included

TOTAL :£966.61

Free delivery too.

Plus an extra 7% cash back through quidco.

I've read on here that if you ring up it's only an extra £30 for the backlit keyboard. I'm also gonna try and get the extra 7% off on the phone as well as I would have got it through quidco if I'd bought it online anyway...

 

That's a great price with the 3 year warranty.

 

lol gadgets, was just gonna reply saying mine had the 3yr warranty and yours didn't. Plus yours came with the TV tuner and I'd rather the 3G mobile broadband card...

I'm gonna ask them how much it is to upgrade to the 6230 wifi card to, can't select it on their website, but it's only £30 on ebay anyway so if it's more than £30, I'll get it myself

 

Well who's taken this bad boy apart? I want to see the gpu on this thing. I want a picture of the slot, and to see if it is removable. I know it isn't easily accessible. Who has the full and complete take down manual of this thing?

 

There is no slot, the GPU is integrated into the motherboard.

 

I did please refer to my thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/569006-inside-pics-l502x-56kwarning.html

Its glued in around the four corners. Sorry for the bad quality pics as they were comming from my blackberry

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/538665-xps-15-repaste-step-step-temps.html

There's a link to it on the first post of this thread

 

got my xps 15 on friday, first impressions over the weekend

- good and stiff keyboard
- very nice screen with wide viewing angles (i needed some time to get used to the vibrant colors)
- during every day work it is silent (except a "woosh" from the fan sometimes)
- during gaming it is really loud
- palm rest and body stay cool even during gaming

 

Hey guys when outputting through hdmi is using the nvidia GPU the only way to output it? i would prefer to use the intel one since the nvidia gives me lik 2 hours of battery life playing a movie.

 

Managed to get it ordered!

i7-2360QM, 6GB RAM, 640GB HD, FHD Display, GT540M, Backlit Keyboard, 3yr warranty.

£943.93 all in

Well pleased, can't wait!

 

No, because the HDMI port is hooked directly to the NVIDIA card, unlike the internal monitor and Mini DisplayPort which are hooked up only to the Intel card. You should be able to grab a MiniDP-to-HDMI adapter somewhere.

 

What would WiDi use?

 

WiDi is a SandyBridge/Intel technology, so it requires the integrated graphics card. Which is why the 3D XPS 17s without Optimus didn't have WiDi either.

 

I watched a movie trough hdmi and had 4.5 hours battery remaining after it. So I don't think it's a problem

 

well done!!! any tips to pass on? I am still within the window of trying to claw back some dough from the deal I got.

 

Firstly, they have a shed load of discount and freebies on the xps15 anyway. I managed to get it down to £966 on their website with a quidco 10% code (plus I would have got 7% cash back if I bought it online) but I really wanted the backlit keyboard which isn't available online.

So I emailed the EPP sales team (employee purchase program) as my companies eligible and they added the keyboard and knocked another 5% off. Would have been a dream if I could have bought the new total online and used quidco still but I couldnt because of the keyboard

Still not a bad price though.

 

I ordered an XPS 15 on March 30th and it arrived on April 8th. I was surprised by how fast dell prepared and shipped it out.

So far I'm loving it, except for an issue with the fan. Last night after I finished watching a 720p video, the fan would turn off and on. I've been monitoring the temperatures since I first got the laptop. When idling or doing light work (ie. checking email), the CPU is in the mid 40s to low 50s (Celsius). After watching the video last night I let the laptop idle, but the fan would still go on and off. It doesn't make sense to me because the idling temperatures with the fan running wild are the same as previous temperatures which haven't elicited any response from the fan.

While googling I found a lot of people complaining about fan problems for the L501x as well as the L502x. I'm actually surprised that Dell didn't get their stuff together and fix the issue by the time they released the L502x.

Anyways, I was wondering if there are any solutions? I couldn't find much while searching, but maybe I missed something?

Any help is appreciated!

Edit: Right after writing this post I checked the temperature. It's 56 C, but the fan is completely silent

 

Some how i highly doubt that or i am doing something wrong. With my tests I am watching shows usually 40-45 mins long. I can fit maybe 4 shows in better the 9 cell is dead.
I would assume your move is about 1.5-2 hours Which should leave you with like 50% battery left running with the gpu. Something isn't adding up there.

 

I'd like to know, how many of you guys are using full potential of quad cores?
Because I don't know if everyone is getting them becuase they're are cheap for you or sth?

 

How do I select it manually??

 

NVIDIA Control Panel, Manage 3D Settings, Program Settings tab. Select your program or, if not in the list, find the executable manually.

 

Just found out that when the technician came to replace my motherboard that he stripped many of my screws... I just wanted to replace the nasty thermal paste with antec formula 7!

 

I had the laptop screen off. Wifi off and power saver on with the CPU limited to 50% in the power settings, and when the movie was over i seen there was 4.5 hours remaining, I have a 9 cell too. I don't think nvidia is used fully in hdmi.

 

When I press caps lock, it acts like alt-tab. It toggles the caps properly, but it always changes focus to another window. Anyone else also have this problem?

 

Well, folks, about 6 days after ordering my XPS 15 R2 - L502x, I officially got in touch with my contact at Dell and had my order fully canceled and rescinded.

To be honest, it was the review at notebookcheck - linked here earlier in the thread - that did me in. I had purchased this laptop under the impression that in addition to it being a great all-purpose multimedia machine, I'd also be able to do fairly high-quality gaming on it, as well. I'd also been under the (more than likely mistaken) impression that upgrading to the 540m graphics card from the 525m would make hardly any real-world difference in terms of gaming, and I couldn't just trust that this would be the case. Then, I read the following in the aforementioned review:

Well, it was probably my fault for not doing enough research, but I didn't plunk down $1000+ on a brand new laptop (that advertised itself as more than suitable for gaming) in order to have graphics that max out at medium (or even low!) settings on its native resolution. And that's with the upgraded 540m card, which I didn't get. So, um, that worried me. A lot. And it's a big reason why I went ahead and canceled the laptop today.

I actually considered just opting for the XPS 17, since that model had better graphics cards than the XPS 15 and probably wouldn't cost much more. Especially since I found a couple coupon codes that give you a total of $400 off the XPS 17, and wound up with a configuration that cost about $1125 (which was all of $145 more than my previous XPS 15) and had not only the larger screen, but the much improved GeForce GT 555m graphics card as well as a 9-cell battery instead of a 6-cell. Across the board all the other specs were IDENTICAL to my $980 XPS 15 - 1080p screen, Sandy Bridge i7-2630QM processor, 6GB of memory, 500GB 7200RPM hard drive, and Blu-Ray drive. I think the one change was that on this deal, it didn't have the useless (in my opinion) Mcafee protection plan that I was unable to opt out of on my original discounted setup. Honestly, the fact that for an additional $150 I could get the exact same computer except with a bigger screen and a *much* better graphics card sort of annoyed me, a little bit. Especially since I'd rather have the 15-inch model, but in order to get an adequate graphics card I would have to get a 17-incher. Well, adequate for my purposes - I'm sure that the 540m is perfect for a lot of people with the XPS 15.

Anyway! After all of this, I think I'm going to take a step back from Dell. I found an Asus G53SW that's relatively similar to the XPS 15 that I configured in a lot of the hardware specs - same i7-2630QM Sandy Bridge processor, same hard drive, same amount of memory, an FHD 1080p resolution screen, and so on. Except it comes with a GeForce GTX 460m graphics card. Which is, well, exactly what I'm looking for in terms of quality; it's a legitimate high-end mobile gaming card that will let me play up-to-date games at high settings with great FPS. Plus, I don't have to bother with getting a 17-inch laptop when I really still want a 15-inch one. It doesn't come with a blu-ray drive, but I think I can live with that. It costs $1200, too, which is more reasonable than I thought a dedicated gaming laptop with a Sandy Bridge processor and high-end graphics would be.

That being said, I haven't ordered it yet, since I'm still weighing my options. Part of me still wants to stick with the XPS series, since the screen still does look GORGEOUS and I'm also a sucker for high fidelity sound. But at the same time, I can order that Asus and have it here by the end of the week - the XPS will more than likely take until May to arrive, at least. And that's only if I'm lucky.

Sorry about posting all these words, guys. I just thought I'd share my experiences and perspectives, hope they don't annoy anyone too much. I'm sure the XPS 15 is a wonderful machine - I *really* wanted one! I still do in a way. I just feel like its gaming power is most likely a bit exaggerated. It could be that my expectations were just too high, though.

 

Thx it worked, it played good on gamer mode but when I put it on advanced or hardcore mode, it's laggy.

 

I'm in the same boat as you really. I like the aluminum touches on the xps 15 and the high fidelity JBL speakers. I've heard so much good things about the built in speakers, and being a music / movie guy, this captures my attention...finally a laptop that won't force me to use those dang headphones!

Becoming more of a casual gamer these days and will primarily use onlive / cloud gaming instead when I do want to play the new high end games once in a while, the xps 15 to me...makes perfect sense. I looked over the system and since it lacks an express slot, a DIY vidock with an external graphics card option is out of the question. I am actually finding many Sandy Bridge laptops lacking the express slot.

Good thing about the xps 15...it's compact and a bit more portable than the xps 17, and the battery life lasts a heck of a lot longer with the auto gpu switching via the optimus feature.

Definitely would like to use this for movies on the go, and the rgb led screen sets this baby apart from the rest. If I were a hardcore gamer and needed the utmost best type of gaming experience, I'd be looking at a desktop, or a laptop with a gtx460m and up like you said. Though with hardcore gamers, it's like, there is no end to perfection, because there is always something that can be upgraded, a new demanding game that comes out that destroys your brand new hardware, etc. usually in as little as 6 months time. Such is the way of tech, but it's worse when it comes to high end gaming. It's not fun to try and keep up with tech as far as gaming goes(especially on the wallet) unless you enjoy upgrading as a hobby.

I don't know, I am still debating on what laptop to buy. Lots of good choices out there. Since I'm not a hardcore gamer, the XPS 15 is at the top of the list.

 

@Kipcoo

Very well said.

 

You still have mPCI-E, but it's hardcore
And like I said in other thread - EC is disappearing from multimedia segment and becoming buisness only.

 

So I ordered my L502X on March 29, 2011 and it JUST shipped today! (April 12) Seems like it took forever since people ordering before me had already gotten it, but I'm in Canada. The EDD was April 21. I tried calling Dell's automated status phone # yesterday and all it said was "Your order has been received on April 11"... not very helpful.

I can't wait for it to get here!

 

hi ,any guys have the i5 2410 cpu in their xps 15s? i,ve ordered this spec-
COLOUR CHOICE Metalloid Aluminum Cover edit
PROCESSOR 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English edit
SYSTEM RECOVERY OS Media MUI Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT) Resource DVD edit
SERVICES AND SUPPORT 1 year of coverage included with your PC edit
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE PROTECTION No Accidental Damage Protection edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP DataSafe Online Backup 2GB - 1 year licence edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee® SecurityCenter 30 Day trial version edit
LCD 15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) 1080p with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera edit
MEMORY 4096MB (2x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8x DVD+/-RW, & Blu-ray Disc™ combo drive (reads Blu-ray Disc™ & writes to CD/DVD edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive edit
PRIMARY BATTERY 9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery edit
GRAPHICS CARD 2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M Graphics Card edit
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 (1x2 b/g/n+ Bluetooth Combo Card) edit
TV TUNER Internal DVB-T TvTuner edit
Accessories
Also included with your system
MOBILE BROADBAND Mobile Broadband Not Included
Order Information XPS L502x Order - UK
Shipping Documents English Documentation
DataSafe Datasafe Local 2.3 Basic
Dell System Media Kit XPS L502x Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Power Supply 130W AC Adaptor
Standard Warranty 1 year Collect & Return Hardware Support included with your PC
Carrying Cases No Carrying Case
Cables UK 250V Power Cord
Keyboard Internal Backlit UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Bundle N02X5M59 i just wondered if i,ve made the right choice?,i,m not a heavy user,web browsing ,itunes ,photos etc ,any guys have their thoughts on the performance of this cpu?

 

@web204

That processor should be fine for normal use. You can check out an in depth look at it on notebookcheck. Intel Core i5 2410M Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech

If you really don't play games I wouldn't have gone for the 540m, but if you do, then that's fine. The processor shouldn't have any effect on gaming performance.

Notebookcheck did a really good look at sandy bridge processors for gaming. Review Intel Sandy Bridge Processors Gaming Performance - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

@web204, looks a good spec for general every day use to me! CPU should be fine for all the above. Bare in mind that your sacrificing a 3G mobile card for the Internal TV card though. IMO a 3G card is more useful than a TV card as the TV card you'll have to plugin to an external aerial anyway to get decent reception. Not sure how much that lot is coming out at for you, but you can get the below spec for £966 off their website today (says expires on the 13th, so not sure if that's tonight or tomorrow night!)

Minus £125 off that price if you don't want 3yr warranty!

Module Description Show Details
Base 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Memory 6144MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [1x4096 + 1x2048]
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Video Card 2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M Graphics Card
Hard Drive 640GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Optical Devices 8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
Wireless Networking Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (EUR)
Cables UK 250V Power Cord
Shipping Documents English Documentation
Bundle N02X5M06
Standard Warranty 1 year Collect & Return Hardware Support included with your PC
Enhanced Service Packs 3Yr In-Home Hardware Support
Integrated Mobile Broadband Mobile Broadband Module - no SIM card included
Order Information XPS L502x Order - UK
Primary Battery 9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery
Carrying Cases No Carrying Case
Dell System Media Kit XPS L502x Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Color Choice Metalloid Aluminum Cover
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Protection
Online Backup DataSafe Online Backup 2GB - 1 year licence
TV Tuner and Remote Control TvTuner Not Included
LCD 15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) 1080p with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera
DataSafe Datasafe Local 2.3 Basic
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
Protect your new PC McAfee® SecurityCenter 15 Month Subscription
Power Supply 130W AC Adaptor
Operating System Recovery Options OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included

 

thanks for the replys guys,its costing me £811 including quidco which has tracked,there was no option for removing tv tuner or the 540 card,i sold my xps 15 l501 refurb to buy this, got a very very good price when i sold it (more than i paid!) that had the i5 560 cpu which was more than fast enough for me

 

I got my XPS 15 today, works great, love it, fast looks great, good build quality, amazing screen. Clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate, worked perfectly, reloaded drivers from Dell Web site and did the zillion windows upgrades. So far no real issues. On the touchpad, I hit function F3 to turn it off, the light comes on, but the touch pad never turns off. Any ideas on this one?

 

Nice specs Gizweb! Is that the Momentus XT HD you've stuck in it? How's it perform?

 

Yes, that's the HDD, so far, works perfect. Had it in my Studio 1645, worked great there as well. Very fast and no issues.

 

I really love this machine, but I wish there was an option to prevent the keyboard from turning off illumination after 30 seconds of being afk...

 

Hi guys! Just wanna ask these questions:

@gizweb If I change the HD myself to a Momentus XT SSH will it void my warranty? (or you trust Dell laptops too much that I don't need to bother)

@loaded12 I'm in Canada too, did you order by chat/phone? How did you get the 6230 w card?

 

A pecking bird on the keyboard? < /simpsons>

 

I just ordered my L502X, and I decided against spending the huge price Dell is charging for a SSD. I'd like to have one installed, but I don't trust myself to make the upgrade myself. Is there a national U.S. computer company (or someone local to Philadelphia, PA) that performs these types of installs?

 

Geeksquad at bestbuy will do it for you, but they charge for doing that. I've never used their service so have no idea about their professionalism but they do it for sure.

 

Thank you! I'd try it myself, but the procedure for removing the palmrest sounds a bit tricky.

 

The palmrest actually isn't too bad so long as you are slow and deliberate.

After you detach the two hooks in the wall behind the battery you take a credit card and start detaching the palmrest from one side.

Anyways on the note of games, I have managed to run one game thus far (sims medieval) on 1280x1024 settings and it ran smooth as silk. I'm not sure if there's a way to do it, but if we can simply run our games within a smaller window with a height of 1024, that would be sufficient for gaming on a laptop without sacrificing clarity.

I really don't think it's necessary to run at max native resolution unless you want that much out of your system. For me, I got the i7 for a steal and under $1000 yet it fits my needs just fine.

 

My xps arrived 2 days ago, i was just wondering about the 9 cell battery i got about 4 hours out of it with screen brightness on low, basically during that time i was installing things off a usb pen and cd's.

Also does anyone else find the fact the screen doesnt tilt back very far annoying? I have a IKEA tray that tilts the computer to help air flow and the keyboard angle but i cant tilt the screen back far enough to be at the right angle for the colours.

I'm loving the speakers so much better than the ones on my previous 3 laptops.

Edit: also anyone know how much (or where to find out how much) it is to upgrade/ extend the warranty. I didnt purchase any but now im thinking it maybe a good idea as i want this laptop to last, so if its not too much i might get a extended warranty.

 

ollie2001,how long have dell qouted you on delivery ,i ordered on the 09/04/11 estimated delivery date of 05/05/11 !! is yours similar?

 

Yes Webb204! Bloody 13/5! I'll be posting my progress in here http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/568866-dell-xps-15-l502x-order-progress.html

The rep assured me during ordering that it should be "much quicker than that" but that could of just been typical sales speak. I'm hoping for the end of April really if not sooner...

 

i,m pi......d off mines been in (work in progress) since i ordered it,just have a bad feeling about this order!!