*** XPS 17 Owner's Lounge ***

Anyone know if there is a flush mount SD card to microsd card for this notebook?

 

I've got another question,
So Best Buy is refusing to price match the XPS 17 I picked up yesterday. The online chat won't price match with Micro Center because the model numbers don't match up one for one. The Micro Center one has 32GB of ram (I'm using my own anyway) but otherwise they are identical. The price difference is $200.

I used a $150 best buy gift card that I got for a scratch and dent on the back of a fridge I just ordered from there.

My question is, is it worth going through the hassle to return this machine to Best Buy and get my $200 difference from getting one at Micro Center. If I go back to Best Buy and return / re-order the laptop from them I can get rewards that almost make this a wash.

My larger concern is that this laptop is working well. No trackpad issues, no screen issues, etc. I could be rolling the dice if going with another machine.

Any thoughts?

 

That is a lot of time and effort to exchange.

If your XPS 17 runs flawlessly, I would not consider exchanging it. . .

 

Keep it. Not worth screwing around with.

 

is there any noticeable difference between the i7 or i9?

 

Maybe on benchmarks (which don't give you real world useage experience) or if you had the two side by side, but for regular usage you would not see much of a difference, again unless you had them side by side. The i9 will use battery faster however.

 

How have these been holding up? I currently have a 9560 (4k, i7, 16gb, 1050), and my work has told me I can upgrade to a new machine. I'm looking because I tend to do a fair amount of video work on my laptop. Anyone do much of that on theirs? How hot does it get for you?

I love the idea of the larger, taller screen and that giant track pad. I'm also curious if the 17 could keep the CPU/GPU from topping out when I do my rendering of videos and effects.

 

While not owning on personally, I think it's the perfect choice for you. You are who the xps 17 is made for imo.

 

If you're asking if the 17 throttles or not, it does. Having said that it will be faster than your XPS 9560 in rendering. You could also look at laptops with AMD's offerings which will be much faster for rendering.

 

Does anyone know why you can only order FHD with 16gb max ram? if you want 32/64 you have to pick UHD. How can I get around this and get FHD with 64gb ram?

 

I had no problem ordering an FHD with 32gb via Dell's website

 

I've tried 3 different countries on Dell now for the XPS 17 and everytime the 32gb is clicked it auto-changes to UHD. Contacted two Dell reps and seem to be getting the same. XPStester would appreciate your steer on this one

 

You'll probably have to order from the Dell business store instead of the home store. Not sure if the countries you were looking at have that option though...

 

I'm in the US and this link allows me to select 32gb while still keeping the FHD:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/sho...aptop/spd/xps-17-9700-laptop/ctox17w10p1c2300

As custom90gt said, I believe this is the Dell business side.

 

Thanks. Now being told I have to order the 16gb and get extra ram - madness! Will keep trying

 

Better off doing it that way anyways. Buy the processor you want with the lowest amount of ram and SSD storage, and upgrade yourself.

 

Does the XPS 17 have issues running ram at rated speed like the are 51m r1/r2? May have trouble finding ram to run at 2933 correctly.

 

I would not know. I was speaking in generalities. I know I saved a bunch of money when I bought my 2 in 1.

 

So since the 130w fix has the performance improved as well? It's so weird to see such high specs with only an 130w charger. Do not want to ruin my battery while casually gaming some AAA titles. I hear even with the fix you can see small battery drain unless you power limit with throttle stop. Anyone have any personal experience?

The HP ENVY 15-ep0020ca is fairly identical and it comes with a 200w power supply.

 

Anyone have thoughts on ordering the UHD screen and using an FHD resolution? Pros/cons to this approach?

 

I don't think it would be good. I would assume it would not be very clear for type etc.

 

It MIGHT work ok now that integer upscaling is available in drivers, I haven't really tried it out myself to see how well it works but previously there was massive interpolation even in situations where integer ratio resolution scaling was an even 4:1 ratio like 1080p->2160P.

 

Hi Guys,

I am a proud new owner of an XPS17 9700. Amazing piece of hardware.

However I really don't like during office use the fact that the fan is always on. I updated all drivers and the bios, tried the Dell Power Tool with different settings, but I am not bringing this beast to be silent in office use (writing emails with outlook, surfing the web and writing letters).

I searched the web already but did not come to a solution yet. Any recommendations for me, because like this it takes a lot of fun from the machine.

Thanks for your thoughts and hints

 

strange. My cheap "underpowered" dell inspiron does not run the fan unless I am running resolve for long stints. Might be something in the bios set to start up the fans quickly.

 

Do you have an external display connected? And you're using the quiet profile in Dell Power Manager? If worse comes to worse, you may be able to use @Aaron44126's awesome fan control software.

 

Hi Everyone

Congrats to all the new XPS owners. I am recently joined the club too.

Like many of you, I am also thinking about upgrading my ram from 16gb (2x8) to 32(2x16). My question and worry is around buying single rank vs dual rank. I am not sure what the main difference is between the 2 and what would be the best option for the XPS 17. When im shopping for ram on any website, typically i see couple of different options such as: 32gb RAM KIT (16gb x2 single rank) OR 32gb RAM KIT (16gb x2 dual rank).

Hoping someone can clarify this further. Thank you in advance.

 

It's called Single and Dual channel. You need to use two sticks of RAM to have the configuration operating in dual channel. This is highly suggested as system performance is much faster utilizing dual channel.

Edit: I see "rank" is something different altogether.
Here's a link to read, interesting never heard of this in all my years dealing with memory.
https://www.oempcworld.com/support/singlevsdualram.html

 

Thanks for this, appreciate it.
I went ahead and ordered an 32gb (16x2 dual rank) memory. However after reading the article you shared, it appears that single rank might perform better. If i have understood correctly, since the memory controller can only address one rank at a time, in theory this should make the dual rank degrade the performance slightly.

Let me know what you guys think. I might have to go back and re-order the single rank now.

Edit: Spoke with a Crucial rep who claimed that a dual rank would be superior than a single rank in terms of performance. Now I am confused as to which might be better.

 

It might be that the difference is negligible or margin of error. As long as there's no compatibility problem I don't know if I'd worry about it. I've never even heard of it. Maybe buy both and try both in some benchmarks and return one.

Based on the below from Crucial's site I wouldn't worry about it, the crucial (see what I did there) part is making sure you are using a pair of sticks for dual-channel operation.

-----------------------

Ranking


Memory modules can be single-, dual-, quad-, or octal-ranked. While usually not a factor on standard systems, ranking limitations can present a few complications, particularly when dealing with registered parts. Most commonly, quad-ranked or octal-ranked parts will have specific requirements about how and in what quantity they can be installed in your system's memory slots. Higher-ranked modules can limit how many total modules can be installed, for example, allowing only four out of six memory slots to be populated when any quad-ranked parts are installed, and forcing you to use specific slots in your system if quad-ranked parts are mixed with single- or dual-ranked. Higher rankings can also impact your memory bandwidth, forcing your memory to run at lower speeds when higher-ranked parts are present. This trade off may be required to utilize higher capacities of memory in some systems, though, if single- or dual-ranked parts are not available at capacities desired, or if reduced ranking parts are not compatible with a system at higher memory totals. If none of these restrictions apply, there is otherwise no functional difference between rankings of parts. More details on ranking can be found here.

EDIT:

Here's someone that benchmarked them, looks like the Single Rank was a tad faster but it was such a small margin I don't know you'd ever notice. It could also depend on the system itself, but it seems like the Single Rank memory was faster on both AMD and Intel here..

 

Thanks for sharing the video and posting more information around the memory ranks. The single rank might have the edge on the above video however it seems that its dependent on the hardware that dictates performance. Some dual ranks performed better than the single ranks but it is marginal and likely wont be noticed.
Ahh still not sure which way to go.

 

Based on what I'm reading, any difference is basically a rounding error.

I would stop debating and just go forward. Regardless.

 

You guys are right. I am sticking with the dual rank 32gb Kit. Appreciate the guidance from you folks

 

Welcome to reality. Nit picking every little thing, benchmark, test, gets old fast. put your 32gb of ram into your notebook, enjoy the increase in speed and don't worry whether it benches the best. Once you get past that nonsense using your computer becomes that much more enjoyable.!

 

I will admit, I'm the same way about specs. I'll drill down, and obsess about each nanosecond of speed. Internal debating with myself on which SSD to get, which one is faster. Which RAM, how much?

And yet all I do is browse and a few other things. .

 

I seriously doubt you'll find non dual-rank 16gb sticks.... Plus it's faster (and not just negligibly so).

 

Me too. overclocking everything, nit picking every single thing. Now, it's turn it on use it...Don't care what the temps are as they will always be in spec since everything is stock. I used to obsess over temps like alot of people here. OMG, my processor went up a degree...World ending apocalypse. Now, it's pound through some design work, photos, videos etc and no matter the temps...the fan cuts in at time....good....it gets cooled to keep going. I don't have a samsung SSD, I have a kingston. It cost me 99 bucks for a 1tb drive instead of 250 plus for the samsung....why.....for 1/2 second faster boot speed and other speeds you don't notice when you actually do things and not fixate on perfomance meters, and benchmark nonsense.

 

Hi,
By the end of tomorrow Im going to have a new XPS 9700. I would like to ask all of you members. Did any of you made a new 100% clean Windows installation without any Dell related image from factory settings and all of its software included? If yes how did you proceed?
I appreciate your replies
THANK YOU!
Regards
Watergate

 

Windows 10 Clean Installation Guide
Windows 10 Tweaks and Fixes (Index post #1)
Alienware/Dell Driver Installation Order
Fix for Windows Store: This app is not compatible with this device

 

Hey,
I had recently installed a 2nd SSD in the machine after a clean win install. This new drive was formatted by disk management. Now when i try to open dell command update to check for any updates, I keep getting the following error:
"Error While Downloading the necessary catalogs"
Not sure if this is related to the installation of the 2nd SSD, as this issue was non-existent then.
Any tips? Not sure if someone has been exposed to this before.
Thanks

 

That has nothing to do with the installation of the SSD and is simply a down time for the Dell update servers. Happened to me initially when I first installed Dell Update v4.0 then got fixed on its own within 72 hours.

 

I was sure I installed the drive properly and formatted it accordingly, so this confirmation is good to know. I will check back on the update and see if it pushes through. Thanks again

 

is there a new bios version that allows undervolting and throttlestop now?

 

Dell hasn't unlocked any of its laptops, and I wouldn't expect them ever to do so. You may be able to enable it as some have done on the Lenovo Legion 5 through a modified BIOS, but that's something you would need to do yourself with no guarantee that it would work on the XPS.

 

so using throttlestop is not possible in any newer laptop with an intel cpu, maybe its time for me to move to amd on my next purchase...

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-win-update-bios.831450/page-33#post-11056203
"It will be down to each individual system and BIOS version – buyer’s beware!"

 

hope the list get updated

 

Right now AMD doesn't allow voltage adjustment for their mobile CPUs either...

 

there was some talk last year about an app to control the amd cpu, thought it was working after many months. but yeah unfortunately nada.

 

For fun I ran the 3DMark stress test on my XPS 17, and this is not the result I expected.

 

What is not the result you expected?