Dell XPS 15 9550 4k Intel 530 UI performance Windows 10

1

My Dell XPS 15 9550 has a slight performance problem around the windows 10 UI. Every time I swipe to the next desktop or I use three fingers to swipe up to show the task view, the animations seem very choppy. I've looked around and a number of other people have reported the same. I've read reports on the Intel graphics drivers having bugs, and that the Intel graphics chip has problems keeping up with 4k monitors on laptops.

Specs:
Dell XPS 15 9550
CPU: Intel 6700k
GPU 1: Intel HD 530
GPU 2: Nvidia GTX 960 m
SSD: 512 GB NVME PCI-E p951
RAM: 16 GB single channel

I've read that windows 10 animations are handled by the integrated GPU (Intel HD 530), and I've read that the performance of this GPU can be increased by about 30% on average if the ram is set to dual channel mode. Does adding a second 16 GB memory stick to run the computer in dual channel mode going to solve the problem I'm having?

All drivers are up to date, and I've tried setting all performance settings to max in the Intel GPU configuration panel, Nvidia configuration panel and battery configuration panel. I've also tried running the computer solely on the GPU, but this seems impossible due to the graphics chip being a slave to the Intel graphics chip. It is not possible bypassing the Intel chip for running the graphics. Furthermore I've also tried configuring the Nvidia control panel to run the Microsoft Shell Experience Host under the GPU, to no avail.

Anton Jan Rutten

Posted 2017-01-29T14:56:13.827

Reputation: 21

For troubleshooting purposes, have you tried to modify the default behavior of window animations? Within the Local Group Policy editor, navigate to the following location: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Desktop Window Manager and enable Do not allow window animations – Run5k – 2017-01-29T18:39:30.923

Not yet! I will try that tonight. What will this do exactly? – Anton Jan Rutten – 2017-01-29T18:44:48.073

It will disable some of the default "flourish" that windows display when they are moved, minimized, or maximized. Here is an an article that helps explain it: How to disable Windows 10's window animations to speed up responsiveness

– Run5k – 2017-01-29T18:54:55.237

1I tried changing the setting, but nothing really changed. Then i tried following the steps in the link but that just turns the animations off. Of course this is an option, but I'm just wondering what could cause the poor animation performance, and how it can be fixed. – Anton Jan Rutten – 2017-01-29T22:33:01.757

That is understandably frustrating. Those settings are something that I implement on the Windows 10 machines residing on my home network to optimize performance, so I thought they might help you, too. Hopefully someone who is more of a hardware guru can chime in with a better suggestion. – Run5k – 2017-01-29T22:37:36.080

Well i appreciate you took the time to share your knowledge :) – Anton Jan Rutten – 2017-01-29T22:48:28.143

Answers

1

I've since added a second ram module, to have the ram operate in dual channel mode now. The animations have improved on the 4k laptop monitor so much so that the choppiness is virtually gone! Adding more monitors though (especially a second 4k monitor) does still have significant delays in the animations, but that I'm willing to attribute to the meager graphics performance of the HD 530.

Anton Jan Rutten

Posted 2017-01-29T14:56:13.827

Reputation: 21

This is the first positive news I hear regarding this issue! I have been mailing back and forth with Dell support for nearly a year now (regarding this and countless other problems). Most other issues have been solved and were BIOS/drivers related, but at this point I almost gave up on the 4k performance issue and considered it a shortcoming of the HD 530 graphics card. It is extremely weird so few people are reporting on this; maybe this laptop is not often sold with just 16GB of RAM? Has the issue not resurfaced for you? I will be on the lookout for a second RAM module. – Steven Jeuris – 2017-05-08T17:57:11.920

1I've since used the laptop for a while, and although i did notice a difference with the second ram module initially, the issue still persists. I'm afraid the hd530 is just not up to the task to drive animations smoothly with a 4k monitor. If you have a tool to monitor your gpu (like hwinfo), you'll see it jump up to the max clockspeed if you make the movement slowly for moving to the second virtual desktop. It's not possible to properly fix the problem i'm afraid. – Anton Jan Rutten – 2017-08-24T15:51:15.003

Asked: 2017-01-29T14:56:13.827

Viewed: 1 105 times

Active: 2017-02-03T19:39:00.007