XPS 18: 18" <5lbs tablet

Out of interest which section of the Dell forums were you looking in? Dell seem to classify the XPS 18 as a desktop which I guess is understandable if you look at it as an all in one however to me it's a huge laptop so it's more of a notebook. It's difficult searching as XPS 18 is so generic, I realise it's the trend now to have simpler names but I wish they'd go back to having the full name (XPS 1810 in this case?) as the standard name.

John

 

Ok... I do not think anyone answered the boot question about the mSata because it was already covered in this thread sometime back...around Sept/Oct if memory serves right...

You can boot to the mSata...first thing you need to do is turn on the classic boot-mode in the bios...(also look back to do this) .... Then you boot reformat the 32gb mSata drive... if you do not the computer will not see it... due to format of it being a swap-space drive for system performance.... once you have done this you can change the boot back to normal... reformat the drive... as a bootable windows partition...load the install software to it... I would use windows 8.0 I've tried 8.1 and it's buggy with the drivers right now... you will then need to turn off the computer... take out the normal HD ... reboot with the mSata in ...if the normal boot does not work for some reason... then you need to go into the bios and reboot in the classic setting (same-as-above)... once you do this... you should be able to load your windows 8.0 or if you’re brave 8.1 on the mSata drive.... [Personally I would not do this... on a 32gig mSata or bigger... I would get a Samsung SSD 250/500 GB HD run the Samsung software to migrate everything over... use the mSata as a storage area... or upgrade it to 256 mSata for storage purposes...]


Now Zaz ... you computer's fan runs all the time because the normal HD that is in there is a cheapy...it generates 3x the heat of a high performance HD and 10x the heat as an SSD... once I replaced all my XPS-18's all four of them with SSD I have two 2117u's & two i7's ... both work flawless... I did one where it boots to the mSata...works...boot time was a tad slower...nothing noticeable...but decided that the SSD's were the way to go... and redid all of them this way... I use mine as three desktops with two additional monitors each... so one i7 and the two 2117u's are setup this way... I use a USB 3.0 Doc that is self-powered... (Again I explain which stuff I bought earlier in this thread)... and then I use one i7 as a laptop... the machines are perfect for my day to day operations and my fun computer...

I don't program...I don't play games...my desktops are home and work machines... my portable is used for presentations and for my hobby photography... it is capable in handling 120meg RAW files quicker than my PowerBook...right now...so I have nothing to complain about...

if anyone has any other question let me know... when I can I will answer them...

 

I don't see one cheap hard drive generating three times the heat of another. The XPS 18 is a very nice PC, but it wasn't the right fit for me, regardless of whether I could use the mSATA SSD as a boot drive or not.

 

tc95 - So do you recommend 2.5in drives for an SSD only config? A Crucial 480GB m500 msata drive is only slightly more than the 2.5in version and would seem a much neater solution, if it does work fine after a little fiddling with options that sounds good.

Of course it would be nice if I could get the machine, it's gone missing in transit (third time in a row for a Dell machine) as the courier doesn't know where north of Scotland is. I wish I was joking but they classify it as a remote island location even though it isn't an island, each time the misroute has occurred has been when the package is supposed to come on its final leg up to the north.

John

 

John - no the mSata is a viable solution... it's just here at the time I could get a 500gb mSata for 450.00 whereas a 500gb SSD Samsung for 295.00 plus the samsung software is very user friendly when migrating everything over...works well...the machine runs cooler and longer with an SSD then the traditional HD...

Zaz-I understand...but the HD that ships with the XPS-18 is a 5400rpm... this is a good article for you if you are into this type of stuff... HDD Diet: Power Consumption and Heat Dissipation
There are four different drives above the 5400rpm - first 7200rpm - second SSD Hybrid - third low voltage HD's - fourth military grade - there are also different levels of use for voltage and energy drains... for HD's... so you are correct to say that saying heat is not a factor it's energy output and usage for HD's but most people do not understand this... so the easiest way to talk about it is using the word heat... so my apologies for the misrepresentation of my statement... I am sorry that you could not make your's work for you... it's like everything electronic some like it and some do not... I hope you find one that better suits your needs...

Tony C.

 

Thanks for the information - a 480GB msata drive is around £230 here and the 2.5in one is £200 so I think that's a small enough difference to be worth going for msata whereas in your case I would have gone with the 2.5in drive.

John

 

Finally got my hands on my XPS 18 last night but I've decided to send it back, I just don't think I'm going to get the use out of it I had planned. It's bulkier than I expected which I realise sounds odd given it's an 18in machine but the bezel is quite large which means it won't fit in my backpack (which can take 18in laptops) and it's quite deep as well. Combined with the frustrating lack of ports (I can't believe it has far less ports than the featherweight Vaio Duo 11) and no digitiser means I just don't think I'll use it.

John

 

:hi2:
Your post about not being able to use mSATA as boot source is inaccurate, mSATA has been successfully used as a boot drive. If you search this forum, you will find instructions how to complete this step using the BIOS settings. The default factory BIOS settings will not provide necessary setup to boot mSATA, but the BIOS changes will boot mSATA along with observing the proper changes to the Rapid Storage Technology application acceleration state (on / off.)


Post #220

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/716080-xps-18-18-5lbs-tablet-22.html#post9331315

Post #226

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/716080-xps-18-18-5lbs-tablet-23.html#post9334359

Other related posts

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/716080-xps-18-18-5lbs-tablet-9.html#post9295057

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/716080-xps-18-18-5lbs-tablet-9.html#post9296200

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/716080-xps-18-18-5lbs-tablet-19.html#post9318099

 

Hello,
I took some time to read through this thread, and don't think my question has been directly answered.
I've looked at Acronis True Image, Clonezilla, GParted, and the Samsung Migration software, but they don't seem to work for my situation. I am looking to clone the 500GB HDD to a 256GB SanDisk SSD. I would like to do this before my first start-up. I've gotten the impression that it's not possible since: my SSD is smaller, not from Samsung, I need to turn off Intel caching, and/or UEFI is totally new to me. I did a HDD to larger HDD with Windows/Linux partitions with little trouble, but this seems a bit more finicky.
Since I only have to do this once I was hoping to use the ATI Premium trial version, but noticed it does not allow PC migration.
Any help/clarification/instructions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kimbob19

 

Use Miray HDclone. I've done it for various systems going to smaller SSD drives and it preserves the UEFI boot chain.

 

Thanks, DanielNTX
It looks like the free version only supports a copy to a larger drive. Will check it out more.
Do you happen to use a paid version?

 

Dell 2014 road-map (supposedly) was leaked last week. The most important part:

Updated Dell XPS 18 portable desktop with FHD display, Haswell ULT CPU coming in April 2014 starting $999.


Microsoft News | Dell Product Roadmap For 2014 Leaked, Dell XPS 13 With QHD Display, 2nd Gen Dell Venue 8 Pro Coming In Q3 2013

Some of the slides have pretty bad photoshops, like the broadwell xps 13, but it's always fun to speculate

 

xps 18 haswell? Finally!

Better late than never.

 

Kimbob19... If you have not purchased the SanDisk SSD yet... get your self the Samsung Evo or Evo-Pro the software provided will migrate everything over from a 500 to 256 easily... the Samsung HD software is the easiest one that I know of...and it only works with Samsung though....

Good Luck

Tony C.

 

My month old XPS 18 is driving me nuts as I try to back it up using Acronis True Image 2014 to a brand new Seagate Backup Plus 1 TB USB 3.0 external drive. The initial backup using Acronis worked splendidly. The roughly 32GB image backup took about 8 minutes which was quite respectable.

Since my initial success however, I have yet to get another Acronis backup to work with the Seagate drive. It invariably gets a delayed write error fairly early in the write process. I've removed the existing Acronis backup and tried a fresh start with a new backup file name. Still fails in a similar manner. I might just totally erase the Seagate drive and reformat it to see if things get better.

I can browse the Seagate drive okay, and copy large files to/from it without problems. But ATI 2014 cannot write to it for more than half a minute or so without getting delayed write errors. In some instances, ATI has segmented the output image file into several pieces, only to eventually fail totally with the same delayed write error. Under normal conditions the output image would be contained in a single 32+GB file. It works fine when backing up across my WiFi to my home server. But the faster, local USB 3.0 backup just will not work.

A Google search for USB 3.0 and Seagate drives leaves me with the impression that this is a long existing problem and relates to some sort of incompatibility between the USB 3.0 chipset and the chipset that Seagate builds into their drive. I may be beating a dead horse here...

If anyone can shed some light on a possible solution (or even tell me this is a battle that is already lost) - it would be appreciated.

-Hawk

 

Thanks tc95,
I do already have the SanDisk, but have seen a good sale and a Samsung, so If I see that again I may go that route. I have some time before I actually make the switch due to unique circumstances.
We'll see what happens.

Kimbob19

 

Download the utility from Seagate in their support section. It's free since you have a Seagate drive you're cloning from and very simple to use. It allows you to clone from a larger to a smaller drive.

 

Replacing HD with SSD drive and migrating from Intel Rapid Storage Technology to AHCI.

My goal is to do the following with my i7 XPS 18.

1. Replace the Seagate HD with a new 500gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD

2, Stop using the 32gb mSATA drive as a cache for the HD. Apparently that is related to the Intel Rapid Storage Technology setting in the BIOS of the XPS 18.

3. Replace the 32gb mSATA drive with a new Samsung 500gb mSATA drive. Thus the final goal is a pair of 500gb SSD drives running via AHCI.

Step 1 eventually worked.
I had trouble with the Samsung Data Migration software. The 840 Pro SSD was attached using a simple SATA to USB adapter cable and I could readily see it via the Computer/Manage/Disk Management. The Samsung Data Migration software never would see the Samsung SSD that was attached via the USB adapter cable. Eventually I opted to use Acronis True Image 2014's "clone" option to duplicate drive C: (Seagate HD) to the attached Samsung 840 Pro SSD. This clone operation worked fine and I transplanted the Samsung 840 Pro SSD into the XPS 18 replacing the Seagate HD. This configuration booted up just fine as long as I left the BIOS set to "Intel Rapid Storage Technology" rather than AHCI. When the BIOS was set to AHCI the boot process would simply stall at a grey screen w/o any indicated error. Setting the BIOS back to Intel Rapid Storage Technology would allow it to boot normally.

I have read somewhere that the above grey screen stall problem may be related to the lack of AHCI drivers in my Windows 8.1 OS. Does anyone know if there is a simple fix for this? I found a posted discussion of a similar fix to VISTA, but I am reluctant to start plugging in VISTA registry

So I am stuck at Step 2. Have not tried actually removing the mSATA drive since I cannot get the new SSD drive to boot without using the Intel Rapid Storage Technology - which in turn utilizes that oem 32gb mSATA drive as cache for the main C: drive. Thus I am currently stuck at a configuration where the oem 32gb mSATA SSD is caching the much faster Samsung 840 Pro SSD drive. Is not only redundant - but I suspect is less than optimized for performance. And with this configuration the Samsung Magician software will not fully manage the 840 Pro drive because the AHCI driver is not being used.

Am considering all options at this point. Final goal is to simply have the mSATA SSD and 840 Pro SSD drives running as AHCI devices totally independent of each other. Once there - I will replace the existing 32gb mSATA SSD with a new 500gb mSATA SSD.

The XPS 18 did not come with a Windows 8 install DVD. So that option will require some work. Perhaps someone knows where I might be able to download a Windows 8 install iso image? As long as it works with my license key I could manage a complete re-install if it gets to that. Not my 1st choice of solution, but I could work through it if necessary.

Perhaps there is someone out here with knowledge of how to easily eliminate the Intel Rapid Storage Technology and enable the AHCI mode (BIOS options)... THAT would be ideal. And I DO have a fall-back position with the original Seagate HD which sits in a box at the moment.

-hawk






S

 

Well - it is done. Drive C: which was being accessed via the Intel Rapid Storage Technology setting in the BIOS is now an AHCI SSD drive.

The trick is to change several registry entries (which I found via Google on several other sites.) One has to change these registry values (to invoke the correct AHCI driver for Windows) and then interrupt the reboot process to change the setting in BIOS to use AHCI. Once done it booted without complaint. I swapped the 32GB mSATA drive for a Samsung 500GB mSATA and now have a pair of 500GB SSD drives in my XPS-18.

Once the SSD drive was accessed via AHCI the Samsung Magician software began to see it okay. Apparently Samsung Magician can't access the SSD drive via the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

To be honest it boots about the same as it did using the oem drives (including the mSATA caching). I am sure it will draw slightly less current from the battery by not having a physical drive to spin. And now there is no longer a spinning platter just waiting for me to drop it.

The one truly good thing is that I can build an Acronis True Image backup of the entire C: drive onto my mSATA D: drive in about 7-8 minutes. After that a differential backup takes less than a minute.

-hawk

 

FYI - there is a coupon code for 25% off...right now... { FM08?C0H7NG0V2 } ... it works... Have fun...!!!

 

I'm going to swap out my Killer Wireless N-1202 card for an Intel 7260 AC card (this has two antennae).

This: Newegg.com - Intel 7260HMW IEEE 802.11AC, dual-band, 2x2 Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth 4.0 Mini PCI Express combo Adapter - 867 Mbps+300Mbps - Internal - Wireless Adapters

Since this includes bluetooth, I'm guessing I pull my Logitech bluetooth dongle from the internal USB port?

Looking to increase wifi speeds through AC. Want to get the most out of my router... Netgear R7000.

 

The Killer N-1202 already includes bluetooth...

 

Update coming. They have the manual updated for the new ver. See page 40 for specs.

http://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-pro...esktop/xps-18-1820-aio_User's Guide_en-us.pdf

 

They've waited so long for 4th gen chip (Haswell) that they should just wait a little longer for Broadwell:

Intel's Windows 8.1 Pro Broadwell tablet is thinner than the iPad Air

I was one of the ones waiting on Haswell but caved. Now I'm glad I did. Haswell spec bumps are so very minimal. Broadwell, however, is going to be a nice jump up in specs.

 

Not sure if this has been discussed or not yet but I bought an XPS 18 a few weeks ago and love it so far. I got the i7 version, opted not to wait for Haswell as I don't see any real gains for my situation.

Here's the problem; I hooked up my USB 3.0 drive the other day to do a backup and was achieving USB 2.0 speeds. I hooked the drive to my Lenovo and confirmed USB 3.0 speeds. After much Googling, I was able to determine that Windows 8.1 sees the ports as USB 2.0 ports. So I hooked up my Live CD with Ubuntu 14.04 and checked and got confirmation of USB 2.0. I thought something was off with the black USB ports but didn't think more of it until testing. Has anyone else confirmed they have USB 3.0? I called Dell tech support and after 20 minutes of trying to get them to understand the problem, they said they would look into it.

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0457:1039 Silicon Integrated Systems Corp.
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0781:5530 SanDisk Corp. Cruzer
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0cf3:3004 Atheros Communications, Inc.
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0c45:6621 Microdia
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Edit: The issue is solved! So it turned out to be a combination of things, but I did solve it. Before updating my Intel Chipset drivers, Windows 8.1 was not showing USB 3.0. In the process of debugging the situation, I found a BIOS setting called USB Debug and enabled it (thinking it would give me more USB information but turns out it actually disables USB 3.0). Once I updated the Intel Chipset drivers, since USB Debug was still on, USB 3.0 still did not show up, and also did not show up in Ubuntu. Upon learning what USB Debug does, and that I had it enabled, I disabled it, booted into Ubuntu, and low and behold, had USB 3.0 (one hub but both ports, shared apparently). Then booted into Windows 8.1 and USB 3.0 showed there as well.

So I left the original message intact in case it helps anyone down the road.

 

Just a quick update on my XPS 18 updates.

The pair of 500G SSD drives (one is an mSATA configuration) are doing great. This 'tablet' is the fastest among several fairly fast machines at my disposal. I have truely come to enjoy using it. The only shortcoming I've sensed is that it isn't quite as comfortable to use in my lap while relaxing in my LazyBoy recliner as is my notebook computer. Mostly because it tends to be a bit tipsy (top-heavy) and doesn't balance well on my lap when using the folding support legs.

I put the 500G Samsung drive (removed from the XPS) into a $13 ORICO USB 3.0 shell and am using it quite successfully as storage for Acronis Image backups of the XPS and my notebook. The ORICO shell is very nice and sips its power via the USB cable - requiring no separate power supply.

If you can find one of the XPS 18s at a good price you may well enjoy the experience using it. I sure have.

BTW - I put some GPS software on it to become what may be the world's largest navigation device.

 

Hey everyone. After reading this forum for the past month or so, I got excited about getting myself one of these for myself and finally pulled the trigger a couple of weeks ago.

I got myself the XPS 18 i7 and I tried to upgrade the RAM to 12gb using a DELL memory module (8GB DELL Memory RAM Upgrade DDR3 SODIMM 204 pin 1600MHz PC3-12800 SNP8H68RC/8G) that I saw recommended here (I believe it was on pg 9). For some reason it did not accept the RAM (started beeping immediately on start-up until I removed it and reinserted the original 4gb module) and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for other RAM that might work.

Also I was hoping to do one of the SSD/mSata HDD (SamsungEVO or Crucial mSata for the boot/main drive and either nothing or a Samsung EVO SSD for the 2nd drive) upgrades I've read about here but was wondering if anyone had a step-by-step list of the process required, I'm a bit confused about making the Bios amenable to accepting the mSata as the primary/boot drive and if those steps are to be done before making an Acronis bootable backup for re-installation on the mSata or after (just before I pull the stock drives out).

I really appreciate any help offered as I try to upgrade this baby into one of the sleek, speedy little beasts I've read about here! Thanks again!

 

i found a floor model (display model) xps 18 in an electronic chain store, with a great price. Should i buy it or not? I mostly think of the battery wear because it is plugged in constantly. What do you guys think?

 

i got my new xps i7 and i have some strange problems!
The first time i turned it on, just out of the box, even before the windows setup begin, i got the dell logo and the following message:

the operating system did not shut down cleanly

reconstructing cache metadata
( and then some numbers and procedures)

That seemed a lot strange to me. Anyway, i proceeded to the windows installation and everything seemed normal, until i saw the desktop. It had the same background picture with my previous asus t100 win 8.1 tablet!
The main problem of my xps is that it doesn't shut down properly, it shuts down after almost 5 minutes. And when i turn it on again, it always shows the message i wrote in the beginning of my post. Moreover when i put it in sleep mode, it doesn't wake, or it will after several minutes.
I made all dells diagnostics and my xps passed it.
I tried to update the bios but it said that my version is up to date. The date of the available version for update though, is more recent than mine but as i said it didn't let me to update it.
Did anyone have the same problem? Please any advice would be appreciated.

 

The wallpaper is because Windows 8.1 has the ability to sync wallpapers and settings between devices registered to the same Microsoft account. I think there's a way to disable this in Charms>settings>PC settings, but I don't have a Win8.1 device in front of me to find the exact path.

As for the rest, can't help you, but wanted to explain that one issue.

 

It was probably a voltage issue... check the ram module that you and check to see if it's a 1.35volt or 1.5volt module... if it does not say run the specs on Google somewhere you can find the info... the problem with Dell they ship you any old DDR3 module... I have i7 running a 1.35 volt chip... my 2117-U runs a 1.5 volt chip...

Hope this helps... Tony C.


PS - 30% off at dell today... code --- G9N7FR$MFHL1B9 --- Happy Shopping...!!!

 

My thoughts are to run the recovery software on the HD on the recovery partition...one of the XPS-18's that I have had an issue from the start... I think it was a bad load...do not remeber exactly what it was... a few months have passed...but once I did the FULL RECOVERY...partition and everything... the unit acted fine.... if that does not work... return and get a replacement one...!!!

Happy 4th...!!!

 

Thnx tc95, i will do that and hope it will get me somewhere.
I am asking all the other xps 18 owners with windows 8.1, do you guys have a sleep/ wake issue? Does the power button work for sleep and wake?
Mine sleeps and never wakes up. I talked with dell support here in greece and they told me that it is a windows 8.1 problem and microsoft should release a fix update.

 

Hi,
I am new to this forum. I read pretty much the entire thread, and I am trying to confirm something:
If all I want to do is use the mSATA drive as a regular drive (not for cache, not for bootable OS), all I need to do is edit the BIOS to use AHCI for that drive, correct?
Thanks

 

Neten - since there are still issues with 8.1 with the Dell XPS-18's... now I have not done a look in the last three months to see if this is rectified.... I have stuck with Windows 8.0 on mine then I added Classic Shell free software to emulate windows 7 desktop... with this setup and regular cleanings... Antivirus/Registry Cleaning/Getting rid of garbage accumulated I have not had an issue on any of the three units I own... Good Luck....

Yes and No.... :confused2: ... What I did is the AHCI boot from the Bios... then partitioned and Formatted the mSata ... Reboot make sure it is viewable... Reboot change back all the settings in the BIOS... then you have a working 2nd drive.... if you bump the RAM and go SSD & mSata as I have done on all the systems... there is no need for a cache drive....

Good Luck...

 

Thanks tc95... That is exactly what I plan to do.
Would you mind elaborating a bit, when you say "what I did is the AHCI boot from BIOS"? I am not very experienced with BIOS changes...
Thanks
Cheers

 

Yes when you boot to the BIOS you need to enable legacy USB support... once you do that you will also need to select the boot sequence... for me I just used the HD as primary... and USB boot as a backup... then reboot your machine... will take a few seconds longer than enhanced boot sequence from dell... format your mSata drive... reboot in the legacy support... make sure all is good ... power-down then on the reboot you need to change it back to the dell standard boot... make a note so you do not forget... (Side hint... first time I forgot where I found it)... then reboot and your good...

Now on another note...before you do all this make-sure that you put the mSata in the computer first... when doing the partitioning and re-formatting.... just use the window HD software... make sure you are working with the mSata... a friend actually formatted his primary HD...

 

Thanks tc95.
Cheers

 

How do you cancel a reply?

 

Sorry, looks like I need more help....
I could not find anything in BIOS that enables legacy USB support.
I tried changing the SATA operations to AHCI, and the machine would not boot.
I reverted to the previous setting, and I am back to normal, but still have no idea how to get the mSATA drive out if cache mode.
Any chance you could pits step by step instructions?
Thanks

 

Just to be clear as to what I am trying to do:
1. Stop using the 32GB mSATA as cache, and format it for regular storage (so far no change of drives, boot order, etc)
2. Once I see 2 drives in windows, I want to upgrade the HDD to an SDD (for the OS) and upgrade the mSATA drive to a larger (128GB) drive for data.

 

Ok it is within this thread in several places... but here it is in one place all the instructions... Now I do things overboard so I did all the BIOS mods in order to have a good clean Format of the mSata....

1 - F2 to enter Dell XPS-18 Bios ...
2 - Goto Boot
3 - Secure Boot -- (Disable this)
4 - Load Legacy Boot Rom -- (Should be Enabled now -- if not enable it)
5 - Boot List Options - Legacy -- (Whole Boot menu should change now)
----- Priority of Boot
- 1st - HD
- 2nd - USB
- 3rd - USB
- 4th - CD/DVD
- 5th - Second HD
- 6th - Network
for some reason the Second HD has to be in the 5th slot at least in two of my machines... I put the USB and CD up higher just in case something happened I had a way to boot the machine...


6 - REBOOT - (at Dell Screen Press F12) -- Then select UEFI Option ...

You should now reboot to Windows 8/8.1 - now you should be able to fdisk/partition/reformat the mSata and use it as a regular drive

7 - REBOOT - using F12 & UEFI Option ... Check the drive is recognized as a normal HD...

8 - REBOOT - Change all the BIOS Setting back... causes issues with the system...further down the line... (Experience)
9 - Save and REBOOT and you should be good....

Personally -- I would change the SSD and mSata before you do this... the Dell 32GB mSata has some rather strick-code on it and the reason for the reboot with the F12 option is that I found on my i3 machine it took me Partitioning and Formatting 2x before it took... that was the lateset unit I got... the first one was a walk in the park... 2nd - was the same ... the 3rd took the two tries...

Good Luck... I would go with a 256 mSata about the same price will be a better benefit later on...

 

Anyone still watching this thread? Dell chat say the current i7 had the processor upgraded in the last 2 weeks but I'm not sure how to tell if that was the Broadwell chip? I'm also told this version supports 5GHz wifi, anyone know for sure? I see the Outlet has the 3rd Gen i7 for $970.

 

Broadwell is not out yet.

 

Thanks Daniel, what about 5GHz wifi support? Anyone seen this model at the Outlet?

 

Hi

I bought an i5 XPS18 for my parents around a year ago. Ideal form factor for them and this was just way ahead of similar competitors. Looks like Haswell version is finally out as well.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...s-18-haswell-finally-released-xps-1820-a.html

However reason for posting is that I have never been happy with the microphone (which I'm acutely aware of usually being on the receiving end on Skype!). Just recently found this thread and there is no mention I can find so I guess not a common issue and mic quality should be okay?

The mic just doesn't work very well and will randomly seem to not pick up anything for short periods, or just pick up from one side of the computer and not the other.

We contacted support a couple of times already and they tried changing some settings. While this may have helped a little it never got it working to a level I would consider acceptable. I tried buying a super cheap plug in mic for them and this works much much better.

So I think probably a hardware issue and we will need to get a repair. Though would be good to know if there is any particular advice on settings etc or did it just work fine out of the box for most people?

Thanks!

 

This has the 4rth gen Haswell i7 (which came out recently for the XPS 18) and the dual band:
XPS 18 Portable All-in-One Desktop | Dell

Best Buy also has the 4rth gen i3 and i5. My XPS 18 was recently stolen and I was planning on the i7 but instead got a great deal on the last gen as an open box.
BTW, if you're handy, you can pretty readily upgrade to a mSATA dual band wireless, a mSATA SSD, and a big hard drive.Pictures and discussion are back in this thread.

I've got a 480GB SSD, a 2TB mechanical drive and I'll put the dual band wireless in when I get around to it.

 

Thanks!

Small difference on mine: the boot list was only the Windows Boot Manager or the new SSD from which I had imaged the internal hard drive.

 

My microphone seems fine straight out of the box. I'm guessing your M&D have a HW problem.

 

Do you -- or does anyone -- know where you can buy the amazing new XPS 18 touch with stand other than Dell ( XPS 18 Portable All-in-One Desktop | Dell ) where the price STARTS at $1,500?

Or does anyone know where to get good discounts/coupons to use on Dell.

The new XPS Touch with the i7-4510U CPU looks awesome!!! But even Amazon doesn't seem to carry it.