XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

I was saying that if you have a large SATA SSD installed in the main bay and you use it for boot/OS/apps/docs/everything, why bother with mSATA SSD cache?

In that case, "any msata installed and set for caching is useless." Yes.

 

I have two just to have more storage that is SSD. boot on the 64, and everything else is on the 512.

 

Ah I see, that explains it. Thank you for the reply.
However I am now trying to install windows while in RST mode and where it says "where do you want to install Windows?" I do not see any drives...therefore I can't proceed. What am I doing wrong.

 

64GB mSATA SSD boot + 512GB SATA SSD storage, quite good.

 

So you think the most cost effective way to get fast boot times and a responsive os, is to put in a large msata ssd and keep the spinner?

 

Did you check this guide?

Definitely yes: Os and software in the mSATA, data in the spinner

 

Just spoke to a Dell rep he assured me even if past the 7 days, if issue not resolved I can apply for a full refund with regards the wifi. On this basis I am willin to wait and see what the resolution is.

 

Get it in writing.

 

If you want to keep the spinner, that's the way to go. (This is Dell config option 4, for $1,999.)

Get that rep's name and manager's name. Best, get it in writing. Also, mention this to Bill.

 

Yep, that's what I have; kept the 1TB spinner, swapped out the mSATA. I'd say boot->desktop is around 30 secs; and it's fully functional then right away, instead of more waiting still to load background services and stuff. Haven't measured it exactly, but I certainly don't have time to go get a cup of coffee while booting anymore

 

Raid 0 those suckers up and watch it fly...

 

Raid 0 with two different sized drives?

 

haha good point. it will cost your storage volume on the larger drive
128gb x 2 then...

 

I've raid 0'd on ssds before. In the old days it made sense as the drives couldn't saturate the interface. At this point, there is really nothing I can transfer to to make the speeds really worth it. I could see the use in a server environment.

 

right. but the parallel access is nice to have as that should provide some (probably not much as you say) improvement in scenarios where there is lots of stress on the drive(s). Probably not many scenarios where that is happening, but for multiple thread compilation (like GWT provides) it might be useful.

another nice thing you got from the raid 0ing was the reduced latency but that isnt much of a problem with SSDs in the first place.

 

Yeah good idea, trouble is my hours of work are making it impossible to try and organise things!

Bill - Could you help me out here? I am willing to give it 30 days for a resolution, so long as I can get a full refund if it is not fixed. I can test any drivers or hardware you send my way in this time. Could you get a Uk rep to liase with me on this?

 

Putting SSDs in RAID 0 can actually increase the latency because of the controller overhead. As for bandwidth, very few tasks can actually use the 1GB/s that 2 SATA3 SSDs in RAID0 are capable of. However, they're really nice in database server.

 

I wonder if RAID 0 with SSDs is actually worth it: I've read that reliability of a RAID 0 system is equal to the reliability of the single drive divided by the number of drives used. I wouldn't feel comfortable with losing reliability since SSDs already tend to have it lower than an HDD...Maybe it depends on personal needs, but for me an SSD is fast enough

 

I would love to know more about any chance of an UK extended return period, too; my 7 working days window will expire on wed

...Not that I use the PC far from any router or Access Point, or that I'm seriously considering tk send it back, but just in case it would be nice to have a choice...

Can you let me know if you should have any news?

 

right, since the data is striped a failure in 1 drive is enough to cause data loss. so the chance for failure increases as you add more drives.

 

Exactly what my point was.

All raid 0 arrays are less reliable than a single drive. I would never use Raid 0 for mission critical applications.

 

The rate would pass from something like 0.1% to 0.2% it is not that worrying.
the performance losses after some time without trim is another question, but there are ways around it.
If you have some critical application you should use raid 4, a single ssd without backup is not very recommended.

 

This thread is drifting off topic, but one last reply. I would never use raid 4 for anything. If I wanted reliability I'd use Raid 1 with constant backups. I didn't know anyone actually used raid 4 over raid 5.

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I went downtown and stood in line for 2.5 hours for BBQ. mmmm. Good stuff.

Nice. I see you mentioned me in the video. I'm famous!

I hear the card is no fix anyway, so I'd just return it. If you want to keep both, as I had said is an option, just PM me when they start sending you nastygrams, and I'll get with you in PM and email to get them to write it off their books.

I can't make a blanket statement guaranteeing the waiving of restocking fees, even though I have for individuals on occasion. I would not be able to keep up with chasing down case managers and reps for every single case. What you should do is report your problem to tech support to get it documented. I'd use chat support to get it all in writing, or I'd hold the rep on the phone until I received an email guaranteeing the fee will be waived if I chose to wait it out in good faith.

See above. I'd at least try to get the fee waive guarantee in writing. If you can't get that, it's up to you what to do next.

Was hopeful about this until I read on in the thread.

Thanks for posting this.

One of the grills on the bottom cover? If you post a pic of the broken part, I'll ask Lorna or Jesse to overnight a replacement part. You damaged the system while performing an action requested by Dell, so this customer induced damage is covered.

We put ours in plastic as well. Same place, actually.

Exactly. Just contact support, care or sales and get some kind of guarantee from one of them that they will waive future restocking fees if the issues you explain are not fixed.

Someone should be contacting you via PM in a day or two.

Update on WiFi:
We have a team looking at nothing but feedback and the possible solutions. No updates from them at this time, but I will post back as soon as I hear anything.

Update on throttling:
We did not like the testing results or customer feedback on the x37 version I seeded last week. So, we've got another version to test. I sent the link to about a dozen people that were in my PM inbox. If you want to try the new test BIOS, shoot me a PM, and I'll give you the link.
We feel like we're just about there on throttling, but we want it fixed in one shot rather than post one, tweak it, post another, etc. Just know you're not going to get thermal performance like you will on a thicker system or a dedicated gaming rig, but we will get the profiles as perfect as we can for this platform.

 

Bill

Did they provide you snacks while waiting for the bbq?

Regarding the wifi, would you want me to swap the aerials to see if that makes the RX performance better? I just find it strange the RX fluctuates up and down rapidly in speed, but the TX stays steady.

I replied to your PM regarding the BIOS.

 

Thanks Bill! One thing I got your pm about bios, but it appear you did not post me the full link! Could you resend again?

As to the WIFI, excellent stuff! I will be checking my PM. Also if it helps, see my wireless test on youtube. Dell XPS L521X Wireless Test - YouTube

 

oh well then if its not the card and its in plastic and same location as the MBPwR then some thing else is interfering with it or the antenna is just of poor quality idk.
i called dell TT today and i got my perfect configuration with 128gb M-SATA ssd for 1599 (not bad) only two things stopping me from buying ...... my cash has not come through yet and if i buy im hoping that i don't get the cold shoulder when it is discovered the WiFi issue is a hardware issue that needs a recall or replacement system

Bill can u comment on when windows 8 launches if this system will get EUFI bios upgrade ????

 

Hi there,
I had time to perform some wifi tests:

2m (about 6ft) from the rooter, 2 computers :
Apple Macbook Pro 2006 (Core 2 Duo, 3GB of RAM, Snow Leopard)
Dell 521X - Ubuntu 64 bits - Wifi mode N disabled, so locked to 54 Mb/s.

Both were connected to power supply.

Download: 12,6 Mb/s for both
Upload: 0,86 Mb/s for both
Ping: around 30ms for both

Both download the Ubuntu ISO at 1,5 MB/s. So to me, there is no wifi problem, at least on AC power.

 

That is interesting, you are using Ubuntu and there is no issue? Can you enable N and see what happens? Also you need to try a different room, say downstairs to see the issue.

 

The problem is the N mode is known to be buggy on Ubuntu, that's why I disable it. Give me few mns to test in N.

 

Your mention of UBUNTU gave me an idea... I booted with a live CD and....

1 floor above AP on FIOS I got 13.38 DOWN and 11.23 UP.

2 floors above AP on FIOS I got 10.96 DOWN and 9.77 UP.

This leads me to believe it is a software/driver issue.

Can everyone else with issues throw a live boot Linux CD in and see if they can duplicate my findings?

 

This gives me hope!

 

It should. Just did test 1 floor above again...

e6220 14.07 DOWN 11.81 UP

XPS 15 13.46 DOWN 11.43 UP

Also the XPS doesn't throttle its DL speed up and down like it does on windows. Hope this helps solve this issue Bill. Really don't think its a design flaw now.

 

Dell Australia is sending a tech to me to replace the wireless card so that is a start.
@bill...I am past my 15 day return limit but i do not want to return it anyway.
I just want it fixed so i can use it properly.
I will post the results to see if it as any effect at all.

 

Great, I also have no freaking idea on how to run ubuntu from a USB. I am guessing I follow this guide? https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LiveUsbPendrivePersistent/#Installing_Ubuntu_on_USB_drive_using_Windows

 

Ok did it. In N mode, the XPS can download only at 10.10 Mb/s while it is at 12.6 in "normal" mode (54 Mb/s). Upload speed is not affected, nor the ping response time. I was surprised and did again the test on the Mac to verify it not a matter of time (network loaded), and no. Switched back to 54 Mb/s and retrieved my 12.6 download speed.

 

If you need a program, try unetbootin. It will turn your usb into a bootable(live) usb. I usually install backtrack with it and run it from usb. Since my windows 7 is temporarily gone, I'm running Ubuntu for now.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2

 

How are your wifi speeds on ubuntu

 

Don't have the dell; Waiting on windows 8 to purchase. But I've been following the thread and I help when I can.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2

 

Did you try the "Ubuntu way"? It seems there is some hope

 

Cheers, worked a dream!

Anyway, the hope is extinguished. I think now we can confirm hardware as I test in the exactly the same place with this laptop and my L502X. The results were poles apart with the L521X getting 23Mbps and the L502X getting 90Mbps.

 

What test were you performing that you got 90?!

I got identical speeds on wireless G on both my e6220 and the L521X using Ubuntu 12.04. What test did you perform, I'll reproduce it.

 

Well I run 100Mbps connection, anyway I used Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Make sure you use the closest server to you.

 

ah mine is only 25/25

There are other variables, were both connections in Ubuntu, both wireless N? same number of wireless streams? 23 DOWN is far higher than anyone has seemed to have gotten before on the L521X

 

No idea lol, I think they were N. However I have to say I don't know how to configure it to do so?

 

I'm still thinking its software. In windows, my e6220 doubled the download speed of the XPS 15 with everything else the same. In Ubuntu, the XPS matches the e6220's windows DL speed at the same locations. I would really like other users to test this.

 

Dear Bill, can you ask your tech team to have a look on the Linux side if the wifi issue remains?

 

You could try, but I think you're onto something with the later posts about Linux. They come out with iced down sodas and beers for sale. Snacks are bring your own, but I always skip breakfast and no snacks so I have more room for BBQ. This place is definitely worth standing in line for every now and then. Menu | Franklin Barbecue

Sorry about the links. I think I was duped into assuming that was an external link, but it's really some Dell engineer's network drive. I'll upload to SkyDrive and send the links again tomorrow morning.

Even if it's a hardware fix, you would get that fix per the terms of the warranty.

Can you just try moving out farther from the router so you get to the point where N speeds don't matter? Like go out to about 50 ft and test again. If everything holds to form regarding OS, you should see the difference in the marginal values of the download speed.

 

Wow. yea I wouldn't eat before a good BBQ place either. Last time I had BBQ I went here Smokehouse | Dallas BBQ If I'm ever in Austin, I"ll have to try Franklin!



Risco... Just like Bill said... Go further away to see if the L521X drops far down.

Thanks

 

Man, it's 00:30 a.m. here in Italy, those photos killed me. I'll go to bed hungry now!