Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

I just uninstalled the facial recognition software also, let's see if that makes a difference. Going to put it to sleep a few times and wake it up and then report back.

 

I ordered mine 2/27. The hotspot was delivered on 2/29. The system was delivered on 3/1. I got the codes today at 4:15 EST.

 

nope didn't seem to make a difference =(, still dims upon waking up from sleep.

 

Just like warmapathy. Ordered on the 27th, delivered on the 29th and email arrived at 4:15pm

 

Ditto. Exactly the same in all respects, actually...

 

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Bill and Jesse (and anyone else from Dell) that is offering feedback here. It is great that you are interacting with the XPS community.

The following is not a comment on Bill or Jesse - just the way big companies faun over those they see as influential: The only thing disappointing is that reviewers are able to get driver updates before they are officially released. Many here would gladly be beta testers but are not offered the chance. The reviewers are single individuals that tend to find other reasons to ding the products. One or two reviewers go the trackpad update and claim things are better - but they are not really a representation of all the different use cases.

It would be nice if Dell just put out "Beta" labeled drivers for those that want to test. They took a chance on some reviewer that already blasted them - they really have nothing to lose.

 

I ordered on the 28th, so I may be in the second batch

 

I appreciate the note, but (I think) things are getting resolved.

I must say, that while the response here at NBR by Dell has been Exceptional, dealing with XPS phone support in India has been an absolute nightmare. Orders of magnitude worse than any experience I've had previously (I have two XPS desktops at home as well as a 5100cn color laser, along with a Precision T1500, Latitude E6500, and another Dell color laser at work, so I have plenty of experience with Dell's phone support).

Early on in this incident, they asked for the best time of day to call me, and I gave them two different windows... since then they have been calling me at every time EXCEPT in those windows.

Every time a tech calls me to "check in" or tell me that "it has been escalated to Level 3 team" the tech has absolutely no idea what the previous tech(s) have said or promised. They have no access to any tracking numbers or shipping dates, and can give me absolutely no information at all.

Today a tech called me (again outside the windows I had given) to tell me that the issue of the replacement XPS 13 had been researched and that one would be shipped out today or tomorrow... but when I got home from work there was a FedEx Door Tag. Called up FedEx... yup. From Dell. I'll pick it up tomorrow. I sometimes think they are just making things up for the sake of giving an answer.

I realize the need to cut costs by outsourcing overseas, but this is a genuine Three Stooges skit. The Dell India support centers are completely and utterly incapable of handling anything. The people there are only capable of reading prewritten scripts. If you ask any questions you spend an eternity on hold while they figure out or ask permission what to say.

I don't want to rant on forever and it's distracting from the topic at hand, but while I love the Dell hardware and the prices, I really, REALLY hate the non-business end-user support.

It's a downright painful experience.

Sorry.

 

I actually never received my 4G device although it was paid for with the XPS-13 on the 28th of last month so the delay in getting the codes is moot to me.

Oh well, the iPad 3rd gen with 4G LTE just arrived so that will work.

Scott-

 

Sorry its not working out for you. I tried it twice and the dim setting stayed the same. On a brighter note the new WiFi drivers rock. I haven't dropped a connection since i installed them yesterday.

 

I'm surprised that it has come to this.

Even after they sent all the normal Dell Support over to India they still had the XPS computer support here in the U.S. This was one of the advantages of buying a XPS type computer from Dell. Now I guess this is gone too.

Companies that do this really don't care too much for the customer since we spend twice as much time (or more) on the phone when calling support then if we were dealing with someone in the US who can speak English.

 

I could not have said it better myself... I dealt with india support with my 1211/xps11 purchase in December, then had to order another in January and the December order never shipped......

Bill and all of the other dell reps in this thread have been great... hope you can give some feedback RE india support.

 

Really? Sounds like sour grapes to me.

FYI:
1. As a reviewer, I interface with different folks than the wonderful Dell people that participate in this forum. In many companies, you're looking at completely different groups and chains of command with different levels of permissions and motivations to release beta or pre-beta software to various sorts of folks.

2. Some of the alpha or beta software I receive from companies... well, just be glad they don't release it to everybody. If it's early, it can be a real work in progress, and screw up production level machines. If it's a review unit, who cares, just do a system recovery and start over-- perfect scenario. If it goes well, Dell has a chance to see a review updated with positive info. If it doesn't go so well, we're the guinea pigs that suffer so you don't have to

Dell obviously cares about social media given their involvement here and on Twitter-- think of the social networking nightmare if a user or three goes ballistic on social media sites because beta or pre-beta software effectively hosed his machine.

I do think Dell is working like mad on the drivers, and wanted to make sure they were safe even for forum general members' early consumption.

3. Sometimes the tables are turned: forum members here received the A02 BIOS update days before I did.

4. I would be thrilled if Dell fawned over me. Really. I had to buy the XPS 13 in order to review it in a timely manner since Dell could not get us a review unit in the first round. But that's OK, I love the machine and have decided to keep it. And we are an independent and unbiased review site with our own editorial calendar that's not dictated solely by what companies loan us to review. BTW, I gave the XPS 13 a very positive review, so Dell did not take a "chance on some reviewer that already blasted them".

I am responding because I believe I am the only professional reviewer in this thread that commented on the improvement of the trackpad drivers, so I assume you are referring to me. I had posted about the drivers because I wanted to let you all know that Dell was working hard and there was hope, not to make you unhappy or jealous.

OK. End of speech.

 

@pdagal My guess is alphadog00 was referring to the Verge/Engadget crowd and not you. Just a guess. Your points re: BETA drivers for reviewers are spot on.

Some of us do want to fawn over you, by the way. We just haven't managed to get you on the reviewers' list yet, but now there are 2 of us working on it.

Edit:

I hear you all on the support. Your concerns will be read and passed to the appropriate teams. I apologize for any sub-standard experience. We strive to provide good service to the best of our ability in all our contact centers.

The happy land of alternative support options is in my sig. I strongly urge all to take advantage for all support needs. They truly staff that team with the best of the best technical and non-technical representatives. Plus I happen to be pretty tight with one of their managers, so you can always tell me if something goes sideways with them, and she can put the right person on the job to do whatever they can.

 

I got mine as well. I have is set up, now I just need to load it and test it out.

 

I did just that and my wifi hasn't dropped in over a day! Thanks so much for the tip!

With that, I'm very happy with the Dell XPS 13, and with the service and customer support from Dell-Bill and Dell-Jesse. Thanks guys!

Looking forward to the A03 and trackpad update too, of course

 

I was referring to the Verge crew - not you pdagal (still a big Axim fan too).

And although i am not a Dell reviewer, I am a forum mod for a phone maker and i do get to test and review before others so I understand your point of view. I also have done QA work in the past - so I am not trying to complain, just point out that user testing can work well - even with bad drivers if people know what they are getting into. And people have to be qualified in. Complainers and trolls are not good at evaluating new releases, but many in the user community are.

Not unhappy or jealous - all companies would do better to broaden their pool for UAT. Since Dell is listening, I decided to make the comment. If it was misunderstood, I apologize.

 

BTW - AO3 is out

 

Have you guys seen this?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/251852/dell_xps_13_one_of_the_best_ultrabooks_yet.html

 

I still don't see the off axis color shift that others mention.... I have a couple small LCD TVs that do this terribly - but I don't get it on my XPS. Next to a 13" macbook pro it looks the same (almost - the macbook pro is touch nicer, but it is a 4.5 lb laptop).

 

Is the display quality really THAT bad? It seems like all the reviewers are bashing it due to off-angle viewing issues, which seems rather dumb given the conventional use for this machine.

 

I agree with this. The resolution isn't really that bad for a laptop this size, but the quality could have been a little better. Like they said, not a dealbreaker, just a disappointment.

 

I have just received my lovely new XPS13. I live in the UK - I bought it on the day of release and it came yesterday.
I have a question about updating the BIOS. If I go to the Dell drivers and downloads section, there are 22 files (including the A02 BIOS file) available to download for the XPS13 (L321x). However my UK model has service tag BNY9RS1, and for this service tag there are only 14 files. The BIOS update is not one of them. So my question is: can I install the update anyway? Is this a good idea?

thanks,
tak!

 

Here is the BIOS update you are looking for (A03) which is the latest...

Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

 

Great review. I love the first customer review. Looks like there's at least one "PC expert by profession" that is not familiar with Intel Rapid Start Technology. Unfortunately, it seems neither is our tech support rep he spoke to. I'll send a note to the L3's to get an internal email blast out about it, though.

I never search by service tag. I always manually search by system model. A03 is there now. (Link provided in a post before mine.)

You should update to BIOS A03 now, and check back for touch pad drivers next week. As far as the WLAN driver, I'm not going to go so far as to say, "Use the driver posted on Intel's site" just yet. I'm pretty sure we have the same or newer version in test now, but several others on this thread are reporting the Intel driver works flawlessly. I don't think there's any significant risk in using their driver, though. If it looks like we're going to take a while to validate the WLAN driver, I'll change my stance regarding the driver from Intel's site.

 

hey all, checking in here after reading just about every page of this thread! lol! I've had my own share of problems (aka trackpad and insane fan noise) since A01 BIOS, but this latest A03 has been excellent thus far. My last laptop was a 2007 white Macbook and I loved the trackpad on that. The latest Cypress drivers have been pretty satisfactory though, after playing around with some registry values. Two finger scrolling is something I really miss from the Macbook, but I'd say the XPS 13's trackpad is 85% there!

For reference, I'm a programmer and I use this machine daily to do my work (connected to a bigger monitor via mini displayport to DVI adapter) and I appreciate the snappy-ness of the PM830 SSD. Whenever I compile, it tends to push the fan to maximum very easily.

Today with A03, I noticed the fan is not as loud when doing full program compiles, and goes to almost dead silent very quickly once the work is done. I have to basically be around 6 inches away from the back of the XPS to notice that the fan is actually running, but very quietly. Loving this new BIOS version so far!

 

Is the guy correct though regarding the hibernation? What about his issues with the defragmenter not being disabled?

 

Technically there is no Windows option to Hibernate, but that's due to the way Intel Rapid start works. With Rapid Start, you set in the BIOS when you want your computer to "Hibernate" (default is 2 hours after sleep). When Rapid Start kicks in, the Hibernation data is written to a special partition on the SSD, and when you power the computer back on, it skips the Bios post and goes right to the login screen. My XPS 13 comes out of Hibernation in 4 seconds, about as fast as waking up from sleep.

If you want the old school Windows Hibernation, disable Rapid Start in the Bios and uninstall the driver, but I think this guy is making a mountain out of a molehill.

As for the defrag, mine was enabled even after a fresh Windows install. I just turned it off.

 

Adding my $.02

I've been running my XPS 13 since day one with Windows 8 CTP. Its extremely slick and stable. A full system restart takes about 8 seconds from the moment you click 'restart'. Resuming after pressing the power button is less than 2 seconds.

I use this system for software development, replacing my Alienware m15x. Compile times are phenomenal on this machine. Its actually comfortable to type on for some time, even with all the odd curly braces. I had a problem with double keys and random window focus changes at first. My fingers have just learned to plant themselves a little more solidly in the center of the key and the double key went away. I also noticed that the random refocus seemed to happen when I rested my palms on or just above the palmrest. Adjusting the palm detection helped, but holding my palms a little higher really made the biggest impact.

The trackpad is wonky; I downloaded the 15z drivers and things got a little better, but I've given up on using gestures on the trackpad. For now, a small Bluetooth mouse works wonderfully.

I had some issues with the dell-provided bluetooth/wifi drivers. Uninstalling them and letting Windows 8 grab drivers from Windows 8 solved all my problems. In particular, the preinstalled Bluetooth driver took about 2~3 seconds to recognize my mouse, while the windows 8 driver is sub-one second. I almost don't notice the mouse went to sleep anymore.

I really love this machine. With windows 8 on it, a lot of people stop to look at it and admire the whole package. I can't wait until the official release.

 

He's correct about hibernate in that it's not there by default. You don't need it, IMO, because hybrid sleep (S3) has effectively the same impact on battery life as hibernate. Hibernate saves the session to the SSD and shuts the PC down with no power draw, save for what NVRAM needs from the coin cell battery. Hybrid sleep saves the session to NVRAM and resumes a bit faster than hibernate. But if you really want hibernate instead of S3, you can go to the Advanced tab in the BIOS and disable iRST. It will then automatically return to an available Windows power options setting. However, iRST (Intel Rapid Start Technology) does not have the ability to wake a system from hibernate. Resuming from hibernate will take a few seconds longer than resuming from S3. I figured this out based on the error message I got from a command prompt when I tried to enable hibernate. Something like "your system firmware does not support hibernate." Pretty big clue that a "PC professional" should have picked up on if you ask me.

As far as Disk Defragmenter, he's absolutely right. I checked. The default Windows config has it scheduled to run weekly. I will escalate to the OS team to request we change that setting. I would recommend everyone go out and uncheck that box in the scheduler. (type "disk defragmenter" from the Start/Search box, hit enter, click "Configure schedule..." and clear the check box.)

 

Is the machine even faster on Windows 8? I would think Windows 8 is primed for SSDs and ultrabooks.

 

OK. I heard back from engineering already. (BTW, you guys don't see this, but the turnaround time on requests for information and issue resolution from Dell Quality Engineering on this platform has been phenomenal. They are the reason we're able to get answers so quickly and updates posted relatively quickly.)

What we've found is that even though the defrag is scheduled according to the settings we see in the scheduler, it doesn't seem to run. It's confusing that the default MSFT setting is to have the task scheduled when it doesn't run. This post from MSFT regarding defrag on SSD's is pretty enlightening. See the section, Windows 7 Optimizations and Default Behavior Summary.

Edit:

More fast turnaround. We sent a note to MSFT to confirm the above information and heard back within about 5 minutes. "This is expected behavior from Win7."

 

So stoked to receive mine. Just got word it arrives by March 20th....

 

Are there any additional SSD tweaks that I should consider? Or is it pretty much good to go out of the box?

 

Hey Bill!

Thanks for your help with my broken hinge!

I'm on my 3rd day of using the Intel WiFi Driver and it is solid. No problems whatsoever.

The trackpad has been good with the 15z drivers. With the release of the newer drivers I fully expect all the kinks to be worked out. I haven't upgraded the BIOS to A03 yet. I am not even really sure if I will. A02 has been so good on my system. A03 addresses just fan problems or are there other tweaks?

My only other problem is the envious looks my wife is giving my XPS 13. I don't know for how much longer it will be "mine". Thanks again for all your help.

 

Google:

"Sean's Windows 7 Install & Optimization Guide for SSDs"

I found it very informative when I installed an SSD on my other system. He has a lot of info, tweaks, etc...

 

Just a little dreaming here..... Does anyone make a 512GB SSD drive with the same speed as the 256GB? That will fit the XPS 13 as an upgrade?

 

Don't believe there is a 512 gig mSATA drive, especially not SATA 3.

 

Can you point me to the intel wifi and 15z trackpad drivers? Thanks!

 

At this point I would suggest holding off on the 15z touch pad drivers. The platform specific drivers for XPS 13 are going to post very, very soon.

 

Bill recommends holding off until the official drivers for the XPS are released but if you are jonesing for some trackpad relief the location is somewhere earlier in this thread.

 

hey all. tried to search the thread, but couldn't find an answer.
are there any known issues/problems i should be aware of before ordering one of those babies ?

 

Got them. I am expecting to receive my XPS 13 today so want to get all the *fixes* in place before I open it. Really hoping that the nuances (fan, trackpad, screen) don't warrant a return!

 

Known issues we are working on:

Fan noise/thermal profile. A03 BIOS web posted today. Awaiting customer feedback. Mostly positive so far.

Touch pad. Palm check too sensitive. Algorithms incorrectly detect base of human palm as another contact point. Cursor jumps when typing. New drivers should web post early next week. Feedback from BETA testers so far is that out of box, it's an improvement, but it needs some setting tweaks. Once the settings are right, every tester so far gives it positive ratings.

Some units fail to transition from S2 to S3 states. I'm unable to replicate on my unit, so we have escalated to engineering. We are awaiting units from customers in the field for failure analysis. Early suspicions are a software title or users' settings are affecting sleep/hybrid sleep transitions. Not enough information on root cause at this time to say anything definitive yet.

Known issue we are not going to correct until possibly on future revisions:

Screen quality and resolution. I think the resolution is fine for a 13" screen, but there's a lot of customer and reviewer feedback to the contrary. There is also some subjective feedback regarding poor viewing angles. Many state they have no problem with the angles. I find them perfectly acceptable myself, but I'm obviously biased. My opinion counts little here. Trust your friends.

As far as the pros go, there's plenty of documented happiness with everything else about the laptop. I haven't seen an Ultrabook I'd choose over this one, but again- bias. Take advantage of the 21 day return policy if you don't like it after you get it. It should hit retail shelves later this month or next.

 

To Bill's point, I think this is one hell of an ultrabook, and I do not regret my purchase at all. I find the resolution on the screen very acceptable, and so far haven't really found a personal need for higher resolution. I really think this is a "to each their own" type of problem. A03 has made my fan whisper quite, and once the trackpad drivers are posted, we should be all set.

 

If we did install the 15z ones, will there be any issue upgrading to the new drivers?

 

Don't forget about the font used on the keys. It's, ummm... odd looking.

Have you seen the new 2nd gen Samsung Series 9? Not "technically" an Ultrabook, but close enough. (this is a serious question, I'd sincerely like to know your opinion of it -- especially compared to the XPS 13).

 

Probably not. You could always rip the driver with CC Cleaner or something if you ran into issues. It's just a few days away, though.

 

I'd put the keyboard font under a third category: Issue we are not looking at. Kidding. We're actually looking at the font for future platforms.

I haven't seen the 2nd gen Sammy, but I thought the first gen was nice looking, but a bit "plasticky." One should always compare all options before purchase, though, and I'd definitely look at the Sammy. In the end though, I still think we'll come out on top depending on how one feels about the trade-offs.

 

Bill,

I just downloaded A03. Had downloaded A02 previously. The A03 is an improvement in overall loudness, but . . . now there is a constant, low-level hum/whine that never goes away. It cyles from a low to high hum, as I am assuming the fan is rotating. It is like listening to a ceiling fan that has a rhythm that is constant, except instead of a click click click, you get a moaning, undulating hum that is constant. No on/off.