7 ms·

New XPS 13 Developer Edition from Dell

70 points by nighthawk24 12y ago

jpgvm 12y ago
The second model seems like a really good deal for a fairly powerful Linux laptop with a really nice screen. Will probably wait for an Ars review but definitely looks promising. Way more affordable than the Precision model they released recently.
tqh 12y ago
Seems Dell is a mess in ACPI and will need firmware updates: http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/34542.html http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/34542.html
- INTPenis 12y ago
  The state of the hardware in Linux is very relevant, I couldn't find any real specs like chipsets of network, sound and such for this new XPS model. Linux has come a far way as all of us who remember compiling a device driver will attest to, but that does not mean we're free from having to check if our new computers have well supported firmwares and preferably functioning open drivers.
  - lhl 12y ago
    The most extensive discussion on Linux compatibility for the XPS13 is here: https://major.io/2015/02/03/linux-support-dell-xps-13-9343-2015-model/ https://major.io/2015/02/03/linux-support-dell-xps-13-9343-2... It includes info on the hardware: ALC3263 audio, BCM4352 network. Issues (presumably all fixed/worked around now that Dell is officially selling a DE) included the above-mentioned ACPI issues, sound (HDA/I2S, mic, headphone output) keyboard debouncing, trackpad freezing (and having to run in PS2 mode), and un-suspend display corruption. Note, Major Hayden, who wrote the original post ended up switching to a Lenovo X1 Carbon: https://major.io/2015/03/30/review-lenovo-x1-carbon-3rd-generation-and-linux/ https://major.io/2015/03/30/review-lenovo-x1-carbon-3rd-gene...
    - igravious 12y ago
      The X1 Carbon X1 (2nd gen) starts at roughly €2,200 in my region versus Dell's roughly €1,300 for the XPS 13 (3rd gen). That's a _big_ difference, it had want to be worth it but wait... The Carbon has the good ol' Windows tax, the XPS comes with Ubuntu pre-installed. The Carbon has an i5, the XP3 an i7. Carbo has a res of 2560x1440 (QHD), the XPS has a res of 3200 x 1800 (QHD+). The Carbon has a 180GB hard drive, the XPS has a 512GB. Thanks, but no thanks. I have the previous version of the XPS 13 and it's a sweet machine. Granted, it may take Dell a while to get the BIOS tweaks just right but it's not like the machine is unusable otherwise - it just goes from nearly perfect to perfect. --- [0] http://shop.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/x1-carbon-2/ http://shop.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/x1-ca... [1] http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd
davidw 12y ago
I have the previous edition of this laptop, and I'm very happy with it. I'm a Linux guy through and through, and I'm happy to put my money where my mouth is, rather than buying some Windows machine and hoping Linux runs well on it. I'll probably pick one of these up later this year.
ziahamza 12y ago
Its a bit funny, when they state that it turns on instantly, They then back it up with 12 second cold boot and 3-5 second from sleep
- bithush 12y ago
  I find it strange they still use this as a selling point. My only computer is a Dell laptop from 2008 (Studio 1737) and it wakes from sleep (Windows 8.1) in ~1 second. Sure I don't have connected standby but to be honest I don't really care for it. I open the lid and in a second Windows is up and running again. This machine originally came with Vista and it has always worked this quickly as far as I can remember.
sirtopas 12y ago
The thing that put me off the original was the 8gb max RAM... surely a developer edition would allow for more?
- lugg 12y ago
  Chalk it up to planned obsolescence for the stepchild broadwell, ddr3, and msata. Just wait for skylake they won't really be able to dodge it for another year. By they I mean all the relevant windows laptop manufacturers.
- Athas 12y ago
  I got a ThinkPad X250 a few weeks ago. Originally I was hesitant, as it is also limited to 8GiB of memory, but I realised that development need not actually use more than that (and indeed, I never do). I basically need to run just Emacs, a compiler and a browser, and although both GHC and browsers are memory hogs, 8GiB is plenty. Whenever I need to do really intense things, like benchmarking, simulations or large-scale testing, I always want to use a remote beefy machine anyway. I know that some developers have a need to run a large number of local virtual machines, but I do not really understand why, to be honest. I use virtual machines too, but remotely, and mostly automatically for continuous integration. I don't think programming is inherently particularly resource-consuming.
  - maccard 12y ago
    Depends on what you do. I work on a large c++ codebase, and running a full rebuild chews through about 20GB of ram, and almost 100% cpu utilisation on my workstation, for about 15 minutes.
  - dkns 12y ago
    My friend's wife is java programmer. She uses a thinkpad with 16 gb afaik. From what he told me she opens up like 5 different java projects in eclipse and 16gb is gone.
  - creshal 12y ago
    FYI, the X250 unofficially allows 16 GiB RAM. 16 GiB sticks are rather new (came out after the X250) and are still insanely expensive, though (around 400 dollars, last I checked). > I use virtual machines too, but remotely, and mostly automatically for continuous integration. I'd love to do that, but our internet is far too crappy for that – we upgraded our offices from 2 Mbit/s to 10 MBit/s last year, and there are no faster options even if we wanted to –, hence I have to carry the VMs on my laptop (X230 with 16 GiB RAM and 2 SSDs).
bewareofdell 12y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HGxYMJdm1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HGxYMJdm1c It affects the E7x40, E6x40, E5x40, E5x50, M4800, M6800, E7450 & XPS 13 2015 under Linux/VMs. So basically Dell took a few months to fix the keyboard de bouncing under Windows and when they finally released a BIOS update they made the situation a lot worse for linux users (keys would appear to get stuck). After waiting a few more months, they finally released another BIOS update to "fix" the anomaly under Linux (they fixed the "stuck" key problem but many users are still reporting a de bouncing issue, see the latest pages of this thread if you are interested http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19593360 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/... ) There's also a touchpad & trackpoint issue that is still not fixed after more than a year and It looks like a BIOS/EC/firmware issue: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1258837 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1258837 Dell also broke USB3 support in the latest BIOS update for the E6540 and on the E6440 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19610392 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/... They also released a botched BIOS update (when UEFI netwokrk stack is enabled) fairly recently that necessitated the removal of the CMOS battery in order to boot... https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/2m6u4s/dell_latitude_e7440_a11_bios_update_bricks_machine/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/2m6u4s/dell_latit... Also their fan control & thermal management is a sad joke. http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19593697 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/... Their BIOS testing process is broken if not in -existing. So, if you want to buy a Dell machine, just make sure that you know what you're getting into... Once the initial BIOS is declared gold it can take several months to see an issue resolved.
- mariusandreiana 12y ago
  Thanks! Do you know how this would perform with Linux? ASUS Zenbook UX305FA-ASM1 13.3-Inch Ultra-Slim Aluminum Laptop, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD
  - badsock 12y ago
    It sounds like it runs fine once you get past the tricky install: http://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/2zbtm2/asus_zenbook_ux305_for_windowsarch_dual_boot/ http://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/2zbtm2/asus_zenbo...
tuananh 12y ago
A bit weird as it says nothing about battery.
- miahi 12y ago
  It does say "52 WHr, 4-Cell Battery (integrated)" in the details ("Also included in this system"), but it doesn't list the estimated run time.
  - tuananh 12y ago
    Thanks. I didn't go into detail page. That's why
unhammer 12y ago
Operating System Ubuntu Linux 14.04 SP1 Does Ubuntu have Service Packs now?
- calpaterson 12y ago
  Ubuntu has Debian-style point releases: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TrustyTahr/ReleaseNotes/14.04.1 https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TrustyTahr/ReleaseNotes/14.04.1 Unlike the normal release of a package into the repositories, the installation media are updated
- brazzledazzle 12y ago
  I can only find jokes about Dell, so perhaps an erroneous find and replace.
gambiting 12y ago
Developer edition, and still no option to get it with 16GB of ram. This is the only thing that I dislike about this laptop, other than that it's a very cool little machine.
- mschaef 12y ago
  Serious questions: what's the use case for 16GB RAM? I'm not doubting... just curious.
  - gambiting 12y ago
    Well, I am a games programmer and my machine at the office has 64GB of ram....which nearly runs out every time I start the project. All laptops which we use for going on business trips have 16GB of ram but that's sufficient only for a minimal set of projects to be ran. Obviously that's a very specific use case, but those specific use cases exist, and it's sad that the XPS, which is supposed to be a high-end machine, does not cater to those use cases.
    - mschaef 12y ago
      Thanks. It's interesting that both you and the other respondent to my question are game developers. It makes sense that that line of work entails large data sets, etc.
  - egeozcan 12y ago
    In a developer machine? Off the top of my head: virtual machines, in-memory databases, a bitmap editor with huge bitmaps consisting of many layers, game programming, 3D rendering...
    - mschaef 12y ago
      Thanks.
farresito 12y ago
I would rather get a Thinkpad for that price, especially the T450S.
- nazgulnarsil 12y ago
  $1600 for an IPS 1080p screen? what a joke.
jakobegger 12y ago
What makes this a 'developer edition'? Does that just mean it comes without windows, or are there other differences too?
- simonmales 12y ago
  Sans Windows.
CSDude 12y ago
I expected to change some hardware components via Customize & Buy, such as adding more RAM, however it only allows adding support or some accessories. Expected more from a "Developer Edition". Do you recommend any other laptops for Linux with full support and lasts more than 4-5 hours?
- on_and_off 12y ago
  If you can live with 64 go of SSD, the new Chromebook pixel looks quite interesting (with crouton in order to use linux).
- lhl 12y ago
  I got tired of waiting for the Dell (and got a bit antsy about the BIOS and other issues) and went with a Lenovo X250 instead. It's fully customizable but takes about 2 weeks to ship. I've actually been traveling since I ordered it, finally getting it cross-shipped this week. There are some crazy discounts every so often (I got a 35% off on my X250 order a couple weeks ago; I spent $1500 w/ shipping+tax for the i7-5600U CPU, 512GB SSD, 12.5"FHD screen, w/ a 6-cell battery). It maxes out w/ an 8GB DIMM, but 16GB DIMMs are starting to show up and will be compatible (albeit currently quite expensive). The X250 is slightly bulkier than the MBA11/XPS13, but one nice thing is that it comes w/ a built-in 3-cell battery and an additional hot-swappable 3 or 6-cell battery. Real world battery life is reported to be 6h+ with the 3+3 combo, and 10h+ with the 3+6. Lenovo claims 20h in Windows. I'm interested in running some tests but I'm confident it should last at least a work day. Here are some notes I've gathered, both comparing various ultrabook options (I'm replacing my MBA11 after multiple generations of disappointments) as well as lots of X250 specific config notes: https://randomfoo.hackpad.com/Lenovo-X250-Linux-CVpUMLjBDZh https://randomfoo.hackpad.com/Lenovo-X250-Linux-CVpUMLjBDZh
kaushiks 12y ago
Lack of a 16GB RAM option on a "developer edition" machine is very disappointing. Looks like a Chromebook LS + Crouton is the best Linux development environment one could aspire for right now.
- yiyus 12y ago
  16GB RAM is not a requirement for everybody.
  - newaccountfool 12y ago
    Neither is 8GB but they should still have the option.
    - yiyus 12y ago
      Fair enough. Large memory is needed for some developers and the 16GB option should be there. But for many, many developers, a few GB should be more than enough.
    - ironsides 12y ago
      I'm in the same boat and actively looking at the XPS-13 (have one in cart as of writing). Dell Tech support suggested this limit was due to the motherboard. I would imagine another refresh will be coming -- either with Windows 10 (Sep/Oct) or Skylake (Aug).
  - kpcyrd 12y ago
    Why is this getting downvoted? I use a device with 1GB for development.
- datr 12y ago
  The 64GB HDD on the Chromebook is quite limiting too though. (Especially if you develop with multiple virtual machines.) I suppose you could use an external hdd but that seems bulky and I'm not sure it would be as quick. I might try and hold on to my x220 for another year and see if 2016 offers any better ultrabooks.
elcct 12y ago
8GB RAM is so 2014... also keyboard layout is not so dev friendly.
- creshal 12y ago
  You mean 2010. Sandy Bridge laptops from 2011 already had 16 GiB RAM.
  - elcct 12y ago
    I think since 2014 use of 8GB in mainstream laptops was a standard. It seems like they just slapped Ubuntu on a mediocre spec laptop and called it a day.
    - creshal 12y ago
      Mainstream, maybe. But not in developer laptops/mobile workstations.
rmchugh 12y ago
I actually tried to buy one of these. Unfortunately I live in Scandinavia, but I wanted an English keyboard (Scandinavian keyboards are a pain to write code on). Since it wasn't possible to specify this via the order form, I tried to ring them, only to find that the only support available for private consumers is via their website, which doesn't allow me to specify this!
- Shorel 12y ago
  > Unfortunately I live in Scandinavia, but I wanted an English keyboard (Scandinavian keyboards are a pain to write code on). I got my laptop from Amazon and shipped it to Colombia just because of that. I had no luck trying to buy it local.
- charlesworth 12y ago
  They are selling them on the UK Dell website, maybe that might be easier to order from here?
  - berkut 12y ago
    There don't seem to be any customisation options there either though...
  - darklajid 12y ago
    And the UK keyboard isn't the same as the US one, right?
    - charlesworth 12y ago
      Yes, its a bit different in the number+shift keys but the leters are in the standard QWERTY arangement.
  - rmchugh 12y ago
    Thanks for the suggestion. I considered this, but I was worried about how it would affect my support guarantee if I had bought the device from a different country. It might be fine, but it might also lead to all sorts of bureaucratic headaches if I ran into any problems.
edward 12y ago
I bought the new XPS 13. The fan runs all the time, even when the machine is idle. Other people have reported the same problem. I returned it.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
dest 12y ago
French link for this product. http://www.dell.com/fr/p/xps-13-linux/pd http://www.dell.com/fr/p/xps-13-linux/pd note that the ubuntu version is noticeably cheaper (-70€) than the windows version with identical configuration. This is appreciable.
lsiebert 12y ago
The m3800 they sell has 16gb of ram, fwiw. http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cump3800w7p8&model_id=precision-m3800-workstation&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04& http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cump38...
ret2libc 12y ago
I had the previous version of the DELL XPS 13 Developer Edition and I always had problems with USB 3 devices. And Dell assistance is now a joke... four maintenance works (one of them broke the display) changing random pieces and at the end the problem was still there. I wouldn't suggest to anybody to buy one of this.
anw 12y ago
This is perfect timing for a link to "developer edition" laptops. I've currently been scouring, trying to find something I can be happy developing on for the next 5+ years. The big selling features for me [and most developers, I'd assume] are the screen and the keyboard. These 2 things are my feedback loop for developing, and need to be of a certain quality or I'll feel 'off'. I find so many companies get close to creating my ideal development laptop, only to lack in critical ways. While I don't detest them, I find a lot of island style keyboards don't provide a resistance for typing. The scissor switches under the beveled keys on the older Thinkpads left me with a good experience for long periods of typing. Feeling that resistance is so much nicer than pushing flat tabs down (most often on spongy keys). I do understand a lot of people watch movies on their laptops, but unless a screen is 1080 or higher, I find a 16:9 ratio screen limiting. My 12 inch SXGA+ screen goes up to 1050px height. Almost all "modern" screens are 16:9 and only go up to 900px height for the ~12" width. So unless a company makes a 1080 12" laptop, I still feel I'm missing out on those extra 150 pixels. Soldering RAM, SSDs, etc. to the mobo. Like was mentioned here, "planned obsolescence" is everywhere, but I don't want to be a part of it. My old x61 Thinkpad still performs beautifully, even after nearly 8 years of service. Why? Because 8GB of RAM is still a nice thing to have, even if DDR2 RAM is mind blowingly expensive. And the ability to change wifi cards, throw in a CrystalHD card to play videos on, or just switch to an SSD. These little upgrades help keep my old workhorse alive, and makes me wish Lenovo would come out with an upgraded version, rather than changing to just hit the wider market of people. And this is what it comes down to, I feel. So many companies blindly target the lowest-threshold-needs to hit the widest target group; not really thinking (or maybe just not caring) that every other company is doing the same thing. Perhaps it's the notion that 5% of a $1bn market is bigger than 80% of a $50mm. But at that point, you reduce your company's reputation to being just another brand, rather than being a master in a particular field.
fit2rule 12y ago
What I like about this: I can buy it with Bitcoin! That is not something I feel should be overlooked ..
NateDad 12y ago
I hope they do the no bezel thing on the next xps 15. It's super sexy, but I need the extra ram and real estate in the 15.
CloudLeaper 12y ago
It would be nice to be able to choose the 256 GB HDD for the non-touch version. I'm not sure why this is not an option.
- ironsides 12y ago
  Its available on the non-dev product page if you configure it.
gdamjan1 12y ago
» Software Skype™, Internet Explorer, My Dell Support application, Dropbox « wait what?

70 points by nighthawk24 12y ago

jpgvm 12y ago

The second model seems like a really good deal for a fairly powerful Linux laptop with a really nice screen. Will probably wait for an Ars review but definitely looks promising. Way more affordable than the Precision model they released recently.

tqh 12y ago

Seems Dell is a mess in ACPI and will need firmware updates: http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/34542.html http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/34542.html

INTPenis 12y ago
The state of the hardware in Linux is very relevant, I couldn't find any real specs like chipsets of network, sound and such for this new XPS model. Linux has come a far way as all of us who remember compiling a device driver will attest to, but that does not mean we're free from having to check if our new computers have well supported firmwares and preferably functioning open drivers.
- lhl 12y ago
  The most extensive discussion on Linux compatibility for the XPS13 is here: https://major.io/2015/02/03/linux-support-dell-xps-13-9343-2015-model/ https://major.io/2015/02/03/linux-support-dell-xps-13-9343-2... It includes info on the hardware: ALC3263 audio, BCM4352 network. Issues (presumably all fixed/worked around now that Dell is officially selling a DE) included the above-mentioned ACPI issues, sound (HDA/I2S, mic, headphone output) keyboard debouncing, trackpad freezing (and having to run in PS2 mode), and un-suspend display corruption. Note, Major Hayden, who wrote the original post ended up switching to a Lenovo X1 Carbon: https://major.io/2015/03/30/review-lenovo-x1-carbon-3rd-generation-and-linux/ https://major.io/2015/03/30/review-lenovo-x1-carbon-3rd-gene...
  - igravious 12y ago
    The X1 Carbon X1 (2nd gen) starts at roughly €2,200 in my region versus Dell's roughly €1,300 for the XPS 13 (3rd gen). That's a _big_ difference, it had want to be worth it but wait... The Carbon has the good ol' Windows tax, the XPS comes with Ubuntu pre-installed. The Carbon has an i5, the XP3 an i7. Carbo has a res of 2560x1440 (QHD), the XPS has a res of 3200 x 1800 (QHD+). The Carbon has a 180GB hard drive, the XPS has a 512GB. Thanks, but no thanks. I have the previous version of the XPS 13 and it's a sweet machine. Granted, it may take Dell a while to get the BIOS tweaks just right but it's not like the machine is unusable otherwise - it just goes from nearly perfect to perfect. --- [0] http://shop.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/x1-carbon-2/ http://shop.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/x1-ca... [1] http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd

davidw 12y ago

I have the previous edition of this laptop, and I'm very happy with it. I'm a Linux guy through and through, and I'm happy to put my money where my mouth is, rather than buying some Windows machine and hoping Linux runs well on it. I'll probably pick one of these up later this year.

ziahamza 12y ago

Its a bit funny, when they state that it turns on instantly, They then back it up with 12 second cold boot and 3-5 second from sleep

bithush 12y ago
I find it strange they still use this as a selling point. My only computer is a Dell laptop from 2008 (Studio 1737) and it wakes from sleep (Windows 8.1) in ~1 second. Sure I don't have connected standby but to be honest I don't really care for it. I open the lid and in a second Windows is up and running again. This machine originally came with Vista and it has always worked this quickly as far as I can remember.

sirtopas 12y ago

The thing that put me off the original was the 8gb max RAM... surely a developer edition would allow for more?

lugg 12y ago
Chalk it up to planned obsolescence for the stepchild broadwell, ddr3, and msata. Just wait for skylake they won't really be able to dodge it for another year. By they I mean all the relevant windows laptop manufacturers.
Athas 12y ago
I got a ThinkPad X250 a few weeks ago. Originally I was hesitant, as it is also limited to 8GiB of memory, but I realised that development need not actually use more than that (and indeed, I never do). I basically need to run just Emacs, a compiler and a browser, and although both GHC and browsers are memory hogs, 8GiB is plenty. Whenever I need to do really intense things, like benchmarking, simulations or large-scale testing, I always want to use a remote beefy machine anyway. I know that some developers have a need to run a large number of local virtual machines, but I do not really understand why, to be honest. I use virtual machines too, but remotely, and mostly automatically for continuous integration. I don't think programming is inherently particularly resource-consuming.
- maccard 12y ago
  Depends on what you do. I work on a large c++ codebase, and running a full rebuild chews through about 20GB of ram, and almost 100% cpu utilisation on my workstation, for about 15 minutes.
- dkns 12y ago
  My friend's wife is java programmer. She uses a thinkpad with 16 gb afaik. From what he told me she opens up like 5 different java projects in eclipse and 16gb is gone.
- creshal 12y ago
  FYI, the X250 unofficially allows 16 GiB RAM. 16 GiB sticks are rather new (came out after the X250) and are still insanely expensive, though (around 400 dollars, last I checked). > I use virtual machines too, but remotely, and mostly automatically for continuous integration. I'd love to do that, but our internet is far too crappy for that – we upgraded our offices from 2 Mbit/s to 10 MBit/s last year, and there are no faster options even if we wanted to –, hence I have to carry the VMs on my laptop (X230 with 16 GiB RAM and 2 SSDs).

bewareofdell 12y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HGxYMJdm1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HGxYMJdm1c It affects the E7x40, E6x40, E5x40, E5x50, M4800, M6800, E7450 & XPS 13 2015 under Linux/VMs. So basically Dell took a few months to fix the keyboard de bouncing under Windows and when they finally released a BIOS update they made the situation a lot worse for linux users (keys would appear to get stuck). After waiting a few more months, they finally released another BIOS update to "fix" the anomaly under Linux (they fixed the "stuck" key problem but many users are still reporting a de bouncing issue, see the latest pages of this thread if you are interested http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19593360 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/... ) There's also a touchpad & trackpoint issue that is still not fixed after more than a year and It looks like a BIOS/EC/firmware issue: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1258837 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1258837 Dell also broke USB3 support in the latest BIOS update for the E6540 and on the E6440 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19610392 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/... They also released a botched BIOS update (when UEFI netwokrk stack is enabled) fairly recently that necessitated the removal of the CMOS battery in order to boot... https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/2m6u4s/dell_latitude_e7440_a11_bios_update_bricks_machine/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/2m6u4s/dell_latit... Also their fan control & thermal management is a sad joke. http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19593697 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/... Their BIOS testing process is broken if not in -existing. So, if you want to buy a Dell machine, just make sure that you know what you're getting into... Once the initial BIOS is declared gold it can take several months to see an issue resolved.

mariusandreiana 12y ago
Thanks! Do you know how this would perform with Linux? ASUS Zenbook UX305FA-ASM1 13.3-Inch Ultra-Slim Aluminum Laptop, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD
- badsock 12y ago
  It sounds like it runs fine once you get past the tricky install: http://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/2zbtm2/asus_zenbook_ux305_for_windowsarch_dual_boot/ http://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/2zbtm2/asus_zenbo...

tuananh 12y ago

A bit weird as it says nothing about battery.

miahi 12y ago
It does say "52 WHr, 4-Cell Battery (integrated)" in the details ("Also included in this system"), but it doesn't list the estimated run time.
- tuananh 12y ago
  Thanks. I didn't go into detail page. That's why

unhammer 12y ago

Operating System Ubuntu Linux 14.04 SP1 Does Ubuntu have Service Packs now?

calpaterson 12y ago
Ubuntu has Debian-style point releases: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TrustyTahr/ReleaseNotes/14.04.1 https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TrustyTahr/ReleaseNotes/14.04.1 Unlike the normal release of a package into the repositories, the installation media are updated
brazzledazzle 12y ago
I can only find jokes about Dell, so perhaps an erroneous find and replace.

gambiting 12y ago

Developer edition, and still no option to get it with 16GB of ram. This is the only thing that I dislike about this laptop, other than that it's a very cool little machine.

mschaef 12y ago
Serious questions: what's the use case for 16GB RAM? I'm not doubting... just curious.
- gambiting 12y ago
  Well, I am a games programmer and my machine at the office has 64GB of ram....which nearly runs out every time I start the project. All laptops which we use for going on business trips have 16GB of ram but that's sufficient only for a minimal set of projects to be ran. Obviously that's a very specific use case, but those specific use cases exist, and it's sad that the XPS, which is supposed to be a high-end machine, does not cater to those use cases.
  - mschaef 12y ago
    Thanks. It's interesting that both you and the other respondent to my question are game developers. It makes sense that that line of work entails large data sets, etc.
- egeozcan 12y ago
  In a developer machine? Off the top of my head: virtual machines, in-memory databases, a bitmap editor with huge bitmaps consisting of many layers, game programming, 3D rendering...
  - mschaef 12y ago
    Thanks.

farresito 12y ago

I would rather get a Thinkpad for that price, especially the T450S.

nazgulnarsil 12y ago
$1600 for an IPS 1080p screen? what a joke.

jakobegger 12y ago

What makes this a 'developer edition'? Does that just mean it comes without windows, or are there other differences too?

simonmales 12y ago
Sans Windows.

CSDude 12y ago

I expected to change some hardware components via Customize & Buy, such as adding more RAM, however it only allows adding support or some accessories. Expected more from a "Developer Edition". Do you recommend any other laptops for Linux with full support and lasts more than 4-5 hours?

on_and_off 12y ago
If you can live with 64 go of SSD, the new Chromebook pixel looks quite interesting (with crouton in order to use linux).
lhl 12y ago
I got tired of waiting for the Dell (and got a bit antsy about the BIOS and other issues) and went with a Lenovo X250 instead. It's fully customizable but takes about 2 weeks to ship. I've actually been traveling since I ordered it, finally getting it cross-shipped this week. There are some crazy discounts every so often (I got a 35% off on my X250 order a couple weeks ago; I spent $1500 w/ shipping+tax for the i7-5600U CPU, 512GB SSD, 12.5"FHD screen, w/ a 6-cell battery). It maxes out w/ an 8GB DIMM, but 16GB DIMMs are starting to show up and will be compatible (albeit currently quite expensive). The X250 is slightly bulkier than the MBA11/XPS13, but one nice thing is that it comes w/ a built-in 3-cell battery and an additional hot-swappable 3 or 6-cell battery. Real world battery life is reported to be 6h+ with the 3+3 combo, and 10h+ with the 3+6. Lenovo claims 20h in Windows. I'm interested in running some tests but I'm confident it should last at least a work day. Here are some notes I've gathered, both comparing various ultrabook options (I'm replacing my MBA11 after multiple generations of disappointments) as well as lots of X250 specific config notes: https://randomfoo.hackpad.com/Lenovo-X250-Linux-CVpUMLjBDZh https://randomfoo.hackpad.com/Lenovo-X250-Linux-CVpUMLjBDZh

kaushiks 12y ago

Lack of a 16GB RAM option on a "developer edition" machine is very disappointing. Looks like a Chromebook LS + Crouton is the best Linux development environment one could aspire for right now.

yiyus 12y ago
16GB RAM is not a requirement for everybody.
- newaccountfool 12y ago
  Neither is 8GB but they should still have the option.
  - yiyus 12y ago
    Fair enough. Large memory is needed for some developers and the 16GB option should be there. But for many, many developers, a few GB should be more than enough.
  - ironsides 12y ago
    I'm in the same boat and actively looking at the XPS-13 (have one in cart as of writing). Dell Tech support suggested this limit was due to the motherboard. I would imagine another refresh will be coming -- either with Windows 10 (Sep/Oct) or Skylake (Aug).
- kpcyrd 12y ago
  Why is this getting downvoted? I use a device with 1GB for development.
datr 12y ago
The 64GB HDD on the Chromebook is quite limiting too though. (Especially if you develop with multiple virtual machines.) I suppose you could use an external hdd but that seems bulky and I'm not sure it would be as quick. I might try and hold on to my x220 for another year and see if 2016 offers any better ultrabooks.

elcct 12y ago

8GB RAM is so 2014... also keyboard layout is not so dev friendly.

creshal 12y ago
You mean 2010. Sandy Bridge laptops from 2011 already had 16 GiB RAM.
- elcct 12y ago
  I think since 2014 use of 8GB in mainstream laptops was a standard. It seems like they just slapped Ubuntu on a mediocre spec laptop and called it a day.
  - creshal 12y ago
    Mainstream, maybe. But not in developer laptops/mobile workstations.

rmchugh 12y ago

I actually tried to buy one of these. Unfortunately I live in Scandinavia, but I wanted an English keyboard (Scandinavian keyboards are a pain to write code on). Since it wasn't possible to specify this via the order form, I tried to ring them, only to find that the only support available for private consumers is via their website, which doesn't allow me to specify this!

Shorel 12y ago
> Unfortunately I live in Scandinavia, but I wanted an English keyboard (Scandinavian keyboards are a pain to write code on). I got my laptop from Amazon and shipped it to Colombia just because of that. I had no luck trying to buy it local.
charlesworth 12y ago
They are selling them on the UK Dell website, maybe that might be easier to order from here?
- berkut 12y ago
  There don't seem to be any customisation options there either though...
- darklajid 12y ago
  And the UK keyboard isn't the same as the US one, right?
  - charlesworth 12y ago
    Yes, its a bit different in the number+shift keys but the leters are in the standard QWERTY arangement.
- rmchugh 12y ago
  Thanks for the suggestion. I considered this, but I was worried about how it would affect my support guarantee if I had bought the device from a different country. It might be fine, but it might also lead to all sorts of bureaucratic headaches if I ran into any problems.

edward 12y ago

I bought the new XPS 13. The fan runs all the time, even when the machine is idle. Other people have reported the same problem. I returned it.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

dest 12y ago

French link for this product. http://www.dell.com/fr/p/xps-13-linux/pd http://www.dell.com/fr/p/xps-13-linux/pd note that the ubuntu version is noticeably cheaper (-70€) than the windows version with identical configuration. This is appreciable.

lsiebert 12y ago

The m3800 they sell has 16gb of ram, fwiw. http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cump3800w7p8&model_id=precision-m3800-workstation&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04& http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cump38...

ret2libc 12y ago

I had the previous version of the DELL XPS 13 Developer Edition and I always had problems with USB 3 devices. And Dell assistance is now a joke... four maintenance works (one of them broke the display) changing random pieces and at the end the problem was still there. I wouldn't suggest to anybody to buy one of this.

anw 12y ago

This is perfect timing for a link to "developer edition" laptops. I've currently been scouring, trying to find something I can be happy developing on for the next 5+ years. The big selling features for me [and most developers, I'd assume] are the screen and the keyboard. These 2 things are my feedback loop for developing, and need to be of a certain quality or I'll feel 'off'. I find so many companies get close to creating my ideal development laptop, only to lack in critical ways. While I don't detest them, I find a lot of island style keyboards don't provide a resistance for typing. The scissor switches under the beveled keys on the older Thinkpads left me with a good experience for long periods of typing. Feeling that resistance is so much nicer than pushing flat tabs down (most often on spongy keys). I do understand a lot of people watch movies on their laptops, but unless a screen is 1080 or higher, I find a 16:9 ratio screen limiting. My 12 inch SXGA+ screen goes up to 1050px height. Almost all "modern" screens are 16:9 and only go up to 900px height for the ~12" width. So unless a company makes a 1080 12" laptop, I still feel I'm missing out on those extra 150 pixels. Soldering RAM, SSDs, etc. to the mobo. Like was mentioned here, "planned obsolescence" is everywhere, but I don't want to be a part of it. My old x61 Thinkpad still performs beautifully, even after nearly 8 years of service. Why? Because 8GB of RAM is still a nice thing to have, even if DDR2 RAM is mind blowingly expensive. And the ability to change wifi cards, throw in a CrystalHD card to play videos on, or just switch to an SSD. These little upgrades help keep my old workhorse alive, and makes me wish Lenovo would come out with an upgraded version, rather than changing to just hit the wider market of people. And this is what it comes down to, I feel. So many companies blindly target the lowest-threshold-needs to hit the widest target group; not really thinking (or maybe just not caring) that every other company is doing the same thing. Perhaps it's the notion that 5% of a $1bn market is bigger than 80% of a $50mm. But at that point, you reduce your company's reputation to being just another brand, rather than being a master in a particular field.

fit2rule 12y ago

What I like about this: I can buy it with Bitcoin! That is not something I feel should be overlooked ..

NateDad 12y ago

I hope they do the no bezel thing on the next xps 15. It's super sexy, but I need the extra ram and real estate in the 15.

CloudLeaper 12y ago

It would be nice to be able to choose the 256 GB HDD for the non-touch version. I'm not sure why this is not an option.

ironsides 12y ago
Its available on the non-dev product page if you configure it.

gdamjan1 12y ago

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