XPS 15 9560 owners thread.

Well just jumped on the 9560 bandwagon. Ended up with a great deal on the i5 version.

 

I running 1.1.3 - everything is fine except reboot can cause short (less than second) fan boost, very hard boost

 

Hi Guys
Can anyone please tell me the exact measurements of the charger?

 

Waiting on my forth Alienware 17 R4 to be delivered it's not that hard. And the current XPS15 that has a bad keyboard and a problematic screen. And a XPS13 that required 3 services when brand new to just work. But one of my last 5 MBPs actually had a dead pixel, so I guess it's pretty even

But I must say that besides the keyboard (which seem to be less than great on all units) and the 4K screen (which seem to quite good on many units but unfortunately not my unit), the XPS15 is actually quite good and better than expected. And Dells customer service is usually very good so as long as you don't let go, they usually manage to fix whats broken in with a few services. And I get the feeling that Apple is loosing its edge, the latest MacBook Pro didn't really impress all that much besides build quality that is second to none. But considering price etc I would call it a disappointment.

 

it will blow the fan controller the way it happens, raise a ticket with Dell as well, we all need to.

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Are you already on your third 9560 by now or do I remember wrong? Took me a few months to get to that with the Alienwares

 

Are you absolutely sure on this? It sounds to me exactly the same as my Asus P9X79 mobo in that it ramps the fans to full (not beyond) on a reboot. Nothing more than that and only a second max, if not less. Why scaremonger?! ..

 

I never heard such a bad screech on any of the Xps laptops I owned, it should ramp up but instead it goes so hard it makes a screeching noise as it loads the fans. I don't consider that scaremongering.
In fact I have never heard a fan do that before. Even the Dell diagnostics spins them full yet no screech.

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Yep 3rd

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Strip,

You might not know that GoNz0 is a laptop engineer with over a decade of professional experience.

Whilst many of us are flatly unqualified to analyse and advise, GoNz0 is kind enough to provide us with lots of insider knowledge...

 

Third in a month lol.

 

Well, that at least ends the Dell QC discussion. Sad that Dell cant do have enought quality in its production to deliver the full potential of the products

Having tried 3 of them, did any of them had a decent keyboard that doesn't feel like you are trying to force a nail into a rock with a hammer? The XPS13 I am typing this on at least has some kind of "damper" and overall the keyboard feels much better. And this is a 2015 unit. Having used the XPS15 for about a week, I can actually notice how the skin of my fingers is starting to "harden" and there is also a numbness that is starting to feel, never experienced that with any keyboard before and I have tried A LOT of them, from very shallow MBP keys to real mechanical gaming keyboards.

 

Lol, just because GoNz0 has sent that many back doesn't mean anything. I heard he sent 20 orders of ice cream back because it was cold

 

Well, I am glad you keep your faith in Dell and I hope when your unit is delivered that does not change. I respect Gonz0s options more than most in here (probably tied the first place with IUnlock & co, might have missed someone here now so please don't feel offended if I did).

 

Yeah, i can understand that, but mine don't sound like they're gonna explode anytime soon.. they sound like many other PCs i've owned that spin their fans to full on POST before booting.. go do a search, as it's a very common thing.. maybe Gonzo's machine is acting weird, but mine doesn't sound odd at all.

I'm not a laptop engineer, but i have decades of PC support, building and geekery to my name myself. I just don't endorse scaremongering based on one persons experience. The fans ramp up, sure, but to damaging levels on a whole? Probs not... I like facts, and i don't find anything on the web to backup the fans ramping up and damaging a fan controller and causing failure.

 

Thanks. I don't remember being able to search individual threads. Nice.

Regarding the BIOS: I'm going to go with the "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" school of philosophy here and stick with 1.0.3.

What exactly do you want to know about it? The physical dimensions are roughly 14.3 cm x 6.5 cm x 2 cm (not official -- I just measured it with a ruler I have lying around). The electrical properties as written on the label are 130W power output delivered as 6.67A current at 19.5V voltage. The input is the usual 100-240V at 50-60Hz (i.e. it will work both in the US and in Europe).

 

There's no backlight bleed, keyboard light bleed or any lighter spots at edges/corner.
Checking with a Spyder 3 showed no more than 6% variation in screen brightness.

 

Jumped on the forums to report in:
Ordered my XPS 15 9560 i7 UHD 16GB RAM 1TB with fingerprint reader on March 12, shipped March 21 and arrived today, March 23.
I won the SSD lottery and got a Samsung PM961. The shipping label trick did work, and my Service Tag did not show any SATA drivers (other than Intel RST) either, so my hopes were high.
After booting once to check everything worked and follow the wizard to register it. I then opened it up, swapped out the Killer NIC with an Intel 8265 (very stable, getting 500-600 Mbps transfers on my Ubiquiti AP, very happy with my $30 purchase) and repasted the CPU and GPU. Honestly though, they looked pretty well done actually, but now I have peace of mind about it. I also didn't notice any cleanliness issues like were in some of the first posts in the thread (yes I read every single page over the last few weeks). Then I closed things back up and then proceeded to do a clean install of Windows (went with AHCI).
I have not noticed any major driver issues, although I was seeing hiccups with Chrome (frequent freezes/lagging), like many others have reported. Turns out even though I was running the new Intel video driver, looks like Windows Update or something else rolled it back. I had to do the group policy trick to prevent windows from updating that one, and now it's running smoothly again. I did have trouble getting the NVIDIA drivers to install (both from Dell's site and from NVIDIA directly). Ultimately I was able to get GeForce Experience to install the latest driver.
No complaints about the display except for one gray pixel in the middle of the screen. I'll live with it though, instead of risking a refurbed part.
The chassis was wobbly like one member reported, but after opening/closing the chassis, and having it in my lap for a few hours, it is now flat and stable.

Thank you all to everyone for the tips and tricks. It definitely enabled me to go into this with eyes wide open.

 

Nice Review but how does this "shipping label trick" work to get the Samsung SSD?

 

He just means that you can enter your service tag when the order has shipped to see which drivers it tells you to install. Apparently, it can show Toshiba drivers if you are going to end up with that part but nothing if you're not.

 

And how to get the Samsung SSD then?

 

Cancel

 

Search box at the top, tick this forum only it will show you most of the answers you need

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Actually it's the firmware you are looking for, Samsung had none but neither sites hynix.

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Also posted here...
I am not sure, but it looks like this thread marked as "answered", so probably DELL just wont look at it anymore.

 

My second xps is now on the way and mine still has Toshiba

 

For the fun of it I made a new topic linking to the other, I tried to remove the marked as answered.

 

If you have the XPS 15 9560 with the 56 Whr battery and M.2 SSD, are you also able to add an additional 2.5" hard drive?

If so will it fit one that is 15mm thick?

 

Well today was the day I was due to get a Dell service engineer round to swap out the duff 4K screen with a "new" (i.e. refurbed) - after having booked the apt 2 weeks ago. Had a hilarious email this morning from some support chap saying that they had supply issues with the part so the engineer was cancelled, on the day he was meant to come! I was also waiting for a courier to pick up another replacement unit (also duff) that was sent - they didn't turn up either. All in all a poor day haha.

Dell is at a loss on both accounts and my issue has been "escalated to the concerned team" - whatever that means. More fun phone times with India then.

I'm trying hard to love this machine (and I do) but Dell are making it bloody difficult!

Now if only I had the skills to swap those LCDs myself...

 

A 15mm drive is thicker than the laptop lol

 

Maybe better than the prior unconcerned team

 

It is not difficult and the service manual is available. You would do a better job than most Dell engineers if you had never opened a laptop before and had hammers for fingers.

 

Hmmm tempted I have say. I do recall the support chap stating though that I/they can't swap the parts as everything is numbered/has serials which are tied to the service tag and record of the machine. Concerned if I swap they will charge me (plus know something's up if I suddenly cancel the engineer - assuming on everything ever turns up).

Then again, this is dell...

 

Thanks for the info
+1

 

Hahahaha they are so full of ****, last but one return was the sum of 3 laptops I used to make one good one, a lightbleed free no dead pixel screen from one on the motherboard and base from one with no noise and the coolest CPU from another along with the best Samsung ram (timing wise) from another. So yeah they are telling you lies.

I would love to know how a screen you can't open & when interrogated returns this value "Serial Number None" is in the slightest bit traceable?


The truth of the matter is using one for another may end up with 2 broken laptops if something goes wrong and Dell will hold the 3rd party engineer on a fixed fee liable.

Now look at the engineer, he is on a fixed fee and you want him to do twice as much work for the same money.

Now think about what they told you and the real reason why

 

Hah, makes sense

I'll have a go at swapping the screens over tomorrow, let's hope nothing goes wrong!

The service manual says to remove the battery - is that really necessary? Or just to disconnect it?

 

Just unplug it, take the manual with a pinch of salt and let common sense kick in. unplug and free up the cables coming from the screen, open the screen to the correct angle then remove the 6? screws for the hinges. Be slow and watch how best to slip it off the mount, it has a couple of locating pins that can hold it in place so it is a bit of a lift and tilt back then you have to clear the back of the chassis, getting it back in is a reversal of what you did to get it off!
Having the screen resting on a cushion is a good way of stopping it moving when you take the last screws out.

 

Would be interesting to hear if more people experience that the FHD version has a softer keyboard with more damping than the 4K version. Sounds crazy but from previous discussions, there seem to be at least different types of keyboards for the XPS15 and mine is driving me mad as it is feels like it has no resistance at all and you really hit the bottom with each stroke.


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Resurrecting an old post, but any chance you can provide us with photos of the two different keyboards? So we can perhaps see how the actual keys textres look physically different and guess which maker/run ours are from.

Keyboard has yet to grow on me, and would be nice to know if there are options ...

 

The FHD models (some) does seem to come with a softer keyboard that feels more rubbery when the keys are pressed. @DeeX can confirm as well.

Yes, I'm a heavy Adobe user and the kaby does a little better than the previous gen locked 6700HQ, but of course there's more left to be desired.

I'll dig some up.

BTW there are two different track pads for sure as well. No doubt about it. Again, @DeeX who owns more than one like me can confirm as well.

::iunlock::

 

Wow, two different touchpads too? But both MS precision touchpads? Man ...

I have 4K screen, but not sure if the keyboard/touchpad version is tied to the screen .... any photos on the different texture to identify would be really appreciated. Thanks!

 

Looks like Intel has just come out (yesterday) with an update to the driver for the HD Graphics 630:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/do...phics-Driver-for-Windows-15-45-?product=98909

My 9560 was on .4590, which fixed the Chrome lag, but just installed this .4627, and seems to be running fine for the moment ...

 

How do I install the driver? Installation says it is not suited for my computer :/
EDIT: Nevermind, it is done.


BTW: I have FHD version with 256GB SSD so I ordered a second HDD (HGST 7k1000) and there is a missing SATA cable you have to order extra. Beware

 

How to disable touchpad when mouse is connected? I cant find any driver settings for it.

 

Uninstall the current Intel driver, reboot, install the new one.


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Search 'touchpad' on your machine using Cortana - it's all there in the control panel.

 

As always, the guys at Laptop Media has a comprehensive review:

http://laptopmedia.com/review/dell-...dware-the-new-xps-15-makes-a-compelling-case/

 

Do you guys feel that the 4K monitor running at FHD is very similar to the actuall FHD (besides glare and perhaps some less color pop)? Many 4K screens seem to be more blurry in FHD compared to a real FHD even though it should be perfect pixel mapping. I've tried running my 4K in FHD but it seems quite blurry, even compared to one of the 17" laptops with FHD.

 

Are we sure there is not automatic dimming on the XPS15? Because sometimes my 4K feels surprisingly dim compared what it should be.

 

Done - piece of cake! I now have an XPS I'm 99% happy with screen is better but still not perfect. I suspect no such thing exists but better than previous one!

Might need to re-repaste however as I think I did a poor job there (applied too much I think). Temps are lower but still hovering in the mid 40s on idle even with undervolt.

Thanks for your help again!