XPS 13 (2015) - Getting started

These settings and adjustments should increase the battery life, perfomance and reduce fan noise of your Dell XPS 13 2015.

After the Windows Setup immediately turn off WiFi and delete all Dell software, except for the Dell Command | Power Manager. You should do this because the Dell Update Utility automatically installs bugged software which causes the fan to spin (not confirmed by Dell). Here you can manually download new driver/software updates.

• Delete McAfee (don't forget to enable Windows Defender)
• Delete the Office trial
• Disable Windows Indexing (how to)
• Turn off Connected Standby in the Intel® Smart Connect Technology software.
  Disable Connected Standby in regedit: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\CsEnabled (1->0)
• Activate hibernate when closing the lid (how to)
• Install all Windows updates
• Install new Touchpad driver (download)
  

Windows Power Plan (Dell Plan)

• Adjust the TDP from 0,6Ghz to 2,2Ghz
• Adjust PCIe Link State Power Management to Moderate power savings
• Adjust Internet Explorer - JavaScript Timer Frequency to Maximum Power savings

I'm also using Internet Explorer to extend the battery life ( IE vs Chrome vs Firefox). While browsing at 60% brightness the battery life is about 13 hours and the fan rarely spins (FHD, i5, 8GB, 256GB).

 

Thank you very much for this nice post!

Moderators should make it a "sticky post." We can use this thread for improving the Dell XPS 13 -- the other threads we can use to complain

 

I'm not sure if this is advisable. I was under the impression that the lifespan of an SSD is largely defined by read/write cycles, so you generally want to avoid unnecessary cycles if you want to get the most out of your drive. Each time you put your laptop into hibernation, the computer writes a save state to your hard drive, whereas sleep will store active data in the RAM (at the cost of slightly more power). I know this post is primarily targeting methods of improving battery life, but it is something to consider.

Ultimately, I think people should decide what to do with their lid function depending on how they use the machine. If you know you're more likely to be using the notebook frequently throughout the day, then it would make more sense to continue to tie the open/close lid function to sleep mode. On the other hand, if you are more likely to have extended gaps between use, I'd consider just shutting the computer down altogether. Hibernation would be a consideration in the latter case if you have a lot going on and want to be able to pick up where you left off.

 

You're absolutely right, people should decide what their lid function does based on their daily use. But because many people don't know the existence of Hibernate, I put it in the topic start. Thanks for your well explained reply.

 

New touchpad update: http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER02883019M/1/9343_Firmware_T792T_WN32_18.1.48_A00.EXE
Touchpad works much better now.

 

Didnt have to do none of this, except for removing Mcafee. And my laptop is silent.