This post is more than 5 years old
2 Posts
1
647626
Dell XPS 15 (L502X) crashes during gameplay
Hello, so I bought a Dell XPS 15 (L502X) laptop 2 weeks ago and have found a lot of trouble with it. It is an i7, 8gb ram with the nvidia 540m video card.
I have tried 3 different games, Left 4 Dead, League of Legends and Dragon Nest, and it crashes/freezes in all 3 games. You are able to run the game in high graphics however, it will crash in a shorter amount of time. If you put it on lowest quality, it still crashes, but it tends to take a longer time.
I have looked all over the internet and found many others that have the same exact issue with the same exact laptop and specs. There is not one thread out there that has provided a solution to this problem.
Things that I have tried.
- Old Drivers, New drivers, drivers from the dell site, drivers from nvidia, beta drivers
- driver sweeper
- changing the gpu to nvidia high performance instead of integrated graphics for the different games and programs
- changing the physx hardware to nvidia 540m
- set battery to high performance
- dell tech support, all they did was change integrated to nvidia high performance and change one setting in hopes of fixing the issue as well as using the system scan for issues, the report came back as passed and no issues.
And today while I was messing around with the settings, I have found a mediocre alternative to this problem. If you simply never use the nvidia GPU then there will never be a crash. You simply do everything with your integrated card. You will be able to run a game like League of Legends on Normal settings at best. However if you do this, it is as if you wasted all your money to get the nvidia 540m that simply does not work.
I want to work with dell and not have to do anything to drastic and simply fix it on my own, but I have tried all these things and I am sure none of them work. The people on Nvidia forums simply turn a blind eye to this issue. I sounds as if this issue is common, but also a hit and miss since there are some owners that do not have this problem. If anyone has found a solution or can recommend me as to what I should do, please help.
If I have to, is it possible to simply send this entire laptop back to Dell and have them fix it or simply replace the Nvidia 540m with one that works.
DanishBuster
6 Posts
1
August 18th, 2014 03:00
I have been having this same exact issue since the day I purchased this laptop. I have tried everything you have done above, and i have also figured out that it is something with the laptop having 2 x graphics cards and gets over-worked, and most of the time when the laptop freezes, i shake it up and down to give it air and sometimes it recovers with an Nvidia Crash error. What's even weirder is that everytime the computer crahes, the whole internet in the whole house dies too... Never the less..
From reading most forums it seems that changing your HDD to an SSD will help (I did this last week finally, ran a game, and guess what, IT <ADMIN NOTE: Substitute character removed as per TOU> CRASHED AGAIN)... now my last solution I have is to change the thermal paste within to Artic SIlver (i think its called) because the one the currently have is a really *** one.
From my knowledge, doing these 3 following steps should fix the laptop.
1. Replace HDD with an SSD.
2. Replace the thermal paste with an expensive and good one.
3. upgrade your Ram to 8 or 16 GB if you use it a lot for gaming and design softwares.
If this does not solve the problem I have no choice but to take this to the next level and try go public with it. Distributing malfunctioning notebooks and refusing to fix them, or even admiting that the Dell XPS L502X whether its 15 inch or 17 inch has serious internal problems is just mad..
Thank you Dell for making me waste 1200 euro..
Dido_SMoKE
9 Posts
0
August 18th, 2014 08:00
This is an old subject, many talked about it, long story short:
the only way to bypass this crash is to down speed the graphics,
in nvidia control panel - device settings
change the values like this:
core clock: from 672 to 587
memory clock: from 900 to 785
shader clock: from 1344 to 1124
this settings works for me for 2 years now without crash, you can go lower if u still crash,
i use full graphics and made a (rule) to apply these settings only when i launch pes2013 or fifa14
note: if you dont find device setting then download and install the nvidia system tools
there is no other way to fix this laptop, and dell just wont admit this blunder of a laptop, changing anything will not help, if they tells you to hand your laptop so they change the motherboard or anything else tell them no thanks cause its just a waste of time.
fadi
#freePalestine
saulmx
1 Message
1
November 11th, 2014 20:00
Hi! I have the same problem (XPS15, core i5, nvidia 540m, 4 Gb RAM)
As cobunder2 mentioned before, I played without adapter conected and works fine.
Then i tried the solution proposed by Dido_SMoKE consisting change core and memory clock values (core clock: from 672 to 587; memory clock: from 900 to 785). And works great!
I´ve applied settings with Afterburner app from MSI (event.msi.com/.../download.htm) I'ts easy and finally was able to play.
Regards!
Gaz L502X
22 Posts
0
August 5th, 2011 18:00
Hi. Im in the same boat. I've put a couple of videos on youtube showing what happens when mine crashes on 3 different games! All of them crash in the same manner and you cant end the process or shutdown the computer you have to hold the power button right?
dafom
5 Posts
1
August 7th, 2011 22:00
Hi. I'm having the same problem when playing games with the Nvidia 540M on the XPS L502x (i7-2630QM/6GB RAM). The system freezes and gives a looping sound, forcing me to hold down the power button down to restart,
But in my case it only happens when the AC power adapter is plugged in (with or without the battery). If I play only with the battery I don't have any problems or crashes even in high or very high settings. The thing is that the battery don't last long when playing games.
The windows event viewer gives the same error every time:
Description:
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.
Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
Extra information about the problem
BCCode: 117
I've tried all the solutions above but the problem still presists (driver sweeper, updating drivers, BIOS, changing the gpu to nvidia high performance instead of integrated graphics for the different games and programs, set the physx to Nvidia 540M, etc.). The integrated card works fine.
dafom
5 Posts
0
August 8th, 2011 12:00
Hi. Thank you for the reply Gaz! Those are some bad news! Guess I have no choice but to return it to the store and ask for a new motherboard. I've bought it through a retailer so it will take forever to have it fixed!
I have it for only a month and already has a faulty motherboard. And it seems a lot of people have the same problem so I believe we are not an isolated case. A real let down for a first time Dell client.
Gaz L502X
22 Posts
0
August 8th, 2011 12:00
Hi. I rang dell back today as i was losing patience.
They have told me that the motherboard needs replacing (which they will pay for of course) and it will take up to 12 working days to fix once they pick it up.
Also my memory card reader does not read memory cards LOL
Must have been a bad batch or something but its wierd the way it works fine on batteries but not on AC power. I thought maybe the power adapter was to blame but they dont even want me to sent them that! Just the laptop and battery.
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
•
274.2K Posts
0
August 9th, 2011 16:00
i have dell xps l502x old is just probably one month. nvidia driver version latest BETA 280. before 275.33. laptop spec : i core i5 2410m turbo boost ,nvidia gt540m 2gb, 4,00gb ram,
just dont understand need wait newer driver fix, or problem with my video driver some... graphic lines bad quality and before i have 5650 hd and all was perfect,but now graphic curved lines and bad ugly quality.. HELP IF YOU CAN :(
Gaz L502X
22 Posts
0
August 19th, 2011 04:00
Hello. I got my laptop back from the dell repair center today after it kept crashing while playing games on AC power and needed a motherboard replacement.
The first thing i noticed is that the keyboard hasnt been put back on properly so its raised up at the top in the center. The second thing is that the sub woofer (speaker) underneith now no longer works at all. And third, there is a scratch on the right hand side next to the speaker on the metal.
I have called dell support and they say they want to send someone round to my house to repair the speaker and keyboard. UNACCEPTABLE!
I have demanded a new laptop but they say that is not possible! Can you believe it!?!
I have told them i paid for a NEW laptop, not one that has been opened up and fiddled about and put back together like a crooked jigsaw. I cant keep sending it back and forth untill they get it right! I've owned this laptop for 7 weeks now and i still havent even had a chance to use it properly!
I have asked for a replacement laptop AND THEY SAID NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I AM MORTIFIED! I am currently waiting on a phone call back from the dell "supervisor"
I bought the laptop for £800 and the same laptop is now on sale for £730. So i've already lost £70 just waiting for a repair.
Words cant describe how i feel right now
Raion
2 Posts
0
August 21st, 2011 17:00
wow that is ridiculous.
I was waiting to see how your case went since I've been hesitant to send mine in for a repair.
i can't believe that kind of service.
you buy an expensive faulty laptop,
you send it in for repair
they break it even more
then send it back to you
and say you cant get a new one?
does anyone from dell read this one?
I've been to tech support twice and they could not fix the problem with the crashing during games and if I send it in for a new motherboard, they might break it then send it back?
what to do
is your graphics issue even fixed now?
Gaz L502X
22 Posts
0
August 22nd, 2011 12:00
The graphics problem is fixed now yes however if i want to play games i must use headphones as without the subwoofer the sound quality is worse than that of a mobile phone!
I'll see what tomorow brings and i'll let you know how i get on with the repair monkey they're sending round to my house :b
Gaz L502X
22 Posts
0
August 23rd, 2011 03:00
The repair man just been to fix my laptop.
The guy who swapped the motherboard forgot to plug the speaker back in and didnt put the keyboard back in properly. He fixed the speaker, keyboard and swapped the palmrest for a new one. Took him about 5 minuites and he was a really nice guy. I feel a bit bad for calling him a monkey now! O well at least things work as they should. :-)
stacey1234
1 Message
0
September 8th, 2011 14:00
I have a I 1764 with the same problem. crashes when playing games. Dell is the worst company in the world for customer service. They just keep telling me i had a virus(which i never did). They messed around till my warranty was up. I saw somewhere it was a problem with audio driver. But i don't know enough to fix it. can anyone help !! please
Herogame
14 Posts
0
November 14th, 2011 11:00
i have similar problem ! I Tired to try diferent setting for this games but always freezing :( special game that i want to play is call of duty modern warfare 3 i chat with suport dell team but they say to me contact with creator of this game :( game run perfect on my PC but on my dell xps l502 it broken :(
Herogame
14 Posts
0
November 28th, 2011 23:00
please help us ! Why this stupid laptop have crash always :( any patch ! or update ! i dont know yet this is a hardware problem or software ? no body can tell me ?