The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
I use that, set to 80%. If the battery didn't need it, then the option wouldn't be there, and I'm not taking any chances on a non-replaceable battery. The new Samsung S6 also has a non-replaceable battery, kinda lame.
Mine has the fan on the entire time it's plugged in, kind of annoying, even if the temperature is like 40 C, anyone else have this issue?
I bought the i5 FHD 8GB RAM 256GB SSD Version and I like it, but I don't think I really need a device like this. I bought it as a secondary device on the go (Im a commuting college student) and I have a powerful desktop at home, but I can't be as productive as I wanted to on this small screen so I just end up browsing the web and watching videos with it. The keyboard also is worse than I expected, the key feel isn't that great. I'm thinking of returning it and just getting a windows tablet (The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with windows looks nice) and pocketing the cash.
Mine seems to work fine except for the popular laggy touchpad and the fan on while charging, if I can't avoid the restocking fee anyone in the NYC Area want to buy a FHD i5 8gb 256gb for about $1000? (If I'm not allowed to ask that I apologize)
Has anyone managed to return it without the restocking fee by using the touchpad as an issue?
What powerplan are you on?
Some tips: removed office trial, mcafee trial and enabled security essential.
On all powerplans its silent when typing and surfing.
If I open a big app or ine thats demanding it will spin up but go back down.
Noticed that while charging it will spin more than usual untill it reaches 80% where Ive set it to stop. Than it goes completely quiet.
I use Dell (which seems just like Balanced, I figured Dell knew what they were doing) and have tried both Dell and High Performance when plugged in. The laptop is silent when not plugged in, it just spins up when charging. I haven't measured to see if it stops after a certain percentage, I should try that.
It's not non-replaceable, it's just that you need a screwdriver to do it. The battery isn't glued in or anything it's just a matter of getting the bottom off, then 4 or so screws for the battery itself.
Also try power saver...you should see 4 plans: High, balanced, dell and power saver.
I mean if you are just typing in word and 1 tab browsing that should be fine and keep things ultra quiet.
Sometimes openinging certain apps will make the fan spin and remain spinning despite closing it. One examplr of that is Dell backup and restore. Its only after a restart that its silent again.
Hey everyone, so I got the machine last night from the Microsoft Store at Eaton Centre, liking it so far! The display is really cool and nice. Only issues I have are with the TrackPad as man it's awful. I've only ever used Mac laptops or ThinkPads with the trackpoint but sure takes getting used to. I had to disable tapping which sucks as I love that, but I couldn't type otherwise even with long delay on for taps, as I'd be typing and non stop clicking all over with my mouse.
The keyboard is great though, not tons of travel but doesn't bother be, I have no problem typing on it coming from my MacBook, unlike some other laptops where you have to re-learn how to use the keyboard.
Only other thing is the auto brightness and not being able to turn that off like others seem to have mentioned, however I don't know if it's auto brightness or not, as it's just on lower brightness settings, and when going from dark images to light. My ThinkPad X230 did the exact same thing, if I was on a website with a dark background and switched to a lighter one, there'd be a few seconds where you'd see the backlight almost catch up. It's worse on this machine but it's not awful, but I don't think it's auto brightness as the image is all washed out going from dark to light, and then it fixes itself, so it's almost like like the display is just slow to update, but not a huge deal.
I don't have any of the Dell power options people keep talking about, maybe because it's a Signature Edition from the Microsoft Store, so it only has Windows on it and nothing else.
Also, these were $1299 on the MS Canada Store foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrr and with EDU discount it was $1199. So of course when I go there last night they are now $1399. :S She said the price went up 3 days prior and they don't match past sales, however she was able to give me 10% off using student discount, so made it $1259, so helped a bit. All they need is a time table, or log into an online account, etc. I went for their $129 2 year warranty, which I usually never ever do but she said it comes with 2 accidental damage coverage claims so figured it was worth it. Once I got home though it shows on the form there's a $49 deductible for each claim which she neglected to tell me. Still worth it I suppose though as I have the worst luck with spilling coffee into my laptops or breaking the display!
It's impossible to say definitively as it's going to come down to personal preference whether the fan noise is acceptable or not as do other elements of the laptop. I found the fan noise irritating not entirely because of the noise but the way it behaves, the laptop will be entirely silent for a long period of time but then the fan will start revving up and down due to some background activity. I find this powering on and off is more intrusive than a fan that comes on at a steady speed for a bit, I wouldn't say it's particularly loud although the thin design of the laptop and all the vents being underneath doesn't help either. The fan noise wasn't the sole reason I returned the laptop either, if I'd been happy with the rest I may have persevered with it.
Gee it sounds overpriced with to many flaws. I'm not into Mac OSX but like Apple build quality which is top notch all round, in that case would I be better off getting macbook pro retina and running windows on it instead for zero flaws?
All I really want is a actual PC notebook with perfect build, does anyone make that yet, closest thing I have seen is Surface Pro 3, but don't want aging Has well.
Not sure what anyone is talking about with the fans, I got mine yesterday from the Microsoft Store, as a signature edition so no Dell crap on it and I haven't heard the fans come on once, not even while installing Office which usually always does it. I keep thinking I hear it on but then I listen closely and it's actually the bathroom fan or something else. It's so quiet I feel like the fans aren't working.
My issue is the trackpad, I keep hitting it while typing, even with tap disabled, now it somehow triggers it to scroll, so as typing it jumps around the page. Not sure what other issues there are, mine is great so far.
I don't have that issue at all, I just plugged it in 10 minutes ago, so if the fan is supposed to kick in I'd assume it would have by now. I already ran the battery down once and charged it again, I've yet to hear the fan come on.
How did you calibrate the touchpad? I can't believe how awful it is, especially when reviews say it's one of the better PC laptop touchpads. Coming from a Mac it's crazy, the touch pad on this is a piece of garbage to be honest. Palm rejection is practically non-existent, and I had to turn off taps otherwise I'd click non stop while typing. It feels like using a touchpad after a fresh install of Windows when you haven't installed the drivers yet, like where holding your finger on it for a moment still makes it jump around and quiver almost vs staying still.
By the way, does anyone know how external displays work with these high DPI displays? I have an older Lenovo monitor, it runs at something native like 1440x900. It has DVI which I connect to miniDP and have always used on my MacBook Retina as extended and it works as expected, same with on my PC using DVI directly, it's super clear and crisp (as clear as non retina can be). However when I use the same DVI to miniDP adapter and plug it into the Dell, it looks really blurry, more so than a non high DPI display would. Also things like FileMaker don't seem to support high DPI well at all, as icons and things are full on missing, or super tiny when on the Dell, but if I move it over to the external monitor, it looks exactly the same! Like the icons are still tiny and some parts of the screen that get cut off or don't appear still don't appeaer there. Is it just simulating some kind of resolution on the external? Like why wouldn't a program that doesn't support High DPI work on the external as expected vs looking the same as on the laptop?
I am just about to seal the deal on a i7 model wit- QHD, am I asking of cooling fan hell?
I can't really understand how it could be a problem with the i7 and QHD. Sure the i7 could expect it to use more power, but with general usage I think the i5 and i7 should be near the same, therefore should have the same/simular noise levels?
Really keen on this machine but this thread is rather negative compared to the positive reviews.
To be fair, more people will come on here to complain about issues than to say they love something. Many people only even come to a site like this because they bought a new laptop and have a weird issue and then Google search it. Far more people in that camp than those that say "I love my laptop! I'm going to go online and find some way to review it!"
Despite the issues I have had with the machine, I am keeping it. Though Dell is sending me a new one because my screen is way too warm. But really, best Windows laptop I have ever used. I like it a lot. I think others really like theirs as well, though of course there are those that sent theirs back and or did not like them.
Pays not to weigh up a purchase on threads like these. Owners threads tend to attract posts about issues (that's kind of what they're for). The fact that this is basically the only place I've heard about fan issues is in here, and MAYBE one actual review, makes me thing the fan issues are pretty isolated. 99% of the reviews mention a practically silent fan.
I'll find out when my i5, FHD, 8GB model arrives soon (hopefully). I still bought it after reading most of this thread.
Just on the touch pad being a issue for some people jumping around and all that. Dell have marketed it as not a problem at all, actual quite the opposite. The following if from the website where I would buy it from:
Is it really an issue or just more mumbling and grumbling from people here?
Improved usability
Pinch, zoom and click with precision The improved touch pad delivers the exact action you intend, every time, so no more jumping or floating cursors. It delivers fluid panning, pinching and zooming, for an experience that’s touch screen-smooth and quick, and similar to the gestures you are used to on screen. And with Accidental Activation Prevention, there are no more mis-clicks when your palm hits the touch pad.
Regarding the touchpad, in my case I don't recall a single instance of it causing the cursor to jump around. I had an old Windows laptop that was close to unusable for that very reason so this is something I watch out for. My only issue with the touchpad is that there is a short delay in responding to two finger touch to scroll. Having said that, even that characteristic is shared by other windows laptops that I have used and I also seem to be learning to live with it. In my case, I also spend quite a bit of time on MacBook's and the touchpad is something Apple has really nailed, so I think I had high expectations in that department. As I've mentioned previously, the touchpad seems sensitive and accurate once it recognises motion so I am guessing that the drivers have been set up to not register initial movement beneath a certain threshold thus I would think a software/config fix would be possible (note this is pure conjecture on my part though!).
To echo Keeper, overall this laptop better suits my needs (form factor, keyboard, screen, ports, processor, battery, audio etc.) than anything out there and is one of the nicest hardware designs on the market. The closest runner up for my needs would have been the MacBook Pro 13 (now also running Broadwell). But it is bigger, heavier, doesn't have a touchscreen (which I am starting to like) and doesn't play nice with some other technologies I wanted to use (Miracast etc.). Microsoft does have some catching up to do with Apple on the software side (8.1 is a tad disjointed, high res screen sharing needs some work). And some third party apps have not been updated to take advantage of QHD+ displays. However, I believe that will be addressed as QHD and 4K screens become more mainstream.
Having said all that, my advice to anyone thinking of buying one is to test drive one if at all possible. Threads like this one give you an idea of the things that bother some users. We all have different expectations and tolerances!
Display? Perfect. Fan? Perfect. The touchpad was the only problem, and like someone else said, this is easily the best laptop/ultrabook I've ever owned, probably the best Dell ever produced.
Fan is indeed an issue and it appears to be specific to the i7/QHD model. Other than that, I haven't experienced any problems whatsoever. I can understand that a loud fan can be annoying for some but it's not a deal-breaker for me. I hope it can be addressed in the next BIOS update or Dell's power management software.
i5/i7 = 15W TPD and the panel is independent of the cooling system. In most cases the system is not under full load. Simply doesn't make any sense, how is it possible the fan should be excessively louder on the i7 model compared to the i5 model?
Btw. I will be getting the i7 as I want the QHD screen, which that is the only configuration it comes in with that panel.
I didn't use the touchpad as an issue, but I did return mine without any restocking fees. The fan on it was starting to make a grinding sound, and was on pretty much all the time. I was also pretty miffed about the adaptive brightness issue.
I phoned up and said I'd like to return a faulty laptop, told the rep the issues, he asked if I wanted any technical support sending out or if I wanted an exchange. I just refused everything and kept repeating that I just wanted to return the faulty laptop, and so the guy went off to email me a return label.
I got a call today to say they've processed the refund, got the full amount back bar the shipping costs I paid.
I'm not sure if I was just lucky, but I think being adamant that it was faulty helped with not paying the restocking fees. If you insist that you think the touchpad and the fan are faulty, you might be able to avoid the fees?
It's a Precision™. It is designed and optimzed for Windows apps. The touchpad will not perform the same way on 3rd party apps like Chrome and Firefox as it will on apps like Internet Explorer and Office 365.
Battery Life:
Once again, stick with IE and you'll get an extra 2-3 hours runtime.
"Forced"Adaptive Backlight:
My service ticket with Dell is already 3 weeks old and up until now, its "higher management" is still currently reviewing the issue.
Note: I did notice the XPS13 store model at the Microsoft Store does not have the Adaptive Backlight Control. It seems those once have a different BIOS so this could be an evidence that the issue can be fixed with the proper software. Thank goodness for that.
Just a reminder that not everyone lives in the USA where usually every option is available. Other countries often have a few pre configured model to choose from. In my case the QHD screen is sold only with a i7 processors.
Just on a side note, I still find it ridiculous that i7 is called exactly that, is it hardly any different to a i5 in spec and performance, no extra cores or threads.
It also could be the ambient temperature. Fan kicks in when the CPU temp rises above 60C. With +23C room temperature, ~65-75C are my regular CPU temps.
Guys, just got mine yesterday i7,512,qhd.
Fan was loud during setup,I updated bios seems to helped.
I have not read through all these pages so please excuse me if this has been done.
But anyone tried repasting the cpu? I have GelLid paste and always had good luck with it, ordered the plastic shims yesterday to pop off the bottom.
Just curious what others results were after doing this?
Hey everyone, have a few updates as I think I need to return mine starting from the main reasons:
1) I'm a FileMaker developer and bought this to do work on the road. Problem is you can't run FileMaker on it! It doesn't support High DPI displays yet and there's no plans for it in the near future (according to FileMaker forums). So the icons are super tiny and some buttons full on don't appear, but the main issue is that you can't work with any databases, they come up half blank. You have to move the mouse around the screen to make items visible but it's only while the mouse is over them. It's a known issue, but a huge one for me as that's why I bought this.
2) I figured to solve that I'd connect my non high DPI display via DisplayPort. Well that doesn't work either because Windows just does some bitmap scaling on the external display, so it doesn't actually run at native resolution. So fonts and texts are super blurry, and even if you move FileMaker to this window, it looks identical. This is also another known problem I've found in Google searches, that High DPI laptops can't run an external non high DPI monitor without it being all blurry. (Someone else on a Microsoft forum from 2 days ago was returning their XPS 13 for the same reason).
3) The TouchPad isn't terrible, I'm more used to it now. HOWEVER, if you have ever used a Mac laptop, this TouchPad is so bad compared to it, that you'd swear it was broken. The sad thing is that the TouchPad on most PC laptops is bad, so I dunno. Takes getting used to, but it's just no where near as precise as a Mac TouchPad.
4) This one isn't a reason I'd return mine but I do have the fan issues on my i5 256GB QHD model. The machine is totally silent on battery, but as soon as you plug in the unit while on, the fan comes on and doesn't turn off unless you unplug the AC. I pretty much only use laptops on battery, plugging them in when dead and then unplugging as I just move around a lot so not a huge deal (plus the fan isn't loud, it's not like one of those "I'm overheating, turn me on full blast!" type fan noises, but it's on none the less).
5) Outlook 2013 sucks on this display also, as any marketing emails I get, they open and are literally 2 inches wide. I've done lots of searches and this is also a known issue but the only fixes are for the person SENDING the email not receiving it. Also the buttons like maximize or close are super tiny.
6) Almost forgot, the contrast adjustment. It's not ambient sensors, but the issue that others have where if you're on a dark website and go to a light one, you see the display change brightness to catch up. My X230 ThinkPad used to do this also, but ONLY on a dark page going to light, and it was only on the odd site. This one though does it as you're using one site. I can be on one where it's white on top, scrolling down and pass a dark ad, and you see the display dim, then pass the add and it brightens back up. It's actually quite annoying.
So I think I have no choice but to return it, mainly for reasons 1 and 2 above as I can't have a machine that I can't even run the program I use 80% of my day on. I also need an external monitor, so to not be able to drive that also is another huge issue.
My (FHD screen) replacement is in production and I went to dell website to check status and saw that they're sending me QHD screen. I specifically told the call person that mine was non-touch. Should i be worried? should i tell him that it was a FHD screen? I'm worried that they will charge me extra.
Holy CRAP, has anyone tried switching from speakers to headphones on this thing? Plugging in my headphones or unplugging them changes the volume to 66/100. I listen on my good headphones at about 12, so you can imagine my surprise since I was wearing them at the time I plugged them in while music was playing.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
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