XPS 15 9560 owners thread.

This sounds very normal and is great news. It does match what I've heard from others that a USB-C charger capable of a minimum of 20v at 3a will work with the XPS 15.
At 68%, its likely doing constant amp charging and the fluctuation is due to CPU/GPU usage. Constant voltage charging (to top off the battery) typically doesn't kick in until between 85 to 95% charge.
I usually see a max charge rate of 45w on my 9560 with the 130w Dell adapter. Any chance you have batterybar installed? Would be interesting to see your charge rates with the USB-C vs the Dell adapter at the same battery percent, and with and without Express charge turned on as Buzzkill mentions

EDIT: Misspoke and was using numbers from 9365 and not 9560

 

That''s correct, i bought the charger 2nd hand and it came with an apple usb-c to usb-c cable.

I don't have that installed so can't try at the moment.

If i reboot with the charger plugged in i get a BIOS warning saying that i'm using a 60w charger, not the dell 130W charger. I know it will drain the battery if I'm gaming but it's fine for travel use and 90% of what i use the laptop for.

I have just tried to install Dell power command but it says it is not 64bit compatible. ( System-Utilities_Application_4T7MN_WN32_2.1.1.EXE ) a 64bit version isn't listed on dell support when i look despite selecting windows 10 64bit.

 

All of the Dell Power command settings are in BIOS; the program is optional. The Express Charge setting should be listed under "Power Management" in the "Primary Battery Charge Configuration" section

 

I've been using my 65W Google Chrome USB-C charger for the past 1.5 years without issue.

 

I upgraded my XPS 15 9560 Killer WiFi with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265.
WiFi works flawlessly.
Bluetooth devices installed correctly ("This device is working properly") and visible: Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth(R), Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator and Microsoft Bluetooth LE Enumerator.
But Bluetooth can't find any devices.
I have tried Intel driver 19.50.0.5 from Dell downloads and official Intel driver 20.0.0_64.
In Windows 10 x64 Bluetooth settings it just gets stuck saying "Your PC is searching for and can be discovered by Bluetooth devices" and never actually finds anything.
Any ideas?

FIXED: just enabled "Bluetooth Handsfree Service"

 

Please can you share more info about? I am interested and all suggestions, links and other would be appreciated

 

Dell Client Statement on Intel ME/TXE Advisory (INTEL-SA-00086)

http://www.dell.com/support/article...ntel-me-txe-advisory--intel-sa-00086-?lang=en

 

I was able to dump and extract the IFR table from the 9560's Firmware for anyone who's interested. No Overclocking options, but looks like there is some configurable stuff for ?possibly? disabling the Intel ME everyone seems to be paranoid about.. As well as some Debugging stuff for the Intel AMT.

I've posted the Full IFR table from the latest Firmware here:
https://pastebin.com/bDyfbyKn

*Edit, looks like ME/AMT access in all sleep states is enabled by default too.

 

If you look in the chassis bottom you should see a sticker saying the ME is disabled anyway?

Whats the plan then, are you going to try and get the values of things that will be of use for EFI shell?

 

I read the XPS 15 9560 theoretically supports up to 64 Gb of RAM. Is this true?
Does even exist a DDR4 2x32 SODIMM module?
Thanks

 

I've already dumped them, they are all in that pastebin that are able to be changed. All you need to do is boot into an EFI shell (flash USB stick) and use setup_var (offset) (Value to set).
So to disable Intel for example (pulled from my public pastebin https://pastebin.com/bDyfbyKn):

1. Setting: Remote Configuration **, Variable: 0x57C
2. 0x18700 Option: Disabled, Value: 0x0
3. 0x1870E Option: Enabled, Value: 0x1

1. Setting: Manageability Feature Selection, Variable: 0x5
2. 0x17E5F Option: Disabled, Value: 0x0
3. 0x17E6D Option: Enabled, Value: 0x1

You'd type:
setup_var 0x57C 0x0
setup_var 0x5 0x0

 

I may be wrong but I think that is due to the chipset supporting 4 DIMM slots.

 

I believe you're correct. Even if it did (which it does), the 16GB SODIMM is still quite a new addition. Doubling the density per module to 32GB would probably take a while. Not to mention would be extremely expensive.

 

Hi all,
i have an xps 15 with FHD screen, i've asked dell to return it for various problems and got a UHD one. At the moment i have both laptops with me and need to send one back but i'm really struggling to decide which screen to go for: uhd or fhd?

uhd pros:
amazing resolution

uhd cons:
glossy
drains more battery
laptop heavier than fhd version

fhd pros:
lighter that uhd version
bette battery life

please help me to decide!

 

I think if you like using touch, the UHD is an absolute no-brainer. If you don't ever use touch or like to work outside, then it doesn't matter and battery life is so much better.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Well i don't use the touchscreen at all (infact i've disabled from bios).
I'm just amazed by the UHD image quality compared to the FHD one...but the 2 things that annoy me most are:

1) heavier than fhd laptop
2) less battery life

argh i can't decide!

update: @Eason i've read many messages ago that you went for a 4k to fhd, is that correct? what's your experience? which one do you prefer? how's the battery life and weight between both models?

 

I would keep the 4k as the color reproduction is better. Ghosting and refresh might be slightly better. It also adds some value if you want to resell. It also has some wonky rescaling unfortunately.

For glare, get one of those matte sceen savers; do a search here as a few have been recommended. GoNz0 puts them on in the shower.

If the battery life bothers you try:

- "balanced" settings in Windows Power Options.
- "quiet" in Dell Command-Power Manager.
- undervolting the CPU via ThrottleStop.
- SpeedShift with EPP=255 via ThrottleStop
- external battery pack

 

I changed SST value from 255 to 200 so that the clocks reach upto 1.7GHz and doesn't cause stutters when browsing or multi-tasking.

 

Thanks for you opinion.
Yes 4k color reproduction is amazing. I'm already downvolting my fhd though. Major concern is heavier weight which is quite noticeable....almost 200gr as i always bring my xps 15 everywhere...

 

I turned on Express charge and it still seems to stay at 40W according to my power meter. Perhaps it just can't use the 60W charge profile?

Currently at 14% and it says 2hrs 13mins until fully charged.

 

Thanks for the interesting info. Sounds about what we expected. I would bet that its USB-PD negotiated config is for up to 3A at 20V, but the battery charging is limited when using the <130w charger to less than the max 45w (as the BIOS indicates at startup) and your 40w reading is something like 25w battery charge, 15w laptop power consumption. Have you seen any differences during high CPU or GPU usage? That'd probably be where you'd see the full 60w used.
If your curious, battery bar ( http://batterybarpro.com/) provides some cool and seemingly accurate power measurements both charging (when plugged in), and power usage when not.
Has anyone tried the 87w apple USB-C adapter? I wonder if that will negotiate a higher current than 3A or only on Apple devices.
Regardless the 60w is probably sufficient for most uses as a travel adapter or spare.

 

I went back to the 4k. I had too many backlight bleeding/uncentered display issues with the FHD (though also too many uneven color issues with the UHD). The weight is mostly the battery, not the glass anyway.

 

Touchpad scroll speed issue in 9560 -

The touch-pad two finger scroll speed works fine in Firefox and Internet Explorer, but is is so fast in Opra and Chrome that it makes the browsers almost unusable, at least for simple scrolling.

What am I doing wrong?

 

Am I crazy or is XPS 15 9560(16gb ram, 1080p) kinda slow in day to day task, like opening programs? I get the feeling my work AIO Lenovo with i3-2130 and 4GB RAM opens Word and Excel much faster than my XPS. And I'm running on a clean install of Win 10 Fall CU as opposed to a dirty one on my Work Lenovo.

 

Check for any firmwares for your SSD at Dell Site.

 

I'm running these drivers from @GoNz0 signature for my Toshiba SSD.

I see Dell has drivers for my SSD dated 28th November.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/at/de/atdhs1/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=JVM4G

Hmmm...to trust Gonzo's signature or Dell.

 

Its firmware update and not a driver update. There are updates for Intel MEI(SA0086 exploit fix), IRST,STM free fall sensor, TB3, realtek audio and TPM.

 

How do i get rid of intel DPTF?
I've tried: uninstalling through device manager offline and then disabling those devices both out and in safe mode
(but after restart and wifi turned back on, it just reinstalls! + microsoft update hider thing doesn't show DPTF to hide)

throttling to 800MHz even though my temps are ~65 Deg everytime i play a game is ridiculous

 

Having concluded that the docking station TB16, like TB15, is a total piece of s-h-i-t (have 2 of them and both s-u-c-k), what are the alternatives for a XPS15? Ie something that has proven to actually work, unless the TB15/TB16?

 

Use throttlestop and uncheck BDRPROCHOT which should fix it.

 

it happens even though thats unchecked

 

What have you set in Dell Command center, quiet or turbo mode?

 

i do not have that installed because for some weird reason, i get an installation error "This installation package is not compatible with the 64 bit system. please use the 64 bit installation package of dell command | power manager"

 

I think v2.2.1 is the latest I installed on 9560; took two tries to install. It is a bit tricky to find on the Dell site.

 

installed it, tried cool mode, still throttles. hwinfo shows my VRMs barely hitting 70

 

How does one update the firmware SSD? There's no GUI. I followed the readme from the firmware download and I created a USB bootable drive, disabled secure boot, booted into the usb, pressed "u" as per instructions but it's like nothing happens, no errors but on the end it says "there is no target device".

HWInfo still says Drive Firmware Revision: AADA4101. Any ideas?

 

This is what happens..

 

Do you have Toshiba SSD ?

 

Yes! Toshiba, I made a thread here;
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...re-via-bootable-usb-efi-shell-problem.811346/

 

I've also had this feeling with my XPS15 from time to time. And in that I have even replaced the SSD with a Samsung 960 Pro 2TB. I've done quite some attempts to performance tune with everything from BIOS changes to power plan changes but not really that much of a difference. Replacing the Killer crap with Intel though had impact on the DPC problem.

 

Yeah it's kinda annoying for a premium laptop. Luckily it's sleek as heck so I am forgiving a little, otherwise I would definitely return it.

I was really afraid of the Killer card reading about the issues before purchase, but either I am extremely lucky or the driver updates in the months since release, I have had absolutely no issues whatsoever with the card. Working fantastic in my LAN and maxing my 200/100 ftth connection. Knocks on wood though, barely a month since I have it.

 

Well, you might want to verify that with a DPC checker. Or not

But could have improved these days, when I switched there was an obvious difference.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

Better not, ignorance is bliss. besides, I hardly use streaming services so no biggie.

 

Actually, the 9550 & 9560 drivers have significantly improved over the past year or so. Not sure if it is Dell, M$ and/or nVidia.

Regardless DPC latency tested via LatencyMon is quite good for both laptops. I did some tweaking for my virtual instruments which demand ultra-low latency.

Latency impacts all processes not just streaming related. Software like LatencyMon takes just a few minutes to run and helps troubleshoot.

 

Well damn, now I feel like crap, LOL.

Code:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system seems to be having difficulty handling real-time audio and other tasks. You may experience drop outs, clicks or pops due to buffer underruns. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. At least one detected problem appears to be network related. In case you are using a WLAN adapter, try disabling it to get better results. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for  0:04:14  (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name:                                        XPS-15
OS version:                                           Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 16299 (x64)
Hardware:                                             XPS 15 9560, Dell Inc., 05FFDN
CPU:                                                  GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
Logical processors:                                   8
Processor groups:                                     1
RAM:                                                  16235 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed:                                   2808 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs):   666.985147
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs):   7.197006

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs):       621.401143
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs):       2.011348


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs):              167.709758
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time:       ACPI.sys - ACPI Driver for NT, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%):          0.006116
Driver with highest ISR total time:                   ACPI.sys - ACPI Driver for NT, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%)                          0.006319

ISR count (execution time <250 µs):                   2992
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs):                0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs):                0
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs):              0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs):              0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs):                 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs):              1072.830484
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time:       ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%):          0.025745
Driver with highest DPC total execution time:         rspLLL64.sys - Resplendence Latency Monitoring and Auxiliary Kernel Library, Resplendence Software Projects Sp.

Total time spent in DPCs (%)                          0.102744

DPC count (execution time <250 µs):                   347082
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs):                0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs):                703
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs):              1
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs):              0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs):                 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.


Process with highest pagefault count:                 none

Total number of hard pagefaults                       0
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process:          0
Highest hard pagefault resolution time (µs):          0.0
Total time spent in hard pagefaults (%):              0.0
Number of processes hit:                              0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       5.491779
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs):                167.709758
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.128416
CPU 0 ISR count:                                      2992
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs):                820.331909
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s):                   1.388334
CPU 0 DPC count:                                      298874
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       4.093731
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0.0
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.0
CPU 1 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs):                516.014957
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s):                   0.066196
CPU 1 DPC count:                                      5431
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       2.620790
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0.0
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.0
CPU 2 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs):                1072.830484
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s):                   0.210776
CPU 2 DPC count:                                      5926
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       2.824953
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.0
CPU 3 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs):                391.994302
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s):                   0.052688
CPU 3 DPC count:                                      4450
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       1.968353
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.0
CPU 4 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs):                405.297365
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s):                   0.044556
CPU 4 DPC count:                                      5308
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       1.926310
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.0
CPU 5 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs):                397.324430
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s):                   0.025917
CPU 5 DPC count:                                      3229
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       2.759148
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0.0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.0
CPU 6 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs):                597.620370
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s):                   0.209087
CPU 6 DPC count:                                      16004
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       4.275308
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0.0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s):                   0.0
CPU 7 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs):                709.837963
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s):                   0.090593
CPU 7 DPC count:                                      8564
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

This is a good opportunity to tweak your system.
Well, these look fine:

1. Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 167.709758

2. Process with highest pagefault count: none

These are a place to start looking:

3. Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 666.985147

4. Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 1072.830484
>>Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface

- Updating BIOS, Dell, M$ and nVidia drivers might help. I can't speak for the latest versions but recent versions crush older ones in DPC latency.

- Are you running this with all programs shut down? I think you should.

- Also run LatencyMon for say 10 minutes to start then maybe 20 minutes once you get things working.

- The processes tab will provide hints to problem areas. You can sort by clicking the column titles after stopping the testing.

- There are a few DPC latency threads with images of other 9560 LatencyMon results.

 

It is a thing we are keeping an eye on. The latest Killer Control Center Beta manages network prioritization without using DPC interrupts at all. Our current network drivers shouldn't be showing any higher DPC interrupts than other network drivers and, if they are, we'd love if you would contact us with that information directly. http://www.killernetworking.com/about/contact

The current Killer Control Center release version (not the beta) will sometimes show high DPC latency with connections that steadily clear 100 Mbps, which is why we're testing an alternate way of doing things.

That said, do be aware that ndis.sys tends to have the highest DPC execution time in Windows 10 no matter what network adapter you are using. This is a Windows 10 issue that Microsoft has been quietly ignoring and we're all just hoping they'll get around to fixing at some point.

 

Hi, i've just bought an XPS 15 9560 4K model, is there any suggestion on how to tweak the resolution scaling? The screen looks so much better using 175% scaling but most apps turn to look either too small or blurry.. Is there any advice on finding a sweet spot between the resolution and scaling?

 

If you hate blurry images - use scale levels 100% 200% 300% ... e.t.c.
That could make scaled apps more sharper but anyway they wont look as other apps supporting scale natively.

PS: I would prefer 250% scaling
PPS: Make sure all connected displays have same scale level. Else you might have blurry apps no matters of scale level

 

You will always have some blurring, as Intel neglected to use integer scaling when scaling the screen. Integer scaling would allow us to scale in whole multiples of the original resolution (i.e. UHD is 4x the size of FHD, so you get perfect 4:1 scaling.). But for some reason, Intel opts to always use interpolation when scaling, resulting in blur at anything other than native resolution.