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Dell XPS 13 Review

anandtech.com

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Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#121

Post by Igglyboo »

mrjatx wrote: post #22
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…

Man, I finally a few years ago got completely comfortable with OSX and scripted so much stuff that I can set myself up basically anywhere in 5-10 minutes. Now I'm stuck on a MBPr and get to watch all of these amazing new PC laptops come out that are so innovative. All of the hybrids, convertibles, detachable convertibles, rotatable convertibles. I'm so envious. Come on Apple, seriously.

They really need to step it up this year or their status as the go to dev laptop is going to fade. I really dont know why i can't get a touchscreen MBP yet either..

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#122

Post by dmm »

lhl wrote: post #86
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...

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.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#123

Post by meddlepal »

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...

My company recently gave me an Precision M4800. It's a beast to carry around, but I love it. The whole thing feels very solid. Once I updated the BIOS then Fedora 21 ran like a champ. If it didn't cost nearly $3,000 I would buy one as a personal laptop. 32GB of RAM and 2xSSD make working with a lot of VM's very easy.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#124

Post by sliverstorm »

thanksgiving wrote: post #59
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.

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.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#125

Post by lsaferite »

01Michael10 wrote: post #53
jbk wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, my Ux31 is my main machine. I often plug an extra screen, though.

Sorry, didn't realize you guys were using a 13.3" PC for real work. Yikes! I guess spoiled here to have separate PCs for work (two 21" displays), home (24" display plus TV as second display), and a laptop for portable use. Using a small display laptop as my main box would be to limiting for me. When I am running a VM or logged on to another PC remotely, I like to view it on a second display instead of switching back…

My XPS13 stays closed 90%+ of the time. It's connected to 2x27" monitors, external keyboard, etc. I use a laptop because when I do need to travel I don't have to sync a laptop up to have everything I need, it's already there.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#126

Post by nikanj »

dmm wrote: post #122
lhl wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

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 think the Dell linux team could..

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#127

Post by driverdan »

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?

What do you use more than 8GB for? Only things I can think of are massive Illustrator files and large Windows VMs.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#128

Post by lallysingh »

masklinn wrote: post #82
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 tes…

Did you mean Anand, or did Ars do their own test?

If you meant Anand, they tested both. Look for "Dell XPS 13 (9343) QHD+" and "Dell XPS 13 (9343) FHD" values in the charts.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#129

Post by driverdan »

Alupis wrote: post #41
noja wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an XPS 13 from 2013. It's just over a year old. As I wrote elsewhere the left usb port can't support full power devices - something which support tells me after sending a technician out three times to replace the logic board. They couldn't fix it, so they told me it's "by design". Riiight... This week the SSD died. I won't be calling them again, I can't face the pain of talking to them.

The SSD is just a hard drive, and they do die... You wouldn't tell people not to buy a Ford because you owned one once that got a flat tire...

Internal computer parts are not even close to comparable to a tire. A more reasonable comparison would be a clutch, which you'd expect to last more than a year if treated properly.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review

#130

Post by ssprang »

dmm wrote: post #122
lhl wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

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.
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