Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

ok, just got the laptop today. its been sitting at the 'setup is preparing your computer for first use' window for about 15 minutes. is it hung?

 

Yes ive seen 8gb modules on crucials site but the xps's dont currently support them. And there about £300 each, so not worth it.

 

laptop runs great. had to reboot the machine as soon as i got it and its smooth sailing. what a great laptop this is. very elegant and responsive. a tad bigger and heavier than i thought, but not too bad really.

i was expecting the i7-2670QM processor to show 4 CPUs in task manager, but there are actually 8!! woo hooo.

 

That is because i7 uses HyperThreading technology, which has 2 threads for each core. Therefore, Task Manager indicates that you have 8 threads.

 

So I ran the test twice, back to back, and the max CPU ( i5 2410M) temperature reached was about 87 degrees celsius according to HWMonitor. Is that normal for the L502X?

Also, I'm using the latest nVidia laptop drivers from laptopvideo2go.com, and yet both the stress test and windows experience indicator continue to use the intel HD graphics instead of the 525m. How can I make sure programs use the dedicated card?

 

I ran the same test, and my highest temperature was 95 degrees Celsius. Therefore, I have the same question.

I have a GPU monitoring gadget, so when programs are using the NVIDIA card, it shows activitiy.

 

Well from what I've read over the last couple months low 90's seems to be norm for an i7 during heavy gaming and stress tests, shutdown temp is 100 from what AIDA64 Extreme Edition says in the CPU section.

Seen cases where people hit 100 and then CPU throttling occurs...those are the guys needing a re-paste.

 

These temperatures do seem outrageously high, despite being under stress conditions. My old Acer laptop had a Core 2 Duo rated at 2GHZ and idled at around 30 degrees as compared to the 55 this laptop manages with an i5. Is it just down to poor design on Dell's part?

Seriously considering returning it for something that manages heat a bit better.

Good to know about the GPU gadget, I'll look into that.

 

There's something wrong with your laptop. I stress test my machines all the time for fun. My Alienware Aurora R1 desktop (Core i7 930) runs each core at about 70C with prime95 pushing all 4 cores to the max (approx 30C from TJmax). This is with all fans WAO and liquid cooling. My L502x (Core i7 2630QM) runs each core at about 85C with prime95 pushing all 4 cores to the max (approx 15C from TJmax). But keep in mind; the laptop has a tiny little fan and heat removal in a laptop basically stinks. 85C is hot for a core i7. But not too bad. 95C is bad. You're only like 5 degrees away from TJmax. You need to do something. Oh and as an extra note. My Alienware AP M15x runs it's Core i7 at max load about the same temps as the L502x. The main difference between the M15x and the L502x is Sandy Bridge. Other than that they're about the same configuration. One last thing. Keep in mind that those high temps won't damage your i7. They'll just start to thermal throttle to prevent damage (i.e. your performance will drop). I've never seen that on any of my processors. If you're interested in some cool stuff here's an old thread but a good one:
Real Temp - New temp program for Intel Core processors
-joe-

 

Hey guys, I just ran 3DMark06 on my L502x and got 9532. Does that sound about right? Specs are below and GPU is oc'ed to 800/1600/1000.

I got some weird errors - GPU driver not approved, GPU only has 32mb of RAM, 0 Mhz core clock, and 0 Mhz mem clock. What's the deal? Overclock is furmark and gaming stable. (GPU maxes out at 90*C in furmark when flat on desk, maxes out at about 80*C in games, never seen any artifacts or had any crashes)

 

So looking at a Crucial m4 SSD - the big question is 128GB or 256GB? Any suggestions/advice?

Thanks!

*edit* I can probably afford the 256GB, I can definitely afford the 128GB, I guess I want someone to tell me "128GB is enough" or "256GB is totally worth it"

 

If you can afford 256, go for it. More space is always better.

 

ok, upgrades all ordered: 8GB Corsair RAM, 256GB Crucial m4, drive caddy for 2nd drive, and eSATAp cable to use DVD drive in cases of emergency.

Let the waiting commence...

 

Well i personally think 128gb is enough as ive got like 90gb free with windows and many programs installed. Moved my users folder to my 640gb drive. But it depends what you want on your ssd.

 

is there a utility that will allow me to underclock the cpu on this machine?

 

Throttlestop

 

got my xps15 l502x yesterday in the mail. Love it! ive only tested cs:source on it so far, and it was quite smooth!

 

I'm the proud owner of a new Dell XPS L502X... never before have I ever seen a laptop quite like this one, and I've seen my fair share of laptops!

Unfortunately there's been one slight problem. The charger has been making some crackling noises lately and I decided to have it changed... Dell Technical Support is not always up to standard and they haven't got hold of my warranty transfer yet, so I'm just gonna buy a new charger myself. Thing is, should I buy a 90W or a 150W charger? My laptop's got i7-2720QM, 540M 2GB, 1080p screen, etc etc... nearly full specs. Might it be that the charger was actually too weak to support it? I understand that a 150W charger might be more expensive, so if 90W works all the same, I'll go for the latter... also I don't know if a 150W charger might be dangerous? Thanks for your help guys!

P.S. - are chargers for these models (Dell XPS Series: XPS M1210, XPS M1330, XPS M140) compatible with an XPS L502X?

 

All chargers are compatible, at least from 2005 onwards, but the notebook will complain with a 90W adapter. The main difference between the older and newer chargers is the LED. Old ones have a green one on the charger, newer ones have a blue ring on the connector.

The normal adapter for it is 130W.

 

130W AC ADAPTER FOR DELL XPS 1710 M170 M1710 PA-13 PA13 | eBay

So would this serve my purposes? Thank you for the quick and informative reply by the way, how can I rep people if I may ask [edit - found out how]?

 

Make sure it's genuine Dell, like this one (PA-4E is the model you need):
GENUINE-DELL-130W-PA-4E-AC-Charger-Power-Supply

 

thanks. before i launch into it, has anybody tried under volting the chip a bit with this program? the chip might not need as much as the default voltage to run stable, and reducing the voltage by even a little can really help heat...

 

hmm... my charger is making this noise as well. anyone else getting this? any danger the thing is gonna combust?!?

 

I have a loose key on my keyboard. It had previously snapped off. So I then just popped it back in. However, it is loose now. If i press on the bottom right of the key, it practically pops back off. Any suggestions?

 

Tiny bit of superglue?

 

hello.guys answer few my few queries:
after fresh install should i get drivers from the website or from cds that came along
if i do it from cds how can i update all possible drivers..
i couldnt plug.in the ac adapter for 12 hrs before use.how should i charge battery now and should i keep it plugged in even after full chrge.any.other thing regarding battery.maintainence.
copy/move speed is a little slow seeing i7+4gb ram
any other advice with cpu,gpu,memory
and finally the laptop seems to grab dust very fast how should i keep it clean and screen scratch proof..?

 

Any particular reason you're doing fresh install? Just uninstall bloatware. Unless (like me) you're installing a different version of Windows. Download drivers to make sure you get the latest. Get nVidia and Intel drivers direct, the rest (like USB 3.0) from Dell.

edit: LI-ION batteries are quite tough, no memory effect.

Copy has nothing to do with CPU or RAM, just hard drive speed. If you're copying between 2 physical devices it should be relatively quick, if you're copying from/to the same hard drive it will be deathly slow.

A clean, dry, high-quality microfibre cloth is about to become your best friend...

 

Buy a new keyboard off eBay for about $40. My cat jumped onto my computer and broke the INSERT key, so that is what I am planning to do.

 

Regarding the battery, according to the Dell Support website, the battery stops charging once it reaches 100%. Therefore, it is okay to leave it plugged in after it is done charging.

 

Newegg has 2x8 GB sticks on sale today only for $299. Get a free 16GB usb drive with it too. 10% off with code EMCJJKG22

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO16GX3M2A1333C9

 

Awesome deal, in for 2!

 

That is not a good deal compared to 2 x 4GB for $60 with a free 4GB flash drive on Newegg. Also, I am pretty sure that you will not notice any sort of performance increase from 8GB to 16GB. I have 8GB and my RAM usage has never exceeded 50%.

 

The only reason I am submitting this post is to promote my status from "Notebook Guru" to "Notebook Geek."

 

Could someone make a guide of how to clean the vents?? Or show me a link to one??

 

yeah, I would like to see that too - it was so easy with m1530 but it looks like you have to take off the whole bottom

 

i noticed a very tiny bluish dot on the screen should i contact customer care or its normal?

 

Its probably a dead pixel, if its one i dont think they will do anything i think you need about 3 before they will replace it. They are not uncommon.

 

Try pressing it softly with a cloth and it may go away, Had a green one too.

 

Hi, just found this on the xps 15 configuration page, dell net 3g pay as you go wireless broadband! Has anyone used this? How is the speed and pricing? Thanks!

 

Uses 3G cellular tech over the Sprint network. Pay by megabyte.

Seems expensive, but no committments/contracts which is nice.

See https://www.dellnetready.com

 

Hi PDSway thanks for the info.

 

Yes you should. I had one dead pixel. They changed it this week

 

Anyone have any tips/suggestions for replacing the HD? I got the 500 GB HD but want to swap out the 500GB Momentous XT I've got in my gateway right now for it. (The 8GB SSD version for caching, definitely helps alot in speed)

Hear it's "odd" to take off the palm rest to put HD in?

Tim

 

I have heard it is more inconvenient on this laptop to replace the hard drive than some of the other laptop out there. I have never done this before, but there are tabs on the sides between the palmrest and the bottom section of the laptop, that you can depress with a flathead screwdriver. Just be careful not to scratch the palmrest.

 

I think you have to remove the bottom cover, the RAM, and the network card to access one or more screws also.

 

Nope, you need to remove the battery, 1 screw labelled "P" inside the battery space, remove the bottom access cover, remove 1 screw labelled "O" holding optical drive, slide out optical drive.

Look inside the battery housing, there are 2 little black tabs. Unclick and push outwards, then start lifting of the panel from the other side. I found the easiest is to start at the power button, worki anti-clockwise, then when you get to where you removed the optical drive you'll see there are 2 clips there you need to loosen with a screwdriver or something.

You can quite easily leave the RAM and network cards in.

 

hi folks, my l502x i5 laptop's bottom gets very hot while using it on battery. I can notice that fan rarely switches on when using on battery. Because of this it has become difficult for me to use it on my laps. The problem doesn't persist when using with direct power. Any clue of what the problem may be?

 

What power plan do you use? Set your system cooling policy to 'active' in advanced power settings.

 

are the usb3.0 slots restricted to only usb3.0 enabled devices because.when i connect my pd or exthd to left ports it is not detected but.the right port detects them perfectly..

 

No they're backward compatible. Have you installed the driver for the USB 3.0 ports? Only thing I can think of.