Studio XPS 13 & the heat issue - is it serious?

Hi everyone. I'm about to buy the XPS Studio 13 notebook and was hoping someone could make some clarifications for me about it. I've read a lot about the apparent design flaw in it that makes the monitor block the exhaust and thus the computer gets hot. I also know that the new BIOS version addresses this issue somewhat, but I'm a bit skeptical about it because a BIOS can only make the fans run more. The BIOS fix cannot correct the actual physical problem. Therefore, I'm a bit jittery about getting this computer, even though it's the one that best meets my spec requirements.

I would like to hear from those who have owned the XPS Studio 13 for at least 3-4 months and have used it for powerful stuff. What has your experience been like regarding the heat issue?

I've been warned that heat issues are not good for LED displays. This seems to me to be confirmed by the XPS 13 review posted at http://www.binaryturf.com/dell-studio-xps-13-review/ where it is claimed that the heat issued damaged the bottom part of the guy's screen.

If this is what awaits me, I don't want to pay $1300 for a flawed designed that will cause me such problems. So I'd like to hear from others regarding this issue.

Thanks a lot!

EDIT: Ooops...sorry for posting in the wrong folder. Didn't know the subfolder for the XPS.

 

I have an XPS with the specs in my signature. It had the A6 BIOS and ran very hot. I primary use it to stream video. I bought a Belkin cooler and that seemed to help, but it was still hot. I updated the BIOS to the newest version and I honestly havent used the cooler since. The fan doesnt appear to turn on either. So far I am quite happy with this laptop

 

I love mine, and I do a lot of virtualization on it. Mine is a P9600 (2.66GHz w/ 6MB cache) with 8GB RAM, and I run it pretty hard everyday. I don't game that much on it, but the stuff I do will build up a good deal of heat but it isn't that bad. Mine was fine with the A07 BIOS, and now the current one. I use a Zalman cooler when at home, but I was going to use one regardless of which laptop I got to extend the life of the unit.

 

I just got done doing a wow raid on my wife's 1340 with the n210 512mb GPU and she's got all the settings maxed out.

It gets "warm" when used by itself and the fan can get loud if you don't have it ventilated well (The expanded battery is great because it lifts the back up a bit for air flow underneath).

We bought a Belkin laptop cooler at bestbuy that has a single fan in the middle. It fits very nice with this laptop, almost perfect, and the laptop's fan never spins up past the low setting, and the laptop doesn't even approach "warm".

I would say if you buy this laptop, get the expanded battery as the extra life and ventilation is win-win. If you don't you should be OK as the 210 seems to run cooler at least in comparison to the horror stories i've read. I don't feel like this laptop "needs" a cooler pad, its just nice to keep the noise down. The belkin makes zero noise and moves a nice amount of air.

 

Yeah, it's hard to overstate the effect the extended battery has on temps; it has a great design to allow for airflow. When on my Zalman, the bottome of the laptop is actually cool to cold, dependent on ambient. Today I turned off the cooler so my hands could warm up on the palmrests.

 

Thanks for the replys. I'm still a bit puzzled though. I don't understand how the BIOS could solve the problem, if its a problem with the physical design of the computer.

The specs I'm getting are: 2.53 T8700, 4GB RAM, G210M, and a 7200RPM HDD. I'm not going get to the 9 cell battery, but if I need to prop it up, I'll think of something. This is going to be my main computer, and I'm going to be doing some video/audio editing on it. I use my computer mainly on my desk and plugged in. Once in a while I may take it to class or on a trip. Occasionally I'll use it in bed.

I'll make sure the BIOS is updated, but should I be worried about the palm rests getting too hot, or the display being damaged by the excessive heat?

The XPS 13 seems to be the best computer for my needs, but between this overheating issue and the audio latency issue I've read about it, I'm getting nervous about buying it.

 

The updated bios has better thermal management settings. the old bios allowed the system to get much warmer before it started cooling more actively. The newer bios the fan becomes active earlier, and don't confuse this with becoming "loud" as it only gets loud if i game with it on my lap with no cooler and my legs blocking vents.

 

I don't know what to do All these countless reports of people who've needed to ship their XPS 13 back for repairs tempts me to get the older m1330 instead. THe specs are a bit older, but at least the system never had so many problems with it. I know it had a problem with the GPU heat, but that was NVidia's fault and it's been fixed.

 

I have the same cooler and it does seem to fit perfectly. It is whisper quite and has a great design.

 

Read me! 1340 Over heating.

 

I had a 1340 (p9600) before switching to a 1640 that was better suitable for my use. I was also thinking then that the xps 1340 was not too hot (I prefer on purpose not to use the word "overheating" which means that the pc is not working normally). Now with more time behind me, I have to say that it is acceptable but absolutely not normal for the pc to become this hot even if it is not failing when you have similar laptops which are much cooler. Dont get me wrong it has a great design, it is very powerful, I loved it but still it was annoyingly hot. Too bad because it would have been the perfect laptop. I think a good compromise is to get it with the slowest P class processor and undervolt it because it wont make a big difference on a daily basis, it will be cooler and cheaper. But again you should not have to compromise and have to undervolt it if the cooling design was better to start.

 

Its true that... There can not be smoke without fire !

So, better wait for physically revised version of this model or XPS series laptops. All XPS series laptops have same HEAT issue. We are not going to buy laptops every year like T-Shirts, so think and put your hard earning money into correct basket.

And more heat means less life for your laptop/screen and the hearts of the motherboard, ie, Capacitors.

 

Hi!

Could you plese tell meg what cooler you use? Is it Zalamn NC 1000 or NC 1500?

BTW do You know what kind of Belkin cooler is the one mentioned in the posts above?

Thanks a lot!

 

I just got my XPS last week. Coming from m1330, I can say the heat isn't a issue for me. I did the thermal paste mod so it is even cooler. I'm also using the 9 cell battery with the XPS 1340. Great temp so far.

 

Hey guys, a little OT, but does the extended battery perform the same benefits as talked about above on the XPS 16?

 

That belkin cooler that we were using on my wife's 1340 that I mentioned died out on us so we splurged for the Zalman NC1000. I have to say that it is like this cooler is made for this laptop. Fits perfect and doesn't raise the laptop up so high that it hurts your wrists (only about another centimeter or so in the front, its essentially like the laptop is just tilted in the back).

I would definitely recommend the Zalman, but I would also highly encourage the bigger battery as it will improve the performance of the Zalman's cooling by allowing more airflow under the 1340.

 

yes it does, the 1645 has it standard but i'd stay away from the 1645 for other reasons that are outlines in a million other threads.

 

Thanks a lot!

Looking forward to buy a SXPS 1340 and really couldn't settle between Belkin and Zalman cooling solutoin, this did the push.

Thanks again!