XPS 15 (Haswell) Owner's Lounge

I can only comment on this. If you are planning to install only windows or MacOSX on the machine then rMBP late 2013 is superior to Dell XPS 15. Dell has a higher screen resolution but believe me the retina resolution is already too much. You don't need the resolution of the Dell. rMBP specs are superior to the Dell. Smaller, thunderbolt2, better CPU, better build qulity, Better iGPU (although they have the same dGPU). But keep one thing in mind: while rMBP was superior SSD speeds for big files, the 4K performance of rMBP is REALLY BAD compared to the most SSD drives. But well.. I am not quite sure this is noticeable.
Now, IF you are a Linux user then stay away from rMBP unless you want to wait 6+ months (or more) to get the best out of your machine. That is the reason I sold my rMBP late 2013 a few weeks ago.
Cheers

 

I would like to ask the XPS 15 owners if they tried to connect 2 monitors on the laptop and the same time have the laptop screen on. Does it work? Thanks

 

This question is as already answered with an picture and yes you can use simultaneously 2 external monitor + display laptop.

Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 con Tapatalk 2

 

XPS 15 9530 - Noise problem? - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

looks like dell have acknowledged the noise issue.

anyone managed to fix the intermittent touch screen problem yet?

 

I am a bit confused about the famous coil whine. It is usually described as a "high pitched noise".

However, the noise that I have is not high pitched at all. It is exactly like an old hard drive reading or writing, that frequency, but louder. I think it shows itself when the GPU is in use: scrolling a website or rendering 3d images via OpenGL. In that case, it would be the internal GPU, as I don't have bumblebee or prime installed yet, so I am not using the Nvidia GPU.

May this be a different issue, or just different variations of the same one?

 

Any touchscreen issues I had upon first receiving my unit, were resolved by upgrading the panel's firmware and installling the newest touchpad drivers, both from Dell's site. Seems as though both the screen and touchpad make use of the same driver files, although I could be wrong about that.

At any rate, any issues I had with the touchscreen failing to respond (typically after waking from sleep, though not always) were resolved after performing the two above mentioned updates.

 

- Speaking as someone who's gotten system exchanges, dealt with Dell both personally and on behalf of business, and now works for Dell, system exchanges are ALWAYS new systems.

- Haggling with reps directly doesn't seem to have resulted in very significant discounts overall, so I wouldn't bother returning and then trying to haggle with Dell.

- Returning and buying elsewhere is certainly an option if the hassle is worth it.

- XPS vs rMBP mostly boils down to whether you can use Mac OS as efficiently as you can use Windows, and of course whether the apps you need are available on that platform. If you're a die-hard Windows person, it will take you a while to get as fast on Mac OS (e.g. relearning keyboard shortcuts, etc), so do your research before you consider that option. I would NOT recommend running Windows full-time on an rMBP though. A VM is one thing, but installing Windows on hardware with a Mac just has all kinds of limitations, mostly pertaining to the keyboard layout, drivers (infrequently updated, can't use manufacturer reference drivers, Optimus doesn't work as well), etc. It's better than I'd have expected, but if you'll only be using Windows, it won't be as good an experience as a true quality Windows laptop.

 

Yes it does.

 

I was under the impression that there are ways to install the regular nvidia driver on rMBP, you just need to to some tricks. I would personally prefer to do some tricks to install the latest driver and have apple quality laptop, instead of having a dell xps 15. I have been running Win8.1 on rMBP for 3 months (but it wasnt my main OS, I was booting to windows only to play some games) and I didn't notice any problem. But again... you can never be sure if there will be always tricks available to install the latest win8.1 drivers on rMBP. It is a risk you have to take. I took this risk for rMBP and Linux and I deeply regretted it.

 

There will be a new competitor for XPS15 9530, it's the successor of U500VZ/UX51VZ and it's name is Asus NX500 :


The only info known about specs is that display will be a 4K and speakers system will be made by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower.

 

yes it's like a hard drive reading or writing. Listen to this http://z.mk/e6vq

Someone pulled the laptop apart and the noise is 100% coming from the CPU/Integrated GPU area.

 

Thanks I'll give them a shot

 

That and the Toshiba Satellite p50t\Tecra W50 machines both of which are also 4K.

 

Optimus!
A BIG differentiator, if you run on windows!
The battery life, and noise level of GPU always on (fan noise) is fare inferior on mbp.

 

The Lenovo Y50 with 4K screen and 8xxM GPU will also be a competitor. Hopefully these laptops sell well. We need more competitors in this category so companies like Dell will not be complacent. Having coil whine (which happened all the way back to my 2011 XPS 15) and discoloring trackpad is pretty poor for a $2000+ laptop.

 

I posted this in the M3800 thread about the Y50. The only difference is that the Tech Specs have apparently been removed from Lenovo's site since I originally wrote this:

 

I find it hard to believe that dell xps 15 even with optimus has better battery life than rMBP late 2013, regardless what numbers the two companies give. But of course I wish you are right.
rMBP has another major issue: If you run the CPU and GPU of the laptop at 100% (ie: you play a video game), the battery level drops while the laptop is on the adapter! Of course it drops very slow (10% per 4 hours) but I am wondering what will happen if you do some really heavy processing for days (something that I intend to do). Would the laptop just switch off? Does anyone know if Dell XPS 15 has the same problem?

 

I believe this came up earlier, but no, this doesn't occur. Apple seems to have intentionally kept the adapter underpowered to reduce its size. Most people aren't using Macbooks in days long full throttle mode - hence underpowering the adapter, throttling to reduce temps etc.

 

Power supply unit of XPS15 is capable to supply 130W, while rMBP PSU is around 90W.
So this problem is not present on XPS15.
This even means that on Windows rMBP with Nvidia GPU has throttling due to PSU.

Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 con Tapatalk 2

 

Can I ask where did you get it from? Was it specifically for the laptop or you just bought a mobile phone screen protector and cut it to fit the trackpad? Thank you.

 

I have a question regarding Win 7:
Can you check in power options if you have the extended settings appearing where one can set noise level from 1-5 and also one more setting was 1-5 ... Asking because Google not gives anything and I had it initially but not anymore (could be some driver update or may be I disable it by accident under some services etc... While optimizing)
I also think it is the new Intel Thermal Management system involved in it, would like to get it back.



iPad - Tapatalk

 

I will return my laptop for a refund and wait for the asus nx500 or a broadwell once they are out. A replacement would have taken 6 weeks according to support. Maybe dell will come out with a holographic display that will be delayed until infinity. Really wanted this one to. Thanks for all the help.

Jesse

 

They have the top tier at the Microsoft store in stock right now as others have pointed out. No waiting!
Buy Dell XPS 15 Touchscreen Laptop, Core i7 - Microsoft Store

 

To be correct, Apple does NOT use Optimus.
They implemented it's own switching mechanism (GMUX) and therefore you cannot use the NVidia Optimus drivers.
Moreover, you cannot use Thunderbold under Windows (and Linux) with hotplugging.

These are the main points because I want an XPS-15 instead of a MBPr for running Linux on it. (And you can repair the XPS!)

 

My second XPS 15, originally scheduled for delivery on Feb 18th, then delayed for unknwon reason to Mar 24th, has been shipped today. The delivery will probably be on Feb 21st or 24th - nearly in time. Order date was Jan 7th.

 

Well my story continues. Dell will refund me $300 with a system exchange. Hopefully the new one is good to go.

 

I got it for $270 or so cheaper directly from Dell.

 

Hi Guys,

so any suggestion on the "low memory" while playing Dota 2..

p/s: just got my xps 9530..

 

That's a great price. Some people may not want to wait the 6 weeks or so. I already did, my order was cancelled. I saw that Microsoft had them in stock and chose not to wait again. I couldn't be happier - no coil noise! So far no complaints at all.

 

Usually things like that is not related to computer.


iPad - Tapatalk

 

i mean .. is there anywhere to twick or configure so that i wont get the low memory issue again when playing dota2

 

Check the steam forums for dota2.

 

Ya there is a memory leak issue with dota2 same as league of legends. Not the xps

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

How fast did you get it from the Microsoft Store and for what price?

 

List price $2299. I got it shipped next day for $16.99. Very happy with it so far!

 

I've only gotten the low memory warning once, since receiving my computer, and that was the first time I launched The Wolf Among Us. I simply declined to close the game by closing the warning pop up, maximized the game, and kept playing without further interruptions. No big deal.

 

Has anyone got an idea how I can turn the keyboard lighting permanently on?
It kinda defeats the purpose of having a backlit keyboard if everytime I have to press a key before it lights up...

 

Yes, open windows mobility center. Click on the icon next to the words Keyboard Brightness. That will give you that option as well as the option to turn off the ambient sensor.

 

Hi all,
did your laptop come with an adapter for the power tip ?
I mean the one which allows to use older Dell power adapters.

Tks

 

Nope just the ac cable, brick and laptop along with a quick start guide comes in the box. I believe there is an adapter though

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

No


iPad - Tapatalk

 

I don't think that will force the lighting permanently on. But can't you activate the lighting simply by tapping a key that's innocuous and easy to find purely by feel, like Left CTRL or Left Shift, or the Fn key which does absolutely nothing on its own? That's what I do, seems easy enough and saves battery, plus if you're watching a video you don't want all that light pollution coming up from the keyboard anyway.

 

Sure it will. I've chosen for the lighting to stay on for 15 min which is the longest before 'Never Off'.

 

Thanks ! it works

 

Only a six cell battery though. Isn't that the smaller one? I recall Dell's site listing a larger battery in the high end model they sell.

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

 

How many watt hours in your battery? Did it ship with the 91 wh battery?

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

 

It doesn't by default (though the M3800 does), but it's in the accessories list during your order customization if you want to add it. Or if you want order more than one, this is what you're looking for: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=331-9319

 

jphughan, Antonyh4 and CARBON FIBER,
thanks a lot !

 

Hi all again,
Today I got twice a black screen with thin vertical lines on the left side of the screen.
The laptop didn't respond to anything and had to restart it.
After restarting everything works fine.
The black-screen freeze happened at random times, many hours after powering-on the laptop.

Has anyone experienced something similar?
Have you seen any posts mentioning similar issues?

I am using Ubuntu Linux 13.10 64bit, kernel 3.11.0-15-generic, and keep disabled the Nvidia graphics using bumblebee.
There is no evidence of system/kernel/Xorg crash in the logs.

Unfortunately, I don't have a windows installation to check if the problem occurs with other OS.
I'll run tonight Memtest and see if RAM chips have defects.

Thanks

 

Hi guys!
I have been following this thread for a while and would like to thank you all for the valuable information provided in this thread.
Now, allow me to share my own experience with you.
I got the top-tier on 12 Dec 2013 and first impression "love at first sight!" However, there were some little problems with my unit:
1- Screen pressure points.
2- Noise whine was noticeable at the first couple weeks but now its barely noticeable! and could say its not there any more. I know this sounds strange, but I have no clue how and why?!
3- Screen flashes when wake up from sleep/hibernation happened 4-5 times in ~ two month period of using the machine.
4- one of the USB 3.0 seems to be loose. a connected flash memory, for instance, will be on and off with even slight touch.
5- Unit froze and blue screen with a sad face appeared, while I was doing normal Excel work!

I have contacted Dell for the above problems and and exchange order has been placed on the 24 Dec 2013. and After ~ 1 month and two weeks I received the replacement on Feb 6th 2014. Now I have been using it for 10 days and comparing it with the previous unit, here are some issues I found with the replacement:

1- replaced unit has a louder coil whine/noise! and more pronounce when unit is fully charged and dGPU is on load. The whine is rally annoying and I am willing to live with the above faults in my previous "silent" unit.
2- has dead pixels (very tiny dot and hardly seen)
3- the screen was not perfectly installed. I feel the (LCD or whatever) layer was not leveled with the back aluminum base.
4- There is a very noticeable keyboard back-light bleeding and could see the reflected light on the Aluminum hinge "see attached photos"


Dell now is offering me an other exchange and will send my unit to an "investigation department" to investigate about this whine and noise issue. According to Dell rep. this issue is widely reported and Dell has initiated an investigation to see the source of the problem. They are collecting some samples of units with reported noise and mine will be one of them.

For now I will keep my first unit and will ship back the replacement. Hopefully the second replacement would be perfect.

Cheers!