Dell Inspiron 15R Special edition (7520)

I imagine the '3D business and gaming graphics' is the 7730m, while the 'desktop graphics performance' is the HD4000. It should automatically switch the the 7730m when you do something graphics-intensive (or if not, go to Catalyst Control Centre, go to switchable graphics and enable the program you want to 'high performance')

Speaking of graphics, does anyone know if installing drivers directly from the AMD site works? Says on the website to use the manufacturer's drivers if 'switchable graphics' are involved, but I was just wonderin' people's experiences

 

I had a low score in W8, in W7 i have 5.6 and 6.6!
Must be some kind of bug, because that 4.9 is worthy of the onboard intel hd4000!
Anyway, enjoy the ssd speed

 

I don't know, but i tried them, performance-wise didn't make any difference, at least not noticeable.
But it did keep the 7730M ON, or at least speedfan let me read the gpu temp all the time.
Newer drivers are having some updates that should be worthy, such as improvements in some games.
But for now (while i don't play) i'll keep the official ones
Will Dell update the graphics drivers?
Cheers

 

After all the kerfuffle of switching to a ssd, I can say the laptop is very good. The 1920x1080 screen looks good. For photo editing is enough but not enough. You can't compare this to a retina display. The keyboard is nice, being backlit, helps a lot at night. Got 4-4.5 hours of juice running with battery. The fan seems to get working fairly often but with speedfan the issue gets fixed.

 

Might do the trick but if I recall correctly the drivers from AMD does not have the Dell's HW ids for the video cards.try to find some modded drivers on guru3d...

 

Quick review video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgX6PbFr9s4

Tell me what you think...

 

Is it just me or is the cooling on this thing pretty good? Loads of heat is coming out of the side vent, though none is coming out of the bottom. I'm not sure if that's good or bad..
And would you need a cooling pad for gaming?

Edit: Dell has a new Elantech driver up on their website but it's coming up file not found The Elantech driver is a joke atm with the whole genius system where typing disables the touchpad

 

How come? Did you remove the driver before putting this new one? Or you installed on top?

 

Thank you mingocr83 for the display review, but now i have it on my desk. I'd say : 10 for power/price 8+ for build quality ( plastic + plastic + plastic so on ) and 6 for the display ( don't get me wrong, it is an 1080p display but colour accuracy is awful - for example mine has a pronounced blue tint). Overall a great laptop but I do not like the display and the hybrid graphic solution. 90% I will send it back next week.

Thank you.

 

About the graphic solution, man, you get used to it. The Catalyst software will catch the application and you just click which VC you want to use...The screen, yeah, is has like a bluish tint, you can try to change the contrast on the Intel settings, but I do not recall which setting was changed....

 

I've been looking at the 15R Special Edition 7520 and found this board. I had some questions and concerns and was hoping I can get some help. Looks like I came to the right place.

I'd be using it like everyone else. But I'm not a gamer, so that's not an issue.

1) The Display

I heard that on a 15.6" monitor, you wouldn't notice the difference between 720p and 1080p. I'd definitely go for as sharp as resolution as possible, but is it that true? Is there a noticeable difference (I've been going to local computer stores to compare, but that didn't work out)?

If I got the 1080p, I think the 1920 x 1080 setting would make things too small. So does that mean I should stick with the 720? Or would the 1080p still be sharper than the 720 regardless of the resolution setting?

In the specs for the 720p, it says "15.6" High Definition (720p) LED Display with Truelife." But for the 1080p, it says "Full HD LED Display". Is the 1080 "Truelife" even though it doesn't say so (I assume it's better with Truelife then without)?

In the specs for the 15z Ultrabook, it's WLED. Is the 15r SE WLED? If so, why don't they say so? (I understand that WLED is brighter and uses less energy).

Are these the kind of displays that you have to look at straight-on and if you moved the laptop to the side, just a little, the screen fades (gets darker)? Or can you look at it from any angle and it's the same?

2) Fan/noise

Over the years, I've heard Dell has had issues with fans that never turn off (something with the BIOS settings). Is it an issue with the 15r SE? Do they run uncontrollably? And even if the fan works correctly, is it noisy? Noticeable?

3) BIOS and drivers

I'm not a techie and throughout this thread I keep reading how all of you are downloading drivers, for one thing or another. If I bought this, you'd think Dell would have the most up to date drivers and BIOS settings. But are there chronic issues with the 15r SE (like the fan/noise or the touchpad) that constantly need driver downloads?

4) Video Cards

I understand it comes with two, the Intel HD Graphics 4000 and the AMD Radeon HD 7730. But having to go into the Catalyst Control Panel (the what?) and choose which one to use for a particular application....what the...? Is there a default setting?

Anyway, since I'm not a gamer I assume, A) I won't have any trouble with them? B) the two cards wold be more then enough for my needs? and C) would the cards and having to choose which one to use come into play with Skype or other streaming video?

5) Any issues with the hardware (the Centrino Wireless N 2230 + BT 4.0, for instance) and Windows 8?

Sorry about all the redundant questions, but when it comes to a complicated purchase like this, I want to know exactly what I'd be getting.

Thanks a lot. I'd appreciate the help.

 

i need your help. it is really required. i bought dell insprion se 7520 laptop.
its gaming performance is good .it came with switchable graphics and
catalyst control host but i had tried all the versions avaiable in my dell utility disc. they are not stable. so i uninstalled the amd driver and all stuff .
i tried to installed 12.11 beta driver.but it wont let me install.
so can anyone tell me any soltuion to it or i have to live this problem every time.
i play one game reinstall the whole driver again.
one more thing my dell inspirion came with a07 bios i updated it to a09 which is latest. as some of them it will help but nothing changed other than the gaming performance.
i have windows 8 .
please guide my in right direction what should i do.

this is the problem.


my windows 8


my device manager screenshots before instalation.


my version before installation for drivers both amd and intel hd 4000 graphic card.



my device manager screenshots after instalation.


my version after installation for drivers both amd and intel hd





i already tried all the versions of the video drivers available in below link-

Drivers for Laptops\Inspiron\Inspiron 15R SE 7520

please help me to resolve with this issue.

 

Ok, this is my first post on this forum so go easy on me .
I purchased the 15r SE back in October after doing a lot of research on different laptops. It was within my budget and had amazing specs for the price.
I ended up going with the i5 model with 4GB ram and 500GB hard drive, a pretty standard model. However I am very impressed with MOST of the laptops features. I do however have some problems that I would like to share with you all.

I have been reading a lot about the backlit keyboard. When I originally went to purchase this laptop, on the UK website it was clearly advertised as a standard fitment, something which I would benefit greatly from and a big decision maker for me when buying the laptop. However when I received the laptop it didn't in fact come with a backlit keyboard, you can understand my disappointment. I promptly contacted Dell UK who informed me that the backlit keyboard was not in fact standard fitment and it was only the US that had it as standard. Nothing I could do, totally fed up! Anyway, a few days after my phone call I checked back on the Dell site and surprise surprise the page had changed that advertised the UK version as having a backlit keyboard, it now had nothing about a backlit keyboard.

After a few weeks of use I got used to the fact that I could not have a backlit keyboard, although disappointed, it was not the end of the world. Unfortunately curiosity got the better of me and about 4 weeks after I had received my system I again checked the Dell site for the 15r SE and lo and behold it now came AS STANDARD with a backlit keyboard. I was absolutely gutted. Again after a phone call to Dell to actually see if I could purchase a backlit keyboard separately I was let down again as the customer support guy told me that the keyboard was unavailable for separate purchase. So I couldn't even pay for the damn thing!

The second thing on the laptop that was a bit of a let down was the graphics. The 2GB dedicated AMD graphics sounded awesome but there is a catch. It is not a dedicated graphics card so to speak, the standard Intel HD 4000 graphics power most things until more processing demand from software in which case the AMD graphics kick in. There was supposed to be an option in Bios Rev. A04 where you could actually make the AMD graphics dedicated but future updates have removed this option. So I turned to the catalyst control centre, there is an option to select which graphics are used by which programs but this does not seem to affect anything from what I can tell. I am a gamer and while the laptop runs most things to an adequate standard there is no way of knowing if it is using the AMD or the Intel graphics.

These are my main 2 concerns with the laptop, I really wish I had waited for 4 weeks before buying but hindsight is a wonderful thing. At least then I would have a nice shiny backlit keyboard :/

Anyway, I will try and answer some of Steve6's questions.

1. The display is fantastic in a word. When viewing at angles it stays nice and bright with very minimal darkening on the edge of the screen. As for quality, it's crystal clear. I have watched 1080P movies with no problem at all.

2. The fan does run pretty much constant but honestly it is very very quiet under normal use. When you start doing a little more with it like intensive gaming it does get a little bit more noisy but still quiet. I am very picky about fan speed/noise and this laptop has not caused me any concerns at all.

3. So far I have not had any problems with drivers, even when I upgraded from Win 7 to Windows 8, everything has been perfect.

4. I have discussed the graphics but as you say you are not a gamer and honestly this will not affect you at all, you will not notice any sort of lag or problem under normal use.

5. I have had absolutely no issues whatsoever when I upgraded to Windows 8, everything has worked perfectly since installing it.

I hope this helps you out Steve6.

As for my own issues, it has really made me think twice about buying Dell again. Their selling practice is misleading and unfair in some cases, with errors on their website stating incorrectly about standard fitments for the laptop. Their phone support in my case was dreadful, from being on hold for 45 minutes one time and half an hour the next. More clarification on the graphics would have been nice too. Overall the system is good but if you are a particularly fussy sort and really want to make sure you know what you are buying make sure you do your research, although in fairness, I did but misleading statements on the Dell site did not help

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps somebody out.

 

I have had the 15R SE for now 4 months. First 3 months the GPU worked as intended i.e. is when I played SC2 it switched to 7730 (my FPS was between 40-70) when I selected the SC2.exe as High Performance. Not anymore. I do not recall changing anything major but I think there may be some conflicts. I re ran the windows performance index and my gaming performance went down from 6.6 to 6.5 (could just be variance in measurement).
Now I have tried everything (except re-installing the driver) but I cannot force it to switch.

I am using the A04 BIOS (did not change it because I had not issue with it so if not broken why change.
I am using the Dell A01 AMD driver which has not given my any problem till now.
I am using Win7 which it came with 4 months ago.

Looking for help for those who were able to solve a similar problem. Do not want to try to something crazy like installing unofficial driver as I know what I had should work as it did the first 3 months
For last few weeks it has stopped switching. I used to

 

To everyone who has this laptop. Do you all have the same problem where typing disables the touchpad? Anyone solved this problem other than downloading a much older driver?

 

Im having the same issue with the control center but don't have the error in device manager. ill let you know if i figure it out

 

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and I was hoping that some of you may help me.
I want to buy Dell 7520 with i5 processor and full hd screen for work. The laptop size/weight is small enough to be portable for me. Dell 7720 seems too big (but has much better GPU).

I went through this thread and found that HD 7730 GPU is not as fast as I asumed.
Unfortunately I also want to play on this machine so the question is how it will do in native fullhd?
I do not need all maxed options out, but I want to see some graphics there. Is it possible to get some decent framerates in 1080p?

I know I can always scale resolution down to 1366x768 and it should run great. But I wander how does scalling down look like on this screen. Is it very blurry?
On my current lap (900p) when I try to play D3 scaled down it just looks terrible! Is it possible to get some screenshot from some games downscaled to lower res?

How do you think will this machine be ok or should i look for something different if I want to play some games?

 

I was able to get my issue fixed and it may also help you. I uninstalled the AMD driver through device manager, then I used a program called Driver Fusion (found in a google search) to remove every last piece of the old driver/application. Then install the newest version of the driver from dell. Now it working like a champ. Good luck

 

Thanks for the info.

But, in general, is it normal for fans on laptops to run most/all the time? If so, then I would think there is something wrong with Dell's fans. If not, and the fans running continuously is normal, then it's normal. I thought fans only ran when necessary.

Couple more general questions.

As I said, I'm not into gaming and will use the laptop as anyone else. But Skype and streaming video is very important. Would the i7 quad core processor make much of a difference for streaming video (and internet, Powerpoint, things like that etc) then the i5?

If so, I'd pay the extra for the i7 quad. Actually, I wouldn't mind paying the extra anyway because if I got the i5 I don't want to second guess myself a couple of years down the road. Then again, if the i5 really is all I need, then no sense throwing money away. Other then gaming, where is the i7 quad necessary? (can you edit cell phone video with an i5?).

This is a question I may have to go somewhere else but I'll give it a try. I have a Powerpoint presentation and under many of the slides I entered notes. So when giving the slide show, I want to see the slide and notes on my screen, but the audience seeing only the slide (obviously). My library has a computer/projection set up and a couple of years ago tried setting it up that way, But I couldn't get it to work. I could only get the slide on the computer and screen. I went into settings and the box I was supposed to check was whited out so I couldn't check it. I later learned it has something to do with the video card.

So would the Intel HD 4000 video card and the AMD 7730 (and whatever else the 15 r SE comes wtih) be enough for me to see the slide and notes on my screen but only the slide shown on the big screen?

I contacted Microsoft and even though it's their software, they told me to contact Dell. But I have my doubts if they'd know.

Thanks.

 

I went to Best Buy and they had the Inspiron 15z Ultrabook (720 p because the screen res didn't go to the 1920 x 1080). I hate to be picky about this, but I thought the screen was a bit chalky. I raised the brightness as far as it could go, but it needed to go further. Maybe it needed a contrast adjustment too, but there was no contrast button that I could find.

There were Asus and Samsung 15" models there and they were brighter and not as chalky. The blue on them was a brighter blue. The whites, a bright white. So I did see a difference between them and the z. The Asus and Samsung were both HD 1080P. I checked their specs and the Asus had something added to their display spec (didn't write it down); the Samsung had "300 nits Superbright Technology" added to theirs.

So my question is, is the 15z's display exactly what you'd get with the 15r SE? The 15z is
the High definition WLED. I thought the WLED is brighter. If that's brighter...

Or, since the 15r is HD 1080p, not 720p, and (presumably) not WLED, it would be as bright as the Asus and Samsung?

After I left I thought maybe all the 15z needed was raising the color saturation level. But is there even a color saturation control on it? Didn't notice it. Does the 15r have it?

Another thing crossed my mind. The 15z has the U processors (don't know if it was the i5 or the i7). And they use less power then processors in the 15r. So is it possible the z's
screen was chalky because of a processor that uses less power?

The 15z also has the Intel HD Graphics, but I'm not sure if it also has the AMD 7730, like the 15r does.

So put all this together - is there a possibility that the r's screen would be more like the Asus and Samsung and not the z's?

Thanks again.

 

I don't think the 15R display is the best... a few (docens) pages back there was a discusion regarding the displays, the hd display seemed to be "better" than the fhd, but i still mantain that there is no resolution better than fhd for a 15.6 inch lappy

I can't complain about mine, it does have tons of brightness, albeit the colours are not the "best"

Enjoy your new 15z!

 

No. I didn't buy the 15z. I'm considering the 15r SE. But since I can't get my hands on the 15r SE and check it out for myself, the best I can do is the 15z, which Best Buy has. Wasn't thrilled with the screen. So I'm trying to figure out if the 15z's screen specs are exactly the same as the r's. And even if they are, there are things that are different (the "u" processor, AMD GPU). So there's a chance that the r's screen would be more like the the Asus and the Samsung that I saw.

 

Asus especially generally have awesome screens for the money. Check out the Dell XPS range for the better quality screens, my guess is the 15z and 15SE have the same ones.

Also, having read up on your requirements, I wouldn't go for a 15SE, the spec of the machine is more than you require. You'll get along fine with a normal i5, 4GB RAM, Intel graphics (and no, the type/brand of graphics card does not make much of a difference to the quality of image onscreen - AMD generally have better colours with movies and such so I've read)

 

Brought my new Dell Inspiron 15R SE and is seriously impressed. Love the honeycomb finish and the antiglare FHD screen.
The laptop runs very cool even after an hour of full HD gaming(Mafia 2). The battery stays for almost 4 hours at minimum settings. Posted my complete review at Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Laptops.

 

Just finished reading the entire thread a few hours ago, and as if on cue, the i7,8GB,1TB, 1080p FHD model became available in the Dell Express Ship Affiliate site for india - CompuIndia.com. Promptly placed the order. Should be delivered in 3-4 days.

 

Guide to adjusting the too small font sizes and elements on the Full HD display Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Laptops: Font Size in Full HD display

 

i'm looking for the dell part number for the backlit keyboard for this laptop (7520).

can someone with this laptop please look up the part number for the backlit version of the keyboard (US layout)? it should be on your dell order (which lists all the various parts which make up the laptop). would be greatly appreciated!!

 

This is what mine says

Item #RXWWM
Module,Keyboard,United States,England/English,C12SB2,World Wide,W8
$15.80

 

Since AMD updated its drivers in CCC to 13.1, i did update it from AMD's site. After installing, device manager says that both AMD and Intel driver version is 8.892.6.0. and the date of driver shown is August 2012. Why am I not getting the latest drivers, any idea?

 

Hello,
I've been thinking of upgrading to Windows 8 Pro while it's still on discount until the end of the month. Has anyone done this and what do I need to do if I want to do a clean re-install of Windows 8 Pro?
I've been looking around the Dell website and cannot find anyway to download ISO images or anything to re-install Windows.

Thanks,
Rafael

 

From what I've been reading on the net, the following is what I guess is what you need to do for a clean install of win 8 pro.
1. Download and run Upgrade advisor
2. Purchase win 8 pro
3. The tool, when downloading, allows to save the file for later installation (on to usb etc) Choose this to save in an installable format (set aside a 4gb usb pen drive for it)
4. Finish download, reboot from the new installation drive.. and off you go...

Like I said, this is what I think it is. I'm yet to get my piece delivered, so no first hand knowledge yet. Good luck.

 

Got my laptop delivered today evening.

_____________________________________
Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2

 

Great! Hope you enjoy it!
Do you have plans to do a clean install? I'm going to have to try it because I am having issues with shutting down my laptop.

It will not shutdown through the regular shutdown buttons.

 

Yes I have to partition the disk and do clean reinstall, but maybe after a week or so. I need to go back home, get the installation media ready, backup using home pc before starting...

 

Nice review I have a question, though..

How did you get that direct link from the AMD site to the GPU drivers? Whenever I try, it takes me to a 'driver verification tool' download. If I try to run that, it tells me to use drivers from Dell's website. Is it safe to use the drivers you linked to?

 

I'm currently trying leshcat's drivers and they seem to be working, at least graphic card switching works... haven't had time to test it in games though!

 

can you post a link to these drivers

 

Hi,
Inspiron 15R SE newbie here so please excuse my dumb questions and comments.

Has anybody successfully replaced the supplied WiFi Card in the 15R SE (Intel Centrino Wireless N – 2230 = dual stream, single band 2.4GHz) with a better real Dual Band Card (Intel Centrino Wireless N-6230 = dual stream, dual band = 2.4GHz + 5GHz)?

Both cards are WiFi + Bluetooth and use two aerials/antennas.

Does anybody know if Dell use a similar “white list”, encoded into the system BIOS approached, as HP to stop owners replacing parts by themselves?

I am amazed that many people buy Laptops to use in a WiFi environment and do not look hard enough at the specifications of the WiFi Card the laptop comes with.

The only difference I can see between the 15R SE and the XPS 15 is the WiFi card. So Dell and HP charge $400-$500 and even more for a $35 WiFi Card/Part?

I has the same issue with a HP Pavilion DV6-7000 Series Laptop which HP told me I could not change the single band card in that laptop. I found a thread here on notebookreviews that clearly showed that it could be replaced with a number of cards including the N-6230 which I went ahead and did and it worked perfectly. Mind you after watching a video on replacing/repairing the N-2230 in an Inspiron 15R it is a lot mote labor intensive than the DV6.

Thanks in advance for any help with solving this WiFi problem.

 

Hi,

Just a quick question.

I've just received the 15R SE with Full HD Antiglare screen. I've got it from outlet but it shouldn't matter...

The thing is that as soon as I've opened it I've noticed that the screen is quite grainy. I've had a couple dells before and none of them had pixels so visible (on white color). I've got two weeks to return it but I really like the rest so I don't know what to do. It's even harder to make the decision as it's a birthday present for my wife :/ I forgot to mention that the screen also has a dead pixel so it would need to be replaced anyway but I was just wondering if anyone experienced the same?

 

Leshcat
They seem to be working, but i didn't notice any difference on the original dell!

 

If you download the driver verification tool, it shows our system as in compatible. So download directly.
Here is a blog with complete info on drivers and everything related to Inspiron SE
Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Laptops

 

Can anybody else try those drivers?
I just tested one game.. maybe with farcry 3 or MOHW or some other there are some improvements!

 

PD: WEI got some points! 5.9 and 6.8!

 

WEI doesn't really mean anything.

What kind of improvements have you noticed with the drivers? Tempted to give them a go.

 

Sadly i didn't test with fraps the before, besides the only 3d app i tried was TD Ferrari Legends...
I think farcry 3 or another more "aknowledged" game will have some more improvements!

 

Ah I see, I tried to install it but it wouldn't install the display driver so I just reverted it.

 

You have to clean previously installed drivers
UnifL Manual
Cleanup Instructions-> Removing Previous Brand/Custom Drivers

Cheers!

 

Yeah did that, ran DriverSweeper in safe mode which cleaned them, showed as Standard VGA Adapter in Device Manager so no idea where I went wrong.

 

Been reading up on the switchable graphics settings. Apparently CCC will show only the last app that you designated as High Performance. I'm sure everyone would like to see the list of all app that they marked manually. Any leads to achieving this?

_____________________________________
Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2

 

To Sarky:
Try with Driver Fusion as mentioned on the tutorial!

To lijok