XPS 14 UltraBook Owners Lounge

I'm not usually one to complain, but the performance on my last generation iphone consistently crushes this machine, if that's any indication.

 

Me neither, , but wifi is horrible. When it works and stays stable (a day maximum) it is 15%, 20% less efficient than my 15z. When one is downloading 1.1 mob the other is at 800kbps. This could be acceptable , but biggest grip is not being stable. It may be working then suddenly it stops and only solution I found is deleting drivers and reinstalling them. Even then it may or may not work right away.

I don't know if it is hardware or driver, or implementation of power saving, I know it is majorly annoying. I'm buying a wireless USB adaptor because I like a lot of things of this computer and knew beforehand this could be a situation I would have to deal with. But it is disappointing to have to do this. That's my 5th dell notebook since 2002 and this had never happened even with more primitive technology.

Btw nobody answered: was anyone successful in replacing the internal wifi card for another version (not the same card) and making the new one work alright?

Thanks.

 

Wow, now that is tough to swallow. I'll do a comparison side by side with the 14z but I just think the 14z is a horribly designed laptop as well.

When I complained about the wifi on my laptop they offered me a usb wifi adapter. I declined it because I only have 2 usb ports and that would literally make one obsolete.

Is there any way to extend the antenna beyond the case of the laptop? Or find another way to make the screen housing more transparent for the signal to reach?

I doubt it's the card unless it is a power issue for the actual card (Not enough juice for a better signal?)

 

Its working now.

 

Guys. if you're having wifi problems, particularly with regards to the stability of the connection; I recommend a clean install of Windows and NOT installing the Intel Centrino bluetooth driver.

That driver was the cause of most of the stability problems I was having when using this machine with 3 or less bars of signal. Restoring to factory settings, or uninstalling the driver will not work. You need to perform a fresh install of Windows and leave the driver out.

 

I have never installed the Bluetooth driver (and after your posts and our exchange of posts stayed away from it) but still get wifi problem.

I am wondering if my problem started after USING the Bluetooth when I paired my xps to my phone. What do you think? Have you ever USED your Bluetooth?

 

I've got no doubt there is some kind of hardware problem, my guess would be the laptop casing that is preventing the antenna working to it's full potential. I do find that when I'm at the limits of my wifi range that moving the machine around to different angles makes a difference to the connection.

At medium range though, I'm not having any more problems since I don't have the bluetooth driver installed. I have used bluetooth and didn't notice a difference, but I don't have a device constantly paired with my laptop, so again that could be a possibility.

I do find that if I put my old laptop right next to this one, it will perform worse, and once I move it away the XPS 14 will perform comparably again. So my guess is that this machine is quite sensitive to interference.

Before I discovered the bluetooth driver was a cause of most issues, I did find that disabling wireless N in the adapter settings helped stabilise my connection somewhat, when I was quite far from the router.

 

Just curious, but are people seeing problems at both 2.4 and 5Ghz Wireless-N frequencies? Isn't BT 2.4Ghz? Seems if it were BT interference that the 5Ghz band would be better.

 

For those folks who are interested in a performance comparison of mSATA-based SSDs:

Round-Up: 10 mSATA SSDs From Adata, Crucial, Mushkin, And OCZ : mSATA: Solid-State Responsiveness On A Tiny Card

 

My wireless was just fine until a little while ago. After installing Dell's latest wireless driver (15.5.5.47, A01) I'm experiencing a marked decrease in wireless stability.

 

Just to note, the problem is worst when at the limits of the wifi range as others note. It's probably some sort of antenna issue. I really like the machine otherwise, this is a tough call.

 

has anyone used a wireless usb adapter? Does that help?

I know it's dumb but I hope that would help. Just sucks because I would have my logitech usb pluged in and the wifi one, killing all the usb ports.

 

Unfortunately, that's my plan...

 

If only it had 3 usb ports I wouldn't be as annoyed.

Why has Logitech not made an internal transmitter or something?

EDIT: Does anyone know of any extender that can get the antenna past the screen housing?

 

It seems my audio problems are power related. After putting my computer into high performance mode, the constant glitches while playing Mass Effect were reduced to a few occasional pops. Now I just need to start systematically enabling power saving on individual components to see which one is causing the problem. After running performance traces to check DPC execution time, I'm guessing it's either network components or the hard drive.

 

For Wifi Problems has anyone tried to see if leaving the bottom cover off the laptop fixes it? That way if it is hampered by the aluminum case, you should get better signal. I know it's not practical but if your signal goes way up when leaving the bottom off , it should point to the chassis causing interference.

Also I did not get my xps yesterday. The delivery guy came when I was at school and I had it sent to a location close to me for pickup but it hasn't arrived yet. There seems to be some confusion as Purolator wants to send it to somewhere different from where I asked and they also have it still being reported as on the truck. I hate dealing with Purolator but that's what Dell Canada chooses to use.

 

Anyone believe WiFi problems can be related to power saving features embedded in QUICK SET (have had different problems in other computers with Quick Set)? I'm trying with it removed.

 

unboxing it now. It really is a beautiful machine. I do notice a fair bit of glare and reflection. I'm wonder if it's worth it to get the 15 dollar anti-glare film from nushield. I had an armour something shield one time for a creative zen mp3 player and it went on without bubbles and looked factory. If I was looking at the right model # , I saw a replacement lcd panel that is matte. Now just need to let it do it's updates and install adobe and sql stuff. Also heard about a program called start is back that is supposed to be really good for bringing back the desktop.

So far I'm really loving the look and design, I don't think it's too heavy but I've never used a really thin ultrabook before, but I have tried a 6.5-7lb laptop before.

 

Hello TaterMaker,

I’m very sorry for any inconvenience that may have ensued.

If you still require assistance with your shipment, please feel free to send us the details and tracking number to [email protected]. We’ll be able to look into this for you.

Thank you,
Catherine Côté
Social Media Coordinator / Customer Care Team
Purolator Inc. Purolator - Home
E-mail / Courriel: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/purolatorhelp

 

Thank You Catherine. It's been sorted out and I was able to pick up my laptop today at the Purolator shipping agent that I requested.

 

Got mine today and unpacked it. To my surprise they sent me a new(I think) 14 ultrabook with an i7, 8gig ram, 500g hd and 20gig solid state drive.

Now, what should I do first? And yes, I want to ditch the whole metro screen or at least make the desktop my main screen. Any good how to?

 

I quite liked having some news sources on the metro tiles, pretty useful for a quick glance at what's going on. If you go into the touchpad settings, you can enable a 4 finger swipe down that takes you straight to desktop, whatever you're doing, which works really well. I'm pretty happy with this solution without hacking around with windows.

 

Ok so I enabled that but it seems like my fingers just don't recognize with all 4 on the pad.

I'm getting the hang of it so far but still have to figure out where everything is.

Some people have add ons and such, anything I should download?

Also, my wifi isn't as fast as it could be but I have full bars at home. Getting a 5mb download speed where I would normally get 9-12. Still, fine for now I suppose.

 

I've installed a program called Start is Back. Unlike other programs that just tweak the shell of windows 8, Start is Back actually re-enables the desktop and everything else that win8 had disabled. It also boots straight into the desktop. It's very functional and nice. Also remember to download "windows desktop" versions of programs instead of for windows 8. I was using Skype in metro and was having a hard time multitasking because I couldn't have browsers open at the same time. I installed the windows desktop version and everything is fine now. I also noticed installing programs added a million tiles to the metro screen therefore ruining the aesthetic look that windows 8 was trying to go for.

If using Start is back and you do want to go back to metro for any reason just hit ctrl windows key. Hitting windows key takes you back to windows 7 desktop mode.

 

I installed the generic Synaptic touchpad driver instead of Dell's. I don't think swipe recognition is any better, but palm rejection seems to work much better. Dell just released an updated driver though, so I don't know how that one compares. If you're having touchpad problems, try the generic drivers.

 

I don't use any metro apps either. I treat the homescreen as a glorified start menu, and go straight to desktop upon load.

 

By most accounts, wifi problems only exist when the OS is Windows 7...

 

After using it maybe 2.5 - 3 hours yesterday, I believe I only had the palm rejection error happen twice. One time it all the sudden started opening some window 8 email apps and another time it brought up some financial news thing from accidental touches. I could swear I didn't touch the touchpad with my wrist, maybe more like I was hovering barely over it.

 

The swiping and gestures on mine work really well, maybe it's just a matter of learning to do it correctly? Although mine seemed fine from the start.

I also tried using the updated drivers this morning, it messed around with the functionality of swiping in from the right and using the charms bar. I had to roll back the driver to get it working properly again, so based on my experience I'd avoid it.

Another thing I just thought of, if you're having problems with swiping try adjusting the pressure sensitivity. I don't know about you guys, but I tend to use the tip of my finger (with less pressure) more when swiping as opposed to a more firmer press when in general movement around the screen.

 

I'll give it a run, but so far I don't really mind the menus. I just think it was fine the way windows 7 was.

My ONLY gripe so far is the trackpad without dedicated buttons. I like to use the mouse gestures on Opera for back/forth and can't do that on this.

 

If you set two finger press to right click (which you might not be able to do with Dell's UI) you can do two finger press and swipe to use mouse gestures in Opera.

 

that sounds good but would it work on opera? or do you mean set it in opera aa well?

 

Hello,

How can I disable internal display (INTEL HD Graphics 4000). I want to use only Nvidia GT 630 M

Thanks for replies.

 

As soon as you use the Nvidia chip, the fan starts spinning. Why do you want to do that when it's not needed?

You can set which applications use Intel or Nvidia graphics, as well as a default setting, in the Nvidia control panel.

 

As far as I know, you can't.

 

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Dell Outlet is offering an extra 20% off any refurbished Dell XPS 14 Ultrabook Laptops or Dell XPS 15 - L521X Laptops with coupon code 7VVH32VWL3NGFV.

Shipping is free on all orders. Sale Ends 1/12 at 7AM PT
http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/?cs=22...1088763&acd=10666018-404255-291264&redirect=1

 

I am debating returning this system on the LCD quality alone. But on the network side of things my test doesn't see that disparity between a laptop and android phone. The laptop is connected to a public wifi, not consumer grade equipment(govt dollars). XPS 14 it gets 7.36Mbps/6.15Mpbs (Down/Up). The Android phone(4.0 Thunderbolt) gets 7.93Mbps/6.95Mpbs (Down/Up) in Boat browser with no caching enabled. Download maybe throttled by the infrastructure Admin in the building.

 

I received my XPS 14 from dell on the 9th, 1600 with tax and shipping. Beautiful design and clean fit on all the parts. Has that MacbookPro finish that my mother loves on her MacbookPro 13 I got her in 2010. I was slapped out of my adoring mood when I saw the quality of the panel. Terrible viewing angles, from a straight on view you can see colors start to invert when you look top to bottom. Black color is washed out with little uniformity, especially along the bottom of the panel. I am disappointed for a system at this price point. Side by side with the 2010 Macbook the difference in panel quality is glaring.
I was gonna call dell techsupport to see if this was an issue with my panel but decided to take a field trip with a co-worker to bestbuy to look at a floor demo. The panel on the floor had the same qualities as mine. Systems in the 1200 to 1500 price range(Cough:MAC) had better panels on the room floor. Systems even half the price had better displays with richer black levels and greater viewing angles.
Call me spoiled in the days of small displays that have rich and vibrant displays like in Android sets and Ipads or larger displays like the RetinaMacs. Looking at my display out of box was a heart breaker.
Devil’s Advocate: This panel has a great resolution for its size. The widespread 768P or 800P display that is still being pushed even on 15in laptops is aging and not well. This resolution will display a crisper image and more detailed, but image will suffer cause of said color reproduction on XPS 14 panel. Multitasking will be boosted when using windows cause of more desktop space. The two drives that fit in this system is interesting, I could put my virtual machines on a native drive
I did try to return the product. I ended up keeping it with a 10% discount for my worries. I still will offload the system in auction and get a different item.
Sad
Now thinking of getting the XPS12, it has a 12.5 touch IPS panel. The flip hinge in reviews is hit or miss. But i enjoyed my Studio XPS13 until it got stolen, so this may be a good fit. The HP design that was shown at CES with a swivel hinge doesn't look too appealing.

Edit: I do want to keep it. The feel of the system is sooo good. And sound booming. Just the display makes it trip up from being a stellar product. Here is hoping Dell listens to the concerns of its base. I would love to recommend this laptop to others but I just can't. Its like the McCain/Palin ticket, a part is just not ready for prime time.

 

I took advantage of the Dell Outlet promotion and ordered this system:

Memory 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory
Eligible for Microsoft Windows 8 upgrade for $39.99
512GB 2.5 inch (SATA3) Mobility Solid State Drive
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Operating System DVD
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 630M with 1GB GDDR5 VRAM
Processor: Intel Core i7-3667U Processor (2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.00 GHz)

$1,499.00 XPS 14 Ultrabook : 1 Year Total Support (Premium Phone Support + In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis)
- $299.80 Take 20% off any Dell Outlet XPS 14 Ultrabook
$1,199.20 Total

 

Ya looked at the site and my system with discount would have been 991.00 0_0 For just under 1g that would have been a steal, panel asside. Some extra green backs would have sold me fine.

 

Great thread! I've been studying it while waiting for mine to arrive.
So far this laptop is flawless.
The screen is super bright and beautiful and I appreciate the higher resolution. I did have to make an adjustment in the color management.
The touch pad is surprisingly pleasant both with gestures, sensitivity and options.
It didn't come with the Rapid Start or Rapid Storage drivers and therefor wasn't set up. Once that was figured out the machine seemed slightly faster. I may go the route many others went and upgrade the spinner with an SSD.
I knew this was heavy but wow! Its amazing how something so thin can be so heavy. The good news is I don't have to take the charger because the battery will last more than an hour or two.
Mine is an i7 with 8GB of the 1333 RAM, usual hard drive + mSATA and GT640m for $925 from an online retailer. Used of course with only one small cosmetic ding. I think I'm going to keep it!!

 

I purchased this laptop just after Christmas for a decent deal (base model w/ 630M + $480 dell gift cards for $1000+tax). I really love the look/feel/design/value but the WiFi performance on this thing has me considering a return. At 30 to 40' the performance deteriorates rapidly. I don't normally sit that far from my wireless router at home but at a hotel or public area, I may not have a choice.

I've scoured reviews, forums, YouTube, and read all 140 pages of this thread, trying different drivers, BIOS, OS, and I still can't resolve the issue. I've also tested 5 other devices (3 different Dell laptops, iPhone, iPad) at the same range and there are no issues on those devices. For the test I've tried broadband speed tests, file transfers to local NAS, and streaming HD video feeds and I can replicate the issue consistently - casual web browsing is somewhat okay at this range but gets pretty bad after 40'. Dell has offered WiFi module and antennae replacement but I'm a little skeptical since so many reviewers have identified the same problem.

For those who resolved the issue, how did you do it? For those without wireless issues, could I ask what router configuration you guys are using and did you test with any streaming/file transfers?

Thanks in advance and great forum/thread.

 

I wrote a few pages back how I resolved my issue, for the most part. The biggest issue seemed to come from the stability of the signal, rather that the strength. I would perform speed tests and such, and I would see the data spike up and down with no consistency.

I found it stabilized somewhat by disabling wireless N in the adapter settings, using only b/g. But by far the biggest difference came by accidental discovery, I had a Windows 7 machine and upgraded to Win 8, only installing a couple of drivers to start with. My connection improved a huge amount. When I finally got round to installing the rest of the drivers, the Intel Centrino bluetooth driver was having a major impact on the stability of the signal. I tested this with several fresh installs and it was definitely this driver that was causing the trouble. Even removing the driver did not help, I had to perform a clean OS install and leave the driver out all together for the connection to improve.

This is when I have 3 bars of signal. When I'm at the limits of the wifi range, the connection is still quite hit and miss, having to turn the machine to certain angles to be usable. I'm rarely anywhere where I just have 1 bar of signal though, so I'm happy enough with the way it performs at the moment.

 

Hi

Why does my ram works like this? I have 8GB of ram but its shown as 7,88GB. Where is 0,12GB ? Also, what is it showing like this? I have already using 64bit operating system. Thanks.

http://i.imgur.com/cXr7e.jpg

 

Vebs07, I think I had already installed the Bluetooth drivers by the time I read your post. I'll try a new install - did this work in both windows 7 and 8? This probably won't be a good long term solution because I use Bluetooth speakers but its worth a test.

Chanawar, could it be the integrated intel video utilizes a portion of the memory? I can check on my system when I get home.

 

I didn't try it with Windows 7. You'll still be able to use the generic Microsoft bluetooth drivers that get loaded when you install Windows.

 

I've tested out a few laptops before I got this one. I think the screen is fine besides the glare. I can live with the glare because I don't work outside that much, but I don't really see why the screen gets all the hate it does. I found that turning the brightness down to 70-ish, helped the glare and made viewing from off the side a bit better. I paid $1199 for the i7 8gb model brand new and knew that price range would not afford an A+++ IPS panel with a bagillion x gazillion pixel count. I do web design and coding and I've gotten a fair bit of feedback saying that yes 1080 is nice in a small form but after a while it becomes a pain on your eyes and adds more eye strain and sometimes a little less can be more. In my city the equivalent Asus with 1080p was going for $1695 and $2000 for a similar model new macbook pro with 1280 x 900-ish screen. I've only had it close to a week but I don't see much problems with my unit. My wi-fi has been excellent, any glare has been taken care of by toning down some of the brightness, really fast and responsive. I am using everything in desktop mode and not fooling with metro apps. I do love the gui of the media player on the metro side though, would love to get just that in a windows desktop version. I'm thinking that a really high quality anti-glare screen protector would improve the display ten-fold. Test have been done on other Gorilla glass items and a great anti-glare screen has drastically improved things.

Whenever I get the money, I'm going to get one and test it out. Still can't find any decent place online to get a decal for the top though. Most sites are for the xps 14z. Decalrus makes some but I'm not crazy about their designs.

 

I agree the screen isn't that bad. I have a 3m privacy screen that I will apply tomorrow maybe and see how that helps but I don't think it will change anything regarding the viewing angles.
It really isn't that bad or bad at all, and so far I love this laptop vs others I have tried already.

Also - anyone care to explain why there is an Eject button on this thing? Can I change the function of that key some how?

 

Sorry, don't know why it made so many duplicate post.

 

Sorry, don't know why it made so many duplicate post.