Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

3rd gen ivy bridge xps 13 is on dells site. In the windows 8 laptop deals link. Shipping October 26th.

Windows 8 Laptops Sale

 

As long as you dont use hibernation and intel quick start doesnt use it you can disable it, which will save you a few gb's. How much ram have you got as reducing the page file will give you some more depending on your ram. Adobe software can take up quite a bit of room, check to see how much space its using. Recovery partition is up to you, i'd personally get rid of it.

It has been for a while.

 

Intel Rapid Boot does in fact use the Hibernation Partition.
If you want to continue to use Rapid Boot, do not remove that partition.
See this http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/rapid_start_technology_user_guide.pdf

 

I might end up getting rid of adobe since I use cs5 on my mac. I'll back up the recovery partition and remove it this weekend. With that I should have adequate space for almost all my stuff!

One weird thing is up with this computer though. It seems as if within these two days that the fan is starting to kick on more often. The most puzzling thing is the fan doesn't seem to be running at a constant RPM you can hear it fluctuate between high and low speeds about every 4-5seconds. I have upgraded the bios to the latest version could this be the cause?

Thanks

Thank You for the heads up.

 

And yet no mention of it in the xps 13 ultrabook owners thread. Sent my 2nd. Gen back 3 days ago and ordered the 3rd. Gen. I'll either put win7 on it or go with Ubuntu. Been running win 8 rp on three home computers and no one in the family likes it, including myself.

 

I just took the plunge and purchased one from the dell store (Australia) for $798 (core i5). Considering that the new ones will be released anytime with prices starting anywhere from $1100- 1200 AUD (Dell Australia) I don't think it's worth the few hundred extra for a slightly better processor/graphics processor.

If I decide to upgrade it to Windows 8 in the near future it will only cost an extra $15.00 which gives us plenty flexibility.

 

Probably a good deal, they offered to knock some off my original price for the sandy bridge xps 13 I had, but I just couldn't reconcile the fact that two weeks after I ordered it, they debut the new version. Especially after waiting a couple months hoping they would update it. To me it's worth a $160 more to know I've got the latest CPU. Benchmarks show about a %15 improvement in performance over the equivalent sandy bridge part and there is a significant performance difference between the intel hd 3000 and hd 4000.

Benchmarks show an improvement but it's highly likely most people wouldn't notice the difference. I'm just one of those people who will KNOW there is a difference and it will bug me.......

 

Hey did you manage to find out what was up with it?

 

Hey did you manage to get this problem resolved? What did it turn out to be in the end?

 

According to the spec sheet for the new xps 13, there will be a 1080p option.

 

I am still looking through the pages.......


But my work bought one of these for the CFO. Does anyone have a good driver pack for win7 pro? Dells site is just bonkers......

thanks!

 

Any idea on when that will happen I bought the XPS 14 but it is too heavy to cart around so I was waiting for the XPS 13 to change the display which I thought would have happened when they change to the Ivy bridge cpu.

 

My ivy bridge xps 13 shipped today. Will have it tomorrow. Although I would love to have a higher resolution display, I'll have to make due because dell doesn't seem to be in a hurry to make any updates to the xps 13. At this point they should just hold off on the 1080p panel until they can install a touch screen version.

 

Well if that turns out to be accurate I may end up getting an XPS 13 for my next notebook.

 

Been using the L322x Core i7, 8gb ram, 256gb ssd (replaced the 128gb with my own 256gb Crucial M4) for two days now. On the whole I'd have to say it's not bad. Doesn't seem much faster than the i5 4GB L321x I sent back, but Win8 and the ivy bridge i7 do show more battery life than I was getting with the sandy bridge i5/win7 combo. Although, admittedly I haven't really stressed the system very much at this point and web surfing is hardly the format to ascertain a difference in performance. I'm sure when I do finally get around to using some virtual machines and transcoding music files, the new L322X i7 will perform much better than it's predecessor, but some of that will likely be due to the 8gb of ram as well as the faster cpu.

I've done some research and found a program called "classic shell" that puts the start button, or a reasonable facsimile of it on the Windows 8 desktop. I'm finding I like this much more than I ever liked Win 8 RP without it

This version seems to ship with a slightly different trackpad configuration program. I can't say if it's completely new, because there is the chance it was available on the L321x/Win 7 and I didn't see it, but with the L322x/Win8 when you configure the trackpad, you get a Dell/Cypress configuration program. Trackpad is usable to me, perhaps still not quite as good as my 13" macbook pro, but definitely better than my L502X and other windows laptops I've used in the past. It leaves me with the feeling that it's only a couple small driver tweaks away from being very good.

Honestly, it looks exactly like the L321x and I'm a bit dumbfounded as to why it took Dell so long to release the ivy bridge version.

 

@acru if your needing to use classic shell, whats the point in having win 8? I personally think 8 is awfull except on a touch screen. But still not many people have touch screens nor do i think many people will want touch screens.

 

Hi,

I have a XPS13 sandy bridge and I can't stand anymore with the pink / white noise coming from display. Anyone here know how Dell support is handling this issue? Because I would like to be precise describing the problem with Dell support.

 

I've been running win8dp and win8rp on at least one computer in my house for nearly a year now and at times on 4 of them (2 laptops and 2 desktops) much to the chagrin of my family. I really don't like the tile interface. It is clearly designed for touch screens, but with a smooth trackpad it works ok. Honestly though, I don't need a laptop for that, I have an ipad3 for touchscreen websurfing. I need a laptop for spreadsheets/payroll and other business work. I would love a 1080p screen on the xps 13, but it's a trade off I'm willing to accept for the compact design the xps 13 offers.

Anyway, Windows 8 is pretty smooth and runs very well on some of the older pc's in my house, I really haven't run into very many existing programs that I use that won't work with windows 8 and see it as the natural progression of windows. I'm happy with windows 8 and classic shell, why not?

So much in life comes down to this, better to jump in early and learn to swim than stand on the shore complaining about how cold the water is. That's why my wife and kids got to use windows 8 for 3 months. I see using classic shell as equivalent to putting on a wetsuit before jumping in. It makes the cold water more tolerable and I still get to swim. As hardware evolves to more effectively take advantage of the windows 8 tile interface, I'll eventually forgo classic shell, but for now it works for me.

Truth be told, I prefer linux, but ubuntu on this laptop doesn't get the battery life I'm seeing with windows 8. and the trackpad isn't quite as smooth in ubuntu, not to mention wifi was taking up to a minute to reconnect after waking from sleep and a couple other small issues.

 

Quick question, will I lose the recovery partition if I install Windows 8 on my XPS 13?


Thanks

 

IM haveing this same issue On a Dell inspiron 7720 SE The Windows Memory diagnostic utility will not load just I get a black screen and have to shutdown and restart.
The memory tested good in memtest86 4.20
How many other people have the same issue with their Dell laptops maybe Microsoft's utility doesn't support the video cards in some dell laptops?

 

I just ordered the new XPS 13 and I would like to know if there are any issues on them that occurred on the Sandy Bridge XPS 13's?

 

From what I could tell having a sandy bridge xps 13 for two weeks and now the ivy bridge xps 13, they're virtually identical. Meaning all the same issues are probably present. Many complain about the track pad, a loud fan, wireless reception/connection issues. Other issues often cited are the ease with which the rubberized coating on the palm rest and around the keyboard shows fingerprints and how hard it is to clean.

I guess I'm not as picky as some because the track pad is fine for me, I don't ever hear the fan (didn't hear it on the sandy bridge version either} and the fingerprint issue doesn't bother me. I did have wireless connection issues, but that was on the sandy bridge version with ubuntu. It wasn't a deal breaker though, just took a bit longer than I would have liked to reconnect to wifi after waking from sleep.

 

A few days ago I ordered a XPS 13 with the i5 cpu, 256gb SSD, and Windows 8. This laptop might be replacing my early 2011 base model 13" MacBook Pro. I would like to know if anyone is happy with their XPS 13 and if Dell fixed the touchpad issue, fan noise, and the issues with the WiFi card?

 

I have the newest XPS 13 with 8GB RAM, but it comes preinstalled with Win 8. Is there any way to downgrade to Win 7? I have a Win 7 disk, but I can't seem to boot off of my external drive. Any suggestions?

 

So, I talked to dell support.
-While booting press F12 to get boot options.
-Choose 'Change boot mode settings'
-Choose 'Legacy Boot Mode, Secure Boot Off'
-Now you can go to boot options and choose the optical disk.
-Maintain all the currently installed partitions, but install on the OS partition.

He said that the recovery partitions don't hold the OS image, so you should make a recovery disk/usb stick. It's in Dell Backup and Recovery Manager under 'System Recovery Media'.



Also, I just learned that you shouldn't sysprep these Windows 8 systems because "This machine uses the Intel Rapid Start Technology, which utilizes an 8 gig partition on the hard drive. If you run sysprep it blows that partition away and it's close to impossible to get it back."

 

Another caviat.... the disk is partitioned using GPT, so you can't install over just the OS portion. You need to blow away all the partitions and reformat the drive to install another OS.

 

Use a program like Paragon and make a 100% complete image of the stock drive FIRST... then do what you need or want to without worrying about losing ANY factory partitions or data.

If needed in the future, you just rewrite the image back to the drive and you are back to factory status.

Scott-

 

I just got a windows 8 xps 13. Does anybody have experience with this:
When connected to a 27" 1440p monitor via displayport and playing 1080p video (external monitor as the only display), video is pretty choppy. It plays fine on the laptop alone, however (and there's nothing wrong with the monitor).

Has anyone else tried this? Is the hd4000 not enough power to play 1080p properly on a 2560x1440 monitor?

 

Anybody got the new Ivy version already?

 

I received my XPS 13 (L322X) two days ago and had really high hopes for this laptop since I really loved my XPS M1330 that I had years ago. Straight out of the box I noticed that the wifi connection was cutting in and out. I had planned on doing a full reinstall of Windows 7 anyway so I wasn't too concerned.

I reinstalled Windows 7 and downloaded all of the latest drivers from Dell. The install went great... until I installed the wireless drivers and tried to connect to my wifi at home. Again, the wireless would work for maybe 5-10 minutes then it would lose its connection to the internet. After this happened, the laptop would not shut down. The driver was in some sort of corrupted state and prevented Windows from shutting down the laptop. I had to press and hold the power button to turn it off. Once I rebooted into Windows I decided to try a newer driver directly from Intel for the Centrino 6235 wireless-n adapter. And again I experienced the SAME issues.

I reinstalled Windows 7 AGAIN thinking that maybe if I started with the Intel driver rather than the Dell driver then it might work. Wrong. Same issues, nothing had improved. Even the bluetooth was giving me problems. I was able to connect a bluetooth mouse once, and only once. After rebooting it would never connect again.

This is completely unacceptable for a brand new laptop. And I don't want some refurb motherboard replacement which is exactly what Dell is going to do. Does anybody have any other advice? I've spent nearly 6 hours trying to get this working and now I've given up. Oh, and the light on the front of the laptop has turned amber now and won't turn off, even after shutting the thing off.

 

I recently picked up a xps 13 ultrabook refurbed and I have updated both the touchpad and wireless drivers. Wireless is a bit better and the touchpad is a bit unresponsive at time. However, the major issue I have is the computer becoming unresponsive when it becomes dormant for a period of time. I don't know what the issue is but everything just become unresponsive and the only way to get it back up again is shutting it down via holding down the power button. Anybody run into similar issue with their xps 13. I am really loving everything else about it but the constant unresponsiveness is becoming a big annoyance. Not sure if there's something wrong with the SSD or if it's a heating issue.

Edit: I am going to return mine. I can deal with heating issue, wonky wifi, and flaky touchpad, but it just become painstakingly annoying when the computer freezes every couple of hours or so and required and manual shutdown.

 

@DSM_in_Atlanta Please accept my apologies you have faced with the new system. I will be glad to assist you and resolve the system issue.
Could you please private message me the Service tag, your name registered with Dell and your contact number?

-DellNiranjan

 

I bought a new Dell XPS13-9001sLV 13.3-inch Ultrabook from New Egg the first week of Oct. (i7, 256HD, 4GB $1,099) It's a work of art, beautiful, boots in 15 seconds, love most everything about it.

I don't like the track pad buttons being part of the track pad, bad design.
I don't like the rubbery coating, it attracts oily finger prints to easily.
(minor complaints, not deal breakers)

The wireless card has been unacceptable though (Advanced-N 6230). I have never been able to connect at N speed with any router 2.4 or 5. It always says 54.0Mbps, but is much slower than even G should be. A file that should take 60 seconds to transfer takes over 6 minutes.

The speeds with 2.4GHz are awful 1.8-3.1MB/second, with 5GHz it is even slower. My 3 year old Acer Netbook is much faster. Another cheap Acer Aspire V3 is 10x faster it connects at 144.4Mbps and transfers files @ 10.5-12MB/second. Router is NetgearWNDR4000 and has been a great router, no speed problems with any PC, except this new XPS 13.

After being on the tech line for hours, additional hours of tweaking, 2 complete OS reinstalls. They now say it's a KNOWN PROBLEM with the N6230 and it needs a driver update from Intel. After waiting for and installing 2 new driver versions this month, the problem is NOT fixed.

If I'd knew this problem would have not been fixed by now, I would have sent it back. I bought this laptop especially for transferring large media files, it has no ethernet plugin so the wireless needs to work correctly.

Dell has called every week and checked in to see if the problem is still happening, but have no solutions other than waiting for a new driver. The frustration is growing. I do not like be a forced beta tester. I contacted Dell support the 2nd day I owned this laptop, it's been a month now, what are my alternatives?

 

Hey everybody.

Can you guys please clarify on how much battery life is expected from the sandy bridge model.

I kinda heard they promised the battery at 8 hours.

I've never gotten that.

 

@Silenus,

I am from Dell Social Media and Community.

It all depend on kind of software's or applications you use. If you leave the laptop idle, it will give you battery backup of over 10-12 hours, but if you browse internet, use web application or use some image editing software or play high end games it will reduce to 6-7 hours or may be less depend on how much resource your application grasp.

Dell-Niranjan
Twitter: @NiranjanatDell

 

A few comments from a new owner:

1. Is there any ability to adjust screen contrast on the XPS13? It looks a little washed out with the screen tilted back as far as it will go. If I lift up the front edge of the keyboard one inch to tilt the screen back further, it looks great but wish I could dial that in with a contrast adjustment.

2. my laptop freezes periodically for a minute or two, during which it is totally unresponsive, even to ctrl-alt-del, it but eventually unfreezes by itself. Tech Support updated the bios and video driver via remote control, but that didn't help at all

3. There are occasional random glitches in the keyboard where the mouse will suddenly go somewhere else or caps lock suddenly gets turned on or a different tab in my browser is selected

All this being said, I might end up taking advantage of the 30-day return from Dell if I can't find a fix, at least for number 2.

 

I've had my XPS-13 i-5 3rd gen (8GB/256GB) for a few days are so far no problems (other than figuring out why the screen was so dim, it was auto-adjust). I've even got Windows 8 working like Windows 7 with the help of classic shell; I don't see those silly tiles anymore

What I need help with is making a backup of my Windows 8 partition using R-Drive (or some other imaging software). With Windows-7 one needed to save off the "Reserved System Partition" and the "C:" partition to get a workable restore. I've been told it's the same with Windows 8, but I don't see a "Reserved System Partition" on my XPS-13.

I have the following partitions:

EFI System Partition 500MB
OEM Partition 40MB
Recovery Partition 500MB
Recovery Partition 7.3GB
Primary Partition 8.01GB (I think this is the Rapid Restart partition)
Primary Partition 158GB (Data Volume D
Primary Partition 63.48GB (OS C: Boot, page File etc.)

Note: I shrunk the C: partition ans created a D: drive for my data.

 

Just a follow-up to my 12/20/2012 post. I had a VERY difficult time getting Dell to process the return request for my laptop. I won't go into the gory details, but it was a run-around the likes of which I've never experienced. They did everything imaginable to frustrate me and discourage me from returning the laptop. New customers should really consider steering clear of this company. Very disheartening to think that this is the company Dell has become.

 

Hello everyone I really need some help,
I spilled a glass of water :cry: on the laptop, water spilled on and under the computer, right away I absorbed the water from the computer and turned it off.

Is there anything I can do meanwhile except call to dell.

Is there some kind of video that can help me?
Dell XPS 13 (L321X) Repair Manuals | DIY Installation Videos & Service Guides

Thank you very much!!!

 

I suspect the laptop is designed to resist spills like yours. Have you tried powering it on? You could always call Dell (good luck with that), or partially disassemble it and inspect for water penetration - those videos you linked to have good instructions on disassembly.

 

Be happy is was just water... Place the unit on a microfiber towel to absorb any water that may leak out where it went in.

If you have the technical experience, use a T5 screw driver and remove the bottom cover. Now, do this:

Unplug:
A. The main power/battery connector (9 wire connector just above the battery and below the CPU)
B. The video display cable connector (top left corner next to hinge)
C. The (2) antenna connectors on the wireless card.
D. The white "DB" ribbon cable (on top of the battery on the right side)
E. The larger copper "DB" ribbon cable (both sides - next to the fan)

Remove:
A. Wireless card
B. mSATA card
C. The primary battery (6 fasteners)


Once these items are removed, take a blow dryer and turn it on to medium heat.

Carefully run the blow dryer over the exposed connection points (6-10 inches away) and bottom side of the keyboard. If you notice more than a few drops of water, it may be wise to also remove the main system board totally.

Once they system has been warmed up by the blow dryer, turn it over to insure no other moisture is parked on the top side of the keyboard/palmrest.

Once done, just let it sit in a warm/dry location for 24-48 hours before reassembly. Also insure each part/cable that was disconnected is dry/clean.

As long as the water is expelled and no power is present during the drying period, your chances are good it will be OK once fully dried.

Scott-

 

I am thinking of getting this laptop to replace my XPS 14z. It has problem with SATA 3.0 since day 1 and it never work.

Does this SATA 3 really work?

I need to do two Virtual Machine on it.

Are there any problem?

I have waiting for one at the Outlet for the 3rd Generation Intel.

 

Other than occasional 1-2 minute freezes, lousy feel on the keyboard (matter of personal taste), and occasional jumping cursor (touchpad?), my new XPS13 worked well.

 

I offered a Dell XPS 13 to my 13 years old daughter. I have the exact same issue. When close to the router, reception is fine. But as soon as we go in any of the other rooms, it drops to poor or no connectivity at all. We leave in a 1400 sqf apartment. I have 4 other wifi devices that have excellent to very strong wifi reception on the same router. Is the only option to return the xps 13 to dell for refund? Has anyone had a better experience with that ultra book?

 

I offered a Dell XPS 13 to my 13 years old daughter. I have the exact same issue. When close to the router, reception is fine. But as soon as we go in any of the other rooms, it drops to poor or no connectivity at all. We leave in a 1400 sqf apartment. I have 4 other wifi devices that have excellent to very strong wifi reception on the same router. Is the only option to return the xps 13 to dell for refund? Has anyone had a better experience with that ultra book?

 

Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook getting a 1080p screen option later this month

1080p XPS14 when?

 

Very soon ... :thumbsup:

 

I hope so. Seriously, I've put off getting an XPS 14 for so long because of the screen (and wifi issues). If it had an IPS 1920x1080 screen, I'd get it in a heartbeat.

 

Having a 1080p on a screen means watching your screen 1" away. It is sooo tiny. It would a pain on your eyes if you do this for 1+ hour.

 

This laptop with 3rd generation Intel have 8 GB of memory. This is what I want.

I just wonder how long before it goes to the outlet.