Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

If memory serves, the Dell fan is actually louder, although unlike the Tosh, it is not on all the time.

 

Louder, but the Toshiba had a really irritating whine. And (now that I have power throttled and am using "passive" cooling) the Dell doesn't seem as loud as it was.

 

Random observation #1: the speakers on this thing put out a surprising amount of volume. Wasn't expecting that.

Random observarion #2: The entire trackpad has audible feedback for clicks, not just the buttons. I really like that.

 

Can be louder, but not often. Not nearly as annoying, to me, as the Tosh. Mine has seemed to calm down a bit.

 

My overall impressions after a few hours of use, as posted on another forum:

My XPS 13 arrived today. Base config (i5, 128GB SSD), so I thought I'd post my initial impressions.

I'm totally disorganized, so this will be more stream-of-consciousness than anything else.

Before I forget, there's at least one solid review out there on the XPS 13, full of benches:

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review - HotHardware

By way of reference, I had the Toshiba Z830 for a period of time when it first came out, but due to some display issues, I returned it within the return period.

The XPS 13, while being a smaller footprint, is considerably heavier than the Z830 (2.99 lbs versus 2.1). That said, because it is smaller form factor, I actually like the increased weight. It feels solid or "dense". Absolutely no give to the screen at all.

No stickers plastered across the palmrests. YAY! Nice matte texture to the palmrests, touchpad, and underside of the unit. Silver top is not a fingerprint magnet... another YAY!

Fan is fairly loud; possibly even louder than the Toshiba fan was, but this one is not on at all times.

Keyboard is a dream. I love chicklet-style keys and use them on my desktops at home and work as well. This one is the best I've encountered. The key surfaces are very large, and have a very nice indented curved contour. The backlighting is VERY bright, due partly to the large font used on the keys. Unlike some other backlit keyboards I've used, the lighting is truly even. The only thing missing are dedicted PgUp/PgDn/Home/End keys. That is my only complaint.

The touchpad is very nice. One feature it has that I have never encountered before is that there is audible and tactile click feedback across the ENTIRE touchpad, not just the dedicated buttons. It takes a bit of gettin used to, but I like it. Two-finger scrolling is hit or miss though; not the smoothest in the world, even after tweaking what I could in the control panel.

The screen is very vibrant and can EASILY be turned down several notches. Viewing angles, as others have mentioned, aren't the greatest in the world, but there is no problem with the actual image quality. I know that some have lamented the resolution not being 1600x900, but the 1366x768 doesn't bother me.

One thing I wasn't expecting is the amount of volume that the speakers put out. MUCH more than the Toshiba had. Seriously impressive for an ultramobile device.

System is very spry and reboots lightning-quick. I'm not a benchmark junkie, so I'll leave those for other folks.

A fair amount of bloatware, as to be expected.

I've not opened the "free" (not really) T-Mobile 4G Hotspot that came with it. I haven't decided whether I will keep it or try to sell it.

I am running into some Wifi issues, where my connection simply stops. It shows me as still connected to my network, but I cannot get anywhere until I disconnect and reconnect to my network. It's happened twice tonight, so that's a bit diconcerting.

The power brick is pretty small and the cable itself is quite svelte.

The manual battery capacity checker on the side of the device is a neat touch.

My cost, after sales tax, was US$954. If I can get $100 for the T-Mobile hotspot, that will bring it down to $854 net, which is a very nice price point.

While it isn't a perfect device, thus far impressions are quite positive. Overall it feels like a much more "polished" device than the Toshiba was, as far as fit and finish.

 

oh. not sandy bride design too. other brand already plan release ivy bride ultrabook. dell too out of day.

 

Also Dell plan ivy bride release too later. No other brand yet ivy bride release. Is ok. Not world ending.

 

May I ask where you purchased this for US$954?

Thanks

 

See the thread I posted in the Bargains section:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...85-new-dell-xps-13-ultrabook-up-purchase.html

I'm not sure if that coupon code is still active or not.

 

Okay, guys. After a day of playing with this, I'm reluctantly sending it back. Here are my reasons: I did throttle the power, and that did seem to reduce the fan noise, but that was also during a long period of time where i was customizing the computer-- deleting and tweaking windows features, not connecting to the internet, and not using any programs. As soon as I started working again this morning, the on and off fan was back-- I clocked it at every 2 or three minutes, with a guarantee that it would kick on as soon as I opened a browser window or started any task that involves (note that I am not saying "stresses") the cpu.

If that were my only problem I might just live with it-- a quick scan of the discussions on Amazon reveals that the new mba also might have heat and fan noise issues-- but I'm also having trouble with the trackpad. Two finger scroll is nearly perfect, but the palm check feature just isn't working for me-- at least once every two paragraphs I find myself typing in a different part of the document, or in a different window entirely, because my palm has done something to the track pad. This is a known problem with windows touchpads-- only apple seems to have engineered a touch pad that understands the difference between accidental and intentional touches. The problem is, this pad is so big (a plus in most ways) that there's no way to NOT rest your palms on it. I have spent most of the past day testing different settings in the trackpad driver, running/not running touch freeze in the background, and nothing fixes it. The only fix is to disable "tap to click", a feature I really don't want to lose-- and even then I sometimes get a palm click.

One final problem, that I hesitate to mention because I doubt it will happen to most people-- about two times in every paragraph I get a double letter, likke tthis. I have never been able to buy a Vaio because this happens to me all the time when I type on those keyboards, and I don't think I've ever heard the complaint from anyone else about it. But I know it's not just my bad typing, because it never happen on my Asuss or my desktop, or (back when I was using it) my M1330. I'm a touch typist, so there's obviously something quirky about how hard I sometimes hit some keys.

Bottom lline (see what I mean?): there is much to love about this computer. But I only have one shot at a computer upgrade every several years, and (as somebody said earlier in this thread) I'm spending too much time just trying to get this one to work comfortably. At the moment, my clunky asus gives me better usability. Sad but true.

 

You're not alone. I'm should be receiving another XPS 13 later today. If the fan is just as loud as the original machine I received I will be sending both back today. The fan noise is distracting and actually very disappointing. I really wanted to send back my MacBook Air instead of the XPS 13

 

So, it seems the XPS 13 suffers the same issue as the rest of the XPS series; over active fan. If Dell would stop being so cheap on the cooling system ( use a bigger fan and more heatpipes, and better venting ) as well as crappy fan profiles in the bios ( only off, 50%, 100% ) then they would not have a problem.

I am never buying an XPS again until they fix this problem.

 

III'd wwould do the ssame thingg: send it back.

I'm a tech person, but I refuse to spend hard-earned money on a tool and then must spend my precious time making the tool work before it can help me do my work.

Right on.

 

I do want to add that it's clear Dell is working incredibly hard both at design issues and customer service-- I think that they clearly want to win and or regain the trust of their customers. The experience I had talking to customer service both when ordering and then returning the system was phenomenal, far better than the experiences I had back in my m1330 days. More like the old Dell that I remember from I'm not going to say when, lest I date myself.

 

Quick question for those that have received there XPS 13. Is the memory user replaceable, and is 4GB that max you can put in?

 

The memory components are soldered onto the main board.

 

No... and yes... but for an ultraportable and its target market; this is expected and 4GB is plenty of RAM even if an extra memory slot would be nice to play with.

Scott-

 

What "new" MBA? You mean the current model that started shipping 07/2011?

 

The MBA only has fan noise/heat issues when watching certain videos, I've noticed.

 

Yes. And, I did note that the complaints of fan noise were focused on processor-intensive tasks like videos. That's principally why I felt comfortable returning this one, which responded to word-pad as if it were a processor intensive task. I guess I brought it up because I found it interesting that the MBA users claimed the problems only began with the newest airs, with i5 i7 processors, which apparently make more heat...?

 

Quick updates.

Fan- new BIOS coming shortly that should address. If your fan is too loud/active, what BIOS revision do you have from the factory? We're trying to determine when/if the new version we cut in has shown up on any systems from the factory yet.

Touch pad palm check- Cypress is already working on a driver revision. We saw the complaints yesterday morning, and got on it immediately. I'll post back when I have definite ETA's for both.

 

Hey Bill,
If I already have a support case open about the fan, do you think I could call back in for the bios update or is it still being investigated?

 

Hi, Just ordered my XPS 13 and i'm looking for a Compatible Sleeve Case for my new Ultrabook. Can u recommend a good and protective one?

 

I'd try the new BIOS. Seriously doubt hardware replacement will do anything.

Sorry. I checked but did not see one offered on Dell.com with the XPS 13. I'll pass that feedback along to the accessories team.

 

Bill - I hate to hiijack, but if you are saying you can fix the fan for this laptop surely it can be done for the XPS 15 and 17?

 

Oh god please say yes!

 

I will go online and purchase an XPS 13 (i7) once they have a BIOS fix for the fan. Till then I will "watch and wait".....

 

NEW BIOS WILL FIX THE FAN ISSUE.

The same thing happened with Adamo 13, Dell's first Ulltrabook. The bios fixed it right away and the machine has been working perfectly ever since.

I can guarantee that bios will fix it. And it will be out quick.

 

Very cool, I am pleased to see that Dell has people like you who care about customer feedback.

I, too, will wait to hear back on the fan and touchpad issues before deciding to purchase!

 

Very good news: I know I said I was returning the box, and I did in fact have it all packed up with my RMA, waiting for Dell to pick it up on Monday. But when I heard about the new bios, I couldn't resist flashing, just to see... I have been running it for half an hour, and the fan has only kicked in once. Even then, it sounded less high pitched and intense to me-- not unnoticeable, but not intrusive, at all. And the rest of the time it's library quiet. I'm going to keep playing over the weekend, but my hopes are high.

 

The system arrived this afternoon... You guys ready for some eye candy???

 

I have also received the updated Bios. I'm still not 100% pleased with the fan noise, but I'm getting there. I'm sure Dell will get this fixed. I'm extremely impressed with how responsive various members of the Dell team has been.

I'm sending my MacBook Air back tomorrow. I'm going to hang on to the XPS 13 for awhile.

 

I purchased this one. It is a little expensive, but I am loving it as it has some good versatility while still being compact. Its elegance matches the elegance of the XPS imo.

Ultrabook City Case - Case Simple

 

Will battery life be better on the i5 vs the i7?

And should I even consider the i7? My main task are web browser and general productivity.... photoshop and lightroom every so often (bi weekly maybe).

 

The i7 is not that big of an improvement to justify the higher cost. Yes, the i5 will allow slightly longer battery life.

Scott-

 

Thank you everyone for all of your comments. Very helpful to a potential buyer like me. Glad to hear Dell is on the fix too.

Once that gets sorted out I think I will be selling my MBA 13" for this laptop. I need to get back to the wonderful world of Windows and this laptop looks like the perfect fit.

 

Thanks.... That then brings up the choice between the i5 256ssd and the i7 256ssd. I don't want the 128, so its out. I fear of running out of space. This will be my only laptop.

 

If this is going to be your only laptop then yes you may want to error on the side of caution. The one thing I will say is that the SSD is the one thing that you will be able to change after market, IF it was something you wanted to do. However from what I have seen the SSDs in these bad boys are pretty awesome.

So a long way of not saying much

 

You're good, you bring up a good point that the SSD can be upgraded. And yes, it seems that is true on the SSD if they are quality Samsung units. I said, jokingly, in the new Samsung Series 9 thread that Samsung failed to use their own speedy SSD. :\

Too bad because I wanted one.

 

I love mine so far. I am a little surprised that there is no Kensington lock slot, although the super thin nature of this little machine may have made attaching a lock to it impractical.

I leave my personal machine in my cube at work during the day, I guess I'll have to close the lid and lock it in a drawer if I leave for any extended period of time.

 

I am posting tech pics now, guys, on the first page.

Scott

 

Hi Guys,

I ordered one today. 256GB, i7. Looking forward to it. I've had XPSes for 5 years now, and this one seems just absolutely gorgeous (and capable)!

I do hope the fan's not too loud, and if it is, I do hope the BIOS fix wll take care of it to a reasonable extent. Barring the supposed fan noise (and the lack of an SD card slot), IMHO, this thing just might be as close an ultrabook could come to perfection.

BTW, I ordered the i7 because the i5 chip does not have TPM, which is a necessity if you want to run BitLocker (not to mention that you'd have to dish out another $100 to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate for BitLocker.)

I'll let you know how loud the fan turns out to be on the i7.

Peace.

 

Really nice pix! All your links to dell tear-down pdfs have been helpful as well. OT, I'm interested in your external SATA disk image discussion. Maybe I'll pm you or start another thread and link back to it here. Looking forward to your further thoughts. I woke up this morning feeling happy-- new computer after all.

 

Using the computer this morning with touchfreeze running in the background, and no palm-press issues. Then, in the middle of a brief pause to think, I ended up in another part of the document. (Touch Freeze only disables the touchpad when it senses that you are using the keyboard.) Then I had an flash, for your Cypress guys: how about a shortcut-key, or tap zone, or gesture, that disables/enables tap to click? You could turn off tap to click while doing lots of typing. You could turn it on again when doing more editing or websurfing. Yes, it's less elegant than whatever algorithm the Mac engineers are using, which seems to differentiate accidental and intentional taps by magic. But it would allow us to use the touchpad when we want, and not when we don't, which is good enough for me.

 

is there a bios available? i saw nothing on dells website. not even verion 1.

 

Publicly released, no. Some are getting from tech support to see if it fixes the problem. They will release it shortly once they get a little more testing.

 

Not that this really matters much, at all, but here is the Windows Rating I got with the i5.

 

i am going to call them. the fan noise is ridiculously loud. my m11x is quieter than this machine. disappointing. this is the only issue i have with this computer, but it is enough of an issue to send it back if it is not fixable. i hope the bios update addresses the fan noise. i read in an earlier post that changing the power options to essentially throttle down the cpu helped, but i dont want to do that...

 

Where is the voucher for the T-Mobile service supposed to be? I have the device activated and it is working, but when I try to access the internet through it, I am redirected to a tmobile site which tells me I have no time left on my plan and need to purchase time.

I checked the paperwork which came with both machine and hotspot device and I can find nothing. I hope it was not on my machine as bloatware as I purged all of the extra junk within the first couple of hours of use.

 

I wonder why mine is constrained by a 5.5 video score? Perhaps some power related setting ...

Great little machine, I have been carrying it all over the house with me, I love it. It is very powerful for its size!