XPS 13 (9333 Haswell) Owners Lounge

Hey guys, I updated my graphics driver to these ones https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=24348&lang=eng&ProdId=3719 and rebooted and the keyboard seemed to be fine for a little while.

However the issue seems to reappear intermittently.

 

For the keyboard lag have you guys tried turning off the USB power saving modes in the advanced power settings? You start rolling back the updates one by one until you see the problem go away if that does indeed to be the cause. Also check the windows update history for driver updates. Maybe try down grading to whatever driver you had installed before the problem. Has it changed?

So does anyone not have issues with coil whine. I had pretty much decided on this laptop but after reading all 31 pages and all the dell community posts looks like they still haven't figured it out.

 

The Dell tech wants to have the motherboard and LCD replaced for the flickering issue. I sure hope I don't get the coil whine with the new motherboard. I'm debating whether to have the tech come out or send it in.

 

I don't have the coil whine issue. I bought the computer from the Microsoft store but I do have the keyboard lag issue. It has been like this out of the box before downloading any drivers. Dell just sent me the latest BIOS to see if that helps and I think it is. I'm still playing around with it and will report back if it solves the problem.

 

My lag is still there, although better, after the BIOS update. Back to the drawing board with Dell.

 

Coil whine is gone?

I had it while I was using 8.1, then again under 10 preview (which I love 10 on this laptop). I then installed Ubuntu just to play with for a day or two then 8.1 again from a DELL brand USB key they sent me. I did not notice under Ubuntu, but for the last 2 days under 8.1 I have not had ANY coil noise. I am not sure if it is due to being a fully wiped drive and fresh re-install or because I used drivers directly from Intel for the GPU and the WiFi/Bluetooth drivers. Either way I am right now 2 days Coil noise free.

 

Do you know what version the BIOS was?

 

my machine wont go over 1,75 ghz when running on battery. energy option is on max performance. is there a way to fix that?

also my mainboard has been replaced twice by dell but the coil whine is still there. i doubt there is a solution, if you browse the forums coil whine is a common issue to the dell machines

 

They sent it to my in a zip file. This is the file name: 9333A06

 

A04 is the newest one online, that seems 2 versions newer.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. Seems like too much of a risk for me to buy one of these. Waiting for a good deal on a Latitude e7240 on ebay to come up I think.

 

Risk? The only issues are two small annoyances. I have had HP's and Lenovos with louder coil whine than this

 

Well, about risks, I'll tell you my experience with Dell:

- Ordered a XPS13 directly on Dell website, with a 512 GB SSD. When receiving the order confirmation, I found out the HD was 256 GB. Called Dell customer service at once and, after being treated like I was crazy for a good quater of an hour, they admitted there was a mistake in the website and promised to solve the issue within 48 hours. Despite several more calls, two weeks later I received the wrong version, directly from China! Clearly they tried to push me to accept the wrong (anche cheaper) unit. I had to wait two more weeks to receive the notebook with the HD I ordered.
- My XPS 13, with a i7, is performing like it has an i3, as you can see from my prevoius post http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/742059-xps-13-9333-haswell-owners-lounge-30.html#post9829771. Dell has been unhelpful in diagnosing the problem and finding a solution.

 

I replaced the LCD to to see if the screen flickering on battery power (below 80%) would go away. The screen flickering got much worse with the refurbished LCD. (All replacement parts from Dell are refurbished) I'm going to send it in to a repair depot. I can't recommend the XPS 13 to anyone. I've owned 4 Dell laptops over the years and it's time to give another brand a try. Every one had issues. I'll go with Lenovo next time.

 

Hmmm....the XPS "annoyances" render the laptop useless for me.

I've given up. Dell has not been able to fix the keyboard lag and I'm tired of their tech support. I'm on the second computer with the same exact problem. Also, another problem cropped up last night. When I hit the "return" key the power management menu pops up. The return key no longer works.

Thankfully the Microsoft Store, where I bought it, will take it back. It's been 60 days but they didn't question it. I'm so tired of figuring out what laptop to get but it's back to the drawing board. I may pull the trigger on the Yoga 2 pro, which is on sale right now. It's not my first choice but I'm having trouble figuring out a comparable laptop with the XPS specs. I love how light the XPS is.

 

If you like light-weight, the Yoga 3 Pro is only 2.6 lbs... the lightest of all.

I've had such great luck with both the XPS 13 and XPS 12 laptops though... I'm sorry to hear about your issues. I think you mentioned already, but does the lag still happen in power option "High Performance" mode?

 

The Yoga 3 is a little more than what I want to spend. I'm pretty bummed about the XPS13, I do like it. I just can't believe 2 laptops in a row had the same problem. Yeah....lag still happens in High Performance mode

 

I discovered the keyboard lag is caused by the SATA link-state power management being enabled. You can disable it at the expense of some battery life.

 

have a question re: battery life...

I got my XPS 13 from the Microsoft Store right around Thanksgiving, but the battery is showing some wear already. It shows that its at 14% wear, with 48000 of 56000 mWh available. Just curious if this is normal or if that amount of wear so quick is problematic. Ive had battery problems in the past with laptops so I'm extra cautious with this new beauty.

 

I've noticed the battery doesn't last long at all. Maybe 5 hrs watching movies.

 

What are you measuring to test that?

 

How much were you expecting? I get 6-7hrs out of mine doing web stuff.

 

Great find!

 

Not sure where that poster found that info, but you can use a built in Windows utility at the command prompt:
powercfg /batteryreport

That will give you a nice html report. Mine is a year old and already at 35,500 mWh available... almost half.

My knowledge of Li-Ion batteries is that life span is a combination of age and charge/discharge cycles, so it would be different depending on use for each person.

Check out the health of your device with the Windows 8 Battery Report - TechRepublic

 

Batterybar Pro, as well as batterycfg /batteryreport ... as of this minute it shows 48090/56025, or 14.2% wear. Have had the laptop since Thanksgiving, as I stated before.

I'm not concerned about my current battery life, as it is fine for now. But if it is wearing this fast... that is a problem.

i take good care of the battery... never let it completely discharge, never let it sit on the charger once full (usually unplug it around 97%), etc. I'm thinking of recalibrating but IDK if thats a waste of my time or not.

 

Has anyone compared this to the Asus UX303LA? I am torn, it is for my wife, web browsing, off-loading pictures and some word processing....I would have just gone with the XPS, but the lack of the SD Card reader made me look into other options...

 

Great question... I own its predecessor the UX31A-BHI5T11. It's super fast and thin and awesome, but the Asus keyboards are just absolutely terrible. If typing and keyboard quality matters to you at all, I'd stay away from Asus. Otherwise, it's a solid machine with nearly the same internals as the XPS13.

 

Surprisingly, the coil whine didn't bother me much even though I am quite a sensitive person.
However, I am still considering of returning my XPS 13 due to the display angle. I am not expecting a Yoga-style but with the angle as is, it is just uncomfortable to work on my lap.

Otherwise it is just a great machine - it kept growing on me during the past couple of days I had. I didn't expect the display angle as being a dealbreaker but oh well.

I will be looking at UX303LA or TPY 14.

 

I'm seeing similar levels of wear. I've had mine since late August, and my battery has already worn down to 45,810 mWh, which is nearly 20% wear. I'm probably gonna contact Dell and see what they say, since this is definitely an excessive amount of wear for only 4 months of use.

 

be sure to update me on what they say. I'm thinking of sending in my computer if the wear persists. It's a bit ridiculous to have so much wear so fast... the battery quality can't be THAT bad.

merry christmas/belated happy hanukkah and happy holidays!

 

Thanks! I just got off technical chat with a Dell representative and they didn't really know what was wrong. They had me install an updated chipset and BIOS and agreed to ship me a new battery without any hassle, so that's good. I'm still not too sure if this a defect in just my battery or if it's a widespread thing, but hopefully this new battery won't show similar signs of wear.

 

BIOS A06 is now on the Dell site. I installed it yesterday.

Also I noticed when I did my battery report the actual DESIGN CAPACITY changed. It used to read as a 50,400 mWh, and now it reads as a 56,025 mWh. Something is wrong with how the battery is being read.

There is no way the Designed Capacity changed randomly on December 23rd. According to the Estimates went from getting 15min under what Windows thinks I should get with DESIGN CAPACITY battery to just under an Hour less than I should get. I am more interested in WHY the capacity changed for some reason.

PERIOD FULL CHARGE CAPACITY DESIGN CAPACITY

2014-12-08 - 2014-12-15 48,704 mWh 50,400 mWh
2014-12-15 - 2014-12-22 48,436 mWh 50,400 mWh
2014-12-23 48,300 mWh 56,025 mWh
2014-12-24 48,275 mWh 56,025 mWh
2014-12-25 48,229 mWh 56,025 mWh
2014-12-26 48,210 mWh 56,025 mWh
2014-12-27 48,195 mWh 56,025 mWh
2014-12-28 48,120 mWh 56,025 mWh
2014-12-29 48,115 mWh 56,025 mWh

 

After getting mine back from the factory (for the second time) with the problem getting worse I'm getting it replaced with a "refurbished" one. The screen now goes black a few seconds after logging in and now has the coil whine. (They replaced the motherboard) I doubt the techs even turn it on before sending it back. I'm going to sell it and get a Surface Pro 3 or possibly wait for the Intel M version of the Surface Pro. I won't buy a Dell laptop (or tablet) again.

 

Just got mine today. As soon as I booted up the fan starts running at full speed all the time and was obnoxiously loud. I checked every setting I could think of and even updated the BIOS with no luck. Finally I noticed a message on boot for a spilt second that it is running in "Manufactory Mode" and to press FN X to return to Normal mode. That fixed it. Hopefully my experience helps someone else with the same issue. This thing boots too fast haha.

 

Have you guys seen this new model? New XPS 13 | Dell

AMAZING! And starting at $799

Verge Review - Dell's new XPS 13 has a stunning edge-to-edge display | The Verge

 

I received the replacement XPS 13. It said "Scratch and Dent" right on the box. It was supposed to be refurbished, not scratch and dent. After a quick inspection I found scratches and dents and worn keys and touchpad. This is how Dell rips people off. I could tell it was a very old model because of the Windows 8 sticker on the bottom. I'm sending it back and will most likely file arbitration paperwork to get my money back. I'm keeping the old one (for now) which doesn't work. If you want to go through hell, buy a Dell.

 

Hey guys...

Just got back from being out of hte country for 2 weeks, so I just got around to installing the new BIOS.

My design and current maximum capacity, as well as wear (15.8%) remain the same. Currently BatteryBar and Windows show the same percentage but a 2 hour discrepancy in time remaining (2 hours on BB, 4 on Windows, with 40% battery). Looks like I'm going to give a call to Dell Support, because 15.8% from Thanksgiving until now is absolutely ridiculous and I would like a new battery!

 

I had no pitch issues with old BIOS'es...this new one brought it up...not bothersome but knowing that it appeared it's a shame....

 

The new XPS 13 looks great :thumbsup:

 

It does. Maybe I'll move when this one starts to feel out dated.

 

Anybody know if the i5 variant is still available in the EU, or if the i7 version will eventually drop in price? The new XPS is nice and all, but no 1080p option in the EU and 1600*900/3200*1800 are not desirable resolutions to me.

 

You will have best luck looking for a PC/tech shop that has them in stock.

 

Did they finally resolve the coil whine issue?

 

Costco has what looks like a great deal on this.
http://www.costco.com/Dell-XPS-13-T...80p-|-Backlit-Keyboard.product.100169469.html

If you had this deal would you buy this again? I'm looking at this or the Asus Zenbook

http://www.costco.com/Dell-XPS-13-T...80p-|-Backlit-Keyboard.product.100169469.html

Has anyone here bought a computer through Amazon?

Any opinions welcomed.

 

This looks like a great deal, especially with the i7 and 256gb SSD. Keep in mind this is now an old model... the new XPS having the super thin bezel.

I would Certainly buy again though, this one and the new XPS 13 are exceptional!

Yes, I've bought on Amazon many times, but keep in mind you may not have the same Dell Pro support warranty if you do.

 

Thank you Dan.

 

I was wondering about this myself in another thread. For you current owners, this is a good deal?? I'm replacing a 4 yr old Sony VAIO Sandy Bridge laptop which has a crappy screen resolution among other things and I just never had time to do anything with it (turned out to be a glorified web surfer for the wife). Not going to be used for much still other than mostly web surfing and YouTube/other video watching.