Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

Anyone have problems with these drivers? Am I going to regret updating them like the audio driver?

 

I have no problems with the new drivers or the new audio driver.

 

I updated my Quickset and USB 3, no issues so far. I have not done audio yet because I've heard some issues, and I'm using the Intel direct Network drivers

 

Thanks for the response Bill.

I've tried installing Quickset and the capslock key light still doesnt illuminate.

Also can anyone tell me how to turn off the bluetooth radio, as I rarely use it an would like to conserve power.

My router is up to date and to be hounest I'm starting to think it's a lemon. Its the V1 and there are plenty of reports out there of these units being rubbish, and despite having had the thing for nearly a year I'm starting to think its faulty. Poor show linksys. I'll do some more testing with the laptop beside the router, but last night I was connected at 150mb/s and still only transfered files at <3mB/s.

I guess I'll need to get on to support about the noises. I noticed that there are a few circumstances that creates the noise but I'll go through it later as I'm heading out shortly.

 

Just tried Diablo 3 BETA on my xps 13 i7, and the game runs pretty good. On 1280 x 720 with texture on high ,physics high, anti aliasing on and shadows off. Average fps ~ 25 ~ 30. Pretty good and playable for an Intel HD 3000.

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I would also like to know that, tried fiddling in the control panel, didn't find anything.

 

Windows key + X , will appear a control panel, then I go to the radio options so you can turn off blue tooth , wifi or both.

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I do not have an option turn bluetooth off completely any where with the control panel. I have looked at all of the options. It states bluetooth on but no toggle to turn off. Can you point me in the right direction thank you

 

Go radio control options, launch and uncheck wpan

 

I have an Apple Cinematic Display connected through a Male-to-Male Mini Display port cable and it is running at 2560x1440

 

Thanks very much Steve.

 

open up device manager, expand the bluetooth radios section and disable any of the 2 you find there (it'll turn them all off all at once). If you ever want to enable them, double click and click the enable button (I've found an enable option isn't in the right click menu).

 

I have a battery life question I hope someone can answer. It's really the determining factor for me whether I buy this laptop.

How many hours max can one get just playing 700mb avi movie files (from the ssd or usb flash), with display on minimum brightness and everything (wifi, etc) turned off and power management on max?

It's my understanding this laptop's battery does well on non-intensive tasks, so wondering if 8 hours is possible with settings like this. (I really would like 8hrs for long flights.)

I'm guessing Ivy Bridge will probably extend the max by another hour?

thanks

 

You're question is right up my ally because I just returned mine because of lack of battery power due to long flights withou extra power. I used to be able to change batteries but not now. Of course I am playing HD movies using a virtual BD drive, which probably takes more power. I fly from LAX to Bangkok once a month and this battery won't cut it. I love everything else about it, and I only need about another 15%, so I'm waiting for Ivy Bridge. I also need lots of graphics power because I do a lot of HD video editing and RAW still editing, something else that Ivy Brider will improve. I can't say whether you'lll be able to get 8 hours or not with your settings, but my gut says not.

You can try it for 21 days and see.

 

Many thanks sorted now thanks for the advice.

 

Thanks Bill,

I was able to bend it back nearly flat, I got the service tag entered into the support site and I'll likely not have a reason to open it again for a long time. I appreciate the offer!

 

Just an FYI for those wanting an easier way to get their service tag - it is on the outside of the box the laptop came in. Black box with the handle and a label on one end that says FGA - service tag on that same label.

 

there is an easier way. Just boot in the bios pressing f2 and you will see the service tag.

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I'm still getting the "window focus" issue on my ultrabook, even after installing and re-install the latest touchpad driver? Does anybody have any suggestions? Am I installing the driver wrong?

 

Thanks for the reply. That's also why battery for movies is very important to me - long flights.
Has anyone else tried draining the battery solely playing avi 700mb movies with display on minimum brightness, everything/wifi off, etc.

My understanding about trying for 21 days is that there's a restocking fee, plus would prefer to avoid the hassle since everything else sounds great.

 

So Ive had my XPS 13 for a couple of days now.

Coming from an M11x, and I must say this is one sweet laptop. Still getting used to the spacing on the keyboard, but overall I like it all around. Havent had any of the issues that Ive seen in this thread *knock on wood*

 

I am having the same issue. I first noticed it after I installed the new touchpad drivers a week or so ago. It comes and goes, but when it's bad, the laptop is virtually unusable -- I can't type more than a few words without the window losing focus.

I love everything else about the XPS 13 -- the fan noise is not an issue at all after the most recent BIOS update, the screen resolution and size work fine for me, it's fast, and I even love the keyboard font. But the window losing focus issue is bizarre and a pretty big deal.

(Also, as a newbie, I wanted to say thanks to everyone on this thread -- this thread and the very helpful feedback from Bill and others at Dell convinced me to buy the XPS 13. I really do love it; just need to get the window focus issue resolved.)

 

I have exactly the same sentiment as you! I'm so relieved someone else is having the same issue.

 

Thanks guys! Both great ideas! +Rep to you both!

 

when will the ivy bridge version come? torture...

 

It's earlier in the thread somewhere, but I had the same issue. I found that people were having the same issue with another Dell machine (I think the 15z?). Basically I think it's the ambient light sensor changing your keyboard backlighting (e.g. try changing your backlighting, you'll notice the window focus disappears). I think some people said it's not the ambient light sensor, but all I know is that after I turned it off and started setting my backlighting manually, I haven't had any problems ever since.

To disable it, you can open your start menu and search for ambient or "location and other sensors" and unclick the light sensor.

 

I don't think this is the place to ask about Ivy bridge. Everyone here has settled on Sandy based on their needs. I talked to dell and they put me on a list that will inform me when it's available. Basically for me it's just the battery life and graphics which are crucial for me. Not necessarily for everyone else. I think elsewhere on the web or Dell itself if the best place to ask. Dell told me about June sometime. btw: they are waiving the restocking fee because my wifi did not work properly. They are very good at being talked out of the restocking fee.

 

This appears to have worked for me, thanks! A shame I have to disable this feature to fix this however. Hopefully this issue will be patched in future driver updates

 

Hey guys, I'm having a really weird but annoying problem with my trackpad. I can't seem to get the finger gestures to work anymore. They were working fine earlier today, but now the only thing that works is the horizontal scrolling and the tap to click. All the other gestures including vertical scrolling, the three and four finger gestures, etc don't work anymore. I've tried reinstalling the new trackpad driver, shutting down my computer, everything. I'm very frustrated. Any help?

 

I'd be surprised to see a refresh Ivy bridge before October... This thing has only been out a month.

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I am uninterested in the 1366x768 screen so I am sitting on the Dell sidelines until that changes. Hopefully Ivy Bridge will bring 1600x900.

 

Most of good planes offers in flight free charging now, i appreciated this on my 20 H flight from Sydney to Paris on Airbus A380.

I have read that at 50% light reduction the battery is lasting 6 hours though, I m seriously considering buying one unit since i looks pretty robust to last more than 2 years, and i think this form factor is quite the best one available for my job.

 

I just got through watching 2 full movies both 720p, compressed to 4gb and 3gb. Battery sitting at just over 40 minutes left after 4 hours an 10 minutes of movies.

Had wireless off and display at 50% which is still fairly bright.

 

Hey, guys. I'm knee deep in writing a blog post today, so I have not looked over everything on the thread from the weekend. I just wanted to drop in a note about battery life that I've come across.

If you set your power plan to "Power Saver," you are drawing around 10 Watts when watching 480P video. The number for 1080P will be slightly higher, because of the higher resolution (obviously) and the scaling that's taking place to get it down to the supported 720P resolution. I was able to watch Cars 2 and Toy Story 3 back to back on a single charge. Not sure if you guys are using the Power Saver setting or not. If you did and still are not happy with the charge life, never mind.

 

Note sure if this link was posted before, Notebooks.com has declared XPS 13 as Best Ultrabook Yet and Notebooks.com Editor's Choice 2011 (It's funny though, Dell's product page says Notebooks.com Editor's Choice 2012).

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review: Editor's Choice Ultrabook : Notebooks.com

 

Bill,

I received my replacement power adapter today, as mine had the whine you described. It looks like it's the same model and everything as the original. Is that intended? I haven't tried it out yet to see if it still whines, but wanted to check here as well.

Thanks

 

The information engineering and services gave us is some Flextronics adapters whine and have been purged in favor of a model from LiteOn, worldwide. So, somebody is mistaken on our end, I guess. However, the whine wasn't seen on all the Flextronics adapters, so you could be fine.

 

Unfortunately the new one has a louder whine than my original. I'll reach out to Dell Cares again

 

I let Scott from @DellCares know you were coming and sent a note to the world wide quality engineer asking her to confirm details about the purge. Sorry about the hassle.

 

Scott took care of me, thanks again to you and the team there. Who says Apple is the only one with excellent customer support??

 

This is one of the key reasons I am interested in moving back to Dell. If they offer the XPS Ultrabook with some different display panel options I will be first in line. A glossy 1366x768 isn't going to ever be considered in my company.

We need a 13.3, 14 or 15" matte screen at 1600x900 or higher. Glossy isn't a show stopper. 1366x768 is.

 

lol...Love DellCares support!

 

Has anyone else got the problem with the buzzing sound coming from the computer? Put your ear to the vent on the bottom about half way along. A component of the noise is the screen, but it's not all the screen. It quietens down eventually and gets louder when you move the mouse (touchpad).

Edit: I've also jsut discovered that when the unit is in sleep (not switched to S3 yet) and the light is "breathing" that the noise breaths too with the lights brightness.

 

Yeah, I don't mind the glossy so much. But I'd be happier with 1440x900 if it's another 13 incher. And if it's a 15 inch lappy, I'm pullin' for a true 15"er, not 15.6" (with 1600x900).

 

So I just hit up @DellCares because my replacement adapter was the same as before, and it also had the humming. I specifically requested the Lite-On model to @DellCares.

 

For those who lost their two finger scrolling there is another thread going on the dell support community forums about it. It seems it's pending engineering to fix now: Dell XPS 13 TrackPad Issues after Driver Update - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

 

i saw it at our bookstore today. we have xps 13, folio 13, spectre 14, ux31 and macbook air.

the keyboard on ux31 is not as bad as i expected.

spectre 14 screen is really nice. ux31 has a nice res. folio and xps has ok screen.

man, i love all of them.

spectre might be the first to corss out on my list, due to its weight.

but, it's really had for me to pick one out of the other four.

money is not a big concern.

 

I was in the same position.

MBA is out cause I needed this for work, and Windows is a must

UX31 has a really nice screen, but the network issues concerned me, and the keyboard wasn't very nice

Envy 14 is too heavy... But damn its nice

Folio was never really in the running for me... There just something about it I don't like

Left me with the best choice: XPS 13

I'm glad I got it. Love this laptop.

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I'm on week 3 now and still love this thing. My biggest issue now is the touchpad click. A lot of the time, when I'm trying to left click on the left click button or by tapping the pad, it activates a right click command....
Not all the time, but enough times that its frustrating...

Other than that, I'm still really happy with this computer