XPS 12 Owners Lounge

The bios is still accessible to me. the day I had issues downloading it was the day it was made available.

and if your not fond of micron your not fond of crucial as crucial m4 and micron C400 are one in the same exact just one is oem one is retail

 

Yet there are differences.
AnandTech - Bench - SSD

Idle power-

Crucial m4: 0.66W
Micron C400 mSATA: 0.92W

Random Write:

Crucial m4: 3.32W
Micron C400 mSATA: 3.75W

Sequential Write:

Crucial m4: 3.01W
Micron C400 mSATA: 4.03W

Plus I've seen various battery life tests. Only systems with Intel/Samsung/Crucial drives offer battery life advantages.

So I updated with the latest BIOS. Power use seems to be lower in the light use scenario, at least for mine. It seems to be going down into lower power states faster than before.

 

Hi smckenna,

I may have ran into the same problems with IntelUser with regards to the BIOS.

In Dell Downloads, I can find the link to the BIOS.
However, after clicking on the "download" link, it says "File Not Found". These only happened for the A04 BIOS files, whilst the rest of the Dell Driver updates downloaded fine for me.
I tried for a couple of days, and it was the same result i.e . "File Not Found".
I suspect that it could be a caching issue on their server farm which redirects some of us to a server which is not hosting that file.

I retried a few minutes ago and it worked! The file finally downloaded

I tried the A04 update and everything went well.... well.. this is my first reboot. I'd try a couple more reboots and report back in

Cheers all!!

 

That has been my experience as well since I have upgraded several days ago I have yet to have either the screen or pad stop responding at all. all the weirdness is gone that I have had with it so far.'

as for the bios deactivating the win 8 media center apparently due to me swapping out the wificard and updating the bios in such a close timeframe is what caused the issue not the update alone is my theory.

 

There are still issues. HWINFO is showing the CPU is running at 40 degrees celcius right now and the fan is running. When I restart though it goes away.

Also it may be Windows 8 specific, but sometimes the white space for text turns grey and I can't post for Notebookreview. I had to resort to my desktop to post this. The Quick Reply usually works, advanced mode almost always doesn't. This time I can't get either to work.

I didn't notice the boot time decrease either because it was really fast for mine either way but I'm glad the BIOS lowers the power use.

 

I dnot think its windows 8 it does it on my mac and my other pcs including my m101z before I upgraded it to windows 8. But currently no issues today

 

HI.. just reporting in.. I've updated to Bios A04, rebooted quite a number of times.. and everything seems to be running "business as usual"

 

The problem with Advanced Mode appears to be browser specific. I can't use Advanced Mode with IE but I'm using Advanced Mode in Google Chrome under Windows 8.

 

Glad it finally downloaded fine for you. I'm still wrestling with my LoJack Anti-Theft software, which is blocking my BIOS A04 upgrade. The people at LoJack (Absolute) said "just wait a full day and it will automatically uninstall itself from the BIOS". That was the day before Thanksgiving, and it still hasn't magically "uninstalled" itself! I'm going to be calling them again today to see if we can get this LoJack uninstalled.
UPDATE: Called Lo-Jack tech support and they did something on their end to straignten things out, and the Lo-Jack finally uninstalled itself! I've successfully upgraded my BIOS to A04 now. Dare I re-install Lo-Jack? Hmmmm....

 

Just ordered one with i7 8gb ram and 256gb SSD yesterday.

Expected delivery date 24-12.

Live in The Netherlands

 

Well after searching I think I found what might possibly be the best.

Some background, I loved Windows 8 so I sold my brand new MacBook Air for the same price I got (Got through Educational store, so came with a free £70 iTunes voucher, I'll probably sell that for ~£50 and I'll make a profit on a 2 month old mac).

I went and purchased a Vaio Duo 11 and used it for 3 weeks, had to return it, The Power jack goes wobbly Very quickly so it barely feels like it's making a connection, the nipple (nub/whatever you want to call it) would tap on it's own without me touching the computer, the stylus isn't quite as responsive as expected and the small keyboard was truly a pain to type on, I tried for 3 weeks and had problems with it's decreased size. But the Screen was glorious and the sliding mechanism worked very well, but it took up a 1/3rd of the layout making the system seem cramped.

That went back after 3 weeks and I walked away with a Shiny Ultrabook Sony Vaio T series, it makes a racket, the HDD you can constantly hear in the background clickwhirling away and no backlit keys and the 13.3" screen is a TN instead of a IPS and a paltry 720p (barely) and lacks the convertibility, so I expect I'll be returning this in a few weeks.


I just placed a Order for a i5 8GB, 256SSD (really wish I could of gone for i7 8GB 128 or a i5 8GB 128 as I could upgrade the mSATA drive later, but oh well, and got it for £950 which is £250 off the RRP and if cashback tracking works I'll pay £900 in total, unfortunately 17th of December until I get to play with it.

Essentially, It looks like the winner until the Lenovo Helix comes out or the Asus PlayBook , but they will probably be more expensive and at £900 for a Convertible it was really a no brainer.

But I suppose to make this a little more relevant to the thread, current owners, are you happy with your purchases and what problems/niggles do you have.?

 

Hi CoolHotCold,
How did you manage to get such a good discount?
I am aware of A 10% voucher for today/tommorow plus 5% cashback on quidco..

 

on TopCashBack (and maybe on Quidco) theres a %12 Additional Discount for systems over £489 which expires tomorrow, But theres also 9BDPN3HHGH91DZ which takes £100 off the price.

I wish I ordered it yesterday as I could of stacked the 10% discount voucher and the 12% discount voucher but they seemed to of fixed it overnight.

So I got £100 off using the above voucher, a additional %12 off that price which is something like £112 and then theres a free delivery code as well on TCB/Quidco which I used to take another £20 off.

The difference in the stackable codes last night and my order now is about £15 so I'm not too bothered about not doing it.

 

Hi all,

I am REALLY interested in this convertible. I know there are pages and pages of posts here, and I have read some of them, and every review I can find, but if a few of you can narrow down your experiences, I would appreciate it. Any deals for the US would be great too.

I currently own a Precision M6500. I do everything from post-production to CAD to AV System Tuning and Programming, graphics design, web programming, etc. I run Adobe Creative Cloud (all programs), AutoCAD, etc and I would consider myself an IT and computer expert. This, at over 8lbs, is my only laptop. I use it every day, usually half of the day.

I have been looking for two things over the past year or so and I think this may fit both in one package, even if the halves aren't perfect. First, I want something light for light duty things like e-mail, web, etc. Leave the beast in the bag. In this regard, I have been looking at Ultrabooks. I really like the 15" Samsung ones (design anyway), but they are pricey even if performance is top notch. Secondly, I have wanted a functional tablet with Windows 8 Pro (or in the past, Windows 7) that can handle many audio programs I use for system tuning and programming. I don't envision myself holding one for an hour or more at a time, but when it comes tine to do tuning, I like to walk around a venue with the system and make adjustments over WiFi. I don't suspect 3.5lbs to be THAT bad for short spurs of carry. But is it? Some reviews I read complained about heat when carrying.

So this convertible may just be a nice medium for me. I was thinking about waiting for the Microsoft Surface Pro, but who knows when that will be out and for what price. I saw price was leaked at around $1200 USD for the 128GB model.

So that brings me to another question. How upgradable is the XPS 12? Can it be opened as easily as Dell's other laptops? CPU upgradable to the i7 if I get the i5 to start? Upgrade my own SSD and RAM?

Any info would be great!

 

muzicman82,

If I could buy it again, I would opt for the i5/256 rather than i7/128. The Dell XPS 12 has the CPU TDP set to 15W, and that lessens the advantage of the i7. Plus if trends from previous Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks are correct, the Core i7 CPUs use more power than the Core i5. That seems to apply even in near-idle modes(according to benchmarks anyway), to my surprise.

CPU can't be upgraded, but I guess the SSD can. I don't think the RAM can either.

As using it as short term Tablet. It's fine. I am a guy but I am not considered muscular. Occasional Tablet uses are fine though. And I mean Tablet use by holding it with one hand, not resting it on my lap(even though that's fun for movie watching! )

My system doesn't have heat issues. The warmest I got(where some review indicated you could burn yourself) felt somewhat warmer than body temperature, but that's about it. But then again I have been using Power Saver mode lots of the time. Maybe if you do something really intensive it would change and I will test that. I doubt you'll have big problems with heat though.

CoolHotCold,

Minor problems exist like where the CPU fan would be spinning even though I'm almost idle and the CPU temps at 40C. Restart would fix it but it would come up every now and then. I've got everything to the latest drivers and BIOS except the graphics driver. Perhaps graphics driver would fix it but I'm holding that out for testing later on. I also have a issue where when I would force shutdown(or hibernate, I can't tell) and turn it back on the drive will disappear. Which running the diagnostic utility then rebooting would fix it.

But in overall, I love the purchase. The build quality seems worth the money, the hinge looks like something it will last, while I love using the touchscreen and Tablet mode. The keyboard is only slightly worse than the keyboard I use for my desktop(which isn't a chiclet style but a normal one), which is the reason I chose it over the Vaio Duo 11. I'm a full touch typist BTW. Not too fast but it seems fit for typing longer ones like this post.

(Fun fact: I tried to play bot matches with League of Legends just for the sake of it and Simcity 4. All using Tablet mode. Scrolling is a bit of a challenge on both. League of Legends is overall not playable on touch-only mode because clicking on abilities for some reason require double presses which makes it significantly slower, while right clicking to move the character takes ~1 seconds to do. But I think I can play Simcity 4 on Tablet mode.

BTW if anyone's interested, in LoL I get 20-24 fps in first 15 minutes with 1920x1080 and most settings High except Shadows. That's in Power Saver mode too which gets me ~4 hours of play!)

 

Hi all !

I just created an account to add to this thread. I too have ordered a XPS 12 , albeit the base version with i5, 4gb ram, and 128 gb ssd. This should be fine for my uses. I ordered on the 22/11/12 and the estimated delivery is the 18th Dec ! I hope I receive it earlier though, I can't wait ! BTW, I'm in the UK and as of now, its still in the PRE-PRODUCTION phase.

 

I ordered on the 9th and have been sitting at "In Production" since about the 14th. It got my hopes up when it flipped, as I assumed that meant they had the parts and were going to assemble/test, but I can't imagine that takes this long to do that, so I'm assuming "In Production" didn't really mean what I thought.

 

Hi guys just an update regarding my order; ordered the base model i5/4gb/128gb on the 28/10/12 to UK with my original EDD being on the 22/11/12. Shipped yesterday on the 26/11/12 with an estimated delivery date on the 28/11/12 which is tomorrow. This was after they told me they had delays with parts and my EDD a week ago was supposed to be on the 12/12/12. I did have a go at Dell for the delays which may explain why I'm getting it quicker. According to tracking it looks like its taking a trip around the world lol :

Warsaw, Poland 27/11/2012 19:07 Arrival Scan

Almaty, Kazakhstan 27/11/2012 18:17 Departure Scan
27/11/2012 16:24 Arrival Scan

Koeln, Germany 27/11/2012 10:18 Package data processed by brokerage Waiting for clearance / Released by clearing agency Now in-transit for delivery
27/11/2012 6:41 Package data processed by brokerage Waiting for clearance

Incheon, Korea, Republic of 27/11/2012 12:48 Departure Scan
27/11/2012 7:45 Arrival Scan

Shanghai, China 27/11/2012 5:04 Departure Scan
27/11/2012 0:52 Export Scan
27/11/2012 0:52 Origin Scan

China 26/11/2012 10:12 Order Processed: Ready for UPS

 

Did the website update with the new EDD, or did you only find out by calling them?

 

Similar story here - I ordered the same model on 30th October and it was due to arrive on 23rd November. Had an email on the 22nd November saying it had been delayed until 17th December. The same day I checked the online status and it said it was ready to be picked up by UPS!

It is due to arrive tomorrow and has also been all around the world - currently in Warsaw. My XPS 12 also left Koeln at 10.18 and Almaty at 6.17pm so it must have been shipped with yours.

Good to see they are making their way to the UK.

For anyone waiting, mine was in pre-production and production for quite some time and I don't remember receiving an email saying it had shipped so keep an eye on the order status and delivery company website. I have received an invoice though and payment was taken this morning.

I managed to get it for £850 so seemed like a good excuse to get it as a Christmas present to myself!

Will let you know how I get on with it when it arrives.

 

@wallinbl

I sent them an email a day or two before my original EDD to find out why it hadn't been shipped, that was when I was informed of the delay. My order status didn't change until Sunday when it was actualy shipped, right up until then my EDD still stayed as 22/11/12.

 

I got my XPS12 today and absolutely love it. The finish is absolutely wonderful. Weight plays a factor if you are using it as a tablet, but in my books it's okay. Definitely not feather weight like a iPad, but I'm using this more as a laptop to get a feel for Windows 8.

I am curious if anyone is experiencing this high pitch noise with the XPS12. Sounds like some resistors are to close to the sound card or jack or something.

Also, how the hell does this screen-rotation lock button work? I press it, and the screen is still able to rotate. I don't understand it.

 

Chris, could you please post a little more detail on how to use the recovery utility to upgrade to larger SSD. I just wonder how to make sure the extra space ends up on C:, not after the last partition.

 

using the recovery image utility it automatically did the partition layout and only thing it did that I didn't like was it kept the same partition size percentages which the other day I finally tackled that by using this program Free resize/move hard drive partition, enlarge/extend/shrink system partitions in Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7/8 and Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 - EaseUS Partition Master Manual to shrink the recovery partition and resize it and to resize the what should be 8192MB but I did 9GB to be safe. and make sure to allow the recovery partition ~1gb free space otherwise the system cant create a restore image using the win 7 backup utility.

 

the rotate lock is software it doesn't allow the screen to rotate form portrait to landscape ect when using as a tablet.

 

Thanks Chris. I thought it was physical =P

 

Thanks Chris. That's good to know, even though I think I'll wait a while til I get used to win 8.

 

recieved today, very good quality all round but unfortunetly it came incorrectly assembled. Theres plastic running around the inside of the aluminium bezel, mine had a section not correctly fixed on causing the plastic to pop up, causing a bump on what should be flat. I'll take pics later to help anyone else who may have a similar issue.

 

Hi XPS12'er's, Has anyone gotten a chance to compare this to the Thinkpad Twist? I imagine the build quality is better on the XPS, but the Thinkpad branding is known to be quite durable too. I am wondering which convertible has a smaller footprint. Thanks.

 

So far so good. The only problem I have noticed is the touchpad will stop responding for a few seconds every so often. I'm not exactly sure what is triggering it, but it seems to happen randomly (almost like input lag).

Has anyone else noticed that the left side of the touchpad is just a smidge lower than the right (~.25mm)? It's only really noticeable if you run your finger from the palm rest on to each side of the touch pad. It doesn't bother me too much but it makes the left to right Win8 swipe feel a bit funny.

 

I ordered the base XPS 12 Nov 17. It was supposed to be shipped Dec 5. It shipped today, Nov28, should be here by Friday Nov 30. It's getting exciting. I hope my wife likes it, or it's going back, and I want to play with it.

 

Lenovo makes good products, but the single hinge on the Twist is a big worry. There's naturally lot more force acting on the hinge than dual hinge setups like on traditional Clamshell form factors and Yoga-type ones. XPS 12's hinge though doesn't really put much pressure on the hinge mechanism. When I had things break apart, it would break first on the points where most pressure was on. For example, on headsets that you fit over your head, it breaks at the connection point between the speaker part and the plastic that goes fits on your head, if you know what I mean.

 

I ordered one day earlier than that (11/16) and ordered the i7/128gb/8gb memory setup. Estimated Delivery Date is 12/7/12 and still shows "In Production". Ordered for my wife as well to update her old Thinkpad! I live in NC.

 

Whoah..quick update this morning. Status just changed to shipped this morning! Looks like it was shipped yesterday and it is coming in tomorrow. Wow, that was fast! Now i'm going to have to see if I can take off work tomorrow..looks like the signature is required. So in the end ordering and shipping it out took 2 weeks..that is with 7 day delivery selected as well.

 

A quick review of my XPS 12. ( 8/256 )
Well so far the machine is excellent except --( and it's a BIG BIG except )-- the track pad is ATROCIOUS!
The trackpad does nothing well. Medicore performance at best.
Done all the updates etc. and the performance still remains poor. ( so poor in fact that this machine may be going back to Dell for a refund )
Perhaps I'm spoiled? I've always been a Mac guy and the XPS 12 is my first ever Windows machine.
To sum it up : A great machine with one MAJOR defect.
Hopefully Dell will fix the trackpad issues soon.
Paul in WA

 

Mine as well, though I paid for 2 day shipping (and tracking shows it was shipped ground, so I'll be asking for that money back).

 

Yeah, looks like it shipped from New Jersey..I am located in NC..so anything ground would make it within 2 days anyways..so 2-day shipping is pointless. Yet, when we get these things we never know where they are going to be shipping from..hindsight is 20/20 i suppose.

 

These things appear to be coming from all over the place! Mine is coming from Nashville. Others in this thread have posted various other origins.

 

Is there a setting for turning off the touchpad when you're typing, to prevent accidental input? Might be..

 

I received my xps 12 yesterday and have successfully created a True Image disk image with the above directions. I did not install True Image in windows, I just used the recovery media.
Has anyone successfully recovered an image using the legacy boot and do you think it matters if True Image is installed or not?

 

I'm having the same hesitating problem, but it is only with tapping or clicking, not moving the cursor.

I'm also having a problem with the display randomly dimming and brightening. I have everything set to not dim for an hour and it still keeps happening. I can't find anything that I'm doing that is causing it. Moving the cursor, tapping, or tipping the display up or down has no effect. Tech support hasn't helped yet.
Has anyone else had this display problem?

Ok, slow me. I found a setting for automatically dim display, in pc settings. Turned it off everything is fine.
Ny wife hasn't even found anything she doesn't like, so I guess this is a keeper.

 

Mine finally arrived! Does anyone know where I can find the serial number? Need it for insurance.

 

I believe the service tag number is the serial number. Pull the small panel on the bottom of the laptop and it says"service tag S/N #"

 

Would you mind telling me when you ordered yours? I'm curious about how long the backlog is since it appears the Dell tracking system isn't entirely accurate.

Thanks.

 

Ordered on the 11th. Arrived yesterday. In UK.

 

Thank you!

 

ordered 11/17 received 11/30 usa

 

I don't understand why Dell doesn't stock these 4 variations of the Xp 12 in the US for faster delivery. That is bad business. Then they send everything but the computer. ?

 

I expected mine Dec 6th, arrived Nov 30th Nice surprise. So far I love everything about the hardware. Just not digging the W8 experience. Anyone know if W7 has drivers to support this convertible?

BTW, I got 25% off because im a AAA Member

 

You don't need to have the TrueImage installed on the system, as you can just use the Recovery Media to create & restore the images. We have 6 computers in the house between myself, kids, and the wife, and I only have TrueImage installed on my main desktop computer. It is only needed if someone needs to browse (explore) the contents of a backup image (.tib file) to possibly recover single files or folders at a time.