XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

Pretty sure your screen is defective, ask for a substitution because of the dead pixels and then check again if you still have the oversaturation effect. Maybe for that thing you just need to calibrate it

 

Yea, I just did a clean install of windows and calibrated. Looks great, I haven't noticed any dud pixels on mine, Guess I'm a lucky one.

 

OK. Details for swapping the cards have been worked out on our end.
Engineering qualified 2 cards for this system prior to launch, but we went with just the Intel. The reason for that is to get Intel WiDi support and Intel Smart Connect. For that you need the Intel card. If you must have support for either of those features, you will probably want to wait for a new driver. Or you can still take us up on the offer for the second card, use it and switch back to the Intel card later.
You can request either parts only for the DIY crowd, or you can request the card be sent with a tech to install it. If you request a tech, the tech will need to take the Intel card back and return it to us. We can always set up another onsite later if we get a better driver from Intel to revert back to the card that supports WiDi and Smart Connect.
If you are in the US or Canada, Dell-Jesse L or Dell-LornaM can dispatch the cards and/or tech to replace them. If you are outside the US and Canada, [they can ask one of their teammates who supports your region to set up the dispatch, which may add a day or two to the dispatch process.] Edit: The cards are only currently available in the US and Canada, and this is a test program only. This is not the final solution.
If you want to try the Atheros card (Dell DW1901, part #K2GW5), please send a PM to Jesse or Lorna (not both). You can copy and paste this bit, fill it out and send it. They'll take it from there.
1. Your name and the name on the original order if they differ.
2. Service tag.
3. Your email address.
4. Your daytime contact number and an alternate number if you choose onsite tech replacement. We don't need it for parts only.
5. If parts only, ship-to address. If onsite service, address where you want the service to take place.

After you do the card swap, test and post your results and opinions. Thanks for your patience.

 

I was wondering, some of you are switching screen profiles (generic/splendid, etc) but where can you do that? Either I didn't find it or I don't have that possibility! When I right-click on the graphic options and go in the profiles, all four seem to be the same, nothing changes!

 

i am now ready to give dell my money and i really amazed by the level of support you have for you product i dont think i need smart connect orr widi i prefer a wired connection

 

@cokeboy If you have that many stuck/dead pixels, especially if there are that many in a cluster, you need a new screen. If you PM Dell-Jesse L, he can send out a tech and display assembly.

I saw it. It was embarrassing. Sorry for that. I don't want to denigrate a co-worker, but it's not at all accurate to say the card is designed to only function within 10 ft of an access point.

 

for switching between generic and splendid profiles do windows key + x and it should be by default display color.

and as for it being a calibration issue on my laptop, its odd. ive calibrated through the nvidia control panel to about as close as i can get it. from what i know it only happens while playing movies. and even then its odd, in my attachments in my previous post when playing a standard video in youtube, it looks just fine, maybe a tiny amount of oversaturation. its when i put in to fullscreen where it just full on saturation. and its always over saturated in windows media player.

im downloading the suggested driver from kreyziehustler to see if it helps.

 

@dell-Bill bought the laptop from the US and i live in the netherlands, does that work with the warrenty? i know i can switch but if i ask Dell-Jesse would it be possible to get the support from the netherlands with the warrenty from the US?

 

Bill great stuff! I have a couple of issues I would like you to look in to. First the scrolling in firefox is very laggy in comparison to my L502X. Secondly I seem randomly to be getting a popping sound from the left speaker when navigating windows explorer, but only when flick backwards?

 

I think everyone is starting to understand what I said early in the speculation thread. Dell support is amazing and why I will always buy from them.

 

How could I forget about that! Thanks!

 

i have a dimension e520 going still so i knw what their support is like i just didn't expect them to fix all these issues so fast its exceptional

 

@Bill: about new laptops that will be ordered from now on (until a driver fix is released), will they be shipped with the other wifi card or still with the Intel's one? What about non-US countries?

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

I am in total agreement.

 

Does that mean you've isolated the cause for this wifi problem, and it's the Intel's card drivers which is the problem?

Have you tested the second card to be working ok, or you'll wait for our feedback?

Maybe I missunderstood everything, since your post seems to contradict itself when reading between the lines .

You start by saying "details for swapping the cards", which suggest you just figured out how to swap card for people who wanted to try it... As you spoke about to try doing that earlier, to isolate the card!

But further down, you speak about waiting for new drivers, which suggest you've found the cause of all problems.

In any case, I'm really hoping to get WiDi, but slow connection speed is an absolute no-go if I wanna be able to stream HD TV wirelessly from my server to my laptop (Mediaportal + ATSC).

Just to make sure I understood correctly, in the "DIY" scenario, we get to keep both cards? We won't have to send the Intel one back? We get a free lifetime spare card in the end, for the unlikely event one of them fails? NICE!

 

Now this why i buy from dell,

 

I tried the new intel drivers and found no improvement in download speeds (10MB/s on wired connection and 3MB/s on wifi) so would be interested in trying an updated one as i would prefer keeping the widi feature.

If theres nothing soon though i will have to try the atheros solution as the hd video seems to struggle on wireless from only 8ft away from the router.

@Bill, will the atheros card be available for UK customers?

Thanks!

 

Hi everyone,
I'm new here. Found this thread when I was debating whether to get an XPS 15 or an Inspiron 15R. Decided to go with the XPS because it seemed great. Unfortunately it wasn't until after I ordered the system that I read about the throttling and wifi issues. I got my system yesterday and am very pleased with it, very happy I went with it over the rMBP (I went with the 750GB + BR option). I haven't noticed the throttling yet (no beta BIOS for me, just A04) as I'm still setting the system up for use. The WiFi issue is a huge blow though, one that is necessary for my usage, so I'm hoping a fix comes soon. Glad to see Dell has support personnel interacting with customers here, which further makes me appreciate my purchase. Thankfully I don't have the screen grid issue.

 

Is swapping out the Intel card a solution or is it still speculative? If the beta-test results are positive, will the two cards become configuration options?

 

is this wifi issue effecting everyone? im always within 10-12 feet of my router and cant easily test if this is also the case for me? does it only effect a certain type of card or driver?

 

The WiFi issue is affecting me. In my living room (5-10 ft unobstructed to the router) it's fine. In my bedroom it drops below 2 Mbps. Tried uninstalling and re-installing driver with the one from the Intel site but no change. I'd be interested in the parts only card swap. Damn 5 post limit to PM (I understand the purpose, just frustrating).

 

Now that's support!

...working my way up to 5 posts so I can PM...

 

when i get my XPS i dont think WiFi will affect me much home as u tend to stay in my room alot when i got to class year cuz my university's WiFi kinda sucks
so i can live until i get the fix

 

I'm in with this system. I took a chance as an early adapter which is unusual for me at this cost. And so far I'm not sorry at all. Dell has been great.

 

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I can confirm there is no issue with the inspiron 17R S/E as i did my tests with both of them side by side

 

So are the issues that have been popping up affecting ALL of the i7 750GB 32GBmSATA GT640 XPS 15 ($1699 CDN) units that have been shipped?

I guess what I am really asking is whether or not everyone who has received their i7 750 GB 32GBmSATA 640GT unit is having the same problems, i.e. throttling, wi-fi.

Another way to put it is to ask if there is anyone out there that has this particular model that has not had any issues whatsoever?

I really would appreciate some feedback here as I have ordered mine and it shipped out yesterday. Just want to know if *crossing my fingers* will help with the odds of me getting a unit that is free of problems

 

Please tell me that all of this info and instructions on how to do this and that is going to be disseminated in a more formal fashion, i.e. an actual letter or email with company letterhead/credentials for anyone who has purchased and received a new XPS 15. One document that will have ALL of the various fixes and how one should go about having them implemented.

I wholeheartedly agree with everyone on here that you are doing a great service for all the new XPS owners here on this site. But what about all the other consumers that have made the same XPS 15 purchase but are not actively utilizing forums such as this one?

Simplification of this whole process of fixing these issues is what I/we are all looking for.

 

@ Dell Bill: Great work & kudos for giving many consumers another great reason to choose Dell. I'm waiting for my L521x and I'm of course anticipating the wifi issue and Intel wi-di is a must have feature on my laptop. Is the new driver available or is it being worked on? If this new driver doesn't work, then what? Also, any word yet on the SSD only option here in Canada as well similar to our neighbors like you in the US? Thx in advance!

 

Usually I'd recommend doing the warranty transfer and getting NL support to send the card, but this is basically just trying to gauge whether the other card will work better. NL support will be caught off guard. Our engineers are still looking into feedback about the WiFi performance with the Intel card at this point.

Have you tried eliminating plug-ins or anything? I haven't heard about the popping thing before. Is it loud or feint?

It's too early to tell, but I'm pretty certain we'll stick with the Intel card in the long run.

We're just sending out the Dell branded card that was qualified but never sold to see if it works better for customers in the field. There are multiple workstreams looking at the Intel driver and the Dell card. Too early to tell what will happen. I'm just hoping these cards might work better, and you guys can try them out and use them until we figure out the Intel card issue. I'm pretty sure we don't care about getting the cards back, but if you get any nasty gram emails or calls about getting them back, let me know.

I think so, but Jesse will be able to tell within a day of sending over a request to dispatch one. Sorry I don't have a more definitive answer. We haven't tied together all the details yet. Trying to just get as much information into engineering and out to customers as quickly as we can.

I seriously doubt there will be a new card option. This might be one of those deals where we will have the Dell branded card as a back up in cases where customers just can't use the Intel card (enterprise customers for one).

This is nothing formal. It is not the official Dell fix. It's an offer to try a different card while we wait for a fix for the Intel card. It's totally optional. We don't have a fix to explain to anyone yet.

 

Hi. Could the scrolling issue be related with bad wifi? Are you scrolling while page is still loading? Same happens in internet explorer?

The popping sound, i had it to. Basically it seems to be the sound system being powered off after time of no use and turning on again when you click to navigate. You can turn this power option off through the dell audio application ( eg when plugged in)

 

I have the exact model you ordered and I have both throttling and WiFi problem, but the PC is great, very well built and gorgeous.

WiFi is kind of a deal breaker for me, but for now I can live with it, till a solution can be found. Same for the throttling issue which seems to be under control with a new BIOS that is out for testing (I didn't try it but other users are reporting good improvements).

My 2 cents: you'll probably have at least the throttling issue, don't know about the WiFi.

My other 2 cents: keep the PC and have faith in Dell, till now Bill support has been great and I'm positive that the problems will be sorted out (no, I don't work for Dell , but Dell's support is really great!).

 

Thanks for the confirmation on the 5 posts a day deal.

I'll try to drop by one of my RF engineer's office tomorrow if I have time--no promises as I have to prep for my trip! Good news: the XPS15 and the Intel 520 240GB SSD are both due to be delivered to my sister's place in FL tomorrow!

I will admit to no experience with RF systems like what we are discussing. In fact trying to remember back to Maxwell's equations makes me want to cry, haha. If it were me and I was trying to leverage the ever useful process of elimination, I'd grab some aerials that are not embedded in the chassis, hook them up to the wifi card, and compare performance. If the Rx issues go away, then we have evidence of the current antenna design being less than optimal.

I'd also like some screen captures of inSSIDer showing the RSSI of two laptops in different places to compare. RSSI is like golf, the lower the better--in general.

If you are getting decent RSSI but the throughput is still crappy, then perhaps we are looking at a layer 2 or layer 3 issue here. Drivers or BIOS could potentially fix an issue like that.

Check out slide 16 here:
http://www.dallasces.org/talks/IEEE_CE_Dallas_Wifi_may12_2009.pdf

It could be that the Low-Noise Amplifier is set too high or too low by the drivers. Let us pray that it's something silly like that.

 

Anyone can confirm if L521x has 3 aerial available under the cover so that Intel 6300 will work?

 

@bill: Thanks a lot for your work and your atention here... it was a deal breaker for me! :wink:

I have the new l521x form 2 days ago. I had not a lot of time to full test it, but at the moment I'm so happy with my new laptop!

Like others, i have the throtting cpu issue when I play a game (gta 4, I doesn't try any tests, only hwinfo64 to see thermals and clock speeds), but I'm sure you will find us a solution with the new bios A05. I'm patient
For the wifi issue, I can't test it if I have the issue, my home is too small...

But... I found a little noise when i put a cd in the cd-slot... it makes some "tak-tak" noise (not so loud) when the cd is entering... after this, it can read it and use the cd without problems (I don't know if it's normal... I can live with this if it's not dangerous for my cd slot live, it's not so loud).

@bill: Re-Thanks for all!

(Sorry for my poor english level)

PD: The dell rep that sell me the laptop, says that it has not a backlit keyboard... it's wrong. Bill wins! my spanish keyboard is backlit!!

 

This is the 17R S/E which is next to the XPS 15




This is from the xps15

Also what i have noticed is the inspiron can pick up another network from next door actually it has picked another 2 networks.
The Xps15 can only pick up the one ..Not sure if that means anything or no

 

Why do you need two threads open about the same laptop? Muddy why did you create this thread when theres already a thread here http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/650572-new-dell-xps-l521x-ivy-bridge.html with over 5000 replies?

 

Now the time graphs from both i am not sure if i am posting the pics right if not i am sure the mods can fix it for me

 

This is the owners thread for owners to post their views and problems and for resolutions to be shared.

The other thread was speculation prior to release and general chat about the laptop including potential buyers looking for voucher codes and such.

Something like that anyway.

 

Hi,

Can somebody tell me what exact type of screwdriver is needed to open my new ordered XPS 15 ?

Crucial M4 msata 256GB + Crucial M4 512GB has to found there place

Thank you.

 

It looks there is < 5dBm difference here with RSSi's which should yield negligible performance deltas between the two laptops based on apparent RSSI.

So this shows a larger RSSI delta between the two laptops, which is more of a concern for me. However, did you have these two laptops running simultaneously and close to each other? I would imagine that they may cause interference. If you did indeed snap these screenshots with only one laptop on at a time, then that is pretty damning.

However, none of these field tests are conclusive since none of you are in an anechoic chamber. ...though I will say the fact that there are only two very faint networks picked up by one of the cards is far better than many urban apartment settings.

 

What i will do is each laptop seperatly with one turned off I did do it with both on ..I will do it again

 

Here are the new graphs




Those are from the 17R S/E






The XPS 15

The 17R seems to have a lot better wireless compared to the XPS15

The were both done individually so they would not interfer with each other

 

Has anyone seen there are now 9 options on the UK home side for the XPS including BluRay options....

Getting expensive however.

Not to nitpick but no BluRay option on any i5s....

*posted in both threads*

 

Can anyone confirm for me how many cycles the battery in our xps 15 is rated for? Also, about to place an order for the xps 15. Should I order it through my business and get that good discount, or order it regularly and get the regular warranty that includes lojack and accidental damage for a year. (as far as I can tell, when ordered through business, it doesn't say anything about that) And one last thing, would you see a big jump in battery life if you switched off the nvidia card?

 

Great, could you test it for RAID 0 just to see if it's possible. Thanks.

 

Yes, but I need the screwdriver model to properly open the XPS 15.

 

Well just tested the wireless between this and the L502X. In the same place the RSSI was 60 for L521X and 50 for the L502X. The older laptop could pick up about 5 other networks, while the L521X could only pick up 2. Download speeds for the L502X were 2-3 mb/s and 80mb/s with the L502X.

 

Just a small Philips head screwdriver and a torx t5

 

Dell are giving me the runaround with regards the Adobe Elements that was supposed to come with my laptop. It does not download automatically, and they said it is going to take til Monday for them to investigate.

 

Can u check how many aerials you have available under the cover?