Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

Yes. cooling policy is set to active in 'on battery' and 'plugged in'.

 

I tried the color profile from the first post of this article but it REALLY desaturates the colors. :/ It may be ok for photography (kinda doubt it though), but not good for graphics. I used an xrite i1 color calibrator on my new l502x B+RGLED yesterday and got a much better color profile out of it that would meet my needs well (web and graphic design). The gray on this monitor are too cool, and this icc profile corrects this.

All B+RGLED monitors produce different colors, but my icc profile is worth a shot! Attachment below:

 

Thanks I'm really liking it.

 

You're welcome!

The only thing i don't like about my L502x so far is the touchpad buttons. Both sound really scratchy when i press on them. Its very unlike my old xps m1530 which had really soft and silent buttons. Does anybody else have this scatchy sound when they use the trackpad buttons? It feels like somebody is scratching the chalkboard! :/

 

No scratchy sounds. Just a dull click, and I agree about the color profiles on the first page, would rather use B&W than somthing with a weird color cast with poor contrast. I have mine looking pretty good with just a couple adjustments but will try yours soon.

 

Hi all,

I have just ordered a new xps 15 laptop. I am thinking of installing an ssd in the system and am looking for some advice:

1. Is this type of caddy a good option? 2nd SATA Hard Drive HDD Caddy Adapter for Dell XPS 15 L502X L501X | eBay

2. Should I install the SSD in the primiary drive slot and move the larger drive to the caddy?

3. Is it a stright forward job?

4. I am thinking of a 60 GB (approx) SSD to isntall windows on and act as the primary drive. Can someone suggest a good one? Will this do the job? http://www.ebuyer.com/268239-ocz-60gb-agility-3-ssd-2-5-sata-iii-read-525mb-s-write-agt3-25sat3-60g

Thanks in advance.

 

Is it possible to determine the manufacturer of my 1080p screen? I have heard it said that not all of them are the same in the L502x.

 

Its fairly easy to swap out and that caddy should be fine. Get a crucial M4 and move the larger drive to the caddy.

 

I've been using the XPS 15 for about three months now, and while I generally like it for being a great value, I find the hyped 1080p display somewhat disappointing. Sure, it's got good viewing angles and vibrant colors, but its clarity (especially text clarity) leaves a lot to be desired.

The reason is that it suffers from the 'grain effect' that is most noticeable on white backgrounds. The grain effect problem used to plague most, if not all, LCD screens ever since they came out, but my experience with more recent displays (not just higher-end IPS displays but also those found on more mainstream monitors like HP desktop monitors) indicated that it's largely been resolved. So it's disappointing that the 1080p display on XPS 15, which is otherwise excellent, still suffers from it.

 

I thought all the B+RG's were AU Optronics, but I could be wrong. HWiNFO64 will give you the info you want though and it should also be listed as an AU Optronics display on your invoice.

 

I have none of this graininess of which you speak on mine. All my text is razor sharp. Have you enabled and run through the "Adjust ClearType text" Tuner?

 

You sure it's 1920x1080 then? Check your max res.

 

hmmm.... SSpeeD!

Got my Crucial m4 128GB SSD and Corsair 8GB RAM up and running, all drivers and programs installed. Win 7 Ultimate x64, Intel and nVidia drivers taking preference over Dell ones.

One word: "WOW!" - it's incredibly fast! HD Tune gives read speads over 500MB/s. And best of all, it's completely silent for ordinary tasks. Boot time is around 12-15 seconds (not timing it very accurately)

If anyone is holding out on an SSD, start saving and get it ASAP!

 

Anybody have any suggestions for a definitive benchmark for both CPU and GPU temps? Been using Prime95 for CPU temps, but want to do a before and after benchmark - going to repaste as soon as the stuff comes (ordered MX-4 from Amazon).

CPU temps after 1 hour of Prime95 hovering around 93C This is on a i7-2630QM.

 

how do i install all softwares that came preinstalled turbo boost, antivirus etc after a clean install also anything important to be done after fresh install?
my system seems to run slow boot time has also increased after installing few games and programs any advice/solution for the same?

 

Hi Everyone, Im not sure if this has been asked already but my apologies if so. I wondered if any of you have come across any products like those "seethru" hard shell cases they make for the macbook pros but for the dell xps l502x, ive spent a good while searching online but hadn't much any luck finding anything would function as a always on protection thing for the beauty. This only came to mind when my sister had to fork out 148 pounds to replace metal top cover after denting it from a dropping it off her lap! the cost also incudes the plastic boarder that goes around the screen as that had a bad time too though luckily the screen is perfectly fine and the near full ARGB screen is still good as new, phew...

 

oh and just a link of an example to what im refering too

http://www.amazon.com/Speck-Products-SeeThru-Laptop-Inspiron/dp/B002DGQCUG

the only form of proection that ive found so far is rubber keyboard covers and leopard textured sticker skins. yuk

 

It looks like you are correct. I just downloaded the program, and it identifies the screen as AU optronics B156HW01.

 

To all the users who have installed cleaned versions of Windows, can you verify if you still can access the F8 dell Recovery?

 

The clean install doesn't put back any of the Dell products except for Quickset, which also is optional. Check around page 76 for what goes back on teh PC.

 

The F8 Dell Recovery accesses the D:\ partition. Unless you specifically erased this, which I am guessing you probably did not, it still exists regardless of whether or not you did a clean install of Windows.

 

It exists but it cannot be accessed using F8. Can you please confirm by trying?

 

will the crucial m4 ssd 128gb fit in this without the need for additional hardware, slots, cases?

how easy is the cloning process?

id do a fresh install, but dell didnt give me an os disk. is there another way?

 

You can replace your current hard drive with ssd and it's a really nice upgrade assuming you can live with just 128gb of space. Some folks would rather have lots of media files (mp3, movies, photo's, etc).

While it's not that hard, neither is it "easy". The prime directive is: don't damage your laptop and don't lose any data. It's easy for me because I do this all the time and already have a nice desktop with imaging software and esata dock. The first time you do any of this takes much longer.

You could make it a little easier by doing a clean install on the ssd, but yes you need a Windows 7 source (doesn't have to be a Dell disc). There's a post on how to load drivers after a clean install (there's newer drivers too).

Do you have any nerdy friends?

 

I can confirm that after doing a fresh install of Windows, the Dell Recovery option from the F8 menu has gone, so it's no longer available. That doesn't mean the recovery is impossible though, it's just a bit more tricky to get to. I left the recovery partition intact, so it's still there (14.5 GB), and contains two recovery images.

Follow this link on how to install any of the recovery images the partition holds:
Solutions: How to restore dell factory image when PC restore does not work?
Somewhere in the comments is more on how to access the partition and use it. I've yet to discover how to add the recovery partition to the F8 or dual-boot menu, but that should also be possible.

 

Hi, i wonder if anyone can help me. I have the Dell XPS L502X with 6GB of RAM. But on my system its is only allowing me to use 2.98GB of RAM. It has been like this for a few days now where before i had up to 5GB to use and am wondering why is has lowered?
Thanks in advance

 

It can be that your one of your memory modules is defect. try switching it with a different one.

 

I created some new game video's of my Dell XPS 15.

also i created a topic on this forum so if you guys want to look here's the link:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...game-dell-xps-15-l502x-check.html#post8031862

it contains allot more video's.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The new videos are:

YouTube: Gameplay Dell XPS 15 L502x | The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Part 1 | High settings,Nvidia 525m | Full HD

YouTube: Gameplay Dell XPS 15 L502x | Call of Duty: MW3 | Singleplayer| High settings,Nvidia 525m | Full HD

YouTube: Gameplay Dell XPS 15 L502x | Call of Duty: MW3 | Multiplayer | High settings,Nvidia 525m | Full HD

YouTube: Gameplay Dell XPS 15 L502x | Call of Duty: MW3 | High settings, onboard intel graphics

 

Do you mean i need to swap one a my RAM sticks with another new one. Should i ask dell to supply me with another one as i have only had it just over a month?

 

hi fellows .
i know in this thread there are all owners of dell xps l502x . but i think it the best place where u can help me configuring my dell xps l502x buy.

i have have two options at the moment.

1) US $ 1285

PROCESSOR 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor 2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.10 GHz
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
MEMORY 6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
HARD DRIVE 750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
VIDEO CARD NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M 2GB graphics with Optimus
HD DISPLAY 15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) and Skype-Certified 2.0MP HD Webcam
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Tray Load Blu-ray Disc BD-Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
3G/4G MOBILE BROADBAND No Mobile Broad Band Selected
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
SOUND OPTIONS JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6230 & Bluetooth 3.0
Integrated Network Adapter Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Adobe Reader Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
KEYBOARD Backlit Keyboard - English

2) US $ 1315

PROCESSOR 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor 2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.10 GHz
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
MEMORY 8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
HARD DRIVE 750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
VIDEO CARD NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M 2GB graphics with Optimus
HD DISPLAY 15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) and Skype-Certified 2.0MP HD Webcam
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Tray Load Blu-ray® Triple Writer (reads and writes CDs, DVDs, BDs)
3G/4G MOBILE BROADBAND No Mobile Broad Band Selected
SOUND OPTIONS JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6230 & Bluetooth 3.0
Integrated Network Adapter Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Adobe Reader Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
BATTERY OPTIONS 90 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
KEYBOARD Backlit Keyboard - English

if u can help me customize better l502x then plzz post it .

regards
Hamza.

 

you can call them, and tell them that you get BSOD's all the time etc
and that you want to return you XPS or that they need to sent a repair guy to look at it/ repair it. thats your right as a consumer

because they dont sent a free memery module via mail. the let a repair guy do that stuff.

 

Wow, the L502x seems to have gone way down in price ever since I bought mine in July. I have a few recommendations:

-Most people are fine with the i5 processor.
-Get the 9-cell battery. It does not make the laptop that much bulkier and you get more battery life.
-I would recommend getting 4GB of RAM from Dell, then buying 8GB on Newegg for considerably less than upgrading to 8GB through Dell. Not only that, but if you sell your old RAM modules on Craigslist, your cost of upgrading will be really low. For me, it only cost me $17 to upgrade from 6GB to 8GB.
-Ditto for the hard drive. Buy the lowest they offer, and then replace it yourself if you need to.
-Get the 1GB NVIDIA 525GT graphics card. The 2GB 540GT only provides 12% better performance, and is definitely not worth the extra $100.
-I have heard of a lot of people having problems with the Intel 6230 Wi-Fi card. Most of the problems involve slow network connections. I have the basic 1000 card, and I have no problems whatsoever.
-Look on Dell Outlet for deals. They still provide the same warranty as on brand new computers.
-Don't forget to look for coupon codes!

 

actually im in Pakistan so here there is no option of newegg or something else. there r no outlets of dell in pakistan . im importing it from US with the help of my friend.

 

I actually meant the site Dell Outlet | Refurbished Computers, Laptops, PCs & More | Dell, which sells refurbished computers. If your friend is helping you buy it, he can still order it off that site.

 

Hey, I had success with Dell Tech Support. My INSERT key broke off my keyboard on my laptop. Because it is still under warranty, I got them to dispatch a technician to my house on Monday to replace my backlit keyboard.

I think the best way to contact Dell Tech Support is through their Chat page. This is easier than calling them because then I don't have to struggle with deciphering the rep's thick accent.

 

Never mind, fixed it now thanks. It was because i had maximum memory checked in msconfig for booting.

 

i am having two issues with my newly bought dell xps15
1,laptop seems to run slow it takes considerably long time to boot,to load desktop icons and the overall system is running slow seeing the specs.i had freshly installed the os and drivers only have few games installed
2) secondly i am unable to.play almost every game i install no problem in installing but fail to launch what is the solution for these problems please help guys i am really pissed off now...

 

1. Make sure your power mode is set to High Performance mode. I had that same problem recently, but then I realized the laptop was set to Power Saver mode. Bloatware can also be a problem, so uninstall any unwanted apps that came with the computer. Also, make sure your drivers are up-to-date. There is a BIOS update that came out two months ago, and a USB 3.0 driver that came out about two weeks ago.
2. Your games might be detecting the Intel integrated graphics, and might be incompatible with this. Make sure that in the NVIDIA Control Panel, you set each game to use the NVIDIA card. Make sure the NVIDIA card drivers are up-to-date, as well.

 

Hello,
Its been quite long since i last posted.
well im looking for a 15.6" FHD B+RGLED screen used would be brilliant.
any pointers on which direction to look?

There also exists a problem of audio stutter and static while playing video and accessing the internet through a wireless network.
any pointers?
thank you.

 

So I'm stuck with a dilemma here. I'm about to purchase a new XPS 15 and I'm trying to figure out which CPU to go with. If I want to save money I can go with the Core i5-2430m/2520m or if I want to get better specs, I can go with a Core i7-2670QM for around $200 more. I mainly use my laptop for entertainment purposes (watching movies, going on the internet, reading/writing emails). I do, however, plan on getting my computer science degree in the future, is a quad core system necessary?

How about the battery? How much bigger is the 9 cell battery? I am also trying to see if there are any advantages of getting the 6250 wireless card over the 1030.

 

How does the GT 525M and GT 540M perform with SC2? Is the GT 540M worth the extra $100 upgrade?

 

I have the 540M, and no, it is not worth the extra $100. It only gets 12% better performance than the 525M.

 

The i7 processor would probably be beneficial for Computer Science majors. I am a computer/electrical engineering major, and that is why I bought an i7. Upper division classes will use power-hungry engineering apps.

I would recommend getting the 9-cell battery. It does stick out about an inch from the bottom, but it really does not bother me. In fact, I actually like that my laptop is tilted up because it makes typing easier when I am using it at my computer desk.

I have heard of a lot of people having problems with the 6250 wireless card, mostly due to slow speeds. I have the basic 1000 card, and it works really well.

 

Try looking on eBay. You also need a special ribbon cable if you are upgrading from the 720p screen.

Regarding audio stutter and static, do you notice this only on your wireless network, or on all wireless networks? If it is just your own, try resetting your router to factory settings and restart it and your modem. If this does not work, make sure your Wi-Fi card driver is up-to-date. (What Wi-Fi card do you have, by the way?) If this does not work, you might have to buy another router.

 

What part of cs requires i7? I don't think you'll be writing any programs where processing power will be helpful. You'll be writing most of your programs through SSH anyways.

 

IMO, 12% would be worth it. However, I'm not convinced the difference is that distinct. Aditionally, the 525m can easily be overclocked to 540m speeds. Agreed that it's probably not worth it unless you have the cash and are hoping for a decent overclock on top of 540m speeds.

 

Okay, that makes sense. I am an engineering major, so I don't know that much about computer science. I would go with the i5, then to save money.

 

Maybe some extreme games would notice a few extra fps, but if I were to buy my laptop again, I would have saved the $100 and bought the 525M instead.

Regarding overclocking, in reality, I don't think you can overclock it that much because the L502x gets really hot under a full load (as in the 90-93 degree Celsius range).

From what I have heard, if you want to play games on a laptop, get an Asus. This laptop is designed more as a multimedia laptop (1080p display, Blu-ray drive, excellent speakers), which was the main reason that I bought it.

 

This isn't really true, at least for my laptop, as well as many others' (check the GT 540m overclocking thread). I am running at 800Mhz core clock and 1020Mhz memory clock (stock clocks are 672Mhz and 900Mhz). The temps on my graphics card max out at about 80*C in games (86*C furmark).

 

Okay, that makes sense for the GPU temp. I was actually referring to the CPU temp, which was the maximum temp reading in the laptop after I ran a stress test. I will go ahead and try overclocking this to the values that you gave.