Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

Shipped out yesterday, should be here tomorrow according to FedEx tracking. I have the SSD ready to throw in there and about to place an order for the OOD caddy to place the 750GB as a secondary drive for storage and backups. Has anyone replaced their 1333MHz ram with 1600MHz and notice improvements?

 

1600mhz ram will run at 1333mhz. Currently only Alienware laptops support 1600mhz ram.

edit: apparently you can run 1600mhz with the right cpu, see a few posts down.

 

Is this a hardware (chipset) or software limitation that will be supported later with a firmware upgrade? Supposedly, the HM67 chipset should support 1600MHz.

 

new Nvidia drivers 296.10 are out.

 

L502x supports 800mhz/1600 DDR3. I've 8GB of http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX1600C9S3P1K2_8G.pdf running happily at full speed. I believe it's the L702x that has problems with this speed.

 

damn that was fast

 

Downloading now. Had no luck with the R285, fan went nuts with that one. I had been stuck with an old driver that crashed playing BF3, or a new R285 driver which played BF3 well but whirred and throttled to a total halt every 10 seconds in normal use. I couldn't even type! I have to say that Dell's support re. the drivers and optimus has been non-existent. If I pay for a laptop like this I expect there to be a regular update of fully functioning Dell/Optimus ready drivers, not have to rely on Betas from NVidia.

Fingers crossed (but not hopeful).

 

Hey so I have a weird problem and haven't found any solutions or anything like it anywhere. Every week or two while using my laptop, it happens more often when I'm charging it than not (especially when it get near 100% charged), the screen will go crazy and flash all sorts of colors and the laptop makes a weird sound. I can't do anything or see anything that I've been doing on the laptop and this has lost me lots of progress on assignments I've been working on. My warranty is ending in a few months but I need the laptop for school so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what to do about it or if the laptop just needs to be sent in?

Thanks

 

IMO, I would try and get it repaired, especially with your warranty is almost up...only if you're able to get work done without your laptop for a while. That is what I would do but I have a desktop and a good work laptop to get me by. Get your data backed up first if you haven't already.

Sent from my GS2 using Tapatalk

 

Can you post some Cpu-Z pictures showing your cpu and memory info? Also include your bios version please.

 

Is the L502x known to have any issues with CPU whine?

The current laptop I have does and I can't think of any other flaws with the Dell (other than the constant-on fan) that would cause me to not want it. But audible/noticeable CPU whine is a dealbreaker for me.

 

Had mine for a little over a week now, the only time the fan comes on (noticably) is when I have games running. In most situations the fan is pretty quiet.

 

8YXNV - Module,Card,Network,1000,Consumer Notebook,World Wide

That's the code on my build that should be here this weekend... Does that have bluetooth?.. I ordered a refurb, i7-2670QM 2.2GHz , 8GB RAM, 1T HDD, 1920X1080 screen, 9 cell, blu-ray drive.. .all this for $977 shipped... I think I got a pretty decent deal, maybe not?

 

^^^
Same here silent untill i start playing games .

 

New BIOS out now A10 rev X30:

Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

Fixes & Enhancements:

1.To fix lid function failed in DOS.

2.Modify fan max speed value to fix WBDD tool fan.exe test failed if system in high temperature

3.Added LED test interface for factory.

4.Sync solution from Queen for IFIR fan noise issue

 

when I access that page, the DL link is broken at least for me.

if you are having issues while downloading the bios, use this link instead ^^

http://ftp.dell.com/FOLDER00318273M/1/L502XA10.exe

edit: post fixed (I forgot to add the link xD)

 

Should I pull the trigger on the new bios or wait for your .85 mod? And what the hell is Sync solution from Queen?

 

I would wager yours shipped with the just released A10 bios.

 

depends, if you already used and liked my volt mods before you can wait,anyway I will relase the A10 0.85v mods for 525m and 540m on next two hours.

your choice

 

Pull the trigger, then wait for him to bring out the volt mod. This bios really makes a difference to fan noise.

 

good man, i'll wait patiently

 

hehe

you probably will be glad to know the A10 mods are ready, feel free to leave some feedback

link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...modded-bioses-download-gpu-voltages-more.html

 

So far so good A10 .85, have not had a chance to play games or anything.

Maybe a fluke but I noticed when going to full screen with youtube videos I have gotten some weird colored bars briefly.

 

So...I have another question:

How does the Dell's B+RGLED 1080p screen compare to an IPS panel?

I know the currently available IPS panels seem to have issues with displaying red as orange, but I understand the B+RGLED 1080p panel is just a fancy TN panel, and I was under the impression that IPS is always better than TN.

Is this the case? I wish I had an L502x to see in person, but I'm afraid I don't.

 

I wouldn't be able to offer a comparison for you but is would be on par with a Mac screen (which themselves are high quality). Probably one of the best screens on a laptop unless you start looking into the ultra-expensive professional notebooks. (HP Elite)

AnandTech - Dell XPS 15 L502x: Now with Sandy Bridge

Just letting you be aware, compared to your Macbook air, the XPS will be a very large in terms of size. Portability isn't ideal in comparision.

 

Color accuracy is amazing, best I've seen on a laptop. You also try several color profiles (in this thread) from users who calibrated their screens.

 

Thanks, looks good to me!

 

Thanks. I know it's not portable, I'm looking for a multimedia/entertainment laptop (that's why I like it, because of the good speakers, subwoofer, TV tuner, blu-ray, etc.); the MBA is my portable take-to-school computer.

My dad has an L502x, but he got it with the 1366x768 touchscreen. So I haven't seen the good 1920x1080 screen. But I have seen an IPS screen and it's amazing. I know it won't be as good as an IPS, but it should be more color accurate (the IPS screen makes reds look orange).

I guess if it's equal to the Mac screen, then I shouldn't have a problem because Mac screens look really good to me...

 

I think portability for this laptop is serious underrated. I even have the 9-cell battery, and I take my XPS 15 L502x to school everyday in my backpack. I don't have any problems with the weight, and my physics textbook is actually heavier than this.

 

Does it weigh under 6 pounds with the 6-cell? Cause my 15-inch MBP weighed about 5.5 pounds and if the Dell doesn't way much more, then I don't think I'd care.

 

It weighs 5.96lbs with the 6-cell battery, and 6.33lbs with the 9-cell battery.

 

Okay, true confessions. I can't get memtest to run. I downloaded the .ISO file from memtest.org and burned it to a CD. When I select boot from CD during start up, it flashes a bit of text on the screen and then goes to booting off of the HDD. I also tried the USB installer from memtest.org. Trying to boot off that just gives me "Invalid partition table" and a hang.

I did run the Dell memory diags on bootup, and they didn't find anything, but the test only lasted ~45 min, so probably not as thorough as memtest.

I took out the DIMMs, cleaned them w/ iso and reseated them. No crashes since then, but it's such an intermittent issue that I won't know for a while if that fixed the issue.

The new AC adapter did fix the error on bootup I was getting related to the power supply but it is still crashing and the brick is still making a sound. As someone else noted, so perhaps that's just the way it is.

 

Am I the only one who keeps having something change my display brightness when plugged in?

 

No, thats normal.

It remembers your last setting, so when you go to battery power then change the brightness and plug it back in, the brightness will revert back to what you had it before.

 

I set it to 80% when plugged in, and 40% when on battery and randomly it will be 40% when plugged in as well.

 

Check the power settings. It is probably set to dim the display after a couple minutes, even while plugged in. You can set it to never dim the display while plugged in if it bothers you.

 

Nah it's not that, it's like something is changing my power settings. I go back into it, and it shows 40% for plugged in as well, even though I have changed it to 80% plugged in and 40% on battery.

 

How do you get the screen to stay off?

I have power options set to turn off the display after two minutes. I also have my Dell Instant Launch Manager button set to "Turn off display". However, many times when I turn off the display, or it turns off automatically after two minutes of not being used, it pops on again immediately.

Even when nothing on screen is changing and I'm not touching keyboard or mouse, the display will repeatedly turn on, even though I turn it off.

What is it sensing that causes it to turn on? Is there any way to lower the sensitivity? Is there any way to turn off the display and keep it off until I want it on again?

 

@toronto
Using a Microsoft wireless mouse or keyboard? There is an optional update "Microsoft HID Non-User Input Data Filter" that may help with this problem.

 

Not only that, but 1866 works also. (With an i7 2760qm anyway.)


My Setup:

L502x: I7 2760QM, 8GB Kingston Hyper-X 1867Mhz ram, OCZ Agility 3 240 GB SATA3 SSD, GeForce 540m 2GB, FHD Display, Bluray Combo, 9 cell, Intel 6230 ABGN.

 

Nope, no wireless devices at all.

 

New owner of a L520x here, i7-2760QM, 8GB RAM. The FHD display is outstanding, great colors and easy to look at, the shiny surface has not been the problem I feared it might be. To be easier on my eyes, I run it at 1600 x 900, no ill effects at all. It's thicker than I expected, many 15" laptop sleeves won't hold it, their zippers can't close around the bulk.

Only quirk so far - the aluminium cover is lifting at the rear left corner! I'll call Dell, and see how they offer to fix it, but it hasn't been getting very hot, I wonder if glue has melted? Any one else seen this?

 

Does anyone else have an issue with high temps when gaming? I'm getting core temps around 95C (CPU is probably throttling a little), and my GPU is around 80C. I've got the i7 2720QM configuration with the GT540m. I'm still under warranty until June, should I contact Dell?

 

What battery are you using?

 

I've got the 9 cell, so I'm getting some decent ventilation having the laptop lifted up.

 

After plenty of indecision, I now have a brand new XPS 15 on its way. Dell UK has a good deal on right now, that gives free upgrades to 1080p screen and to 750GB HDD. It's already gone from factory to Shanghai to Osaka to Anchorage to Louisville to Philadelphia so should arrive tomorrow, as predicted.

I have a couple of questions, ready for when I get my grubby mitts on it:

1. Is there a guide available to what all the bloatware does, so I know what I can safely remove?
2. How do I go about creating a recovery disk when I first log in? Is it easy?
3. What cables come in the box? I'm going to want to connect my monitor using the HDMI port, but not sure if I need to buy a cable.

Thanks a lot.


The options I ordered are below, in case anyone wants to see:

XPS 15
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz)
8192MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x4096]
2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M Graphics Card
750GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (EUR)
9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery
15.6"(40 cm) FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) 1080p with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera

 

Congrats on your new XPS 15.

1. I'd uninstall McAfee, Dell Stage, Dell Music Stage, Dell Photo Stage, Blio eReader, Cozi Family Planner, Office 2010.

2. Very easy. Have 3 blank DVD-R discs ready. Use Dell DataSafe program to create your Factory System Recovery discs.

3. You must buy the cable.

 

Or a USB flash drive.

 

Great, thanks for the quick replies guys.

I'll order an HDMI cable, and let you know how it all goes in a few days.