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Dell XPS 13 Review

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Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#191

Post by jychang »

ch4ch4 wrote: post #139
dmm wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the link: you could replace the bluetooth/wireless card with a different one. Can you really? Many laptops have whitelists and if a device doesn't present the correct pci id it won't be enabled by the bios.

In my experience, HP and Lenovo are usually the only ones enforcing whitelists.

Does Lenovo enforce whitelists on its Thinkpad laptop line too? Or just non-Thinkpad laptops.

If they have Thinkpad whitelists, do you remember if IBM did so when they owned the Thinkpad line?

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#193

Post by r00fus »

sliverstorm wrote: post #124
thanksgiving wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps a sane default would be to pause Windows Indexing by default when on battery? Defaults matter.

That's not really ideal though... for example, Windows Indexing is responsible for indexing email in Outlook. If you've been mobile for the last two days, that's potentially a lot of email you can't search.

Laptops can't really stay mobile for 2 days. At some point, it needs to power up, and your indexer can do the deed then. Too bad Windows doesn't have something like PowerNap that allows the system to run services while the clamshell is closed.

How often do users search in Outlook? I'd say maybe 5-10 times a day, and if it's already indexed, I won't notice.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#194

Post by stinos »

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've been using a Dell XPS 15z for the last three years, comping from an MBP and it has been a relief so far on a lot of points: reliability, drivers, support. I probably had a non-exemplary extremely bad experience with Apple and AppleCare but it was enough to say 'thanks but never again' (mobo replaced twice, swollen battery, OSX actually gave gray screens more then windows gave blue screens on that machine, completely dead in the end - of course right after the extended AppleCare expired, people working in the local Apple store seemed to have been trained to behave like assholes). Again anecdotal but had none of such problems with Dell. So far.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#195

Post by p4bl0 »

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 currently own an XPS13 old version

Which one?

I currently have two laptops: one is a recent (less than 3 years old) Dell Latitude 6430u, and the other one is an old Dell XPS 13 (the M1330, from 7 years ago). Of course the recent one is faster and lighter, but I have to say that the XPS still is a very good laptop, as 7 years later it is still able to compete with new ones.

So I don't need a new laptop right now but this new XPS 13 looks very interesting indeed, thanks for the information about the GNU/Linux version :).

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#196

Post by noisy_boy »

Agathos wrote: post #120
MetaCosm wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I don't know of any ultrabook that lets you go past 8GB. Not this, not the Lenovo X1, not the MacBook Air. Do you know of one? Edit: saw your pointer to the Asus UX303LN. Interesting.

Dell E7240, 12.5" and allowed upto 16GB.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#197

Post by InAnEmergency »

mercurial wrote: post #188
estebank wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Know that the most it can go to is 12GB. If you want more memory you have to go to the T4XXp series, and probably buy the RAM yourself as the premium charged is considerable: 16GB on NewEgg is $120, while the premium payed for 16GB out of the box is $340. The T440s also maxes out at 12GB.

Just don't buy the RAM from Lenovo. On my T430, access to the RAM is a screwdriver away.

It's a bit of a pain with the T440s (have to pry apart all the plastic), but still better than paying what Lenovo wants.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#198

Post by QuantumRoar »

iak8god wrote: post #107
masklinn wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can't believe Dell's calling this an "Ultrabook" and reviewers are calling it a "premium notebook" if the RAM maxes out at 8GB. The Ars review included a similar remark: > The year is 2015. 8GB of RAM should be the baseline, with 16GB as an option. 4GB is barely enough to run Chrome. but noted that the CPU supports 16GB, so unless the RAM is soldered you can reach 16GB aftermarket.

> unless the RAM is soldered Is is according to ifixit's teardown: "Buyer beware: Just like in the MacBooks Air and Retina, the RAM in the XPS 13 is soldered to the motherboard, and cannot be replaced. When you're picking out your new laptop, configure what you think it'll need...forever." - https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Dell+XPS+13+Teardown/36157#s... I'm not a fan of this trend.

I don't think you can really avoid it when trying to pack everything as densely as possible. A few years down the road, I believe, an SoC will probably contain not only the CPU, graphics, audio, etc., but also RAM. Probably stacked onto the CPU connected with through-silicon vias. All you'll see in an ifixit teardown is a single chip made entirely from nanoscale silicon structures. There'll be nothing a user can even see. The upside, however, is that such a level of integration gives you a power advantage, a price advantage and a size advantage.

Just recently, when Broadwell was released, Intel boasted how small their chips have become. This is necessary to make the as-thin-as-possible design of Ultrabooks and it's a trend that's not going to go away because having an Ultrabook in your bag is so much better than any other kind of laptop.

I don't really know how it would be possible to make an Ultrabook at that size still modular like a tower PC.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#199

Post by vetler »

driverdan wrote: post #132
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…

sigh Linux on good new laptops always tends to be 85-90% of the way there. I'd like to switch back to Linux from Apple products but it's never 100%.

One option that works 100%, is just to let it run Windows, and run Linux in VMWare or VirtualBox. I've done it before, and I'm doing it right now - never had any issues with it.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#200

Post by Maakuth »

jychang wrote: post #191
ch4ch4 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, HP and Lenovo are usually the only ones enforcing whitelists.

Does Lenovo enforce whitelists on its Thinkpad laptop line too? Or just non-Thinkpad laptops. If they have Thinkpad whitelists, do you remember if IBM did so when they owned the Thinkpad line?

They do, and it seems to date back to IBM days.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_with_unauthorized_Mini...

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