XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

Flashed the Bios too, but except changing numbers from A09 -> A11, nothing unusual so far, behaves the same as under A09. NVidia worked well even under A09. Wi-Fi is the same, but never disconnected under A09, now it does, in fact never happened to me.
There is plenty of room for future Bios upgrades. Keep up Dell the good work!
I want to see if Dell goes beyond Bios A20, would be nice. Like Mozila Firefix weekly updates
Well, now I see the fan 1000, 2200 speed. Under A09 used tu jump from 0 to 2600 rot/min, so something positive.

 

Well my WiFi uploads have picked up, but download speed is about the same. My Nvidia driver issue is fixed, but I'm wondering about battery life, anyone else see an improvement in that?
EDIT: At 40% on balanced I have 2 hours and 29 minutes, where that was what I had on 100% on A09

 

Please, if you can be more specific about wifi issue.... Is it solved with a11?

 

Hey guys I realize this has probably been discussed over and over and so apologize for my laziness in not going back through the 340 pages or so in this thread...but is the consensus that we should be running the Nvidia/Intel graphics drivers on support.dell.com or should we be using the ones directly issued by Nvidia and Intel?

Just got my system a week ago, and over the weekend the system prompted if I wanted to get a driver update from nvidia.com and I went ahead and did it, but my current driver version does not match what's in support.dell.com, so wondering where the disconnect is. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to use the Dell drivers, would it?

Appreciate your feedback, this forum has been most useful!

 

It is by no means solved, but my reliability of connection at distances from the router are much improved. Also, my upload speeds are improved but the download speeds are about the same. So to directly answer your question, no, but it is a good improvement.

Honestly, I took mine from the Dell Downloads site and they worked perfectly fine. My theory is A09 didn't work well with them, hence why they gave people trouble. However, if the Nvidia.com driver is a higher version than dell, i'd recommend that one, it's newer!

 

Mourin's right.. The A11 BIOS was recently released. Click on the link to download it.

I haven't been able to try it on the test system I borrowed yet, but hoping to do it this evening.

 

No, not solve everything, but the BIOS should help. It's part of the equation. From working with others inside Dell, and the testing I've tried, seems like 4 drivers all have some bearing:

1. BIOS
2. Wi-Fi driver
3. Intel HD 4000 video driver
4. NVIDIA GT 630m driver

 

For me, so far, the A11 BIOS update just means that I can use RST again with the Nvidia card functioning. I haven't been able to test at my university, which I where I have had major problems with the wifi on this machine. At home, where the signal has always been fairly stable, the upload speed is a little improved, while the download speed is still half of what my 3 year old plastic-bodied Gateway gives me.

 

Just ordered mine on Tuesday. I've noticed the configuration name in my order is "XPS L521X (BTX)"
Any insight on what BTX would be referring to?

 

i just placed another order 1 week ago. Where do you see that exactly?

 

Order status page. The one that shows the order progress:

XPS L521X (BTX)
Status: In Production
Estimated Delivery Date: 15/10/2012

 

Yeh mine says that too...



BTW, I am a little confused with the Wifi issue.
Do ALL units have the wifi issue? Or is it only for some of them?
By reading the posts here and on the net I am not sure if it happens to every single unit. Or perhaps some people just don't notice it?

 

It appears to be all units not built after Spetember 12th, that means, olny units that are NOT fast shipping ones.

 

Lionel / Mourin...

Is there any chance you could find out / share any specifics on what was changed in bios 11, and why it should help any of the issues?

 

seems to be a crapshoot before the "change". Mine is fine but there are guys who can't even leave their router for 10 feet without seeing a big drop in D/L speeds. I get a constant 20MBps all over my house just like every other laptop in the house so I guess I was lucky.

Either that or it's WIndows 8 as I put it the minute i got the laptop.


What laptop did you order btw? Which one? the base i5 by any chance?

 

Speaking of that, what exactly happened on 12th Sep?
Did they start using a new hardware part? or did they just start shipping units with the new bios? (hopefully not the latter - if the other guys aren't having much luck with the new bios, I doubt my will...)

Nah, I got the i7 one. Nv 640m + 2GB DDR5.

 

Honestly, we don't know for sure. Someone posted something from a customer care agent stated that from that time forward, something was implemented that should fix, or help remedy, the wifi issue.

 

Interesting...
From Terry B. at Dell on the new BIOS, he is responding about the Nvidia issue being resolved. He doesn't seem to think the WIFI should be fixed by this BIOS...

"I am glad to see that it helped. I know that engineering is currently working on another BIOS update soon to help with WIFI issues. Please be on the lookout for it."

Re: XPS 15 L521X ....Latest Problem - XPS Club Forum - XPS Club - Dell Community

 

What's the difference (specs-wise aside) between i5 and i7 - are either more prone to the Wifi issues than the other??? Thanks!

 

I'm considering ordering this laptop and obviously have been reading up about the Wireless issue a lot. Per the posts on the last few pages, how do you order a NON- pre-built laptop? With all of the models they have available, I don't really see where you can do hardware customizing to make them build a new one.

I've purchased four DELLs and have never ordered anything else. I'm stuck between this XPS 15, the XPS 14 Ultra and the Lenovo IdeaPad Y580, which is cheaper and may perform better but just does not have the same build quality as these.

 

Good question. I was wondering that myself - the hardware on any of the XPS 15 models isn't customizable... I did notice the "delivery dates" are different for the i5 and i7 models, differ by more than a week which may suggest something (one is pre-built, others, are being assembled?)

A desktop would go a long way for +$1200 *sigh...still waiting to bite the XPS bullet :/

 

My assumption would be that any model that is listed as shipping within 48 hours is already built. Custom-built orders used to take a week or so before shipping, so I would assume the equivalent option would be the ones that ship about a week from today

 

What up Dolemite65!

 

I'm wondering, what aspects of the BIOS would cause issues with the wifi?

 

I'll ask.. It is definitely meant to address the NVIDIA issue that some folks saw after installing A09. Will weigh in with more later.

 

for the 750 gb model the next ship date is october 15, i think they maybe have retired the wrong models and have started to make new ones.

 

So when is the "BTX" going to be available for people who already HAVE the laptop and, more importantly, what is it? @Lionel @Mourin

 

I'd say it's probably best to use drivers from support.dell.com. From discussions I've had (along with the testing I've done), there are 4 drivers that have an impact on Wi-Fi performance.

Note on installing the video drivers: Install the Intel HD 4000 drivers first, then follow up with the NVIDIA driver.

Back to the 4 drivers:

1. BIOS - latest version is A11
2. Intel 6235N wireless driver - latest is 15.3.0.16 A02
3. Intel HD 4000 driver- latest rev is 8.15.10.2778 A01
4. NVIDIA GT 630 driver - latest is 8.17.12.96.01 A00

 

In other words, there is absolutely no proof that a WiFi fix was implemented in any L521X laptops built on or after September 12th. I spoke with a customer care agent a few weeks ago about the WiFi issue. After putting me on hold to research the issue with others, she told me that the WiFi issue for the new XPS 15 had been fixed in May. Yes, in May, before the laptop had even been released. I told her I didn't believe her, so she e-mailed me proof in the form of a May press release from Dell. Of course, that press release was for a WiFi fix that pertained to L502x, not L521x. I politely e-mailed her back about the mistake and she never responded

 

So you are saying that its indeed a driver conflict issue vs a hardware issue, or is there still some sort hardware issue at fault, but the driver helps remedy the situation somewhat.

I don't mean to sound too direct, however I am just really curious on what the issue is at the moment and we really appreciate all you can help us with.

 

What up, L-Train?!

 

Its good to see you Bill...

 

Good to be seen...

 

I'm of the (nearly useless) opinion that it's a bit of both, but that tuning the software can take it a long way.

I spent 15 years making software for systems where it was a very interesting balance of effort required to maximize the performance - was a game developer from '95 through '10 - software management of hardware resources and usage patters could wildly affect the performance. Look how the capabilities and performance of titles tends to increase over time.

On this machine, the hardware is getting very closely coupled ... cpu, southbridge - if there still is one, the northbridge is in-cpu now, gpu in the cpu, gpu outside the cpu but using the internal gpu resources, who knows now much of the wifi card must be managed by the cpu vs how much is off-loaded, then there's memory management which is now also heavily cpu bound since the dram controller is in the cpu.

That's a LOT going on that is pretty closely coupled.

Add in the issues of wireless transmissions, casing influence on antenna reception, and it's just crazy the stuff works at all, really.

But I still want full speed at full range wifi.

Please keep that train going Dell, make it work!

 

New Case "BTX" fix the wifi issue ?

 

no, btx is the standard system i believe. when i received my first x521l its was (btx) my replacement is also BTX .

probably the default i7 8gig 750gig 32 msata option

 

I got my first one in late-July, which was DOA, and my replacement two weeks later. I can't find BTX anywhere. This is my part number:

7C1H71 ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., I5-3210M, T, 1, L521X

When I look at the international sales sites, I see BTX in the part list, but on the US site, it doesn't list it.

 

The H71 is just the motherboard chipset, which is shared across all XPS15 (L521x) models...

Guess it's a roll of the dice with this one :/

 

I dont seem to have an assembly base line.

 

According to the latest reviews posted by customers of the XPS L521X, as of the start of October, people are still having issues with their new laptops, of both the i5 and i7 versions, and the issue is international (as well as domestic).

Check out some of the reviews if need be:
New XPS 15 laptop

 

Can anyone comment on thermal throttling over the different bios'? I'm still on A04 and would like to know if my performance will be better or worse (mostly graphic intensive gaming) in A11?

 

I've found that using ThrottleStop 5.0 (Clock Modulation: 100%, Chipset Clock Mod: 100%, Set Multiplier: Turbo, and BD PROCHOT unchecked) (, ensuring that Physix & GPU are configured to use the GT640 while gaming, and being connected to a reliable power source lead to high-quality game play (e.g. Black Mesa Source at a constant 70FPS with everything maxed (including resolution), and Crysis 1 at a constant 40FPS with everything maxed (including resolution)). For the record, these settings work with both A09 and A11.

That said, I shouldn't have to use a third-party product to get the advertised performance out of a $2300 notebook.

Additionally, while wifi does appear to be slightly better with A11, my speeds are a far cry from what I see with my vintage 2007 E1505 (by over a factor of 10 downstream).

I am seeing 2Mb/s down & 4Mb/s up with A11 on a 25Mb/5Mb connection. Seems pretty deplorable to me.

EDIT: It appears that my upload speed is now at normal levels. However, download speeds are still 20 times less than what they should be. Really strange.

 

The A11 apparently only solved the "missing nVidia driver" problem some users were reporting after flashing to A09. There's no word yet on the CPU/GPU throttling performance. From what the Dell reps have been suggesting here, it seems the next BIOS update will center around another WiFi "fix". My guess is the throttling issue will be after they solve the WiFi problem... So A15, A20?

 

Well that sucks! I could have lived without the intel rapid start for a while if they had fixed the wifi first. The wifi is a much bigger issue to me at the moment

 

Anyone with some battery tests from A11?

 

I'm not sure what those settings do, but are you also monitoring your CPU/GPU temps HAPPYFUNBRO? Also, did you come from A04? Did you notice any performance improvement with A09 over it?

 

I want to see the battery life and performance of A11 vs A04. My A04 battery life isn't good either. Drop 25% in about 1 and 1/2 hour doing nothing but browsing and writing code in notepadd++. Not even running or compiling.

 

Im doing a battery test now. at 96% it's telling me 2hrs 36min with everything cranked on performance and bright screen. ill check back in soon with my results

 

I agree!
Priority ought to be
1) WIFI
2) Throttling
3) DVD noise etc.

It seems A11 was an interim update, for those that had nVidia/problems when they updated to A09. So with A11, I think Dell wants to level the field and return to pre-A09 conditions.

In addition to fixing the 'missing nvidia driver' issue, it also bumped people's Windows Experience Index, from 6.5 to 7.1 of all things

If you're on A04, don't update IMO. Battery life went to the abyss with A06 onwards...

 

My wifi also seems slower than A09. I know they may not have even touched the wifi but it is slower than before the flash