XPS 18: 18" <5lbs tablet

Daniel, were you able to update the memory? For the life of me I can't seem to find the memory slots. I did update the HD with a 256GB SSD with no problem.

 

There's only one SODIMM slot. I already have 8 gigs in it from the factory.

 

Can you help me with where the slot is? Also, does that mean the memory is not running dual channel? I would think that would be preferred.

 

I do not want to order up any memory before finding out if it is actually soldered on to the board. Any word on the memory slot? Also, I wonder if it would support a 16GB sodimm?

 

can someone give me a hand with a problem I am having. I am trying to wipe and install win 8.1 on my XPS 18 via USB but cannot get it to work for the life of me.

I am sure there is some setting in the bios but even with legacy enabled and the boot drive selected as usb first it will not fire.

Is the TPS protocol the problem?

New to UEFI bios so I am pulling what little hair I have left out

Its an official ISO on a 64gb stick using the windows usb tool

 

btw before I attempted to wipe I install a intel 6300 wifi card with third antenna and a samsung 512gb pro ssd.

The msata is just a cache drive so we cant do anything with that correct?

 

May not be the best way go, but what I did was install win8 on a PC with the SSD, then placed the SSD in the XPS. Got it to boot, although obviously many errors came up. I then immediately installed the Win8.1 Preview. This essentially reinstalls windows so all the appropriate drivers got installed.

Again, this may not be the most graceful method, but it worked like a charm. Note, you will need to use the Win8.1 Preview product key to install.

Hope it helps.

 

I've got the i3 model with no msata. The SSD drive installs fine, and the speed is unbelievable. Once I get the cable and caddy for the 2nd bay, I'll be installing the original drive that came with the XPS as 2nd drive for data.

 

Hi guys... im new to the fourm.. first post and im not a tech person at all, i do understand the basic stuff regarding spec.

i really want to buy one of these but would only take it if i could upgrade to SSD.

i have a SSD laptop and once you had it you can go back to a normal hard drive

i was reading what dan did above, now i wanted to ask for someone that had never opened a laptop or did any upgrades ever woulld be possible to do what he did using just video and instructions online??

it will be brand new so only issue i have is OS win 8 , i wouldnt have any idea how to get it off the old HD on to the new? again same question would i be able to get it up and running using guides and notes online?

Dan would you consider doing a step by step video for 50$ on how to upgrade to SSD and up to 8gb ram?

if anyone would consider doing a video to show the upgrade step by step with the new OS win 8 setup also please let me know, i would be glad to pay

as im in dubai would cost me more to give it to someone and in its very likely they would steal all the parts and put in crap and give to me so i have to do it myself?

if anyone knows a service where i could ship it to in the US and get it done that would be amazing also, im buying it in the US, its a brand new boxed, i3 chip with 4gb and 500gb hd drive for less the 600 which i thought is a good deal, if i just upgrade the hdd to ssd then im good to go, i wont be using it for games or anything like that, just using it for day to day tasks?

any advice on this would be amazing..

thanks lucy

 

Any news on when this would be available with Haswell? That's what I'm waiting before i buy one...

 

Finally! Dell Outlet coupons on the XPS 18! Just saved 25% on a couple Core i7 models...$860 each.

Got a few questions...has anyone confirmed whether the BIOS allows for booting from the mSATA drive?
Also, the product descriptions on my order show "4GB Built In Memory" plus "4 GB DDR3 1600MHz Additional Memory (8GB Total)". To me, that says there is 4GB on the mainboard, and a DIMM slot for additional memory. If so, I should be able to upgrade to 12GB (4GB + 8GB). Has anyone looked into this?

Does the tablet work with a stylus? How would this tablet work with a stylus for the budding artist?

Not a fan of Windows 8 (at all), but maybe I will learn to like it. Looking forward to receiving them!

Thanks.

 

No you cannot boot off the msata. I've tried.

 

Is your BIOS at the latest revision (A05)? I saw the July BIOS updates has many features added.

 

Tablet works fine with a stylus. Not sure about the artist capabilities but it's better than using your finger.

IMHO, Windows 8 is the best when used with a tablet like this.

As for the memory situation, I'm still trying to figure out where the existing memory is and how / if I can upgrade it.

Can't seem to find the i7 on the dell outlet, but thanks for the headsup on the coupons.!

 

Thanks for the input. I'm more interested in using a stylus for drawing/painting than for just tapping. Obviously, pressure sensitivity would probably not work, but I need a very responsive touch screen to be able to do delicate strokes, etc.

When mine show up, I'll be changing out the HDD for a SSD, and I'll pop in a 8GB DIMM, so then we can see if the max is 8GB or 12GB. I'm guessing 12GB. It would be nice to know if those with 4GB models have a DIMM in the slot or is it empty?

I've been following the 18's at the Outlet and the i7's are rare there. There were a couple i7's the past few days that were only $10 more than the similar i5 version. As soon as my email got the coupon email, I already had a bookmark direct to the 18's and snagged the two that were there.
As is usual with Dell outlet promotions, it seems when a promotion is active, they don't add any new units to the pool. I guess they hope to get rid of the ugly ducklings that nobody would otherwise want!

BUT, if these are as great as I expect, I'm probably looking for 1 more. So, I'll be keeping an eye out!

 

Can you share the 25% off coupon? I could only find the 20% off one ?PJ202?CGR6TDV

Also, I am looking to get an I5 model. I already own an I3 and it is great, though it has a few quirks. The biggest reason I am avoiding the I7 is the lack of WiDi. With no HDMI out on these, it is really dumb that they dropped WiDi on the high end model for worthless killer N wireless.

Thanks in advance if you can share the coupon.

 

Turns out the 25% off XPS desktop coupon 3WRSQH47DP8PDC works on the XPS 18. So, while there is a 20% coupon just for the XPS 18, this 25% off coupon also works.

If you plan on using WiDi, then you can easily change out the Killer Wireless card for an Intel 2230 or such. Very easy. For me, the price I got the i7's for I could not justify spending about the same and getting less in an i5.
So, I will wait for more deals on the i7. I (and many others) would not classify the Killer Wireless as "worthless". It's a very good (and in many ways better than an Intel) card with good performance. I don't use WiDi so I prefer the Killer card.

Since the CPU is soldered to the board, I won't settle for less than an i7.

Good luck on your hunt for an i5 (or i7).

 

Just a quick question for those that have changed their HDD/mSATA drive, did you re-install the OS using a Microsoft disk (and USB cd drive/USB pen) and then use the application/driver re-install option from the Dell Recovery tool or did you use the factory image created from the Dell recovery tool on the machine?

 

My 100% tried-and-true method for cloning HDD's and SSD's (and even mSATA SSD's) is to use a desktop PC (or even your notebook) and Acronis True Image software. You can make a bootable USB drive to boot from and do the cloning quickly and easily.

If you can connect source and destination drives together (even USB 3.0 can work), then cloning is a 1 step process. I even use the mSATA slot in some devices as a destination.

I've done (literally) hundreds of drives with TI and it is flawless. It resizes the destination partition for you automatically, etc. Highly recommended. Saves lots of time and frustration over re-installation.

 

I reinstalled using an external disc drive via usb that I had in my closet instead of wasting time putting windows 8 pro on a thumb drive and did a fresh install on my SSD i put in... it is nice and fast. Then downloaded all the newest driver versions of dells download website... i never use factory images that come with extra crap on any pc but that is just my preference, plus i wanted windows 8 pro with media center instead of regular windows 8 on it.

 

I attached a photo where the memory module is, it is under the ribbon cable that needs to be disconnected that I circled in Red.

 

Did the outlet I7's come with the stand? It did not say they did, but I thought all the I5 and I7 ones did.

 

Any word on someone throwing in a 3g/4g mini pcie module? Would love to be able to turn this into a mobile connected workstation.

 

I just ordered them yesterday, so I won't receive them until next week. You're right, though...they did not list the premium stand as included, even though the brand new, all i7's come with it.
But, if I've learned anything from the thousand outlet units i've bought in the last 10 years, if it isn't listed, you ain't getting it! I've also seen many instances where the refurb item is missing or has different accessories.

 

Yea, I asked specifically in chat and the girl went off and checked and said no, not at this time. None of the ones she had available, including an I7 one, had the stand. Still a killer deal. I ordered another I3 myself, since I had a $200 gift card from my original purchase of one earlier in the month (as new). With the coupon and discount it was only $450 bucks, so I was happy enough. I have had a stand on order since the original order and it is supposed to be here next week.

BTW, if you chat with the outlet people, there is an I7 available if you want another one.

 

Just registered to say thanks to the folks here. Just snagged an i7 XPS 18, starting price $1149, ending price $861.75!!! I went ahead and opted for the 3 yr warranty ($199 seemed actually fairly reasonable for a warranty with in-home service and accident coverage). Total price with tax was $1108.40.

I called in my order when I stumbled on an i7 on the product page, couldn't believe my luck(!), told the guy I wanted to use a coupon that I had seen yesterday, and he put in a code on his own to give me 25% off !

Also, since I had him on the line, I asked him and he said that it does not appear that these include the stand, but all other peripherals (keyboard, mouse, power cord) are included. Maybe I'll get lucky and a stand will be in the box too, but if not, I can easily buy one separately if I decide I need/want one.

 

Same deal as myself...I wanted to score another this morning before the coupon promo expired, but I contacted Outlet Sales and they said there weren't any more.

When did you get yours? I thought the promo expired early this morning?

Now, just anticipating the delivery next Tuesday!!

 

I did this at around 3:30 PM Central Time. I had set up a program in Chrome to watch that page and notify me when there was a change. It popped up and I went there and saw the i7. Called Dell immediately to place the order and got it!

Shortly thereafter, there was another one showed up, but it appears to be gone now.

The Dell rep said that the i7's don't last long when they get listed.

 

"Setup a program in Chrome"?? Care to share?

Sounds like you were extremely lucky to get the discount AFTER the promo expired. How'd you get them to give you a discount after the fact?

As is usual with Dell, now that the sale is over, they replenish the inventory and there are lots more units available (as of now, anyways).
I'm not sure why they hold back new stock during a promo...isn't the point of the sale to sell inventory?

Anyways, congrats!

 

Thanks, was very happy to get it!

Regarding the program in Chrome, it's called Page Monitor ( hopefully this link will work).

As far as the coupon goes, I didn't have to do anything special. I just mentioned to him that I saw a coupon the previous day (Thursday), and he applied it to my order. I really didn't expect him to do it, because I knew it was expired, but I figured I'd just toss it out there and if they didn't give me the discount, then I just wait a bit longer till I could get it with a coupon.

Good luck for getting another one. Hopefully it won't take too long.

 

I mentioned in my post earlier, that if you do a chat, they have "hidden" inventory they can put in your cart. I do not know if this is truly hidden, or just they can see items in other peoples carts that might yet not have expired. Either way, if there is another promo, just try chat if there are no I7's available.

I used the $200 gift card I got for my original purchase on the I3 I bought a few days ago, so the price was under 450 after the girft card.

 

I tricked out my xps 18 using the parts below. It now cold boots from msata to stock win8 in 4secs from dell bios logo.

After 3 phone calls and 5 emails I finally got dell to mail a win8pro DVD.
I changed the bios to use msata as a drive (see pg 3 of this forum post for instructions).
AHCI is in advanced tab under SATA Operation setting.

Installed a 256gb ssd.

installed win8 from the DVD using a USB DVD drive.

Upgraded to 12gb of ram.

Replaced stock 500gb with 1000gb hybrid drive.

Love the xps 18 now



Enjoy!!!!

parts

for the back cover
SE 7542ST 6-Piece Deluxe Torx Driver Kit Storage T5-T10
SE 7542ST 6-Piece Deluxe Torx Driver Kit Storage T5-T10 - Amazon.com

to remove the disk and cache card
TEKTON 2987 Precision Screwdriver Set, 16-Piece
TEKTON 2987 Precision Screwdriver Set, 16-Piece - Amazon.com

to replace the cache:
Crucial m4 256GB mSATA Internal Solid State Drive CT256M4SSD3
Amazon.com: Crucial m4 256GB mSATA Internal Solid State Drive CT256M4SSD3: Computers & Accessories

to replace the internal 500GB
Seagate 1TB Solid State Hybrid Drive SATA 6Gbps 64MB Cache 2.5-Inch ST1000LM014
Amazon.com: Seagate 1TB Solid State Hybrid Drive SATA 6Gbps 64MB Cache 2.5-Inch ST1000LM014: Computers & Accessories

To install the network driver (and backup the 16 GB Dell disk image from the 500 GB stock drive, which is optional if you replace the 500GB stock drive):
ADATA Superior Series S102 PRO 32 GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive AS102P-32G-RGY
Amazon.com: ADATA Superior Series S102 PRO 32 GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive AS102P-32G-RGY: Computers & Accessories

To backup the dell drivers (optional if you replace the 500 GB drive)
ADATA DashDrive Series UV128 8GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive, Black/Blue (AUV128-8G-RBE)
Amazon.com: ADATA DashDrive Series UV128 8GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive, Black/Blue (AUV128-8G-RBE): Computers & Accessories


replaced the stock 4GB SIMM with this one
8GB Dell DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800 204 pin SODIMM RAM Memory SNP8H68RC/8G A6049770 A5989266 A5979824
Amazon.com: 8GB Dell DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800 204 pin SODIMM RAM Memory SNP8H68RC/8G A6049770 A5989266 A5979824: Computers & Accessories

 

Can someone who has a Core i3 model please verify that model DOES NOT have an mSATA port on the motherboard. I realize it does not have the 32GB msata card for accelerating the hard drive. I would surprised if DELL used 2 different motherboards for the XPS 18. My guess is the i3 model DOES have an EMPTY mSATA port.

I want to buy an i3, and add a 256GB mSATA SSD to install Windows 8 (and boot from). And add a 1TB hard drive in place of the 500GB stock hard drive.

Crucial's website lists the 480GB mSATA - http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=6142A351A5CA7304, AND it says "Guaranteed-compatible with the Dell XPS 18". It DOES NOT exclude the i3 model.....

(My XPS 8500 desktop came with an empty mSATA port on the MB. I installed a 128GB mSATA card, installed Windows 8 and been running that way for months and love it.)

Thanks

 

WOW. That's all I can say! I've asked here, and everyone says you CANNOT boot from mSATA, yet you are doing it? Plus, I mentioned a few posts back about doing 12GB RAM, and no one said it's possible, but you're doing it?
You confirmed that Windows sees all 12GB? I thought it would.

I'm very excited now because mine comes on TUES, and what you did to yours I'm planning to do to mine. That will make one sweet tablet!

FWIW, I take the stock Dell HDD and clone it to an mSATA drive directly using a mSATA to SATA adapter and a desktop PC using a bootable Acronis TrueImage USB drive. Pop the newly cloned mSATA into the XPS 18, set the BIOS to boot from mSATA and good-to-go!
I also keep a HDD in the desktop to keep the original drive images that you can make using TrueImage also. That way, I can always start from scratch using the image file and recover it to the mSATA again!
Very nice program (actually, I just use the USB bootable utility, not the actual program...).

This is gonna be fun.

 

which processor do you have?

 

I have mine booting from mSATA too, its the i5 version and im using a Plextor M5M. I changed the SATA operation from Intel Smart Response (the cache tech) to AHCI and disabled Rapid Start tech but going to re-enable that once i have it configured using the instructions on Intel's site (need to leave enough room equal to the amount of RAM in the system free so you can create a hibernate partition for the software to use).

Also for those using the Cache SSD option from stock, it isnt using all the drive for the cache as it has the Rapid Start tech on that SSD too (so in the i5 case it is using 8gb less of the drive as a cache).

I agree that i thought that Windows would see more than 8gb as the chipset can support more, an experiment i also did on my desktop PC as the motherboard manual and manufacturer say it will only support 4gb DDR3 but the chipset supports 8gb DDR3 so i put in 8gb and it works fine too.

Also a few posts back someone mentioned using a mini PCIe mobile card, which would be cool but would remove wireless and bluetooth which would be a downside. But a great idea and would love to know more if you get it working like that

 

Thanks for that. I just popped a 8GB card in and now see 12GB. I'm guessing there's 4GB onboard. I wonder if I put a 4GB card in will I be running dual channel.

T

 

How did you manage to get it to install Windows 8 Pro, i have a licence for it and tried to install it earlier today but it automatically installed regular Windows 8 without asking me for a key, im guessing because of SLIC. Going to try with a different disk i think see if that helps.

 

How did you get them to do that? I would really prefer to run Win 8 Pro.

And the mods you made, would any or all of those void the warranty on the XPS 18?

 

Not too long! 30% off coupon today! I snagged the remaining i7 for $802. Yeehaw!

And, my first XPS 18 estimated delivery date is today! (although, as of now, it's still not at the local FEDEX sort facility, so who knows).

 

Oh, so you took the i7 i was looking at!

Enjoy it.

 

Outlet Rule #1: Cart it first, look later.

 

Do you know if that 30% coupon is still valid?

 

Just ordered a Core i3 model using the 25% discount code (30% wouldn't work - price too low).

TO ANSWER MY OWN QUESTION - THE CORE I3 DOES HAVE AN EMPTY MSATA PORT!

Now I am going to do the upgrades like systemsplanet listed.......

Install a 128gb MSATA ssd to boot Windows 8

Clone Windows 8 using Acronis True Image - been using since version 1.0!

Upgrade to 12gb of ram.

Replace stock 500gb with 1000gb sata drive for storage


Your session ID for this incident is 58259464.
Time Details
07/23/2013 09:52:47AM Session Started with Agent (Regine_Adiova)
07/23/2013 09:52:47AM David Jordan: "."
07/23/2013 09:52:55AM David Jordan: "hi"
07/23/2013 09:53:00AM Agent (Regine_Adiova): "Welcome to Dell US Chat! My name is Regine and I will be your Dell.com Chat Expert. I can be reached at [email protected] or via voicemail at 1-800-379-3355 Ext-2160085. How can I help you today?"
07/23/2013 09:53:08AM Agent (Regine_Adiova): "Hi David! "
07/23/2013 09:53:55AM Agent (Regine_Adiova): "I can see here on my end that you are still typing. I will await for your response. Take your time."
07/23/2013 09:54:07AM David Jordan: "I am thinking of buying an XPS 18 all in one. The Core i3 model... DOES THAT MODEL HAVE AN MSATA PORT FOR ADDING AN MSATA SSD LATER. I know the i5 and i7 come with one already installed."

07/23/2013 10:05:22AM Agent (Regine_Adiova): "upon checking here, there is MSATA port on the XPS 18 with i3 that you're looking at.."
07/23/2013 10:06:42AM David Jordan: "AWESOME!"

 

Ok, nevermind. I found this:

Dell | Dell

 

Yes on Outlet Home orders $1000 or more: 2JTJ140TG9562G
$500-$999 use 25% off code S45VMLZ06VJ3WM

The price of i3's look really appealing, but I'm afraid they just won't perform. If anyone has an i3 XPS 18, can you comment on performance (general apps, watching 1080p video, etc.)?

Thanks.

 

i have a core 2 duo WITHOUT an SSD and it plays 1080p videos on my 42" (using VLC) no problem.

Hoping my i3 XPS 18 plays them without issue. IT SHOULD.....

 

I currently have an i3 I got from BB. (they're actually on sale right now for $30 off.)

The performance is mediocre compared to the HP DV7 with an i7 it was replacing. I did replace the HD w/ a 256GB SSD and upgraded the memory to 12GB total.

Using photoshop, VLC player for 1080p movies over WiDi and some basic MS Office apps. It strained when using photoshop, but seemed to be getting the job done. I will say the battery life sucks on it. Again, that's compared to a DV7 that had a 9 cell battery.

Just pushed the button on an i5 system (845 incl tax) and will be returning the i3.

Tony

 

I just took a moment to compare all the CPU's the XPS 18 is sold with using Intel's CPU comparision tool here

The biggest jump in price on the '18 is going from i3 to i5. You get a faster CPU and 4GB more RAM. I think that's it. Yet, looking at the price of the i3 and i5 at Intel, they are THE SAME PRICE!
So, is Dell charging $300 for 4GB RAM and a 32GB mSATA card? And, yet, going from an i5 to an i7 is only $10, yet Intel lists the i7 as $120 more than the i5.

Is it just me, or is the pricing a bit wonky? After coupon discounts, the i7 is only $170 more than the i3. Better performance, more RAM and Killer wireless. The i5 seems the be the "ugly ducking" of the group.
Priced too high with not much benefit?

 

I would have jumped on the i7 - best bang for the buck, BUT I was too slow.....

I plan on consuming media more than anything else, so an i3 should suffice.