Dell XPS 17 (L702x) Thread

[madmattd]

Of course I was kidding. More emoticons next time.

The fact is trialware subsidizes the cost of the box. If we took all that off, we'd have to price accordingly. When the top overall decision driver in the consumer space is price (as opposed to TCO in the enterprise), you better have your $$$ right. Those novice users you mentioned will not care one iota about how nice it is to have a trialware-free system if it costs $x more than the same hardware config from HP or Acer. While you and I can appreciate a clean Windows experience and abhor 98 processes running at boot, we basically only boot an ODM Windows image for the lulz, then we're off to format and delete diag, restore and any useless utility partitions on the HDD.

If Dell is claiming a trialware free installation in any of our marketing communications, please link me to it. I'll get it updated. As far as front line reps saying, "Bloatware? What is this bloatware of which you speak?" I can't control that. I wish I could, but my tactics in that endeavor would be a little impatient and ham-fisted. I'd run out of friends in a hurry, because I pretty much feel the same way you do. I just don't spend any time fretting over it anymore. It's like taxes. It's always going to be there.

I figured you were kidding. But knowing the lines I've gotten from Dell in the past, one never knows for sure... Plus I've been frustrated with a few companies today and the lies they've been feeding me (not Dell) and it felt good to vent a little on a pet peeve of mine. Sorry to any that went "omg, big wall-o-text, tl;dr, this guy is nuts". The nuts part is true anyway

You raise a good point about subsidizing the cost. Like I said, it doesn't bother me since I know how to get rid of it in the cleanest way (>format c ). And yea, it's just the guys on the phone who have told me (several ones of course) that Dell doesn't bloat their installs...obviously not much one person can do about the reps on the phone. No one's asking you to (well, I'm not )

I appreciate a representative actually coming here once in a while (or whatever your position may be).

I don't suppose the reps can be better trained so as to not lie to future customers about what they are getting - Don't worry, I'm done going off about the things they've pulled on me in the past. It all got resolved in the end (after endless hours on the phone of course). In the end, Dell's CS is still better than most I've dealt with...

[xxgokouxx]

Well that really sucks !,i really took my eye off the ball,still having trouble with my malfunctioning usb3 ports,so i intended to phone Dell,no point! i am 2 weeks out of warranty!.Should have tried those ports earlier i didnt think i had had it that long.Hope its a driver issue,have installed a new driver from Renesas still no joy.Aaarrrgghhhh!!!

That really bites :'( The only other option is to ask a dell rep how to pursue this repair, did you do the reinstall of the renesas drivers as per my instructions in the one post? If that didn't help My last option would be to call.

xxgokouxx Thanks

NP, I believe you were the one that helped me with that dilemma of the quickset, thanks to you i've been hooked in helping people on here as much I can.

I MAY start a thread with complete instructions pretty soon on how to reinstall drivers after a fresh copy of Win 7, just waiting for the moment where everything driver-wise stabilizes. Because as soon as I open I assume it will be closed.

[ray4jc]

finally found time to put the plextor ssd in a few days ago and all seems smooth, actually put my 640Gb samsung back tonight with it for dual boot and I swear it seems faster....maybe my 500gb toshiba was slowing this down for some reason

For the record I've used a 2Tb Western Digital External USB 3.0 and have not had any issues whatsoever, good speeds in the 70-80Mb/s range.

I don't recollect my BIOS version at the moment, I'll try and check later.

ok I forgot to post back but I'm still running BIOS A12 for reference to the above.

I MAY start a thread with complete instructions pretty soon on how to reinstall drivers after a fresh copy of Win 7, just waiting for the moment where everything driver-wise stabilizes. Because as soon as I open I assume it will be closed.

you mean like this thread

DELL XPS 17 L702x Clean Install

[xxgokouxx]

Nice, I guess there's already a thread for that, but we also have people with driver problems still. Do the mods/admins admit us to have stickies?

[Onners]

Hi!

I´m into buying Dell XPS 17 but i have two concerns:

1. I have been reading about owners of the laptop
that have problems with the power cord easily
disconneting. How annoying is this and would you
advice not to buy it beacuse of this issue?

2. I´m choosing between screen resolution of
900p vs 1080p (non 3D). 1080p is the one in favor right now
but i wonder how much it will degrade the game
performance versus the 900p?

Here are the specs:

Intel Core i7 2670QM 2,2 GHz
8GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB
750 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA


Thanks in advance!

[madmattd]

Hi!

I´m into buying Dell XPS 17 but i have two concerns:

1. I have been reading about owners of the laptop
that have problems with the power cord easily
disconneting. How annoying is this and would you
advice not to buy it beacuse of this issue?

2. I´m choosing between screen resolution of
900p vs 1080p (non 3D). 1080p is the one in favor right now
but i wonder how much it will degrade the game
performance versus the 900p?

Here are the specs:

Intel Core i7 2670QM 2,2 GHz
8GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB
750 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA


Thanks in advance!

#1 is moderately annoying. Some people's fit better than others. Me, I've learned to deal with it, but there are a few ways of "fixing" it, one of which entails gently bending the contacts outward a smidge in the socket on the laptop. But I wouldn't pass up the system due to this cable thing.

#2, get the 1080p. The 900p is just too low-res for a 17" screen imo, and I don't even mind slightly larger icons. I've had both screens, glad I went with the FHD in the end. The 900p is glossy and will reflect a lot which can make it hard to read (as with all glossy screens). The 1080p (if you mean the non-3D one) is matte. It has it's own downsides, but the higher resolution and matte finish are pluses in my book.

Of course at 1080p you will get lower game performance, but you can still game at 900p or whatever else if you like. That said, the 555m you link is a beast of a GPU (Dell's version is the strongest versus other manufacturers' in fact) and handles modern games very solidly. No, you won't get 100fps on Crysis on FHD extreme settings, but playing most games on high or better settings is usually not a problem.


Btw, good CPU choice. No worries with that one

[ray4jc]

For those with power plug problems, I didn't like the straight plug anyways and soon after getting my L702X I purchased a right angle adapter and never had any charging problems, I've been using it for 9 months now.

This is what I purchased, its the LC90 right angle plug from Bixnet.

LC90 Dell Laptop 90 Degree Right Angle Power Connector | eBay

[madmattd]

For those with power plug problems, I didn't like the straight plug anyways and soon after getting my L702X I purchased a right angle adapter and never had any charging problems, I've been using it for 9 months now.

This is what I purchased, its the LC90 right angle plug from Bixnet.

LC90 Dell Laptop 90 Degree Right Angle Power Connector | eBay

Thanks, I've been meaning to get one of these for a while. Keep forgetting to ask for a link to a compatible one (since they are buried in the 8000000 pages of this thread )

[ray4jc]

Thanks, I've been meaning to get one of these for a while. Keep forgetting to ask for a link to a compatible one (since they are buried in the 8000000 pages of this thread )

Yeah I know right. I've now done about everything to my l702x.

I'm also thinking about getting a caddy for the optical bay so I can use my SSD and two hdd's. Newmodeus is ~$45 but ebay is only ~$16....wonder if they are about the same

[Onners]

#1 is moderately annoying. Some people's fit better than others. Me, I've learned to deal with it, but there are a few ways of "fixing" it, one of which entails gently bending the contacts outward a smidge in the socket on the laptop. But I wouldn't pass up the system due to this cable thing.

#2, get the 1080p. The 900p is just too low-res for a 17" screen imo, and I don't even mind slightly larger icons. I've had both screens, glad I went with the FHD in the end. The 900p is glossy and will reflect a lot which can make it hard to read (as with all glossy screens). The 1080p (if you mean the non-3D one) is matte. It has it's own downsides, but the higher resolution and matte finish are pluses in my book.

Of course at 1080p you will get lower game performance, but you can still game at 900p or whatever else if you like. That said, the 555m you link is a beast of a GPU (Dell's version is the strongest versus other manufacturers' in fact) and handles modern games very solidly. No, you won't get 100fps on Crysis on FHD extreme settings, but playing most games on high or better settings is usually not a problem.


Btw, good CPU choice. No worries with that one

Thanks alot for a fast reply and your detailed answer!
I´ll go for the FHD screen then.