New XPS 15z

thanks, i'll try it.

 

Hi lancorp,

Do you know any videos on web which shows how to open Dell XPS 15z laptop and upgrade RAM. I saw the dell manual on how to open it, but still want to see any video on doing that. I would like to know is it easy to open or difficult to do that.

Thanks

 

It is not easy (actually, it's not bad once you've done it) to remove the bottom/base cover. Almost all other Dell notebook PC's are easier!

I have not found a video, yet. I did some quick searches and didn't come up with anything.

I wound up doing it and can say that if you take the bottom screws out, remove the port bezel and two screws, and starting on the port side and working your way at the back, that it comes off (sort off) all at once. This allows you to then tilt and remove the base from the front. In removing the back side, I used a plastic tool to help pry apart the couple of places that are secured with tabs.

I swear with the pressure needed to remove, I thought for sure i'd break a tab or something on the front, but all went well.

Then, just reverse the steps to put it back together.

 

I confer, it seems like you have to pry with uncomfortable force.. then it just comes off.. kind of nerve racking though..

 

Hi lancorp,

Based on your description it looks like very hard to open the case for any upgrade. Do you have any tips on how to open it easily.Where to put pressure and how to open it.How the side one (usb plate) you removed as it looks difficult as well.

Thanks

 

Hey guys - I currently have a fully loaded XPS 15z for review. If there's anything you as owners would like to see make it into the review (or anything you think I won't notice in a week of use), please send me a PM.

So far I like the machine a lot, very good build quality, though at $2100 mine is too expensive vs. the $999 base model (i7-2620M, 8GB, 256GB SSD, etc.). Only thing I'm not a fan of right now is the lifeless keyboard. The fan is a bit noisier than I expected as well. The build quality and 1080p screen are excellent.

 

Hey Charles,

Can you review the build quality ( the screen is glued so the glue will come out eventually and it will be notiecable, also the chrome rim is not stable so if u move it alittle bit you will find that it can come out and it will come out eventually.. without any force)

Can you review the Wireless connectivity once you are 50-70 ft? I had an issue with the wireless connections that keeps dropping, I was pinging the gateway and I lose the connection ( I already set up the max performance in the power settings)

I would like to know the heat under heavy load and idle..please.. I have already returned 2 of them but I still would like to know lol

What type of wireless card you have on it?

 

Hey austinwachukwu, question about your album art wallpaper...is it just an image of the album art screen saver, or does your wallpaper actually do something?

I've always liked the OS X album art screen saver, and there was one for Windows (years back) that sort of worked. I saw your image and wondered what you used?

thanks!

 

[/QUOTE]
Can you review the Wireless connectivity once you are 50-70 ft? I had an issue with the wireless connections that keeps dropping, I was pinging the gateway and I lose the connection ( I already set up the max performance in the power settings)


What type of wireless card you have on it?[/QUOTE]

I'm sure this has already been posted in this thread, but want to make sure folks know: we have issued updated drivers that should improve the wireless performance on this system and several others. We worked closely with Intel to test this updated driver for the 1030 and 6230 wireless cards across dozens of legacy wireless routers, so expect to see a better wireless experience. Instructions to update the driver are here http://t.co/1yLcNLl. Note you will need to download and install BOTH the Intel - Driver, Centrino Advanced-N 6230 and Intel - Application, Centrino Wireless (Bluetooth Adapter).

 

Can you review the Wireless connectivity once you are 50-70 ft? I had an issue with the wireless connections that keeps dropping, I was pinging the gateway and I lose the connection ( I already set up the max performance in the power settings)


What type of wireless card you have on it?[/QUOTE]

I'm sure this has already been posted in this thread, but want to make sure folks know: we have issued updated drivers that should improve the wireless performance on this system and several others. We worked closely with Intel to test this updated driver for the 1030 and 6230 wireless cards across dozens of legacy wireless routers, so expect to see a better wireless experience. Instructions to update the driver are here http://t.co/1yLcNLl. Note you will need to download and install BOTH the Intel - Driver, Centrino Advanced-N 6230 and Intel - Application, Centrino Wireless (Bluetooth Adapter).[/QUOTE]

Hey Anne,

I used to have the laptop but I reeturned since I couldn't wait more..I used to have the 6230 I believe, good to hear that the issue is fixed but the main issue was with the build quality, I am not sure if you would be able to help with the XPS 15 known issue ( fan keeps kicking on full rpm each time I open a webpage) this issue is well known for most of the users but seems Dell is avoiding them and I called yesterday to see if they can fix it.. they offered to send a tech and change few thigns.. I just got my laptop and I don't want refurbished hardware installed already.. it is a known issue for most of the xps 15 users and Dell didn't even aknowledge it, sorry if I mentioned the xps 15 in a non related post.

Thanks

 

I too would like to know how well it is built.

Thanks for reviewing it

 

Hi everyone, I am the owner of refurbished Dell XPS 15z. I have a few questions:

The fan on my machine seems to be on at all times. Not full blast but pretty loud. Notebook Check says that the "fan noise" is actually the HDD and the fans are barely on ever, unless youre gaming. Is this true? If this is true, I will throw an SSD in there quick and probably keep the machine.

Review Dell XPS 15z Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

If the fan is actually causing that noise.....in addition to the keyboard not being amazing (hard to type on correctly for me) I might just return it.

 

My 15z with SSD is nearly silent. I pulled the HDD as soon as I got it and put in a SSD.

 

I have a question regarding the wireless/bluetooth.

How can I turn off Wifi, but leave BT (and my mouse) on?

There used to be BIOS settings in previous Dell notebooks, but not this one.
I see Quickset it installed, but I can't find it running or how to run it (I think some previous Quickset apps has some configurations for this).

Advice?

thanks!

UPDATE: I figured it out. I was using F2 to turn off Wifi, when in fact, that turns off all radios (is there an option to change that?). When you use the MyWiFi applet to turn off Wifi, BT remains on.
Also, Quickset it integrated in the Windows Mobility Center. I'm good now.

 

I've asked this, but got no response (I see Lancorp is using Quickset): nobody is having problems with Quickset? Mine steals focus of the main application. For example, I may be typing on Word, and focus is stolen, than I have to click againg on Word, to get back typing.

I uninstalled Quickset, but would like to have it back.

Thanks.

 

Try taking out the hard drive, then power it on. let it sit in the bios menu for a while and see how loud it is.

 

Awesome, thank you. I will be putting in an SSD this weekend and I will let you know how it goes.

 

So, I havent gotten around to taking out the hard drive, but I thought of an easy test to see if the hard drive is indeed making all that noise.

I went into the Power Management settings and located the "Turn off hard disk after X minutes" and set it to 1 minute. I put the computer down and waited. After 1 minute or so the hard drive turned off but the rest of the system stayed on and hadnt slept yet, and what do you know....

THE HARD DRIVE IS MAKING ALL OF THAT NOISE!!

The fan is near silent as said in this thread.

How is that even possible? I dont know if I've ever heard a hard drive that loud since 2002. Anyway, that solves that. I will definitely put an SSD into this bad boy this weekend.

 

Hi OMGthatsCrAzY,
Please keep note of how you are opening xps 15z bottom cover to upgrade to SSD. I just want to know some tips or videos for upgrading SSD in Dell XPS 15z. Because I understand opening is little bit difficult in this model.

Thanks

 

I just wasted an hour of my life.

Here I had set aside a nice project for this 3-day weekend--to upgrade the CPU in my 15z. So, with i-2720QM in hand, I set out to upgrade.

Remove the bottom panel (getting easier the 2nd time now...it practically pops right off), remove the heatsink (easy)... where's the CPU??? Dell uses a BGA (solder down) version of the i5 on this system!!! I'm sure everyone knew, but me, but just in case there's some other poor sucker out there wanting to do the same, DON'T. It can't be done.

UPDATE: I thought for sure I saw the 15z with Quad Core i-series chips. Now, I'm thinking I must have mistakenly been looking at some other model, since there is no option for a quad core 15z!!!

What a disaster! Please forgive the ID10T error.

 

I got my new 15Z a couple of weeks ago and have been using it ever since. My 15Z is i7, 8GB, Intel N-6230+3.0BT with HD 1080 screen. The screen is so sharp. I don’t see any issue people are having here. The quality is perfect, in term of fit and function. The fan noise is very low and I don’t even hear the hard drive spinning. The WiFi connection is connected at full speed, 300 Mbps at full strength. At a distance away it goes down to 160+ Mbps. I am very happy with it and this is the first time Dell did right for me. My first XPS 1330 was a piece of crap.

 

Just got mine, really digging it. 2 days of use and so far I don't experience any of the issues most people complained about. The screen is outstanding, little to no noise, no heat and the build quality seems pretty good to me!

Only one question - what adapter to you guys use for mini displayport to VGA?

 

Just kidding... I had a steam issue but that's just the error they give you with wrong password... strange =P

 

Hi, Charles. Great to see you are reviewing the 15z. Couple of requests/suggestions: update the new touchpad driver and WLAN + BT driver.

We've been working with Intel on the WLAN issues. There remains some concern that Intel may have a bit more work to do with some compatibility issues with certain WAPs, but both sides feel we have tested against a pretty comprehensive list of routers at this point. We need feedback on any specific router/firmware combinations that may still be experiencing trouble. Thanks!

 

I highly recommend update the touchpad driver to the latest one. The scroll feature is more stable than the previous one. I updated my router to E4200 and WiFi is connector at full 300Mpb at full strength.

 

Anyone have issues where your external speaker sound tends to get lower for no reason or the speakers start popping? I just noticed this this morning. Same speakers work fine on all other devices.

 

it could be the 'leveler' in waves maxx audio, check your settings.

 

So I've had my 15z for a couple of weeks now and I have to say, overall I like it a lot. I really only have 2 minor issues with the laptop so far:

#1 The chrome trim is already beginning to fall off, but that's not a huge deal for me.

#2 A lot of people are saying that plugged in and playing video games their 15z stays cool, however mine gets pretty warm around the left palm rest after just web browsing after a couple of hours. What's living under there that might cause this? My guess is it might be the harddrive that's getting out so people who have installed SSDs might not have this issue? If this is the case, then I think I'll probably go ahead and try upgrading, I just wanted to get the collective's thoughts. Thanks in advance!

 

Yeah, HDD is located underneath the left palmrest area. Right above it are the the memory modules.

 

Cool, I ordered the Cisco-Linksys E4200 router too, can't wait to get it set up soon!

 

Make sure to configure E4200 to connect the 802.11n using 5.2 band and the 802.11/a/b/g on 2.4 band.

 

I replaced the spinner with an SSD on day one and I've never noticed any hotness, even with the laptop sitting on my lap (thus not great ventilation) for a few hours. I'll put my hand in the back where the air gets pushed out to see how hot it gets and normally I never feel much of anything. (I have an i5)

 

Cool, will do, thanks.

 

Not sure I am a fan of the refurb now. I got the speakers and bottom caseing replaced as the right speaker was blown and the base was missing a plastic foot. Now there is something new.

I pretty much baby it, keep it on the arm rest to a non-used couch that nobody sits on. I was surfing for a bit, shut it down. I turned it back on an hour later and get this. What do you guys think? I don't see how that could be a pressure point. UGH

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

 

Call Dell to get the screen replaced... or try these techniques: HOW TO: Fix a stuck pixel on an LCD screen

If they don't work, back to plan A and get your screen replaced. Should be covered under their one-year hardware warranty.

 

Just woke up this morning and now there are two lines going all the way straight up screen. (looks like the bottom) so, it seemingly has to be a screen defect. I'm just worried that they'll say it's me that caused it, which I don't see how I could have. Yea, I'll chat them up in dell support today.

 

My god, the box is 24" ( 60 cm ) long.

Seems like everybody is high up on grack at Dell, from the laptop designer up to the box designer.

lmao.

 

So...any news about potential Optical Drive --> hard drive caddies?
I found this but I have no idea how reputable the company is or whether it's just bull:
2nd HDD / SSD Caddy, DELL XPS Studio 13 (1340) and XPS 15z [OBHD9-SATA-SATA-NF] - $42.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

 

Anyone else notice that the 1080p screen has a green tint and, on a white background, has a noticeable vertical colour shift (redder on top and and greener on the the bottom)? I've had two 15z (one with an optical drive issue that got replaced) and they both have poor viewing angles (red/green shift on white backgrounds).

 

Hey Guys -

I just recently purchased a refurbished 15z, and I was disappointed to find that it comes pretty much stripped of all software. I was wondering if anyone might be willing to send me the recovery .iso, or if anyone knows where it can be downloaded from. Basically, I just want to be able to restore the system to *new* and then remove the bloatware I don't want. Can anyone help? Thanks!

 

The Dell website should have all the pre-installed Dell software. Everything else can be got online, many time for free, although you would probably get better anyway.

 

Hi, I just purchased one Dell XPS 15z. I am seriously about cover for my laptop. However, I can not find any thing to fit it. Can you guy help or suggest ?
So far, I think about buying
Amazon.com: Speck SeeThru for 17-Inch MacBook Pro Unibody - Clear (MB17AU-SEE-CLR-D): Electronics
This hard cover for macbook pro 17; however, I did some research about the dimension.
The hard cover for macbook pro 15 will not fit the Dell XPS 15z ( the body ). Maybe it will fit the screen of XPS 15z
http://www.amazon.com/Speck-Products-MacBook-Aluminum-SPK-A0446/dp/B00546LJJG/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

The table is what I found on Dell website and Apple website.

Dell XPS 15z Macbook Pro 15 Macbook pro 17
Height 0.97 inch 0.95 inch 0.98 inch
Width 15.15 inches 14.35 inches 15.47 inches
Depth 10.25 inches 9.82 inches 10.51 inches

I still think about wrap it up with plastic like what my sister did for her macbook pro.

 

Hey Everyone -

I just wanted to follow up on my post from the other day, because I have a couple of questions and I would really appreciate any input from the collective knowledge on this forum! I had asked if anyone could provide me with the recovery .iso from a new 15z, because the refurbished model I purchased last week did not come with all the normal software bells and whistles. I complained to Dell and they overnighted me the Resources DVD, but that turned out to be just a copy of all the drivers (A00) and Dell Quickset. I was looking for the 3rd party add ons like Roxio, etc. What I wanted was a complete recovery DVD that would create the recovery partition on a new empty harddrive - and here's why:

I'm attempting to replace the DVD drive with a 2nd hard drive using NewModeUS' 2nd HDD / SSD Caddy for the XPS Studio 13 (1340) and XPS 15z. I'm also purchasing the Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD, which i will be using as my primary drive of course, which is also why I wanted the Recovery DVD's. But my refurbished laptop DID come with the Windows Recovery DVD so I'm sure that will get my Corsair Force GT SSD set up properly - but I'll be forced to install all drivers and updates manually, which is fine I suppose.

So my goal is to be running the Corsair Force GT SSD as my primary drive, and then I'm going to take my 750GB 7200 drive the laptop came with, and install it in the 2nd HDD bay that NewModeUS' caddy will create. This seems like the PERFECT set up, because personally, I don't care about DVD's anymore. They're pretty much worthless at this point. So to have 120GB's of Solid State storage for my OS and all my apps, and then have the 2nd bay holding 750GB's to store all of my music and media seems to be ideal!

Has anyone attempted this yet?? I could really only find one thread about a dual harddrive set up in the 15z. It was from 3 months ago and the poster indicated he was not successful because windows refused to let the DVD drive go and see it as a harddrive. But my thoughts on that are a) he wasn't using the caddy I purchased which is specifically made for this setup, and b) it doesn't look like he started fresh since Windows had already established the 2nd bay as the normal DVD drive.

So like I say - I'm looking for any knowledgeable guidance anyone might be able to offer. Ideally, I'd like to set up and install windows on the SSD with the DVD drive already removed. If the DVD drive doesn't exist for the SSD setup, I'm hoping that will circumvent any potential conflicts that could be created. So I'm going to attempt to take my recovery DVD, and turn it into a bootable USB drive (which I don't think will be too dificult).

So there's my plan, and I'll post updates and guidance once I'm successful and I've worked out any kinks. Please post thoughts!

 

There is no OS DVD nor Software installation disk. Dell says you have to do a full backup of your system as you receive it in case you need a full reinstall later. That's what I was told when I asked about the disks. I bought it new.

 

Did your system come preloaded with the shortcut bar right above the taskbar, Dell Backup Center (where you can create a recovery DVD or USB drive), weather widget, Dell backgrounds and Dell's custom power profile? I was mistakenly shipped a *new XPS 15 and when I booted it, it had all of those things which my *refurbished 15z did not have. I haven't tested the recovery partition that exists on my harddrive to see if it will restore those features, but I doubt it will since it did "load windows for the first time" when I received, and I had to manually install all of intels software and all drivers, etc.

 

Hi Rammit,

The Dell XPS 15z owners can download preinstalled software from below site by registering the product.

https://smartsource.dell.com/Web/Welcome.aspx?ReturnUrl=/web/main.aspx

Thanks

 

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, Dell already made me aware of that site, but for some reason I'm getting the error "Service Tag not supported" when I try and access it. Dell has responded and said they need remote access to my computer to "make a change" but they didn't elaborate on what that change was at all. Hopefully I'll get it resolved soon.

Anyone have any comments or suggestions about the dual drive setup?

 

I got my new LCD today, came as the whole screen, the tech had to pretty much take apart the entire laptop to get at all the screws! Nothing is easy to replace on this laptop. This one has the "lines" as well, so I think all 1080P screens have them, that is if you really scrutinize the screen closely.. If I'm not thinking about it, I don't notice it..

 

I got a DVD with my refurbished 15z (1 month ago), just looked at it and it's a "Reinstallation DVD Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit"

 

Does the same thing for me as well..