Dell XPS 13 Review • Hacker News Board

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#81

Post by rogerbinns » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:18 PM UTC

maaaats wrote: post #56

siegecraft wrote: post #12

I'm surprised that Dell managed to get back to this point, but I think Apple is no longer a no-brainer if you want a "nicer" build quality, and you can start differentiating based on support. I never thought I would buy a non-Apple laptop again, but I've actually been eyeing the Dell XPS and a friend's recent experiences w/ AppleCare makes me want to take every effort to find an alternative hardware vendor, assuming…

I could never get used to the weird placement of the fn button, to the far left of the keyboard. Many other laptops also have this, it's a dealbreaker for me. All shortcuts I know fall out, and even with long use I can't really get used to it. And a lack of proper arrow keys is annoying for some gaming. It's weird, but it's those little things that count. I'm glad other vendors are getting better with build quality,…

Lenovo laptops have had a bios setting since 2010 that lets you swap the fn & ctrl keys. That doesn't swap the keycaps though.

Some history of the placement and many comments http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/fn-versus-ctrl-let-the-games-...

A series of posts where they asked for feedback, then acted on it.

Thinking about changing the key configuration http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/switch-mode-for-fn-ctrl-keys

They decided to make it bios switchable showing screenshot http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/switch-mode-for-fn-ctrl-keys-...

Announcement of implementing it across many models http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/switch-mode-for-fn-ctrl-keys-...

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#82

Post by masklinn » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:19 PM UTC

bryanlarsen wrote: post #7

The interesting difference between this review and that of most others is that Anandtech endorsed Dell's claims of 15 hours of battery life. Reviews like at The Verge[1] measured the battery life at 6.5 hours. I trust Anandtech more than The Verge to conduct properly controlled tests, but it really does illustrate the point that usage has a far bigger impact on battery life on modern notebooks than it did in the past…

Ars found their data to be roughly in line with Dell's claim as well, though they only tested the high-res notebook and didn't check the FHD one:

> Dell claims that the battery life of the XPS 13 is an impressive 15 hours for the 1920×1080 model and 11 hours for the 3200×1800 version. Our own battery testing is a little more punishing than Dell's, but the company's numbers seem to be in the right ballpark. In our test of light Web browsing, the XPS 13 came in just shy of nine hours

Usage pattern is definitely a huge factor though:

> in a more intensive WebGL test, it hit five hours on the dot.

and so is software running (using Chrome is a terrible idea if you want battery life, for instance)

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#83

Post by guelo » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:19 PM UTC

MetaCosm wrote: post #78

cies wrote: post #72

A Developer Edition (with Linux preloaded) will come at some point. Currently there are driver issues of which the non-working audio is most persistent. Most elaborate info on it here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1413446 In this Reddit thread... http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/2u0jjd/linux_support_... ...you find comment from barton808, who identifies himself as the Team Lead of Sputni…

I was excited until I read 8GB max... that can't be right can it? What modern developer machine would have an 8GB cap?

Same as a Macbook Air.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#84

Post by commandar » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:19 PM UTC

stcredzero wrote: post #50

commandar wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The MBP is a different class of machine. This thing is roughly the size of an 11 inch MBA.

There is definitely a market for a slightly heavier, slightly thicker, but easily upgradeable machine. I know of at least one physics student who can live with 16GB, but would rather have 32GB. I would love to find a 13" form factor convertible tablet PC that's just a bit bulkier than a Macbook Air, but has something equivalent to a Wacom stylus. (EDIT, Actually, there are plenty of situations where more RAM but not…

Sure, there's a market, but the question is whether there's a large enough market to justify building it.

Either way, I'd say the high end computing market (which I'd say needing 16GB of RAM falls into, personally) is currently different from the ultra-light, ultra-portable market.

I mean, if you need 16GB, you probably need more than a low power dual core CPU anyway, and that's not realistically going to fit into the form factor of this machine today.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#85

Post by MichaelGG » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:19 PM UTC

jbk wrote: post #20

mercnet wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same, laptop has great potential especially if they release a Linux version. I hope the MB supports 16GB and Dell does not solder the RAM to the motherboard.

> I hope the MB supports 16GB and Dell does not solder the RAM to the motherboard. On 13", all the RAMs are soldered on the boards.

12" ThinkPads like the X201 are not soldered on. Dunno about later models since the X201 was already part way down the lack of good engineering.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#86

Post by lhl » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:20 PM UTC

cies wrote: post #72

A Developer Edition (with Linux preloaded) will come at some point. Currently there are driver issues of which the non-working audio is most persistent. Most elaborate info on it here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1413446 In this Reddit thread... http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/2u0jjd/linux_support_... ...you find comment from barton808, who identifies himself as the Team Lead of Sputni…

For those interested in following along on the process: https://major.io/2015/02/03/linux-support-dell-xps-13-9343-2...

With an updated BIOS and a bunch of patches, it looks like it's getting close...

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#87

Post by FlyingLawnmower » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:20 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #63

jakevn wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently simply disabling Windows Indexing increased battery life from 7.5 hours to 9.5 hours in some tests.

If you have a Pro or Enterprise edition of Windows, you can configure this: 1) Launch mmc (Win+R, "mmc") 2) File -> Add/Remove Snap-In 3) Group Policy Object Editor -> Add -> Local Computer -> Ok 4) Expand Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Search 5) Find "Prevent indexing when running on battery power to conserve energy" 6) Enable -> OK -> Close If yo…

I'm giving this a try, and I'm having trouble following step 4. Once I add the Group Policy Object Editor to the right side of the GUI, I can click on it and get a pop-up, but I can't seem to find the expansion option.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#88

Post by bwilliams » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:21 PM UTC

MetaCosm wrote: post #78

cies wrote: post #72

A Developer Edition (with Linux preloaded) will come at some point. Currently there are driver issues of which the non-working audio is most persistent. Most elaborate info on it here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1413446 In this Reddit thread... http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/2u0jjd/linux_support_... ...you find comment from barton808, who identifies himself as the Team Lead of Sputni…

I was excited until I read 8GB max... that can't be right can it? What modern developer machine would have an 8GB cap?

The 8gb model is 2x4gb, maybe the developer edition will see 2x8gb?

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#89

Post by cies » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:21 PM UTC

MetaCosm wrote: post #78

cies wrote: post #72

A Developer Edition (with Linux preloaded) will come at some point. Currently there are driver issues of which the non-working audio is most persistent. Most elaborate info on it here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1413446 In this Reddit thread... http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/2u0jjd/linux_support_... ...you find comment from barton808, who identifies himself as the Team Lead of Sputni…

I was excited until I read 8GB max... that can't be right can it? What modern developer machine would have an 8GB cap?

It's a bit of a bummer. But I can live with it.

For me it's all compared to other ultrabooks, like the MacBookAir which also does 8G max.

I hope I'll never need to carry a classic-full-size laptop anymore, ever.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#90

Post by MichaelGG » Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 10:22 PM UTC

commandar wrote: post #16

jbk wrote: post #13

It seems great, but I really need a 16GB RAM option. (At least they have the 512GB SSD) With a couple of VMs, and a webbrowser, 8 GB can get tiny, and those machines don't evolve, so I'd like to plan for a couple of years...

I don't think anyone's making machines in this class with that much RAM. They practically have to be built with on-board RAM to get this thin and there's just not enough demand to justify the logistics of building 16GB motherboards for them.

ThinkPad X201 to the X230 had two memory slots, so there's nothing stopping a 2x8 layout. But for single slot machines, the real issue is Intel deliberately not supporting 16GB SODIMMs.