
Dell’s latest XPS 13 DE delivers Linux in a svelte package - jseliger
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/01/dells-latest-xps-13-de-still-delivers-linux-now-embraces
======
ippa
I've had Dell XPS 13 DE for about a month now. Overall I'm very happy with it.
It's great to have the power of linux right on the computer, not a SSH-session
away. I got the 1080p version cause the battery will last longer. Too bad it
also ment I only got 8 gigs or ram.

There's also some rough edges, some of them I could solve.

Touchpad is supersensitive. If you're typing a longer sentence suddenly you
could jump out of the input/text-field cause your thumbs touched it.
Tweakable, got better with "syndaemon -t -k -i 1.0 -d".

I think the keyboard backlight turned off too quick, tweakable with "echo 5m >
/sys/class/leds/dell::kbd_backlight/stop_timeout"

The WLAN doesn't come online as fast as I would like it to after closed screen
and sleepmode. Way quicker on my MacBook Pro (2015). Also feels like I have
more net-problems when the WLAN-signal is weak when compared to my MacBook
Pro. Mosh in a terminal is great for keeping connections from a laptop to
servers though.

Bluetooth syncing to wireless speakers and similar isn't as fluid and
automatic as from Win 10.

The worst part is a constant lowlevel hissing when using headphones. I haven't
been able to solve that yet :/.

But overall I really like the keyboard, the screen, the formfactor and Ubuntu
16.

~~~
KerrickStaley
[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_XPS_13_(9360)](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_XPS_13_\(9360\))

Continuous hissing sound with headphones

Open alsamixer and set "Headphone Mic Boost" gain to 10 dB (See discussion on
reddit). Note that this does reduce the volume slightly.

You may also run the equivalent command:

    
    
       $ amixer -c PCH cset 'name=Headphone Mic Boost Volume' 1

~~~
ippa
Worked! Thanks man :).

Still have odd random crackles and noise when I for example stop/start a
youtubevideo. Not a showstopper as the hissing though. Tried some tips on URL
you pasted but no deal.

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sliken
Why are laptop vendors avoiding the Iris GPU? The previous generation XPS 13
had the IRIS gpu and if you skipped the high resolution touch screen the
battery life went from a pretty good 12 hours to an amazing 20 hours. Did I
mention I had touch screens? Dell also has an annoying habit of restricting
the NICE cpu and 16GB ram to the high res touch screen.

Seems really weird to spec such a nice laptop with the HD 620 graphics when
$20 or so would get you the iris (with an on chip frame buffer) 640 which
approximately doubles the performance. Same TDP even.

------
KerrickStaley
I have this and my three main complaints are:

\- The i5 version is just too slow. Get an i7, you'll be glad you did.

\- The touchpad has a lot of friction. It appears to be made of glass but the
surface is rough for some reason. It's really annoying; Mac touchpads are way
better on this front. According to Reddit it may vary unit-to-unit:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/5hfyzp/xps_13_9360_gl...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/5hfyzp/xps_13_9360_glass_touchpad_or_not/?st=j4hmh1b0&sh=f8d339ba)

\- Integrated graphics are still not good enough to run Counter Strike GO at
60 FPS, even at lowest settings and very blocky resolution.

Overall an OK purchase, but I may sell it and get an i7 spin.

~~~
sliken
Yes, problem is the i7 doesn't have iris graphics (like the previous i7) and
forces the choice of the power sucking glossy touch screen. Just about halves
your battery life as well (20 to 12 hours).

If you want to play CSG see if you can find the previous generation with the
i7+iris graphics. Not sure it will do 60fps, but it's about twice as fast as
this years (with the HD620 graphics).

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AdmiralAsshat
Why is a review from January on the front page?

~~~
jseliger
A sufficient number of people upvoted it.

I submitted it again after reading this:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14654124](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14654124)
. I thought it was fairly well known that there are now good, works-out-of-
the-box Linux laptops, but apparently it isn't true.

I use OS X (or I guess MacOS
now—[https://jakeseliger.com/2015/01/01/5k-retina-imac-and-mac-
os...](https://jakeseliger.com/2015/01/01/5k-retina-imac-and-mac-os-x-
yosemite-thoughts)) but think diversity and freedom are important.

------
davidw
I've had the past two generations of this computer and I am very happy. I have
been using Linux for the past 20 years and am more than happy to buy a
computer that has the goal of a working Linux install out of the box.

------
Paul_S
How is this a "developer" machine? Glossy screen and apple chicklet keyboard.

~~~
cholantesh
Great display, lots of power under the hood, quite light, and Linux friendly.

I can accept that the glossy screen is annoying, but I don't think the
keyboard is any worse than ones on other laptops.

~~~
nine_k
How would you compare it to Lenovo Carbon X1?

It seems pretty comparable, and X1 has a rather nice keyboard, matte screen,
and is reasonably Linux-friednly.

~~~
cholantesh
Can't speak for it as I haven't had a chance to try it. I will say that
Thinkpad keyboards are about as good as they get on notebooks.

