XPS 18: 18" <5lbs tablet

I have the i3 model but have used machines with the Pentium and its got plenty of horsepower for common tasks. You will lose graphics over the i3,i5 because they have the HD 4000 and i'm pretty sure the Pentium has a lesser Intel HD chip.

The performance will be ALOT better than the Samsung ATIV, 3-4 times as fast and 64 bit. But the Ativ will always get much better battery life.

An SSD will definitely help performance. I put an Samsun 840 Evo 120gb in mine yesterday. Very fast booting and resumes, and better battery life. I'll post a battery life comparison on the change soon.

One thing about usage, vs the ativ. The Ativ has connected standby and works better in sleep than turning it off. In other words if your going to be away from it for a few hours... put the ativ to sleep or turn it off and when you come back the battery will have drained the same amount either way. On the XPS (without a chip that supports connected standby, like clovertrail) if you repeated that scenario... you would preserve much more power turning it off for that time than putting it to sleep.

 

Thanks this is very helpful. I really appreciate your input. I tried searching regarding the graphics on the XPS 18 Pentium model and didn't find anything specifically addressing it. In a review I saw that covered all four XPS 18 models it mentions HD4000 graphics and doesn't indicate that there is a variation. I also saw some laptops that have the 2117u processor and HD4000 graphics paired together so hopefully this is the case with the Pentium version of the XPS 18.

 

No problem. Here is a comparison between the i3 and Pentium. Intel Pentium 2117U vs Core i3 3227U.

The GPU in both cases is integrated as part of the CPU. According to Intels Arc site on processors. The i3 has the HD4000 and the Pentium 2117u had HD graphics. The comparison puts the i3 about 30% better in 3dmark06 than the Pentium. That puts it in line with the Ivybridge version of Intel HD graphics more or less. Its rather doubtful the Pentium has hd4000 gpu embedded as this would be a custom chip and usually only apple bothers with doing that, and only on a couple occasions.

The Pentium is essentially an i3 CPU, but it lacks hyperthreading so it has 2 cpu cores for a total of 2 execution threads while the i3 is 2 cores for 4 execution threads. and it has Intel HD graphics instead of HD4000.

 

I looked at the processors on intel's website as well and it does indicate different graphics capabilities but Dell says the pentium model has an HD4000 video card. I determined this by configuring an XPS 18 Pentium 2117u model on dell's website and on the final screen it indicated Video Card - HD4000. I have also seen laptops with the 2117u list HD4000 graphics in their specs. What would explain this?

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Accessories Open Labs, LLC. Download - OpenLabs Stagelight Linkin Park Edition
SYSTEM XPS 18
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 8, 64-bit, English
PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® processor 2117U (2M Cache, 1.8 GHz)
MEMORY 4GB Single Channel DDR3 1600MHz (4GBx1)
HARD DRIVE 320GB 5400 rpm SATA Hard Drive
VIDEO CARD Intel® HD Graphics 4000
LCD 18.4 inch LED Backlit Touch Display with IPS/Truelife and FHD resolution (1920 X 1080)
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 + Bluetooth 4.0
SOUND Integrated 5.1 with Waves MaxxAudio® 4
KEYBOARD Dell KM714 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
POWER CORD PowerCord 125V 1m C5
ADOBE & ENTERTAINMENT Digital Download Enablement
WIRELESS DRIVER SRV Software for 2230 WIFI Wireless Card
Primary Battery 69 WHr, 8-Cell Battery (integrated)
Mouse Mouse included with Keyboard purchase
Non-Microsoft Application Software Additional Software

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

 

I tend to think its a mistake, for example 1/2 of the computers listed on Besbuy.com have their GPUs listed as HD4000 when its not. I tend to think its a mistake in the case of the pentium as there is no doc for that CPU on intels site with it having anything but Intel HD graphics not HD 4000. Of course the only way to be sure is to have the computer in front of you and look up its GPU info.

I picked up mine from the outlet store and went the extra $80 or so for the i3 mostly for the HD 4000 gpu, although having 2 extra threads isn't bad either.

 

Just picked up my i5 today. Thanks to all for the tips on modding the thing... have some work to do this week .

Meantime, I picked up this bag. I'll let ya know how well it fits.

18.4" Laptop Bags

 

interested in your battery life as I just bought an evo 250gb to install and hope to gain some battery life even if modest...30-60min

 

Upgrades are done. Running a 250GB Evo, yanked the 32GB mSATA, and put in an 8GB Crucial DDR3 SODIMM in and everything works a treat. I should be receiving the cool little replacement Wifi bit tomorrow... done after that.

I haven't really put the battery to the test yet, maybe I will next week. I run Hyper-V with one guest currently. Just loaded Steam for some light Botanicula / Bejeweled action This is mostly a heavy business machine for me.

 

Where is the Memory slot on this thing? I swapped out the 500gb HD for a 120gb 840 evo but didn't see a simm slot. I know its there, likely under one of those black foil flaps but I didn't go searching as I wasn't upgrading memory at the time.

My i3 with 4g 120gb 840 evo is working well, balanced power profile, 40% brightness and wifi off i can pull 5:30 to 6:00 hours of use out of it in desktop publishing and Visual Studio. Not bad at all for an 18" tablet. Btw, I have never even got my keyboard/mouse out of the box on this.

Also, I highly recommend the Poetic case for this... its works as well as you can expect for something this big and adds alot of protection without tons of weight.

 

Check this post for the memory slot location:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/716080-xps-18-18-5lbs-tablet-8.html#post9291915

As for the case, my only complaint is that there is no opening for the SD card.

 

No real gain from ssd upgrade then from what you are saying and what really everybody has been saying. Still okay for me though. I never got much more than that for battery life on my ultra book with the same specs.

i5, evo 250, 12gb ddr on Oct. 2

 

Actually, my battery life went up about 45 minutes to an hour when I swapped out the spinner for an ssd. I was getting 4:30 - 5:15 hours on the platter and it went to 5:30 - 6:00 with the SSD. There is a noticeable battery boos, especially at idle. Power draw as shown by battery mon went down around 1000mw with the ssd under the same usage conditions. not huge, but definitely a plus.

The biggest draw on this device is the screen backlight. so dimming it is the best way to save power. I really wish I had my old vizios one-touch screen on/off button, it would save alot mroe than adjusting your dim/off to 1/2 minutes. ;-)

 

Great deals at Dell outlet are back! Woohoo!

30% outlet prices on i7 model and 25% off i5 and i3

There's also a current American Express promo that you can activate on your card that gives you $50 back when you spend $599 or more at Dell
Also found a cashback site that has doubled cashback to 4% for Dell right now

If you stack all of these with the lowest priced models I see:

XPS 18 - i7 version is $790 after Dell coupon - $50 Amex - $31 cashback = $709 + tax
XPS 18 - i5 version is $696 after Dell coupon - $50 Amex - $28 cashback = $618 + tax
XPS 18 - i3 version is $539 after Dell coupon - $21 cashback = $518 + tax

Ridiculous prices!

If I don't get the stand with the i7 or i5 is there a good chance Dell will ship me one if I call customer service?

 

Some have been successful getting Dell to send them a stand (including me), others have not been. So, it's worth a try, but don't be surprised if they say no.

 

Thanks for the info. I ordered three of these, an i7 and i5 and an i3. The parts lists for the i5 and i7 both indicate "Stand" in the parts list but the i3 parts lists does not. Hopefully this is an indication I'm getting stands with the i5 and i7. Did anyone get a parts list that said "Stand" and not get one? How did Dell respond when you pointed out what the parts list says? Hopefully they don't try to tell me this refers to the two feet because if this was the case the i3 model parts list would have had "Stand" listed as well.

 

I think that typically, the i3 does not come with the stand, even if you buy the retail version. If your parts list for the i5 and i7 show they have stands, then it should come in your box. I have the i7 (and upgraded the hdd, ssd, and internal memory) and have been very happy with it.

As I recall, there was a line item in my list that looked as if it could include a stand, but none showed. What happened with me was a guy called to ask me how everything was a couple of weeks after I bought it - I asked him about the stand, said that the retail version ships with the stand, and asked if mine should have had it too. He "checked into it", and then came back and said he was sending a free stand to me overnight.

 

You can do this with a command line tool and a shortcut, i sometimes use the XPS 18 in its stand at the side of the bed for playing relaxing sounds whilst drifting off to sleep so i have 2 shortcuts on desktop, one for a shutdown timer of 17 minutes and the other to turn off the screen.

If you are able to wait until later i will find out how i did it and update my post?

** UPDATE **

I had a look on my tablet whilst i had it out earlier and you can do it like this

1) Download NirCMD from here http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html
2) Then create a shortcut on desktop/start page/wherever with the following

D:\Path\To\NirCMD\nircmd.exe cmdwait 1000 monitor off

Then just double click your shortcut whenever you want to turn off the monitor, to restore it just use the power button on the side

Hope that helps

 

That would be great, all the solutions ive found so far are bound to keyboard use which doesn't help much on the tablet.

Thanks

 

Hi, any advice would be appreciated!

So my plan is to take out the hard drive and replace it with Seagate 1TB 2.5-inch SATA Solid State Hybrid Internal Hard Drive (SSHD). I don't plan on removing the mSata drive, I will be booting from windows off the Seagate. I made a recovery usb drive from Dell Recovery Program preinstalled in Windows 8. From what I read on another forum, is that I can install the new drive and boot off of the usb drive then install windows 8 via the recovery, since I didn't get a DVD from Dell when I bought the computer. Is that correct? If so, do I need to change the BIOS settings since I am not removing the mSata and will be using it as storage like it is now?


XPS 18 i7 Model with 500gb hd + 32 GB mSata 8GB ram

 

Sounds about right yes.

If you want to use all 32gb of the mSATA as storage then you need to turn off the Intel acceleration part both in Windows (prior to reinstall) and again in the BIOS (to AHCI). If you want to use it as a cache then probably best to disable it in Windows still but once the recovery install to the new drive is complete it should start caching again (in theory anyway as i just did a clean install to the mSATA so not sure)

 

Where do you find the 30% off in the outlet for the XPS 18?

 

A bit confused, if I use the mSata as cache then why do I have to disable it in windows first if I am not removing it? Since when I go to reinstall windows from the recovery it wouldn't see it there until finished anyways. Does this mean I have to make a new usb boot recovery after I disable it instead of the one I made last month? How do you disable Intel acceleration part in windows?

Thanks

 

The coupon is dead now but it comes back from time to time. Check dell's twitter account to get codes.

 

Hope this helps someone: I was able to get Dell to ship me two stands for the i5 and i7 models I ordered through the outlet by pointing out the packing slip indicated the stand was included:

What is included with this order?

157NC6 Module,Shipping Material,All In One,Extreme Performance System,CORSE, Stand

 

Hey guys just FYI Dell has 30% off till Oct. 27th 2013 11:59 PM CST .... here is the code... it works just bought one... :thumbsup: -- WSTKJ67S7KHBW7 --

Enjoy...and happy buying... oh and there is one i7 there... good luck....

 

Wow, two of the three refurbs I bought have issues. The i5 one all of a sudden has a jittery screen. Is this a driver issue?

 

I would do a fresh install...maybe the OS and drivers are wonky.... Good Luck... my unit so-far is running good...

working on SSD + mSATA + 8GB update right now...

 

I have an i3 version running great. I removed the mechanical drive and installed an msata SSD that I use as the boot drive and added another 4GB of memory. It's pretty snappy. It boots up in under 10 seconds.

I have a 100mb internet connection the maxes out at around 120mb but can only seem to get up to 65mb via wireless with the XPS18 during speed tests running n mode on the router when standing right next to the router. I wonder if there are any ways to improve the wireless speed on the XPS18?

 

I agree about the OS and drivers. No problems with the 2 I5's I purchased a few months ago. Currently running 8.1

I installed an Intel AC 7260 ($34) and a Netgear 6200 I got from Target on sale ($90) and have been getting the full 150Mb from my FIOS connection.

Note, Dell has quite a few updated drivers for 8.1 on their support site. One thing I noticed with the final release of 8.1, I'm getting much better performance with the WiDi. Prior to the final, getting connections was intermittent.

 

I've snatched the i5 on sale some time ago. Machine runs fine, except it's apparently very picky with USB 3.0 devices. A Thermaltake HDD dock disconnects shortly after data transfers have been started, while a 64GB Corsair survivor USB stick only works in the inner port. 2TB WD Passports work fine, so does my 2.5" Orico HDD enclosure. I've copied 1TB data at USB 3.0 speeds from the Orico to a Passport without issues. A Cable Matters USB 3.0 to GBit LAN adapter works fine too.

I've meanwhile replaced HDD and mSATA with a Crucial M5 480GB and installed Win 8 from scratch, immediately upgraded to 8.1. The SSD upgrade brought ~ 40min of battery life.

Overall love that machine and don't use my Kindle Fire and Android tablets any more.

 

Yup...my iPad and is going to my youngest... who does not have one... and my android tablet is getting donated... ... I still have a motion computer C5 that not quite yet to give-up...but give me a week...and I think that is going bye-bye ... :hi2: ... so far loving the machine...got a USB 3.0 dock and power two extra monitors...and three other USB devises at work....super fast and great quality screen...having lots of fun...

Oh...if anyone see's the 30% or more off again let us know... I think I want a second one for the house...

 

I've had the i5 version of this for a couple of months now... some random thoughts;

1. I love it. It's exactly what I was looking for - a replacement for a laptop AND a tablet all in one.
2. It did need some upgrades from stock - I swapped to an 8GB stick of RAM, upgraded the wireless card to the intel mentioned earlier, and pulled all the existing drives out for an SSD.
3. Performance, even when running a Hyper-V machine is very good. Haven't noticed any issues... I use this machine mostly for work.
4. I've played basically 2 and a half .mkv movies on it on a plane before the battery got low enough to where I felt I should shut it off. Fine for me, as I usually have power close by.
5. The rubberized edge of the device is soft... I have had rub from an Everki case I was using, so the rubber is a bit frayed on three edges. MAKE SURE TO BUY THE DELL CARRYING CASE. I wound up replacing the Everki with a Chrome messenger bag that works better.
6. It's big, but not obtuse.
7. Be prepared to explain what it is. Everyone asks about it.
8. There are a few bugs I've seen.. I think they're software related. One that does annoy is sometimes it will behave as though the screen is being touched when it's not. This happens to me if the machine for some reason is on while it was in my case. Had to reboot once to get it to stop.
9. The power button should have been put on the top. Side gets pressed sometimes unintentionally OR in bag.

Enjoy if you buy one, Very nice device overall.

 

I have the same problem with the power button when putting it in the bag, it sometimes get caught and turns the device on until the battery runs flat so then it doesnt want to boot.

I am thinking of making a script that runs on boot to shutdown the machine again automatically after say 5 or 10 minutes so that i have enough time to abort it on normal startup (probably put the abort on the desktop or start screen for easy access), although I do seem to remember reading, in the manual i think, of Dell having a transport mode that stops it turning on without power plugged in (i think) so i wonder if there is a way to manually enable that too.

 

I have the same issue... I just installed Classic-Shell on mine...and just shut down everytime... unless it's just for a little bit... with the SSD and mSata in...boot takes less than a minute...I can live with that...Also I tend to have to clean the screen a lot more than my tablets... seems to mess-up the touch screen if you have too much finger oils on it...

 

Any idea where to get the pre-install apps from for IdentityMines' Air Hockey and Fingertapps Instruments? I'm about to wipe out my tablet and install 8.1 Enterprise from scratch, but can't find the installers.

 

DanielNTX - I received a CD when I got mine which has those apps on it... You might want to contact Dell and get them to ship you one... or they might give you access to the backdoor site that has all the drivers on it...

That's what I would do... if you can not get one from them... then let me know here I can burn a copy and snail mail it to you... Tony C.

 

Dell 30% off is back...till they are gone...just got my second one i7 w/256ssd 32msata for 750.00 + tax...have fun...!!!

XPS 18 - 1810 All-in-One
Save 30% on any Dell Outlet XPS 18 - 1810 All-in-One with coupon* code below!
Limited time, while supplies last!
Coupon code:
M799$VC?ZLZ0F$

 

Thanks for the code!

I was going to hold out for Haswell, but 30% and free shipping was too much of a discount for the benefits of the Haswell chip!

Will remove the mSata (and install it in a Haswell Intel NUC for an OpenElec XBMC) and install a Sammy SSD, add 8GB of RAM (for a total of 12) and clean install 8.1 and I should be all good!

 

I was going to also...but my thoughts...is that I can use this for a year or so...and still sell it for the base price and upgrade then... you will probably loose the Ram and HD upgrades..but worth it (Time-Value of money)... Have fun...

 

Do you think we'll get a Windows 8 disk included?

Do you think i7 comes with a stand?

 

I have bought these from the Outlet in the past, and the i7 systems DO NOT come with the stand accessory, just the built in stand "legs" that pop out the back.

 

I was on there first thing this morning when the codes came out and did not see any with the 256GB SSD for around $1100...as a matter of fact, I didn't see any with an SSD!

 

I don't know when I logged on saw the 30% ... looked between the i7 and i5 then refreshed...and it popped-up so I purchased it... I guess we will see... I'll let you know... Keeping fingers crossed...!!!

 

Why do people on this thread replace the Wifi card?

From what I see, the Killer N card is 2.4 and 5.0 and fast. Why do others take this out and replace with the Intel 7260?

Won't pretty much any bluetooth or wireless 2/5 / 5.0 keyboard mouse combo work with this device since all wireless solutions are inside the unit?

I'm just putting my ducks in a row for when it arrives. I've built a few computers in the past few years. My plan is to:

Fire it up and make sure it boots. Check Windows Experience Index. See if I can write down Windows Key (may not be able to but I don't think it's necessary).
Update Bios, if needed. Change drives to ACHI, Disable smart start. Change boot order to USB (or DVD depending on what I use as my Windows 8 install media), and then SSD (removing MSata from the top of the list).
Shut down, swap out SSD, remove MSata, install RAM.
Fire back up to install Windows 8. Install chipset, wireless, equalizer software, battery utility,graphics, and other drivers from Dell's website that I will have on USB drive.
Should be fine... I'm sure there will be a ch or two.

 

I recently purchased my XPS 18, update the BIOS to version 6 and Windows to 8.1

Everything is working as expected except the touch screen while I am charging it.

Only when it is being charged, the touch screen does not feel calibrated. It does not respond to my touch sometimes and on other occasions it acts randomly.

The bottom 1/3rd of the screen is much worse than the top 2/3rd.

I have now seen this on 2 XPS 18s.

Is this a known issue? Is there anyway to resolve it?

Should I keep asking for a replacement until I luck out?

Much appreciate any help!

 

I'd go to Dell support website and enter the ID code from the back of a unit. I'd download the equilizer software update and see if that helps it out. There are 8.1 versions and 8.0 versions, I think.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I did exactly that but it has not helped. It's very annoying. The touch screen is completely unusable.

Do you have this problem? Did I get a lemon?

 

Braves... Don't know about you...my touch screen every now and then goes bonkers...so what I do is use one of the pre-moistened lens cloths...and clean the screen...shutdown...make-sure it's off clean the screen...and then dry it... restart...some reason a lot of finger oil build-up or particles on the screen with your finger oils fritz's out the touch screen...sometime I have to just hold the on button for 10 to 15 sec's to do a hard shutdown... now that I figured out what it was... it works better...

I also noticed if you put the unit in sleep-mode then put it into a bag... if something presses on the screen while in the bag the digitizer (Touchscreen) goes bonkers too... a hard reboot is necessary...

I also read that sometimes opening the back-up taking out the internal USB-Dongle for keyboard/mouse... reboot with it out... log-in...shutdown and reinstall the dongle will help this problem too...especially in windows 8.1 something with the hierarchy of devices...

Let us know if that works... then there is always going back to 8.0...

 

Just curious if the people having the touchscreen problems have windows 8 pro ?

 

Most of the touchscreen issues are with windows 8.1... the early versions of the laptop (which I did not have) I have read had issues too... but believe they have been fixed... My issues are more of a nag then an issue...