Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

I have the same intel wifi card as you. You need to install two drivers to make the bluetooth work. One is the driver for wifi part and the other is for bluetooth part. You might need to check if the card is seated correctly.

 

If you do this, please post back here and tell us (you could even PM me, please). I'd be very interested to know how large a drive the XPS 15 can hold, as I might install a larger one at some point.

 

Thanks Jocobs. Installing the new driver version resolved the problem. But got one more new problem.
After installing the new drivers I observed that one of the bluetooth services "Bluetooth Support Service" was disabled so I enabled it. After enabling it, Bluetooth worked perfectly then I rebooted the my lappy. After reboot, this service "Bluetooth Support Service" once again got disabled. I made it manual but no luck. Everytime I reboot the lappy it is getting disabled. Any ideas what might cause this service to be disabled.
Once again Thanks.

 

I have installed only one driver i.e, bluetooth driver. I have downloaded the second driver but didn't installed it. I will install this too and check if "Bluetooth Support service" gets disabled or not after reboot.

 

I don't think there is a maximum hard drive capacity that a current motherboard can handle.

 

Perhaps not, but there may be a physical limit to how large or thick the HD case can be.

 

i have installed a ' 1 To Samsung Spinpoint M8 SATA 2,5" 9.5mm 5400t 8 Mo' (ref: HN-M101MBB) in replacement of the original HDD, no pb at all

 

Why did you replace a 7200rpm hard drive with a 5400rpm hard drive?

 

I m new to this forum and am awaiting the laptop(due to arrive tomorrow)
The only problem is that it does not have the FHD display and has 760p resolution. I will primarily use the laptop for web designing and gaming. Is there a way to get it replaced with the full HD one.

Here are my specs:

2nd generation Intel Core i7-2670QM processor 2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz
15.6" (39.6cm) HD (1366x768) WLED display with TrueLife
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (1 x 4GB)
750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
9 Cell Primary Battery
2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M graphics with Optimus

I m terribly excited about it(my first laptop!!)

 

Geez, why did you order it if you don't want it?

It amazes me the number of people in these forums who post that they plan to return their laptops, posting before they even receive them, just because they've changed their minds about what they want.

 

I posted this a month ago in this thread but did not get a response that I've seen, so I thought I'd try again:

Hey, I just performed a fresh install of Windows 7, and I'm having trouble installing a driver for "SM Bus Controller" which currently has the yellow exclamation point in the device manager.

When I download the driver for the JMicron JMB389 Card Reader from Dell and install it, Windows tries to install a driver for "SM Bus Controller" but always ends up failing with the error "no driver found."

Anyone know what to do about this?

 

Don't worry about it, you're just experiencing buyer's anxiety. I went through the same thing, people are really harsh about the WLED on here but it really isn't THAT bad. If you get it and hate it, yes, you can replace it. Or you can just buy a larger fhd monitor to plug into. Enjoy your new toy!

 

because:
- 1To @ 7200rpm in 9,5mm doesn't exist
- less power consuption/vibration
- less performance, ok but not so much
- price

Samsung Spinpoint M8 Review | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

 

The problem with the "WLED" display has nothing to do with the fact that it's WLED. There are plenty of good WLED screens out there, but the 720p screen in the XPS 15 is not one of them.

The issues are:
- 1366x768: This is the same resolution used in 12.5" laptops. In a screen this large, it makes everything onscreen really big. The screen resolution is the biggest limiting factor for the usability of the laptop, and 1366x768 makes it more difficult than it should be on a 15.6" screen to fit two windows onscreen side-by-side.
- Low Contrast: Blacks are bluish-gray, images look washed out (especially darker images)
- Very limited viewing angle, worse than the typical TN panel: images, especially darker images, show severe distortion in color, even when viewed only slightly off-axis.
- Griddiness/Screen-door effect: Grid-line textures appear other pixel. This has nothing to do with the pixel density, there are plenty less-dense displays (desktop monitors) that show no signs of this.

 

I apologise if this has been talked about before but I was wondering about the noise of the fan in the XPS 15(L502x). Everything else seems absolutely fine but the noise concerns me. Is it noisy on standby? Light internet browsing/watching videos? I understand the fan'll get pretty noisy when playing games but how noisy does it get? Is it off-putting? When other than playing games does it get noisy? I have a vaio now and it's ridiculously noisy when playing even a game like minecraft. Is it going to be similiar with the XPS 15? Has anyone had any problems with the fan turning off and on constantly?

 

Greetings,

Just got my Dell XPS 15. Got the upgraded Vid Card and HD Screen! Awesome!

However, I thought this keyboard was backlit...

Before I call dell, where was the upgrade option when you configure online? I went back and searched and still didn't see it.

 

Hi,

I am having l502x with i5 processor. When I use this laptop unplugged (on battery) then fan rarely kicks in and thus creates lot of heat at the bottom. It's very uncomfortable to keep it on laps and use because of this heating issue. Does this problem exists across all the laptops? Is there a solution for this?

PS: I have set system cooling policy to active. But still this problem persists.

 

Sandy Bridge and the Quad i7 should support 16GB RAM
but DELL says 8GB... anyone tried to upgrade to 16GB?

I remember that on my (btw excellent) M1530 a bios patch later allowed 8GB (was 4GB max)
will it be the same story again? (I do hope so)

 

It should have been under "keyboard" or something like that. You can always buy a backlit keyboard off eBay for about $40 and install it yourself.

 

You probably don't need 16GB of RAM. I don't even use half of my 8GB of RAM.

 

On an XPS !% L502x with the standard NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M 1GB graphics, can that GPU be removed and replaced with the GT 540M 2GB graphics card?

Is it a big job, requiring removal of various components?
Is repasting required?

 

The GPU is hardwired to the mainboard, so replacing it means you have to swap out the entire mainboard of the notebook. Hardly worth the trouble, since the 525M chip is the same, only clocked at a lower speed. The only difference would be the added 1GB, which I doubt will make much - if any - of a difference.

 

Thanks for the reply. That's pretty much what I thought about removing the GPU. I didn't think it was as "easy" as removing a CPU.

A Dell rep proposed investigating the possibility of replacing it, as I had wanted the 540 but didn't order it due to outated info. from Dell site and Dell sales.

Are there any benchmarks anywhere that have compared the 525M 1GB graphics to the 540M 2GB graphics? If it's minimal performance difference, then the trouble wouldn't be worth it.

 

First of all: do not install any programs that monitor fan-behaviour, because they will cause it to spinning very regularly.

When doing very light work, browsing, word processing, the fan on my system (i7 quadcore) is mostly off. Coupled with an SSD, this means an absolutely silent system. The fan will kick in every few minutes for a few seconds, it's not very noisy and I don't notice that anymore.

When stressing the system a little continuously, like when watching video's or playing simple games, the fan will keep blowing and is audible. It's not very noisy compared to a lot of other notebooks I've had, but it's not inaudible either.

When stressing the system a lot, like when encoding video or playing games, it will make quite a lot of noise. Whether or not you find that off-putting is a very personal call I suppose. It's less noisy then our hairdryer, perhaps slightly more noisy then my electric razor. I'll admit I prefer playing games on my watercooled rig in the study - almost totally silent. And if I really want to play a game on the laptop, I use earphones.

 

Informative quote..... :-[

 

Sigh. Found it. It's under "popular add ons". Wish it would have been around the hardware config area.

If I do buy a backlit KB and install it, will I not have just voided my two year warranty I got?

 

You can call dell spare part department to know about their price and compare it with ebay one. As long as you don't break anything, it will not void your warranty.

 

I've done detailed system performance testing to compare performance when using a 90W adapter versus 130W adapter:
Performance test results: XPS 15: 90W vs. 130W adapter


.

 

Hi all!

What mini display adapter would work better...mini>VGA or > DVI?
The monitor I'm buying does not have HDMI but it does get 1920x1080.
I seen some cheap ones on ebay but most of them are for MAC. Are they the same as in will they work?
Thanks

 

Yes mac ones will work - I have tried.
I'm pretty sure vga is analogue but dvi is digital, though I'm sure you'll get richer colors and faster respnse with DVI, since it is a newer standard

 

$8 for this one...
For only $7.88 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 6ft 32AWG Mini DisplayPort to DVI Cable - White | Mini DisplayPort to DVI Cables

...keep it digital all the way.

 

Thanks Lurker.

Also...anyone have advice on what screen cleaner to use? Since I'll be ordering from Mono I figure I'll add it to the cart.

I've heard a 50/50 of vinegar and distilled water works well...with a microfiber cloth. ..or that may be for my big screen DLP.

Thx

 

More questions about hooking up external monitor...

What about going from HDMI from laptop to DVI on monitor? Is that better than from Mini display > DVI?

Why would there be both ports and/or why would I use one or the other?

Thx

 

Hey everyone. I'm looking to upgrade my wireless card from the stock Intel Wireless-N 1000. My girlfriend is blowing away my download speeds with her old Macbook Pro and it's embarrassing me. So anyway, I don't care about Blutooth, but I'd like better wireless speeds and I'd like to have access to the 5ghz network. A few months ago the Intel 6200 or 6300 was all the rage, but I don't know if that's still the case. I opened up my computer and there are two antennas rather than three, so I was thinking of going with the 6200, unless you good folks would like to recommend something better/newer. Thanks in advance.

 

You would be well-advised to stick with MiniDP->DVI, as that is the only way to preserve the Optimus utility. That will ensure that you minimize heat and fan noise. Connecting the HDMI port forces the Nvidia GPU on full-time.

 

Hi Everyone,

I got no response when I posted my question in the forum, but outside the Owner's Lounge... so I'll ask it her again:

Does the L502X TV tuner suck power when not in use? Does it measurably affect battery life?

Cheers,

Jay

 

What's recommended for updating drivers?

For Intel stuff, do you grab what's at Dell.com, or the more recent ones offered by the automatic detection at http://downloadcenter.intel.com/ ?
Intel offers Intel Processor Graphics 3000 and is version 15.22..., whereas what came with my XPS 15 is version 8.15... .
In fact, what's available from Dell.com is older than what's already on my XPS 15.

What about Intel drivers for WiFi and Wired Networking, which the auto detector says are unknown or unsupported and to contact manufacturer.

Do you accept the Realtek Audio update offered by Windows Update?

What about NVIDIA? Is it best to take what Dell has, or to let Nvidia.com auto-detect recommended update?
I don't even know how to compare Dell's versus Nvidias: Dell.com has version 8.17.12.6830, while Nvidia.com auto-detect offers version 285.62, which seems an entirely different numbering scheme.

Dell.com also shows drivers for AVerMedia-Driver, and I don't even know what that is, and there are other drivers listed that I don't recognize.

How can you tell what you need to download? Dell.com lists multiple items in each category, but some are for various brands (e.g. multiple different types of DVD drive). Is there some easy way to know what's in the laptop and to know what to download?

What about other drivers?

 

I'm getting ready to buy the L502x. I had a couple questions.

Have the bugs been worked out of the Centrino Advanced-N 6230 card or should I opt for something else? I need the best/most reliable wifi connections I can.

Is it worth looking for something in the Outlet or should I stick to new? Is there any difference in service if there is a problem?

Thanks!

 

This post sums it up best...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7415385-post736.html

Huge thanks to Rogo for that valuable list.

 

Interesting. He advises to get everything from Dell. I see many people in these forums recommending that people get newer drivers from Intel.com, Nvidia.com, Realtek, etc.

 

If you play games, I would get nvidia drivers directly from them. I am currently using the latest BETA ones from nvidia for skyrim, as they enable ambient occlusion. I am also using the current intel drivers directly from intel for the onboard graphics. I think I got my sound card drivers from dell, as they have the special waves stuff with it.

 

I just got my xps 15 and I love it.
Besides looking to upgrade my screen ( which in retrospect I should have done when I ordered ) the machine just runs great and handles games nicely.

I got the core i7/8GB mem/2G Gefore 540M
I was able to use a coupon and pick up a nice deal.. payed about 700€ for it!

 

i need advice regarding screen guards my laptops screen.keeps on accumulating dust everytime i use it or not...
i clear it with damp cloth but i fear it might put scratches on it so i am planning to buy a screen guard please suggest me brands in.india...??

 

Is there a backlit keyboard for Nordics / Sweden?

 

I have a one month old LX502. the problem is the screen is blue tinted always. especially while playing games like Battlefield 3. I checked youtube LX502 gaming videos whether the blue-tint problem is there, but not. What should i do? Is anyone facing the same problem??

 

Run Microsoft's Display Color Calibration Wizard, which is already on your system.

 

I tried Color Calibration but it didnt help me. Is there any other solution

 

hi! i tried to install the latest drive from intel, but it says that it is not compatible with my notebook. have you made a clean install of windows? i suspect that there's some Dell stuff that doesn't let me update the graphic drive.

 

I've asked this before (but got no answer) so will ask here.
Does anyone get a mild static feeling on the metal casing surrounding the keyboard when their XPS is plugged into the mains ?

 

Yes, but I don't know if it's static... it's weird...
It doesn't appear when you touch the case, but when you slide the finger on it.