New XPS 15z

I am one rev behind, because it is a Dell oem drive it wont take Samsung fw updates.

 

I ordered it the day it was announced and it shipped the next day. I did order one of the pre-configured ones and only added extra warranty so that could explain how fast the turnaround was.

 

Okay. I just received my top-of-the-line 15z (spec'd out was ~$1530 w/ discounts, post-tax).

i7, 1080p, 8gb RAM, 2GB graphics card (didn't want those two, but I wanted the i7, so....had to get it). After ridiculousness from FedEX, finally went ahead and picked it up from the middle of nowhere today. Just curious what all programs you guys uninstalled upon first boot?

I'd flash a fresh install of W7, but I can't seem to find my disk :X

Any questions you guys have, feel free to shoot.

P.S: first thing I did was pull off those god-awful stickers!

 

I understand it's not meant for gaming but whats the point of putting in a half-way decent graphics card if it overheats when you use it? I've noticed it hot when using just mildly GPU-intensive tasks. Some of us ride a fine line between portability and performance that a chunky Alienware or XPS15 wont cut. And I'm not about to to buy another laptop for the sake of casual gaming.

 

Yea that's what I'm trying to find out. I'm on fw 06. Is that what you have?

 

I agree. I mean, this model can be configured with 8 GB of RAM, i7, and a 2GB 525M card, surely that kind of combination is going to attract heavy multimedia users and some part-time gamers.

Seems to be the same issue that the early Envy's had - too much inside too little space. I'll certainly be watching the temps on this.

I wonder what kind of job Dell has done with the thermal paste? Conservative use of good quality paste or monster glob of soon-to-be dust?

 

Hey guys. I plan to get this laptop i would like to know how hard it is to take apart so i can replace the drive with an ssd myself rather then paying almost $500 for a crappy ssd drive from dell. I'm waiting for someone to upload a video on YouTube showing the entire process instead of using the service manual. I'm sure some of you have already had yours apart and know how it is done so if someone could make a video that would be awesome

Thanks.

 

Holy Crap! Dude if you're not able to follow a service manual, then you're obviously not able to replace a HDD with a SSD.

Hence search for a service guy and dont complain about 500$ for a DELL Drive.

Dammit, these kids who cannot do anything by themselves. I cannot take it.

 

NangNang,
Thank for taking a perfectly reasonable question from d4rk5ky and turning it into an opportunity for you aggresively unleash on him. It's people like you that make this forum such a nice place to be sometimes. I've taken literally hundreds of laptops apart in my years, and occasionally it can get tricky, particularly if the manufacturer uses snap molding that is stubborn to come loose, and without special hard plastic pry tools it can be a pain. Luckily, Dell does a pretty good job most of the time with their on-line service manuals.
Good luck d4rk5ky.

 

Likewise, I laugh whenever I read this post!

I can't believe you think that to play games, that Alienware is your only choice!

Having a notebook and wanting to play games is NOT the defininition of a "gaming rig". There are gamers, and there are people that want to play games. BIG DIFFERENCE.

And, in case you didn't read it, the 15z IS intended to play games. Taken right from the XPS 15z features page at dell.com:

"Experience pure performance with faster 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5 and i7 processors — multitask, play graphics-intensive games, create HD videos. The XPS 15z is revved up for high performance computing."

Sounds like Dell thinks you can play games with your 15z, and much more!

Also, as a previous owner of multiple Alienware "gaming rig" notebooks (M17xR2) in the past, even those behemoths with all their cooling and heatsinks and fans, run HOT and LOUD doing practically nothing.

 

I'm planning on dropping an SSD in when mine arrive this week. I'll snap a few pictures while I do it and post them here. Looks like 10 screws gets the panel off (including a bezel for the ports), and a few more for the battery and HD chassis. Seems pretty straightforward.

 

Indeed, just read the countless posts about the ASUS G73 series overheating issues.

 

Had an alienware and never got any heat issues. Same with my old g73. They all could play the latest games at the time. To say that a gaming laptop is not a gaming rig is false.

But I would have to agree that the 15z is not meant for high end gaming.

 

The GT525M is such a weak card, it's maybe meant for light gaming, but it will NOT play the latest and greatest in high quality/resolution. Benchmarks are lower than a 5650 which can be found in 700 dollar laptops.

 

There's other things in life than gaming and anime

 

ouch.........

 

And your point? I know there is more to life than gaming, all my business laptops are used for work but the Latitude 13 and the Vostro 1500. But when you want to do your occasional gaming, it will be terribad. If someone wants to do gaming and work, IMO that card will not perform.

 

The 525M plays games perfectly fine for me. I'm okay playing on High settings instead of Very High settings.

The again, I bought the XPS 15z primarily for using Microsoft Office and Internet.

 

Does anyone know if the XPS 15z has an old style BIOS, or if it's using (U)EFI?

 

Who said that? Not me. I said, referring to a previous post, that just because someone wants to play games on their notebook, does not make them a "gamer" nor the notebook a "gaming rig".

To me a "gaming rig" is a "gaming laptop".

 

Just received mine this morning and my impressions so far are very positive. I've unpacked and used over 25 laptops in the last year or so and this is at (or near) the top in terms of fit, finish, and display quality. I was not expecting to be this pleased since I have had some real Dell-duds lately.

The silver trim that some have had issues with looks OK but I imagine that it will be the first thing to show scratches, dings, etc. It seems rather unnecessary actually, as the matte aluminum is very nice and didn't need any contrasting trim.

Prior to receiving the laptop, my biggest concern was the display quality (especially given the comparisons to the higher-quality MBP and XPS 15 panels). Thankfully, I can say this this is an excellent panel. It has inky blacks, very good contrast, and the colour gamut (despite being listed at 60%) is very good. I'm reminded of notebookcheck's review that noticed the subjective evaluation of the colour gamut was much better than the actual result of the colorimeter readings; I can certainly see that myself. It seems much better than 60% (comparing it to the MBP 13 which is in the 70s or my older XPS 1645 that hits the high 90s).

I put an all-white background up and it was very uniform without any red/blue/green tinge (or yellow) and no darkening in the corners.

Viewing angles are good and I'm not seeing the rapid decrease in readibility/contrast on the horizontal plane that Engadget noted. Seems to be as good as my MBP in all respects and probably better-than-average for a TN panel.

Brightness is off the charts. I work in a corner office with 5 large windows and 6 overhead lights so glare is always an issue. Unfortunately, I dislike the rather muted colours of matte displays so I've been looking for a bright display that could overpower reflections. At 8/10 brightness I don't see a single reflection. I can't imagine how bright this will be a night.

One thing I immediately turned off was the auto-dimming feature as it is terrible. It ramps the brightness up very slowly and abruptly (as if you were hitting the brightness "up" button once every 2 seconds). At first I thought the screen was defective until I shut it off. The worst auto-dimming I've ever seen.

Anyway, just some initial observations about the display since I value that component more than any other. I'll post a review in the next couple days for those that might be interested.

 

Thanks klover. Please do post a review when you can. Mine arrives on the 22nd.

 

I was about to order a 15z, but when I went to customize the base model of $999 with a 1080p, I saw Dell now offers a 2.0MP webcam instead of 1.3MP?

It's not a big deal but I'm wondering if you guys know there are any other changes?

 

I think that might be an error. No where else on the site does it say 2.0. Everywhere else is still 1.3MP

But I am happy you can get the 1080p now in the base configuration.

 

Would anyone be interested in my typing up some thoughts on the fully maxed out version of the 15z? I've used it for a few days now...

 

I would be! I'd love to hear your experience with the chrome trim and the heat, specifically while using youtube for a while or while watching a movie.

 

I would be particularly interested if you could run a utility to confirm that it has the capability to host a SATA III SSD (which I don't think the PM810 is). I'm wondering if it will run a SATA III Vertex III drive at full speed (6.0 Gbps).

 

You can't. I think he said he was customizing the $999 base model with a 1080p display, as in adding it to the base model.

From what I can tell, it's still a $100 upgrade to 1080p WLED display with webcam.

FWIW, I can't see where it says any rating on the megapixel size for the webcam.

 

Chrome trim I can see might be a problem eventually, but mine is holding up quite perfectly. I even tried pulling on it (GENTLY!), for science, and it seems reasonably solid. I don't particularly like it, but whatever, it's not posing any issues for now. Heat is almost nonexistant. After a while, the left palmrest get a tad warm (nothing noticeable, I can tell if I look/feel for the heat).
Watching is movie/youtube is perfect - the fan doesn't even turn on, and I'm pretty sure only the iGP is in use.

I wish there was a way to tell which program(s) are using which gfx card >.<
Anyone know of a utility that would let me know that?

Ran into a couple of issues with AutoCAD 2012 where I get the infamous "intel graphics accelerator driver recovered" error. Weirdly, it seems to have gone away after overclocking the card using EVGA Precision (I OC'd to the level of the GT 540M, no heat increase or anything. May be using more battery though, not too sure).

Speaking of battery, it's been great (for now)! 5+ hours of normal use (lots of chrome tabs, VLC, or Google Music streaming). I used AutoCAD for a bit today, and it definitely affected the battery life (or maybe it was the GPU overclock? The battery estimator dropped down to ~2.5 hours, which is troubling).

I have yet to test Starcraft II (downloading now), so I'll report back with how it performs eventually. It'll probably perform decently at high settings.
I can report the Windows Experience Index (WEI) scores:
Processor 7.1
RAM 7.5
Graphics 5.9 (IGP)
Gaming Graphics 6.7 (525M OC'd)
Hard Disk 5.9

Any additional questions?

I ordered before the option for the SSD came in (not that I'd get it anyhow). I do want to put in my own SSD eventually, but I want the prices to drop more before I blow 500+ on it. I do know that the SATA port is 6.0 Gbps capable (direct from the Intel website).

I am looking for a caddy for the optical drive (I NEVER use it!). Once I find one (any help here?) and buy an SSD, I'll be good.

 

I dunno about the exact MP rating on the webcam, but it is surprisingly good! Bright and accurate representation over skype/gchat, and the mic's work well as well

 

So the tech came over (actually over right now).

For those who have had problems with the trim (to refresh mine got caught on a laptop bag zipper and literally popped a piece of the trim off. The part that the tech needs to fix is actually the whole top of the keyboard casing. It's extremely tedious work as you would imagine with a laptop of this type of build. Luckily my tech is a pretty experienced and patient guy. If I knew it would have been this much trouble for someone to fix the trim I probably would have just pushed for a new unit.

The big + on dell's part is not only did they get the tech to come asap and send them the part. They are constantly / at almost a spam level calling me or emailing me to make sure everything is going smoothly.

Gotta say, still loving this laptop. I have the fully maxed out one. The screen is much better than I was expecting and with a little color calibration it's more than good enough to be my mobile unit for editing photographs.

Pretty much everything is working without a hitch though the trackpad would benefit from some better drivers. Also if anyone is doing a clean install. To get your microphone back in order you have to look for the dell webcam software v2 and install it. Before that I was not able to get skype to work at all with the default drivers.

 

Has anyone successfully put in a SSD (or moved the stock HDD) to a caddy where the optical drive is? I am trying to get a SSD+HDD laptop. Being able to do this would be perfect. Thanks!

 

Very nice, beside XPS 15z is using lower level CPU, I wouldn't find what's the advantage to get XPS 15 over 15z
It's pure awesome instead of 90's bulky old school laptop

 

Did you happen to have the 1 year standard warranty or did you purchase another warranty? And a Dell technician literally came to your house and fixed your laptop? No need to send in the unit to Dell themselves?

 

With XPS laptops you get a 2 year warranty that includes accidental damage. No extra on cost. And yeah, he was here for 3 hours. knew exactly what he was doing. Even put on a new good coat of thermal paste on my heatsink and used a toothbrush on the heatsink fins eventhoug they were pretty clen. Pretty awesome.

 

It only includes a 1 year home service warranty for the the base model.

 

Hi everyone,

I am buying a laptop soon, and deciding between the Macbook Pro 15" and Dell XPS 15z.

I really love the MBP 15", it's almost perfect for what I need. However, it's quite expensive, and I was about to pull the trigger on it until I discovered the Dell XPS 15z.

The XPS 15z looks like an amazing laptop. However, a few things are holding me back from buying this instead of the MBP 15":

1) How hot does it get while playing games? Does it run games better than the MBP 15"?

2) How noisy do the fans get when doing computer intensive work (i.e. Eclipse, Photoshop, Autodesk 3dsmax, and games?)

3) The metal trim on the side I heard snaps off quite easily. Is this a common thing? Should I be concerned about this if I buy the laptop?



Here are the specs for the following laptops with prices:

Dell XPS 15z - $1500

-750GB 7200rpm HD.
-i7 2620M 2.7GHz turbo boost up to 3.40GHz
-8GB RAM DDR3 133MHz
-15.6" 1080p display
-NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M 2GB graphics with Optimus
-Battery life at least 4 hours?


Macbook Pro 15" - $1924

-500GB 7200rpm HD
-i7 2.0GHz quad core
-Intel HD Graphics 3000
AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5
-15.4" 1680x1050 Antiglare display
-4GB RAM 1333MHz DDR3
-At least 6 hours battery life

Thanks!

 

The fan is only loud and hot when playing games. How hot? Not hot enough to take your palms off of. The trim is a concern I have myself and I could see it being a problem in the future. For your configuration, it will come with a 2 year warranty so you should be fine and not worry about the trim.

 

I don't recommend u to buy it if u are going to pay $1500 ($1099 is great deal )
Don't get core i7, most reviews indicate their units are over heated.

core i5 is quite cool.

1) How hot does it get while playing games? Does it run games better than the MBP 15"?

No, far behind MBP 15

2) How noisy do the fans get when doing computer intensive work (i.e. Eclipse, Photoshop, Autodesk 3dsmax, and games?)

Much quiter than MBP 15 (windows 7), u have to max out both fans in MBP 15 when u play games in windows 7 of my experiences
Plus, MBP 15 is like an oven in Windows 7,especailly, the number keys , q,w,e,r, etc.
If u gonna play a 1st person shooting game in MBP 15 with windows 7, it will burn your hands unless u max out both fans.
That will be like a aircraft beside u

3) The metal trim on the side I heard snaps off quite easily. Is this a common thing? Should I be concerned about this if I buy the laptop?

idk this issue

 

If I don't get the i7, i might as well buy a MBP 15" with an i7... do you remember reading where you heard of heating issues with the i7?

 

I was deciding between these two as well. I had actually been reading all the rumors on the MBP 15" before the release in February, and so was disappointed at the non-revolutionary product that was released. However, after months of searching and looking at EVERY laptop that had been released, I decided to just bite the bullet and get the Pro....UNTIL the 15z came out.

Now, the high-end (6750M-containing) MBP still blows the 15z out of the water, especially with the quad core + better gfx + better battery + better all around package....at the premium of ~$700 extra. I didn't see that as entirely worth it, so I went with the 15z with the expectation that I may get a new laptop in ~2 years with Intel's new tri-gate transistor-packing silicon, perhaps in Macbook Pro form (after a redesign).

However, for these 2 years, I needed a pretty high-performing laptop, so I went with the high-end 15z with the i7. There is no overheating that I've experienced so far (YMMV), plus I have 2 year advanced/in-home care, meaning if anything starts to go bad I can have someone over to take care of it/reapply thermal paste/everything. Adding AppleCare would have been an additional ~$250 over the already exorbitant price of the MBP, not even taking into consideration all the news regarding the MBP's heating issues...

As far as gaming, the GT 525M will perform better than the 6490M in the low-end MBP 15", but pales in comparison to the high-end 6750M. For instance, Starcraft 2 works in all high settings, which is more than enough for me.

CAD software will tax the system a bit. This may be a result of the display drivers sucking...testicles, but it seems okay for my use so far. The palmrest will get a touch warm, but nothing your skin can't handle

My battery life has been great for the most part. Will have to wait and see how it will perform whenever I can swap out the ODD for the HDD and add an SSD in the Sata III 6.0 Gbps port ^^
Of course, the battery life you get won't really be comparable to the MBP's battery life IN OSX, since the hardware and software are intimately linked for Apple products. Windows battery performance for both is probably pretty similar, perhaps a touch better for the 15z.

Don't worry about the chrome trim. Just call someone out to you if it does happen, and it'll get taken care of (see someone else's comment above)

 

Hey guys, have any of you had issues with scuffing of the finish on this lappy? I've been scouring the net for any and all reviews and have come across a few that talk about the finish being really sensitive to scratches. I'd love some input on this, because I plan on carrying mine to school daily and would appreciate knowing whether or not this can handle the rigor.

 

interesting solution, any luck yet?
http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsL511z/en/sm/odd.htm#wp1192085

 

Thanks!

I guess what i'm most worried about is the laptop shutting down from overheating and the trim coming off. But others have said (including you) they do not get heating issues, while others said they did.

Also, i'm trying to figure out if these heating / fan noise issues mainly show up only when gaming or doing other computer intensive tasks (such as coding or digital media work).

 

To answer my own question: it appears to be UEFI (judging by the BIOS update tool).

 

Yeah I dunno about the heating issues...perhaps I'll run into them at a later date? Not sure how people are running into them already. For what you get, it's a lot more reasonable than the MBP though.
If you really want to be smart about it, find a good coupon and buy the base end 15z (with the i5) and the 1080p screen. That should be more than enough to last you for at least 1.5-2 years, at which point you can sell the 15z and buy a new MBP

 

It's a total scuff magnet. It looks like it uses the same "aluminum" cover material that was used on the initial XPS15(L501x). I have had mine for a couple of weeks, and after sparing use I am starting to get scuffs. Pity they don't have the interchangeable lids like the inspirons

 

It is a scuff magnet - scratches look like they have been keyed as there is a layer of some easy scratch coating over the aluminum.

I owned a Macbook Pro for 4 years and the aluminum looks decent despite years of heavy use. The 1 week old Dell XS 15z has a couple ugly scratches - even though I have no recollection of how any of the scratches occurred. Just normal use. Also, I have no dents yet - but the aluminum on the screen feels super flimsy. the base aluminum feels solid.

There really is nothing that compares to the Macbook build quality. The XPS 15z is the best PC I found with a 1080P screen, but the build design is half-assed. Its as if it were designed to look nice on internet screen shots, but not for practical,everyday mobility.

 

I just bought mine yesterday, and wasn't able to find any coupons for the XPS 15z other than my EEP coupon from work. I bought a base model i5, upgraded the screen to 1080p, and intend to do a SSD upgrade. Heck, I'd even paypal someone $10 for a YouTube "how to" on the HDD to SSD swap specifically for the 15z.

Can anyone recommend a fast SSD? I dont need more the 150GB.

 

I'm using the OCZ Agility 3 series. Its running great after this registry hack.

OCZ Vertex 3 Freezes, Locks Up, Stutters and Crashes | Geek Montage