Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

Glad to hear you like it. Looking forward to seeing your benchmark results vs the quad core.

 

I am actually having a similar problem. My system recognized my Vizio LCD TV through the HDMI output, however it is not sending any video or audio through (although it does show up on the Screen Settings Window).

It's not working in extended, cloning, or single mode.

Does anyone know what the issue might be?

 

Running PCMark Vantage now. That's a 1 1/2 hour test!

 

Have you used the 720p version? I was really looking forward to getting the adapter but after the reviews i've read it made me nervous

 

I agree, it's a very nice machine! You pretty much hit the nail on the head, but I'm curious about the comments I've seen regarding brightness of the display (not just from you). I was profiling my desktop monitor so I put the meter on my laptop and at the brightest setting it measured 126cd/m2 which is just slightly higher than the LCD recommendation of 120 (this is for a dimly lit room). At lowest setting, it measured 37cd/m2, that's not very bright at all. Typical LCD's at factory settings are upwards of 250 even 300 out of the box. Anyone else actually measured the brightness?

I do have one issue...if I use the back USB3 port for the logitech mouse's unified receiver, then connect a WD passport Essentials SE to the side USB3 port, the mouse becomes very erratic. I can use any USB2 drive on that same port and it's fine. If I switch the ports (mouse in side and passport in back) it's fine also. Strange...but workable. Others have had this problem and Dell seems unable to fix it (was apparently an issue with the 1st gen L502x as well).

I didn't have any "issues" with my 6230 WLAN adapter, but I removed it in favor of a Broadcom 943224HMS that I had purchased for a previous HP DM4t. Not because the 6230 was broke, but the Broadcom just gives me better transfer rates and is less finicky about positioning.

 

I haven't, I've already got an HTPC hooked up to the big screen so not much need for WiDi here. I may use the new one though once I fix up the den and put another TV in there.

 

PCMark Vantage scores, again at default settings (1024 x 768):

PCMarks: 8998
HDD Test Suite: 3615 (compare that to the Vertex 3 at 70624!)

Homework time for my boy. More to follow.

See full results here: http://3dmark.com/pcmv/432429

I didn't turn anything off for this test. I did uninstall McAffee, and installed MSE instead. It, and everything else that normally loads at boot, was running.

 

I don't usually have problems with computers, and there may be a simple solution but if I enter a video demanding game, the dedicated gpu doesn't kick in. I can't find anywhere to activate it either.
Any help would be appreciated!

 

Right-click on the game's .exe file and select the nVidia card. My XPS is going through another PCmark Vantage test right now, so I can't tell you exactly what the menu says. It should be pretty obvious

 

I just re-ran PCMark Vantage, this time with most apps turned off and a fresh restart:

PCMarks: 9863 (versus 8998 from before)
HDD Test Suite: 4168 (versus 3615)

Big difference just by turning MSE, Dell Stage, etc. off. My computer is sitting on a Thermaltake Massive 23 LX, which fits the L502 perfectly.

 

Hey.
Is there any L502x owner who had L501x before ?
I would like to know:
How comfortable (or not ) is chiclet keyboard compared to new one ?
Is it running cooler ?
Has fan work been changed ? I've read many comments that sometimes it could switch on even if not needed...

And to all of you guys: Is it possible to overclock gt540 to 550 or higher level on this notebook without any externat cooler ?

I would be veeeeery grateful if I get answers to any of these questions.

cheers
tj

EDIT: Oh, and one more. Is there any way to order studio cover separately ?

 

NVIDIA Control Panel\Display\Adjust desktop size and position

I attempted to change the "desktop resizing mode to report to the display" without any luck. Fortunately, the Resize Desktop button worked perfectly.


Also, I couldn't clone my display through HDMI, either. However, after updating the BIOS, Intel display driver, and NVIDIA driver (all straight from Dell's support site), duplicating has become an option. I'm not sure which one did it, but I haven't noticed any disadvantage to updating yet.

 

FYI, this notebook sleeve fits the L502 with the big (92Wh) battery perfectly.

Amazon.com: Targus A7 Slipcase Designed for 16 Inch Laptops TSS12705US (Orange): Electronics

 

I just ordered my loaded Dell XPS and am considering a cooling pad. Do you think a cooling pad is absolutely essential for this laptop (or only during gaming)? Do you like the thermaltake cooling pad? Will the laptop explode if I don't use a cooling pad during gaming? (lol). My XPS has the i7 2720 quad core.

Anyone feel free to answer this, thanks.

 

Auron, I'm checking idle temps with and without the cooler. Stand By.
But yes, I am happy with the cooler.

 

CPU Temps:
Without Thermaltake cooler: 53, 50, 50, 54
With cooler: 47, 45, 45, 49
With cooler, large bottom plate off: 45, 42, 42, 46

 

Strangely, after performing that check (took 2 hours for the whole thing), the warning about hard drive failure disappeared. Any ideas?

Nonetheless the speaker problem is still there. Pisses me off, that buzzing distorted noise...

 

So this is probably a bad habit, but I like to watch something before bed, but the brightness of the screen in a dark room is such that I can't even have my eyes closed in the direction of the screen. Maybe my previous CCFL m1530 screen had an underpowered backlight, but it seems like the mid-setting of that one is the same as the low setting on this one. Maybe it's industry-standard, but my personal preference would be to have a wider range of illumination intensities.

 

I have started a thread on the HP section; if you could check that thread and share your valuable opinions, I'd really appreciate it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-l502x-please-help-me-decide.html#post7322555

 

I'm curious now if your sample or mine is the "oddball"??? Mine turned all the way up is 3-4 times less bright than a typical LCD but it's actually close to perfect for my intended purpose. Anyone else with the profiling hardware and willing to measure the brightness so we can compare? Could be that samples vary that widely, but I suspect the difference is more about ambient conditions and personal comfort levels.

On another note, let me know if you're still up for the battery comparison.

 

Im stuck in a dilemma while ordering my Dell XPS

which config would suit better for multi-tab browsing, med. res gaming(fifa, nfs, cod), watching movies, multitasking etc.

1)i5-2410m + 2GB 540m or
2)i7-2630Qm + 1GBGT 525m...

would like to know if I would really feel any significant performance boost if I choose the i7 over the i5 in day to day tasks as mentioned above.

Also wanted to know the performance difference between 1 GB GT525m and 2GB 540M??

wanted to know which configuration of CPU + GPU would suit me better other things remaining.same depending on my usage which would primarily be watching movies, multi-tab browsing and playing games like fifa, nfs and others

 

Nice mines now shipped as of today, orginal ETD was 4/20 ordered on 3/28, new ETD is 4/5

 

If you can't have both, I'd strongly suggest the quad-core. Don't lose to the MacBook Pro!

 

I don't get it. Ordered mine on 3/20, Est Delivery Date is 4/8, still no shipped. Dell has been telling me it is in "final" stages for about a week now. Obviously something I ordered was out of stock.

 

Same stuff as you minus the CPU,memory, and hard drive, so must be that holding you back

 

525 + 15-20% = 540

If you're gaming much I would suggest stronger graphics (although fifa will run smoothly even on intel gma hehe).
If gaming isn't thing you spend much time on, you mostly use programs like photoshop, sony vegas, all productivity software (word, excell etc) - i7 would be better choice, it should make everything faster.

 

I would like to know the brand names and model codes of SSD, HDD and RAM units installed on the current XPS L502X models, so could you please provide me detailed info on these?

 

The manufacturers use whatever is available, it only has to match the spec you ordered. I had a Toshiba 640GB hard drive and Hynix RAM. I could have received a Samsung drive or a 640GB 7200rpm drive from any other manufacturer. Same for RAM.

 

Yeah I ordered on the 23rd and still nothing. Getting really annoying. I called yesterday, they said my order would be updated within 24 hours...no change in status as of yet...

 

Same in mine - Toshiba and Hynix (though that's maybe the DRAM maker rather than the assembler?)

I'm not sure that's true of SSDs though. They told me they use Samsung ones - have read that elsewhere too.

 

My order on the 18th still says In Production, but I noticed the order number now works as a reference number on FedEx's site. Unfortunately that hasn't been updated either in over 24 hours. All it says is:

Apr 1, 2011 12:23 AM Shipment information sent to FedEx

My EDD is next Friday, the 8th, and I am guessing it will show up around Tues/Wed.

 

Somato
Yeah samething with me. I was calling Dell and they said the fedex info is wrong when in reality i called up fedex and they told me everything about the package. Also mine hasnt moved in 2 and half days. It said my estimated delievery date on fedex site was april 1st but that was wrong

 

I posted this in the other thread but thought it could be useful here too:

Thought I would post something for those that bought the L502X during the dell streak deal. I ordered during the special to get the following specs:
2630 processor
6GB ram
1080p screen
BD-RE drive
525M graphics card
6230 wifi
Backlit keyboard
9 cell battery

Anyway, my total with epp discount (before the $89 streak) was $1146. I got my invoice in the mail the other day and noticed that the items were broken out and the laptop itself was $972 and the rest of the cost was accounted for by an extended warranty that was bundled into the package deal cost ($110 Extended in home warranty, $10 Extended one year warranty, $50 base in home first year warranty).

So I called up Dell and told them I didn't want the extended warranty and wanted that portion of my order refunded. After getting transferred no less than 10 times, I found someone helpful enough to put the request in. I heard back the next day and the $120 + tax had been credited to my card. That brings my deal down to ~ $1000 all said.

Just thought I would share in case anyone else didn't have a use for the extended warranty and wouldn't mind saving some money.

 

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of getting one soon and would like to hear some feedback from the current owners.

- Throttling/overheating (fixed?)
- Common issues for this latest version if any?
- Is there another laptop that I should consider or worth spending the $$$ over this?
- Coupon?

Thanks in advance!

** I'm just starting to read this thread **

 

Mine said that for 3 or 4 days, it eventually arrived 10 days earlier than the original estimate.
(I ordered mine during the epp-streak deal).

 

I would slightly temper that argument by pointing out that people seem to be having good luck overclocking the 525M to 540M speeds, but obviously no one can guarantee that.

I purchased the i5 with the 540M (which I've been overclocking to 800MHz), and I've been very happy.

 

so - I did an update yesterday on all the drivers on the PC, video, chipset, audio, wireless, BIOS etc....

Now I am missing the 'Wave' audio software. When I touch the touch key for the Waves shortcut, a pop up tells me to install the driver. Thing is I can't find it on dell's site anywhere.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Cheers

EDIT - scrap that, forgot to re-boot! All working again

 

Hey there Occams glad to hear everything is running smoothly !

Could you (or any one else) please post links to the updates you used when you have have a chance ? Video drivers, audio, wireless, bios... even display calibrations... anything that you did that either fixed a problem or made the maching run smoother period. I wan't to start a new thread dedicated to supplying that info.

Thanks again Occams (and everyone else) for all you help.

 

*test*
http://www.cpuid.com/

 

even past 550m speeds. today i tried 800/1000 and it worked fine, played Crysis 2 for an hour no problem.

 

You can search amazon for silicone keyboard cover. It's pretty much a thin sheet of silicone... doesn't look like it is molded to fit or anything... the one I saw was only like $2 or something like that. It says you can type on it but I was thinking it might be good to have just to protect the screen from getting marked up by the keyboard.

Here's another thread I started... http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell/566977-dell-xps-15-l502x-tools-updates.html#post7326060

Trying to consolidate all the great info on here in one place.
Any and all contributions or corrections are welcome !!!

 

Listed under Zygotic's screen calibration via spyder 2...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell/566977-dell-xps-15-l502x-tools-updates.html#post7326060

 

Hey can you tell me exactly what model is your BD-RE drive? You should be able to turn your laptop over, unscrew the panel, and unscrew the one screw on the left to release the drive. I've been doing some research and think it's a Hitachi? Let me know.

 

So I guess you people say that buying a i7-2630qm and coupling with GT 525m would be a better choice instead of the combination of i5-2410m+GT540m for everyday tasks and medium gaming......

BUt yesterday I was going through the GT540m review .... and saw that the XPS 502x laptops they tested there for benchmarking gaming performance had a config of i5-2410m+ GT 540m... any comments on that??

 

i am playing crysis, COD 4, need for speed hot pursuit and fallout 3 no lags at all , sometimes i find few lags in COD 4 but it handles very well , Only thing i don't like is annoying fan. it makes crappy noise.

@ numerouno3987

definitely i7 if you want your laptop future proof

 

absolutely. And the 525M can be oc'ed to 540M easily. Mine makes it past 550M speeds, no sweat.

 

Hi there Lego99 - TBH, I haven't had any issues with my build since i've had it - yes it runs a bit warmer than I had expected, but with a Quad-Core crammed into a laptop chassis I'm not surprised. I have no issues with noise of fans or when the fans kick in etc...it all just works fine as far as i'm concerned, and the performance is blisteringly quick.

Certainly, for photo and video editing I don't think that there is a better laptop for the money. For watching media and displaying photo's, I don't think that there is a better laptop, period.

To update the drivers I just went to the Dell site here. I downloaded every single driver and installed them all, as almost every driver was out of date on mine.

Since updating I have had a few problems getting the laptop to stay turned off when trying to put it in to hibernation - it just re-boots immediately. Very annoying, I gave up eventually and disabled hibernation all together!

Apart from that I have not noticed any difference in behaviour - all's well...thus far! (fingers crossed!)

PS - thanks for starting the Tool & Updates thread - good idea

 

Hello, i was considering buying this laptop but need help on whether to go for 6 cell or 9 cell battery. I already own a SXPS 16 and don't like its bulging 9 cell. I wanted to know how many hours of general usage can you get from a 6 cell. I am hoping atleast 3-4 hrs. By general usage i mean 20-30% brightness and wifi off, using word. I would also like to know how much can i get with wifi on. Thanks.

 

So my webcam failed in the middle of using it. This despite that as far as any software is concerned, it thinks the webcam is still there. I contacted Dell by e-mail, and immediately Dell wants to replace my entire system.

 

Anyone given the Beta drivers off nvidia.com a try yet over the Dell ones? Or are they same version?

For the 540