XPS 15 9560 owners thread.

As it stands I have no software, legacy or new that has scaling issues that can't be worked around using the scaling options in the launchers properties.

 

There were 3 programs for which I had scaling issues with the 4k screen.

The first was with Photoshop CS6. I was able to resolve that issue with the fix that I linked to in a post on the previous page of this thread.

The second was with the tool bars and menus for Firefox, which is my browser of choice. Initially, I was able to fix that scaling issue with a Firefox add-on called Theme and Font Size changer, but that add-on is no longer compatible with the current versions of Firefox. I have not been able to find any other solution to this one.

The third issue with scaling is with my older version of Outlook, which is my email client of choice. The scaling issue only appears with some emails generated from commercial entities. The only work around that I've found for that one is to pinch zoom to enlarge the email's window to a readable size.

I would, thus, welcome hearing any suggestions for dealing with either the Firefox tool bar and menu font size issue or the Outlook email issue.

 

Me too! Maybe it's because of the updated BIOS? I hope it's not the physical keyboard...

 

I have a question is this an good buy at $1730 from on ebay

Brand New Unopened Dell OEM Thunderbolt Dock Tb16 With 240w Adapter

Brand New Unopened Dell Notebook Power Bank Plus (18,000 mAh)

Microsoft Office 2016 Pro Plus Full Version with Product Key (Microsoft Download Only No DVD)

Warranty
Premium Complete/ Accidental Damage Support until 2/28/19 Transferable To New Owner

Ballistix 32GB Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 2400 MHz SO-DIMM Memory Kit (2 x 16GB)

Dell XPS 15 9560 15 4K Laptop

7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad Core Processor (6M cache, up to 3.8 GHz)

Windows 10 Pro (64bit) English

16GB DDR4-2400MHz

1TB PCIe Solid State Drive

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5

15.6 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge touch display

Intel Dual Band AC 8265 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2

6-cell Lithium Ion Battery
Backlit Keyboard, with Fingerprint Reader

Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk

 

I don't think it is a screaming deal. I would go to Dell or the outlet.

Also, the new laptop comes out within 2 months per Frank Azor.

Are you sure the MS Office license is transferrable?

Are you 100% sure about warranty transferability?
​

Wonder why the SSD details are not included (clue - probably a slow ssd)

Do you get both the 16GB & 32GB of RAM (you can sell one set but that is a pain in the neck and you will need to pay fees)?

Plenty of risk with eBay regarding scams, shipping issues, returns, refunds, etc. eBay buyer "protection" is piss poor. Not saying Dell buying experience is great...

 

Yes I'm sure the warranty is transferable and I was told the office key is and full retail licenses key. If I buy I would get both the 16GB and 32GB ram. I don't no about the SSD it's original as far as I know. The ebay seller has an good rating.

Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk

 

The best way that I've found to buy a Dell pc is to start by configuring the computer on the Dell web site and noting the price with all available discounts applied.

The prices on the Dell site for an identically configured computer can vary significantly from one day to the next. For example, prices for a fully-loaded XPS 1560 with Windows 10 Pro, the Quad Core i7 processor, 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB SSD, and 4k screen, for the last few months have been as high as $2400+ as about $2050 on the Dell website.

I would then monitor the prices for several days, and when I hit a day when the prices seemed to be close to the floor, instead of just ordering the computer on-line, I would call Dell sales. I've found that, by doing that, I can generally get an additional discount of at least $200 more than what the price at that time is on the Dell website.

And those prices are typically a few hundred less than the prices that I see on eBay, Amazon, etc. for identically configured computers. Further, if you buy it directly from Dell, you will get free next day shipping and Dell Rewards dollars that, when they applied to your account, you can use to buy some accessories. When I bought my XPS 1560, the rewards were enough for me to get 2 128 GB flash drives at no cost to me. Also, when I buy directly from Dell, I'm more confident that I'm getting a brand new computer that hasn't been returned by someone else because of problems with it.

 

I'm not sure about anything on eBay but if you think this is a great deal and don't mind the risks and hassles, go for it.

BTW - the 9560 came with both very fast and very medocore SSDs. If the seller does not disclose, you should not expect the fast SSD. The seller should disclose what SSD it comes with so that is red flag number one. Dell will not tell you but the eBay guy knows exactly what he is selling you.

US Outlet ask prices follow. You get a generous return policy and no questions on licenses or warranties. You can call or IM as there are some models not on the website. And prices can be negotiated down...

$1803
Processor: Intel Core 7th Generation i7-7700HQ Processor (Quad Core, up to 3.80 GHz, 6MB Cache, 35W)
Windows 10 Home 64bit English
1TB M.2 PCIe Solid State Drive Class 40
32GB DDR4 Non-ECC SDRAM 2400MHz (2x16GB)
15.6 inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge Touch Display
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
McAfee LiveSafe 12-month

$1687
Processor: Intel Core 7th Generation i7-7700HQ Processor (Quad Core, up to 3.80 GHz, 6MB Cache, 35W)
Windows 10 Pro
1TB M.2 PCIe Solid State Drive Class 40
16GB DDR4 Non-ECC SDRAM 2400MHz (2x8GB)
15.6 inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge Touch Display
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB

 

I use Outlook in Office 365 so I guess it is Outlook 2016. The only scaling issues that I have is with the notes section. the notes are adequate in size but the X to close is a tiny little point that is very difficult to hit with the curser.

 

Artlantis Render also has an issue with all Nvidia drivers after version 382.53

 

I'm using an older version of Outlook, I'm guessing that, for me, the only solution to get all emails to scale properly will be to buy a newer version of Office/Outlook.

 

How can I improve my battery health? I bought my Xps with 56 wH battery in January. It arrived with 8% battery wear level. Now the wear level is 16%.

What should I set in the BIOS? I usually use the Xps plugged in, but sometimes I use it by battery to keep it healty... But it doesn't seem to work.

This method was successful with MacBook Pro Retina...

 

In BIOS, set it to charge to max 90% and stop charging until it drops to 80%. If you install one of the Dell Command things, you can change this on-the-fly, without booting into BIOS. Discharging is not required, actually causes wear.

 

If you don't use it a lot, I'd set the threshold even lower. 60% seems to be about the best percentage if not using the battery for extended durations (ie. sitting on a desk). http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

 

I bought the XPS 15 from the Microsoft store last week (I've been trained to avoid direct interactions with Dell.)
The laptop came with their so called "Signature edition" of windows 10 which would not come with bloatware....
Well I started the laptop and I see apps for Skype, Xbox, Music, Candy Crush, Bing etc on it already. I was less than amused...
Just trying to workout what driver updates it needs. I see there's another thread on here with drivers that people recommend to use. I commend and appreciate this forum for being more knowledgeable about the best settings for these computers than the OEM manufacturer.... Just trying to get through that as well as disabling all of the tracking, diagnostic, and advertising nonsense in all of the windows settings.

Computers seems nice, just happy to be on Windows 10 with more recent security patches and fixes.


Question: Does windows update auto-install and/or overwrite any existing drivers that I put on the computer according to recommendations from the other thread here? Not every driver is that actually works is going to be the latest. And I see that the latest BIOS from dell (1.8.0 or 1.8.1) are garbage.

 

Yea, the Intel graphics drivers are always a huge headache.
You can't install the Intel ones on a default dell windows, since they are blocked. I believe you can use DDU to work around this.

The Intel drivers always get over-ridden by some older version from Windows update as well. You can work around that by using group policy editor and "Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs" immediately after installation of drivers but before Windows update. This needs to be removed and re-added everytime you update the drivers though.

 

The dell xps 15 (520ssd, 1050gtx, 2k screen, i7 7700) is on sale (350euro discount)... I guess a refresh is coming within the next days? Better processor but i don't think they'll update the dedicated gpu to a 1050ti

Should I just buy and save myself 350e? Or wait and grab myself that updated CPU and maybe other small upgrades?

I'm doubting to buy this laptop to replace my 5 year old macbook. I want windows and some gaming capability...

 

Wait, you'll probably get better thunderbolt connection (4x vs current 2x via typc C port) in addition to the CPU and maybe GPU upgrade

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

So, has Dell given up completely on BIOS 1.8 and 1.8.1 now as it is nowhere to be seen on the update page? There are how ever several really old drivers that has magically been updated in the last couple of weeks despite being the same as several months ago. The state of Dells updates is really abysmal these days...

 

The new layout is ****, the old one you could pick original release date only and not the stupid re-release crap it does now, I hate having to check the original release date each time it shows as new.

 

I can't help but to wonder who they are trying to fool with this "fresh drivers every day" as we have already bought the damn thing. Or are they just clueless?

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

Does anyone know if there is a way to keep Bluetooth turned on even when the computer goes to sleep?

I've been using a Bluetooth mouse with the laptop, and it is a bit annoying to have to wait a couple of seconds for Bluetooth to turn back on when the computer wakes up after having been in sleep mode.

(I do realize that I'm asking a question that deals with a 1st world problem. )

 

I don't think so as it would keep the laptop awake but the only option I could think of it wake on wireless lan that can be set in the BIOS but it will probably only keep the wifi part awake in a very low power state.

 

I can't say that I know what the answer is, but I have a Microsoft bluetooth mouse and there is no delay when waking from sleep. It works as if it's wired. However, I wait about 1-3 seconds when coming from a cold boot. That's me just wiggling the mouse until the pointer shows up and starts moving.

I'm not latest killer drivers however. The bluetooth driver that came with it is Qualcomm Atheros from 2016...v10.0.0.279

There could also be many many other variables. My computer is only 2 weeks old. And that's my only bluetooth device attached to it. If you have multiple devices, it could be looking for other devices first. Could also be other background processes doing their thing waking up before bluetooth can start.

 

Thanks for the BIOS suggestion.

You figured it out. Besides the Bluetooth mouse, I also had a mobile phone paired with the laptop via Bluetooth. After I removed the phone, the mouse became available immediately after the laptop woke up from sleep mode.

As a bonus, after I removed the phone, the mouse also becomes available within about 1 second after the laptop is booted. Before, with the laptop and phone paired, it took about 3 seconds after a boot for the mouse to become available.

Thanks much.

 

Hey guys, I just purchased an XPS 15 9560 from the Microsoft store. I'm coming from a top spec mid-2014 MacBook Pro, I'm wondering if I should've waited another two weeks for the refresh. There is good discounts right now for the current model which is why I bought it, however is the refresh worth the higher cost?

Also any major issues I should be worried about, from what I have googled, some people have screen freezing/flickering issues, but I'm hoping that has been fixed by now?

 

If it is worth waiting is completely dependent on what kind of work you do. The 6 cores should provide a nice boost if you have heavy multi-core workloads (expect a 30% increase). However, if you do lot's of lighter or medium sized workloads (word editing, browsing, etc.) than the difference between the 7700HQ and a 8750H is much smaller (still a nice boost, but perhaps not 'needed').

GPU has got a slight 10-20% boost as well. Which is nice, but again, not a huge upgrade. This update is mostly an evolution rather than a revolution.

As for major issues, screen flickering is fixed by updating the Intel GPU drivers (go for the original ones on Intels website, these are much newer.) Thermal throttling is an issue with this laptop (and most others) but is mostly fixed by undervolting and repasting your laptop. Try undervolting first, it's a free and painless change with no downsides as long as you test the stability of your undervolt.

 

That question has been asked and answered many times here, search and you shall find

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Hate to sound cynical, but in this day and age...Manufacturer "approval" doesn't mean what it used to....Most Dell "approved" driver revisions are garbage...

 

That's good to know as I wasn't exactly sure either. They should offer some method to prioritize the bluetooth pairing so that it searches for the mouse or keyboard first. But that makes too much sense.

 

I wouldn't want to imply that Dell "approved" drivers are okay, because in the past Dell has had a hard time following the changes in Intel drivers (where many times the blame was probably on Intel's side, for instance Intel was obviously pushing TB3 way before it was ready for market).
Also Anandtech found a colour calibration issue in the 9560 review, which they couldn't fix.
In the particular case of Intel video drivers, differences between Intel and Dell versions were spotted regarding certain past bugs, so that using Intel drivers wasn't a good alternative, because they wouldn't match with the Dell BIOS of the time well. While Intel drivers for some other devices tend to work fine.
And with the new Win10 attitude there are particular issues when trying to use non-approved drivers.

 

So this thunderbolt firmware update, mine doesn't launch or do anything, anyone else found this?
http://www.dell.com/support/home/uk/en/ukdhs1/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=NVNKG

 

Works fine for me, just updated. Just make sure to disconnect all TB3 devices and plug in your normal AC adapter.

 

I don't have any to connect and it is on AC, odd one this.

 

Followed these steps to enable speedshift, but when i boot from flash drive i get the error "normal.mod not found" and am in grub rescue.


1) format flash drive with FAT32 filesystem
2) download that archive https://www.firewolf.science/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/EFI-shell.zip
3) put efi file from archive into Boot/bootx64.efi on your flash drive
4) boot from flash drive. you will get uefi shell
If it is not booting - go to bios, boot sequence - and add custom entry pointing to that efi file. than reboot, F12 and choose your custom entry
After that in shell

EDIT: Got it working with the custom entry pointing, i just ****ed up with the path.

 

FFS I have this headless mode activated warning now after flashing 1.9.1

 

Same here. What the hell does that mean?

Also it switched ahci to raid once again.

 

Boot back into the BIOS setup and ALT + F then reset to factory or BIOS defaults, can't recall what option I picked but it worked.

 

Factory defaults worked. Thanks

 

Guys, is there a way to mod the bios to undervolt instead of using throttlestop?
can someone please explain how to do it or redirect me to any guide?

thanks in advance!

 

Today I somehow bent pins in the SD slot in my XPS, just removing SD card I'm using for a year.

Does anybody know how Dell fixes it? Is it replacable without changing whole motherboard?

 

I think the daughter boards on the other side so it will be a board swap, Have you tried to put them back in place?

 

I can launch it but I receive this message. The Thunderbolt Controller Driver is installed and at latest version, don't know what to do too.

 

I don't even get that!

I have the software installed,

C:\Users\gonzo\Downloads\Intel_TBT3_FW_UPDATE_NVM26_NVNKG_A03_4.26.12.001 (1)\Intel>FwUpdateCmd.exe enumcontrollers
Error: 0x20B SDK_NO_CONTROLLERS - No active Thunderbolt(TM) controller found in the system or Thunderbolt(TM) software
is not present in the system. Make sure you have Thunderbolt(TM) software installed.
Then connect Thunderbolt(TM) device and retry.
C:\Users\gonzo\Downloads\Intel_TBT3_FW_UPDATE_NVM26_NVNKG_A03_4.26.12.001 (1)\Intel>

 

Select the following
POST Behavior -> Warnings and Errors -> Prompt on Warnings and Errors

This should get rid of it.

 

I already fixed it, keep scrolling

By the way it wasn't that

 

That worked for me. And it got rid of the extra 3 seconds of BIOS boot time that I initially had with 1.9.1.
Thanks

I also had to re-enable the Fast Boot option, which was disabled in 1.9.1.

I notice a new item under Post Behavior related to MAC addresses. I'm not sure what the appropriate setting for that one would be.

 

I had this until I connected my TB16 dock. Then it completed fine. Perhaps, you need some Thunderbolt device/dongle connected so that driver is loaded and active. Maybe even powering laptop through the connector will do it.

 

For the 3rd time in a row Dell has recall BIOS, 1.9.1 not available anymore for download.
This is so annoying.

 

Oh man, Dell doing it all through the anus <:3