Just got my XPS 15 9570. Here's my thought and some question

Ok, I just received my XPS 15, my first ever dell laptop. I bought the laptop for school work as well as some games. Sure, I could have bought a gaming laptop, but usually, gaming laptops are ugly, and even if they have a decent design - like Razer Blade 15, they only come with a 1-year warranty and do not support Global Warranty as well.

Therefore, I eventually bought Dell XPS 15, due to it has great design, great build quality, has great international support, as well as since the laptop has Thunderbolt 3 connection, I can potentially use egpu to have more performance.

Packaging and Build quality
When I received and opened the box, I was amazed at how poorly the laptop was packaged. Sure it's not bad, but considering the laptop cost over $2000, I would like to see the better packaging. When I opened the box, I was shocked how heavy (or dense) the laptop is considering the size. I first thought of this as cons, but later, I changed my mind due to build quality. Maybe laptop is really heavy because Dell focused on build quality rather than the weight - unlike LG gram.

Keyboard and Touchpad
I personally do not like to keyboard. It has nice white backlighting that I appreciate, but the keys are very shallow even compare to my old laptop -Aero 15-, arrow keys are very small so it's hard to use, and there's no number pad which I frequently use.

Unlike the keyboard, I really like the touchpad. It's a bit small, but it is very responsive and accepts all the gesture that I use. Probably one of the best trackpad that I've used in Windows.

Ports and storage
There is Two USB 3.1 Type A ports, One Thunderbolt Ports, HDMI 2.0, and SD card readers. Not a bad ports option, but I don't think it's enough to be justified as a "Pro" laptop. It's better than MacBook Pro for sure, but that doesn't mean anything, so maybe in the future Add One more USB 3.1 type A port, Thunderbolt 3 port, mini display port, and an ethernet port so that I don't have to buy extra accessories for my $2000 laptop.

I can also criticize the storage option as well. There is only ONE m.2 slot in the laptop, and this is very unfortunate because the laptop is very easy to upgrade, but there is no room to upgrade the laptop. Aero 15 for example, has two m.2 slots for storage, and it is also very easy to upgrade. It is unfortunate that mobile workstation like XPS 15, skipped the upgrade potential.

Performance and thermals
I am not so sure about this part. I would like to see a better graphics card, but this laptop isn't a gaming laptop, so most people probably don't care about it. However, it is very unfortunate that Dell is using GTX1050ti Max - Q.

The worst thing is even with using Max - Q graphics card, it seems like Dell failed to control the temperature of the laptop as well. With i7-8750H and GTX1050 Max - Q, the fans are quite loud, and there is some power limit throttling as well. However, I ordered my thermal pads and thermal compounds, so this can change after doing some modding.

My thoughts
The laptop is great, and I really like the laptop so far. It has an amazing build quality, has decent performance, and support international warranty as well. However, in order (for me) to consider this laptop to be a TRUE mobile workstation, I think dell have to improve their XPS 15 a bit. More ports, more m.2 slots, better thermals, Webcam at the right place, and better keyboard layout.

Question
Ok, the question is about undervolting my cpu by using XTU. I was able to set Core voltage offset and Cache voltage offset to -0.150v with no problem, but something is catching my eyes. Core voltage mode - adaptive. Do I have to change this to static in order to get a better result or should I just leave it as adaptive?

 

Adaptive for consumer laptops.

Also you should install Dell Command I Power Manager. It has 4 power schemes that control fan speed and processor performance; I think that has access to some registries you can not normally change.

If you want better control of CPU performance /energy savings, you can use ThrottleStop instead of XTU; that allows you to change SpeedShift's EPP from 0 to 255.

 

The question we all want answered is

Can the laptop deal with Overwatch @ low setting and give you stable 142fps?!!

I agree with most of your findings though, especially about the thermals and the 2nd m.2 slot.

 

My usb type c to DisplayPort will arrive today, so we will find out! And probably this week, my ram and thermal pad will arrive, so I will try to deal with the temperature as well. Then, maybe I can play Overwatch at decent setting with decent frame rate

 

Nice darts!

What RAM did you go for, dare I ask?

EDIT - doh, misread that - you have ram pads arriving - my bad!

 

Unfortunately, from just undervolting to -.160v, there is still some power limit throttling, and for first 2 min, I do get stable 142fps, but after a while, it drops to 100 fps. Let's hope it gets better after clean window installation and new thermal compound.

 

I have some posts on boosting package power limits (long & short, watts & time). This is easiest to do with Intel XTU. ThrottleStop can not do this directly (without edits via RW Everything or similar). You can't run XTU and ThrottleStop at the same time.

This will boost heat considerably so is a bit risky. Regardless, you should repaste first. . .

 

If you don't mind, could you link the page?

 

Well it will be either you or me doing the search m8!

 

oh sry, I thought it will be easier for you to find your post. I am not really familiar with this forum. Well, let me do some repaste and let's see how it goes

 

Also you can search for undervolting the 1050ti with MSI afterburner and that will help control package power usage as well.

 

Just regular Crucial single 16gb 2400mhz ram, cause I already own the same ram.

 

Ah ok. Its 2666mhz for the 9570 and its very fussy with Ram so I hope it works for you. I eventually got a 16gb to work - Crucial CT16G4SFD8266 16GB CL19 Dual Rank. The Ballistix CL16 range don't work (unless Dell bring out a BIOS update newer than 1.2.2), even though Crucial Website says its compatible. It ain't!

If you have any problems - try putting the Dell Ram in slot B and the aftermarket in slot A and that works in some cases, but your Ram will run at the lower clock speed of the 2 (from my experience - ymmv).

 

Dimm arrived and working? Might be useful to post the model if it works

 

My thermal pad didn't arrive yesterday thanks to Amazon, and it will arrive tomorrow. So I am planning to do ssd, ram, thermal pad and compound work tomorrow

 

Amazon plays some tricky games like holding stock in a warehouse push you to "upgrade" to faster options. It won't get better. . .

 

It's funny because I ordered the thermal pad and my mousepad, but only the pad arrived with no thermal pad.

 

I upgraded to 'Prime' - no postage costs. Now everything takes longer to get here.

 

I also notice the Prime elgible products are a bit more pricey.

I find the best prices for a good is getting tougher to find at Amazon. And other retailers often more competitive than amazon.

I think amazon does a lot of things right but the prices, quality reviews and transparency are all going in the wrong direction. . .

 

I just tested the ram, and unfortunately, it didn't work and planning to refund the ram as well.

 

Thought as much. Crucial CT16G4SFD8266 16GB CL19 Dual Rank model works. Did you try the slot b trick? (Dell Ram in slot B 3rd party Ram in slot a).

 

No, I didn't really try it because all I want is 32gb of ram . I am going to return the item and probably buy the corsair one.

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Veng...0617&sr=8-4&keywords=2666mhz+ddr4+sodimm+32gb