XPS 15 (Haswell) Owner's Lounge

Received my laptop today 3/13, ordered 2/2. I didn't even get through the initial windows setup and the laptop randomly powered off while plugged in. After getting through the windows setup and trying to setup a windows recovery, the laptop BSOD. On top of all of this, I have have noticeable coil whine when plugged in and battery is at 100%. Spoke with Dell and they will be sending me a new system, but due to inventory backlog, this is expected to take 10-15 days. So far not a good start.

 

Sorry to hear that ;/ I will be sending in my laptop for servicing, too. I'm moving abroad in a month, so I really hope I'll be able to settle this by that time, cause the idea of dealing with Dell support in foreign language (Spanish) doesn't sound very appealing

 

This sounds very similar to the experience I had when I received both my XPS14 and the XPS15 (that dell replaced the 14 with). I'm guessing you have the mid-tier model? Two things to try: Disable Rapid Start (if it's enabled - in BIOS as well), and clean install current NVIDIA drivers ( Clean Install NVIDIA Drivers - XPS 15 Wiki)

My eventual "solution" was to replace the hdd/ssd combo setup with a higher capacity mSATA SSD to use as my boot drive, and take it out of rapid start/storage config - then clean installing video drivers (to fix remaining hibernation issues).

 

There are definitely some units with and without coil whine. I have two systems here (an original order and a replacement), one of which has coil whine and one which doesn't.

I'm still waiting for another replacement. The two I have with me are being replaced due to display defects, nothing to do with coil whine. I'm not sure if I would get a replacement if coil whine were the only issue. Fingers crossed that my 3rd one will be perfect, but I'm doubtful.

 

Wow, the QA these days really is horrid, even with top companies like Dell or Apple. Good luck. You know what they say - third time is the charm ; )

 

I have the top tier model with 512 msata.

 

Unfortunately, even I can hear it on both of them. It's not very loud, but it's definitely there. After checking, it is significantly worse - audible across the room - when the battery is nearly/fully charged, whereas it isn't too annoying when the battery isn't.

I already knew about that, but thanks for the link!
I offered him the lowest-end Macbook Pro (non-retina - $999 with an education discount) or this. I already told him I'd get him a laptop for college, so I can't back out there. What amuses me is that he's vastly happier with the idea of a laptop with a hard drive (no SSD) and a processor that hasn't been updated in a while with a mediocre screen as opposed to this beauty of a laptop simply because the former has an apple logo on the lid.
I have to give Apple credit - they have amazing marketing prowess - but I'm pretty disappointed that it's affected my (admittedly not all that tech-savvy) son.Well, at least he'll fit in with the hordes of other people with macs.
I don't dislike Apple, and I even considered the rMBP15 before getting my XPS, but the marketing power they have in the college market is perhaps too much.

 

Lets hope that the college will be an eye opener experience even though I wasnever like that even before university studies etc. What can I say I don't lie attitude like that because today it is about a laptop tomorrow it might be choosing between what is really important. Adn WoW not even retina screen? why the hell get a mac then ....

 

Hi Guys
Just had Motherboard, heat sync, ac adapter, and both fans replaced due to coil whine. I still have coil whine, I no longer have a working touch screen and the right fan is noisy since repair .
Anyone have any ideas on how to get the touchscreen functioning again?
Will be contacting dell on Monday as technician said I will most likely be getting a new system, overall have been pretty happy with customer service and tech but this coil whine drives me nuts.

 

Is there anyone who can help me decide if either one of these will be okay for renewing the existing factory compound on my XPS' CPU? They are both non-conductive and the Artic Silver 5 has more reviews and better reviews. What does the Ceramique have that the Silver 5 doesn't?

 

go for the ceramique as it has almost no cure time compared to the AS5 (200 hours), I have both and opted for ceramique. it is more suited to mobile applications imho as a little movement will not upset the seal.

 

Why don't you just tell him this is the laptop you've bought him and he should be grateful?

If he wants to sell it that should be up to him, his choice (his mistake) and he faces the consequences when it's not as good.

Seriously, be the boss.

 

Ah, I see. Ceramique it is, then.
But, I'm sort of confused though because why would they sell the AS5 with a cure time of 200 hours when something like the Ceramique variation exists? Does the AS5 have something that isn't in the Ceramique formula? Also, will the Ceramique be a good choice for driving temperatures a little bit lower?

 

In about two months I have only heard the fans a couple of times, when doing hard data processing.

 

Try enabling or disabling hardware acceleration in the Firefox options and see if the noise changes.

I was having a horrible lag and coil noise until I found out I had hardlayers.acceleration.disabled set to true in about:config, so CPU was being used extensively while scrolling.

 

Had a similar thing happen on another system where the tech left and the webcam no longer worked. I solved it by unseating and reseating the touchscreen connector from the motherboard. Just be very careful since those connectors are tiny.

 

Returning my XPS for servicing due to coil whine, among a host of other issues... Interested to see what they will say about the coil whine and what will be the proposed solution. Will report how it goes ; )

 

Can anyone provide me with a calibrated colour profile to try out with some steps on how to apply it without messing up the saved default 'Generic' and 'Splendid' colours. Since receiving the laptop I have been using (for the most part) the Generic setting however it seems to me that the blues are not as deep (?) as they should be. The splendid profile helps in this regard but unfortunately oversaturates everything else (especially the reds!).

P.S I do not own a display calibrating device which is why I'm coming to you guys.
Thanks

 

Generic and splendid are independent of calibration since they seem to work on a hardware level. But a color profile was posted way back in this thread based on starting with generic mode. I don't know how well calibration profiles translate to different display units, but here you go: http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-15-haswell-owners-lounge-82.html#post9451200.

 

On the coil whine note - i've noticed the noise is much less loud when I connect the iPhone to it, even wtih 100% battery on the laptop and power plugged in. Although I _think_ I noticed the noise getting louder progressively as the iPhone becomes more charged. Not sure if that means anything, but thought to point it out.

 

Maybe the phone is sucking battery and not allowing the computer to be 100% charged, thus diminishing the coil whine?

 

Eh - if he wants me to handle everything behind the scenes, it's his loss. Selling the laptop on eBay and buying him a mac takes little effort for me, and I'll keep the difference in cost. Clearly, he wants an inferior laptop, so that's what he's getting.

 

Yup, that theory sounds plausible.

 

AS5 came out long before the new ceramique did, so new development, didn't need cure time, In fact I got sent a tester of ceramique about a year before it got released when I Asked if the AS5 should have separated in the tube and got told no it must be a bad batch so here is a new one and a sample of our soon to be released product. I still use AS5 on CPU's and the other on video cards and laptops.

 

This website supplies a nice comparative on Thermal paste:
2011-2012 Roundup | Skinnee Labs

There is even a comparative between Arctic silver 5, Arctic Silver Ceramique, Arctic Silver Ceramique 2.
The best seems Ceramique 2, second place for Silver 5, last place for Ceramique.
http://skinneelabs.com/arctic-silver-5-and-ceramique-review/

But if you can it find easily I would choose Prolimatech PK-1

 

The new Razer Blade 2014 now uses a 3200X1800 (14") IGZO also it has a GTX870m

Razer's new Blade might be the perfect gaming laptop | The Verge

 

I'm worried about the battery life, though. I love the XPS's battery life, and the blade only has 71 wh to the XPS's 91.
Also, I prefer a 15" screen.
Still, looks like a nice laptop if you need that graphics power and are willing to pay the price premium.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

Just got my laptop today (3/14/2014) ordered on (2/2/2014). The one that really bothers me so far is the trackpad. It seems to be very difficult to use atm, atleast compared to my old previous XPS. Other than that, for some reason the brightness to be in patches to me and looks really dodgy. Might just be my lighting/eyesight, little more on this after longer usage. Also, I don't seem to hear any coil whine.

 

Getting the latest Dell drivers (or switching to Synaptics) as well as updating your touchscreen firmware (which also updates the trackpad) should improve things. You don't necessarily have the latest drivers and firmware just because you just received your system. And then of course check out the XPS 15 Wiki for other tips. Enjoy! :thumbsup:

 

so guys, I have a question... I want to replace the 32gb Msata ssd with a samsung 840 EVO 250 GB ssd.... and do a fresh install on the ssd...
but do I lose some options when I do that? like that colour function in mobility center? or anything else?

 

Not as long as you reinstall the application(s) required to restore the functionality you want, all of which are available on Dell's support page. Splendid mode in Mobility Center is enabled by installing Dell Quickset. Don't forget to switch your SATA mode to AHCI in the BIOS when you switch the mSATA unit out.

 

So I was pretty happy with the laptop except for a not so amazing battery life; however, I found this weird issue with the audio. It squeaks really high pitch sometimes, almost rarely but reproducible when playing this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zos90bGZWEc&list=UUK4Bf0gYypJm11cToAHaaaQ I have noticed it before last night but thought maybe it was my headphones. The squeak happened on both my headphones and sometimes on the computer speakers too. Sounds like interference and may be a hardware issue. Anyone else have this problem? Uninstalling and reinstalling drivers right now.

 

Yep, I posted about this way back in the thread and even included a YouTube video, but nobody ever responded. I have it too. Uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers seemed to fix it for a while, but it eventually came back the same way and in the same places. I haven't delved into it much because I so rarely encounter it, though. Maybe if Dell releases a new motherboard that cures the coil whine they'll also have fixed this audio issue, intentionally or otherwise.

 

Hmm, I thought I did a thorough search of the thread Well its happening quite a bit now after that youtube video. So I contacted Dell, they are going to come and replace the motherboard! I hope it fixes it. This was a refurb machine I got 3-4 days ago. Maybe you should trying calling/chatting with tech support.

Also wanted to note that coil wine is apparent on my laptop but not louder than a hum

 

Here's my original post:

As for replacement, unfortunately I've had a few too many occasions of Dell techs creating a new problem in the course of fixing an existing one in recent years, so I won't be requesting any sort of service until I'm confident that taking action would actually solve the issue. And testing both the problematic song and YouTube video again now repeatedly, I can't get the audio to screw up once even though it screwed up pretty reliably before. Strange....

 

It's more the ungratefulness really. If my kids ever treated a gift that way, especially such an expensive one, they'd be off to uni without a laptop.

 

I tried your video and it was the same noise. I guess I'll go through with the service and see what happens. Hopefully nothing else crops up like super loud coil whine or something. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Yes, I agree. I don't have any kids, but that would be my same reaction. I can let a lot of things slide, but the fact that he took the time to find a quality laptop for his kid is what really sticks out there aside from the actual device itself.

I can totally understand the pressure he might be under as a result of his son's "trendiness", perhaps. That's because I recently purchased an HP Spectre 13t for my sister who is going off to university in the fall. She actually reacted the complete opposite, and I mean it when I say complete. She was so overwhelmed by the fact that I ordered her the notebook at top specs that she started arguing with me telling me that I shouldn't have and that she was pressured and felt bad but I literally had to tell her to stop saying that and just enjoy her gift.

But gosh, what a generous dad though. I wish my father did something like that for me. No questions asked!

 

After waiting 1.5 months for the new top of the line XPS. I find a dead pixel, nice quality control. They're going to replace the laptop, the guy said 10 days so its probably going to be some other broken laptop that was refurbished. I guess money well spent for a "new" laptop.

 

Has he had a look at the Dell yet, and especially at the screen? He may not realize what he is turning down. Maybe he thinks you bought him the sort of Dell one finds in walmart.

 

Sorry to hear that, but FYI system exchanges are never refurbs. The replacement will absolutely be brand new.

 

Thank you for the clarification. Looks like the AS5 has great reliability especially since it's been around longer than the Ceramique. However, I will go with the Ceramique since it doesn't need cure time which would make it safest, especially since I'm dealing with a mobile CPU.

 

Er, I took some time to do some extra research in regards to the pastes out there and I found out that there are a lot more better than Arctic Silver like IC Diamond and Noctua. I'm not surprised Noctua's paste would surpass in temperature results...Noctua has always impressed, in my opinion. I may go for the Noctua. But after the research I did, Arctic Silver's difference in temps isn't that favorable for me. I'm trying to make an impressive difference especially since I plan on doing some serious gaming on my unit.

Ceramique's temperature difference is a mere 1-2 degree Celsius from the AS5 and even then, the difference collectively whether I go with either of them isn't what I was shooting for. There are a ton of other choices that are non-conductive. I will share more of my insight but so far, I have my eye on Noctua and IC Diamond.

I'm definitely not interested in something like Coolaboratory Liquid Pro since I'm firstly not dealing with a desktop, and that's a definite void on my warranty if I ever try to send it to get fixed because it's incredibly tough to clean. Not worth the risk -- plus, I'm not sure if the metal in the unit is aluminum or copper (or a mixture of both). But yeah, definitely not this option.

Is there a way to get Dell's formal permission to apply this paste as an exception on the warranty? Or is there not an exception for this kind of action?

 

Well, a dead pixel is actually within the industry standard and does not come under warranty. Outrageous, I know, but still...I had dead pixels on both the original and the replacement display unit.

 

What does the coil whine sound like? I have the mid tier one (with HDD) so I can hear that, but nothing that really resembles a whining sound.

 

It sounds like the high-pitched tone emanated by CRT TVs and some plasma TVs if you've ever heard it. If you don't hear anything on yours, just be happy.

 

Btw, I've noticed from the start that the speakers tend to produce a sqeaking, false sound with some music / clips. Not sure if it's a matter of bad sound quality or a fault of the speaker? Could you check this Elton John clip and report how it plays for you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Ta0qCG8No

 

I constantly have a quiet very high frequency sound that doesn't bother me to much, But when I have the AC adapter plugged in and the battery full charged the laptop gives a hell of a screeching noise originating somewhere on the left side of the keyboard but only when doing CPU intensive tasks (when scrolling up and down web page the screeching literally is only there when scrolling etc.) I have found that switching between power states reduces the noise sometimes but seems to come back after a while, I have already had motherboard replaced and will be getting new machine (hopefully).

Are any of you guys experiencing the second noise?

 

Any recommendations on a usb3.0 / Ethernet adapter? I get patchy wifi from my router so I would prefer to be wired. Do you guys just use a wireless connection?

 

So I received my 2nd replacement, and it also has dust or something stuck under the glass. Argh, Dell QC is terrible! I now have three laptops temporarily in my possession (original + 2 replacements):

1. Dust trapped under glass + stuck white pixel.
2. Dust trapped under glass + coil whine.
3. Dust trapped under glass.

The last one has the fewest issues, and also the smallest dust particle. I'm not sure if I should just accept it and move on, or return them all and get a different laptop to use for a short term until something better comes along.

Another option is to return all three, and commandeer my friend and colleague's apparently flawless XPS 15 since he won't be making use of it for some time. He can wait until something else comes along, but I feel kind of bad taking it away from him even though he's ok with it.

Any opinions?