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Dell XPS 15 (9550) w/ Intel 530 / NVIDIA 960M - Intel Causing Screen Flickering
I have a Dell XPS 15 (9550) that I received last week from Dell with a random screen flickering issue.
It is based on evalue order code: <ADMIN NOTE: Order number removed per privacy policy>
It is the 6th Gen Core i7, 16GB RAM, 15.6" FHD 1080p display (not 4k), 512GB SSD, 84WHr Battery, Intel 530 Graphics AND NVIDIA 960M
I saw a post about the XPS 13 with the intel display flickering being fixed with the new driver... I am running driver version 20.19.15.4300 for the Intel 530 and my screen is still constantly flickering on my brand new XPS 9550.
Another Issue: I also noticed that in the Intel graphics properties config panel -> 3D -> Application Optimal Mode... this also causes issues with the start menu looking distorted and fuzzy, even making some of the white text look gray. I disabled this to resolve that issue, but the screen still constantly flickers.
One thing I have done recently to mitigate the flickering is go into the NVIDIA driver control panel and set the NVIDIA card as the preferred graphics card, which works for most applications. As soon as the Intel card kicks back in the screen flickers... I have tried various drivers versions for this model off the Dell website without success. I am running Windows 10 Pro... not sure if a newer driver is available and just not posted. For example the newest Laptop BIOS on the driver website ends in .3 while my pc came with .5 installed. So wasn't sure if the website was behind on graphics driver releases, although the Dell Update app hasn't downloaded any new driver either.
I am about to return this laptop, this is annoying... I know it is the intel driver because if I uninstall the Intel Driver completely and let it install the generic microsoft basic graphics driver, while the performance isn't good, the screen does NOT flicker.
Was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and if you were able to resolve it OR if this is completely a driver issue that only Dell / Intel can resolve?
Thanks!
Burtandernie
38 Posts
0
November 15th, 2015 15:00
I posted a video of my issue. Cuurious if this is what other people flickering issue looks like. Also i am curious to know where people bought their xps15 from. I got mine from Microsoft store.
cdode03
27 Posts
0
November 15th, 2015 15:00
Same here. I am not sure why people are saying its a hyper v issue when it's not.
Burtandernie
38 Posts
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November 15th, 2015 16:00
Damnit all i want to do is post a link.
Burtandernie
38 Posts
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November 15th, 2015 16:00
Last try
Burtandernie
38 Posts
0
November 15th, 2015 16:00
So heres a little follow up. After talking to dell for hours and hours they are sending me out a usb with windows 10 and their drivers. I tried the creation tool method but I discovered you have to install certain drivers and change somethings around for it to format and properly install. Its to much of a pain to deal with. Dell has said the plug in usb will fix all of my issues. They also stated it is as simple as plugging it in and going through the reinstall/formating. Since i have messed around with so many things on this computer i hope it fixes whatever other problems i may have created. I will recieve the usb in a few days. Once i install it i will post my experience.
paperboat
3 Posts
0
November 15th, 2015 17:00
That is exactly what happens. Nothing works to fix it, I'm getting a Dell technician in soon, but I am 90% sure it's not a hardware problem.
Burtandernie
38 Posts
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November 15th, 2015 18:00
Oh I am 99 percent sure its not hardware. Its definitely a windows issue.
DELL-Colin Hu
Moderator
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351 Posts
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November 16th, 2015 06:00
I'm getting this issue escalated within Dell so that we can hopefully find a fix for the issue.
If possible can you try disabling C- States, Speed Step and Turbo Boost in the BIOS and check to see if the flickering persists or stops
Thanks
devans3928
5 Posts
0
November 16th, 2015 08:00
There could be multiple causes of the flicker.
I can verify that with my Win 10 Pro XPS 9550 that the flicker started when I installed hyper-v and goes away when I uninstall it. I updated to the latest Intel 4300 driver (15.40.10.4300) for the Intel HD 530 and the problem persists... so the only solution I have is to leave hyper-v uninstalled until there is an updated driver.
The same issue with the hyper-v has been reported against the Intel HD 520 graphics in Microsoft's Surface Book and other devices. These are both Intel Skylake integrated graphics so probably the same issue exists in both version.
Burtandernie
38 Posts
0
November 16th, 2015 09:00
Not sure if i want to do that before i get my usb. However how would i go about doing that and how would I turn each one back on?
Burtandernie
38 Posts
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November 16th, 2015 13:00
Another issue that almost everyone is the cpu is not performing to spec. Its greatly under performing.
Burtandernie
38 Posts
0
November 16th, 2015 13:00
Yea that seems to work for some with windows pro. Since the problem occurs on windows home which does not include hyper-v I am hoping they figure out the real cause of it.
DELL-Colin Hu
Moderator
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351 Posts
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November 17th, 2015 02:00
If yourself or anyone wants to disable Speedstep, C State or TurboBoost then do the following
1. Enter the BIOS (Press F2 when you see the Dell logo on Startup
2. Within the BIOS there is menu on the left hand side. Look for the "Performance" Entry and expand it
3. Click on Intel Speedstep - on the right hand side the details for the entry will be shown. Click in the box to disable Speedstep.
4. Repeat Step 3 for C States and Turboboost
5. Exit and Save Settings
6. Check if the issue has changed or stayed the same
To enable the 3 options repeat steps 1 and 2 above then
1. Click on Intel Speedstep - on the right hand side the details for the entry will be shown. Click in the box so that the tick is shown. This will enable Speedstep.
2. Repeat Step 1 for C States and Turboboost
3. Exit and Save Settings
McNeill.Daniel
24 Posts
0
November 17th, 2015 09:00
Found another bug:
This is on the Core i7 (not sure if it affects others)
So when the computer is first booted all is well and running at full speed.
If at any point, you unplug the power cord to use the laptop on battery, obviously the processor scales back to conserve energy.
Here is the issue:
When the power cord is plugged back in to recharge or no longer be portable, the CPU doesn't go back to full power and speed. It locks in a x17 Max Multiplier basically making a 3.2GHz CPU run at approx 1.7GHz. when under load.
Dell Needs to release a BIOS update to resolve this issue ASAP. It is awful, especially if you go to run a game after just being on battery power. Just browsing the web and such you probably won't notice.
Download CPU-Z if you wish to verify this on your machine.
On a side note: I haven't had a flicker yet with the .7 BIOS update and new Windows 10 update.
allangi
3 Posts
0
November 19th, 2015 11:00
Yes, I got mine delivered yesterday after waiting for a month and am facing the same flickering problem. ( Very disappointing )