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Dell XPS 13 Review

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Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#241

Post by masklinn »

robotic wrote: post #29
jdonaldson wrote: post #23

I had been trying to find a decent developer's laptop for some time, and it led me to the xps 13 "developer edition" (the predecessor to this one). Keep in mind that I really wanted to like that laptop. However, in the end, I went back to my macbook air. There were just too many small headaches to deal with. I'll list them here. I'd like to know if there are any improvements this time around. I'd be curious to know i…

> Darwin isn't a "true" *nix, but it's close enough for me. Yosemite is a registered UNIX 03 product. http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/register/

Hell, OSX has been UNIX03-registered since Leopard/Intel: http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/register/brand3555.htm

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#242

Post by dmm »

ssprang wrote: post #130
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.

I replaced the one in mine with an Intel card (7260NGW) and it works fine under Linux.

Thanks for the feedback. I've had problems with this in HP and Levovo laptops before.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#243

Post by _pmf_ »

plq wrote: post #239

I got a custom built 13.3" Sony Vaio S. It's got 12GB ram, 1TB disk, Intel i7 at 2.9Ghz, 1600x900 display, Blu-Ray Reader/DVD-RW Combo, 3G modem, gbit ethernet, both VGA and HDMI output, 3 USB ports (2 of them 3.0) SD Card and MemoryCard and cost 987 GBP plus tax which I got back on my way out. Oh and it's got very good Linux compatibity out of the box. Resumes from ram without a hitch, I only reboot when I need to g…

> And shame on you, Sony, for not being able to properly sell today's market leader that you came up with two years ago. Shame on you.

Unless you consider Japan. Sony has never been very keen on marketing their top stuff in the US and Europe; it's mystifying.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#244

Post by mavdi »

Switched to Linux a few months ago after I got tired of running out of memory and CPU power on a 16GB i7 MBPr. My productivity has increased 2x. All those little customisations to OS that you end up doing when using Linux really do end up making your life a lot easier in the long run.

I think Apple is on the same path as Microsoft was more than a decade ago. They are losing developers.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#245

Post by morsch »

plq wrote: post #239

I got a custom built 13.3" Sony Vaio S. It's got 12GB ram, 1TB disk, Intel i7 at 2.9Ghz, 1600x900 display, Blu-Ray Reader/DVD-RW Combo, 3G modem, gbit ethernet, both VGA and HDMI output, 3 USB ports (2 of them 3.0) SD Card and MemoryCard and cost 987 GBP plus tax which I got back on my way out. Oh and it's got very good Linux compatibity out of the box. Resumes from ram without a hitch, I only reboot when I need to g…

And I'd call a computer with 2 hours of battery runtime a desktop with a UPS. :) I jest.

That said, I think the Dell is okay in terms of connections. There's seemingly half a dozen video output plugs at the moment, including one that's been around since 1952[0]. I'd rather buy 4 adapting cables than have more than one video out on a subnotebook.

Getting data on/off seems easy: there's wifi, there's 3 USB ports for everything else[1]. Spinning (optical) disks? Really? Might as well put a LTO tape drive in there. I'd have like Ethernet, too, but in those cases where you're most likely to need it (at home, in the office), it's easy to stash an adapter.

[0] I'm not even kidding. http://www.dansdata.com/gz061.htm [1] Also bluetooth. And there's an SD card reader, if your development process includes taking photos. External optical drives are like, 20 bucks.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#246

Post by thanksgiving »

sk5t wrote: post #167
thanksgiving wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably not Dell (I have no idea) but Lenovo apparently has a white list for these things. I don't mean to pile on the recent carp storm that they are in... I just happen to have a idea pad y510p. (I am contemplating removing everything and installing Windows from scratch.)

FWIW, I got nothing but grief from the Lenovo Windows 8 / 8.1 installation on my Thinkstation--Windows booting into repair mode for no apparent reason, janky addon software, etc. A clean, fresh install made it all better, although finding the right storage drivers was a chore.

I'm thinking of doing the same for my y510p. Will the reset windows option keep the recovery partition so I can go back to factory state if I need to do so?

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#247

Post by deong »

josteink wrote: post #233
dagw wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you really in a situation where you need 16Gb every single day? Maybe not every single day, but easily 3 days a week. Personally I could never consider owning a primary work machine with less than 32 GB of RAM, as that is just about enough (with some swap) to do something reasonable with a moderately sized data set in reasonable time, without having to try to get too clever. That being said, I currently have an M…

> Personally I could never consider owning a primary work machine with less than 32 GB of RAM, as that is just about enough (with some swap) to do something reasonable with a moderately sized data set in reasonable time Suffice to say, you probably don't represent the average developer, or power-user. I can write code just fine without having to resort to 32GB data-sets. I think most other developers can too. Not say…

Yeah, I also work quite a lot with large data sets, but what I want from a laptop is for it to be really great at doing everything else. I'll ssh to a machine that cost more than my car when heavy lifting is required.

I had to sit on my hands to keep from giving Dell my credit card number reading that review.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#248

Post by cies »

vetler wrote: post #199
driverdan wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Then why windoze? Why not go with Apple?

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#249

Post by ansible »

julianz wrote: post #108
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...

Recently bought a Dell e7440 14" machine with i7, 16GB and then added a 1TB SSD. As developer machines go, it's pretty decent. Not as much battery life as I'd like (3-4 hours) but I haven't actually run it out yet. It's small and light enough that I can take it anywhere, but big enough that I don't need external monitors to get proper work done. Only real downside is that the video is a little underpowered (HD 4000)…

I recently ordered a HP Omen gaming laptop. 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Nvidia 860m with 4GB VRAM, 15.6in 1080p IPS screen. It was $1700 USD from Costco, but it has taken three weeks to arrive. It is a little heavier than the e7440, but I really wanted a 15in screen.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#250

Post by cies »

p4bl0 wrote: post #195
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 b…

> thanks for the information about the GNU/Linux version :).

You're welcome.

I own the previous version XPS13 (think I bought it in 2013 or 2014). It's a great piece indeed.

I dont use the Ubuntu version that it ships with (by I like NetrunnerOS, in case any one does not know it: have a look), and in the beginning I had problems with the touchpad. Now I mainly have problem with slightly unstable wifi connection (not toooo bad, but annoying).

Last two things: it makes a bit of funny squeeking noise (condensor screem), and sometimes a keypress fires double.

That said, I really dont need the touch screen -- I rather have one without.

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