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

Yeah a USB-C multimeter would be much easier than building your own cable to do an amp meter with your fluke. I would be curious if your charger is actually operating at 100w, my guess is it's limited to 90w (aka not up to spec). For some reason they can't even get their 130w adapter to work at spec in the 2060 model.

 

I stand corrected... They fooled me (apparently) by limiting the power delivered by both of my Choetech chargers, so the 60W charger seems to be limited to ~45W:

45W by GuinnessX posted Jul 22, 2020 at 9:18 AM

My 100W is limited to ~65W:

65W by GuinnessX posted Jul 22, 2020 at 9:21 AM

And the USB-C multimeter I bought is, of course, limited to 100W, per the PD spec, but it shows ~95W being delivered by the OEM charger:

95W by GuinnessX posted Jul 22, 2020 at 9:21 AM

Not sure where the other 5-6 watts went... Maybe the tolerance of the meter, or expected behavior for a cheap little tester and/or this method? Does that mean that the other readings are off by about the same amount?

 

This was as expected. And Dell continue with same practice for the newer models. So don't be so surprised. @maffle @pressing

 

Tolerances of the meter and power supply. Maybe a firmware limitation/negotiation. Also the power supply is not 100% efficient so power consumption is significantly greater than power output.

 

It's the OEM 130W power supply.

 

Does the computer stay Charged plugged in no matter what you are doing on it.?

 

I'm the wrong guy to ask... Even the one that reads 45W maintains my system without draining the battery for most of what I do. I set the power manager to only charge to 80% after it drains to 50%, and it sits at 80% for days unless I unplug it.

I'm curious, though, so I bought a different $20 meter that claims to measure up to 150W. No clue if it will be compatible with Dell's proprietary 130W charger, but I'll post my findings here this weekend.

 

OK, so does anyone's notebook drain while plugged in?

Well, if that is truly the case...who cares. It's doing what it supposed to do. keep your notebook charged.

 

If you don't do stressful things then you won't experience discharging with the OEM charger. If you utilize the hardware in your 3k laptop then you will currently experience discharge. When Dell finally fixes the 100w cap with the OEM charger then people should not experience discharge as the cooling isn't good enough to allow for that much power use and the hardware will throttle.

 

Time will tell. If owners do not show discharge while plugged in, again, who cares what the readings are.

 

I never complained. I was trying to dispel speculation here by people who don't own one, but I failed... It's still the best laptop I've ever seen.

 

You mean just accept flawed design? Not what Pcworlds review editors say you should. They say in short “avoid it” until the flaws is fixed!

“How serious is it? We’ll just say that based on our review unit, it’s enough to recommend that you put a pause on a potential purchase until the problem is addressed by Dell”

The Dell XPS 17 9700 has a charging problemPcworld.com |

 

It doesn't affect me, so I don't care. All my chargers work perfectly for my needs--even the 45W one that says 60W on the label...

 

That's been the story with the XPS lineup. Nicely built, great size, cool features, but lots of things you just have to turn a blind eye to. If this laptop was $1300 then sure I could ignore some issues, but at 2x that price, I don't think so.

Having said that, I'm glad you enjoy your laptop, that's really what it's about.

 

OK> if it charges no matter what you are doing, how is it "flawed" put away your testers, benchmarking crap, and use your freakin computers. I don't understand what the big deal is.

Exactly my point! You ACUTALLY OWN ONE, it is working as advertised, therefore there IS no problem. All the people with their multimeters trying to "create problems" that are just not there. SIMPLE.

 

Well said.

You do realize that testers and benchmarking crap are extremely important, right? Tools are agnostic and guilt needs no accuser. Maybe if Dell did a little bit more of the testing and benching before releasing products to production there wouldn't be any defects for anyone to talk about. They used to do that, and I was part of that process back in the day.

If not for the Kool-Aid drinkers that are happy to turn a blind eye, Dell would likely no longer exist. Yes, it's nice that some people love what they own so much that they are willing to forgive the flaws. It's nice that they love it that much for Dell, too. Pretending the flaws do not exist or saying they don't matter and calling for others to stop examining the flaws and calling out the defects in public is a new one though. How does not owning one negate the validity of the observations, measurements, or discount the importance of the defects? Perhaps the existence of those defects are the most legitimate basis for not owning one. Is owning a flawed product a prerequisite for communicating anything negative about it in a public place? Are we going to have a protected class of laptop owners now and everyone that identifies defects, measures shortcomings, and expresses disagreement with a Dell-lover about anything whatsoever is a bigot and guilty of hate speech?

 

But the thing is, most of this garbage that is talked about is non issues. The 17 stays charged no matter what it's doing. Who gaf if it uses 5 or 500w. Etc. But thsts fine. Buy what you want crap on what you want. I will call out the baloney.

 

Did you ever consider that some of us actually prefer a 1920x1600 display and hate it when we inevitably accidentally touch an "infinity" touchscreen? That some of us have no use for high powered GPUs? Some of us bought an XPS 17 rather than a Samsung or whatever else we last owned because Dell gave us these options. You seem to be raging at fanboys, but I didn't see anybody here talking like one until post #266...

 

All @Mr. Fox said is that Dell have released a flawed or defective product. They didn't test it properly so it can work within own set specs. They test out more than one machine under engineering/developement/end quality qontrol and should easly see that something is wrong. Or maybe they have low quality test procedures. Only God knows. In short said the same as review editor Gordon Ung in his Pcworld article. Don't run and buy it before it's fixed by Dell. Can't be clearer than that.

 

All I saw was some rant about protected-class, Kool-Aid drinking, Dell lovers... I came here for serious, helpful, nerdy discussions and insight--not Fox News.

So far, I'm alone in the helpful department, but at least I've tried... Are there any other 9700 owners here in the "owners lounge"?

 

I think you meant @Mr. Fox News lol.

We have seen Dell run this basic laptop for 5 generations. It is essentially the same Skylake architecture. Poor engineering and QC were a bad excuse in 2015...worse today as Dell had so much time to refine the XPS line.

So you see a bit of that frustration with Dell here.

EDIT - I was waiting for the XPS 17 but seeing the poor [DPC] latency performance once again, this won't work for me. Also, I have an old MacBook Pro that also requires the battery power to run max performance...battery replacement is frequent and expensive.

 

Yes, pun intended.

This is the first Dell laptop I've bought in about 15 years, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. Also, I don't know what DPS is.

 

A couple of months ago I had the enjoyable experience to put XPS 15 9550 on my test bench for points on the bot. The fun part... It performed better on battery with full load on Cpu and Gpu than the provided USB-C charger. First time ever I have seen a laptop that struggle to get enough juice from a power adaper strong enough to outperfom the inbuilt battery (can't rember the wattage but should be enough to beat the battery). A weird experience.
https://hwbot.org/submission/4471481_papusan_cinebench___r11.5_core_i7_6700hq_7.57_points

Maybe some of you know what type USB-C charger this is?

Some info. http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/xps-15-9570-owners-thread.817008/page-274#post-10913996

 

Why do we have 250+ posts in the XPS 17 Owners Lounge of complaints people have about other machines? What constitutes an "owners lounge" here? That thing in the picture bears no resemblance to what we own in this lounge.

 

Shared DNA gives us clues on the typical defects and solutions.

 

See my edit/added reply on your post. You asked about DPC

Charging and power related problems is adopted from earlier XPS models. Relevant for this thread. See post #246

 

I did not ask about DPC.

 

Maybe not. But a wrong spelled word will be. Sorry if this wasn't what you wanted to know.

 

I didn't ask a question at all. When I do ask a question, it will almost certainly be specific.

 

Maybe I explained it wrong. Sorry for that. You said you didnt know what DPS was in your reply to @pressing. I explained it and added in a link so you could easly understand what he meant. And now you know. Oh well. Again sorry.

 

I was angry and lashed out--probably at the wrong guy, but it was a minor dig. It's the rest of you who are ruining this place...

 

Apologies for the typo.

And for upsetting anyone.

 

Your post was fine. I'm upset by all the spam in here about five year old issues that only ever affected people trying to play games on old XPS laptops that are not the one that was just released, and to which this "lounge" is dedicated. All that is off-topic unless an XPS 17 9700 OWNER asks a question to which some legacy XPS info might apply.

 

I'm on your side, and I don't think so.

Here in lies my point. If people stopped effing around with this benchmark, that voltage measurement, this temperature, and just used their freaking computer there would be alot more happy people. Instead you have 4 or 5 people here constantly focused on silly garbage regarding non issues of the said devices. I bet if I started benchmarking my little dell, and started comparing it to big beast gaming systems like they do here, I would throw it away. However, I turn it on, bang out a bunch of content, do what needs to be done and it works perfect. I don't care what the voltages are, I don't care what the temps are, I care that it freakin works.

 

That is a major part of the problem. Dell, HP, Acer, Apple, and most (if not all) of the other notebook manufacturers don't care because their customers don't care, or lack the technical expertise necessary to care. And, the more systems that die premature deaths from running hot and using more voltage than necessary, or whatever other reason they don't care about, the more they get to sell replacements. It's to their advantage that some people don't care and to the detriment of all that do.

And, all of this emotional reaction started because a professional reviewer (for whatever that is worth) that is respected by some recommended waiting until Dell corrects a defect before buying. Nobody is criticizing people that don't care about the defect(s). However, anyone thinking of buying this product should expect to find the good, the bad, and the ugly in an Owner's Lounge. If all they find is sugar-coated sunshine and roses, some are going to make regrettable decisions that they never would have made if they had found an unvarnished view of what to expect. Without the good, the bad, and the ugly it becomes a Shill's Lounge rather than an Owner's Lounge.

These are posts that exemplify what makes an Owner's Lounge a useful thread. Sometimes things are not perfect it is not appropriate to be singing "Everything is Beautiful" (rarely is). If there are posts by happy and unhappy, and yes... posts by the watchdogs that don't own one, but know how to read... then there is balance and objectivity.

 

No company will focus on making money by charging customers for fixing things - because one thing you can be sure about the non tech average customer is, if they have a bad experience with one company, they will happily switch to another which is a disastrous outcome. You see this across all types of consumer goods from washing machines, cars to TV’s where a customer has a bad or even an unlucky lemon product and then decides to swear off that brand.

It is just harder to make a defect free product than one would believe - I’ve yet to find a product which doesn’t have some sort of defect, some worse than others sure. It is true that companies sometimes may have found the defect but did a cost analysis review of fixing it vs keeping it as it is for now - but I truthfully don’t believed Dell will intentionally make their products die early.

 

I'll agree to that. I've never owned one, but the two things that stick out to me are that the power phase and charging configuration doesn't allow you to actually fully use the hardware that is provided in the laptop. No one would buy this expecting to be able to jack up power limits run hog wild, but it should at least be able to be fully powered while utilizing the CPU+GPU to play a game lets say. And I've seen enough stories where people are playing games and it isn't maintaining charge. That's unacceptable.

The second thing I saw, I think from Jarrod this time (he had a unit with an i7 + 1650Ti, review link: ) where he saw nasty DPC latency with latencymon. This has been the bane of Dell's existence with the XPS line, and as someone who hooks up DIs for guitar this is unacceptable. It would be cool if Jarrod uninstalled Intel RST if that's installed to see if his DPC latency improved, I did see another review where it looked like it was actually acceptable. Uninstalling Intel RST and reverting to the MS supplied ahci driver fixed a lot of strange issues on my LG Gram 17, DPC latency slight improvement just being one. Works well for audio production even with its meager 15W CPU..

If I bought one I'd probably get one without a dGPU since I use eGPU, and the unit would weigh less. I just doubt I'm ever going to see a review of one of those to get an assessment of the cooling solution, because it is much different, single fan heat pipe style I think, than the vapor chamber and larger fans of the dGPU toting units. Ususally larger fans == slower == less noise, or at least less ANNOYING noise profile. Usually.. anyway..

Based on the history of issues with the XPS line like bios issues, dpc latency problems and continuing problems and nothing but deflective excuses coming from Dell I wouldn't purchase one of these. my Gram 17 has been rock solid since Apr 2019, has a better choice of resolution (1200p is too low, 2400p is too high..the 1600p on the LG is just right) weighs a LOT less, is dead quiet, it fits my needs better. I really would rather have the keyboard and general chassis build of the XPS along with a faster CPU, but just those positives come with too many other compromises. Couple that with the fact that I really don't care what others think of my choice, that it doesn't "seem premium enough", I could care less. Dell is just shooting themselves in the foot constantly, when it SHOULD be the best lightweight 17" notebook, they are just getting in their own way for it to not be that.

Good job copying LG's general spec list, but try again next year. I'm interested to see if LG steps up just a little and provides a second SKU next year with maybe a LITTLE more weight with a slightly faster CPU and maybe larger fan to keep it just as quiet as it is now. If LG ditched the numpad, improved the cooling a (keep it just as quiet as it is now or don't try it) and bumped the CPU up to 25W config it would be really hard to beat. As it is now I really don't notice the 15W CPU much at all and I play a LOT of AAA games...

 

Aleinware is down the hall for people playing games.

 

Many gamers refuse to have anything to do with Alienware. Arguably the smartest ones will not because they are overpriced and unreliable. But, I am positive there are XPS owners that are interested in playing games with their XPS. My first serious gaming laptop was an XPS. My wife plays games on her XPS 15. That is one of the main reasons for paying extra for a laptop with a dGPU.

 

Wrong fork for a gunfight.

 

If you are trying to say a laptop that is equipped with a 1650Ti or 2060 isn't fit to play games is silly. As much as Dell tries to make sure they don't mention gaming and try to target creative professionals, sometimes they forget to clean up all the marketing on their own site about it

 

I don't think anybody is arguing for anything you oppose in this bit of your ramble, but the point is that this place is the opposite of an owners lounge. I hate the term "hater," but the only ownership here is by them of this lounge of non-owners...

 

It's not for gaming. It's for content creation. Two very different use cases. No matter the hardware. Aleinware is down the hall exit right. Again. Wrong fork for the gunfight.

 

So far I haven't noticed any hate posts, only observations, links and comments relating to facts, observations, and opinions. It's unfortunate if some folks feel the only people that should be allowed to participate in discussion are verified product owners. That's not how it works and that's probably good for folks that are looking for information to make an informed purchasing decision. Hopefully, they'll be able to weigh the pros and cons and do what is best in their circumstances. Knowledge is power.

I reckon it's for whatever purpose a person buying it believes they'd like to use it for. If it doesn't handle gaming well for some reason, in spite of it having a dGPU that would otherwise handle gaming just fine in another product, then it's probably good that this information surfaces for prospective buyers looking for information. I also reckon that Dell wouldn't say it's not suitable for gaming, seeing how they already advertise that it is.

I don't really understand why it wouldn't, couldn't or shouldn't be used for playing games. I mean, c'mon now... some people are using weaker hardware for that, so why not this one?

Some people don't like the tacky garish look of gaming laptops. The XPS is really nice and sleek looking. If it can play games and do fairly decent job of it, then why not?

Other than a few insignificant aesthetic differences this is essentially the same product (cosmetically speaking) as my wife's XPS 15 made in 2012. Apart from the larger screen, they look extremely similar. And, to me, that is a really positive thing. She loves her machine. It's made well and looks nice. She's happy with it. It's a lot older and weaker than this newer XPS 17, but she still plays games with hers and she doesn't need anything newer or more powerful. Would I be happy with it? Nope. Absolutely not. But, I don't need to be if she is. But, I still think it looks nice and is well made. The buttonless clickpad alone makes me want to smash it with a sledgehammer. But, I'd feel that way about any product with a buttonless clickpad because I hate those damned things.

 

I rekon if they buy it for gaming and it don't work correctly they bought the wrong fork for the gunfight, I don't know how to drive it through your head, it's NOT for gaming. Never was never will be. No matter how much you jump up and down and call it crap becuase other devices game better.

 

Hmm, OK... Let me know when you find an example that I actually said that. I think you're the only person that keeps saying that it sucks at gaming. I don't remember saying that today or any time recently.

If you believe your statement is accurate, then perhaps you should ask that Dell remove any references to gaming when advertising the XPS if it never was and never will be. Their marketing makes reference to it, so I am not understanding why you are determined that it is not suitable for that. Granted, they don't push it hard as such because they have the G series and Alienware tailored for that niche, but some models of those "gaming" products have the same specs, so go figure. It is most definitely overpriced as a gaming laptop, but their target market has deeper pockets than the gamer-kid niche.

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/del...-17-9700-laptop#carousel-example-with-caption

Six of one... half-dozen of the other. Specs support it. Dell talks about it. Why is it not? It's the most aesthetically appealing option of the three. There's hardly any difference in specs, but the XPS 17 arguable has the better CPU. Nothing remarkably different between them looking at specs, but the XPS is a whole lot more expensive. There is probably more invested in the spit and polish for the XPS, so I will give them that. Why shouldn't someone buy it for gaming? Yeah, it would be stupid for mommy and daddy to pay more for the XPS just so junior can tear it up, but... If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...

If what you are saying is accurate and it does suck at gaming, then there is another flaw that needs to be considered by potential buyers because there would be absolutely no excuse for that to be true based on specs. I'm not saying that though... you are, bro. Has that been your experience with it? Or did you actually mean you never bought it for that and never intend to use it for that?

 

You made that up. If it's my mouth into which you're attempting to insert those words, please go back and read again. You totally missed the point... Which is that an actual owner who stumbles into this place will be hard pressed to find any posts that are specific to a 9700. The few posts about which type of RAM or SSD might work best are lost in the noise and occasional bits of second-hand information copied from a review or from Reddit... Five years ago I had the exact opposite experience here in the forum for my previous Samsung laptop, and I want to see that kind of constructive cooperation here. Unfortunately, if Google led me to this forum for the first time today, I would pass right by and never look back. I expect we've lost many such people since this terrible thread began...

 

By that logic, a thin and light 17" gaming laptop would do a better job, it could probably actually handle encoding 4K/8K video better than this unit if it's power starved. If they can fix the power delivery so it can actually utilize the hardware it comes with properly it would be a damn fine device.

Oh, and the DPC latency issues are 100% a problem for content creation.

 

This is where Dell could have taken a page out of the Razer Blade Pro 2020 playbook. Have a 200-plus watt PSU with a barrel connector when you need full power but also offer USB-C charging for light tasks or to top off the battery in a pinch.


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