XPS 18: 18" <5lbs tablet

XPS has Bluetooth ... I think it's 7mm drive... if you look around ebay you can find a 500gb SSD for cheap... the same mSata is about 2x more right now...the 1TB should be fine...

 

Well, if I get a small 60GB mSATA, which should be plenty for the OS, it won't cost much and I can keep the 1TB for storage.

 

To be honest, you want enough space for OS and Apps. The whole point of using SSD is to accelerate everything. If MOST of everything is on a HDD, you're wasting your time.

128GB mSATA SSD is really the minimum you want to use, in my opinion.

 

I second this...if you go the route of loading the OS on the mSata... that is the best of both worlds...supper fast OS with huge HD for storage and software....

 

Mostly I use the hard drive for media storage and for that it works fine. 60GB should be plenty for the OS and apps, at least for me.

 

Another quick question if I may, how many memory slots does the 18 have? I want to bump the memory up to 8GB and couldn't find the information on Dell's site.

 

Two ram slots. One soldered, non-removable and filled with 4GB stick. One usually free or filled with a removable 4GB.

 

I just did an upgrade to a 240GB mSATA. By the way, I didn't turn on AHCI, I left it as the Intel style raid and its fine except for a lingering, "you do not seem to have Intel rapid start enabled" popup on reboot.

What's in mine is a 7mm Seagate 500GB drive. Does anyone know if a 9.5mm will fit? Ideally I would like to get the 9.5mm 2TB Samsung M3 that should ship this month but in the mean time drop a 1TB in. I think all the 1TB 7mm drives are 5400RPM which seems kind of lame.

 

When you swapped the WiFi card, the dual band you went to is a 2x2 two antenna, which is fine for me. But did you do anything to the antenna to support the 5GHz or just use what was already there? If you used what was there, how is the range on the 5GHz?

Thanks.

 

I think you can put the 9.5 in...but it will be very snug...I measured the space...a little tight...

 

Specs call for a 7mm drive.

 

Tried it and the 9.5mm fits. Sadly, the 1tb drive I had lying around was a 15mm. I'll either order a 1.5tb or wait for the Samsung/Seagate 2tb.

 

I was wondering if you tried it... :thumbsup: ...too bad on your 1tb... Thanks for the post that will help others later...!!!

 

Anyone know how to fix mouse lag issues? It happens with the included mouse and when I upgrade to a Logitech MX Revolution mouse with Logitech's current drivers. Any thoughts on what could be the issue?

Should I take the Logitech USB dongle from the mouse and install it inside the XPS18 unit (remove the included one)? Would that help?

 

This is what I would do... Let us know if it fixes it...

 

Swapping out the Dell dongle for the Logitech seems to be doing the trick. Mouse is MUCH smoother.

 

Ah, and got a Vantec USB 3.0 to Ethernet dongle to finally work.

Transferring a blu-ray rip to an UnRaid NAS over wireless 5.0 about 12 Mb/sec. With dongle 35Mb/sec. Much better!

 

So I just got one of these off the outlet and I seem to be having an issue. I don't know if its me, me, or probably me but I cannot seem to get brightness controls to work in windows 8.1

First thing I did was make sure it worked then i wiped the drive and installed a fresh copy of 8.1 pro. I let windows do all the updates and it updated everything including the latest video driver from Intel off MS Update but brightness control does nothing. I tried it from the charms bar as well as the power settings and while it moves the display never changes.

Any ideas? Can anyone confirm that they have working brightness controls in Windows 8.1 on their XPS 18?

I did upgrade the memory as well and am thinking maybe i loosened up one of the cables?

 

Could it be you still have auto-brightness on and it over-rides the brightness setting? Just guessing.

Turning off the auto screen brightness. Swipe on the right of screen, select Settings (charm bar), select Change PC settings (at the bottom), select General, scroll down on right until you see Auto Brightness then turn it off.

Give this a try. I doubt something got loosened when installing the RAM.

 

Yeah I normally shut off the auto brightness when i first get it since its annoying so that was not it. When i run the built in diagnostics (Shift-f8) when starting up the device the screen diagnostics seems to skip over brightness as well which is weird.

Does this work for you on 8.1? if so which drivers did you have installed?

EDIT:
Checked on my machine, in the change pc settings that option for brightness is actually disabled on my machine for some reason =/

EDIT2:
I checked and for some reason i had a driver not turning on so i updated to all of the 8.1 drivers I could from Dell and still not working. I can turn off Auto Brightness now but no change when i use the slider on the charms bar, power settings options or anywhere at all lol. Durnit

 

Ok a few things you can try...

- go to the mobility center {windows key + x ... then ... mobility center} – adjust brightness and you are done –

- Just go to power options in the control panel...then change plan settings...then change advanced power settings...then select display and go to 1st enable adaptive brightness...Off all the settings inside...then go to dimmed display brightness and make all to zero...then restart the pc... should be ok now...

- Last but not least...install old video driver for Windows7...depending on your chipset...and see if that works...

One of the three should help you... Let us know...

 

Finally got it after three days of playing tag with FedEx to get the signature. Impressions so far, it's very nice. The screen is gorgeous and reflections are minimal at least while the screen is on. The touch is very good. It seems well made.

The downsides would be Windows 8 is taking some getting used to using. Hopefully, 8.1 will be better. Since my COA is Win 8 Pro, anyone tried Windows 7 on this? The fan is on a lot. It's low speed, but noticeable when the room is quiet. Windows is telling me I don't have a battery for some reason. I'll have to call Dell and straighten this out later today.

 

The XPS 18 uses the same tip as the XPS 12. 13 and 13 MLK otherwise the power requirements are the same as any other Dell laptop. At work, there are tons of the older 7.4mm tip power adapters.

So I purchased two of the Dell 331-9319, "DC Power Dongle XPS 12..." which takes the 7.4mm tip and converts it to the XPS 18 (or 12,13) 4.5mm tip. The ordering experience was every bit as hideous as I remember it being. A real trip back to the 90's with no tracking number that meant anything; let me select "next day delivery" for in stock items that then took 7 days to arrive; different pricing for home/business for the same items; having to login in for my account to order, then again to get an employee discount; my orders not showing up so I had find them with order number + customer number + shipping zip code when I was already logged in. Whole ordering system looked very old and out of date and required far more steps than any of their competitors. Yuck. When I called to correct one of my orders, the very thickly accented CS rep who had to call her boss to do anything was a true flashback to the 90's.

That said, the dongle is giving me "plugged in, not charging" message for a 90W Dell branded AC adapter plugged in to the dongle. What a rip off; there is *absolutely* no technical reason for this. This is just their marketing department trying forcing me into buying a new way-too-large AC adapter for $60 that is worth $25. I guess this rules out using any kind of 12V power without an inverter either since they don't make one with this tip that provides 65W.

I'm also pretty annoyed with the very soft paint they used on the torx head screws to show if they case has been opened. First, is there anyone other company left who voids the warranty if you open the case? Seriously, grow up Dell, why do I have to have visibly scarred screws because I upgraded memory and a hard drive?

XPS 18? Lovely. Dell Business practices? Making me remember my 10 year old vow to not buy Dell ever again.
Shame on you Dell leading me in with such a beautiful design and still being the same old company.

Edit: The power dongle does work with a newer 7.4mm AC adapter. Thanks lancorp.

 

I use those dongles to convert to the smaller tip and I've never had a problem. Could it be your Dell charger generating the "no-charge" condition is a much older generation charger? It does use the data ID pin in the center so I doubt EVERY Dell charger ever made with that tip size would work.

 

I've read warranty is not voided if the case has been open. Dell is fine with you switching out drives and memory.

 

I talked to Tech-Support Online too...they stated the same thing...as long as you do not touch any-other parts...you can switch-out...five components...

1. Ram
2. Main-HD
3. mSata
4. USB Dongle
5. Wifi/Blue tooth adapter...

Any other mods...will void the warrantee...or any physical damage will also void the warrantee...on refurbished ...merch they have prior documented issues...

Hope this helps out...

 

Really? That's good news. I have 3 or 4 kicking around the house that are indeterminate age but more at work I haven't tried. I'll withdraw at least 1/2 my annoyance with Dell if I can find a couple that work.

Thanks.

 

The upside is those are likely the only 5 anyone would want to swap since the CPU is in there for the duration. But I'm still annoyed at the scarred screw heads.

 

Don't be too annoyed...it's to keep the people out that should not be in there... they would not know where to get those...or take the time to look for the screwdriver for it...

If you want to be annoyed ... Apple introduced those screw-heads to the industry back with the G3's and hard core with the Clam-Shell laptops...but in there case all the screws used to be those... used to give me such a headache when people stripped them... thinking they could use a flat head...

 

Done, Done, and Done. the bar moves there is just no change in the brightness itself. I've tries all the 8.1 and 8 drivers I can. even the default VGA driver doesn't work be it in safe mode or normal bootup. the next step when I get a chance is to just wipe it back to 8.0 and see what happens

 

So i put in an SSD and took the time to wipe it back to scratch. Still no brightness control from a fresh install.
Wiped 8.1 and put on 8.0 and same issue.

I checked a display unit at the local Best Buy and it has 8.1 on it along with the older 9.x Intel driver but it has working brightness without issue. All of the cables seem to be fine when i installed the SSD i checked.

Sounding like I have a bad unit?

The one thing I can't figure out is the display unit in device manager was only showing 1 monitor, a pnp monitor, but my unit is showing the pnp monitor AND a generic non-pnp monitor that I just cannot get to go away permanently.

 

Can you disable the non-pnp monitor in device manager? Maybe they are conflicting? If I were home I'd check to see what shoes on my unit.

 

I'm not sure anyone actually answered: for my XPS 18 under 8.1, the brightness slider works and if I go to change pc settings -> pc and devices -> power and sleep I can turn the adjust my brightness automatically and it works as expected.

My system was purchased with 8.1 already installed. it shows "Ms ACPI-Compliant..." under batteries; "Intel HD Graphics 4000" under display adapter; and "Generic PnP Monitor" under monitors.

BTW, my bios is A05, 6/4/2013

 

The tech and replace they battery, so I've now got juice. They said it was unplugged. I wonder if that's how it ended up in the outlet in the first place.

Speaking of OSes, I noticed that XPS 18 came with an OS disc. I'm wondering if I put in my SSD and use the disc, is it an OS disc? Will I lose the brightness controls?

Anyone find a way to clamp down on the fan noise? Mine seems a bit noisy. I've tried balanced, but it seems no better.

 

Finding a laptop case that fits the XPS 18 is difficult so here's my opinion on a couple options:

Poetic Slimbook: about $25, works like a folding cover for a smaller tablet. Seems nice but is not compatible with the dock, prevents the XPS 18 from using the less angled prop position (upside down), and when propped up in the usual way uses an enormous amount of desk space since the cover has to lay flat on the desk. Returned it.

Kenneth Cole Reaction 18.4: about $60, goes under several different names at different retailers but there is only one product number. Looks like a regular, quite slim briefcase. XPS 18 fits in snuggly and it has a two zippered compartments where I put a small tablet and a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (small ones.) Heavy zippers, good construction, not a ton of padding but probably enough. I like it a lot. It is much smaller than most alternatives.

Logitech K810 Bluetooth illuminated keyboard: highly recommended.
MS Bluetooth Arc Mouse for Surface: highly recommended.

With this mouse and keyboard, I have a full desktop setup with an 18" screen in a small briefcase at about 5.5lbs total for the equipment.

.

 

I think they are conflicting which is the issue. I have disabled it in the device manager but it still doesnt stop device properties from showing a monitor on VGA. I remove it and looks for devices and it comes right back up.

It really is the weirdest thing it shouldnt only have 1 monitor and 1 video output active =/

 

Ah Ha and it was some weird conflict (which shouldnt even be there in the first place since there is no second display port on the device)!

Figured out if i disabled the non-pnp, then deleted the pnp and let windows find it again then brightness would work without issue. I guess the order that windows was detecting the "monitors" determined if i could change brightness.

So problem now solved and my new toy is purring like a kitten. Time to make games =)

 

I went with the ThinkPad Ultraportable Bluetooth keyboard because then you've got the mouse and keyboard all rolled into one, though no backlight.

The Kenneth Cole Reaction 18.4 is selling for $50 at J&R right now.

 

So, I put my 60GB Plextor mSATA SSD into the XPS 18, but the old no drive can be found message - reboot, check the drive or go into the BIOS were the options. I screwed the drive in, so it can't that it's inserted improperly. Did I mess something here? I put the platter drive back in and it worked fine.

I tried to use the keyboard in that came with the XPS when this happened, but got nothing. How does it connect?

How can I make the recovery discs? I started once with my external Panasonic drive, but when I put a disc in there, it gave me some error message, which I can't remember right now. I wasn't sure whether the disc was blank, but when I went back to do it later, I couldn't find the recover app. Thanks for any help.

 

Please let me know how this works for you. I had heard some initial reports that the bluetooth version of that keyboard was a bit lag-prone, and I'm considering the same set-up. I was also unsure how the trackpoint setup would work on the Dell, so I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks!

 

If you guys are going to use that setup... you might want to open the back-up and replace the USB dongle inside the machine...so you don't use one of the two outside... Just a thought...

 

I don't know how it works with the XPS, but it's working fabulously with my HTPC using the $5 Bluetooth 2.0 dongle I bought on eBay.

I bought one when they first were released, but had problems with it. Not lag, but when I took my finger off the stick, it kept going. Lenovo was kind enough to send a replacement, but the new one was the same. They must have worked out all the kinks in the meantime cause this one is the way it should have been in the first place. It's light, feels sold and offers a good typing experience. The only thing better would have been a backlight, but you can't have all I guess.

As for the XPS, I'm not liking it as much as I thought. Having to hold it as opposed to using on my lap like a notebook is tedious. The fan on mine is on all the time, which I don't like and the glare from the touch is annoying at times. It's too bad. it's really well built and the screen is gorgeous, but I think it's just not for me.

Anyone know the Dell Outlet return policy? I think I'll go on the hunt for a X220 or X230 once I get my return processed. The good thing is I can use most of the parts I bought for the XPS like the mSATA and memory on the new X series. I'll test out the keyboard before I send it back and give you the scoop. Having use ThinkPad keyboards on non-ThinkPads, my guess is it'll work fine, just like it works well in Windows without the drivers. The drivers give you all the extra stuff scrolling and center-click, but it usually works fine without it.

 

I don't know their return policy for your area, I think it's seven days in the UK although the couple of items I've returned on the Outlet they've been quite helpful on the phone. I would give them a shout and try anyway, id they won't do the return then you've not really lost anything.

Are you running your machine with an msata SSD and hard drive? I've bought an i5 model off the outlet which comes with the 32GB msata SSD and 500GB hard drive which I liked the sound of (decent speed and some storage) but on reading through the thread it sounds like it's worth considering dumping the mechanical drive and going SSD only gives a noticeable improvement to batterylife and fan noise, so I'm giving that some thought. When people are going SSD only are they using an msata drive on its own or just a 2.5in SSD on its own?

I assume the internal USB dongle being discussed above is for the supplied keyboard/mouse? Is it possible to swap it for a USB dongle of my choice?

Thanks,
John

 

Thanks John. I'm not really sure what's going on here. I took the hard drive out and put the mSATA SSD in, but when I did, I couldn't boot because it said there was no drive. I think it's unlikely, but I suppose the mSATA SSD could be bad. I asked earlier in the tread if I had to do anything to make the mSATA SSD work, but was told no. I can't exactly ask Dell what's going on since nothing on the XPS is considered user replaceable.

There's other issues too. The fan is on all the time too. It's not horrible, but it's there. While the screen is gorgeous, it does have some glare to it, though I've certainly used worse. It's just also a little more awkward to use than I had envisioned.

According to Dell's website, I can return it for 21 days from the invoice date. I'm not sure if that's the day it shipped, the 3rd, or the day it arrived, the 10th. I was charged for it the when I signed for the package. I tried to looking in my account on Dell.com, but couldn't find the order. I've probably got to decide in the next few days whether it's a keeper. If I can get the mSATA SSD working, I could see keeping. If not, it's probably going back.

 

I think the return rules here are based on UK consumer law so it's seven days from when the machine was actually delivered, invoice date seems a strange one to go with as you could lose a lot of that time with preparation and shipping. My personal thoughts with technology are that if I'm not sure at the start i find those doubts don't tend to go away plus technology usually gets cheaper so if I do decide I want the item I can get it again.

From what I've read, msata drives seem to be an issue as when I was searching for information on this machine I came across a couple of other topics where people had tried to upgrade the msata drive and it wasn't working. Hence I'm curious what people are using for SSD only if they're running with a solo msata ssd or a solo 2.5in SSD. The msata drive would be a neater solution but if it doesn't work then will look into the 2.5in option.

John

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the TP keyboard. I think most of the reports I read were on the first ones released--it sounds like they have that squared away.

I have an X230, and I'm actually considering this more as a "desktop replacement" with some occasional portability. I really couldn't see myself using this in my lap, though. It may be one of those things where you really don't know you'll actually use it until you have it, so I'm going to give one a try. I like the idea of the 18" FHD screen in a reasonably portable machine. If you have a chance to pair the BT keyboard with it before you send it back, that would be awesome. Thanks!

 

After doing some more research, mainly on the Dell support forum, I've concluded the mSATA SSD is not bootable. That makes it less valuable to me at least. I think I was misinformed before.

I'm not sure whether I'm going to keep it. There's pros and cons both ways. I'll try to pair the keyboard either way.

Let me ask you all this, is everyone getting fan noise with the XPS or is this something I can bug Dell about to fix? Thanks.

 

I'm on the phone with Dell right now doing the return. It's a very nice tablet, but it's just not what I want. I guess I'm just more of a laptop person. Back to the drawing board.

I did pair the ThinkPad Bluetooth keyboard with the XPS and it worked like a charm. I didn't install the software, but I'd bet if you did you'd get the center point features like center scroll.

 

It sounds like the right choice, for me the machine won't be replacing a laptop as I don't think it can fulfill that role and if I didn't have a few smaller laptops/hybrids, I'd be buying one of those before the XPS 18, My thought is the XPS 18 is going to replace a 9in Nook HD+, the Nook is mainly used for media consumption as it's performance is low (dual Cortex A9's), it has no hardware keyboard but it has a high quality 1080p screen. The Nook isn't getting that much use as I have a mobile phone with a 6.4in screen so the XPS 18 makes sense for similar use but obivously its screen is a huge step up from the Nook's. Time will tell, the XPS 18 is one of those odd machines that doesn't really fit into any category and could be very useful or just end up a waste of space.

To go for an SSD only config it sounds like a 2.5in SSD is the only way to go then, shame about the msata drive.

John

 

Awesome to know, thanks for checking! This looks like an intriguing machine.