XPS 13 (9333 Haswell) Owners Lounge

Just got my XPS 13 haswell on Saturday. I got the i7, 8gb, 256GB model. I saw there was an owners lounge for the old model but figured I'd create a thread where users of the new model could discuss reviews/issues.

Anyone else pick up one of these systems? What are your thoughts so far?

I have found one issue that has been reported in this thread: New XPS 13 (9333) Constant Noise - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community


I can confirm my unit does this as well, but I'm sure it's worth returning it/exchanging it over.


graffixnyc on XDA-Developers
http://gplus.to/graffixnyc

 

I've had mine for a year and half and the screen has started spazzing out. It will display a bunch of shaking vertical lines for a few seconds and then resolve itself. It is getting worse. I called tech support, and of course there's nothing they can do since it's out of warrantly. A new screen is $316 from then. I've found it less elsewhere but out of stock . Any ideas of the cause and possible fixes? Will replacing the screen fix it; or maybe a bad graphics card?

 

Since you got yours last year I think you are in the wrong thread. This thread is for the newer model with the Haswell processor.

 

So not only my XPS15 has coil whine but also the XPS13 :/

They say if you turn off the keyboard backlit then the noise will be gone? Not on my XPS15

 

So the 15 is suffering from the same thing? Mine I can only hear it if I put my ear the the right side of the machine by the USB/HDMI port. If I slowly take it away from my ear and concentrate on the sound I can still hear it when it's a normal distance away but if I'm not listening for it, then I don't really hear it.


Also I have noticed.. That if you set the image quality to Splendid instead of Generic and you reboot it resets back to generic.. II'm chatting with Dell to get that setting to stick.

 

Hello, I have this laptop for a couple of week and here are my experiences with it (I had a macbook air mid-2012 that I sold).

First of all, the quality of this unit is probably the best I've seen on a windows machine since a long time. The construction is solid, the keyboard is great, the touchpad works great!
Sadly, there're a couple of issues.

First, coil whine (electric noise). The Dell has a really annoying coil whine when the backlit keyboard is turned on. That being said, someone if supposed to come replace the keyboard soon so we'll see about that.

Second issue are the drivers. They are bad. When I first received the machine, there was a huge input lag on the keyboard (~200ms) and a clean install of Windows fixed that. The culprit : Dell QuickSet64 driver. I don't know what this driver is doing, but it slows down the typing. Also, sometime the trackpad will stop responding (after the machine wakes up from sleep). This is a driver issue as going into the touchpad control panel and turning it on/off will resolve it.
I had 3 BSOD from DRIVER_POWER_STATE after wake up so I assume that either the drivers are trash or the machine is broken.


And, my third issue is with the speakers. The machine, when it wakes up (again), will lose the speakers (no audio device detected). That being said, it could be a hardware issue with my machine.

Overall, if the issues are fixed (mainly the electric noise), this is a dream laptop... as of right now, it is annoying.

My machine : Dell XPS 13 Win8.1 i5-4200U with 128Gb SSD and 8gb RAM

 

Ok, The high pitched noise I DEFINITELY think it's a grounding issue which actually could be dangerous and could result in someone getting shocked if it is a grounding issue:

With Keyboard Backlight on: High pitched electrical interference sound
With Keyboard Backlight off: High pitched sound still present, just not nearly as loud as it is with the KB light on
Plugged my phone into the USB (both left and right side USB) with the Keyboard backlight on and the high pitched sound gets lower like as if the KB backlight was off. As soon as I unplug the phone from the USB the high pitched loud noise comes back a couple seconds later
Plugged my Tablet into the USB (both left and right side USB) and had the same effect as my phone.

 

Hello guys, I also have this whining noise form the backlit keyboard.. I don't really notice it so it doesn't bother me too much. (I use this machine on the go). Is this really a pressing issue that has to be fixed? Seeing that so many XPS 13 users have this issue it's probably not a huge issue - just an annoyance.

One other thing...

I recently got a bluetooth mouse for this very ultrabook. It's okay, but ever since I got it, my webpages sometimes load very slowly or not at all. Turning off the mouse and refreshing the page fixes the problem. I do use WiFi, so is the mouse somehow interfering with the connection or something? Thanks in advance for your response.

 

To be fair, not for me, as I use it on the go too, but it is annoying when you are browsing in a quiet room at night. The problem (for me atleast) is that it's such a premium laptop... why their QA haven't picked it?
I mean, don't QA it for electric noise in the middle of a factory

Also, I want to see what's inside and since it's under warranty, why not getting it repaired :thumbsup:

I ordered a mice from their cashback thing (dell wm524), I'll update you on that when I get it.

With all those drivers issues (I have) I'm almost asking myself if I shouldn't load Ubuntu or Mint and load Windows in a VM.
Anyone with the developer edition? Is there any driver issue with the laptop? How's the battery (I can manage 8-10h if I really want!)?

 

The mouse "problem" is probably just something I have done wrongly. I don't think it's persisting much now (thankfully).


BTW when you ramp up the volume of the speakers to high levels the sound isn't very good on my XPS 13. You can hear the laptop's chassis vibrating, and the overall sound quality just isn't good. Do you guys have this issue? At lower volumes the sound is great. I have noticed that when you go into the Dell Audio panel, it says that my laptop has Waves Maxxaudio 3. The Dell website says this laptop is supposed to come with Maxxaudio Pro. My order status lists Maxxaudio 5. Does this Maxxaudio issue make my speakers worse? What version of Waves Maxxaudio do you guys have?

Most of the reviews of this computer (older versions though - Ivy and sandy bridge versions) say that the speakers are excellent.

 

Well, if the whining noise is a ground issue then it could lead to more serious electrical issues later and in certain conditions could even wind up giving someone a little shock. If it's nothing but an annoying sound that's normal, then while being annoying it's not going to drive me nuts.. I just want dell to look into it o make sure it isn't something more serious like a ground/electrical problem. That's my bigger concern rather than the noise.

A guy on the Dell thread about the issue said they replaced his SSD, motherboard and I think a couple other parts and the whine was still present. If it is a ground defect/problem in one of the components it's only logical to think if they replace them with the same parts the new parts will also have the issue until they correct it in the manufacturing process

 

Thanks. Didn't realize that

 

Anyone else notice any backlight bleeding around the edges of the screen on dark/black backgrounds?

 

Yes, yes, I have a bit of bleed on the bottom left corner of my screen. I only notice it in dark rooms with a dark background so it doesn't bother me. I don't think it's a problem seeing that the brightness distribution probably isn't spot on in any laptop, let alone this one.

 

I'm having in 3 corners and one more spot on the bottom middle. Usually I accept it, but I think mine might have a little too much. I remember my ex gf's XPS 13 had some as well, but not as much as I have on this unit. I always expect some on IPS displays. The only corner I don't have bleed in is the bottom right.

 

So, the Dell technician came and... the keyboard change did nothing. We however did some test and it appears that the sound is coming from a coil near the right USB 3.0 port. My laptop is going to a Dell depot for repair (not sure if I wanted this though...)

Anyway, I'll be without a laptop for a while =/

 

I'm having my XPS 12 exchanged for a XPS 13 due to terrible image retention problems on the XPS 12 LCD panel. Has anyone here noticed any image retention or display problems (other than back light bleed) on the XPS 13?

 

The XPS 13's LCD isn't too much of a problem. Personally I have only a little bit of bleed on my LCD which is virtually unnoticeable. As for other faults I haven't noticed any so far. No stuck or dead pixels.

 

Great! Thanks for the information. I'm looking forward to receiving my XPS13, should be shipping early next week.

 

I’ve had my XPS 13 (9333) for a week now and thought I’d share my observations. It’s the i7 with 256gb SSD. Please note that I’m coming from a four year old XPS M1330 and if I keep this laptop it will be my 5th Dell computer.

I’m happy to say that I have no coil whine. I’m sorry to hear others are experiencing this problem with the XPS 13 and 15.

Keyboard is very nice. I like the amount of travel and I have no issues with typing.

Trackpad is 100% better than what I had. It has been responsive. No lag. No issues. I also like the soft touch palm rests. I do wish the front edge of the laptop was more rounded but if I put my hands in the proper position its not an issue.

Backlighting is new to me and I must say its great to have. I do not see any bleeding.

Screen resolution is perfect for my use. I tried using the XPS 11 with is super high resolution and I found myself constantly changing scaling or text size. I could not find a comfortable setting that satisfied me so I decided to go with the 1080p and I must say that I’m very happy with this resolution. I have not made any changes to the default resolution or scaling that Dell set. With older programs like Corel WordPerfect (wife) I just went into its settings and increased picture and text size.

Touch Screen is worked without any issues. I like it. I bought a 1,000 page Windows 8.1 for Dummies book and read most of it while waiting for my laptop so I was able to get up and running without any major issues.

Wi-Fi is strong and no drops to date. I’m using the 5 MHZ band with my two year old Cisco router. Changed the settings for max power.

Fan is mostly quite. It has come on when doing Windows updates (which is to be expected) and once while configuring a car online using the manufacturers enhanced 3D graphics setting.

My laptop generates some heat but its not too bad, mostly from the bottom, left rear where the fan is located. Since more than 90% of my work is done while the laptop is on my lap I’ll be monitoring this during my return policy window.

Speakers work well for my needs. They are a lot louder than the XPS 11. I don’t have good ears so I can’t comment on bass or treble.

My only software issue is that the Dell detect program does not download, install or otherwise find my laptop. It has told me that I have an XPS Studio and one time it told me I had an older XPS 15.

I was going to hold out for Lenovo’s 14" X1 Carbon with Haswell and the Iris 5000 graphics chip but I’m not sure I need anything other than what I have in front of me. My Dell XPS appears to be well constructed, looks good, lighter and smaller than my previous laptop and, knock on wood, everything is working.

 

Looking at picking up an XPS13 with the i7-4650U and HD 5000 graphics, will install windows 8.1 as I'm not too fussed about working with Linux at the moment.

Anyone got this version yet?

 

I don't think it's available yet. At least not on the US site. I only see the 4500 available. If they make the 4650 available before my return period I'll be returning mine to get it, lol

 

Ah fair enough,

This is the spec listed on the UK Dell site:
XPS 13 Ultrabook with Optional Touch Screen Details | Dell UK

 

Nice, I'm guessing it will be available soon here in the US then. Hopefully before my return period Is it supposed to be much better performance wise?

 

You lose a little on the cpu side when fully loaded (since the chip stays in its 15w limit) while you gain ~5-15% on the gpu side in game compared to a HD 4400.
However, the gain from a HD 4000 are great (the HD 4400 is surprisingly good for a re-worked GT2 but if you need better gpu, Iris all the way)

AnandTech | The 2013 MacBook Air Review (13-inch)
Anandtech review of the MBA 2013.

 

Ahh I see. Well I don't use my XPS 13 for gaming. I don't actually game at all besides mobile games. So I guess it wouldn't make a huge difference for me, I use my XPS 13 mostly for school and work stuff ( programming, web development, database, office, and the Adobe suit,) It's basically my productive only laptop. I have a 15 inch laptop for all the other stuff like media etc..

 

Yeah, and currently running 8.1 pro on it. Running smoothly and works with Intel rapid start and all the windows stuff you'd expect from a standard build.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

How are you finding it? Were there any other ultrabooks that you considered before buying the xps?

 

Pretty much the use I have of it (well... when it gets back). I needed something easy to carry and that I can program on it while at school; no use of a more powerful/heavier laptop since I'll just use my desktop to gaming & cie.

Still, 15% in gpu can be huge at these lower end things, but the problem of HD 5000+ (and amd apus) lies in bandwidth (it has 2x the core of a HD4400, but not that much better perf). Iris Pro (Crystalwell) solves this problem by adding a "L4 cache" for the gpu, but it's a higher wattage/priced chip (MBPr 15" I believe); would be great for XPS 15 though.

 

Great actually. I'd be surprised if there was an ultrabook I hadn't considered! Previously always had mac's so had a couple of airs running boot camp but wireless issues (think aggressive power management) meant they were returned. The thinkpad yoga was a close call, and like the idea of the one link dock, but the extra weight and slightly smaller screen put me off. VAIO pro as well was tempting but there seems to still be talk about the wireless issues on it as well as it but having display port for over 1080p resolutions.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Hi there, I've a question for all the owners of this ultrabook. How good is the wifi reception? It seems that the older model had some wifi reception problems:

Review: Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition with Ubuntu Linux

Can you comment on the wifi reception of the new 9333 Haswell model? Thank you very much!

 

Seems very good here. Same as macbook air 2013 that I had briefly.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

I haven't bothered to look at transmission speeds but what I can tell you is I get 5 bars on both bands and since getting this laptop last month I have not had any dropped connections anywhere in our 1.5 story house using a 2-year old Cisco dual band router. My M1330 sucked when it came to using the 5 ghz band but the 9333 has had no issues.

 

Faulty screen on new XPS 13 9333

Just received today (UK). The screen is faulty - there is a pale grey stripe across the entire width of the screen starting at the top and extending about 5mm down. It gets darker to the right and the last 10mm is a distinct darker grey box 'overlay'. It is there whatever colour/image is on the screen and whatever the brightness settings.

I don't know whether the fault is with the panel itself or the LED backlighting but the fact it was shipped with a clearly visible hardware fault says Dell's quality control at the factory is not good enough.

I'm speaking with Dell Premium Support. A replacement laptop will likely take another 3 weeks and they cannot fulfill the contractual next business day repair because they don't have parts due to the laptop being 'too new' a model.

 

I love mine so far except I have the coil whine although it doesn't really bother me and I only hear it when I'm listening for it. I'm getting mine exchanged because of backlight bleeding but more than what I'm use to on IPS displays. I don't mind and expect some but I have this one spot in the upper left corner that annoys the s**t out of me. It's not only visible on black screens but on other dark colors and the whole corner appears faded compared during normal use. That's my only real complaint but I'm getting it exchanged. Hopefully the next one has less bleed. I had the older model for a week (returned it when they announced haswell) and that one had some but it was acceptable, my ex ef's had the older one (not FHD) and hers had some as well that was fine and didn't bother me but this one spot is bugging me.

 

So would you all recommend this overall, other than some coil whine and backlight issues on some units? Any other annoyances or problems?

 

I have been reading about the 9333's good to very good wifi reception, so perhaps this is a single case. I've been having some trouble with my reception to the extent that a speedtest results in only 6Mb/s on my laptop while resulting in 24Mb/s on my Android phone and partner's Macbook Air. I opened up the cast to check if the antenna cables of the Wireless-AC 7260 were properly connected and they are. I reinstalled drivers (also the updated drivers of a few days ago), which made no difference. I've also checked the power options and whether the WiFi adaptor is assigned full power. Also turning off bluetooth does not seem to make a difference. Sometimes the connection even doesn't respond for a minute orso.

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I guess I just have a faulty card. It happens. Will be ordering another one and replacing it myself, they aren't too expensive.

EDIT: I attached some pictures of the inside for those who are curious. Also, the wifi card has an absolutely weird size. It's not like standard PCIe half wifi cards, which also came with previous XPS 13 editions.

 

How are people finding the battery life?

Has anyone come across any detailed reviews yet? I can't find any.

 

Those of you experiencing the whining noise - is it loud enough that you would be worried about distracting others in a shared office or meeting setting?

 

UPDATE: Replacement screen on XPS 13 9333 has SAME FAULT 'grey 'shadow' at the top' - does yours..?


OK Dell managed to find the part and the on-site engineer swapped it today. The replacement screen has the same issue as the one that shipped but it is a bit less pronounced.

Can other people check their machines? It's visible all the time but easiest to see on a plain bright background.

There is a pale grey 'shadow' across the full width of the screen starting at the top and extending down about 3mm. Plus, in the very top right and top left there is a more pronounced darker grey rectangular 'shadow', the same depth as the 'stripe' (3mm), each one about 10mm wide.

A white background (e.g. a powerpoint slide in screenshow) or change the desktop picture to white (Desktop>Personalize>High contrast themes - High contrast white) makes it easier to see if there is a problem or not.

Have I been unlucky (twice - albeit the second one not as bad as the first) or is this an issue others have?

Thanks

(btw the screen, touchscreen digitizer, glass and lid came as one integrated part that the engineer fitted)

 

The whining sound is very subtle. You would only notice it in a quiet room, not in an office or meeting where there is always noise. A desktop's fan noise is louder than the whining sound.

 

I've just received my Dell XPS 13 Haswell: Does anybody else experience ridiculously high white noise levels with the headphones port (when playing audio and shortly after only), is my device faulty or is this to be expected with this model? This is happening with Ubuntu 13.10 for me.

Edit: Found this to be a driver issue, see here for more: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/alsa-driver/+bug/1252733?comments=all

 

I think it varies.. Mine seems like you're not very noticeable unless the room was drop dead silent. I'll hear it if I put my ear up to the right USB port and I'll hear it as I pull it away from my ear, and at normal operating distance I can hear it.. only if I listen hard for it.. While others in the dell thread New XPS 13 (9333) Constant Noise - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

State theirs is pretty loud, that you can hear it 2 meters away (that's like 6 feet away!) There is no way I would hear it from that far away, So I think some hear it worse than others

 

Just checked mine with a white ppt slide. Didn't notice anything wrong with the screen. Is there anyway you can get a picture of what you are describing?

 

I agree. My machine has the whining sound, but it is really subtle (ie. need to be within 6-8 inches of the keyboard) and not always present. Changing the keyboard backlight brightness does change the pitch of the sound, as others have reported. However, it seems that if I don't not manually change the keyboard backlight brightness the sound is much less prominent (ie. I need to put my ear up next to the machine).

 

To anyone that might be interested. I just calibrated the display on my XPS13 this evening using the i1Display and here are the achieved results: (Target: D65, 120cd/m2)

White Point: 6497K
Luminance: 120cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 920:1

Really nice screen!

 

Hey guys, seriously considering getting the XPS 13 but got some questions...

1. How are the viewing angles on the screen? Do the colors change significantly depending on which angle you look at the screen from or...?

2. Can you see the screen if sitting outside in the shade? (might not be able to test this atm due to weather :hi2

3. Does it get very warm? Can you sit with it on your lap for extended periods of time?

4. How is gaming? I'll mostly use it for work and surfing the web, but I might use it for some DOTA 2 once in a while, so would be great if it could handle it. (Another option is the ASUS ZENBOOK UX302 which has a GT730M, but it's a bit more expensive and don't know about the build quality)

Thanks in advance! :thumbsup:

 

Has anyone benchmarked the wireless speed using 802.11ac over LAN?

Also I found this review: Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook (fourth gen Core) Review - Notebooks - Ultraportable - PC World Magazine New Zealand

 

Nice, but I wish the reviewer went into more detail regarding the heat of the laptop when using it on his lap. Is it unbearable or is it just a slight warmth? Does the laptop start acting up when you block the vents or only if you're using it for heavy workloads?

 

Honestly, I find the cons a bit exaggerated. I bought a matte screen protector, which counters the glossiness of the screen. Also, the dynamic contrast changes can be fixed by clicking on the battery icon and choosing the "Dell" power plan or just adjusting a few settings in the regular power plans. Also, it does not really get that hot, unless you're gaming. A con would be that the fan is on the bottom of the machine...