New XPS 15z

Not really.

 

anyone have any update on if a hard drive caddy can fit in the optical drive space? i want to be put an SSD in there, in addition to the regular hard drive.

 

Not sure if anyone else has posted this so sorry if it is a repeat post.

The XPS 15z is on the Dell Outlet now - and there is currently a coupon for $100 off - with the base model at $849 in the outlet that makes it $749 which is a pretty good deal.

Here is the link for the coupon :
Dell Outlet Independence Day Sale | Dell

Here is the coupon code :

PJ4SJ37Z3F$0TW

It expires today . . .

 

A few questions:

1) What kind of case are you guys using for your 15z's?

2) Optical drive Caddy - someone on here was going to test their old, standard sized caddy to swap the optical drive for the HDD (so I can put in an SSD ^_^). How did this turn out?

 

Just a quick note to let you all know that even after 2.5 weeks, I'm still just thrilled to death with my 15z. I was the one who blogged earlier about the process I went through to replace the hard drive with an OCZ Vertex 3 SSD. However, I have to tell you that I returned the Vertex 3 and got an Intel 510 Elmcrest SSD instead (250GB). The OCZ Vertex 3, even though the raw performance specs were supposedly better, was exhibiting unstable behavior (locking up Windows, freezing, studdering, etc.), even with the very latest firmware 2.09 downloaded and installed.
The Intel 510 has been rock solid, and blazingly fast. A TRUE reliable performer.

 

I heard alot of horror stories about the vertex 3,Thanks for the heads up on the Intel. I've been on the fence between the two drives.

 

I was wondering this myself. All the nice cases for, say, MacBook Pro 15 are too small for the 15z. I was thinking of the Built NY 15.6", but not sure.

 

Its been about a month since I received this laptop, and it runs well and all however I appear to have some battery problems. The battery would charge up to 89%, the jump to 100%. A battery drain and recharge fixes this. But it has happened three times now and I'm not sure why. Battery wear is around 1.4% and its health is normal according to dell. Any one else having this problem?

 

If you're using the standard battery meter on Windows 7, it might be a measurement error. Many people have experienced this on W7 on multiple machines. It might not be a battery problem, just a W7 problem.

Try installing a battery meter program.

 

The 15z is more closer in size to the MBP17 than the 15. I'm using the Built Cargo 17" for my 15z and the fit is good.

 

Is the MBP15 less wide because of the display ratio or is the 15z just wider by design/HW constraints?

I also noticed that it's wider. Still not so bad since it's pretty much as thin and lighter.

 

I have an OCZ drive in the XPS 15z. Intel's RST does cause it to lock-up. Somewhere in this thread I posted a link to the fix and it has been working perfectly since - over a month so far.

 

Yes, I had applied ALL of those fixes, including the registry hack, power-saving mode disable for the HD, firmware update to 2.09, latest patches for Intel RST, disabling scheduled defrag, and disabled over-indexing. The drive still locked up constantly. Even OCZ tech support didn't really have an answer, they wanted me to spend 2 days re-installing the O.S. and all my developer tools from scratch, and I told them no thanks.
The fact there is even a website page dedicated to trying to work around this drive's problems speaks volumes: OCZ Vertex 3 Freezes, Locks Up, Stutters and Crashes | Geek Montage
The Intel 510 has not even paused, studdered, or locked up even once since I slapped it in 2 weeks ago.

 

oops, spilled some beer between the trackpad buttons. now one button is really sticky. does anyone knows how to remove the buttons? do i need to open up the laptop, or can i whip the button off.

 

I installed batterybar but it gives me the same problem. wear is 1.4%. My battery appears to just random move calibrates to 89% being the fullest. I will have to re-calibrate once more. If it happens once more, I'm thinking about doing a factory restore or something but I wish I don't have to.

 

newest bios update A03 has a fix regarding the battery, maybe that fixxes the wear problem.

 

I just got my 15z today and its got vertical lines on the screen! I read some posts about this issue but didn't find any answers. Is this a defect or just the way the screen is? Its not a driver issue as i can see the lines in bios and running ubuntu.

If this is normal i gotta say im pretty disappointed with all the "glowing" reviews and even people saying the screen is better than the macbook pro screen. Honestly this is my 3rd dell and every single one has had problems. Even if i can get this fixed i'm not buying another dell again or will i ever recommend one.

Can someone confirm if the lines can be fixed? Thanks

 

If it is what I'm thinking it is, it is supposed to be like that.

 

Can i ask what your thinking it is? Really though how come not many people have mentioned this? It seems like a serious QA issue to me.

 

Well did you get the 1080p or the 720p?

If you got the 720p then of course the quality is going to be terrible. That's why you're not supposed to buy this laptop with the 720p screen. Any reviews of the laptop saying the screen is better than the MBP are referring to the 1080p screen.

If you got the 1080p screen, then it's a lemon.

 

I got the 1080p screen. I'll call dell support, but i'm afraid they are going to say something along the lines of "looks fine to me" and not repair it or replace it with the same problem.

 

I've had my 15z for a week now and my 1080p screen looks great. Gamma was cranked up when I got it and I adjusted it down to the correct level. The powersaver feature for the screen with the auto brightness adjust was awful and I turned that off, but other than that it looks great. No real problems with mine, just a little wiggle with the chrome trim on the left side. Speakers were a little tinny but the driver program came set to "movie mode" with the treble cranked up and the bass turned all the way down, so I readjusted that and now is fine.

 

I got my 1080p 15z a few days ago and I haven't experienced any of the build quality issues mentioned in this thread.

If I get really close to the screen I can see the vertical lines separating the pixels that people are mentioning, but it isn't a big deal for me. I actually think it looks kinda cool.

My only complaint is that when waking from sleep, the computer doesn't prompt for my hard-drive password. My old Dell 1545 did.

 

Can i ask what you will be using it for? For me a screen interlaced with lines is not "cool". It means images will look fuzzy and grainy. I guess that's ok for some people

 

I use it for everything from movies to programming. All LCD monitors have borders surrounding each pixel. This one just happens to be slightly more noticeable in the vertical direction. The vast majority of users out there will never even notice.

 

Hi i am loking to buy 15z but i want to buy in offer with free xbox
but i am student but no in USA

i have one friend who is there for summer job and he can ship it to me.
have any one boutght with this offer, and if i want to chane screen to 1080p is it posible with this offer ?

 

Just an FYI, when I looked into the free xBox offer, it wasn't actually a good deal. When I was logged on as a student, the 1080p 15z I wanted was $100 more and had a much worse warranty.

 

i dont wory abouth waranty because in here Europe we have Parts only wearanty if we ship from USA.
i thin i will get 2 Year Premium Hardware Service because extre year cost 100$ more :doh:

 

Im planning on buying the XPS 15z for university, i saw that dell offered 1080p a few days ago but now its no longer on the site. Did dell discontinue it or are they just out of stock? how long will it take to restock, and should i wait to purchase the laptop (sales)?

thanks

 

Has anybody had issues with the 15z coming out of sleep on its own or not being able to shut down (just goes to the login screen)?

 

I told myself that, then I returned it and got the HP in my sig. The 15z's are A TON more noticeable. I don't know how people can even deal with it.

 

Coming from a string of Alienware systems (last one was M18x) I'm very impressed with this little laptop. The trackpad is too sensitive and causes problems if you rest your wrists while typing but other than that its near perfect. Runs quiet, light as a feather (esp compared to my M18x), bright screen with nice colors and good performance. I got mine for $858 from Dell outlet and its brand new. Got a 2410M CPU, GT 525M GPU, 1080P screen, 750 GB drive, 6 GB ram etc

 

I agree, the screen on this thing is quite bad when I compare it to other notebooks I've seen. I took a look at the 720p on the xps 15 (not the z) in a shop and it's much clearer. Its a shame they didn't have the 15z on display otherwise it wouldn't have bought it.

 

Laptop manufacturers typically obtain LCD panels from multiple sources. I suspect that the 15z LCDs come from two or more sources. For example, it's possible that the 1080p panels from Samsung are better than the 1080p panels from LG (or the other way around). Such a phenomenon has been observed for many Thinkpad models and I expect it to be applicable to Dell laptops as well.

For this reason, it would be great if 15z owners can find out who made their 1080p panels. I think a system info program such as PC Wizard can get you this information.

 

I received my XPS 15z refurb yesterday. Everything about this laptop is great EXCEPT the damn screen. I got the full HD 1920 screen and the lines are definitely noticeable. I can only liken it to looking through an insect screen at the laptop. It makes pictures look blurry and text hard to read (besides how small it is, and yes, I did use Cleartype) I'm assuming that this is a hardware, meaning the LCD panel, related issue since I tested the HDMI port and connected the laptop to my TV and didn't see an issue.

With that said, I'm really wondering if I returned it and tried again I might get an LCD panel from a different manufacturer without the noticeable mosquito netting effect?

 

Dell XPS 15Z replacement Laptop LCD Screen from $98.99 Brand-new screens (never used).

Is this a route anyone's tried? Maybe it's wishful thinking but wouldn't a matte screen (currently sold out) help with the screen issue as well? I wouldn't mind paying an extra 120 bucks if I knew it worked instead of returning this laptop

I tried fooling around with Cleartype and I actually did like it better...but it wasn't that positive a gain.

I'll try calling tonight to see if a Dell tech has anything to say about the different LCD Panel manufacturers.

 

I wish I had checked before I returned mine. I'm shocked that they would ship units with such a terrible screen. BAAAAAAAAAD.

 

did u use any promotion code ?

can u share

 

I thought the Dell Outlet one's were refurbished units. Oh well, too late now. Already have the base upgraded with the 1080p screen and 2 year warranty for the $1099. My screen is really sharp and clear, need to get within about 3 inches from the screen before I can notice the pixel lines.

 

Is anyone able to hibernate their 15z?

Earlier I posted it was having problems shutting down... but I misspoke, I meant going into hibernate mode, it just goes back to login screen.

It also wakes up on it's own occasionally when in sleep mode.

Google says there is an issue and I disabled the sleep wake-up timers and the network card's wake-up option but it still won't hibernate. Someone said I have to uninstall the Cypress Trackpad drivers but then I lose multi-touch.

Am I one of the few who can't go into hibernate?

 

I pimped my Dell 15z.

Dell 15z i7 2620M, NVIDIA GT 525M, FullHD 1080p....


- Replaced 720GB internal HDD with 256GB Crucial M4 SDD
- Dodged sound drive by purchasing Bowers & Wilkins speakers with USB DAC & DSP
- Disregard FullHD screen for Dell 27" U2711 12-bit IPS screen 2540x1440 resolution

Final upgrade is to purchase Wacom Intruos4 wireless graphics tablet

 

I have had this laptop for a week after dell sent me the wrong screen for a xps L502x and I'm very happy with all aspects of this machine. I also have a macbook. I think compared to the previous xps it's in a different class despite the JBL's it certainly has form factor. Just remember to update all the drivers, around 15 or so and away you go. This is a fairly new model so all the driver updates are expected.

I have read through the threads and was a little sceptical however full marks from me.

RE: Hibernation no issues.

Andrew

 

Yavomo: very nice setup. Wish I could get a super high res monitor right now. Speaking of which, can the XPS 15z smoothly handle both the laptop and a external 1920x1080/1200 display?

 

There is a problem trying to get dual-display to work properly. When I try dual-display the external display's screen becomes blury. I can set both to 1080 but that's not native resolution for my external display.

Does anyone know how to force mini-displayport to run on NVIDIA GT 525M or dedicated graphics?

 

want to tweak my audio setting too...where is this setting.. ? thnx

 

Sooooo, 720P only available from now on.
Check your orders if you have them, screen may have changed and you are SOL

 

Well that's a fail...

 

Super fail. Check the refurbs, got the highest end 15z (1080p/8GB/i7/2GB-GPU) for $1130-ish tax and all with the latest discount.

 

From now on? I thought it was just a supply problem with the 1080p screens. Dell had said previously that they are expecting more 1080 screens to be available after Aug 8th.