Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

[NeoMesal]

3. Trackpad. With XPS 15z drivers, there is still not any good usability that I can achieve with the trackpad. Two way scrolling is erratic at best...

Just got this machine, and very happy with it far except for the scrolling on trackpad.

Does this help in anyway?

two-finger-scroll - Two finger gestures for Synaptics TouchPads on Windows - Google Project Hosting

It works great on my XPS 15; I'm not quite sure how yours are configured (are they synaptics?)

[GordyM]

Any review that compares the HP Folio is silly - it weighs almost as much as a regular notebook.

Some reviews show the Dell as better then some - but don't always have real specs.

But ask yourself this - if a unit comes in at the top in performance - should it also top battery time? Should weight and screen size be a factor? OS? Wifi radios? Processor speed (not just i5 vs. i7)? How about BIOS settings - they differ per manufacturer - so how do you compare?

There are some machines with really poor battery life - the Dell XPS 13 is not one of them. Some reviews put it right at 5 hours - OK that works for me. It is not 3 hours like other 13" machines. If you want 5.5, 6, or 7 hours then by a different machine - but there will be trade offs.

I agree with you 100%

[noced]

How's the heat on the bottom on the laptop after long periods of use? (like all day long)

Thanks.

I didn't feel the bottom at the time when the keyboard was hot and I haven't had a high-CPU-usage moment since then.

Today I have been using the XPS 13 for about 20 hours now for web surfing, word processing, and a couple of installations (no high CPU usage, and two naps during lunch and dinner), and right now the bottom makes a really, really good hand warmer. I can put my hands on the bottom forever and not have to remove them. It's quite comfortable for a couple of hours on my knees too.

One day when I'm converting videos again I'll try the bottom.

Can someone please help me out? I don't know what's wrong with my Dell XPS 13, I updated to bios to A03 last night and now sleep doesn't work. I closed the lid and when i go wake it up it freezes, I've had over 5 BSOD the last couple of hours playing around with the laptops' sleep feature, i tried disabling iRST in the BIOS that didn't do anything, same problem, i tried hibernating, that also didn't work, still getting BSODs and everything it happens when i reboot the system the BIOS doesn't recognize the SSD drive, I have to do it twice for it to be recognized, now all i can do safely is turn on/off the laptop

I would try a factory restore, actually. I had a lot of problems with the XPS 13 at the beginning, and now I love it after two factory restores. I'm on the A03 bios too.

[SoundsGood]

right now the bottom makes a really, really good hand warmer...

One day when I'm converting videos again I'll try the bottom.

Thanks. When I felt the bottom of the unit I looked at it was pretty darn hot on the bottom, specifically in the middle towards the back. I'm not in a climate where I need a hand warmer, so the heat thing is important to me.

I would try a factory restore, actually. I had a lot of problems with the XPS 13 at the beginning, and now I love it after two factory restores.

I really wish these things were "good to go" when they actually come out of the factory. I hate that so many tweaks have to be made when a laptop is purchased -- just to get it to work the way it's supposed to work.

[smckenna]

I've had my XPS-13 Ultrabook (Intel Core i7 version) for about 2 days, and here are my impressions:
First I installed the A03 BIOS.
I've only even heard the fan come on 3 times, and that was when I was installing Visual Studio 2010, SQL Server 2008R2 Developer's Edition, and Adobe PhotoShop CS2.
It runs surprisingly cool, and the fan hasn't been an issue at all for me.
Two-finger scrolling is a little bit choppy, but I know they are working on a driver update, so no problem.
The display is gorgeous. They probably could have made it 1400x900 instead of 1366x768, but that would be the ONLY thing that I would even slightly fault this laptop for. And if you're listening Dell, please do NOT push the resolution all the way to 1600x900, as that would make the fonts and icons too tiny and unusable for this size screen.
WiFi connectivity is solid with my NetGear N600 Dual Band Wireles router running 5GHz connections.
The keyboard feels natural, and typing is very quick. I'm not thrilled with the tiny arrow keys, but that seems to be the price to pay on all the UltraBooks.
Hooking up to external monitors via the mini-DisplayPort works flawlessly.
The screen hinge range of motion is just fine. Looks like about 135 degrees. Unlike other reviewers that I have read, I personally don't ever place the computer on my kitchen counter and stand in front of the laptop and expect to be able to use it! How about this for a mid-cycle rollout: Modify the hinge so that the screen can fold all the way onto the back of the laptop, and also add touch-screen sensors so we can turn the whole laptop into a huge Windows 8 tablet!
I did manage to sell my old 6 pound Studio XPS-15 on eBay for $1175, so I really only had to spend about $125 to upgrade to this wonderful, light, powerful, and stylish laptop! My arm feels such a relief already!

[SoundsGood]

They probably could have made it 1400x900... And if you're listening Dell, please do NOT push the resolution all the way to 1600x900

I agree 100%.

[CowboyCoder]

It's Not possible to do 1440x900 on a 16:9 aspect screen, it's either 1366x768 or 1600x900.

1440x900 is only available on 16:10 aspect, which are only used by Apple these days.

On another note, I use Visual Studio & SQL and thinking of one of these. How well does it run them? I know the IDE will be a bit cramped because of the screen res but what's performance like?

[SoundsGood]

1440x900 is only available on 16:10 aspect...

Right. What we're requesting is that they go with a 16:10 screen with 1440x900 resolution.

[pusta]

Right. What we're requesting is that they go with a 16:10 screen with 1440x900 resolution.

Put me down in the camp of people who do not like 16:10 screens

[smckenna]

It runs surprisingly cool, and the fan hasn't been an issue at all for me.

Also, I forgot to mention. I see that several other people are mentioning that the A03 BIOS is leaving their fan making rythmic noise. I am not hearing anything like this at all. Mine is completely quiet, except when the CPU is under heavy load and it starts to kick them on.