XPS 15 (Haswell) Owner's Lounge

Also does anyone know if getting 25 fps in Dell's checkup software for GPU is normal? The Intel chipset was getting 75-85 during the test.

 

Update on the odd electric sound interrupts music on this laptop:

Since the update it is much less prevalent but it has its bad days where it is unbearable. Updating drivers did not work.

Also I just realized that my screen is flickering along one thick strip towards the top left and bottom left of my screen.

I know this is not a rant thread but honestly I do not see how anyone can recommend this laptop. If you are willing to spend this much money with such a high risk of things going not bad but hellish then you probably are a gambler and have more time on your hands than I do to deal with Dell.


I'm going to contact Costco- which is where i bought the laptop from- and see (1) if they can refund me or (2) they can take over my case. I have had great experiences with Costco and I am certain they will refund this laptop without too many questions. They also provided +2 year warranty after the laptop's warranty ends. They told me that this included dealing with Dell if need be so I'm going hand it over to them and see what they can do.

If I get a refund then it's time to go shopping again for something that works and lasts. If anyone has suggestions please PM me with suggestions!

 

A flickering screen is no joke - I was able to confirm that mine was not a software problem (it happened in BIOS and windows - but was the whole screen, not just a strip - and I filmed it with my phone) and was sent a replacement immediately. NVIDIA has had systemic reliability problems (and subsequent lawsuits) in the past so best not to mess around with that one.

Flaky chips could easily be contributing to any other issues you've had.

Costco is usually great for returns/replacements...or deal with Dell and explain how much time you've spent dealing with the issue and how poorly their at home technicians have performed (there should not be any problems after they leave!), and that you can't be without your machine for another week.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the information and help!

It's really hard for me to tell it is flickering without the right backdrop. I noticed it when I kinda zoned out while staring at my lockscreen. The screen already has the smudges that I noted in the last few pages but nothing like this. It's so faint that I do not know if I can record it but I'll give it a shot.

Even with such a severe problem Dell has left me with only one option: return for depot repairs. I cannot do so (1) because they ahve not performed in the past, this is a new replacement computer and I should not have to deal with a depot repair and (2) I do not have time for a depot repair. I need this laptop and will be leaving soon for a couple months.


The reason I am going to Costco is because I have been dealing with Dell since December and now I think they are effectively just ignoring me.



EDIT: Just noticed that the screen flickering happens most prominently when NOT ON AC. It is still there when on AC but very slightly. The battery was at 55% so I don't see how or why it should be doing that on battery. I'm gonna charge up and still see if it is doing it on and off AC and upload a video when I get a chance.

 

It's happens mostly only on AC. If you have a unit that you can hear that flickering in battery that means is freaking bad. If you really want to keep this XPS 15, my to ask motherboard replacement many times as possible and you may find a quiet one.

I'm on the second replacement, I finally get one motherboard silent but the ****ing idiot tech guy damaged my screen and set the wrong service tag on the motherboard and I'll probably need to change it again, I'm almost giving up with this model.

 

The battery of the screen is bad? My screen is already flawed as it has the smudges I posted earlier so I'm guessing it's the battery?

I would keep doing that but for some reason my XPS does not come with in-house technician service so I have to send it in every single time. Probably cause I bought it from costco

Wow. Let's hope that they do not have to change the motherboard again!

 

I would expect battery wear to be considered expected, and not be part of the warranty (unless we are talking about abnormal wear). Now, if Dell agrees to a battery replacement, great...

 

An update from me, two weeks in...

No coil whine - battery life is OK... maybe two hours tops.

Apart from that, it's great.

 

I recently bought this laptop and im quite happy with it. One issue that has come up for me though is the chassis fan runs at full blast way too often it seems. I was watching a movie last night, and throughout the entire movie the fan was running at 100% speed. I tried to lift the laptop to give it more space to dissipate heat, but it wouldn't slow down. Is this normal? Any tips on how I can control the fan better?

 

Did you check if there was any process running in the background? Such as an antivirus, an actual virus, or any other application.
Or it could also be an issue with the heat dissipation. In that case you may contact Dell for them to re-apply the thermal paste.

 

Mine was doing that high fan speed thing before the motherboard decided to die.

 

1) I've never heard about this thing. So basically you say to keep the max below 100%... But in general, keeping it plugged it should preserve battery life over time?
Can anyone else confirm that this is a recommended way to preserve battery life?
2) Yeah, that's what I've read.. that's very weird from Dell
3) I don't see any difference when QuickSet is on or off. Should I notice any custom Dell messages or icons while it is running ??

Thanks

 

Anyone getting scammer calls after dealing with Dell tech support? Thread started here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/scam-calls-from-dell-reps.773149/

 

Yes I also got a Dell scammer call. I have no idea how they got my number. Maybe Dell was hacked.

 

Anyone find a mini displayport to HDMI 2.0 converter? Want to buy a 4K TV and use it as a monitor @ 4K 60hz.

 

Hello guys. I just have a question regarding battery life. I have the mid tier configuration with 1tb HDD. My battery doesnt' last for more than 2 hours. Is this normal or should I contact dell?

 

Same for me.. two hours tops, which I suppose is OK under that kind of use.

Other than that, happy so far...

 

Can Dell ignore a customer? I believe that they are simply ignoring my emails. Been weeks since I sent one and no response. Just sent another one to see if anything happens.

 

Any recommendations for a good docking station for our XPS 15?
I'm planning on buying a 24" monitor and a wireless keyboard and mouse, so I can use it for longer periods of time.

I need a solution to easily connect the laptop to a single port (USB 3.0) and have all other devices connected at once.

I read good things about this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-UD-3...al-2560x1440/dp/B00ECDM78E/ref=zg_bs_778660_3

Thanks in advance

 

Call them. Dell Ireland never reply to any of my emails. It looks as though they like wasting our time.

 

Well I've been in contact with my Dell escalation agent since December and all of a sudden after I complained about a defective "new replacement unit" they stopped responding to me... typically when I send an email to the agent outside business hours I'd get an automated message back saying that it's outside office hours and they'll contact me later and I don't even get that. Just seems very fishy...


Battery health at 83% per Dell diagnostics...not even been a month yet

 

I felt it was due time to provide an update to my own saga - regarding all the issues with my xps15 top
tier, and where things are now, today.

A bit of HISTORY:

Unit #1:
My original.
It had blue screen issues from the start and other problems so I had Dell give me a new one as I was
within my 30-day return period.

Unit #2:
This one worked well for me and I was happy with its performance, however after a few months, it began
having fan-issues - where for some reason the fan would go to its maximum speed, then an app would crash,
like Quickset, IE, or the Intel Display Driver.
Then, one day, the pc simply would not turn on. Dell said the motherboard was bricked.
I had Dell send me a new unit - a system exchange.

Unit #3:
Fyi - this one had Bios A07 installed.
This one had issues with the trackpad - basically unreliable, jumpy, and unusable.
It had issues with the display quality - weird bubbles and smears.
It also had flaky wifi performance.
I called Dell and demanded they send me another new system exchange.

Unit #4:
This is the one I now have - and my observations are as follows below:

I got Unit #4 - my system exchange last week.
For those that are curious - it came with Bios A08.
Previous XPSs (the three previous ones) - had the QHD display, and the Intel AC-7260 wifi/bluetooth.
This new system exchange has a 2160p (4K) display, and a DW 1560 wifi/bluetooth.

I thought I would just use my existing SSD in the new laptop, but that did not work out so well.
I found that the new machine had some different hardware inside that was causing some issues with
drivers, etc that were loaded on my existing SSD.
When I used my existing SSD in the new system, there were device manager issues with the wifi, the Intel
Rapid Start and Rapid Storage devices.

I decided to just use the SSD that came with the new pc - and go through the painstaking task of
reinstalling all my programs and data.
So, once all that was done I decided to run this new unit through some paces, to see if it had any issues
(like Unit #3 had).

Here's what I noticed on Unit #4 - the one I have now:

- Chassis.
One screw (lower right corner) on the bottom - was already stripped.
Someone at the factory must have been having a bad day.
In any event, the other screws were ok - I just need to be careful with that corner, as I just know that
screw will fall out someday on its own and be lost forever.
When closed, the display does not stay closed as tightly as the other units I have had.
In fact, if you suspend it from the back and wobble it a bit, it is obvious that there is not enough
tension being placed on the display to keep it firmly closed - as it flaps a little bit - as if it is
loose.
Not a deal-breaker, just odd that this kind of thing can happen.

- Display Resolution.
The 3840x2160 (4K) resolution is actually a better fit than the QHD, regarding how it plays with the
scaling in windows.
Out of the box, the pc had the scaling turned all the way up - to 250%.
This looked horrible, as almost everything looked "fuzzy".
I dialed it down 1 notch lower - to 200%, and that made it look perfect - actually the exact setup as
1920x1080 (1080p). Everything looked sharp and clear.
The only negative with this resolution is that you had better have a magnifying glass handy for those
apps that do not scale at all. There is no way a normal human can read text that small !!

- Display Quality.
It is not all perfect.
This display actually has a bit more light bleeding going on in the lower left corner and a tiny bit on
the entire right side. It is noticeable when the background is supposed to be black - for example when
viewing a video that is letterboxed.
I am not happy about it - but it is something I am prepared to live with as it is not (too) distracting.
There are no dead or stuck pixels.
The quality of images is very good.
The brightness of this 4K display is slightly less than the QHD display. I would estimate that this 4K
display can produce only 80% of the brightness of the QHD display.
Once again, I am not happy about this, but it is not a deal-breaker.

- Touchpad.
The system exchange (Unit #3) had a HORRIBLE touchpad - that would not track your finger properly, would jump all over the place and would be hard to control.
This new system exchange is much better, but not as good as my system exchange #2 (the one that died of
motherboard issues).
I would like to point out something I noticed about the trackpads on the various units I have had.
The ones that worked well (like my laptop #1, #2, and this one - #4) - had a trackpad that was super
smooth and slippery - like polished glass.
The laptop #3 (that I sent back) - had a trackpad that had a more rubbery / rough texture to it.
It was very noticeable as an obvious difference between it and the other units I had.
This is important to note - as those of you with trackpad issues most likely have the rough/rubbery
trackpad. I don't know why Dell has two different types of trackpads for the same laptop - as clearly
the rubbery/rough surfaced ones are not working properly.

- WIFI.
I immediately noticed that there was something wrong/different with the WiFi.
The signal strength was lower, the connection speed was lower, and the WiFi would actually disconnect
frequently.
This NEVER happened with my laptops #1 and #2. (I did not have time to troubleshoot #3 very much as I was so angry about its issues I did not use it much).
In any event - the WIFI was noticeably POOR compared to how the others had performed.
This new system #4 was using a Dell Wireless 1560. THIS was the issue.
I tested wireless performance everywhere I always use the laptop in my home and the connectivity was
flaky and slow.

I called Dell and told them I wanted them to send me a replacement Wifi card - the Intel ac7260 - which
was the card that I KNEW worked well in my previous laptops.
They shipped me a new Intel 7260 card, (it arrived Today) - I installed it, and it worked WELL - just as
it did in my previous laptops.
The signal strength and stability was back to the performance level I was used to in my other units.

The only issue I had was with the Bluetooth.
For some reason, the Device Manager kept disabling it, as it found errors with it.
After troubleshooting it for a while - I eventually found the problem.
There was an application that was installed (for use with the DW 1560) that was causing the
conflicts/issues.
After I UN-installed it - (WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software), the bluetooth functioned normally again.
SO, if any of you get a new system and it has the DW 1560 in it - and you are having WiFi performance
issues - you should replace it with the Intel ac7260 - as it would appear the DW (Broadcom) card is a
much inferior product.
And, DON'T FORGET to UN-install the apps that go with that card !

- Coil Whine.
Sigh.
Units #1 and #2 had absolutely NO coil whine.
Unit #3 DID have coil whine.
Sadly, Unit #4 has coil whine also.
This is an issue that Dell had reportedly fixed - which I can tell you is obviously not true.
I do NOT like it, but after all that I have been through - I am not interested in asking for yet another
system exchange for this issue.
It is annoying to hear the squealing/screeching/scratching coil whine noise - but I will learn to deal
with it in time - against my better judgement.

So that's the long, sordid story of what I have experienced - to date.

I am happy that I got the Wifi Card replaced - as that is working well now with the Intel card.
I am satisfied with the 2160p display - for the most part.
I am satisfied with the trackpad.

With the track record of quality and malfunctions I have experienced with the Dell XPS 15, I would have
to assume this will not be the end of things - but, for now, I have a laptop that is currently working
well-enough for my needs.

I hope that my post serves to assist the rest of you in finding resolution to your own issues with this
laptop. One can only hope !

PS - I hope I did not jinx myself / my Unit #4 by writing this !

 

Along with this electric sound distortion that some here have been experiences I had also experienced a rattling noise when using the laptop's external speakers. If anyone experiences this it's caused by improperly installed speakers and the fix-luckily- is quite easy"

This part here is meant to hold the speaker between the chassis of the laptop and the and bolt and prevent vibrating.

What happened with mine at least was that the laptop right speaker was installed completely underneath this rubber sponge as opposed to placed into the groove depicted.

Just unscrew the battery so you can get underneath the speaker and pop it out then place it properly between the sponge grooves and place it back in. Should fix issue!

Pretty simple fix and may not affect many but for me at least the rattling it caused when using external speakers was extremely annoying....

Hope this helps!

 

There is a trick to this. Try to close the lid by pulling forward on the bottom left and right edges of the screen NOT the more natural pulling down from the top-center above the camera. If you do pull down from the top, then once it is down halfway push down on the Dell logo to finish closing it.

The reason for this is that the tension coils that keep the screen in place so you can use the touch features of the screen also fight back as you're pulling down the screen from the top and the result is that it never really closes.

 

Has anyone had the problem when you open laptop, sometimes you'll get a blank screen (black) as if the screen hasn't been turned on?
But if you close the laptop and turn it on again, it'll work just fine?

Also, does anyone know where I can get a 9-cell battery for this thing?

 

GPU THROTTLING - best BIOS version to install?

Hi I've waited 8 BIOS updates and now that I need my GPU for Adobe creative cloud products, I find that they throttle as soon as I do anything. Other than burning my Dell alive, is there a BIOS that is best for no GPU throttling?

Or any other suggestions?

Thanks. NVIDIA and Intel drivers are all up to date. Just not sure which BIOS version to install.

Thanks. Please help me, I'm desperate.

 

Have you confirmed the GPU throttling with a tool like nVidia Inspector? If so, you may just have a bad thermal connection to the GPU. It happened to one of my 3 XPS 15s and I had Dell repaste it under warranty, after which it was much better. If you are out of warranty you could try repasting it yourself. Hope that helps!

 

Hello to all,

I'm suffering this problem from about 1 month.

When I start using computer (on battery mode), troubles with wake, or many times, find discharged battery. I didn't have this issue by the past.
In other hand, when session is finished, if I turn on, directly, computer on sleep mode ( button or closing screen), there's no effect on battery charge (or minima).

Is there a relation with last Bios A8 uploaded by this period of starting issue? (not available today on Dell site?)
Could it be an issue concerning battery?

Many thanks in advance for your comments.

XPS 9530 mid tier - i7, Ito HDD, FHD

(my experience with XPS 9530
- bought in april 14 - no coil whine
- 1st issue in march 15 - refuse to wake on after sleeping : motherboard is changed! coil whine is now present.
- 2nd issue with new motherboard : refuse just after replacement to wake up once firstly. A couple of hours later, everything is ok.
The day after, when I upgrade Bios A7 to A8 (1st version available a few days on Dell site!), A8 refuses to install itself, computer becomes crazy an and doesn't let me switching it off, with shouting fans during one hour and half. No option that to let battery discharging by itself.
Computer refuses to swith on. Motherboard ( crashed and definitively out of order) is for 2nd time replaced.

 

Any easy solution to gpu throttling? Like reducing its performance a little bit if that means it never throttles. If yes, they how to do so? Thanks...
(Not an expert, cannot open up the laptop myself)

 

Thanks a lot! It seems like the problem was fixed somehow. I just stumbled across the 7494 version and gave it a try: works pefectly. Still, I can't access the sound enhancements anymore...maybe it just works fine because those are cut off now

 

Any recommendations guys for a good docking station solution?
The usb ports are terrible, my Samsung note 4 and usb drives disconnect after about a minute of being plugged in, I read a usb hub is a solution for this, so I'm looking for a good docking station.

 

Never had a repeat of this issue when I plugged in the cable that came with my S4

 

For me the original cable that came with the phone doesn't fix the issue. Besides, all USB drives I have get disconnected a minute after being plugged in.

 

I have come to realize that when my Xperia Z3 Compact was connected by itself to one of the USB ports on the left or right, it had frequent disconnects. When I have another device connected on the USB port right next to the USB port where it is connected, it never disconnects. I don't know what this really means but just an observation. Maybe when you have two devices connected to two USB ports on the same side, the laptop gives more power to those ports and the cable that came with my Z3C might be too sensitive.

EDIT: forget what I said. Using another much smaller in length cable solved my issue.

 

Ever since I got my new system exchange I have noticed that it is not very fast to go to sleep.
It does not seem very ssd-like even though it has the 512 GB Samsung ssd. Sometimes it sleeps quickly like it should but most of the time it can take around 20 seconds or so. This is without any apps running at all. I am not sure what to make of this but can assure you it is not as fast as my previous units for some odd reason.

 

It looks as though Samsung SSDs have some issue that makes the SSD performance to decrease over time. I think this has been solved in the 2.5" versions but not in the mSATA ones.

 

you are mistaking the Dell ones with retail, the difference is Dell don't give a ****.

 

I recently restored my 9530 to factory settings from an old back up-- updating windows, etc. right now. Any advice to get this machine running at full performance to your knowledge. I have 4712, 1TB and 32GB msata. I don't think my Intel Rapid Start Technology software is set up correctly though. Here's a screenshot.

Let me know what drivers from Dell should be updated as well. Thank you.

 

Samsung has a performance restoration utility that should be run whenever you Format your SSD to do a clean install. This is otherwise known as secure erase. I can speak from first-hand experience that it works and does improve performance.

 

Just be careful with that: if there is a problem in the process you may end up with a password-locked SSD.

 

Really? Never heard of that. Maybe clear the BIOS HDD password before attempting? The BIOS HDD password is used by the drive to encrypt the EVO factory keys... because, unbeknownst to most people, the drive is always encrypted. The default, factory-generated key just sit in a protected, but otherwise hackable area of the drive. Setting a BIOS HDD password encrypts that key and you're asked to decrypt it at bootup... the master key is then use to decrypt the drive as you use it.

The only issue I ever had with performance restore was correctly creating the USB bootup. That was a year ago. Hopefully, they have streamlined and improved the process. I think the Samsung Magician takes care of that and guides your through the process nowadays (the two times I did it, it was all manual).

 

Just dropped by to say that I am the new proud owner of the xps top tier. Bought the refurbished on Best by for $1200. Everything works great on win 8.1. I don't see any dead pixels or light bleed. So far there is no coil whine noise whatsoever. Hope it stays that way for the next 3 years. Cheers every one.

 

Hi

I assume most of the users posting in this thread has owned a xps 15 (9530) for a while now. Would you recommend buying this laptop?

Whenever I read user reviews about it there is always something wrong with it for some reason and without the dell support you are pretty much screwed.
Professional reviewers complained about heat issues, bad trackpad, not too sturdy built (because of carbon fiber case) etc as well.

As of now I own an Asus zenbook pro ux501 which has this annoying problem with yellow colors (4k screen) but otherwise works great. It would be nice to find an equivalent laptop without the screen issue but the xps 15 seems to have a list of problems that repeatedly occur.

 

Would recommend if you can get a top tier at a good deal. Got mine for usd 1500 but recent posts indicate refurb @1200 no brainer. Also i think 3200x1800 is better than 4k on 15", given scaling probs in certain apps.

 

Anyone else keep blowing out their right speaker? I blame the max audio3 crap software.

 

Hi. I just want to put in some thoughts about my 5 day old top-tier refurbished xps 15. everything is working just about perfectly. Screen is super bright and "sharp" (see what I did there?) with minimal light bleeding that I can totally live with. I think 3k for 15in is a good combination as I set to 150% and everything looks really great to me. it is in very good condition as I don't see any scratches or scuffs anywhere. It runs warmer than my inspiron 7537 but that is to be expected since it is a much more powerful laptop. I got some throttling when running Handbrake but not too bad. The processor was at 2.74Ghz while suually it can jumps to 3.3 something. The speaker is good but I am not an expert in audio testing so I have no idea. I never used it on battery so I really can't say the battery life on this thing but it came with 91Wh 6 cell and about 3% wear. I got it for $1200 from a seller on bestbuy site and I am SUPER DUPER UBER happy about purchasing this thing even though it's about 7 months old (mine comes with the i7-4712HQ)

 

Help, my midtier has suddenly decided not to power on. No response to the power button, unless I hold it down for a few seconds, then it lights up, and nothing happens. Battery has power, as 4 of the 5 lights illuminate when pressing the test button.

Tried calling tech support but they close at 8pm and by the time I got through the options, 8pm had passed.

Anything else to try?

 

Turns out the motherboard is fried. Dell wanted to charge me because it's out of warranty, I asked if they expect their hardware to only work for 12 months, the guy went away and I'm getting a free repair.

Not sure when though as he said parts arent available at the moment.

 

Windows 8.1 also reports just over 2.5 hours for me too, whether it be in "Balanced" or "Power Saver" mode. I have the I7 3K 512GB SSD version from an EBAY seller that designated the machine as "like" New and it came in it's original box. Seems New. They sell a lot of refurbished machines too. I wonder if it's a problem with not having the right drivers installed.

UPDATE: Okay, I just got the machine yesterday so still playing/setting it up. I updated all the drivers: Windows, Dell and Nvidia. In the default Graphic adapter settings, I changed from "Auto" to "Integrated", even though I didn't have any apps default to the Nvidia card. This seems to have helped quite a bit. (Don't think changing the default Graphic Adapter resolved the issue, I think it was just up to date drivers.) As just browsing and YouTube, the fan is silent now. It was constantly on before. Downloaded BatteryBar as it gives more details about the battery. My battery wear is 4.3% and right now at Balanced profile with 46Wh left out of 88Wh (~52%) giving me a full Runtime of 6.5 hours. Sorry for the rambling, but I hope this may help others.

 

I'm also having battery issues with my new machine. These XPS 15s are so tempremental - seems its impossible to get one that doesn't have some kind of issue.
My last one (4712HQ, 16GB, 512SSD, 3k screen) had excellent battery life, 8 hours+ was easy. But the 3k screen is terrible for motion ghosting, so it went back.
The new one (4712HQ, 16GB, 512SSD, 4k screen) has terrible battery life, 3 hours max.