Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

No, you can easily get 15k RPM drives for consumer usage. RPM does indeed drastically increase read/write and access. Please know what you are talking about.

You can't get sustained write speed above that in any meaningful synthetic benchmark or real world applications. Of course you can peak write of ~100 MB/s.

 

Could you tell me how fast it boots, as is it noisy?

 

Sorry about the errors, I was in a hurry....and exhausted. Here's my point: You get the state of art laptop with modern ports, do the same thing with an external drive, and you epect some level of truth and accuracy from corporations. Not all of us have time to reserch everythign to death. I undestandbottlenecks but also expect someone in corporate offices to stop laughing and go "We really shouldn't put those graphs and text out there...It's like telling a new car buyer the car could reach 700 MPH, get up to 1,600 MPG, and might seat 25 people. Maybe we should post real test results instead."

61 Mbps is still horrible results.

3.5" Desktop Hard Drive tests using USB 3.0
http://www.everythingusb.com/speed.html

 

Are you using an 3.5" external drive or 2.5" portable?

 

how can i back up "Roxio Creator Starter" application that came with my xps 502x laptop? my current windows is win 7 home but i want to install win7 ultimate from another dvd , i used dell data safe local back up and it created 3 backup DVDz , all contain wierd files! no exe setup for original applications such as ROXIO that came with XPS 15! any advise?

 

Sorry to interrupt the HD discussion (of which I know almost nothing), but anyone else have any idea about this? If not then I'll probably try again then get an exchange on the keyboard and see if the next one works.

 

I removed the keyboard on mine, and the power cable for the backlight definately needs to stick. You need to flip the black switch up to open the connector, then getting the power cable to slide in is tricky, it took me about thirty tries before it actually did, then click the black switch on the connector down again to secure it. If you pull the tiny black switch thingy too hard, it will pop off - you'll have to pop it back in again. Happened to me
If you are unsure if the backlight works, attach a powersource to the powercable, from 1,5 - 3 V (5V max!), like an AA battery, and see if the leds light up. I'm not sure which is the +xV and which is the ground on the powercable, but that shouldn't be too hard to find out.

 

Linky? As AFAIK they all use SAS ports and are not intended for consumer use, although obviously you can put them to consumer use if you buy the right kit. Which doesn't alter the point that velociraptors are 10k.

And obviously read/write speed is influenced by rotational speed. But assuming you have a drive with 200GB platters at 10k rpm, and a drive with 500GB platters at 5k rpm, the increased platter density while mean the "slower" drive at 5k rpm will have faster sequential read/write speeds - even though the 10k drive will be more responsive as a boot drive.

I'm afraid it is you who does not understand the relationship between read/write speeds and the factors that make them what they are.

And just to illustrate that you do not know what you're talking about, here's a quick ATTO benchmark from the WD Black 750GB in this very laptop, showing file transfer sizes of 16KB and greater to have write speeds of more than 100MB/s. Please note that I have disabled use of the write cache (Force write access option) so this benchmark does not make use of the cache and is therefore a sustained speed, not a "burst speed", which would be higher through use of the write cache.

And you can get use of that write speed when, for example, copying a large file from my boot SSD to the secondary HDD. It's not tricky to find a scenario when you want fast read/write speeds.

 

Can anyone confirm? I don't have reason to believe that any of the components on mine are metal. My lid came with quite a few scratches. It was a refurb, but not a scratch/dent version. The color of the material on the palmrest/deck is darker than the cover and sides and has faint lines that run parallel to the keyboard. If anything, I would think that that part is metal, but everything else looks like the same plastic I have on my old inspiron...

 

Hi, does anyone know if there is an ideal level to keep the battery charge between? i.e. maximum and minimum levels of charge which reduce wear on the battery?

Right now I have it set to automatically stop charging once the battery reaches 100% but I heard that keeping the battery at 80% is ideal.

 

Vacuum Your Intake Vent
Vacuum Your Vent
Vacuum Your Intake Vent
Vacuum Your Vent

I needed your attention. Please make sure to brush vacuum your cooling fan vent on the bottom of the laptop. It's located under the F1 key, but of course on the bottom of the laptop. This is the intake vent.

The vent is designed in a way that traps and builds up alot of dust. The design makes it hard to notice dust buildup unless you look directly into he vent with a flashlight or bright light. Also make sure to vacuum the exhuast port of the cooling fan located on the left side.

Keep it cool bro's and sista's and good luck.

 

I suggest you do not vacuum your laptop unless you want it to be a nice shiny expensive paperweight. Vacuuming computer components is bad since it tends to build up static which damages them. If you must vacuum it, at least have it turned off and plugged into the wall so the earth will function (UK applicable only I believe). Do so at your own risk.

 

hey wat u guys will suggest me..xps l502x or hp dv6-6121tx..
in terms of better gaming..which will play games with better fps less heating n more battery back up..please help..m gonna make a decision soon ..m much into xps now ​

 

Well I just read all the way to page 68 wanting to get as much info I can before asking any questions. got tired so here's one question:

About the battery: for this laptop specifically, is it better to leave the battery in all the time while plugged in? Should I remove it and just charge it once in a while? I mostly have it plugged in and don't use the battery much...at least for now. I want to get as much life out of it as I can. Thx

BTW: I love my XPS! Everything seems to work fine. Will upgrade to better memory though.



XPS 15 L502x | i7-2620M | 6GB RAM | GT 525M | 750GB 7200RPM HDD | B+RGLED 1080p | 6230 w/BT | Blu Ray | 9-cell | Backlit Keyboard | Win 7 Ultimate

 

The HP's GPU (6770M w/GDDR5 memory) is a much better choice for gaming, but the XPS 15 is pretty much better for everything else.

 

how can i make my dell to switch graphics automatically? I tried playing the witcher 2 but i had to switch the graphic manually to the dedicated gt540m while the settings is set to AUTO.

I've tried installing the newest nvidia 275.33 driver and it installed successfully but when i run dxdiag, the main driver still shows 8.1.... something.

any help would be appreciated

 

You should be able to "whitelist" it in the nVidia control panel.

How well does TW2 play for you? I'm thinking about picking up a copy.

 

u making me more confused

 

I just leave my battery in, but mine is pretty much just a UPS. Also, I've never been a subscriber to the speculation that removing the battery for storage when not using it increases it's lifespan significantly. Besides, after a couple of years it's not that big of an expense to buy a new battery, and I'm usually starting to look for another laptop by that time anyway.

 

Okay... put simply, the HP is a better gaming laptop.

 

can u please put some stats how better is 6770 from 540m ??????

n what about the heating in both the cards

 

Yea...thats the way I see it too. If I can get a couple years off it I'm happy. This is my first laptop and wasn't sure. Thx

 

I don't have any problems with GPU temps while playing games and I haven't heard of any problems with the HP's heating either.


AMD HD 6770M

nVidia GT540M

 

i have heard ati having much heating issue..

also m not much interested in hp..i dont trust hp

bcoz my frnd's 1year old hp dv6 with 1gb ati is unable to play crysis II
sound impossible naaaaaaaaa ?

 

I've heard the HP dv6tqe is a big improvement over the older HP's and is probably the best 15" gaming platform at it's price point. In all honesty though, if I were looking for a 15" gaming laptop I'd be looking at the Sager NP8150 / Clevo P150HM in some form. A bit more expensive, but the specs are hard to beat.

 

bro those options are not available here in india..
we have got few brands like hp dell acer asus mac alienware lenovo n few others..

those dell n hp model will cost here around 60,000INR. 45INR==USD which will be around 1300-1400USD

xps is also not available in all cities..
i have to place an order to the reseller or go to diffent city where i can find cheaper deals..

i was planning to buy from dell's exclusive showroom ..

 

what is the price of dv6 n xps in ur country/city ??????????????

 

It plays smoothly in High spec with 720p but i don't know about the FPS as i don't have fraps

and why the windows experience index doesn't detect the gt540m? it gave me a score of 5.7 for the intel HDgraphics 3000. and everytime i run canyourunit.com it also doesn't detect my gt540m

 

The lid clearly seems plastic to me. I bought mine as scratch n dent, and it had a pretty big scratch on the lid.

 

I recommend to boot the laptop without the power cord plugged in, and then if you right-click on the battery meter in the system tray, go to Battery Properties and check the 'don't charge when plugged in' checkbox...
Then plug in the power cable, and it won't charge the battery...
I would only charge the battery when you need to...

Yes, the Xps15 is a nice laptop!

 

Well, the XPS 15 can play most current games at reasonable settings so it should be a good choice as well. I will add that if you can't get it with the 1080p display I'd just get a different laptop since the screen and audio are what makes the XPS 15 so good. Your prices are a little higher, maybe a couple/few hundred more than what I've seen here.

The XPS 17's GPU's are on par with the HP's. It's a bit bulkier but something you might want to consider.

 

Thanks. Good to hear it plays smooth. I might just bite the bullet and pick it up today. I swore I wasn't going to get back into gaming that much, but I've already loaded more games onto this thing than on all of my previous laptops combined.

I haven't heard of anyone who's been able to get WEI to recognize the nVidia, but WEI is NOT a good indicator of anything really. I've never used canyourunit so I can't comment on that.

 

WEI detects the nVidia card for gaming, hence the gaming score and the Intel card for desktop graphics which is what is used.

 

check this out::

Top 10 Multimedia Laptops - Notebookcheck.net Reviews
Review Dell XPS 15 Notebook (i5-2410M & GT 540M) - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

xps with i5 is in their top 10 list..

howz your experience with l502 ???????????

 

its much bulky..
n cost is same as that of alienware 14x

 

despite dv6-6121 having good gfx mgoing with xps 15

reasons ::
1. faster hdd
2. backlit keyboard
3. JBL speakers

 

Also can use generic graphic drivers from both Intel and Nvidia.

 

hello everyone,
i have recently purchased a dell xps 15 (i7 2630,8GB RAM,750GB RAM,nvidia gt 525m,intel centrino 6230)
now i have TWO questions
1.the sound gets bad sometimes:well i don;t know whether its a problem or not but in the middle of a song it will just go brrrrr....

2.Can i overclock the nvidia gt525m to the performance of a nvidia gt 550m as both are the same chips.

 

@ sk
for the brrrr sound
I experience the same thing at first, and when I test with DPC Latency Checker, there is a high latency (can reach up to 50000 in value, forgot the measurement, I think in microsecond). My current solution is to use WINAMP or VLC, which reduce that effect. Not sure if true, but after removing McAffee (I do not recommend this if you intend/purchase the McAffe Suite), it seems better lately. Are you using WMP and Win7 SP1? Try to use DPC Latency Checker, and see what absolute value u get. This is not a perfect solution though.
For second question, I am not sure

Edit: I also disable fast access driver in device manager.

 

so i just got my l502x today =) real happy bout it except for the fact that .. my xps16 has a significantly better screen than the xps15(720p for both but the xps 16) =( .. the l502x is a replacement from dell.. so ya.. emailed to tell them so will see how xD..anyway i notice that sometimes at the top of the screen theres this empty space that my mouse can go but cant click.. and everything goes below that empty area.. after restarting it's fine till it happens again.. any fixes? also =/ is 268.30 the latest driver?(GT540M) what to do what to do?!?!?! bahh.. =)

 

You should have gotten the 1080P R+BG LED screen for the L502X... It's an amazing screen, one of the best out there. You should see if you can pay the difference to have dell replace it.

Not sure about the mouse problem but the latest Nvidia driver is 280.26 ( NVIDIA DRIVERS 280.26 WHQL) so you're pretty far behind with the nvidia driver. Also, either grab the newest intel video driver from the dell site or go to intel and have them scan your system for the latest drivers (Intel® Driver Update Utility).

 

I also find that if the sound is quite loud then the subwoofer will vibrate the laptop's panels a bit... not really that bad though.

As for overclocking, make sure you have Nvidia System Tools installed and you can overclock your video card from the Nvidia Control Panel. There's no guarantee that it will overclock AT ALL though, but it might make it to 550m speeds so give it a try. Good news is that you most likely won't do any harm to the video card from overclocking it... just make sure you watch the temperatures! That can harm your computer.

If you need some info about the 550m:
NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

I just installed one in a Latitude E5420 (with a core i5), and it really is noticably faster, similar to the speed of the vertex II drive I have in my desktop when booting and starting frequently used programs. Using one is taking a bit of a risk however, as it seems there are plenty of people having trouble with the drive - check out the seagate forums. So far, I'm very pleased with it, plenty of storage, great speed at a very affordable price. The noise it makes is the same level as the WD 7200rpm drive in my XPS 15 now, which is only faintly noticable when the fan is off.

 

Thanks, how do I transfer to the Dell restore partition to the new HDD?

 

I Just received my XPS 15 and am in the process of running memory and disk tests.

Once that is done, I would like to, as I do with all of my new computers, perform a clean install of Windows. However, this is the first computer I've purchased that did not come with a Windows re-installation disk. Instead, using the Dell Data Safe software, I had to create (3) system recovery disks.

This is the first time I ever had to create recovery disks like this and was wondering if someone could tell me if a clean install of Windows is possible using these recovery disks without installing the crapware, i.e., Dell Stage, Dell Support Center, Cozi Family Calendar, etc. Or, will these programs be installed automatically upon recovering from these disks?

Further, what about the drivers? Will they also be installed automatically when recovering from these disks? I DID receive a CD from Dell which is entitled Drivers & Utilities.

I'm pretty anal about this and usually do a clean install of Windows on my computers every 6 months or so. I just want to make sure I do it right on this new laptop.

Thank you for your help.

 

loaded12
Thanks ill do it as soon as I get home. Oh.bout the screen. I'll see if I can get use to it.or wait till the end of the year to get a part time job to get it. but then ill have an extra useless screen right?. Haha. Oh also can anyone confirm if the top of the screen is a little loose. Not completely flushed I seem to be able to press it. And sometimes it makes a clicking sound if I press it

 

Try killing toaster.exe process from the windows task manager and see if the problem persists.

 

Hey all, I hope this is the right place. I currently have the new Vaio CB laptop. However, due to the switchable Radeon graphics not working correctly, I'm working on getting it refunded. I've been looking at the XPS 15:

i7-2630QM (is this the "best" one for the value?)
6GB ram
1920x1080 screen (of course)
Nvidia GT 540 with 2GB vram (overkill but the only option, minus tv tuner)
750 HDD
SPeakers

Currently my Vaio is an i5-2410, 4gb ram, Radeon 6630M (that doesn't really work), backlit KB, 1080 screen, etc. I got the Dell with coupons to get down to $1,069. Is that a good value? Seems like this would actually do all I wanted, but wanted to get your opinions.

1)How is the heating with the XPS 15? The Vaio runs very cool with Sandy Bridge. Hoping this is the same.

2)I didn't see a backlit keyboard on the XPS. Not a dealbreaker, but kind of spoiled with the Vaio's.

3)Do the Optimus graphics actually work? AMD's Catalyst Control Center just doesn't work, whether it's an AMD issue or Sony Bios issue, neither company is acknowledging a problem. How is Nvidia in terms of being aware of issues and releasing updates/patches/drivers?

Any other tips would be great. Thanks again, hopefully this is the laptop that will actually be worth it.

 

southdrexel!!! thanks.. you were right == know any reason why this happens? or permanent fixes? coz killing toaster every single time can be annoying ==

 

Disable SoftThinks Agent Service in Administrative Tools > Services Control Panel.

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