XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

Well, I had ordered the XPS 15 that came with Windows 8 and the Dell 1901 Wireless card. I just received an email that the 1901 card is not compatible with Windows 8, and they are creating a new order for me with the Intel 6230 card, and delaying it another week. I guess I'm canceling this order completely, I just don't want to take the chance on this laptop.

 

Hey all i just got a refurb and now when ever i see the screen i see the grid... You guys broke the glass for me! MAN... ignorance is bliss.... =[

 

LoL, they have changed the wifi card in Windows 8 version with another one that is incompatible with Windows 8...

 

On battery, it down clocks the CPU and GPU.

The 90 watt adapter has enough power to run the SXPS 16 at a light load. Once it starts drawing too much, they drop ten GPU speed.

Why did they choose the GPU? Who knows.

Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk 2

 

Hey Guys, I have monitor 6985x. Was wondering for whom got the screen switch out did they get a new one which is 6985x1?

 

I had my display replaced. this one is better and the wifi atennas seem to be wired better, I am getting better wifi,data etc just not as much range as my cell...
how do I check my display type?

 

hw64_402.rar - Hardware checker for the screens

Hey Guys, I also noticed on the Wifi that different test websites produce different results. Can any one recommend a benchmarking software that test internet speeds?

 

nothing on the monitor, it just says generic pnp monitor with the right info area blank.. also, it doesn't see my 640 gpu...

 

You can also try with AIDA64, it shows every hardware on your machine

 

thanks, that worked!

Monitor Name AU Optronics B156HTF
Monitor ID AUO00ED
Manufacturer 6985X_B156HTF

 

Its called Hwinfo64 application within the folder.

Specifically: Au optronics
Monitor Name: AU Optronics [Unknown Model: AUO00ED]
Monitor Name (Manuf): B156HTF [DELL P/N: 6985X]

Its says its unknown but if you look at the Dell P/N: 6985X

 

Intresting we have the same it seems... Can you try again with he one i used...

Just an FYI i am using the internet and watching youtube 1080P videos and it seems fine. Will check netflix later

 

You can't fix that - it's a reality of the internet and our ISP.

The best way to test wifi speed is to check it accessing a machine local to your PC ... specifically one hard-wired to the router.

- hard-wire both to the router, check read/write speed
- take your notebook to wifi and check again, compare results.

The first test serves as a baseline, what your two machines and your router can in theory handle.

If you have another pc on wifi to run the same test with, that can help as a comparison point because the wifi environment in your home (?) can affect speeds also.

 

I just updated to the A12 BIOS. My touchpad is now useless about 10 seconds after booting. If I reinstall the touchpad software, I can get it working, but have to reinstall it after every restart. Is this happening to anyone else after updating to the latest BIOS?

 

Just noticed the same issue. I wish I had read this before installing. This is really starting to get annoying.

Just noticed as well that after reinstalling the drivers my two finger scroll is reversed, have to swipe up to scroll down, whether I check the box to invert scroll or not.

 

Are you on Windows 8?

 

you could have searched...

 

Yes, I'm on Windows 8 Pro. I realize that people at Dell are trying to get this right, but this is so disappointing.

 

Zero problems with a12 over here, win 7 , intel stuff, yadda yadda.

I also had "optional" updates from MS that were not available before a12. No problems with them either.


Sent from my brain using neurons fueled by glucose

 

Those using windows 8, Have you notice that after waking up from sleep (not you, your XPS)
some full screen apps flicker the bottom of the screen?

 

Yep, Win8 Enterprise.

 

Windows 8 sort of assumes that you're using a touchscreen. That's why scrolling appears to be backwards, especially on the start screen.

Inverting scroll worked for me (in the dell touchscreen control panel dealio). I did have to make sure to hit the save button on that to make it take.

 

I was going to test it with NTTCP but i decided not to. I figured for real test we would need a faraday cage any ways.
FYI: Im a techie but Im not a RF expert...

At the end of the day my APs are pretty close to me so it works. I hope it wont affect me to much when i move away from the AP.

 

Worked in mine

 

If I order an L521X and am unhappy with it for any reason (screen, throttling, wifi), how easy is it to return for a full refund as long as it's within the first week? Or is that even possible?

And, if I am happy with it, but, say an R2 is released within the next several months that I want, would I be able to send in the R1 and get the hypothetical R2 at a large discount?

 

I would say the answer to both questions is going to depend on how loud you can yell and how long you are willing to do it. It is also going to depend on where you purchase the unit. Wherever you buy it make sure you read the fine print as most places are going to charge a restocking fee if the laptop is not DOA. I would say the R2 is a big hypothetical at this point as I would have thought the Win8 release would have been the ideal time for Dell to release it.

 

I see. :]

As for the R2, I'm just thinking in terms of their history. At least, with their gaming and performance laptops. Seems there is a new revision out every 1-2 years. With Haswell supposedly available by Q3 2013, I thought it likely that an L522X would appear around with it in the summer, but it is of course hypothetical, and I don't really want to wait for such a hypothetical. I just don't want to end up spending $1500+ on two laptops within a year of each other. Well, I guess there is always eBay.

 

Apparently the BIOS flash just somehow punked the touchpad drivers. I reverted to A11 and the touchpad still had to be reinstalled on every reboot. I ended up removing the Dell driver package completely, going back up to A12 and then installing them and now everything, touchpad related, appears to be working as it should. I have rebooted several times without losing the touchpad and once I checked the box for inverted scrolling it actually worked.

 

Has the A12 Bios improved WiFi performance on Win 7 64 bit?
Any install or function issues after?
Anyone?

 

There's a 20 day return window. How about read the return policy on their website. I returned my first one and got my money back in less than 2 weeks no fuss. Second one is about to go back this week.

 

Hello,

I consider to buy the new XPS 15 (i7-3632QM) and was wondering whether the new BIOS update (a12W) fixed the problems menitoned in this review ( Review Dell XPS 15 (L521X) Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews ) as throttling etc. or did other problems emerge?
In general, is the notebook a good deal or are there other things I should know/consider?

Thanks a lot in advance!!

 

Policies and actual experiences are not always congruous.

Thanks for sharing yours.

 

How do you revert back to A11 bios from A12 ? Lucky I use a mouse most of the time but this isn't good if the battery dies in the mouse .

 

Do the same as with A12, if you still have it. Just click on it (A11) and follow the steps.
I am still with A11 and is working fine, I have no reason to update to A12.

 

Just run the a11 exe. If its not allowed then it'll tell you.

 

Do you mean reload A11? I just tried that . The touch pad still doesn't work now under Win8 pro. I also reloaded the touchpad drivers .

 

Thats weird.. I didn't get any problems at all by updating to A12.. (touchpad etc..) Just the sad news.. WiFi is still the same but throttling seems to be alot better and so does the battery life.

 

Finally some good news regarding Bios A12. I still do not know, to do it or not to do, that’s the questions.
Generally speaking I never had big problems updating it from A04 to A11. I had some video graphic issue with A09, but I re_flashed it and it worked.

 

After a half dozen re-installs of the touchpad drivers from Dell's website, my touchpad now is working with the A12 BIOS. The only thing I did was a quick F2 into the BIOS screen to see if there was anything amiss there. I changed nothing, F10'd out and now the touchpad drivers work. And yes, the boot time is so much faster with A12.

 

Hello,

I am new on this forum and a new user of XPS 15. I would like to learn if we can turn off the light in front of the ultrabook? I looked the BIOS menus but I couldnt find anything about that. How can I turn of this light? It annoys me while watching movies

View attachment 86722

 

Spoke too soon. Touchpad now not working.

 

I guess you have Windows 8 installed. I went ahead and updated the Bios to A12 and on Windows 7 is working just fine.
I also noticed that Dell has available the L521x with a few upgrades and packed with Windows 8. If Dell decides to sell these new once, I hope are in "good working order" , including the touchpad.
Call Dell tech see what they have to say, in regard with touchpad!

 

Wire snippers?

Seriously, I know of no way, yet, which is a drag. Somehow it IS controlled ... Maybe it can be figured out which port is used and how.


Sent from my brain using neurons fueled by glucose

 

I do have Windows 8 Pro, and very happy with the upgraded OS. I will be calling support Monday, and post the results.

 

After upgrading to an SSD and reinstalling windows, my windows experience score for the processor dropped down to 6.2. Any ideas on how to fix this? Everything was above 7 before except the harddrive. Now the harddrive is 7.9 and the processor is way under 7

 

Mine was hosed as well, it has been working now since I uninstalled the drivers completely, went back to A11, back up to A12 and then reinstalled the Dell touchpad drivers. It's been rebooted close to a dozen times and is working fine.

 

Windows Experience Index means nothing. Literally 0.

Sent from my GT-P6810 using Tapatalk 2

 

So maybe just uninstall and install he driver would work.

 

A thin strip of silver tape would work.

 

I have now tried the PSU for my old Precision (210w) and I can confirm that my XPS-15 (L521X) still throttles the gpu like a motherer when it hits 80 degrees celcius (which takes no time at all). The XPS-15 is a terrible laptop for gaming. I use the A12 Bios.

The GPU choice, like you say, is a mystery but I guess big numbers sells more laptops even if the result sucks.