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Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

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Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#151

Post by sraquo »

Earlier this year I bought a Developer Edition (Ubuntu) of Dell Precision 5520, which is the business version of XPS 15 9560. Same chassis and hardware, better factory QA and different GPU options.

I very much regret this decision. I spent ~100 hours trying to get it to work properly and to configure Ubuntu (including supposedly simple things like switching Alt and Ctrl keys). At the hourly rate I'm charging, this is more than enough to buy ANY laptop. Next time I'll swallow my pride and just buy a top of the line Macbook Pro.

Out of the box Ubuntu works great, but it is very fragile to updating. For example, updating BIOS to a version that fixes an important CPU bug causes the computer to freeze and shutdown every few minutes at random.

Updating the OS itself caused weird bugs such as being unable to click on app menu items with a USB touchpad. Ditching the default Unity for Gnome3 fixed this particular bug.

The recovery image that Dell provides for Ubuntu simply does not work a few months after release – craps out when it's unable to either fetch or install some package. So I don't even have a way of getting a working version of Ubuntu on this laptop if anything happens to my hard drive.

Oh and the touchpad configs are appallingly bad out of the box. Impossible to use. I fixed 98% of palm interference issues with a few lines of xinput config. I don't know why Dell didn't do that themselves.

And of course, Dell only provides only 7 days of Ubuntu support. After that you're on your own.

Now I'm trying to sell this laptop, but no one on craigslist wants it even at 35% ($900CAD) off the original price. A few months old laptop in perfect condition that is still on warranty.

Speaking of Ubuntu itself, it has been a profound disappointment as well. I will not be trying Dell or linux on desktop for another 7 years at least. My 9 year old Macbook Pro is far superior to this mess.

PS I also tried hackintoshing this laptop, and it worked 95% of the way, but it requires the latest BIOS to work, and that causes random shutdowns regardless of the OS.

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#152

Post by satysin »

sraquo wrote: post #151

Earlier this year I bought a Developer Edition (Ubuntu) of Dell Precision 5520, which is the business version of XPS 15 9560. Same chassis and hardware, better factory QA and different GPU options. I very much regret this decision. I spent ~100 hours trying to get it to work properly and to configure Ubuntu (including supposedly simple things like switching Alt and Ctrl keys). At the hourly rate I'm charging, this is…

Try Fedora on it. I switched from Ubuntu to Fedora a while back and couldn't be happier. Not saying you will have a perfect experience but it is worth a shot if you at least like the hardware?

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#153

Post by vetinari »

chimeracoder wrote: post #150
vetinari wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I use the same monitor as well. Until recently, I had the 15" version of that laptop, and now I have the latest 15" Macbook Pro. Both use 2560x1440 on the external monitor even though it's capable of 3840x2160, because that's what OS X defaults to, and every time I try increasing the resolution, I only make it a few minutes before I can't stand how terrible the experience is and end up switching back. I would sugge…

> I would suggest to try using different DisplayPort cable. It has nothing to do with the cable. I've had this issue on every single 4K monitor I've used with these laptops - which is at least three different monitors, with different cables - and it even manifests with HDMI 4K output (at 30Hz). All of these setups work perfectly fine with my XPS 13 running at 4K on Linux. I don't understand why you think that the OS'…

> I don't understand why you think that the OS's inability to scale the system UI or applications in a reasonable way would have anything to do with the cable.

Because that's not the experience everyone else is having. That leaves possibility, that something is broken on your end.

> Try it with a Linux laptop running Unity, and you'll see the difference.

I know how Linux handles HiDPI. See my comment about Fedora elsewhere in the thread.

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#154

Post by guelo »

luxcem wrote: post #111
wslh wrote: post #5

If you want to buy one you should extend your analysis beyond the hardware specs because the software and operating systems are not ready yet. I can give the example of the latest XPS 13 2-1 where Office applications like Outlook cannot recognize a monitor with a different resolution and the fonts are blurred. Look for example at https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Office-apps-appear-... high DPI is a whole issu…

XPS 13 on linux (ubuntu) here, the support is very good. The HiDPI screen need some configuration but most apps will run out of the box, some need to set a parameter for pixel density. Most issues can be solve by looking in the ArchWiki ( https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HiDPI ). USB-C (even a dock with power, usb, sound, hdmi, display port, ethernet will run fine), WiFi, Graphic Card, touchpad, sound, event the…

They refuse to provide a XPS15 Developers Edition.

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#155

Post by saratogacx »

blunte wrote: post #55
sundvor wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just described the XPS 15 9560... Except the Dell gets a mostly proper keyboard with real function keys (this matters greatly to me as a programmer). It's not ThinkPad grade, yet close. (I've tested my colleague's top spec model). As for Apple, it's a shame they don't ship 32gb laptops with touch screens. I'm currently on an ageing OG X1 Carbon (i7/8/256), which has a sensational keyboard and track pointer, with…

In my experience with this new XPS 15 9560, the touch screen is only marginally useful. It doesn't seem to play well with screen pens, so it's just a thing to smudge your finger grease on if you want to show off.

I've found that it was useless until you start to learn what apps end up having a better experience with touch.

I use it a lot for document reviews, working with spreadsheets, and anywhere that touch corresponds more with manipulation of the object on screen.

I completely disregard it when the laptop is docked though. For me, mouse/kb habits take over.

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#156

Post by JamesMcMinn »

sraquo wrote: post #151

Earlier this year I bought a Developer Edition (Ubuntu) of Dell Precision 5520, which is the business version of XPS 15 9560. Same chassis and hardware, better factory QA and different GPU options. I very much regret this decision. I spent ~100 hours trying to get it to work properly and to configure Ubuntu (including supposedly simple things like switching Alt and Ctrl keys). At the hourly rate I'm charging, this is…

I've been using the XPS 9560 full-time since February, and have experienced precisely 0 of the issues you describe whilst running a number of Linux variants, including several Ubuntu variants, Fedora and Solus.

> So I don't even have a way of getting a working version of Ubuntu on this laptop if anything happens to my hard drive.

You could simply download Ubuntu directly, or any other distribution. Dell isn't doing anything special to the version they distribute.

> For example, updating BIOS to a version that fixes an important CPU bug causes the computer to freeze and shutdown every few minutes at random.

Have you tried talking to Dell about this issue? Their support, particularity around BIOS issues on their XPS and Precision range has been fantastic in my experience, and they often supply pre-release BIOS versions if they believe it will help, otherwise they tend to replace the laptop.

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#157

Post by sraquo »

satysin wrote: post #152
sraquo wrote: post #151

Earlier this year I bought a Developer Edition (Ubuntu) of Dell Precision 5520, which is the business version of XPS 15 9560. Same chassis and hardware, better factory QA and different GPU options. I very much regret this decision. I spent ~100 hours trying to get it to work properly and to configure Ubuntu (including supposedly simple things like switching Alt and Ctrl keys). At the hourly rate I'm charging, this is…

Try Fedora on it. I switched from Ubuntu to Fedora a while back and couldn't be happier. Not saying you will have a perfect experience but it is worth a shot if you at least like the hardware?

I don't think so. A lot of my issues are with BIOS and various linux apps or the window manager, not technically the distribution flavour itself. Also, I'm done spending time on this :)

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#158

Post by mtl_usr »

sraquo wrote: post #151

Earlier this year I bought a Developer Edition (Ubuntu) of Dell Precision 5520, which is the business version of XPS 15 9560. Same chassis and hardware, better factory QA and different GPU options. I very much regret this decision. I spent ~100 hours trying to get it to work properly and to configure Ubuntu (including supposedly simple things like switching Alt and Ctrl keys). At the hourly rate I'm charging, this is…

> For example, updating BIOS to a version that fixes an important CPU bug causes the computer to freeze and shutdown every few minutes at random.

I'd return it at this point.

It's defective by design.

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#159

Post by sraquo »

JamesMcMinn wrote: post #156
sraquo wrote: post #151

Earlier this year I bought a Developer Edition (Ubuntu) of Dell Precision 5520, which is the business version of XPS 15 9560. Same chassis and hardware, better factory QA and different GPU options. I very much regret this decision. I spent ~100 hours trying to get it to work properly and to configure Ubuntu (including supposedly simple things like switching Alt and Ctrl keys). At the hourly rate I'm charging, this is…

I've been using the XPS 9560 full-time since February, and have experienced precisely 0 of the issues you describe whilst running a number of Linux variants, including several Ubuntu variants, Fedora and Solus. > So I don't even have a way of getting a working version of Ubuntu on this laptop if anything happens to my hard drive. You could simply download Ubuntu directly, or any other distribution. Dell isn't doing a…

> Dell isn't doing anything special to the version they distribute.

From what I've read on their website, they actually do bundle it with custom software like drivers. But really my bigger point is that a lot of things do not work the way they're supposed to if you deviate from the happy path just a tiny bit. In my experience.

> Their support, particularity around BIOS issues on their XPS and Precision range has been fantastic in my experience

Hm, I'll give it a shot, thanks for the heads up.

Re: Dell XPS 15 9560 Review

#160

Post by JamesMcMinn »

nonamechicken wrote: post #99
rocky1138 wrote: post #96

> The XPS 15 was never a gaming laptop With a full GTX 1050 it pretty much can be. This looks like a great machine. How is Linux support?

I have the older xps 15 9530. If you try to run any decent game (spec wise easy for the laptop to handle), it will throttle down to 10 fps or less within 5 minutes. When I contacted customer care, they said since this is an ultrabook, this is expected and that they couldn't do anything. So, my advice would be to research thoroughly if you are buying an XPS for gaming.

The XPS 9560 shares the same thermal design as the 9550, both of which are considerably better than the 9530.

I'm able to game for hours on my XPS 9560 with no thermal issues.

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