The DELL Studio XPS 13 horror thread

[Biko65]

Well, here are the specs :

Studio xps 13
Processor :Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz)
Operating system :Genuine Windows Vista ultimate 32
Memory :4GB DDR3 SDRAM
Monitor :13.3” WXGA WLED Display
Hard Drive: 500GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Optical Drive :Slot load 8X max DVD+/-RW* Drive with DVD+R
Graphic Card :NVIDIA® GeForce® 9500GE graphics
Wireless Network Card ell Wireless 1515 802.11n Mini-Card
Bluetooth option

Arrived three days ago in Verona (Italy) from the polish fab.
Please keep in mind that I'm a Dell "aficionado" as this is my third laptop from them ( the last was a Inspiron 6000), so, no preconceived at all...


So far :

Problems with the IDT High Def Audio driver

- Stacsv.exe service (responsible for automatically detect where you plug the earphones) goes to 50 % of CPU all the time after startup ( it chokes one of the 2 cores) and there's a lot of people having the same issue with this Audio card, just search the inet, I disabled the service and this seems to fix it for the moment...

- if you close the cover of the XPS, when reopened, the earphones, no longer works...you need to reinstall the IDT drivers in order to make them work again or....I temporarily fix it by installing an older driver version (6.10.0.6047,A08 just look for the R196492.exe file in Dell repository), but this sounds no good to me, anyway...


General problem

Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!!

Today it freezed up at least 10 times, in random situations....just after booting, or scrolling an IE page, or just running VmWare.

The notebook got completely stuck, so the only chance is to forcely shut it down.
I don't think the temperature is responsible for this (got it with SIW.exe):

----- [Sensor] ------
----- [DELLXPS] ----------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Value Min Max
ACPI
Temperatures
THRM 60 °C (139 °F) 55 °C (130 °F) 60 °C (139 °F)
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8600
Temperatures
Core #0 49 °C (120 °F) 48 °C (118 °F) 52 °C (125 °F)
Core #1 47 °C (116 °F) 44 °C (111 °F) 50 °C (121 °F)
GeForce 9500M (GF 9200MGS + GF 9400MG)
Temperatures
GPU Core 56 °C (132 °F) 54 °C (129 °F) 56 °C (132 °F)
GeForce 9500M (GF 9400MG + GF 9200MGS)
Temperatures
GPU Core 61 °C (141 °F) 57 °C (134 °F) 61 °C (141 °F)


Nor the Dell diagnostic ( Fn + Power UP) reported any problem....

Last but not least....if you go to http://www.thesycon.de/eng/free_download.shtml
download and run the free, tiny utility to measure the DPC Latency, I had the pleasure to see that my brand new XPS is flawed with latency problems, unlike is older and slower Inspiron 6000...

I quote from thesicon website :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thesycon's DPC Latency Checker is a Windows tool that analyses the capabilities of a computer system to handle real-time data streams properly. It may help to find the cause for interruptions in real-time audio and video streams, also known as drop-outs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just what I needed, since plugging my Stratocaster Guitar through my (already flawlessly working elsewere) RockFrog USB Interface onto the XPS, all I get are thousands of clicks and pops....!!!!

I'm tired of fighting with my new Dell, which was the winner when I choosed between XPS and MacBook Pro, and, yeah I know it was just out, but considering to return it, seriously.

Someone experienced the same issues ? ( "aeasaeas " I know your freezes as well...)

Ciao

Andrea

[Bog]

I do recommend that you simply return it.

[Nition]

Yeah I had mine freeze, but only once. It freezes every time I use the eSATA port though.

e: I ran the latency test. Yeah, I see what you mean. Did you isolate what's causing it specifically?

[tianxia]

wow id return it if i were you. safe some future rant as well.

[theguac]

Man, if more people come up with these problems, I might cancel or return. That's ridiculous that Dell would ship such a problem-ridden laptop. Do the problems get better after reformatting? I was hesitant about buying from Dell but I thought they would have gotten better so I took a chance--looks like my fears are becoming a reality. Hopefully these problems are not in the US version but they probably will be.

[slowdown117]

First, I give you props on the thread name.
Second, after reading your post the title is justified.
I am in awe of the absolute garbage that is being passed of as a computer these days.

The one thing that I may be able to help you with is your DPC latency. As you stated, the audio clicks, pops, and dropouts are indeed a result of horrifying DPC latency. The culprit - your Dell wireless card.

All of the Dell branded wireless cards are made by Broadcom. Apparently Broadcom doesn't care that their wireless adapters are guilty of outrageous DPC spikes and are ruining people's audio. They don't see this as a problem and neither does Dell. Don't bother talking to them about it. They will play stupid and try every tactic to distract you.

You can disable that thing and your monster spikes that are killing your audio should go away. But the permanent solution is pull that piece of garbage out of your machine and install an Intel wireless adapter. Doesn't matter if it's the Intell 3495 or the 4695. They are both awesome and are superior for DPC problems.

I wish people would read these forums before they buy. There are numerous threads that talk about this DPC problem with Broadcom. I myself and others have advised that people steer clear of the Dell brand wireless.

Some users have reported some relief from DPC spikes with updated drivers, but it is my opinion that don't even bother. After extensive research I have concluded that it's best to just not buy Dell's wireless adapters (If and when they correct this issue, they would be just fine to purchase). Intell adapters do not ever suffer from DPC spikes at this time.

Disable that pile of crud and see if your spikes disappear. It will be horrifying to know that you do this and nothing changes. But this mainboard that Dell put in that machine might be a real gem.

[a36]

Originally Posted by Biko65

General problem

Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!! Freeze !!!

Today it freezed up at least 10 times, in random situations....just after booting, or scrolling an IE page, or just running VmWare.

The notebook got completely stuck, so the only chance is to forcely shut it down.

you're not alone and like the 5th-6th person i've read of that's been afflicted with this since people started receiving their XPS 13 shipments. seems to happen a lot, sorry, should have stuck with Lats if you were going to stay with Dell. their consumer line seems like s**t lately.

[Commander Wolf]

Save for the latency issue, it seems like everything else is a software problem... I'd venture you'll take care of most of your issues with a reinstall. The temps look pretty normal, so they probably aren't the source of your problem(s).

[Nition]

I tried disabling, even uninstalling my wireless card, but it didn't seem to make a difference on mine. The latency spike comes in an even pattern though, so it's got to be something like that causing it.

I thought maybe it'd be helpful to consolidate 1340 issues into one big thread so I made one here. Biko65, I quoted you for the latency app, if you don't mind.

[slowdown117]

Biko65, save yourself some aggravation, and return that thing if you are still in the time frame. The freezing problems alone are pretty much all that I would need to return it before another day go's by.

I'm really sorry that didn't help you. That last line in my post about the mainboard must be true from what you are saying. If that latency doesn't go away with all of you cards disabled, then it's in the mainboard itself.

Return that thing before it consumes you.