Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

yes that so it so post look like that right ?

 

The keyboard has a thin polythene film on when it's new - like on the Dell badge. I would have thought it should've been taken off at the factory...

 

I am assuming it was SUPPOSED to be removed...I just took it off. it was half off anyway.

 

Yes it is first and ill try to find more services to shut off.

 

any other bios tweak recommendations?

 

Just did this and I now get:

Memory: 7.5
Graphics: 5.9
Gaming: 6.6
Hard disk: 5.9

I also ran 3DMark06 and got a score of 8137.0.

So I am not sure what was happening as those looks to be about right don't they?

 

I'm concerned about the screen listing in my order. I ordered the second generation i7 Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x, but in my order for the screen listing it gives this:

15.6FHD TLF B+RGLED LCD L501X

Why does it say L501X when I ordered the L502X?

 

Wow, what kind of figures do you get on average? On mine with Graphics on Fancy, Render on Far, and both View Bobbing and Smooth Lighting turned off, I get between 50 - 100FPS when moving and between 80 - 200FPS standing still.

When did you start playing Minecraft on your laptop? The reason I ask is, when I first played Minecraft on mine (which I got about a week ago), the fan was fairly quiet (I was quite impressed as it meant I could keep playing whilst on the phone, without the person knowing. ). That was up until yesterdays 1.5 update, now the fan comes on full blast most the time I'm playing.

 

I don't think it's anything to worry about. I'm pretty sure it's because it's the same part as the 501. I just ordered mine on Sunday and it says the same thing. Really I'm not sure how many parts are different between the two anyway. I think as long as it has a 4 digit number in the processor (e.g. i7-2630QM or i5 2520M) it's the new version.

 

Great, thanks!

 

Oh, the plastic on the keyboard did come off easily. I feel stupid now, haha.

No worries, they're simply using the same 1080p model that was on the l501x. (It's still good).

I was playing on 1.5 when the fans and heat started up. It seems like it's a little calmer with the 1.5_01 update though... maybe my imagination. Here are some settings and FPS while I was running around a bit.

Intel Graphics:
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/883/minecraftintelgraphics.png

Nvidia 540M:
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3508/minecraft2s.png

540M Highest:
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/516/highest.png

And just for laughs, 845FPS:
http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/862/845fps.png

The higher FPS figures might be because I didn't resize the window or maximize it.

 

btw McGooble,

Is yours still "In Production"?

and what is your estimated deliver date?

Mine is in production and scheduled to be delivered May 4, 2011. Hope it's faster.

 

Mine says pre-production until I click on it, then it just says in production in the detail page. I ordered it 4/17 in the evening, standard shipping. Delivery date is 5/5. I can't wait until it gets here, hopefully it will deliver before then. I saw some people were getting theirs in week!

 

Friends, I've just received my L502X and it's stunningly beautiful!

But I did not manage to get the keyboard light on. It doesn't lit up when I select "keyboard lighting on". Is there a keyboard shortcut for turning it on? What may be the problem apart from the possibility that my machine doesn't have backlit kb? Is there an info panel or something that would disclose whether I have backlit kb or not?

Also, is there a list of software to keep and software to get rid of?

 

The backlit keyboard is kind of grey, and is shiny between the keys. The non BL one is darker, has darker letters on the keycaps and is black and dull between the keys. You should have a backlight button on Fn+F6. But then I don't think the option shows up in Windows if you don't have the backlit version...

 

Hi. I happened upon this post while diagnosing a problem with my new XPS 15 and thought I would share some information. I got the XPS yesterday and had slow and intermittent wireless connection. I also have the 6230. I spent several hours going through my laptop and DIR-655 router setup and figured out that I had to change the laptops encryption type from AES to TKIP. If you click on the radio strength icon, right click your network name and then select properties you can see how it is currently set. I now have the router set up for Auto (WPA or WPA2), and Cipher type AES and TKIP. It used to be different but I neglected to right it down (duh). I am going to play around some more with settings to find what's optimal and make sure everything else in my house still works. AES may be preferred but if it doesn't work with the 6230 and DIR-655 then it's useless.

If you are still having issues I would try playing with your encryption settings. My connection is now fast and stable.

Regards,
Dom

Edit: OK it was bothering me that I had to downgrade to TKIP so I did more testing. I am now running fine using WPA2 and AES. DIR-655 router is set to WPA2 only and AES. I think the original problem was how I had the router set up. I think I had it as WPA only. I guess the message is that if you are running a 6230 with a Dlink DIR-655 and experiencing slow and intermittent wireless connectivity, then play around with these settings. I know it sounds basic but other wireless devices in my house were running fine so it threw me off.

Edit 2: All of the above was pure coincidence. The real problem is Power Save Polling. Works great while power adapter is plugged in but goes to hell while on battery power. Intel uses Power Save Polling in their pro adapters and I'm willing to bet that Dlink either does not or it's not working. All other wireless devices in my house do not use Intel and they work fine. Supposedly it can be disabled but I haven't been able to yet. Dell owes me a call so I'll ask them. 2 Fricking days on this!

 

I just got my L502 yesterday. Got the RGB 1920x1080 screen, Blu-Ray, 6GB RAM, i7 2360, and nVidia 525. Lovin' it so far, especially the keyboard; it's so choice! The one issue I'm hating is that the Fn (function) button actions have been switched from what they are on my 1645. Is there a way to switch it where holding Fn is needed to use F1, F2, etc., and the volume, brightness, wi-fi, etc., keys are free floating. If that makes sense... thanks in advance for any help. Cheers!

 

If you go to the Windows Mobility Center (It's activated by one of the touch-sensitive buttons next to the Power button), then you can go in there and switch between Multimedia and Function keys.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Hello all. I was thinking about purchasing the XPS 15 L502x. I noticed that the Dell Outlet has the new model available.

The price would be $1029 minus a 20% off coupon, for a total of $823.20 before tax. Would this be a good deal? Thanks! I have listed the specs below:




Processor: Intel Core i7-2720QM processor (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.2ghz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
XPS L502X
640 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
6 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
8X DVD +/- RW Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT540M 2GB graphics with Optimus
Elemental Silver Aluminum WLAN Capable
15.6 inch FHD (1080p) B+RGLED Display with 2.0 MP webcam
6 Cell Primary Battery

 

That's a great deal!!

 

It is a good deal. But, keep in mind the models available there are sometimes previously ordered new, but also are refurbished or scratch and dent. I'm not trying to dissuade you, just making sure you know. Personally I would only buy a previously ordered new. The others are just too risky for such an expensive purchase to me.

 

No, I had the same feeling, although it's only very slightly better in my case).

Thanks for posting your FPS results - much appreciated. It's a pity there isn't a standardised FPS test for Minecraft because I don't know how much the amount of land area discovered and types of landscapes/numbers of Mobs effects things, but although hard to judge I do seem to be getting less FPS than you. Are you using the latest NVIDIA drivers or the one that was installed by Dell?

 

Has anyone had problems with their Bluetooth mouse cutting out randomly, for random periods of time (from seconds to hours), or know what could cause this problem?

A seperate thread I started explains exactly what has been happening ( See Here), but I thought I'd highlight it here as well just in case anyone with knowledge about this or has experienced the same thing only follows this thread.

 

Someone else mentioned that they have two lines: (1) refurbished, and (2) scratch and dent. Get refurbished. Also, make sure you can purchase a warranty. I bought an Inspiron for my wife from the Outlet, and it is 100% as good as new. We've got an extended warranty just in case...

You'll love your XPS.

In case my sig hasn't been updated, I received mine, and it is awesome.

 

I noticed that the when I press fn+f6 the keyboard brightness option on the mobility center comes on and then brightens up and then off etc. So I wonder if the issue with my keyboard might be a software/driver issue?

If I were to update the drivers for the keyboard where do I find the updated drivers?

Also on the device manager the keyboard is listed as "Standard PS/2 Keyboard"; is it the same for you?

Also, is there a way to see if my display is the FHD one?

 

<fn>Fn+F6<f6> lets you alternate between off, dim and bright. Each time you press those keys, it should move to the next setting. Is it cycling through all three settings each time you press the keys once?</f6></fn>

I don't believe there are drivers on Dell's website for the backlight feature. I just got my XPS two days ago and installed all drivers for my hardware. I don't remember one for that feature. If you want to look, go to http://www.support.dell.com and follow the link on the left side of the page for "Drivers Home." Then, enter your service tag, and you will be shown all drivers available for your machine.

Right click on the desktop and then left click on "Screen Resolution." If it says your resolution is 1920x1080, then you have the FHD screen. If it doesn't, click on the down arrow on the right side of the drop down menu that tells you what your resolution is. If the highest possible setting is 1920x1080, then you have the FHD screen.

 

Yes my display is FHD.

Thanks for the help.

 

That's weird about the cycling.

I have two keyboards listed: the standard PS/2 keyboard and also an HID keyboard device.

I didn't think there were any keyboard-related drivers, but the backlighting may not be part of the keyboard device.

Glad to hear you've got the FHD.

 

I attached a wireless mouse and now there's also a "HID keyboard device" in keyboards section in the device manager.

Tomorrow I'll contact the sales representative...

 

Sometimes the Scratch & Dent are refurbished as well.

 

How do you properly load the color profile and how to you check if it's loaded properly?

Sorry if this question has been asked.

 

same question, does color profile have any benefits?

 

1. Open Color Management, Advanced tab, "Change system defaults..."

2. "Add..." and find the color profile. "Browse..." if you haven't installed it yet.

3. "Set as Default Profile" for the one you added.

4. "Remove" any original profile.

5. Advanced tab, check "Use Windows display calibration"

6. Close

To demonstrate that its actually doing something, in the Devices tab you can add the system default device profile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1). And then watch the colors shift as you press "Set as Default Profile" between this and the custom profile. Make sure to set the custom profile as default and then remove the sRGB profile before you close the window.


EDIT: And you also need to disable the IGP's Persistence application from running. Either uncheck it in msconfig (igfxpers.exe) or find it in the registry's "Run" key and delete it.

 

The idea is that it calibrates your display to a standard. So that if you send photos away to get printed, they should come back looking how they did on your screen, if the printing company is competent. If you post photos online, or look at photos online, they should look the same to you as to everyone else (either as you intended, or the photographer intended).

The difficulty is that not everyone has a calibrated display, so photos you post online might look less good to those people. Not sure how to avoid that, though.

If the display tends to be cooler than it should be (as it seems it is), or displays reds disproportionately more saturated than other colours, the calibration will fix that. The default gamut on our displays isn't uniform, so should help with that.

I got some photos printed recently and my impression was that they were darker than on screen, even with the screen at 5 blocks of brightness. My own printer is out of one of it's inks so can't investigate more until that's sorted.

 

I have a couple questions.

Is there any third party software (or can I do this without it) that will allow me to check the temperatures on my computer and adjust the fan speed?

Dell sent me a 130 watt adapter even though I did not order the 2 GB graphics card. Any problems with this?

Also, how do you replace the hard drive? How can I back up all the programs on my computer?

Do you find that the battery meter is inaccurate? I have the 6 cell battery and the battery indicator is telling me that I have seven and a half hours with 90% remaining. I have the basic edition XPS with the i7 2630QM processor.

 

@DakkonA :
what about nr. 5? should i turn 'Windows display calibration' On or Off/Empty ?

 

I recently found out about USB 3.0 issues with the XPS 15 l502x and am really concerned. I am going to order the laptop this Saturday. Can someone elaborate what these issues are and how frequent are they? How many people here have had similar issues? Are there any known fixes?

 

Anyone having problems playing games? I was trying out the Dragon Age 2 demo and it keeps freezing on me, also flight simulator X. Any ideas? Could the chips not have enough paste to keep them cool?

 

One more question.

Network utilization never goes over 1%. Downloads are very slow (several seconds to load this page). What is wrong and what should I do? Wireless N. I have the basic card (Intel 1000). I can't find out if this is connecting to the G network or the N network.

It's slower than my 4 year old computer on wireless G (though this one is closer to the router).

 

Make sure both antenna's are connected correctly by opening the back panel. Common problem.

 

I was wondering if it is possible to have a matte screen installed in this laptop? Thats one of the things that holding me back from getting it because the Sager 5160 has a matte screen and I am somewhat prone to eye strain.

 

Dell doesn't offer one, but if you can get your hands on one it is a pretty simple install.

 

Would any 15" sleeve fit with 9-cell? I want to buy a larger version of my previous 13" memory-foam sleeve.

Amazon.com: Be.ez 100783 LA robe Sleeve for New Macbook Pro 15 (Chocolat): Electronics

Can't find the dimensions for the XPS 15m 9-cell, sorry.
Or perhaps ZeroShock?

edit: I'm guessing we'll need 16" sleeves?
edit 2: 15.0" x 10.4" x 1.3-2.2" (WxDxH, 9-cell)

 

I've had my xps for about 2 weeks and it deffinately has a lot of potential, However due to the optimus issue and lack of working Nvidia drivers, I am slighty dissapointed.

I mean once they put out some drivers that will actually let me use my 540m so I can run older games (like the witcher) I'll be happy. Until then I guess I have to just be a little bummed that I have to wait without knowing when it'll work to that potential.

 

Got my XPS 15 on Tuesday. Noticed buzzing from the speakers immediately after powering on. Contacted Dell via chat on Wednesday, and they dispatched a field tech. He showed up today (late), rushed through the repair (35 minutes for a dis-assembly, repair and reassembly), messed up, had to reassemble it again so they keyboard would work, and within 45 minutes of him leaving, keyboard stopped working and the speaker buzzing returned. Had a return authorization granted about an hour ago, so it will be returning back to wherever it was spawned on Monday.

Aside from that, 1080p screen is nice. Build quality seems to be above what I'd experienced from Dell in the past, although it's pretty lousy how it's made to appear that the case is predominantly constructed of aluminum, when in actuality it's just the back of the lid and a chintzy layer of aluminum covering plastic around the keyboard and palm rest area. The fan spin-up and spin-down is ridiculous. Other than that, it's a pretty nice Dell, for what that's worth. Maybe owning a MBP has spoiled me, but honestly...I expected better.

 

I had a similar issue they sent a tech out and he couldnt fix it... got on the horn with dell and raised hell so they sent me a new laptop completely... Why pay full price for a instantly refurbished laptop...

 

Did the replacement have any issues? They offered me a replacement, but I didn't really inquire beyond that, just pushed for the RA number.

 

I flat out told them I wouldn't accept anything but a brand new factory made laptop since that's what I was paying for.. so thats what I got!

I refused to pay full price for a refurbished machine and if they insisted on sending me one I would send it back for a full refund.

 

Is there a guide or anything for this kind of installation?