Dell XPS15 R2 (L502) Thread

I've been getting 5.5 to 6 hrs with simple web browsing (no video) and basic tasks like checking email, word processing, etc. mixed in. This is on balanced power plan, display on 4 bars.

 

Fan is really annoying while playing games , it speeds up really fast when i play need for speed or COD games .. anyone with the solution ?

 

Headphones

 

Yeah it gets pretty loud

 

Well I don't suppose you'd want to toast your legs or hands while playig them, would you?

 

Is the fan okay when you're just taking notes and such?

 

So you mean that it would be better to opt for a i7-2630Qm than an i5-2410m ??

 

Anyone recommend any good diagnostic programs that would be handy to have down the road ?

Anyone tried to undervolt ?

Could anybody that has successfully overclocked their 525m post detailed instructions step by step instructions please ?

Any display calibrations to share ?

 

why dont they have an option for better Graphic Cards?

 

I think they are trying to keep this current Xps line slimmer than the last. The 1730 was huge. Any larger graphics card wouldn't work for the heat and size. If you want a better graphics card move on to the alienware line.

 

would you buy alienware if could buy a xps system with a more powerful GPU?

 

That cool alien head? it's all Dell anyway. No I wouldn't, I never cared paying extra for a name.

 

at least in germany the alienware laptops are very price. no one here would buy them if you could get a XPS 15 with a more powerful gpu ...

.... the online shipping date has changed again: back from late may to right about now miracles do happen!

 

I wanted to know if a XPS laptop is purchased in U.S with a 1 year basic service plan and then brought to India... will it be under warranty in India too ?

Also wanted to know from where I could get discount coupons for Dell XPS?
And what is the average delivery time for XPS Laptops in U.S.? My friend might be leaving for India in two weeks... will it be possible for him to get the laptop before he leaves U.S ??

 

Possible but I wouldn't count on it. Chances aren't great it gets delivered within 2 weeks.

 

Wow I ordered my laptop on 3/29/2011 and I just got an email from Dell, it says that the laptop was shipped yesterday and I'll get it tomorrow 4/5/2011 !!!! I cant wait!! The original estimated delivery date was 4/20/2011, too bad I'll be at work tomorrow, what time does ups usually delivers it?? Anyone know?

 

That's all dependant on your area and your ups guy's route. I'm jealous and excited, I ordered 3/30. Mind if I ask what your configuration is?

If you have a tracking # sometimes you can call UPS and ask them to hold it at the depot.

Never/Mind... I see it in your sig profile.

 

I have literally the exact same configuration and still nothing...

 

Anything that can be done to speed up the delivery? Am saving a lot by purchasing the laptop from U.S and then bringing it to India....
Also I checked the Dell USA site and they have some signature event going on there which includes : Free 7 day shipping on Signature Event laptops and desktops!... does this mean that the laptop can be shipped within 7 days??

 

I was actually just talking to Dell on chat 2 days ago, they said it's still in production, and 1 day later I got the email!!!

 

Any L502X owners having troubles with their USB 2.0 / USB 3.0 cutting out ?
Any owners having trouble with using their BT mice ?

 

I noticed an issue today i read about in another thread, but I had a usb 3.0 HD plugged into my rear 3.0 port, and on my left 3.0 port i had the transmitter for a wireless mouse.

Intermittently the mouse would skip around like it was losing signal big time, switched the transmitter to the Esata port and had no issues. Weird though I have seen others reporting this, not sure if there is a fix

 

Perhaps this has been answered but I'll ask anyways...

Anyone know what the model/manufacturer of the l502x 1080p LCD is?

 

according to this german test ( Test Dell XPS 15 Notebook (i5-2410M & GT 540M) - Notebookcheck.com Tests) it is a AUO17ED (B156HW01). the same panel used in the L501.

 

No problems yet, but I've noticed that if I plug in my WD Essentials USB 3.0 external hard drive into the USB 2.0 slot, Windows pops up with a message saying I would get better performance by plugging the device into a USB 3.0 port.

 

Ordered 3/19, and shipped on 4/4, should be here 4/6 or 4/7

 

i've had problem once mice looses signal in port 3.0 but never had problem with 2.0

 

yeah you're right

 

So is the B+RG LED screen as nice as some say it is?

 

I can only say this: I didn't realize just how washed out my m1530's CCFL screen's colors were until I looked at it again after using my new XPS 15's B+RGLED screen.

 

Search is your best friend. Even this very thread you're typing in contains all you info you need to know about the screen. Search.

 

No need to search...I went through and read the whole thread from the begining. There are those that spoke about the the screen before they received their orders.

Besides the search function of this forum is Not your friend, this is the results.

 

Yeah. Doing some testing, it looks like the search index hasn't been updated since mid-2010.

 

Speaking of broken search features, does anyone know if there is an order progress thread for the L502X? Didn't see one manually (maybe I'm blind), and, well, search is broken.

If there isn't one... Is anyone in the US currently experiencing delays with a recently-ordered L502X? Mine has an EDD of the 13th with 7 day delivery, so it really should have shipped today at the latest by Dell's standards. Normally, the production doesn't even take this long. But it's been in production for 2 full weeks now. Starting to get concerned.

 

Can't speak to any production delays, but even with 7 day shipping I received mine in two days. Give them a call, can't hurt.

 

This basically is the order status thread. I was in the same boat as you I think, more than 2 weeks of "In Production". Mine shipped 4 days from the EDD, and should arrive in 2 or 3 days at most with the default free 7 day shipping.

 

I understand that the 7 day shipping most likely isn't going to take 7 days, but they still have to factor the possibility into their EDD which, if you consider the weekend days between now and the 13th, means that it should have shipped today at the latest. But, I guess they allow it to ship closer to the EDD without actually delaying it, as in your case. And now mine, I suppose. :[ Oh, well, could be worse.

 

Mine has a EDD of 4/19, I called in and questioned if there were any delays and they upgraded my 7 day to Next day shipping.

 

Ordered on 3/14 through EPP with original EDD of 4/7. Changed EDD to 4/5 last week with NBD shipping. Delayed this morning to 4/12. Supposedly chassis and hard drives are delayed. They call me all the time to tell me all is well and they're sorry for delays...

XPS L502x | Core i7-2720M | 8GB RAM | GT 540M 2GB | 640GB 7200RPM HDD | B+RGLED 1080p | Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 + BT | Blu-ray Disc BD-Combo | 6-cell

 

Just called,didn't get my shipping upgraded, but he did say it will be shipped on the 8th. That's the longest production time of any computer I've ever ordered, but it's also the first time I was told directly the exact date it would ship. ...We shall see. Not looking forward to another week with this loaner laptop I'm using. :[

 

I hate Dell more and more every day that my laptop isn't shipped. Two weeks and counting....

 

Wow I ordered on mine 3/22 , and I got it on 4/1, weird.

 

I ordered mine 3/29 and I got it today 4/5, so far I'm loving it !!!

 

Hey guys, I am curious - I just purchased one of these today, and I've had some people telling me I might have made a mistake. I got the 525m graphics card, and the i7-2630QM processor and was told that this was a total mismatch, and that with the 1080p screen I purchased I wouldn't even be able to run any high-end games (like SC2 for example) on even medium graphics setting with a decent framerate. Is this at all true? I sort of expected I'd be able to run a game like that on high on full resolution, and maybe even on ultra if I scaled the resolution down.

Should I have gotten the better graphics card available? They seemed to think that even that one was underpowered, given that there's not a huge different between the 525m and the 540m based on what I've read. What has been the general experience of you guys? Can you play recent games with high graphics settings? I realize this isn't a hardcore gaming laptop, but I sort if figured it was fairly close.

edit: Also you guys who got your laptops in like two weeks, did they say it would take longer? I ordered mine today and it's already in production, but Dell says it won't arrive till 4/27. I did choose the free 7-day shipping, even though I wanted to splurge for 2-day air. Did it take exactly as long as they said for you folks who got yours within like 14 days?

 

Getting a new computer from Dell/AW normally only takes about 2 weeks, not as long as the EDD implies. 1 week is pretty lucky, though. And it seems I must wait the maximum (without an official delay) of 3 weeks. I think it is just the luck of which facility you draw. Regardless, when it does ship, it should never take 7 days within the continental US. They only call it 7 day delivery so you'll feel bad and pay more for a "faster" service. It's kind of like Amazon's "super saver" shipping speed which is really just as fast as "standard" most of the time.

As for your GPU, if you got this system with even occasional gaming in mind, and you want the highest res whenever possible, I'd say you should have chosen the 540M and maybe at least the 2720QM processor. Even that combo is probably not going to be able to run most upcoming games in 1080 very well, though. I don't know for sure as I don't have the system or the future games yet. But I've heard that a lot of games struggle on certain settings on 1080 with the 540M. I've also heard that some don't struggle, though. But, anyway, if 1080 is so iffy with the 540M, you can imagine the 525M/2630QM combo probably doesn't have what it takes to enter 1080 gaming territory much, if at all.

Of course, someone with experience can let us know if I'm wrong about that.

 

Very nice. I've read quite a few posts now from people who've gotten their XPS 15 in just about a week. That is great for them, but... It also makes my wait all the more painful. X[

 

The 540M graphics card is exactly the same chip as the 525M card, just clocked <s>lower</s>higher. The memory difference is also negligible too since most games can't take advantage it as I've heard.

The 540M's speeds are a bit higher than the 525M, but whether you'd notice the difference is another story.

I've seen plenty of youtube videos of people running SC2 in 1920x1080 on high settings on the XPS 15. My laptop with its non-gaming-oriented card can run Need For Speed - Hot Pursuit on high settings on 1920x1200 at a decent speed. I can also run it at 1280x800 and it doesn't look bad. Try running games at 1280x720 for an exact 1.5x1.5 scaleup to 1920x1080.

Most games won't be bottlenecked by a CPU. The 2630QM is more powerful than a stock-clocked previous-generation 920XM.

EDIT: I'm installing the Starcraft 2 Demo right now to test it on my Precision M4400.
EDIT2:
- On 1920x1200 with High texture and Medium graphics, it's running at around 48fps
- On 1920x1200 with High texture and High graphics, it's running at around 26fps which is pretty good.
- On 1920x1080 with High texture and High graphics, it's running at around 30fps
- On 1280x800 with High texture and High graphics, it's running at around 44fps and the graphics don't look all that bad compared to native
- At 1280x720 with High texture and High graphics, it's running at around 48fps
The XPS 15's 525M should perform similar to this, but if someone who actually has an XPS 15 w/ 525M wants to test some of these scenarios, feel free to.

EDIT3:
- At 1920x1080 with High texture and High graphics, and shaders turned down to medium, I'm getting 43fps. I think this is the sweet spot. I can't see too much of a difference between the high shader setting and medium shader setting.

 

THanks Benn, Mahesh and NoSlow...

As long as the mouse (bluetooth or usb 2.0) will function well while a usb 3.0 Ext HD is plugged in as well I'll be content.

So, which should it be ???...
The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB USB 3.0 drive... or...
The WD My Passport Esential SE 500GB USB 3.0 drive.... hmmmm
Any othe suggestions ?

Viva la L502X !!!

 

SC2 is pretty easy to run for a 2010 game, though, isn't it?
Also, you mentioned using 1280x720 if 1080 is too much. What about 1600x900? I've read that looks almost as good as 1080 on the XPS 15.

 

weeee!

after spending weeks looking at the 17 inch model, i finally went for the L502x. what clinched it for me was the B+RGLED LCD - very handy being a computer graphics nut.

i7-2720QM - 8gb - GT-540M.

it is a real shame Dell dont have the option for the GT-555m for the 15 range... but i guess that would make the 17 redundant?

there is a sweet discount (runs out tonight!) on the 15 model and add a 10% voucher - got this baby for £1114

heres hoping the price doesnt drop any more for the next few weeks! hehe

one thing which i have tried to search like mad was benchmarks of laptop chips versus desktop but using 3d software (3D Studio MAX / Vray / MentalRay). i have two workstations (core2 6600 @ 3ghz). will test this out as soon as i get my new lappy!

speaking of which.. Dell UK website reports "lead time of 20 days" for the new chips. i will have to learn the art of patience...

/me taps his desk like mad with his quickly becoming red finger!