Dell XPS 13, one year later(bit-101.com)
bit-101.com
Dell XPS 13, one year later
http://www.bit-101.com/blog/?p=4178
30 comments
Coincidentally, I just got my new XPS 13 today. Took it out of the box, booted it up, and was greeted by ... coil whine. Friggin coil whine. I knew this had plagued previous models of the XPS 13, but I figured Dell would have gotten their act together by now. Nope. It sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies. A high pitched squealing sound comes out of the laptop anytime you launch a program or do anything that even remotely uses the processor. I tried booting into a USB to reinstall windows to see if that would help, and it got worse. The whole laptop would start to buzz whenever I touched the trackpad, and I starting hearing the most wonderful chirps and squeaks coming from underneath keyboard. Wonderful. I paid $1600 for what I thought was a premium laptop. Based on the OP's experience with Dell tech support, I don't even want to mess with trying to have it fixed. Nope, this piece of crap is getting returned, and I'm getting a Thinkpad.
Hey buddy. I got one yesterday. Such an adventure. Coming from the MacBook experience, I will say it's glitchy AF. But I still haven't linuxed it. Doubt that will help.
I will say it's fast.
My complaint is the Thunderbolt 3. It is a lie. First you need an adapter because of course you do and the only one at the store is Apple's. I have a bunch of Macs and displays and peripherals and zero success talking to any of them.
I don't know if I'll even complain. I have an Intel desktop mobo that after several years learned to drive a display over Thunderbolt iff it's connected on boot and that's all. So I'm not expecting much.
I will say it's fast.
My complaint is the Thunderbolt 3. It is a lie. First you need an adapter because of course you do and the only one at the store is Apple's. I have a bunch of Macs and displays and peripherals and zero success talking to any of them.
I don't know if I'll even complain. I have an Intel desktop mobo that after several years learned to drive a display over Thunderbolt iff it's connected on boot and that's all. So I'm not expecting much.
Yeah, this laptop was supposed to replace my old MacBook Air. I had that thing for five years, and not once had a problem with it, even after dropping it and damaging the shell. I wanted to get a linux-compatible laptop and switch to it full time, but I'm having serious second thoughts. The build quality of Macs is top-notch, and to use the old cliche, it "just works". Honestly. They're ridiculously expensive, but hey, you get what you pay for.
I agree. The Precision 5510 I have at work (basically an XPS 15) is definitely not a MacBook Pro. I adore how you can still upgrade the ram, replace the hard drive, and use standard m.2 SSDs, but the chassis is not that rigid, and the screen might be better on paper, but I find it very annoying to use.
The trackpad is terrible!! You can't click it if you're holding the laptop because the chassis flexes too much!
The keyboard is fantastic though! It's just like my MacBook Air's keyboard! Just the right amount of travel and give. I'll give them props for that.
The trackpad is terrible!! You can't click it if you're holding the laptop because the chassis flexes too much!
The keyboard is fantastic though! It's just like my MacBook Air's keyboard! Just the right amount of travel and give. I'll give them props for that.
My approximately one-year experience with my XPS13 has been pretty uneventful (as it should be). Fedora 25 and 26 have been working flawlessly. Although I have to acknowledge that when I put my ear on the keyboard I hear some coil whine.
I always take a next-business-day-on-site warranty and until now it was a pretty useless "investment" for the XPS13.
With a previous XPS I had to call them once. After navigating an endless series of phone menus, the support I got was as good as it should be.
I always take a next-business-day-on-site warranty and until now it was a pretty useless "investment" for the XPS13.
With a previous XPS I had to call them once. After navigating an endless series of phone menus, the support I got was as good as it should be.
Four weeks ago my laptop died and my boss said I could order a new one. I was contemplating the Dell XPS 13 and Thinkpad Carbon X1. I chose the latter and so far I am very happy with it. Reading the bad experiences some of you had I am glad about my choice.
The quality of the XPS 13 is very poor. The coil whine is so bad that I had to use noise cancelling headphones just to be not distracted by it.
For a $2,100 AUD laptop it's a joke. Their quality control is non existent.
For a $2,100 AUD laptop it's a joke. Their quality control is non existent.
I have had the Kaby Lake XPS 13" for about a year. Linux is nice in many ways and it's a decent laptop. The small formfactor/screen might be the best thing about it hardwarewise. Here's my rant:
- I had to research and create a bashscript with these cmds to get better defaults / fix stuff:
-------
# Longer timeout for backlit keyboard
echo 5m > /sys/class/leds/dell::kbd_backlight/stop_timeout
echo 1 > /sys/class/leds/dell::kbd_backlight/brightness
# This is to stop touchpad from beeing to sensitive while typing
syndaemon -t -k -i 1.0 -d
# Fix headphone hissing
amixer -c PCH cset 'name=Headphone Mic Boost Volume' 1
---------
- Wireless networking performs way worse then on my macbook pro 2015.
- Bad palm rejection on the touchpad bites me all the time, even though I tweaked it with above script.
- Power supply stopped working after ~6 months. Dell sent me a new one though.
- Feels more sluggish then the older MacBook Pro 2015 even though the specs are better.
- Battery-life already feels ... bad.
- When I close screen and opens it back up it's very slow to re-connect to the WLAN. Again, my older MacBook Pro is so much faster.
- Ubuntu have some bad defaults for how certain things work. For example, when I connect to a bluetooth-speaker the default isn't that the volume-buttons on the keyboard controls the bluetooths-speakers volume.
I really wanted to like this laptop, but I'll most likely go latest MacBook Prop for my next. Even though I enjoy the power of pure linux.. and the keyboardlayout better then on a Mac.
- I had to research and create a bashscript with these cmds to get better defaults / fix stuff:
-------
# Longer timeout for backlit keyboard
echo 5m > /sys/class/leds/dell::kbd_backlight/stop_timeout
echo 1 > /sys/class/leds/dell::kbd_backlight/brightness
# This is to stop touchpad from beeing to sensitive while typing
syndaemon -t -k -i 1.0 -d
# Fix headphone hissing
amixer -c PCH cset 'name=Headphone Mic Boost Volume' 1
---------
- Wireless networking performs way worse then on my macbook pro 2015.
- Bad palm rejection on the touchpad bites me all the time, even though I tweaked it with above script.
- Power supply stopped working after ~6 months. Dell sent me a new one though.
- Feels more sluggish then the older MacBook Pro 2015 even though the specs are better.
- Battery-life already feels ... bad.
- When I close screen and opens it back up it's very slow to re-connect to the WLAN. Again, my older MacBook Pro is so much faster.
- Ubuntu have some bad defaults for how certain things work. For example, when I connect to a bluetooth-speaker the default isn't that the volume-buttons on the keyboard controls the bluetooths-speakers volume.
I really wanted to like this laptop, but I'll most likely go latest MacBook Prop for my next. Even though I enjoy the power of pure linux.. and the keyboardlayout better then on a Mac.
FHD versions suck at inverted color schemes (white on black text). (The 4k version can be patched)
When there as primarily black on the screen, the monitor dims the backlight and brightens the screen. This saves backlight, but cut's of the peak brightness (the white of your text). You can test if you are effected here: http://tylerwatt12.com/dc/
There is no patch for the FHD version, the problem exists since 2015, so for several generations of these things... https://github.com/advancingu/XPS13Linux/issues/2
Also a lot of coil whine and without up to date drivers a lot of bluescreens.
Oh and the only big USB-C Dell Dock, it has no USB-C out, so it uses up all your USB-C. Not very future proof.
When there as primarily black on the screen, the monitor dims the backlight and brightens the screen. This saves backlight, but cut's of the peak brightness (the white of your text). You can test if you are effected here: http://tylerwatt12.com/dc/
There is no patch for the FHD version, the problem exists since 2015, so for several generations of these things... https://github.com/advancingu/XPS13Linux/issues/2
Also a lot of coil whine and without up to date drivers a lot of bluescreens.
Oh and the only big USB-C Dell Dock, it has no USB-C out, so it uses up all your USB-C. Not very future proof.
I have an XPS 13 from 2015, the full HD variant, running Linux.
For the most part, it's a great machine, and I have no noticable coil while. However, since I always code with a black terminal window and bright text, I'm very affected by that dynamic backlight bullshit. I can't comfortably code if there's a lot of sunlight in the room (not to mention being outside on a sunny day). It's really quite annoying.
For the most part, it's a great machine, and I have no noticable coil while. However, since I always code with a black terminal window and bright text, I'm very affected by that dynamic backlight bullshit. I can't comfortably code if there's a lot of sunlight in the room (not to mention being outside on a sunny day). It's really quite annoying.
Me too and I moved from lenovo to dell for the brighter screen :'(
I will never buy another Dell after using a m3800 for a couple of years. Suspend stopped working after a couple of weeks. I've had to replace the fans twice. The trackpad stopped working correctly (but that was because the battery started to bloat). The worst part was that the screen started to get horizontal lines that would never go away. Sometimes bios text would get burned into the display. It has been sitting as a paper weight on my desk for months. I actually painfully switched back to an older 2011 macbook air.
Unfortunately I experienced much the same sort of symptoms with my 15” XPS as well, culminating in unbearable coil whine and a display that just never worked properly, so it was returned and I promptly got myself a MacBook. Prior to this, I ran thinkpads for years without issue, so next time I’m in the market for a linux/windows box I think I’ll give them another go...
The support staff at dell just seemed so incredibly uninterested in helping me after I bought my machine, and getting a refund organised was just painful.
The support staff at dell just seemed so incredibly uninterested in helping me after I bought my machine, and getting a refund organised was just painful.
I have a Dell XPS 13 1960 - bought at start of this year, currently running Kubuntu
It has been awesome, no complaints yet.
Space bar has no issues, No coil whine.
It has been awesome, no complaints yet.
Space bar has no issues, No coil whine.
Pro Support or standard warranty?
Sounds like basic support to me, with pro support a tech had been at your place the nbd.
Sounds like basic support to me, with pro support a tech had been at your place the nbd.
Had a Dell Inspiron (1300 I believe), made a nice heater in the winters.
Most of this is to do with the customer support, and not really about the actual laptop. But... It is annoying when things go wrong and you have to deal with poor customer service and you feel like you are constantly battling the company.
I've had a little Dell XPS 13 Dev edition and I really really like it. Everything works well, it's fast, it's got a good display and it stays out of my way and allows me to fully focus on work. I've added gestures on the trackpad to act similar to OSX as I got used to them on my Macbook. Nothing really special to this laptop, but it's damn good and has been behaving itself.
I've had a little Dell XPS 13 Dev edition and I really really like it. Everything works well, it's fast, it's got a good display and it stays out of my way and allows me to fully focus on work. I've added gestures on the trackpad to act similar to OSX as I got used to them on my Macbook. Nothing really special to this laptop, but it's damn good and has been behaving itself.
Reporting in with similar issues. My first gen XPS13 had a keyboard whining issue, then the trackpad popped out of the case (and that is with light use). The keyboard is not your usual chiclet affair---the key travel is significantly shallower than any other machine I've owned. It often registered a double press when typing normally (not just the space bar) and the keys are light enough to depress when resting on the home row. The bezel-less screen was glorious though...
I was happy to be back to my trusty ThinkPad.
I was happy to be back to my trusty ThinkPad.
I have had experience with a DELL PC(Alienware), where the wireless card had poor reception. The problem very much lies with the incompetent tech support. They had me replace the motherboard, the card, but the problem still persisted. In the end, I gave up and used a USB wireless card.
I work for a small software company, we pick our own laptops from the Dell business account.
Anecdotally, every Latitude we've bought has been rock solid, and every XPS - without exception - has had issues. Sound cards dead on arrival, random bluescreening, dead SSDs, faulty HDMI ports, you name it. Sometimes they'll send a new one, sometimes they'll send an engineer to replace the motherboard.
I can't recommend XPS based on my own experience. The quality control just doesn't seem to be there. The specs are too good to be true for the price anyway. If you need the specs, go Precision.
Anecdotally, every Latitude we've bought has been rock solid, and every XPS - without exception - has had issues. Sound cards dead on arrival, random bluescreening, dead SSDs, faulty HDMI ports, you name it. Sometimes they'll send a new one, sometimes they'll send an engineer to replace the motherboard.
I can't recommend XPS based on my own experience. The quality control just doesn't seem to be there. The specs are too good to be true for the price anyway. If you need the specs, go Precision.
Yep, latitudes and precisions (except m3800) are quite ok and difficult to beat on price vs specs. I only don’t like the myriad of options to choose from, why not decide on some standard like screen resolution or keyboard backlight?
I've been at same company for 13 years. I'm only on my 2nd computer, both ThinkPad. (the expensive model that you can pick up by edge of its display and swing it around even though it weighs 6 pounds)
Usually, our company forces us to upgrade laptop after 3 years, but when I heard they were changing supplier to HP, I told them, over my dead body. Eventually they stop harassing.
3 years go by, I get the same notice. This time, instead of HP, they had moved onto Dell.
Horrified, I told them to go pound sand, and they eventually went away.
Another 2 years go by, and I must've ended up on our IT's most wanted list or something. I relent, and turn my 8 year old machine in. Mind you, this laptop went through daily grind, tens of thousands of docking and undocking, enterprise software updates. (you know how brutal those are)
When IT guy saw my machine, he said, "Wow, I haven't seen this in years! Hey guys, check this out!"
Luckily, by then, my company had switched back to Thinkpad.
That was almost 6 years ago, and I'm still rocking my W520.
Usually, our company forces us to upgrade laptop after 3 years, but when I heard they were changing supplier to HP, I told them, over my dead body. Eventually they stop harassing.
3 years go by, I get the same notice. This time, instead of HP, they had moved onto Dell.
Horrified, I told them to go pound sand, and they eventually went away.
Another 2 years go by, and I must've ended up on our IT's most wanted list or something. I relent, and turn my 8 year old machine in. Mind you, this laptop went through daily grind, tens of thousands of docking and undocking, enterprise software updates. (you know how brutal those are)
When IT guy saw my machine, he said, "Wow, I haven't seen this in years! Hey guys, check this out!"
Luckily, by then, my company had switched back to Thinkpad.
That was almost 6 years ago, and I'm still rocking my W520.
Why does the company force hardware upgrades?
Software upgrades are necessary for security, but it sounds like you saved the company about $1000 - $2000 without incurring any negative effects.
Software upgrades are necessary for security, but it sounds like you saved the company about $1000 - $2000 without incurring any negative effects.
The "cost" in big orgs is deviation. Look at Apple: they have a finite number of hardware configurations, and thus the testing burden is much, much lower - for internal and likely external software deliveries.
Contrast it with the horrific number of driver vendors it takes to work in harmony for any random Windows install. To say nothing of Linux distros if the org is progressive enough to permit their use on the LAN
Contrast it with the horrific number of driver vendors it takes to work in harmony for any random Windows install. To say nothing of Linux distros if the org is progressive enough to permit their use on the LAN
"Why does the company force hardware upgrades?"
Partly to pre-empt hardware issues. Vendors will only offer warrenties for so many years, because they can only maintain stocks of replacement parts for any given model for so long. Once you have enough machines, a certain percentage of them will fail each year, and it becomes a game of numbers. A well-organized IT department will swap out your computer before it gets so old that there is a risk that it will suddenly fail in an unrepairable way.
Partly to pre-empt hardware issues. Vendors will only offer warrenties for so many years, because they can only maintain stocks of replacement parts for any given model for so long. Once you have enough machines, a certain percentage of them will fail each year, and it becomes a game of numbers. A well-organized IT department will swap out your computer before it gets so old that there is a risk that it will suddenly fail in an unrepairable way.
When you're managing "images", it's much easier when you have a limited amount of hardware to deal with -- especially if/when you have to roll drivers up in your images.
This has gotten much better in the last 10 years or so, thanks mostly to Microsoft's improved tooling, but standardizing on specific hardware often saves time more than anything else. I can remember the days when we had to use (for example) "image A" for this model of desktop PC, "image B" for a different model of desktop PC, and even "image C" for a slightly newer hardware revision of the same desktop PC. Fortunately, I didn't have to create or maintain those images.
At a .edu I worked at, preparing and deploying new images was often the biggest project of our summers.
This has gotten much better in the last 10 years or so, thanks mostly to Microsoft's improved tooling, but standardizing on specific hardware often saves time more than anything else. I can remember the days when we had to use (for example) "image A" for this model of desktop PC, "image B" for a different model of desktop PC, and even "image C" for a slightly newer hardware revision of the same desktop PC. Fortunately, I didn't have to create or maintain those images.
At a .edu I worked at, preparing and deploying new images was often the biggest project of our summers.
really beats me... i thought the whole point of paying premium for Thinkpad was for lower support cost and longevity. I think they finally got the hint when they switched over to Thinkpad, because I haven't received any notice about machine upgrade in 6 years.
Unfortunately should my current machine craps out, they'll issue newer model with that horrible keyboard.
Unfortunately should my current machine craps out, they'll issue newer model with that horrible keyboard.
How do current Thinkpad machines compare to the classic "indestructible" models from a decade ago? Pretty satisfied with my x230 but going to have to start looking for an upgrade soon.