Just How Bad is Studio XPS 13?

Hi guys,

I've been meaning to get a new laptop for some time now, and when I first saw the specs of the SXPS 13 I thought it was a dream laptop. Problem is that when I started reading reviews it seems like it has a huge number of problems, including:

- heat, heat and more heat (I hope to use it on my lap regularly, but on low power)
- audio driving hogging half of CPU
- sporadic freezing and crashes
- bloatware
- fingerprint magnet
- battery life being substandard (big problem for me)

That said, I'm not sure whether the above problems are just affecting a small portion of users or are widespread. So I was wondering if I could get an idea of how good/bad the SXPS really is from those who have actually had first hand experience.

Thanks in advance.

 

The heat issue is actually caused by a major design flaw, when the lid is opened the lid blocks the exhaust vent making heat pile up into the issues so it is an issue what affects the entire series.

 

(apologies for adding to Ryan's but...)

- is the DPC Latency issue that affects the studio line on EVERY studio laptop, or just a small portion?

Thanks

 

- When using hybrid SLI, the laptop gets really hot. But in single GPU mode, the laptop is really comfortable to use on the lap.

- Audio driver hogging CPU: I had this issue, but reinstalling the audio driver helped.

- freezes and crashes: Mine kept freezing every other hour. I made a clean install (not factory recover) and it never froze ever since.

- Bloatware: Not much of it, fortunately.

- Fingerprint magnet: Undeniable. Touch it once, see it twice... After unboxing the laptop, look at it for an hour and make pictures, because you'll never see it that clean again. Screen is also a dust magnet.

- Battery life is between 2-3 hours (office use), which is ok for me. Not great, but you have to bear in mind that it's a powerhouse.

I'm happy with it because it's a joy to use.

 

I would say its a overall a good laptop.

The heat and fingerprint magnet thing may be a turn off, but my studio xps hasn't had any sporadic freezes, crashes, or issues with the audio driver.

The bloatware is probably going to only be an issue for you if you chose trend micro as the antivir - but that is not a dell issue. Trend Micro wasn't playing nice with window's sidebar, thus its a windows issue.

However, there does seem to be some inconsistency in build quality. My first one came with a broken wifi card and a non-existent antenna. I had to do a replacement system and the new one came without any issues. Make sure you deal with North America if you do have issues and need an exchange or replacement.

So far with the replacement I am loving it. Even though I had issues with my first one, I would recommend this laptop to someone else. It was probably just bad luck getting an inferior one.

 

Not again . . .

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=360275

The vent is NOT getting blocked.

Heat builds up inside the laptop (due to poor internal airflow), but the screen and airvent has nothing to do with it.

 

Guys, be quiet otherwise you will attract Ghost_boxer...

 

ROFL rep on that comment tinsel!

yo on a serious note i love my sxps1340.. its a great laptop minus the not-so-high quality grainyish screen when watching videos

 

Paging ghost_boxer to this thread...

But seriously:
- heat, heat and more heat (I hope to use it on my lap regularly, but on low power)
Like other have said, there are minor heat problems but it's not the bent blocking causing it. If you look at the XPS 13 temps thread, most people actually have no temperature problems. Keep the 9200 off when it's on your lap and you'll be good.

- audio driving hogging half of CPU
Just reinstall the driver to fix this. Or uninstall, because I don't think it's even needed over the windows default driver.

- sporadic freezing and crashes
Yeah. Reinstalling Windows will fix this, though of course you shouldn't have to. Something's wrong with the Dell install.

- bloatware
Yeah, but not as bad as most laptops. Of course if you have to reinstall anyway it doesn't matter.

- fingerprint magnet
Yep.

- battery life being substandard (big problem for me)
Depends what you call substandard. You should get up to 3 hours on power-saver doing non-intensive stuff with the 6-cell battery. I can actually get almost 4 hours with the SSD. There's a 9-cell battery option now.

 

Agreeing with everyone else, heat is not an issue when it's on "save power" mode, 9200 off. Heat in "boost performance" both cards on is not that bad. In a regular gaming environment, the laptop does a good job keeping it within acceptable temps.

Never had any audio driver issues.

Freezing, I've noticed maybe one or two quick freezes that lasted about 10 seconds. This is also when I'm using Firefox 3.1 beta which explains most of the freezing. Didn't notice any other freezing otherwise.

I removed excess programs that Dell installed, especially McAfee. Things I did keep from Dell include the dock, remote access, and webcam central.

Battery life is fair for this small computer. Course it could be better but I'll live with the two hours it gives me. Apparently some have achieved 4hrs with everything optional turned off and down. I leave wifi and bluetooth on with my screen at 30% to get 2hrs.

I guess I'm pretty luck to not experience any of the wobbling that some have had. I also seem to not have the stuttering that others have but I've definitely removed some applications that I know I won't be using.

 

I've had the SXPS 1430 for about a week. Mine crashes very frequently on battery, but has been reasonably stable when plugged in. I assume that this is a driver stability issue when running in power conservation mode. Loading the latest drivers made it worse, so I restored to the factory drivers.

With 8Gb RAM and a 256G of SSD, the SXPS 1430 is fairly fast and is capable of supporting several concurrent Virtual Machines.

I really like the fact that there is no DCP software, as there is on the Lattitude line. The cumbersome Dell Control Point software has effectively driven me away from the Lattitude line.

In terms of design and build quality I still prefer the XPS 1330. I have had five XPS 1330's in the last 2 years. Despite two of them having GPU failures that required motherboard replacements, they are still my personal favorite Dell laptop. Dell seems to have solved the GPU heat based failure issues with the latest 1330 by offering an Intel graphics option.

I admit the keyboard on the SXPS 1340 is better than the XPS 1330 and it is backlit. It also takes people a while to get used to the 1330 keyboard, it has a different feel to other keyboards.

I like having the the HDMI and Display port connectors on the 1340.

Things I don't like about the SXPS 1340:

-> It should have another USB port, 1 dedicated and one shared eSata/USB is not enough. When I travel I don't want to lug a USB hub and power adaptor.

-> I don't like the touch panel for the wireless, sound and DVD controls. I'm always pressing them by mistake. Real buttons like the Lattitudes would be much better.

-> The shape of the 9 cell battery on the XPS 1330 is better. It hangs out the back further which makes it much easier to securely hold the laptop when you are standing and don't have a table. Also the shape of at least my 9 cell battery was slightly deformed so the laptop does not sit flat on its rubber feet. The left front side is about 1/8 of an inch off the table and causes the laptop rock when typing. I attribute this to poor quality control.

The latch for removing the battery is a bad design. It looks just like a cap for the Dell D-Series docking connector, rather than a latch, discouraging you from using it. It sits centered, requires some effort to move and gives you no clue which direction it should be moved in or even if it has anything to do with the battery. There is no lock icon or anything that might give you a clue that it is a latch.


The new glossy plastic screen and palm rests onthe 1340 are finger print magnets that show dirt more easily than the silver finish on the 1330.

-> The air vent is worse on the SXPS 1340 than on the XPS 1330. The vents start being covered with the lid at 80 degrees open on the 1340 and are unobstructued till about 110 degrees open on the 1330. While both machines can compensate by pushing more air, it probably affects battery life and in the case of the SXPS 1430, will yellow the clear plastic from the part of the display that blocks the vent. (For an example see http://www.binaryturf.com/dell-studio-xps-13-review/ ) . The XPS 1330 has a piece of matte black plastic in this area that does not yellow.

From my perspective it was unfortunate that Dell chose to blend the XPS and Studio lines. The XPS line was meant to be a no holds barred performance line. In our company's case, this made the XPS laptops the perfect software sales demo machines. We have bought many of them. The Studio line was meant to be the style concious line, for those who care more for looks than performance and portability. Most of the style changes that were made to create the SXPS 1340, compromised the good things about the original no nonsense XPS performance line.

Personally I wish Dell had refreshed the 1330 with a back lit keyboard, faster bus and support for 8Gb of RAM and stopped there. I would be much happier with this than the current 1340, which is thicker, heavier and over designed for style at the expense of what really matters to me.

 

Same problem as you guys having with some other techincal faults as mentioned belwo. I received my lappy on Thursday 25...since then problems and problemsss....

Downloaded all the latest drivers and bios...and still same problem of blue screen..........so frustrated...........


Despite promising start....let down with some technical issues.

I am wondering if you guys having some problems with your latop as what I am having.....If yes then can you tell me please how you solve this problems

1). At each side of laptop with dell logo, Amber light not comes on when battery is low, goes straight to flashing amber when battery is critically low...(it says on manual it should come on).

2). In icon tray there is a green logo when you click on it...it gives you option to select between boosted performance and hybrid sli mode...but hybrid sli is grayed you cannot choose that option.

3). On keyboard pad, there is a button right next to insert iwith laptop logo, to choose from different external display...when i connect to hdmi..and use that button to select it...keeps on crashing showing error message of "quick set closing"...and you are stuck with what ever mode of display you chose..button does work anymore.

4). BOY OH BOY......does it get hot or what...use yesterday for 40 mins watching movie...and did it burn my lap or what....man even charger was boiling hot....

Sorry guys for giving you long list....as I have only 2 days left for my refund...therefore I need answers...otherwise I know dell customer serv they wont refund my money if even 1 day is above the time limit.

SAD to see this problem from day 1

 

Guys.. if your laptop has problems return it. I have an awesome sxps 1340. A lot of people won't return it because they have to wait to send it back and wait for it to be shipped again but you need to ask yourself if it's worth living with those issues. Stop procrastinating, send it back, and get yourself a flawless machine.

 

That just text, it's not meant to be clickable. Boost Performance mode is Hybrid SLI, it's just telling you as much. The icon can't change modes itself (as it says underneath), you need to use your Windows power plan to do that.

 

Ahhh now I knw hehe.....Thanks Nition.


Any ideas about my other tech issues as I am not into techno knowledge...like urself...

Spoke to dell tech dept..they said they need to change motherboard when I mentioned my problems....incl....blue screen afta every mins...they said mother board is faulty....and either I need to replace it with new one or refund...

I am thinking they might be wrong about what they saying and if i can fix it myself with your help...like u helped me with above graphic mode.....It might be software prob...I dnt wana go through dialing every single dell dept to get refund with their high communication skill......if i can sort it out