New XPS 14

For what it's worth I bought a Series 9 and returned it. Yes it's thin. Yes it's light. But at the expense of ergonomics - the keyboard was so stiff & shallow my fingers ached after prolonged typing. I'm now looking at the XPS 14 as my 'box ticker'. I don't care about weight - it stays on my desk all day. As for the ULV processor, you will find most firms offering a choice between ULV and full voltage - its the way Ivy Bridge is headed.

From what I've seen, this design looks like MBP build quality, 900p screen, decent keyboard, upgradable disks and RAM and a choice of ULV or full i7 processors. If the one downside is weight, so be it. If you care about weight buy an Ultrabook. If you don't, then this is the segment the 14 is aimed at.


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In that case, perhaps they should have provided some docking capability for the XPS 14. I'm fairly unimpressed with the system, but I don't game and am looking for something very portable so I guess it's not marketed at me. Which is fine. I actually like the XPS 13 a lot, but I need a spec boost (8GB, 900p screen). If they do this in October, I won't have any gripes.

edit: Also, the current 14z is only 4.2lbs and it has an optical drive. 4.7 is pretty chunky for a 14".

 

XPS 13 is due to get 8GB RAM and a 900p display in October/November.

The downside is that by then it may come with the abomination that is Windows 8. Still, you can always downgrade (or should that be upgrade?) to Windows 7.


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Sounds good. Yeah, I thought they would have to do that to be competitive with the mba, asus, samsung. November eh, that's going to be tight. Yeah I am holy unimpressed with W8 (except the kernel), I can see it being cool on a tablet, but metro is more trouble than it's worth for me. But, should be able to up/downgrade fairly easily. I would think the drivers would be compatible, probably could just use the current ones.

 

Honestly, I kind of feel like you are ignoring the substance of my post. It looks like a nice laptop, but it could have been better and it gets one-upped on one specification or another, in a fairly substantial fashion, by competing products. The Asus is thinner, lighter, gives up nothing in power, and has a higher res and IPS display. The Gigabyte is lighter, more powerful, and same-resolution display.

The advantage of the Dell is mainly the better support and arguably build quality although we don't really know yet. The display might be better than the Gigabyte too; not known yet. I doubt it will match the Asus, though. When I tried the XPS 13 keyboard (which is the same as that of the 14) I found the ergonomics awkward but I imagine I could adapt. Also, not a single leak, early retail posting, or anything else has listed non-ULV processors for this device. It really doesn't look as though anything other than ULV processors will be offered.

Overall, like I said, I'm just disappointed.

 

I'd agree either of those systems would seemingly be better than the XPS 14 on paper. I'm not sure what Dell is trying to do with it. The XPS 15 makes more sense as a competitor to a non-retina mbp, S7, Envy or 15" S.

 

Just go and buy the Asus or Gigabyte then since you are disappointed. Not that hard is it?

 

I have seen complaints about Asus' support on the forums; no idea about Gigabyte at the moment. Hence, my saying the Dell has the advantage of better support. Secondly, as I said in an earlier post, I have been happy with my experience with Dell so far so I had hoped to stick with them. On features alone, yes, it's pretty easy. In terms of long-term ownership experience, I'm concerned about support. None of these products is cheap, so all of these factors really have to be weighed. It would have been much easier decision if the 14 were more competitive on features.

 

I'm going to be interested to see what the actual difference in dimensions and weight is between the 14 and the 15. I just returned my 13 and was tentatively planning on the 14, but I guess I may end up with the 15 or wait until the new version of the 13 is released this fall.

 

What about the thinkpad S430, which I'm also waiting for? It has a TB for eGPU

 

Are there convenient, compact commercial eGPU offerings that have decent driver support? A lot of the things I've seen have been DIY endeavors and relatively bulky. At that point, I'd rather just use a desktop computer. Also, does eGPU via TB support output on the notebook display?

 

I was referring to a DIY egpu, but TB gives you the possible opportunity to make use of an egpu if you do need it in the future.

 

There are a few EGPU units on the horizon that will take advantage of thunderbolt. I think MSI demonstrated one at computex. There is another but I forget who the mfgr was.

 

IMHO that's a great form factor and dream machine, i will buy XPS 14 or XPS15, which the specs are very tempting for what i m doing.
SSD + HD is a must have and great idea when it come to start quickly the os and have enough room on a secondary HD for backup!
Not to mention the solid built made of carbon fiber, better conception than the 15Z, great keyboard, and 38% faster machine, expected at a cheaper price... can't wait !

 

Depending on your region, the S430 may not be available. It's not coming to North America now:

Lenovo Decides not to Sell ThinkPad S430 in North America | Business Tech Gear

 

Not sure if this has been posted...
Dell XPS 14, 15 ultrabook specs leak - AfterDawn

 

Yes it has.
Did you guyz noticed the XPS 14 will have no DVD player ?
Hummm

 

Uggh so hard to find a perfect laptop for college. The XPS 14 would have probably been my choice if it offered a GT640m gddr5 video card instead of the 630m . Otherwise its lightweight enough for me, has a good screen for its size, hybrid hard drive, ivy bridge processor, long battery life, and hopefully good cooling. I need something that can play mostly Guild Wars 2, assassin's creed, skyrim..etc decently. Looks like i'll be looking at xps15 vs envy 15 though 5.7lbs can be tiresome when walking all around campus.

 

Haha I am in the same situation. I wanted a good looking powerful 14 in comp but I dont thnk xps 14 will cut it. HP also cut off the hp envy 14 so thats outta the picture. I ended up ordering the envy. I might return it and get the xps 15 if its enticing enough... and it releases in time -__-

 

You could try the Gigabyte U2442V, depending on your estimates of whether their support will be sufficient. It uses a 2GB GT640M. I haven't managed to find a specification, yet, on whether it uses DDR3 or GDDR5. However, either way, that's a significant step up from a 1GB DDR3 GT630M. It's also about half a kg lighter.

 

ehh gigabyte is not well known so its gonna be harder to find support I would say. and I have hp/dell/apple centers right around my university so I was hoping from them. And I don't think the gigabyte would have superior build quality. also the screen is gonna be shoddy

 

Well, I wouldn't presume the display will be shoddy until we see some formal reviews of the unit. At least it's the same res (1600x900); maybe it'll just end up being the same panel as that in the XPS 14 since that's a less common panel-type and such parts are often used by multiple manufacturers.

Support situation is definitely a concern, though, and one of the reasons I'm wary of it too. Oh well, I guess the existence of the U2442V still really drives home the point that the XPS 14 could have and should have had the 640M. I'm not sure where to go from here quite yet.

 

yeah. also the form of the 640m matters. the LE one is trash

 

There are only a few manufacturers of LCDs out there. Why do you think their screen would be more shoddy than the ones used by others?

Gigabyte makes some of the best components out there. That won't always translate to good machines or service though... as I learned from my ASUS laptops I've had. Horrible experiences.

 

lol i thought asus made good quality laptops (maybe not highest performing) but good quality. anyway ur right I shouldn't be assuming my mistake

 

I've only owned two ASUS laptops, so its small sample size, but one just fried it self while gaming, the other one had a touchpad that had a mind of its own. ASUS had an accidental damage warranty that was advertised on the box, when you tried to register, they said it was not available anymore because the machine wasn't purchased during the specified period (yet it was). Calling ASUS led to nothing but headaches. I just avoid them, even their components and tablets now.

 

I had such a nightmare with Asus warranty service that I won't buy an Asus product again, no matter how great the specs seem. IMO, their warranties might as well be written on toilet paper. So, you're not alone in your experience.

 

Can't beat a Dell onsite warranty in my opinion. I once opened my laptop to find what looked like a splodge of grease on the screen. They came out the next day and replaced the LCD panel, no questions asked.

I spilt tea over my D620 keyboard (it continued to work because it was spill resistant and tea just drained out, but the sugar dried and made the keys crunchy). They sent me a brand new keyboard free of charge.

Note: both the above were carried out under the standard next day on site warranty and did not include the accidental damage cover. Very impressed.

However... always worth logging the calls via the web portal because if you have to speak to someone in Bangalore, you could be in for a very long, tedious conversation with someone following a script. Logged via the web, and you avoid all the questions designed for retards and get treated with a degree of trust & respect.

 

Have to agree with you there. Plus, accents are not as much of a problem. I too like the next day Dell warranty. My office was exclusively Dell until a couple of years ago and there are still a majority of Latitudes and a Precision or two in our shop because of the warranty.

 

I have 2 Asus laps (almost two years old now) and have nothing but good things to report. Perfect experience so far.

 

People, which do you think would be better? The new xps 14 or the HP sleekbook 4t? Im torn between the two.

 

XPS without a doubt. SleekBook is HPs budget 'Ultrabook' which has AMD processors. Either way, Dell > HP regardless


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Better for what, exactly? The sleekbook is lighter and seems slightly slimmer profile. Based on Notebookcheck's guide ( http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7670M.69483.0.html), 7670M version of the 4t will have similar if not a bit higher graphics performance (depends on clocking, though it does have twice the VRAM). The XPS 14 has a better display.

The Sleekbook 4t uses Intel processors. The 6t uses AMD processors. - http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...ops/HP-ENVY/A9G89AV?HP-ENVY-Sleekbook-4t-1000

 

Correct, but Sandy Bridge not Ivy Bridge - and they top out at 1.4 GHz.

The Dell will be a bit of a beast spec-wise ;-)

 

The leaked specs from Amazon page showed a sub 3lb notebook. They already have the 14z at over 4lbs - so I am going to wait optimistically that maybe the chinese site mixed up the lbs and kg and we are at 2.x lbs not KG.

 

Not really. It's a very pretty laptop, though, and Dell's support is good. So, there's that.

As we discussed in this very thread, the 630M is not a competitive part in 14" notebook of this category (high end, non-ultrabook), and the processor offerings are no faster than anyone else. That doesn't really make for a "beast spec-wise."

I saw this on the Best Buy page that went up today(?):

"Weighs 4.7 lbs. and measures just 0.8" thin
For easy portability."

 

I think it's premium build quality where this will shine, rather than specs. It'll be decent enough for what I want (ie: non gamer). The market is crying out for a MacBook Pro rival, this could be it.


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Best buy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+...lver/5700335.p?id=1218682373433&skuId=5700335 had it up today http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...ell-xps-l521x-ivy-bridge-249.html#post8627245 at the 4.x lbs range.

 

I love how for Best Buy, less than 5.5lbs qualifies as "ultraportable" (check the specs tab)

 

I wonder how dell managed to jettison the ODD from the 14z and gain a 1/2 pound in the processs? I'm glad manufacturers have moved away from plastic to a more durable material, lead.

 

Lead isn't dense enough, it has to be something else.

 

Bigger battery ;-)


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Dell had an oopsy in the fine print and gave away the release date of the XPS 14:

 

So..... does that mean it should go on sale next Tuesday?

 

Yes, because it is for units purchased on and between those dates. Who knows when they will actually ship.

 

It's funny to see that the XPS14 only has 15 pages while the XPS15 has 300+.
I don't know if you guys have been following the XPS15 thread but you will find A LOT of info on the 14 as well. The only thing we do not know for sure are the prices of the beasts and their customisations options (or more specifically the prices of custimizations).

 

I think enthusiasm is just a lot higher for the 15 since the 14 isn't performance-oriented (ULV CPU / low-end GPU), while still being relatively heavy and thick for its performance class. I haven't written it off as a contender but I am pretty wary of getting something nearly 5lbs that I may only occasionally use for gaming due to limited graphics power. So, I think the display and maybe overall ergonomics will have to sell it because performance probably won't.

 

I don't understand putting the GT630M in the 14. It needs a GT640M to be competitive. At that point, the Dell display quality makes it a contender in its class, even with the extra weight.

 

I don't understand, either; maybe it's our friend the Alienware guy emerging again to demand product differentiation. If I were not worried about Asus' support, I'd probably seriously consider picking up the UX32VD since it has a better display (1080, IPS, 1000:1 contrast, 350 nits) and is significantly more portable (~3.2lbs). Heck, it even appears to be equipped with 1600MHz ram while some screenshots in the 521x thread indicate 1333 on the 14 . Not that I think it will make that much of a difference, but come on. Still, I pretty much won't buy a product this expensive and complex without reliable support, so the Dell remains in contention.

Aside from the possibility of product differentiation, some comments in the other thread indicated that Dell aimed for battery life with this model. To be honest, beyond about 6 hours or so, the utility of long battery life falls off a cliff for me relative to sacrifices in processing power and portability. Anyone can stick low-power components, directed at ultraportables/ultrabooks, in what is really more of a 'normal' sized chassis and pull big battery life numbers. I got ~8 hours of battery life out of an HP Folio 13, and nearly that out of an X220, both of which are significantly less bulky than the XPS 14. I have serious doubts about the percentage of consumers, willing to sacrifice portability and processing power for battery life, being anywhere near the share willing to sacrifice some battery life for processing power.

 

So judging from the pictures that are in the 15 thread... is the 14 roughly the size of a typical 13.3 incher? It looks like the 14 is only a hair bigger than the 13 that claims to be the size of a typical 11.