XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

How to contact Terry-B? Via some dell site or this forum?

 

What are your results with it?

 

I haven't tried yet, in a location with no wireless now, just ethernet cable.
If anyone tries on Win 7 (or 8) please let us know if there is an improvement.

 

Hi all

Just thinking of buying the XPS 15

My XPS1330 finally died this week and its time for a new one

Now after all the GPU issues we've had I just wanted to understand the overall problems with this laptop

I take it that wifi is an issue - can this be resolved with a wifi card swap??

Are there any other issues at all - does it overheat or any major issues I should be aware of before buying

Thanks for responding anybody - really appreciate it

 

So far the only problem I have had is the battery isn't that great, but I also might have a bad battery. I have one of the brand new ones with Windows 8 pre-installed.

 

How likely is it that the system will be discounted come Friday? Would they do that for a system that's not even half a year old?

 

I just got off the phone with XPS support regarding my XPS 15. I was calling about the issues with the Touchpad not working correctly, after the A12 BIOS update, and that the WiFi now cuts out after I close the screen, and that I have to reboot the laptop to get the WiFi back. Also mentioned that under Windows 8, my battery life is down to 2.5 hours. I explained that I bought this laptop based on the fact that it was designed to work with Windows 8, and had downloaded and installed all the correct drivers from Dells site. After explaining everything, he informed me that as a result of upgrading to Windows 8, Dell was no longer legally liable to support me on anything but hardware. I asked him to clarify this and he explained it all again, and then gave me Microsoft's support numbers, and suggested I contact them for support. I purchased every warranty service Dell offers for this laptop, and am just astounded by this experience. Let this be a warning to anyone considering purchasing this laptop.

 

As 100 ppl what problems they have and you likely get 100 answers, but for the l521x pre-win-8 (win-8 edition still under judgement) the traditionally reported issues at this point are

- poor wifi performance
- low quality screen - aka "screen grid" visible
- cpu/gpu throttling can be severe - cooling system can't cool enough to balance both running at "rated" speed, forget either in "boost"

wifi resolutions: card swap does not seem to matter, screen assembly swap MAY help but a number of ppl have had this with no change, Dell is purportedly still "working on it" - but whether that's true or not, or whether it will help current owners or not, is anyone's guess. Software updates (drivers) have mitigated the issue for some, but not all. I have affected wifi, but have never had it really bad, and for 99% of my usage the capabilities of the machine (70-100Mbps up/down up to 10 meters from my WAP) exceed what my internet connection can provide (3 Mb/s DSL) so it's almost a non-issue for me personally. I was doing some perf checks over the weekend in my newly installed Win8 environment and found that the use of encryption heavily impacts throughput of the either the intel 6235 card or my WAP - I have no way to isolate at this time - as in I get ~70 Mbps with WPA2-Personal but close to 100 Mbps w/o encryption. If I had FIOS I'd be thinking about running w/o encryption...or maybe buying a better WAP.

screen quality / visible grid - seems to be a simple factor of the display selected by dell for assembly, maybe some poor luck in that some ppl get defective units but there's been a lot of hue-and-cry for it to be simply random bad units. Whether the screen quality is good for you or not is only something you can decide in person. To me, mine looks great, but I'm no visual artist.

cpu/gpu throttlng - whether this impacts you will depend upon what you use it for, with your stated concern about overheating I'm assuming you regularly do things to crank the cycle rate up (video work, gaming, etc.). Unless I'm confused, the current BIOS (A12) favors reducing GPU clock to mitigate heat, but will also bring down the CPU clock if need be. It seems better than earlier version which basically slammed the devices from turbo-to-min-freq with no gradations in between, but it can still be a usage issue. I've not noticed any meaningful frequency of reports of the maching shutting off/rebooting because of thermal stress - but this is likely because of the aformentioned throttling behavior. Note that if you only stress one side of the system it probably is okay ... I can run Handbrake transcodes, or 7-zip compression runs that take the CPU up to full quad-core turbo (2.8 Ghz) and it maintains there without problem. I also live in NE PA and it isn't exactly toasty here right now, and my home is kept in the low-to-mid 60F temps.

 

Have you ever tried GPU and CPU Stresstest at once?

 

Hi everyone i wanted to post this here, i recieved a new Dell XPS 521x with Windows 8 and the Dell wifi 1901 card. I have tested it over 2.4ghz on my home wifi and the speed is way better than the intel one. I will test it on a 5ghz range today and report back, but it seems there have been adjustments made on this hardware and it is increasing speed. I will know better when i test it more but just thought of putting it out there.

 

Could you also test the Throtteling?
Maybe try to play a game.

 

I've used wPrime95 and FurrMark independently, and in tandem.

wPrime95 alone my machine maxes out at quad-core boost and stays there (4 cores at ~2.8 Ghz)

FurrMark alone my machine stays "hot" with the GPU in boost at ~700 Mhz.

Running both it varies quite a bit but "sits" somewhere in between ... I think the CPU ends up on/around 2 Ghz with the GPU bouncing around 400-500 something - I don't have a log handy - just from memory.

I should re-test now that I'm on Win8.

 

can you please run hwinfo64 and post the system specs ie screen type, mobo etc thx

 

FYI, I just tried this new v15.3.1 driver for Win7 on my 2.4GHz network & it gives me same WiFi results: throughput is fine up to 3 feet but at range (~30 ft), it still drops off to <1Mbps...

 

I will test for throttling and post system specs, but it is the $1999 model basically.. Will post system info when i get home

 

Thanks - may have to try before I buy - thanks for the heads up

 

Thanks, this is good to hear since I have one being built for a swap out and the WiFi is the biggest issue. Please let us know how far you can still get reliable connections on 2.4ghz, since that is the primary issue.

 

I would buy one if I know that I can play some common games on it. This happens only twice a month so that I do not need a gaming machine.

 

If you post which games you are interested in you may get some responses that are more helpful.

You could also search this huge thread for references to specific games, some have been mentioned.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Well...star craft...civilization 5...BF3 (mid settings)....mass effect 3. that's it. I know that playing at FHD is not possible. But I would be fine with lower resolution settings. 85% is office and internet usage.
But I don't want any throtteling while playing.

 

sitting outside on my patio , laptop getting 2/5 bars on 2.4 and it cannot even see my 5.8 network, while my cellphone is getting 4/4 bars on 2.4 and 3/4 bars on 5.8 .. and I have dell tech support wanting to go through the software side of settings to see if it can make wifi better :S

 

Do you have the "new" model?

 

I don't think you do know that... I believe it is possible, barring any throttling issues. I played a number of new games on my L502x (540M) at 1920 x 1080 with 30+ fps, most recently Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3 (which, admittedly, is not terribly demanding).
For Civ 5 and BF3, you might have to settle for more modest settings at 1080p. SC/SC2 and ME3 should run just fine on even higher settings in 1080p.
Again, barring any throttling issues. But the CPU/GPU are more than capable. It may not be a gaming machine in the sense that it's categorized under "gaming" on Dell's website and isn't built with a bulky jet engine aesthetic, but it should be completely capable of satisfying all but the most extreme gamers who demand maximum settings. Especially if you get the 640 over the 630.

 

no but ive been informed of the following for the new model : ", I know that along with the change of Windows 8, new drivers, and the DW 1901 several other chassis changes have been made to improve wireless performance."

 

What would you guys chose, the xps 15 core i7 3.1,8gig ddr3 1600, 750gig 7500rpm hdd, 32gig msata, 1080p screen , geforce 640 or an insperon 15 special edition with same specs but an AMD Radeon™ HD 7730M 2GB gpu instead..

 

They're the same thing honestly, except the xps 15 just looks so much better. So if I were to do it again now, I'd probably choose the 15R SE it was so much cheaper back then too compared to the xps15 at the time I bought it

 

elvis,

performance delta between the video cards is probably larger than "splitting hairs" but for the compromise of mobility it will depend upon what you're using and how well it works with the card. The sites I read say it's a bit slower than the 640M DDR3 edition, the XPS has the DDR5 so there's a significant delta there...assuming the XPS could run at rated speeds.

but for gaming and other uses many have reported how the thermal-based throttling kicks in, so the usable performance of the XPS 15 GPU is probably not at max.

I also consider it unproven that the "win8 edition" of the xps 15 has the WiFi issue solved, it's possible, just not proven yet.

 

Id be using it for video editing, office documents, lots of file converting(mpg3,mp4,avchd.mts etc) outputting to external displays via hdmi/widi about 10hours a day. And occasionally some gaming, diablo 3 etc. I was told a switch might be possible, i have the xps 15 right now, windows 7 .

 

I wonder if dell is preparing a new version of this laptop or a fix. I note on the Australian website the windows 8 xps 15 is 30% off and there is only one configuration left. You haven't been able to buy the 512gb ssd version for around a month now

 

Just ordered mine. Will arrive in 2 days. I'll check the wifi and throtteling after I received it.

 

Mine is now in production, should arrive next week I guess. I'll run the wifi testing as soon as I have it in my hands with both W8 Pro and Ubuntu.

 

How can I contact Terry-B? I can't see any private messages system here - DELL-Terry B's Profile - Dell Community

 

Blue "tool bar" -> Forum Actions -> Private Messages

 

And be aware that the Dell forum system doesn't send you an email when you receive a direct message. The Terry's answer was waiting for 10 days in my inbox

 

Thanks, got it!

 

I forgot to give you the information wrote in his message. He says:

I can't wait the new model to make some testing and...

 

Can anybody who has installed an SSD in their machine give me a walk through of the process?

 

Hey guys --

I got this laptop about a month ago and experienced the same throttling issues many people have complained about. Would get normal speeds near the router, but if I wasn't sitting basically on top of it, my speeds got throttled to <1 mbps. It got so bad I couldn't load videos and it was slower than the internet I experienced in China. Meanwhile other laptops in the same room experienced perfectly fine speeds.

Called Dell, they came and put in the new adapter card today, saying it should help. Well, sort of? Now instead of <1mpbs I get 6mpbs, and my boyfriend's mac is still getting around 20-30mbps. So while this is definitely an "improvement" from before, I still feel shafted. This laptop is only a month old and I see no reason why it shouldn't get the same speeds as other people in my apartment.

Not sure what I should do now? I don't think returning the laptop is a real option.

 

Basically you have three options...

- get a USB WiFi dongle ( I have a NetGear WNDA3100v2 on hand just in case I need it, for my XPS )

- induce dell to take a return/swap - swapping *may* get a revised XPS that works, it may not, it's really a lottery at this point IMO - swapping for a non XPS 15 would probably more reliably get good wifi ( Inspiron SE, Alienware, yadda yadda ) - or just return and get your money back and shop elsewhere

- keep plugging at dell about the problem - there's a number of people choosing to believe that as long as they stay problematic for the dell customer support that they'll eventually end up with an operational machine. Again, roll the dice on the odds of this bearing fruit. Either way it's going to cost you time and mental anguish dealing with customer support.

If you decide you just need to have a full return you may get less painful support contacting the forum-based, facebook-based, or twitter-based support vs the dell phone or chat support. Up to you really.

 

To replace the mSATA with a larger one, or the main HDD?

 

All right. I had the option of a wifi dongle or an adapter replacement and was recommended to just get the adapter replaced, since they claimed it was the newest model and should work and blah blah blah. 6mbps may have been jumping the gun as well, it's hovering around 2-5mbps now, which is woefully slow especially compared to everyone else in the apartment. I can't take my laptop to the router because it's in a common room and not a conducive layout to working etc, and that shouldn't be a workaround anyway -- this should work regardless if I'm 1ft away from it or 20ft.

How good would wifi dongles be? I'm just not sure how I would go about telling dell their new adapter isn't working either, but, well, it isn't. I don't think a swap for the same model would help, unless it was for one of the new windows 8 versions which appear to have less issues?

I guess I'll think on it, I just find it sad that this is such a huge and noticeable issue with what is supposed to be one of Dell's better offerings.

 

The service reps won't admit it but the WiFi problem you have has been there since June when they introduced the model. The new 'win8' build may or may not have it fixed.

You should feel no restraint from telling them the card swap did not make a difference - it was not likely to. They just have their script of what to drag you through and that is the way they work.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

What type of USB Wifi Dongle is Dell offering?

 

To replace the main HDD. I'm planning on getting the Samsung Series 840 Pro and this is the first time I've ever attempted anything like this.

 

I understand they shipped a number of different ones ... no clue if they still are ... the one I received is a NetGear WNDA3100v2 though.

 

So, anyone that has installed Win8 on the original Win7 L521X had any luck in getting their webcam to work? Win8 doesn't even recognize that there is a webcam installed in the system.

 

works for me, perfect. I started another thread about specifically windows 8 stock (not upgrade) xps 521x too, it'd be nice if people put the 2 different laptops in 2 different threads considering all the baggage of the first system and the hardware differences between the 2, etc...

Here's the one I started, if no body wants to use that thread then please start a new one so we can keep it in one place without all the mess of the xps windows 7 521x version. Just my opinion.

Here's the link to the one I made. http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...ers-lounge-windows-8-wifi-1901-i7-3632qm.html

EDIT: I used the webcam on windows 8 too on the original windows 7 machine, dual booted, I don't know if that removed the issue you are having by perhaps having the driver from win7 somewhere already on the machine... just saying.

 

FYI, and sorry that this doesn't answer your question, but I believe the throttling issue and wifi issue as this forum refers to them are two separate things. What you described is the wifi issue which is what seems to be the most popular issue discussed here. The throttling issue is something different and has to do with performance under high CPU/GPU temperatures, not wireless speeds.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

you are correct ... "throttling" is about CPU/GPU and thermal management ... it is a separate issue from the wifi performance.

 

ok, I need a pair of experts here to help me out and see if this could work: can I insert a Bluetooth halfmini card in the msata slot, and buy two Bluetooth flat antennas and those attached to it and paced inside the laptop, the switch out the 6235 card for a 6250?

I just want to know if the Bluetooth part will function.