New XPS 15z

Which mode does it use - SATA II or SATA III?

 

I have not done this as I use my DVD burner a lot but this seems to make adding a second hard drive pretty easy! Checkout this link!!
Add a 2nd HDD using the CD/DVD Optical Drive Bay : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks
This looks doable. I use my DVD burner so it is not an option but this would work.....

 

A note on 'heat'. It would appear that the hard disk is quite a source of heat. I'm currently cloning my HD to a new shiny SSD. This results in the front-left side of the laptop to warm up considerably. It's not hot, but it certainly gets warm. Now I have to find the courage to remove the bottom cover...

 

Well... it *was* scary, removing the bottom cover (I'm rather clumsy). But the upgrade to an Intel 510 250GB SSD went rather well. Just watch out with the little black screws... Although they appear to be the same, there seem to be two kinds (or I'm going mad).
Cold boot to the login screen of Windows is now 15 seconds... Additionally, the laptop produces a lot less warmth.

 

The XPS 15z with the OCZ 3 series runs with SATA III.

 

To remove the cover is simple easy.
You just need a credit card to do it. Don't try to do it with your finger pins..won't work

 

Great. Thanks!

 

CyHidWin.exe - Cypress Trackpad, Data Acquisition for Gesture Engine

Has anyone else noticed that this process uses up 4-6% of the CPU and prevents it from fully idling? I disabled this and my CPU utilization went way down and gestures still work perfectly.

Anyone know what it does? It isn't clear who it collects data for - does it go back to Cypress or Dell?

 

Most likely, the information isn't send to either Cypress or Dell. The data is collected for the Gesture Engine of the trackpad which uses it to make real-time changes based on user behavior. But... you might be able to check if it sends data by monitoring your firewall. This issue is reported on the golem.de site. They mention there is another process as well that's eating CPU: cycpio. It seems to register the second trackpad button as the context-menu button during startup. Blocking it (according to my limited German skills) disabled (I tested) the right button functionality/ However, according to the site, you can kill the process after it starts and keep the functionality.

 

Does the 15z have a hard disk activity light anywhere? Can't seem to be able to spot anything other than the power button

 

I haven't been able to find such a light. It's not mentioned in the manuals (either user or repair) either. But there are some 3rd party tools that can display HDD activity in the tray area. There are other lights on the 15z. On the left side there is a battery status indicator that lights up when you press the button next to it. Also, there is a light in the connector between the keyboard and the display. It signals the battery load status.

 

^Thanks for that, I have one more question. The black bezel around the screen around where the Dell logo is peeling, should I try asking support if they can glue it back or ignore it ?

 

I'd call Dell support. Can't hurt.

 

Noticed the same thing (to a lesser degree) on my second XPS 15z. I just ran my finger along the ridge and it went back into place. My older Macbook Air had the same issue (glued on bezel).

 

I've purchased an OCZ Vertex 3 SSD, but still waiting for it to arrive. Did you actually experience any freezes, lock-ups, studders, or crashes before you did the registry hacks? I'm wondering if just obtaining the very latest version of the Intel RST Software would fix this instead?

 

Anyone notice the fan on 100% of the time even in battery mode? I'm wondering if I'm missing some power setting or something.

 

I guess it turned off about 10-15 minutes after the machine booted, but then turned back a few minutes later as soon as I started using the laptop.

 

That's odd indeed. I've only heard my fans come on once the entire 2 days I've had the laptop, and tha was when I was installing SQL Server 2008 R2, which is a pretty intense process. All of the rest of my development tools installed quickly and QUIETLY without the fan, and the laptop is cool to the touch.

 

Quick question to all of you:

-First time I own a laptop with a backlit keyboard so maybe it's common behavior but I just want to make sure. I notice when my keyboard is lit all keys are not lit evenly. For instance, the area around the "9" key and the "4" key are not as bright as the rest of the keyboard. On the brightest setting, it's much less noticeable but you can still see it. On dim setting, it shows off much more. It's not the end of the world and I can live with it but I was just wondering if it was normal?

 

Anyone having problems getting the 15z to wake up after it goes to sleep? My keyboard properties in device manager says "Allow this device to wake up the computer", but pressing the space bar on my external keyboard like I normally do to wake it up does not work. I have to press the power button on the laptop to get it to wake up.

 

Is it sleeping or hibernating? AFAIK the only way to wake it up it it's hibernating would be the power button. (I could be wrong though)

 

The power settings say "Hybernate after = NEVER", and "Sleep after = 30 min.", so I think it is sleeping, not hybernating. Does it wake up for you with a space bar hit on an external keyboard? I've got the USB keyboard (Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000) plugged into one of the USB 3.0 jacks (not the e-SATA/USB combo port).

 

I'll have to try it. I have the logitech mk710 combo and I gave my keyboard to my gf. I'll pair the keyboard back to my laptop and try it.

 

Hi, I just got my 15z and it's great, except for the screen. I got the 1080p panel and it looks worse than my M1530's 1440x900 screen. Pictures and video are fuzzy and there are visible vertical lines on the panel. Writing on colored backgrounds has a white outline around it. Color gradients aren't smooth, and a lot of colors look washed out. I really hope this isn't how the screen is supposed to be, because I'd have to return the machine.

I emailed Dell about it, and the tech who responded thought I was talking about my PC freezing on bootup, so that was no help. Waiting for another response. Has anyone else had any problems with the 1080p panel?

 

I got the 1080p panel and while viewing angles are pretty rough, the colors are pretty vibrant and good though. I know the l502x is supposed to totally surpass the 15z in terms of color gamut but I'm quite pleased with the colors on my 15z. I too had an m1530 1440x900 before and I'd say the colors are better on my 15z compared to my old m1530.

 

I agree with Merranza's assessment of the 1080p panel. Mine is gorgeous, crisp, and bright. However, you can't get too far off center line viewing before it fades.

 

Pictures and video look good, but I can definitely see the visible vertical lines on the panel. Dunno if it's due to a defect in the panel, or it's in all of them. No white outline on colored background either, but the "screendoor effect" is definitely present on this panel.

Lemme know how it turns out from Dell Support!

 

Can you try to take a photo of this defects?

 

I don't think I can get the vertical lines to show up in a digital camera image (it's not too obvious, just on the edge of visibility). Then again, I do have better eyes than most, so maybe it's just the edges of the pixels that I see - hence the "screen-door" effect of seeing all the outlines of the pixels

 

Can someone please look at their temperature reading from SpeedFan? for me on idle

GPU 40C
HD0 28C
Temp1 50C
Temp2 50C
Core 0 50C
Core 1 50C

I'm not sure if those are correct, it doesn't even feel warm to touch.

Also anyone know of an application to control the fans on xps 15z?

 

I noticed the same on my keyboard. It's more apparent when using the back lit keyboard in a lit environment.

 

If someone can check for me, at idle - if you put your ear close to the underside of the 15z, near the middle - do you hear the fan being on?

For me it's not loud, but if I am in a quiet environment I can constantly hear the dull swoosh of the fan. I can also hear it turn off sometimes, probably when it reaches < 45C in temperature, which only happens rarely at idle

 

Yes, without the fix it would lock up. Dell has a more recent version of RST than is on the Intel website.

 

OK, thanks for the follow-up. I'll go ahead and install the updated RST version from Dell's website, as well as apply the registry hacks.

 

PROBLEM SOLVED: While checking to see if I needed a BIOS update, I stumbled across a BIOS setting that read "USB Wake Support", and it was DISABLED by default. As soon as I enabled it, the computer wakes up just fine with a tap of the spacebar on my external keyboard.

ALSO, just FYI, it appears that they are shipping the fresh units with only BIOS level A02 installed, but the A03 is available on their website. I installed A03, and it appears to be stable.

 

I think this is what he is talking about:
http://i.imgur.com/TpVAD.jpg (look at the black lines in the photo, they have kind of a color leak effect)

Basically look inside the black square/around it - when the picture is at actual size.

It's not very apparent on the display unless you really look for it.

Edit: actually it is pretty apparent, especially when you are looking at a solid color background, there's something just off about it

 

I have N router but the laptop connects at 54mbps, is this normal ? I thought the 15z supported wireless N

Edit: Silly me the router was set to wireless G , changed it to N and now the wifi connects at 144mbps

 

it looks like an effect of some driver-level sharpening. Hope it's made by driver/some software not lcd...

I tried to do the same in ps - but neither 10-year old samsung external lcd nor sony vgn-sz770n lcd doesn't not have such an effect.

Can you try to change graphics card and check if it is still visible?

 

my xps15z arrived today and I'm very happy. But I tried to install need for speed hot persuit and it will install and the activation window pops up. I enter the serial for the game that I bought from the shop but the activation window keeps popping up and says that the serial is successful but the game never starts.

Has anyone had this problem before? I did not install the EA download manager thing though....

 

My screen-door effect is almost certainly a panel issue. I might just be crazy about the fuzziness, but I'm currently writing this on my crappy BenQ 1280x1024 work monitor and it seriously looks crisper than my 15z.

 

I don't play the game, but a quick Bing search revealed two possible causes:
1) You may have to run the program 'as administrator'
2) Your firewall may be blocking access to the server

 

I found some stuff on issues with the way optimus works but I'll try what you mentioned here. Thanks for some alternative suggestions on what I was finding in my searches.

 

Thank you very much! +rep

 

I received a 15z 2 weeks ago. The LCD was cracked so I had to have it replaced. Big mess. The tech didn't know what he was doing and used a screwdriver to pry up the palm rest before he got all the screws removed. Bent the crap out of the thing. Anyway, he had to come back and replace the palm rest and the base ... again removing the motherboard for a second time. Now my computer has a new LCD, new palm rest and base. I have a unit with no stickers.

Anyway .. attached are some pictures of the interior of the unit. I noticed that the base has some plastic inserts that are pretty easily bent. The palm rest has aluminium (or is it magnesium) clips that had the ends broken off after the tech's first visit. I watched him every step of the way on the second try. I am a little leery of taking the base off again to replace the battery as I feel I might deform the plastic or break the aluminum clips.

I have more pictures, I chose to include these 2.

 

The tech gave me some steps to try, so I guess I'm going to try them, but it definitely looks like they're going to end up replacing the panel. Not thrilled about having a week-old system that's already been cracked open, but what are you gonna do?

 

Can you let me know what steps he gave you, I think i have the same problem.

 

Meh, nothing groundbreaking. He wants me to try changing the DPI setting and then hooking up an external monitor to verify that it's the panel and not a GPU issue. I'm almost certain that the LCD is going to end up getting replaced.

 

So my OCZ Vertex 3 SSD (240GB) arrived today, so here's a run-down of my experience replacing the hard drive with the new SSD.
First of all, getting the back cover and the side connector plate off the 15z is a ROYAL PAIN IN THE A$$! According to the directions from Dell's Service Manual (on their website), you should just be able to use your fingernails and just snap these two pieces off. Nothing could be further from the truth. First I removed the 8 screws, and then trying to delicately pry off the side connector panel/bezel without breaking the thing was a real challenge. I finally got the side panel to let loose without breaking it after 10 minutes. Just FYI, it has tabs on both ends that slide under the side of the computer, so now that I know that, it would have been better to focus more on prying the middle of the side panel so that the ends would more easily pop out.
Next, after removing two more screws that are hidden under the side panel, I had to use TWO hard plastic pry bars alternatively as leverage across the front of the laptop to finally, gently release each plastic snap clip. The whole time, I kept thinking that there MUST be another screw somewhere that has to be still screwed in, but there wasn't. With enough gentle wiggling and prying for about 15 minutes, it finally, slowly let loose. WHEW! I can't believe that I actually got it off without scratching or marring the aluminum case or plastic trim in any way!
The Acronis imaging process (booted off a USB thumb drive) went smoothly, giving me no complaints, even though I was moving from a 750GB hard drive to a 230GB (usable) hard drive.
After booting up with the SSD, I immediately installed the latest Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver (v10.1.2.1004 from Dell's support website), installed the Registry hacks mentioned in the GeekMontage article, disabled the power-saver Hard drive turn-off setting, disabled indexing, and disabled scheduled defrag. The only thing mentioned in the article that I couldn't locate the setting for was the Hot Plugging, which I think would have only been applicable to the external eSATA port anyway. Maybe that setting is for non-laptop users?
Anyway, it seems really, really fast, and I'm very happy. It is 100% stable, and I haven't had a single freeze, lockup, or even any studdering (pauses) with the SSD. This SSD is really a perfect compliment to this awesome laptop.

Here's the Crystal Mark numbers:



I'm really happy with the seq read, but the seq write is really poor compared with what the drive specs say it should be able to do (520 MB/s). However, the pros test these drives strictly as a 2nd slave drive, not the primary boot drive, so that could explain my poor write performance. I would be very interested in seeing what kind of performance any of you get with CrystalMark so we can compare.

UPDATE: I discovered that the OCZ Vertex 3 firmware was only at 2.06, and there was a newer 2.09 version out there, so installed it. However, it did not make any performance difference. Applying the update is a bit of a trick, though, you have to burn a CD per the instructions here from OCZ, then boot off the CD to download and apply the firmware update. Note that your laptop has to be connected to the Internet via ethernet port in order for the linux update CD to locate and download the firmware.

UPDATE 2: I phoned OCZ tech support, and they pointed me toward a different benchmarking program called "Atto" that I think more truly represents the performance of the OCZ Vertex 3 drive:

Very impressive indeed, and no problems with the write performance at all.

 

Well my problem that I see is very apparent on solid backgrounds. You can basically see the lines the screen is made out of. My friend is getting his 15z later this week so I'll have to compare with him.

 

Hi guys. I received my xps15z yesterday and so far I've really been enjoying it. I do note that I have read what people have said about the trim etc, so I've been treating it very carefully and slowly. It is a desktop replacement for me so it's no big deal.

In doing everyday things I haven't noticed any heat or fan issues, so that's great. I haven't really tried any games yet. The keyboard is good and sound is good too. The screen is great as well.

Basically everything else has been said in this thread so I don't know what else to add. I have the i7 with 1080p screen, 8GB ram and 750GB HDD. GT525M 2GB Ram