XPS 15 (L521X) - The display thread

Dell is aware of customer feedback regarding the LCD as mentioned in this thread. Once I hear back about progress and details on which feedback we are looking at, I will post updates here.

(Losing my mind. I could swear I already posted on this thread. Gremlins?)

 

Thank you Bill... These Gridlines have been driving me crazy I would love to hear a solution...maybe we both are seeing Gremlins lol...

 

The first post was much better. I feel cheated.

 

Hey Bill, got any updates regarding the LCD????

 

I really want to buy this laptop again (for the third time!) if the LCD screen is fixed. I'll even put up with the WiFi issue as long as the screen is readable.

Can you please let us know when a new revision will be made so I can order it? The indian sales guys are utterly useless and keep claiming that the screen issue is fixed or that there is no screen issue. I have no idea why Dell employee such people because it will just end up in more returns for you.

 

Guess what? Dell scripts what the tech and employees tell you, so don't blame the working 9-5 people for doing their job.

It's dell's fault they push fibs or don't get correct information out to their employees. I have had my share of bad experience on one or two occasions BUT dell does get it right if you work with them and their system.

Not to say it's a perfect system... any convoluted system is a far cry from being always useful... long story short, maybe try to redirect your frustrations at those responsible for the scripts... not to the ones reading from them... fact is impossible to argue against and stay reasonable at the same time in this case. so there really is no use.

 

By the way, my system works great so far, only problem is the battery isn't up to par.

 

There is no point in lying to the customer to get them to order. Processing returns is not cheap so why don't they cut their costs and tell people the truth.

I asked over and over again about the screen issue and they pretended to be aware of it and said it has been fixed. I asked them what has been fixed exactly and all they say is 'the screen issue' . Anyone with half a brain could tell they didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

They could just say that they don't know, but instead they lie to you as if its a fact which has resulted in a second return to Dell and more hassle for me.

 

Who knows... But if we take for example XPSes previous model "revisions"(L501/502X), then timegap was about 6 months?

 

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Re: XPS 15 (L521X) - The display thread
There is no point in lying to the customer to get them to order. Processing returns is not cheap so why don't they cut their costs and tell people the truth.

I asked over and over again about the screen issue and they pretended to be aware of it and said it has been fixed. I asked them what has been fixed exactly and all they say is 'the screen issue' . Anyone with half a brain could tell they didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

They could just say that they don't know, but instead they lie to you as if its a fact which has resulted in a second return to Dell and more hassle for me.

_______________

Goodwill:

I think Dell has a long way to go in being fair and honest with the information they tell their agents to parrot. However I do not believe they are knowingly lying.

It's not something anyone can know for sure of what motivates a stranger. So it would not be fair to call them liars. The fact is Dell is responsible and you and many other have heard a constant line of what amounts to b.s. Now that they have either fired or "let go" of Bill@dell speaks volumes with them(Dell) preferring denial over respectable dialog and admission/remedy of any issue. It's a shame

 

I agree that it is a shame, but I sincerely doubt that the bean-counters at dell who talley'd up who to let go paid any attention at ALL to their actual job or what they were doing, other than how dropping their salary from the company overhead would help profitability.

 

Update:

I ordered a replacement XPS 15 to see if the "grid" is a manufacturing problem or a panel selection problem. This one is identical to my first one, so with two data points I'm going to conclude that *all* L512X machines have the grid, and that some people are lucky enough not to notice it.

 

no, some grids are worse than other displays.. My first 521's grid was barely noticible.. but it had to be replaced due to touchpad not functioning and gpu and usb.. now this one was worse and after the tech came over to replace display its the worse out of all 3... this is a pic of a youtbe video i go to bed at night seeing grids.. sending it into depot on monday...

 

Why doesn't Dell just official acknowledge that the screens with their current series of XPS laptops has been a bust?

 

not all screens my friend....i have seen grids like what was mentioned here in long time ago monitors but my current XPS15 doesn't have it....honestly. Compared it to my wife's MBA...

 

I mean with the series in general. People complain about the XPS 13's low resolution the XPS 14's gridding, contrast and poor viewing angles, and the XPS 14's gridding and tint issues. The former two often come up as major negatives in reviews, whereas I've only seen the mention of the XPS 15's gridding and tint issues based on end-user feedback. It's not like the screens are totally awful, but it seems like Dell are behind the times.

Reading through some staff comments on the ideastorm part of the Dell website, it seems to be as if they put greater emphasis on using the cornering gorilla glass as their primary consideration for these screens over other factors, like resolution, viewing angles and whatever else came secondary to insistence on the gorilla glass. Which gives me the impression that the gorilla glass was the limiting factor in Dell choosing their panels, rather than the panels dictating whether or not gorilla glass would be used.

As someone who's still mulling over a new laptop, I'm still weary as to whether or not the current Dell XPS series is worth it. Not going to lie, I'm still considering an XPS 14 because I am not aware of any other notebook with a 14" screen in a 13" form factor that is quite as appealing, but even the XPS 14 has almost been panned across the board by review sites for its contrast and viewing angles, while people here have mentioned gridding issues. The XPS 15 had great reviews with regards to its screen, but there are numerous complaints here (though I am aware that forums are generally filled with complaints over compliments), something which Dell technicians have at least somewhat acknowledged. But for the most part, it seems as if Dell are in denial or ignorance about the issue.

I know it may not effect every screen, but I think the laptop's screen is one of the primary features of a laptop, so it shouldn't even bet a lottery. In my opinion, Dell shouldn't have made any compromises for the quality of the panels they used, even if gorilla glass was a limiting factor. Screen quality, if anything, should be a primary concern, as shown by Apple's relentless marketing of their retina displays, which draws in a lot of people.

I'm more than likely making a mountain out of a molehill.

Edit: I also think it's a reflection of Dell's business model. Consumers have no problems with paying premium prices when they know they're getting a well crafted, high quality product. Part of the reason Apple are doing so well, even if they are charging extortionate prices for the hardware. People are getting exactly what they expect. By contrast, Dell seem to be charging high prices for comparatively cheap components that doesn't reflect the final cost of a product, possibly to line their own pockets as much as possible by creating bigger profit margins. I'm not businessman, so I'm probably way off the mark. But, to me, that's what it sounds like Dell are doing to turn a profit in some of their other branches that may not be doing as well due to things like decreased market share.

 

I have taken a macro photo of my screen, which does show visible vertical lines at distances below 18", and very distinctly at 12" and below. Beyond 18" it is pretty much a non issue, but I do sit close and when editing photos, which is a significant reason to buy a laptop as powerful as this, it is common to study the picture quite closely in order to form judgement about sharpness and sharpening and also noise and noise reduction. The problem with the lines is that they create a texture to the image which interferes with the image at the pixel level, making these judgements tricky and really just making the display frustrating and unpleasant to view at close range. The close range is necessary in order to make the proper judgements about the pixels of the photographic image.

Anyway, here is the close up of the screen (click for larger version)....



Youwill note that each RGB sub-pixel is shaped like a letter "D" or a reversed "D". In particular you may see a gap between the G and B pixels when the rounded sides of the pixels are facing each other, and barely any gap when the G and B sub-pixels are back to back. The way the sub-pixels are arranged you end up with six sub-pixels and then a gap, another six sub-pixels and a gap and so on. This causes the feint vertical lines to become visible. Maybe if there were no gaps at all (the preferred scenario) or if the gaps were every 3 sub-pixels instead of every six the line might appear less obvious, but it is hard to ignore them when they are spread a little apart and create a pinstripe effect over the entire screen.

Apart from the screen quality I am now finding the overall design, performance, features and value for money to be very agreeable. For my usage pattern I am unaffected by throttling and the WiFi works perfectly well and certainly better than my other two laptops. Sadly the screen quality renders it pretty much unusable for my needs in photographic editing.

I am reluctant to return it because the rest of the machine is so good and I do not think I can improve upon those parts by looking elsewhere, but with the screen as it is I feel forced to return it because it is simply not of a quality fit for the task.

 

Well I did a foolish thing today. I took my L521X into an Apple store and put some of my own high resolution photos (from a Canon 5D3) onto a 15" macbook Pro Retina to compare both machines side by side. Now I'm no fan of Apple, and have bought five Dell laptops and a Dell PC since 1998, and nothing at all from Apple, but I have to say that the Macbook display just made my XPS display look like crap, and that was after I calibrated my own display just this morning. I wasn't surprised that my own display looked crap, but I was stunned by how fabulous the Macbook looked. The screen was silky smooth, with beautiful detail, rich colours and just from another world in terms of a beauty and joy to behold. Although the reviews say that the XPS 15 display is brighter than the Macbook, by the time you've run calibration the display ends up being less bright even at maximum.

So I trawled round the local PC store and took a gander at every laptop display out there. With the exception of the Retina displays every laptop, Mac, Asus, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo and anything else there all had plainly visible pixel structures when viewed close - as close as I might get in order to edit photos at times. However, not one of them had the pinstripe pattern effect that my XPS 15 exhibits. There was an Asus NV56 something or other with 1080p display, which had a fairly small picture structure and no other discernible pattern, but text still looked bitty and really not nice. The Macbook Retina owned every single one of them by a huge margin.

So now I have a huge dilemma. Now I've had my XPS for a few days I have come to like it in all respects bar the screen, but short of the Macbook Retina I don't think there is another laptop out there today worth swapping to. I do have a return authorisation for my XPS, but I don't relish the thought of spending an additional £1,000 or sending any money in Apple's direction. If money really was no object I'd just go right ahead and order one now, but I don't have that luxury.

Nothing you guys can do to help me out of this hole, unless you can suggest an alternative laptop which even begins to close the gap on the Macbook Retina. For me an external monitor is not an option I wish to consider.

EDIT : I finally made my mind up that the screen issues were too severe to overlook, despite liking the laptop in all other respects. Today (5th November) it was picked up by courier to be returned to Dell for a full refund. It was from the Dell Outlet, and given there were no weak points with the machine apart form the screen I wonder if that's why it found its way to the Outlet in the first place.

 

call me crazy..I dont care, really..

but I think it's obvious what's going on... dell knowingly sells this stuff with the idea that for those that notice the wifi/display/etc issues... they will just replace it (in some cases it's an actual unfixable problem) with the proper (more expensive?) hardware..but if a customer doesn't notice then the tree didnt fall and they save money by sending out inferior crap hardware.. the problem is they didnt count on people expecting to get what they pay for and social media etc, and they set the bar high with previous laptop releases....

it's a shame and so far their response has been all over the map with no sanity or continuity...firing people that were honest and represented Dell.... going from admitting to the issues and giving temp fixes to having tech reps deny or being told by dell executives there is no problem and if there is no problem it can not be addressed... so.. all in all.. it's a bunch of b.s. and Dell knows it. shame on them

 

Cynicism confirmed sadly..

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/technology/29dell.html?_r=1&

Dell lawsuit: Pattern of deceit | ZDNet

There is little doubt in my mind now that we are all up against a bunch of jerks who hire nice people to lie, cheat and steal.

 

I have just got my xps 15 last week. I was kind of shocked by the grid, or more specifically, the vertical dark thin lines on first sight. Funny thing is some of my colleagues cannot really notice the grid, while the rest think the lines are so obvious.

As of myself, I was really annoyed by the grid. Dell asked me to provide proof… here you are.


Still in talk with Dell how to fix it. By following this thread, seems a replacement of monitor will unlikely make it better. Anyway I will give a try, otherwise I have to ask for a refund.

 

I rejected the laptop outright the day after it was delivered for this very issue. Dell took it back and gave me a full refund, no deductions and no shipping charges. It did need me to be very firm on the matter. I was not required to provide any evidence, but I chose to use Live Chat in order to have a complete record of our communications on the subject.

It's a shame the screen is so dire because in all other respects it was a great machine and terrific value. I've since bought a Precision M6700 with IPS RGB display. It was another £600 in total, but that's how a screen ought to look. The machine I bought is also more powerful so part of the uplift in cost is down to additional factors as well as the screen.

 

Used same youtube clip as elvis7 so I could get a comparison.

Dell XPS 15 (i7-3632QM, 8GB RAM, GT640M)

Dropbox larger image

Samsung SyncMaster 205 BW (1680 x 1050)

Dropbox larger image

So far I'm quite content with the screen quality as it is quite comparable to my desktop monitor. I don't have a good camera at hand so the image are not that great.

 

I just packaged up my XPS 15 today and am planning to return it. Dell had a technician replace the panel yesterday, but it looks exactly the same afterward.

It's a damn shame such an otherwise fine notebook has such a low quality display. User tdodd's analysis is spot on. The pixel shape is the issue. No amount of tweaking levels or updating drivers is going to make a difference when there is such an obviously low quality display panel.

I have a ticket open with Dell support and am trying to get escalated to product management so they can be more aware of this issue. How hard would it be to star using a better manufactured panel?

 

In a big phat slow-moving enterprise, you'd be surprised how slow it can be to change some things.

 

Bill, any news?

 

Bill does not work for Dell anymore

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

Bummer. Well, for what it's worth, I am working on escalating the issue to Dell's XPS product team, hoping that they realize that putting a low quality panel on such a nice notebook is indeed silly, not to mention the amount of returns that people have claimed in this thread.

 

Oh dear.

Feel sorry for Bill if it was forced. He was trying to arrange a refund for me (XPS L521X wifi problem) and I had wondered why there was no response to my chasing emails over the last month.

Typical of today's Dell that there's no return message about a re-dircet or alternative contact. I'm done with them as a future supplier - there's plenty of alternatives now.

 

I purchased my XPS 15 in late November (3632QM, 16GB, 512GB SSD, BD-Combo, GT 640M). I have not had any wifi problems, but I certainly can see the lines in the display. It's not defective, it's just a crappy screen. To me personally, it's not a deal-breaker since I don't do any graphics or video work, and I am otherwise very happy with the machine. But at the same time, it's pretty disappointing. My previous machine was the older XPS 15 (purchased late 2010 I think) and the display looks so great. It's frustrating that the newer model has gone backwards in terms of the display.

This may be a dumb question, but is it possible to replace the screen with a better one? I'd be willing to pay for a different screen if there is a way to do it. For example, can you put a screen intended for the older XPS 15 into this one?

 

I have joind this forum specifically to post my experience of the Dell XPS 15 screen. I can see a grid on the screen, but to be honest it doesn't bother me at normal viewing distance. What does bother me though is what I think others have described as grainyness. Specifically it looks like the whole picture has had a photoshop sharpening filter applied, making lines stand out more, and making jpeg image artifacts stand more prominent - thus causing a grainy appearance. It is because of this I have asked dell for a reund. As I use photoshop for a living, it is important that the image i see on screen is how it should be and not sharpened unless I choose to sharpen it!

 

I have purchased this computer and can definately see the grid pattern when viewing a white background.But I have noticed that the grid pattern isnt there when playing video games, no matter what colors are present. Could the gid pattern then be a result of intel 4000 graphics? Has anyone else noticed this?

 

I don't remember anyone explicitly trying to test the GPUs discretely, in that way.

 

I'm pretty sure that the grid is due to the pixel structure, not the GFX card, as I noted when I took a macro photograph of the screen. I expect that when playing video games the motion and concentration on the game distracts the eye from the issue, but when closely studying and editing still photographs and trying to make critical assessments of sharpness and noise, or simply viewing a static web page the grid can become an offence to the eyeballs - if you have good (or corrected) eyesight and are close enough.

 

I am a little confused, the screen in the older model is the B156HW01 V.7 which from what I read here is much better than the screen in the L521x?

This site...
https://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/Dell/XPS~15~L521X/

offers the B156HW01 V.7 as a viable replacement option for the L521x, wouldn't this solve all these screen issues or am I missing something?

 

It is wrong advertised, that LCD screen is not for XPS 15 L521x, is for xps 15 L502x, you can notice the video provided how to replace it.
On the other hand, I do not think that there is that easy to dismantle/ disassemble the top lid on L521x, it comes ready fitted with LCD, Lid, hinge & required cables (antennas and display).
I had replaced the screen on my L521x and Dell replaced the entire Lid.

 

they need to fix there website then... Screen Country too

Dell XPS 15 L521X Notebook Display Replacement | LAPTOP & TABLET LCD SCREEN FROM $44.

 

So does anyone know of someone who has had Dell come and replace the screen with good results? Ive been trying to figure out if I should have a tech come out and replace it. It doesnt bother me at all when playing video games but when i just do regular activities, like going into control panel and surfing the web, its kind of annoying but not sure if its annoying enought to return the comp outright. I purchased it new from outlet for 785.00 and think the other components and build quality blow anything else out of the water for that price point.

 

Fatmethod: If you're interested in "fixing" the "grid" issue - I've heard of nobody that has conclusively had the situation repaired by a replacement screen.

They're not going to be replacing it with a different part number, obviously, but just another of the same hardware spec.

I have read of more than one instance where the tech that did the work screwed up the computer reassembly or otherwise broke something.

I would not bother, if I were you, but that's just my opinion.

 

It's not a defect in your particular screen, it's all of them. It's just a poor-quality panel. If it bothers you, return it. A lot of lower-end systems have much worse screens, so watch out.

 

I joined the forum because of this thread.

A colleague and I purchased an XPS 15 each in feb and the grid lines were the first thing we noticed.

I have had the screen replaced and the problem remained. The laptop is now back at dell they 'captured' it so they could ascertain what the problem is. So far they said they are unable to see or replicate the problem which only irritates me further. The problem does not need to be replicated, it is a constant problem and is glaringly obvious to anyone who looks at the screen.

All graphics look horrendous, pixelated, blocky etc. colours are washed out and no where near as vibrant as my studio xps 15.

This is a very disappointing laptop, after waiting for it so eagerly, to then power it up and feel your stomach sink as the screen wags its wonky tail at you... I feel completely ripped off by Dell and their support has been a mix of good and bad. The bad being their lack of updates and use of internal jargon 'l2 is reviewing it', the good - actually speaking to locally based techs.

Very disappointed dell customer...

 

Dead pixels in XPS15 L521X Display. Bought in Oct. 2012, first screen was gorgeous, but died in 4 months. Replacement not so bright, only very faint lining.

 

So, a month later the replacement screen is starting to show exactly the same symptoms: grey areas and at least one completely dead pixel. What a FAIL. Never a DELL again.

 

That, unfortunately is perfectly in spec. The screen on this thing is just poor quality.

 

I have the 4th display in this machine now. The first was bright and beautiful, but died after 4 Months with dead pixels. The second was greenish and had really bad lines and died with grey pixels after three months. The third was installed by Dell and had dead pixels right on the install. So, now I have the FOURTH display in a machine that is nine months old and cost way over a thousand Euros. I don't know, what the panel manufacturer AUO is doing. But this is completely intolerable.

 

Honestly I've had some bad screens in my life as I've owned quite a few laptops. But when everyone was describing it I thought they might have been a little picky. I had the 15z last after all and it wasn't toooo bad. But this is kind of ridiculous. It's literally the worst screen i've ever used. I thought my windows had some wrong video driver setting going on for a little bit.

Has anyone found someway to fit another panel on here or get dell to change it?

I do a lot of photo editing and Immediately noticed the difference in my pictures. I'm going to have to always edit on my external monitor at this point. Now I almost wish I had the intel wifi so I could try using widi for my tv

 

Can i use B156HW1 96% Adobe RGB from L502X to replace the LCD B156HW3 inside L521X ? Is it work ? If it work, we have an incredible laptop

 

I'd be pretty surprised, but would love to be surprised.

Nothing in the lid is intended to be individually replaced, if Dell supports a replacement of any element within they just replace the whole thing.

There are no tear-down-re-build instructions for the lid to the component level, why don't you investigate and make some?

Good luck!

 

my l521x scrren just got cracked and the DVD isnt reading. i found this Amazon.com: Dell XPS 15 (L521x) Laptop Screen 15.6 LED BOTTOM LEFT FULL HD: Computers & Accessories

and Amazon.com: DELL XPS ULTRABOOK L521X LAPTOP LCD SCREEN 15.6" Full-HD DIODE (SUBSTITUTE REPLACEMENT LCD SCREEN ONLY. NOT A LAPTOP ): Computers & Accessories

but no installs notes. doesn anyone know how to get ONLY LED scrren replace instead of entire top cover whch is about 200USD more expensive?

 

@tbaba: I stumped upon this as well. I have never seen or heard of anyone take the screen out from the cover. The only option is to buy it as a whole piece. I would like to try to take it apart one day if my screen breaks. Would you mind trying it out, since yours is cracked/broken? You can be the first to attempt this!