XPS 15 9560 owners thread.

That's right.. I forgot dell opted for only a 2x PCi-E link instead of the full 4x... Well that stinks. Is it only that title you're having issues with? Or do you have huge issues in general? I figured the 2x link would have only been a 10-15% performance deficient. With GPU prices so messed up due to crypto currency mining I figured now would be a great time to get a higher end card.

 

Not gonna happen. Dell decides to limit the bandwidth on the TB3 port so in other words: "you are f*cked"
If you really want good gaming performance and a thin notebook you should look somewhere else or build a separate gaming pc.

 

I'm really tempted to pick this laptop up from Microcenter tomorrow. They have the 4k display, 512 SSD for 1600 which is about $500 less than directly from Dell. My main uses will be video/photo editing along with social media management for work and light gaming. I definitely know of the cooling problems and wasn't sure if you guys had any other thoughts.

Thanks

 

Nothing that hasn't already been covered at least 20 times in this thread

 

It runs Doom just fine, but I think it varies by game. For example, Overwatch runs at 120 fps on the internal card at High or Ultra, but is usually around 90 with the eGPU, regardless of detail.

 

Hi to all.
I have read that there is a new bios.
At the same time I have seen that there are also new drivers for the Intel HD (21.20.16.4664 ,A04)
There is someone that have installed it and can say to me if are good?

 

Both of them are good.
Running for me smoothly without any problems

 

Thanks @vas.
The others have installed it without problems?

 

I have the version with the smaller battery. I'm putting the 960 evo in there. Is there a website that sells the larger battery?

 

I noticed when im in the bios, my xps 9560 randomly freezes for about 1 2 secondes and after that it works again. This is happening every 20 seconds i get a freeze for 1 2 secondes. This is only in the BIOS, already updated it to the latest one, also did a bios reset but i keeps the same. Any other suggestions? is it a problem for the rest of my system or wil it only effects the bios when im in it?

In windows everything is working fine just in the bios i get every 30 seconds a freeze of 1 2 seconds.

 

I have an XPS 15 9560 too and just posted a thread here with a modded Realtek Audio driver I made. It removes every trace of Waves MaxxAudio and provides better audio quality than the stock driver. Check it out here.

 

I have an i7-512ssd-16GB-FHD model. I've had a strange overheating issue. Mine overheats like all the rest (quickly up to 80+ degrees C in minutes when playing Battlefield 1), but instead of throttling, the system just locks up entirely, shuts down, or the game locks up and I'm able to shut it down via the task manager. Has this happened to anyone else? It happens both running at stock and with a -120uv undervolt. It appears to me that the system is not throttling as it should. When I look at the temperatures via XTU, it never says that thermal throttling is occurring, even when my temps get up to 85+.

I was planning to do a repaste to try to deal with the heat issue, but I'm within my 30-day return window. Is this a big enough problem I should return, expecting that it won't be there on another unit?

 

Definitely return it. Sounds like a hardware issue to me.

 

I just did this, freaking amazing, no more maxx audio. I will be sending you a donation shortly!!

 

Hi everyone,
I've successfully enabled the XTU interface in the bios on the 9560, opening up some more settings within xtu including permanently setting undervolt in the bios and possibly overclocking - though I'm not interested in the latter. To do so the following needs entered within the efi_shell (see the process for enabling speedshift)

Code:

setup_var 0x65c 0x1
setup_var 0x65d 0x1
setup_var 0x4ed 0x0
setup_var 0x59c 0x0

These options enable overclock support, xtu interface support, and disable cfg lock and overclocking lock respectively in my system (bios 1.3.4). I can confirm that xtu can now modify bios settings to make a permanent undervolt to the core, cache, GT and also uncore (corresponds to analog I/O in throttlestop) . I have found that GT unsliced undervolt needs to be manually set, while RAM undervolt setting isn't possible in xtu and manually setting it won't hold after reboot.

Note that I made these changes after testing undervolt for a prolonged period and didn't touch anything else. I also wouldn't recommend anyone try this as any errors made could easily cause a brick.

Spoiler: xtu screenshot

 

New Intel Graphics driver 15.46.2.1.64.4729 from 11th July 2017

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/98909/Intel-HD-Graphics-630


Detailed Description

• Fortnite* Launch Driver
• Gigantic* Launch Driver
• Minecraft Story Mode: Season 2* Launch Driver

Protect your turf, build castles, and battle massive guardians as you enjoy performance optimizations and playability improvements at release of the upcoming games, Fortnite*, Gigantic*, Minecraft Story Mode: Season 2*, Pyre*, Master x Master*, Secret World Legends*, and Pit People* on processors with Intel® HD Graphics 620 or better.

This driver enables Windows® 10* Creators Update* features, as well as provides support for toolkits to assist developers in creating Computer Vision and Deep Learning applications. See release notes for further details.

This driver also provides visual enhancements, improving gameplay on many popular games. Visit gameplay.intel.com for recommended game settings for many of your favorite PC games.

 

I just received my 9560 from dell outlet. I got the basic i5 FHD model with Win Pro and fingerprint for just under $800, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Cosmetically it's nearly perfect, and after testing it out for a few days it appears everything is in working order. There were only two issues I ran into, neither of which really affect functionality.

The first is somehow the OS got installed onto the caching SSD instead of using RST. This pretty much made it unusable out of the box, but my plan had always been to add an SSD and reinstall Windows. This issue was more amusing than anything.

The second issue is bigger in my mind, and that is the bezel appears to be misaligned with the screen. In particular there's a angular mismatch, so there's an uneven black border between the active screen area and the bezel. It doesn't appear to be blocking any pixels though, although a few pixels will get occluded when looking at the screen from above due to the height of the bezel. It doesn't really affect functionality, but it's a bit of an eyesore.

Is this problem worth trying to get Dell to fix? The screen is otherwise great. No dead pixels and minimal backlight bleed that's not really noticeable in normal use. For the price I paid I'm happy to ignore it as one of the many fit-and-finish issues (and I realize the FHD isn't a "premium" option). But if it's an easy fix, why not?

 

I have never seen a defect-free FHD display on an xps 15 from Dell. This is not to say you shouldn't try to get a nice one, but that Dell is useless and it will take you multiple replacements

 

Well done, what exactly have you unlocked with the shell commands?

Usual case for a Dell reinstall, they have no clue
And as Eason said, the FHD screens are a bit of an afterthought and just don't sit well in the frame without some work, but thats the joy of outlet equipment, a high chance of a return due to quality issues, appraised by blind idiots wearing mittens.

 

Thanks. Good to know. If what you say is true and that it'll probably take multiple tries to get an aligned screen, then it's probably not worth the hassle for me. The panel itself is great, and that's much more important to me than perfect workmanship.

 

You are a better man than I. I just charged my laptop back after they weren't able to fix it 6 times and then sold it after I won the case.

 

My FHD is an excellent matte screen perfect for long days. Nice colors, very sharp, no issues and barely any light bleed or red shift.

Call Dell to fix your bezel alignment.

 

To paraphrase GoNz0, I throw $800 at a laptop and accept it has problems.

It might not be as much of a hassle as I thought though. I ended up chatting with Dell just to cover my options and it turns out they're sending me a replacement screen. I can replace it at my leisure, and if the replacement turns out worse I figure I'll keep the original.

Fair, but for the money I've saved I can buy a decent 4k monitor

 

and still get it fixed

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

Guys here are explanations of all settings posted by awesome haggismn

Code:

Overclocking and XTU Options (enable with 0x1)
Setting: OverClocking Feature, Variable: 0x65C
Setting: XTU Interface, Variable: 0x65D

Form: View/Configure CPU Lock Options (disable all locks with 0x0)
Setting: CFG Lock, Variable: 0x4ED
Setting: Overclocking Lock, Variable: 0x59C

Kaby Lake special :D (Higher Clock with better stability and low heat) maybe enable with 0x1
Setting: BCLK Aware Adaptive Voltage, Variable: 0x683

 

Can this guy enable bios menus rather than flipping switches?

 

no these are just Enable/Disable bits, just like speedshift. For adding bios menu, bios needs to be modified which would be more risky than this simple setup variables setting.

 

Anyone have installed the last nVidia drivers from Dell's website?
http://www.dell.com/support/home/it...58882786740c101678832&VEN3=410603970533177914

 

Not the best plan if you game, nvidia drivers have always played ball unless they release one with a fault that affects everyone so you may as well get the latest from the nVidia website.

 

Do you think they may just be hidden like they were on the older Dells?
That used to be a case of flipping a bit in a hex editor then flashing the BIOS to unlock the hidden menu's

 

Thanks for reply to me. No, I don't use the computer to play. So, your suggestion is to use the latest from the nVidia website?

 

Personally yes.

 

Ok, thanks GoNz0

 

On my system 0x683 was already enabled by default. In fact, almost every interesting option seems to be set to the desired setting. One which was disabled however is

Code:

Energy Performance Gain, Variable: 0x790

Setting to 0x1 didn't seem to do much though. Regarding the GTU undervolt, it needs to be manually set as follows: 0x874 to mW value in hex and 0x876 to negative (0x1)

Code:

Numeric: GTU Voltage Offset, Variable: 0x874
Setting: Offset Prefix, Variable: 0x876

Another setting I've been playing with is the VCC IO which is set to disabled (which I am guessing means auto). I set this to Intel's recommended 0.95, before testing 0.90 and 0.85. Benefits are negligible compared to core undervolt.

Code:

Setting: Pmic Vcc IO Level, Variable: 0x2B9
Option: Disable, Value: 0x7
Option: 1.05V, Value: 0x0
Option: 1.071V, Value: 0x1
Option: 1.023V, Value: 0x2
Option: 0.997V, Value: 0x3
Option: 0.850V, Value: 0x4
Option: 0.900V, Value: 0x5
Option: 0.950V, Value: 0x6

Harsh, I wanted to PM you but can't find the option. Could I ask you a favour and tell me what option you have set for 0x34? (Firmware Configuration) Mine set to 0x2 (Test). My xps arrived from outlet with a "**** HEADLESS MODE ACTIVATED ****" screen after the Dell logo on every boot, which is the motivation for checking through these EFI variables. Dell say the only fix is to replace the motherboard which I really don't want to do.

I do think its possible but I don't think its worth the effort due to it being necessary to mod the bios with every update that's released. Manually setting the efi vars one time is quicker and less stressful.

 

Speedshift var stays after a BIOS update, it only resets if you restore BIOS defaults so it may be the same if menu's are enabled.

As for the headless mode thing it would seem someone may have tested that board so as you have nothing to lose you should try changing the 2 to a 1 or 0, worst case is you wait for a board swap.

I will try and check in a bit once I find the pen drive with EFI shell on it so I can see what my var is for the test mode.

 

setup_var 0x34 returned 0x2


Does it have a service tag in the BIOS.
It may do that if they forgot to put one in?

Also a load defaults in the BIOS may clear it.

edit* found this, 7 years old but you never know.

 

Hey guys,
I recently bought an XPS 15 9560.
There seems to be an issue and I can't figure out whats the root cause.
So everytime I game on battery, the game runs flawlessly and nothing happens. But when I plug the laptop into AC power, I get a BSOD within 5 mins and the computer restarts on its own. So far the BSOD has shown multiple causes ( RESOURCE_NOT_OWNED , BAD_POOL_HEADER , dxgmms2.sys error , POOL_CORRUPTION_IN_FILE_AREA )
I have updated all my drivers but still the problem persists.

Please let me know of a solution.
Thanks in advance

 

Anyone else have ****ty battery life? I see everywhere "10 hours here, 8 hours there... etc." I have power saver enabled, SST, -100mV undervolt system wide, Brightness at between 10-25% and still doubt I get more than 3-4 hours. I just don't get what I'm doing wrong. I'd downscaling resolution to 1080p, no different. I even installed the modded audio drivers to remove the maxx audio bloat. Latest Firmware and EC. Repasted.

Battery wear says ~13% which is absolute crap, as I've probably less than 10-15 cycles on this thing.

 

What power profile are you running, balanced or performance? Also what apps are you running, that will greatly affect battery life as well. And finally, have you opened task manager to see if any one app is hogging the cpu in the background?

If I just browse and YouTube I can get probably 8 hrs, but when I drop in some gaming or use premiere pro, photoshop or lightroom that number drops drastically depending on how heavy my usage of those apps is, but I still average way higher than I did with the lenovo 720 15. But check the stuff I mentioned and let us know!

 

I've been playing with my new XPS 15 9560 for a couple of days. Re-pasting reduced the temps by a couple of degrees max. Undervolting with TS by 0.125v helps a lot more (5 - 10 degree drop under load). Adding thermal pads to VRM chokes and small radiators to FETs works well too (although corresponding part of the bottom lid gets uncomfortably hot under load). VRM sensor now reports temps lower than CPU or GPU most of the time. I don't see CPU throttling anymore even at highest CPU-only loads or when running Prime95 4 threads + video benchmarks like Unigen Superposition or Valley. However, GPU does throttle under high load (at 78 degrees). GPU clock goes down to 1500/1200 and then back to 1700MHz rapidly.

Furmark still makes GPU throttle horribly. At some point GPU clock drops to about 800 and stays there for long time (maintains GPU temp of 65 degrees).
I experimented with placing thermal pads between GPU/CPU heatsink and bottom lid. It lowers GPU temps, but increases VRM temps. In fact, they equalize since both are connected to the bottom cover in one area. It lets Furmark run much longer before GPU throttling starts, but it throttles anyway and the bottom becomes super hot, impossible to hold finger on.
It kind of tells me that no matter what I do, it is impossible to make this system run Furmark continuosly without bigger heatsink and fans. Now I need to find a good benchmark that is not as demanding as Furmark, but still puts a lot of stress on GPU and CPU (similar to real games).
Do you guys know any benchmarks that would load the system (CPU and GPU) similarly to Overwatch game that people mention here? Or maybe some games that have demo versions ? I do not have Overwatch or any other super demanding games. Maybe I should try Fallout 4 with highest graphics settings...

Also, how do you run 8 threads in Prime95 ? It does not let me select more than 4. Maybe it is processor dependent? I have i5.

Thanks!

 

I have basically no software running in the background, only piece of software outside of edge for browsing is Intel Graphics control panel. Only thing running every once in a while is antimalware service executable which uses like 1-2% every once in a while. Average CPU usage is probably less than 5%. I'm using the balanced power plan as well.

I might have to mod the power profile again like I did on my SP3 to make my CPU prefer higher load before is uses the next available frequency increase. Also, might have to modify the windows settings for processor state self checking to higher frequencies to switch to a lower state faster. Other than that, I'll have to tweak the UEFI IFR variables.

@mikelev

Reason you can only use 4 threads is because the i5 doesn't have multithreading. 4Cores/4threads, i7 has 4 cores with two threads each. Thus the 8 threads.

 

I just started using my new xps 15 with the matte FHD screen and I noticed there is light bleed in the lower right side. When I feel the bezel I can feel a divot right where the light bleed is coming from.

Is this something I can fix on my own or will I have to go through Dell?

Thanks.

 

Check the mod of iunlock in another thread, which reportedly works. The main idea is to add some "fin" surface above the VRM area, modify the air sealing, and redirect some cooling air from the vents to the VRM area and then out via the small rear grille. It is a bit involved though, he also used Conductonaut paste, not sure what is in fact needed (obviously he did try quite a few simpler variants which didn't work).

Some other thin & powerful laptop designs make use of copper strips or heatpipes from the VRM mosfets towards the fins/heatpipes. I guess this might allow modding with less hassle, if suitable heatpipes or copper bands were available. Thin enough heatpipes do exist, but they are not easily found, likely not in suitable dimensions and power capacity. Someone reported success with copper bands, but details and load test results were not disclosed.

http://www.wakefield-vette.com/Portals/0/heat pipes/120229 Ultra Thin Heat Pipe Data Sheet.pdf
http://www.coolermastercorp.com/solution.php?page_id=23
http://www.columbia-staver.co.uk/technologies/ultra-flat-heat-pipes/

 

Thanks for the reply!
Yes, I saw his mod. It inspired me to add cooling to VRM
I added a bunch of small (5x5mm) heatsinks with fins to FETs and to the PCB board in VRM area (a strip of thermal pad material with several small heatsinks on top).
I did not create an air channel though. I also added thermal pads between chokes/coils and bottom cover. The chokes are probably decent heatsinks for VRM board area since they are mostly copper inside. Not sure if they generate any heat or just transfer heat from FETs through PCB.

Anyway, the temps reported by VRM sensor seem OK (70-80 degrees under high load). Not sure if it means VRM actually stays cool enough or it is just the sensor. i.e. it is possible that VRM sensor gets better cooling now than the rest of VRM A couple of times laptop went into some strange mode when all the clocks reduced to 800, voltage to 0.5v, power consumption to something like 5W. 3DMark and another app crashed when that happened. The temps went down to 60 degrees quickly, but laptop did not come out of that state for at least 5-10 minutes. Interesingly, it happend when CPU, GPU and VRM sensors were showing about 80 degrees (+/- 5), probably less. I suspect actual VRM temp can be higher than sensor readings.

If sensors readings are correct, then my main problem is GPU temperature under load, not VRM.
If I could find some kind of thin copper strip with tiny fins (2mm max), I would apply it to the GPU/CPU heatsink to test.

Previously I tried thermal pads between GPU heatsink and bottom cover and found out it heats up the bottom too much. I'll try that again, but with a much smaller thermal pad this time. Maybe it can transfer some heat to the bottom, but not too much.

 

Can someone do a simple test so I can determine if my microphone array is defective? When I enable listening on "Microphone" listed under recording devices (make sure you have headphones on) and set the volume and boost to maximum, I can clearly hear the microphone as I pass my finger over the left microphone opening below the touchpad, but I do not get the same response when passing over the right opening below the touchpad. Clearly only the left microphone of the array is working. I would just like to know if anyone else is having this problem.

On a related note, I mistakenly tried to remove the metal shield the protects the video cable connection to the motherboard, before disconnecting the battery and did create a brief electrical short. I haven't noticed any odd behavior since that happened (tested all connection ports and reran GPU and CPU benchmarks), but I guess it's possibly the source of this problem if no one else is experiencing this.

 

You're the 2nd who has caused a spark, he also got away with it!

 

It's one mistake I'll never make again! But it seems unlikely this is the source of my microphone issue since only the right mic is affected. Plus the circuitry for audio appears to be on a daughterboard far removed from where the metal shield is located. So if the short did cause the problem, I would think both mics and the speakers would be affected as well.

Perhaps it is a driver issue? In the properties of the microphone it only shows it as a mono audio source (no balance control), so maybe the second microphone isn't getting recognized at all? I had a similar problem on my E5550.

 

As it is an array mic it has no left and right, it should show under the advanced recording as 2 channel though. I can hear mine over both channels.
It could still be a driver issue so try installing the latest over the top as it initiates an uninstall 1st.

 

I think the VRM area temperature 70-80 deg is not okay, at least Intel DPTF doesn't think so and triggers downthrottling. Also thermal imaging shows this becomes the hottest area in the laptop. According to experience of many, just adding small fins and pads isn't enough. The VRM mosfets surely generate less heat than the CPU and the GPU, but they are not cooled actively, hence the rising temperature in that area.

 

Thank you for pointing this out. For some reason I thought VRM can handle higher temps than CPU, i.e.100 degrees should be acceptable and 80 should not be a problem.
Apparently, it is not the case. Laptop throttles when VRM gets to about 80 degrees (don't know exact number).