Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

newey-west, I was in the same boat as you. I was set on the 5160, but decided on the Dell because it ended up being somewhere around $250 cheaper than the Sager for basically the same configuration. I haven't received mine yet (only two more days!) but the XPS 15 just seemed a little better put together from what I've read, plus the speakers are way better. The only things I'll miss are the number key pad and a matte screen that the Sager had to offer. Those are pretty minor gripes though.

However both get pretty hot internally. This doesn't mean the outside case gets super hot though, from all accounts it stays pretty cool. It only gets relatively warm when you are pushing it to the extreme. Most of the talk about heat is related to Turbo Boost, so any Sandy Bridge processor is going to run hot if you are maxing out all the cores. Normal everyday stuff is not going to get nearly as hot.

I ended up going with the 525m because I won't be gaming much with it. If you are just watching movies on it the 525m will be just fine. I don't play SC2 so I don't know if it will be that great for you. If you are in doubt go with the 540m, as it's been said that is not an upgradeable part.

 

Just a quick update to say I received my l502x today and was blown away. Really is the muts nuts...

Have already ripped the palm rest off and stuck a Corsair F60 SSD in there and moved the original 640GB HD to a caddy where the DVDRW used to be (I hardly ever use discs so don't see the point in keeping it).

Done a clean install of Win7 ultimate x64 and it now boots super quick and everything's super responsive. WEI scores:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2630QM CPU @ 2.00GHz 7.4
Memory (RAM) 6.00 GB 7.5
Graphics Intel(R) HD Graphics Family 5.7
Gaming graphics 1696 MB Total available graphics memory 6.7
Primary hard disk 33GB Free (56GB Total) 7.7

FHD screen is mind blowing as well. Build quality superb, not had any problems so far.

Just waiting for the Intel 6230 wifi/BT card to turn up and I'll swap out the crappy intel 1000 card I got it with.

Cheers for everyone's comments/insights on this thread

 

I got my L502X delivered here in Brazil last week, and I'm very happy with it. This is the configuration:

- Core i5-2410M
- GeForce 525M 1GB
- 4GB DDR3
- 500GB HD
- FHD BGR-LED
- 56Whr Battery
- N1030 Wi-Fi+BT 3.0
- 130W Power Adapter
​

But I'm noticing some random clicks and pops from my power adapter. They are very low, but annoying. Is it normal? Should I be concerned?

Also, where can I download a legal version of the OEM Windows 7 Home Premium in Portuguese? Is there any place where I can find it?

 

My power adapter is also making faint clicking noises. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Should I call Dell?

 

What kind of boot time are you getting?

I have a vertex 2 60gb in mine, and after a clean install, i'm getting sub 30 seconds. I'm not sure if that is as fast as it should be.

What other ssd tweaks did you do?

 

What link did you click to get this setup?

 

Hi there, from power button to fully logged in and ready to go, 28-30 seconds. POST does take a few seconds though (damn it! ) So pretty much the same as yours! I enabled autologin for that test, so will be a bit longer normally as I have to enter a password.

I followed this quick guide: Windows 7 - Ultimate SSD Speed Tweaks

Nothing you can really do to make it much quicker. I keep mine in sleep most of the time though and it wakes up instantly.

My clean install of Windows 7 was with SP1 integrated if that makes any slightest difference! Def saved sometime installing it afterwards.

EDIT: Ooh, and make sure TRIM is enabled and functioning correctly, at an admin command prompt type "fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify" and if it's 0, it's working, if it's 1 it isn't. If it's one, check you have the latest Intel chipset drivers installed and you have AHCI enabled. If TRIM isn't working properly, all the crud on your SSD will just keep mounting up and up (as Windows never truly deletes data) and will cause slower write times on your SSD. TRIM basically clears out the crud in the background...

 

Thanks for the reply, looks like it's about right then, I was just thinking about the macbook air's supposed 18 second boot time...

TRIM is working.

Now just this ridiculous fan cycling issue.....

 

Hi guys ,I received my xps today , I'm looking to do a clean win 7 install, But I don't see any option of keeping my powerdvd programme , it's not on the discs provided , is it on the dell site anywhere. I.m in the UK if this makes a difference, thanks in advance

 

The preinstalled software installers are located in here

https://smartsource.dell.com/Web/Welcome.aspx?ReturnUrl=/web/main.aspx

There is a download limit for each software.

 

I would call Dell. Potential electrical hazards are not cool. If I were in your shoes, I would outright demand a new power supply.

 

I can't find it now, it was definitely in this thread from what I remember.

It had the HD screen, TV Tuner, Bluetooth Wifi Card, Blu-ray all picked as standard parts, and you were able to pick the i5 processors.

If I start fresh now I can't get the same result, but maybe I could with that link, I'll have a look again.

 

Sorry to barge in owlservice & electricworry but I think this link may help you. If you take the model variation number from this review and put into the url of the dell configurator you pretty much get the model you are after. I used it and got a amazing i5-2410 XPS 15 with ALL the extras for £818 with 10% discount voucher. Sneaky sneaky

Dell Link

Hope it helps!

EDIT: You have to select the UK dell site first for the link to work.

 

Well done that man, yes, that's the link I was looking for! You did well for £818, I would have spent more time trying to bring the price down, but the coupon I was using expired tomorrow, so I didn't want to risk it.

Have you got your system already? Is there software for the TV tuner, is it any good?

Someone should sticky that link, as if you go onto the dell site without it, the good options are missing, and they're forcing you to take an i7, which is probably excessive for a lot of people.

 

I got my system 5 days ago Well before my due date.

In the box you get an aerial adapter, to connect to an existing aerial feed, and a cute little stand alone clip aerial. I have only tried the stand alone clip aerial which you use through Windows Media Center to display tv. It found most of the digital channels but only got a picture from Russia Today and Al-Jazeera tv.... neither of which I watch! I was in a poor reception area though.

To be fair I haven't watched much tv since getting it. I've been watching HD youtube videos. The screen quality and sound are AMAZING!

 

I've heard some reports of Maya, Max, Mudbox, etc. not working with the XPS 15 (or more specifically, the 540M). Can anyone test that out?

Source: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=196296

 

PowerDVD 3D 9.6 Questions:

Is this PowerDVD software really necessary? Does it really provide any value or is it more of a bloatware item? Won't Media Player handle all the same things?

I did a clean install but have yet to put this back on. I do have the CD from Dell and installed it on another older PC I have. The first thing I noticed were all the intense ads to upgrade. Seems everywhere you go in the app it wants you to purchase the Pro version.

 

how to enable middle click on the L502X touchpad. in my inspiron if i click the middle, in between left and right mouse button it works as a middle click. it doesnt do that by default on the xps. where exactly should i need to configure it. did not find it on Synaptics settings menu.may be i missed it.

Also during regular use (browsing,music ) i feel a good amount of hot air gushing out of the vents on the left hand side. is this normal ?

 

I'm wanting to keep it for bluray playback, as far as I know I need it for this

 

Hello, long time lurker, first time poster.

So I have ordered a L502x (Core i7-2720 2.2GHz, 8GB DDR3, 2GB Nvidia GT540M, 15.6" B+RGLED 1080p, 640GB 7.2k rpm HD, Blu-ray ROM, Windows 7 Professional x64, etc.) to replace my aging XPS M1330. The new laptop arrived almost 2 weeks ago but as of now it is still sitting on my desk collecting dust.

Basically, I'm trying to replace the 640GB HD with a 120GB Intel 320 SSD I've already bought. As you have probably noticed, Dell no longer ships the Windows 7 DVD with the XPS15. AFAIK, there are 3 things I can try do:

1. As suggested by the Dell rep, use Dell DataSafe Local Backup to make recovery discs which restore the laptop to factory condition with all of the drivers and pre-installed applications.
2. Clone the existing partition onto the SSD with all of the drivers and pre-installed applications.
3. Do a fresh install of Win 7 from a DVD which requires reinstallation of all drivers and applications.

Option 1 can't be done as the recovery program on the bootable DVD's I've made with Dell DataSafe said that my 120GB SSD is "not supported". I guess Dell DataSafe has made an image of the 640GB drive which would require a same or larger capacity drive for the recovery process.

Option 2 is not desirable as I've read that cloning a HD onto a SSD will lead to partition alignment issue which may seriously degrade the performance on the SSD.

Option 3 is perhaps doable. When I called Dell tech support and raised my issues, I was told that I can obtain the Windows 7 installation disc, at a handling charge of $20. And that is only plain Windows 7 w/o the drivers and pre-installed applications. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue as I can just reinstall all of the drivers / applications from the CD/DVDs provided. But as you may notice, Dell also didn't ship the installation disc for PowerDVD which came pre-installed on the XPS15. When I told the Dell tech support about this, he said that there's nothing they can do if their software partner doesn't supply them with the installation disc. I know there's a disc for Roxio and some other stuff but apparently Cyberlink didn't provide one for PowerDVD. So if I do the fresh Windows 7 installation, I'd likely have to purchase PowerDVD AGAIN if I want to play Blu-ray on the laptop, and this is far less than desirable.

For the L502x owners who have changed to SSD, how did you do it (preferably a method which avoids the pitfalls I've mentioned above)? And if I don't want to get the Win 7 installation disc form Dell, has anyone tried something like this?

Thanks for any help and sorry for this somewhat long post.

 

There only way to play back blu-rays with Windows Media Player is to use AnyDVD HD to remove the content protection legally, then browse to the file in Windows explorer although you lose features such as menus etc.

My personal favourite is Arcsoft Media for blu-ray playback

 

Shouldn't you be able to get the software from Falco's link above? I can't test it to see yet as my XPS 15 is arriving today, but I assume PowerDVD would be in there for you. Just make a disc backup so you have it for future use.

Also you don't have to spend $20 for a disc of Windows 7, you can use the links in this guide. They are perfectly legal, since you have an official Windows key to use.

 

I received my xps 15 on monday.... happy with the performance but there is on problem-
The area around the left side of the palmrest gets very very hot after half hour or so.....its even hotter than my xps 1645...i think its due to 750gb HDD wihich is installed just beneath the palmrest....how are your temps?
DO you guys think replacing with SSD would help,if yes any guide on how to remove the palmrest....

 

Ah sweet! Thanks for the heads up. I'll have a look into that My Dell Download thing. I believe we have both linked to the same thread regarding getting the Win 7 ISO.

 

Here's the guide for changing HD (includes link to instruction on how to remove the palmrest).

Documentation

 

Oops I didn't see your link at the bottom, junglist. That is the same thread. Let us know how it turns out if you do the clean install with the links from that thread.

 

To remove the palm rest some one suggested to use a Credit Card if a plastic scribe was not available.
I tried the credit card method and it worked great.

 

I just got my XPS 15 L502x yesterday. To stay within my budget I got the basic screen which is 1366x768. I have to say that it looks pretty bad and I am disappointed. Compared to my 3 year old HP laptop (which is 1280x800) it just looks washed out and less bright. It looks kind of like I am looking at it through a screen door- I can see each individual pixel of light and the result is kind of a dull, grey, and grainy image. It is more noticeable on solid colors but I also noticed it when I tried playing a game. Is this normal? Anyone else here not get the 1080p screen?

 

You're pretty much describing why everyone here is getting, and encouraging everyone to get, the 1080p screen. Sorry...

 

Which is what exactly? Is Dell known for having crappy screens? I'm trying to figure out if I should 1) return the laptop because they are all like this or 2) get it repair because something is wrong.

 

I can't say whether yours is defective, but the 1920x1080 is far superior. My wife has an Inspiron 15R with a 1366x768 screen. It's not bad, but it can't hold a candle to my XPS screen. If you can convince Dell that they should replace your computer with the better screen, it is worth the difference in cost.

 

It is *possible* that your screen is a particularly bad 768 screen, but the reasons you listed--grainy, washed out color, etc.--are endemic to that particular screen. The color is a technology issue, but the graininess is because that resolution is simply too low for a 15" screen. A 900p screen should have been the low-end option.

 

Does anyone have this similar problem? Everytime i click on my Caps Lock key it always highlights the sentence and i need to manually click on my mouse to keep writing, or else it will erase my sentence.

 

Without an undervolting solution what are you guys doing to maximize battery life? Would disabling discrete graphics completely (if possible) be best?

 

Well now I am kind of paranoid that I am just crazy, but my old Compaq with the 1280x800 screen (which is almost exactly the same size as this Dell- little taller and a little less wide) is just so much clearer that I have hard blaming the resolution alone. I guess I will try contacting support and see what they say.

 

yes rightly said , my current dell M5130 has 1444x900 res , and its very good ... 768 for 15" doesnt do justice IMO , dell shouldnt have this screen in first place , they should provide something what they provided with old XPS a 1444x900 screen atleast

 

Dell should do what Sager just did with their NP5160. They bumped the lower-end screen from 1366x768 to 1600x900 (while making the 1920x1080 upgrade cheaper) and all it did was add a measly ~$15 to the base price of the laptop. Why can't Dell do this?

It also makes recommending the laptop a lot easier because since 1600x900 is a decent resolution I don't have to waste my energy coming up with a post convincing them to pay extra for the 1920x1080 upgrade like I do with the XPS 15

EDIT: and the Alienware M15x has a 1600x900 base option too, so obviously Dell does source 15.6" 900p panels, they're just too lazy/cheap to put them in the XPS15.

 

I am looking for a guide on what drivers to install in what order, after a fresh install. I thought I saw one somewhere in this thread, but I've not been able to find it again. Anyone remember seeing it?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...15-r2-l502x-owners-lounge-74.html#post7415385

here you go

 

The problem is not the resolution, or lets say its not the main problem...its the crappy contrast, which makes the screen washed out. Just compare:

XPS 15 1366x768: ca. 200:1 --> thats the normal contrast on most notebooks
XPS 15 1920x1080: ca. 700:1

for the comparison:
Inspiron 1520 1440x900 (probably the same screen as on the 1530) ca: 600:1!!!

The only notebooks with a good screen are:
Macbooks
Dell FHD screens (I haven't seen the AW 15" 1600x900 screen)
Asus FHD in the new G73
Sony FHD
HP (the one in the Elitebooks)

Thats it, everything else is the same crap with 200:1.

 

According to this:
Dell - Help Me Choose: Display
both are 600:1. I doubt this is accurate though.

 

It looks like Dell took down the A07 NVIDIA driver, I'm guessing based on my finding that its incompatible with the 720p mode of the webcam. http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/572226-720p-webcam-doesnt-work-720p.html

 

Hey, I just got my L502x yesterday, and the FHD screen is amazing. I know nothing about the technical side of computers.

Can someone elxplain the benefit of a clean Windows 7 install. And will I be capable of doing this with no experience whatsoever?

And what is the difference between just going into the control panel -> Add/Remove all the junk that is not necessary?

3 questions there I guess, explanation (not instructions which are elsewhere) is appreciated, or a link that explains it all.

Thanks!!

 

Saves you alot of time and headache. It's a good start for beginners to learn and spend know their computers well before attempting a clean install.

You need to learn the faults and limitation which is not noticeable in a few weeks. Easier to get support from either dell or us using the factory base vs a clean base.

Dell is somewhat close to clean compared to other OEM like HP ugh.


Anyways after all that time, you will learn what is the absolute minimum you need to install for a clean install after driver and updates.

 

You can use it with the factory install just remove some stuff you don't need. There is somewhere a list of it here on the forum. Dell OEM installs are not only quite clean, they are pretty hardy, and seem to be much more stable than any clean out of the box install.

 

Cool, thanks Falco and Razor. Probably won't mess around with it then.

 

Thanks for that link! If Dell says it should be 600:1 then something is wrong with my screen. I checked the type of the display and it was AUOXXX. When I searched for the particular model number I came across a different thread on this board from someone with an Acer that had the same panel. This person was also displeased with how badly it looked.

The strange thing though is that my order says there should be an Lg panel:
P5XP1 Module,Liquid Crystal Display,15.6HDF,True Life,Lg Philips Lcd,NIMOY

Do AUO panels get rebadged as Lg Phillips?

 

You might just want to call Dell, complain about it saying it was defective, and get a technician to give you the FHD screen for free because you don't want to gamble with another 720p.

If this doesn't work, you can return it and probably afford the FHD screen if you use the $70-off coupon. Tell Dell you will be returning it and buying another one and they'll waive the restocking fee. Getting another 720 screen might result in the same problem though, because the XPS 15 is known to come with mediocre quality 720p screens.

 

Interesting advice edit, thanks. This is my first Dell so I don't already know- what is the best department to call? They seem to have a lot of different numbers, they have online chat, etc.

 

Hey guys, have a look at this idea on ideastorm and promote it if you like it:

IdeaStorm | Media Keys defaulted on F Keys

It proposes a third setting in Quickset for the Fn/Media keys, to set the function keys half and half. F1 - F6 as function key first and F7 - F12 as media keys first, the best of both worlds!