Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

Is there a port replicator for this laptop? Basically looking for a dock that passes through the power cord..

wondering if the power tips with the Targus Universal USB 3.0 DV Docking Station with Power will work: http://www.targus.com/us/productdetail.aspx?regionId=7&sku=ACP71USZ

 

Thank you very much for your info! I'm doing some tests with a Lenovo USB 3.0 docking and this is really useful to check if the ports are doing its job right!

 

I'm planning to power 3 screens with the XPS 13, one with the integrated mini DisplayPort and the other 2 with a Lenovo USB 3.0 dock...

Does anybody use similar config? It's possible to get at the same time the mini DisplayPort out and USB 3.0 screens?

Thank you!

 

How's the battery life (just regular internet stuff - forums, Reddit and so on, no Flash) on the FullHD models with the brightness turned all the way up?

 

Hey, guys! I just received a FHD unit today and have a few questions:

Has anyone noticed that the display is a bit on the warm side (slightly yellowy whites)?

Is it normal to have back-light bleed with this model (There are two small spots near the right corner and a larger area on the bottom edge near the left corner on mine)?

I noticed even with autobrightness off, one of two brightness levels near the lower end (but not all the way down) tend to flicker, which I find a bit irritating, but none of the other levels seem to have it. Has anyone else noticed this?

Other than those anomalies, this laptop is awesome! The touchpad isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be as well.

EDIT: Here is a comparison of my iPad with the XPS display. The color temperature difference rid more striking in person, but you get the idea. Does this look abnormal (subjectively) for this display or par for the course? The main reasons I noticed the warmth of the color in the XPS displays was first noticing the XPS splash screen had more of a yellowish white than pearlescent white and that grays seem to have a yellow tinge. Also, I own a Dell e-IPS monitor and the white point seems cooler, but not blue. One of these days I'm just going to buy a colorimeter and get it over with, seeing as I'm apparently a display stickler.

 

Here is another pic (next to D830 1200p TN panel):


The reason I'm posting this is because I'm trying to determine if this is worth exchanging or if all panels have calibration or color character like this.

Does anyone have a calibrated icc profile?

 

I used the following and it's pretty good:

 

Thanks. Is this applied in windows color management? I tried using it before but couldn't get it to work.

EDIT: Still no luck. Any help would be appreciated.

Also, on an unrelated note, has anyone noticed a lot of gray banding on your FHD displays? Is there a way to combat this?

 

Edge-lit IPS will always have light bleed on the edge, but a good quality panel should have minimal bleed. You should only be able to see small spots of light bleed in a dark room or dark background.

I got my XPS 13 L322X yesterday and I'm having some big problems with the wifi. The problem is there is massive latency and packet drops. Downloads and streams get "stuck" for minutes before continuing. The router is next to the computer and the signal is very strong when measured. I checked the ping and I see constant spikes in latency and dropped packets no matter what site I ping. Is this a driver problem (using tested one for the Intel 6235) or is it a hardware problem? If this is not fixed the laptop is unusable.

Edit: I read somewhere that the debug virtual adapter that Windows update installs interferes with Intel's driver. So I went and disabled them and voila my wifi no longer stutters. Total throughput of the card is still very weak, it's less than my crappy Realtek 8188CE. Also, this card doesn't have that great a of a signal reception.

 

In case you didn't already figure it out, it's a T5. And, yes, it's a mSATA drive. Cloning my 128GB to a 256GB now.

 

Sheesh! I read the instructions from Plugable...I think they forgot the part about standing on one leg while rubbing your tummy and patting your head!
What a bunch of steps! Would a Windows Update or anything cause this to reverse itself?

 

Do I take it either everyone or no one has noticed this?

 

I don't have a Latitude D830 to compare mine to.

Honestly, by itself, with a white background (like google.com page) it looks pretty darn white.

 

This is my experience also - I'm really happy with my screen (aside from the fact it's so high res I need my glasses to use it comfortably!). I had a D830 work laptop previously and I have to say I found its screen absolutely pitiful - really dark and slightly blurry even at highest brightness levels. Perhaps I had a dodgy unit though.

 

I must have a poorly calibrated unit then.

 

New here but have owned an XPS 13 for just over a year (i7/8GB/256/720p)

Good laptop, until I had a fault with it that required a technician call out, and the experience has been awful. First technician came out and replaced the screen assembly and motherboard, but damaged the keyboard and power LED in the process. 2nd technician came out 2 days after, and was so bad I had to help him put it back together! He stripped a screw getting into it, broke a connector clip from the the motherboard, and tried ramming the battery in whilst there were several wires trapped underneath, all whilst his watch was scraping the motherboard, without using anti-static protection. Needless to say the keyboard now has no backlight, and the fan is constantly spinning. He offered to take it apart and try and solve the issues but I'd had enough, hoping Dell will sort out this mess without any more horror stories! Anyone else here had experiences with the Dell NBD Pro Support service?

 

Dang. That was your ProSupport experience? Mine went pretty well, as mine had issues with the SSD within a week or two.
My only gripe was they replaced the Micron SSD with something else. Seems OK, though.

 

Hey guys, I'm an old user on notebookreview that finally came back from the dead. I'm looking for a new computer (ultrabook) to replace my Alienware m11x r2. It will be used for some graphic design, some 3d modeling and some web design. Minimum 8gb ram. Right now I've narrowed it down to the Dell xps13 FHS and the Macbook Air 13 (2013). I can get the xps with an i7 3337u and 8gb ram for 1200 and the macbook air with an i5 4250u and 8gb ram for 1140. I have a really powerful desktop, so mobility, form and functionality is the main factor here.

So far I've figured this out, the xps has a replaceable SSD, the Macbook technically does, but there is no aftermarket support (yet).

Pros to the XPS:

Currently easily replaceble SSD.
The XPS has a vastly superior display to the Macbook.
The XPS has a nice display cover, making it easier to clean and protect.
The XPS is has a noticeably faster cpu.

Pros to the Macbook:

The Macbook has a better GPU.
The Macbook has much better battery life.
The Macbook can run OSX and Windows, for whatever that's worth.
The Macbook has a nicer power supply that in theory should last longer.
The Macbook has better resale value.
The finish on both seems to be pretty competitive.

What would you gents recommend I get? I'm honestly equally torn on both, as they are fantastic machines, so I'm not really sure which here is more appropriate to my uses. Tell it like it is, I'll listen. Also, does the XPS have accidental damage coverage or have I understood wrong? Thanks for the help!

 

That's a good price on the MacBook Air; I assume that's the 128 GB SSD model? If it's anything more then that's a REALLY good price. But if it's only 128 GB SSD, just remember how quickly that space tends to get filled up! If you're going to be pretty hardcore about keeping stuff on your desktop then it's one thing but if you start keeping music on there (even if it's a copy from the desktop for mobile listening) and especially if you start keeping video on there, that kind of space will go fast! Admittedly, mine is my primary computer but until I was recently able to dump a net of some 80ish GB of photos onto the NAS I bought, I was hurting at 256 GB. And to me it matters because I have heard that the SSD is soldered onto the motherboard and is NOT user-replaceable but I bought mine 1 year ago and I know they've done another iteration since that time so maybe it's different on these newer models they're selling (and incidentally, the hit for going from 256 GB to 512 GB when I bought was killer: I believe it was $800 though I might be confused and it was "only" $500; in any case, on the current model, it's $300 which while of course too much, I personally would have paid).

I love my MacBook Air, I don't like my Dell XPS. My MacBook Air simply works, like all my Apple products (I did have a MacBook Pro from 2008 that had some problems but I was able to get them fixed by Apple under AppleCare); I know others have had some bad experiences and certainly Apple is not perfect but my experience with their products had been very, very good. By contrast, the trackpad on the Dell XPS is a complete piece of crap; since the trackpad is a critical part of my experience with the machine, having it not work well significantly negatively impacts my experience (in fact, the only reason I'm on this thread at all was to share with others about the crappy trackpad). My XPS is, I don't know, late 2012 vintage but I think they all use the Cypress trackpad but if your intended model does NOT then maybe your experience will be better. Other than that, I haven't really had issues with the XPS (but again, for me, that's enough of a problem for me to steer clear of the XPS but to each his own). I should also say that I just don't like Windows as much as Mac OS X these days but that's just me: different strokes for different folks and if you prefer Windows that's totally cool. If you go with the MacBook Air, I think you'll probably get better performance out of the MacBook Air when booting it to Windows than you will booting it to OS X and running a Windows VM (and I'm certain you'll get better battery life that way).

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

 

Hi,

Just got my new XPS 13 FHD (I7, 8GB RAM, 256 SSD) today. Wanted to ask a couple of quick questions:
1. Can I upgrade it's RAM ?
2. Is there some way to press the "right click" from the Dell keyboard?

Thanks!

 

I'm considering a Dell Precision M3800 when it comes out. Given that it seems to be built around the XPS 13 design, I figured that I should come over here to ask all you XPS 13 owners a question. Is there any flex to the most recent edition of the XPS 13 keyboard? My primary laptop for the last few years has been a Macbook Pro, and one of the things I really like about it is that the keyboard does not flex at all. Given some of Dell's other laptops I'm a bit worried.

 

I certainly don't notice any flex - the XPS13 keyboard is superb; solid, comfortable, with just the right amount of smooth travel.

[edit] - what I would be careful of however, is the trackpad, which on the XPS13 is pure dirt. You'd notice it especially bad coming from a mac... Same goes for the Wifi adaptor...

 

This might have been the case in past - not anymore.

Got new XPS 13 for Mrs. week ago - wireless card is now Killer 1202n - rock solid, no range issues, while the trackpad is perfectly fine - actually, coming from Zenbook UX31E - it is miles better.

All in all - great machine, had a couple ultrabooks, this is definitely best one so far. And that lovely 1080p screen - pure bliss

 

Have they definitely changed the TrackPad? If that's the case I might open up a support request in the hope of eventually getting it swapped out...

Can you find out the model of the new Trackpad please?

 

I have no idea if it's a different model of trackpad or not - all I know is there were complaints in past - haven't had earlier version of this model.

Anyway there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and it's much better than many others.

 

Wrong! The trackpad is still complete s--t. Two finger scrolling is extremely jumpy and frustrating to use. Two finger tap to right click is not enabled. Most of the multi-finger gestures are useless and are not customizable. Also, every once in a while the pointer just freezes for a few seconds with no warning. This is so frustrating. Check the Dell community forums and you will see that people have been complaining about the trackpad ever since the laptop was first released and the complaints continue to this day. Dell just doesn't seem to care.

P.S. If you think this is a good trackpad, I feel sorry for you because you have never used a decent trackpad. Borrow a friend's Macbook for a few minutes (any Macbook will do.. even a 5 year old one) and you will see how a trackpad is supposed to work.

P.P.S. Two finger scrolling works ok (for the most part) in Chrome but it's almost completely unusable in many other apps. Also, even in chrome, it is almost completely unusable for Google maps. If I just put my fingers on the pad and hold them in the same place, the map starts to raplidly, and randomly, zoom in and out. Any kind of accuracy is impossible.

 

Just got my XPS 13 today. Never imagined I will be using an ultrabook, coming from fully rugged systems. I am still trying to fix small software related glitches, but I am realizing that the battery charge rate is only around 15w, indicating over 3 hrs needed to fully charge! Unacceptable from using express charge laptops that charge 80% in within an hr!

 

My battery charges in about an hour using the standard 45w charger. Are you using some of Dell's power plugins such as battery life extender longevity mode?

Also, this is a brand new XPS right? If so, can you please do me a favour and check your Device Manager to find out the model of WiFi adaptor you have installed? Is it the Centrino Advanced-N 6235?

Thanks.

 

For those that have used both the L322X and the L321X, is there a significant difference between the 2 screens? I realize that one is 1080P while the other is (effectively) 720P. I was thinking about picking up an L321X off of Craigslist but if the screen quality is much worse, I'd probably just wait it out for an L322X.

 

THE TOUCHPAD IS HORRENDOUS.

I cannot deal with them anymore. I feel impulsed to throw this laptop on the ground and slam with a hammer. It's as irregular and malfunctioning at the iPhone.

The driver sucks and I believe hardware itself sucks too. The old Synaptic touchpad on the E6400 is rather more accurate.

Oh and the palm registry setting doesn't do anything at all. The touchpad keeps on pressing in random places as I type. Large touchpads are too useless for anything. Darn this consumer end crap. Crap crap crap Dell Hell. Everything just sucks.

#rantwithoutanysolution!!!

 

Hey buddy thanks for the reply.

The charge rate is the same with all power modes, and I only have Win 7's mode available since I did a fresh install.

No way your battery can FULLY charge in an hour. The capacity is 45whr so if you are using the laptop, the best it could technically do is I say 20whr ish! From which battery % did it take u to charge in an hr?

I am using the Killer N 1202, not intel.

 

Not sure - the battery's near empty so I'll keep an eye on the charge this evening.

In that case I'm getting on to Dell support and see if I can force them to change my useless Intel adaptor to the Killer...

 

Acowan,

Try using battery bar pro. It will show you discharge and charging rate. A smart little tool to be running!

 

Any update on the charging speed Acowan?

 

I'll have one for you tomorrow...

 

OK, so yeah looks like my machine only charges at ~14W - so 2:30 - 3hrs charging required from empty :/ I guess an hour's charge usually does me plenty, but I've just turned off all the Dell battery longevity functions to push a full 100% charge.

This battery bar thing is showing my wear at 16% (of 47,286mWh) already, that's a bit concerning for a four month old laptop... Perhaps the full charge will help matters...

 

1.6% it should be? Thats pretty decent actually for a 4 month old. Even new batteries can have less than 3% wear out the box.

 

Nope, 16% wear (according to battery bar pro) 39,720mWh usable out of 47,286mWh... Seems high to me, going to see if its possible to calibrate somehow..

 

oh try recaliberating entirely

 

I second this. I will not buy another Dell. Ever!

 

Sold mine; Couldn't stand the high pitched noise, but otherwise I enjoyed it.

 

OK, after a few calls to tech support to jump through some hoops (wasn't as bad as I thought it would be), the engineer came out today to replace the terrible Intel 6235 with a shiny new Killer 1202.

So far I'm very happy - ping rtts and packet loss are both significantly reduced. I'll report back in a few days once I've got a feel for stability.

 

I love the killer wireless card. I play Bad company 2 at 1080p low settings with no problem what soever. Intel cards look notorious for pings... Including the old 5300.

Congrats!

 

Carefull with your Win 8.1 updates guys....the crappy Cypress track pad drivers aren't win 8.1 compatible and you'll loose all your gestures and right click capacity....nice one Dell, thanks for fitting a low quality and poorly designed / supported mouse product in your premium XPS series laptop.

It's the first laptop I've ever owned where I have HAD to use a 3rd party external mouse...pretty ironic considering this is an ultrabook clone....with an empasis on portability!

 

The trackpad for the XPS12 needs the driver reinstalling after 8.1 update, have you tried that?

Also there's a newer driver available that seems to work well here version 2.5.1.59

 

This actually worked for me.
Thanks!

 

Hi guys,
I'm new here.
I've got Dell XPS 13 L321X and I think it fully satisfies my expectation.
But yesterday I broke the screen I have surfed the net and I understood that only way to repair it is to completely change the display assembly.
Any ideas where I can buy the display assembly ?

 

Ebay man. Best bet. Unless u can get from Dell, which will be more expensive, usually.

 

Does anyone know if a 1600x900 screen compatible with a L321x exists? I like everything about the system as I really need something with mini display port for a higher resolution monitor. That said, when away from my desk, I cannot stand anything lower than 1600x900. Not a fan of the Asus models that fit this, and it seems either an X1 Carbon or XPS 13 is the only way to go.

Happy to do a screen swap on my own, but any site I check does not list any compatible.

 

Anybody install this?
I find the trackpad to be just about "ok". Sometimes it works great, other times it's terrible.