Dell Inspiron 15R Special edition (7520)

Someone asked about viewing angles. I think they are pretty decent, even from like 45 degrees. Just tested watching a movie trailer and I had no serious letdown.

 

I can't comment on that since there is more than one panel used.

 

I wanted to follow up with my repartitioning of my 15R SE. I used GParted through a live usb drive running Lubuntu. Before I changed anything I copied all of the files from the recovery and utilities partition to my external hard drive.

Installing Windows 7:

Had a bit of trouble with the installer asking for a CD/DVD driver. I was installing Windows with a USB drive. It may have actually been wanting the USB 3.0 driver. I tried installing a few more times and eventually the message didn't come up and the install went fine. Not sure why that happened.

AMD Graphics:

After installing the driver, when I booted Windows, I got a message that 'kdbsync.exe' has crashed. There were 2 methods for fixing this I found. One is to run MSCONFIG and disable 'kdbsync.exe' at startup. The other is to find 'kdbsync.exe', right click Properties > Compatibility > Run As Administrator.

Intel Rapid Start:

This one gave me the most trouble. Intel Rapid Storage must be installed first. My mistake was selecting 'Use whole drive' instead of the 18GB option in the Rapid Storage options. If you use the whole drive, it will delete the 8GB hibernation partition for Rapid Start. If you did that by accident, there is a guide to make a new hibernation partition here: http://en.community.dell.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-components-postattachments/00-20-08-79-33/Intel-Responsiveness-technologies-0.91.pdf

Installing Lubuntu:

When I tried to install Lubuntu on my other partition, the Lubuntu installer could not find the sda hard drive. I think this is because of the drive being RAID for the Intel Rapid Storage Technology. I haven't found a fix for this yet. I read that you can change to ATA in the BIOS but I do not really want to do that. Anyone know if any other Linux OS's can be installed on a RAID drive?

 

Just had a look at my "packing slip" from the box of my 15R SE and I noticed that one large part is missing from my order:

http://www.qbasix.com/20120708_040307.jpg

Might have to contact Dell regarding this!

 

I wonder about the benefit of Rapid Start versus increasing the SRT to the full 30GB. Especially if using W8, hibernation doesn't really need a helping hand (as I understand it, Rapid Start outright replaces it).

There's a lot of bad information out there about doing that. I don't consider this among it:
windows server 2008 - Any benefit or detriment from removing a pagefile on an 8GB RAM machine? - Server Fault

 

I'm not sure how that works on all OS systems. W7 got me right from the start a huge page file, around 12GB out of my SSD and the thing was getting bigger. That makes no sense. System works fine as it is now.

 

I had a problem similar to yours. On paper the dv6t is superior to the 15r in almost every aspect (thinner, lighter, great audio, slightly better perfomance) the real problem is the cooling system. The new dv6t series concentrate all the "heating sources" hd, gpu, processor in the top left corner of the keyboard (near w a s d) so it gets really hot really soon. I suggest you to go with dell.

 

Then I would go with the 17 inch version, if you don't mind the fact that it is bigger of course. But bigger has its advantages. A second 2.5" SSD/HDD bay for example. And most of the times also better cooling. And in this case te GT 650M GDDR5, which is a plus (it's the same card as in that HP).

 

I've just been looking around online quite a bit, and found the Lenovo Y580 for £999.99. With a GTX660m 2GB GDDR5 and i7-3610qm, along with a 64GB SSD, this seems to be a better deal than even the 15R SE! But it has a glossy 1080p screen, which might be an issue for those who prefer matte displays.

Still, you can't go wrong with Dell and I guess I'll wait until there are more reviews for both the Lenovo and the Dell 17R SE before deciding.

 

Maybe this is something for Dell-Bill_B




One problem I have with my N7720 is the lost of GPU boost. I've been at it for 2 days now to see what is what and if any program or heavy usage have a negative impact. So far I suspect only the BIOS to cause this.

How this works? Let's assume GPU boost is active.

If I use my laptop plugged (A/C ON), the boost will keep being active no matter what software I use.



I close FurMark, I unplug the laptop and plug it again. Boost is gone.



There is nothing I can do in OS to activate it. It is not a profile thing as I have made them all default, then exactly the same, I have even used Dell's management for battery power. I did my best not to miss anything.

There are 2 solutions to fix this:
- the first I got it from someone in here with the same problem, re-write the BIOS;

- second is rather simple - Shut down, unplug and plug again, Start. Boost will be active.

I could not relate them sooner since I use different work scenarios and I can't really test after every move I do to see if boost is still there or not.


Maybe others can test this and tell me if it is present on all other laptops or just some of them.

Also, please tell me if you hear a high pitch sound from the 750GB HDD.

And, if you still want to help me, tell me if there is a screen flickr when using battery and minimum brightness. It has to be minimum.

Thank you!

 

Can you disable the discrete video card in the bios on either the 15Rse or the 17Rse?

Thx

 

I found no such option. But Optimus works very well in 99.99% of the situations.

 

I have exactly the same problem. GPU Boost only kicks in if I re-flash the BIOS and with your methode.
Maybe it will be fixed in the next BIOS version.... I hope so ^^

 

It's better to use my method even if it means to shut down the laptop. I am glad I know what the problem is and how to fix it. Sure it's not OK for this to happen.

I go mad when I have problems without a known cause.

 

Next time the boost goes, I will try this solution. Good research!

 

Thanks for checking it out C_man, I was curious because I plan on installing Netrunner linux on it and it would be a lot simpler just to use the Intel 4000 graphics.

 

There is a solution:



But you've asked for BIOS and now I understand why. Maybe there is a solution for Linux as well.

 

Is there anyone with the 15R SE that is willing to make a review of it? I'm very interested in this notebook but I'm not 100% sure if I should buy it.

I have found another Russian review of the 15R SE: http://translate.google.com/transla...&prev=hp&u=http://www.3dnews.ru/mobile/631055

The performance of the AMD 7730 is disappointing, it is closer to the Nvidia 630M than to the 640M. The 640M beats the hell out of it....

 

Why dont you buy 17r then

 

Hi all, completely new to this and just got a 15R SE and I want to upgrade to an SSD but I'm not sure which one to choose, was looking at a Samsung SSD 830 2.5inch SATA III 6GBps 128GB Notebook Accessory Kit with Free Norton Ghost 15: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories but I have no idea if it will fit or be compatible? Any help would be appreciated, and sorry if its been asked and answered in an earlier post, 42 is a few to many pages for me to trawl through.

 

I see no reason why it should not work.

 

Is the interchangeable graphics from the 15R SE seamless, or will the user have to do a "right click run with 7730M"?

According to AMD Enduro, it should be seamless, but I'm not sure if Dell implements that since I see some comments noting to right click on the program.

 

You're smart to ask, that's for sure. I was surprised by this recent article:
Some ugliness installing an after-market SSD

BTW, that's not a comment or suggestion that you'll have any issue, but I thought it worth pointing out.

 

Installed a OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD into my 15R SE today.

The install went easily and without issues, same as any other laptop or desktop.

I took the original hard disk out, then put the SSD in.

Upon bootup the Intel SRT RAID config came up, complaining the RAID array had been broken (good).

I went into the Intel SRT Raid config by pressing CTRL-I and deleted the Logical Volumes from the 32GB mSATA drive.

I then rebooted and went into the BIOS and disabled Intel SRT.
I also changed the ATA controller to AHCI (from RST).

Installed Win7 64bit Ultimate without issues, very quickly.

This is a video I made of the start up time and shutdown time on a fresh install:
DELL 15R SE OCZ Vertex4 128GB SSD boot time Win7 - YouTube

Very quick, now for the next step... to install all the drivers and software like powerdvd etc.

 

Hi there

I just bought 15R SE and should receive the package today. I would like to know if there's an empty slot in the machine for an SSD drive or do I have to remove the hard drive? Thanks.

I cancelled my order of Y580 after they couldn't give me a set date for delivery. I still don't know if I made the right decision with the 15R. Some people say the 7730m is better than the 640 and some say it's slightly worse...I like my gaming so I would like to see my laptop last for 2 years minimum...at least long enough to play Total War Rome 2.

 

excellent, it's the same ssd I want to buy. Be sure to get the latest firmware (if it's not already installed) there was a massive speed bump for the 128 gb drive.
Did you reinstall the same windows license that came with the laptop?

@7Chobbes8: there is no additional slot, you have to replace the main hdd

 

That's interesting C_man, I'll have to investigate that option further.
Thx

 

Mine came with 1.4.1.3 and HD Tune showed around 270MB/sec average read... which is half of what I've seen it do with the latest firmware.

I updated to 1.5 and the results were exactly the same!

I wonder if its limited by the controller speed in the 15R SE? Is this laptop SATA2 or 3?

I was hoping it would be SATA3 6Gb/s....

I also tested the 32GB mSATA Samsung drive and it got around 340MB/sec... so faster!

No I used retail Win7 Ultimate and installed using AHCI mode.

 

the improvement should be already visible with the 1.4 firmware. It looks like it's running in sata II... that's a bummer. Could you dig a little more and give me confirmation? thanks

 

15R SE is SATA3 / 6Gb/sec thats good news.

HD Tune is a single thread test and the drive needs two, its explained here:
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB Solid State Drive Review (with 1.4 R6 firmware) - Benchmarks - HD Tune Pro :: TweakTown USA Edition

So I used ATTO and CrystalDiskMark to test... and the results were much better.

Mine does around 460 to 480 read and 430 write in CrystalDiskMark.

and about 500 read and 400 write in ATTO default settings, this is a bit lower than what tweaktown website got but they are using a desktop so maybe there is some limit or my drive is not the best pick.

I'm happy that its at least running in SATA 3 mode and getting about 80% of the maximum performance possible

I also tested the 32GB mSATA (Samsung) that comes with the 15R SE, its not bad but the write performance is limited to about 100MB/sec... read goes between 330MB/sec and 400MB/sec.

 

Thank you, that's very good news
Now I'm only waiting for a coupon (not that the price isn't already excellent, I'm just not in an hurry to buy).

 

Thanks for the reply guys. It's good to hear that it's relatively easy to replace the HD. Will have to decide if the speed change from 7200 rpm is worth losing half the storage.

 

You could use your old HDD in an external caddy or something. It should work in any USB port you have. It works even without the enclosure, but it's not protected at all. It should be like 10$ or something. And it's small, fits in a pocket.

Other than that, large SSDs are still too expensive to use as storage.

 

Yea I have a few HD enclosures, actually. I was kinda hoping since the 32 gb +500 GB storage is an option in some configurations of the laptop (or was that just the y580) that I would be able to just add an SSD myself.

I think a 256 gb will suit me fine, I can keep all my movies and music in an external drive.

Just hope Purolator finally gets me my laptop today, they're freaking useless up here in Yellowknife.

 

Does anyone know if the chassis is aluminum, plastic, or both? Also if I wanted to upgrade the cpu to another quad core i7 in the future, would that be possible?

 

From what people are saying earlier in the forum, I'm pretty sure its all plastic. Also, upgrading a laptop CPU or GPU is very, very hard.
First, finding a CPU with the 'm' on the end online is pretty much impossible. Mobile CPU's aren't sold separately from laptops.
And then, actually removing the original CPU is almost nigh impossible... They're usually soldered on.
Hope this helps

 

The i7 should be powerful enough that you won't have to replace in within 2 years.

I'm using the i5-430 atm on a discontinued HP envy but the i7 on the 15R should be twice as fast.

 

You can do way longer than 2 years with an i7-3610QM. For everyday tasks that is. If you still want to be able to play games at highest settings in 4 years, it's going to be a problem. But it's going to be a problem anyway if you buy a notebook, and besides: the GPU is going to cause problems earlier than the CPU.

But for now, quad-core isn't even the standard. It is close to becoming the standard, but it isn't yet.

 

Can you let me know where you got all other bells and jangles software? eg PowerDVD and anything else that might have been installed before?

 

Ok found it .... for others its under "My Dell Downloads"

 

Just got my 15R, been playing around with it for a few hours.

A few thoughts:

-It's speedy. I got the new laptop just because I'm always doing 3-4 things at once and my HP Envy would auto-shutdown everytime I tried to play Diablo while watching a movie. Today I was playing NBA 2k12 + moving things onto the new HD + listening to music or watching a video.

-The screen is very nice, I would've liked to be able to compare it to the Y580 but it is leaps and bounds better than the old HP Envy.

-The left hand upper side of the laptop gets a bit warm, but that's where the hot air is coming from and seeing how I'm doing 4 things at once it's understandable.

-The CD drive feels incredibly cheap. I much prefer the system on Macs and my Envy where you just stick the CD into the laptop instead of having the drive pop out. I might explore the possibility of removing the CD Drive and replacing it with a SSD.

-Much more plastic than I was expecting but at $920 total I can't complain.

Added 11/07

-The sound is amazing and trumps my old laptop hands down. It's loud and there's a weight to the sound that the old Beats laptop just didn't have.

 

Slot-in ODDs tend to damage discs in time.

Tray ones are a better option.

 

So, I've managed to read through the 40+ pages of this thread, and have pretty much decided on this laptop. Earlier today, I was tempted by the " Ships Fast Vostro 3560" because I am not a gamer and it seemed to suit my needs better, but I have pretty much decided on the top-of-the-line Inspiron 15R SE. I did have one question, however, and it is how long the Inspiron 15R SE takes to boot up? I saw the YouTube video of the 128 SSD start up time, and, btw - that is really, really fast - but I was wondering if a current 15R SE user could comment on the boot time. Any information will be helpful. Thanks!

 

I can honestly say this laptop is one of the best laptops on the market you can get for your money's worth. Excelling in everyday use and then a little more for other things. Your boot time is going to be determined primarily by where your Windows or OS is being booted from. CD, USB, HDD or SSD. While CD and USB are usually used for updating firmware in your primary drive among other things, booting from a SSD is gonna be your main choice if you are aiming for speed. Of course there are options to go with HDD and msata cache but in my opinion just get yourself a 256gb SSD, (they are relatively cheap now). SSD windows 7 should give you 20-30 seconds hard boot start ups.

 

New switchable graphics driver...

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES AMD Radeon HD 7730M
Jul 12, 2012
A01 8.951.9.1

Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

-Fix Intel Graphic issue about L3 DYNAMIC PARITY FEATURE,
-Fix DF547484 ST_Turbo, BSoD 116 happens while playing game Batman: Arkham Asylum.

 

Bananam8uk. A bit off topic, how long have you have your Alienware Aurora ? Think its best Desktop ever built. Whats your spec ?

 

a thousand apologies my friend was travelling back from holiday so i am glad you found it

no Worries i have had it a year now, its like part of my house(its that big!)
7-2600 3.40GHZ
16GB corsair vengence 1600mhz memory (previously standard 8GB 1333mhz)
ATI 2GB 7970 GPU (previously ATI 6870)
crucial C4 128GB SSD (previously standard 2 x 500GB HD in riad 0)
2 x 2.5 WDPJVT 1TB drives in raID
the card and memory have only just been added so have not tested them out yet as fresh o/s install was needed
and yes it def is the best desktop ever built for its price, the others are around £2/3K and i can build one within spec for around a £1k but the style n looks alone on my R3 kill me

 

17R SE keyboard is missing Pause and Break buttons. Can they be emulated with some key combinations?

On some Inspirons the solution is Fn+Delete and Fn+Insert.
But this does not work for this model...

 

Friends, my Inspiron can't ordered with a mSATA (Dell Brazil doesn't offer this option) and I got a 120GB mSATA, so how can I configure caching and the Windows in the mSATA, does anyone have links to any papers that show how to do it properly?

 

there is a big problem with that. On the inspiron 15r se the msata is mounted on an optional board (also called a daughter board). If you order a model without msata, they wil not provide the msata daughter board and you will be unable to mount your own ssd on the laptop. To add on that, we're not yet sure that the 15r se does support more than 32 gb of msata ssd. I don't know about the 17r se, you should ask someone who owns one.