Not true, I got an XPS13 9350 with Intel 8260 wireless AC in a win10pro model. It also has an i7-6560U which has been omitted from the list above in the 2015 specs. It has IRIS 540 graphics and 48EU. Odd they don't mention it.
Funny story, a lot of people with the previous version replaced the stock Dell (broadcom really) Wi-Fi cards with Killer Wi-Fi cards. So I guess Dell has just decided to give people what they want.
It took dell a long time to actually bring out that iris option last time. I think it was over 4 months after the chips were available?
So Dont count on an iris option until springtime at the earliest, assuming intel doesnt delay them again. (according to a dell rep, the iris parts were delayed because they were still waiting on supply from intel. Intel appears to have a difficult time making iris parts.)
Same. I so want a laptop that runs linux but is capable of playing games. Iris pro or a high end APU based machine would be perfect, but nobody makes one anymore. It's all about being thin and having fewer ports...
My XPS 13 came with a Broadcom wifi card which had an extremely short range where I needed to be in the same room as the wifi router. I swapped it out for an Intel card which behaved fine.
Can anyone explain why the developer edition version is more expensive?
Is there something about the non-developer edition that makes it incapable of running linux? Because I could just buy a regular one, wipe it out, and save $150 in the process of just loading linux myself...
Someone please explain, my system76 laptop has died recently and if I'm unable to resurrect it after some more tinkering I'll probably take the plunge on one of these.
Look at everyone here commenting on XPS 13 wifi chip without even owning this laptop, many owners were crying due to the pathetic intel wifi card used in the last xps 13 and many resorted to upgrading it themselves or returning the laptop.
There are numerous guides posted online for replacing the wifi card of xps 13 and even the forums owners club is filled with such guides and reports. So, it is good to see Dell listening to their actual owners instead of whiners who have never owned the laptop and just shout intel card good, killer bad etc..
> Look at everyone here commenting on XPS 13 wifi chip without even owning this laptop, many owners were crying due to the pathetic intel wifi card used in the last xps 13 and many resorted to upgrading it themselves or returning the laptop.
The regular (non-developer) XPSes came with a Broadcom solution, since Broadcom doesn't work so hot on Linux. For some strange reason the only vendor who is really capable of implementing a "killer" network based on Broadcom is Apple. For anyone else the solution to fix a crappy out-of-the-box network is to go Intel...
And Linux running on Apple hardware, I might add. How surprised was I that once my gf's MacBook pro had Linux, and the blob driver, installed, and using akmod to handle kernel updates, things Just Worked (as far as network goes---to get access to the Intel gpu was a very unfun thing). Amazingly, it even comes back up after resume.
The intel 8260 had a 5GHz error on the original drivers (2.4Ghz worked fine). It was sorted out with a driver update and has since been rock-solid. The Dell broadcom wireless options have proved less popular. I've only had te intel version, and no complaints with it. V glad I got it over the dell broadcom one, which I've not heard favourable things about. I also have a decent 5GHz router which no doubt helps.
I could be wrong, but I think both Skylake-U and Kaby Lake-U only support LPDDR3? Same goes for the Skylake/Kaby Lake Core m-series. Both of which makes no sense to me: the so-called "low-power" series have to use LPDDR3, at 1.35 volts - even though normal DDR4 uses 1.20 volts... :/
The Skylake (2015/2016) XPS 13 has an option for the i7+Iris 540 graphics which is a substantial upgrade over the (non-iris) 520. Any idea if the new XPS 13 will have a similar option? With 3200x1800 you want all the GPU you can get. Sadly the 3200x1800 about halves the battery performance and is rather reflective, not matte.
Likely when the Iris Kaby Lake parts come out. Usually it's the base graphics on the first release of a new U series. The Iris one didn't come out for quite a while after the Skylake XPS 13 launched.
waiting for the day the i5 mobile CPUs to be quadcores like their desktop counter parts. You'd think by 2016 they would've figured out how to do that....guess i'll stick with my i5 4200 till then.
The i7 dual cores actually perform quite well and are able to be used at full performance on battery. They're designed more for battery life and to avoid thermal throttling.
BTW those mobile i5 quads were released Sept. 2015 I just saw.
That's interesting! I've been waiting for this too, a quad core for mobile that doesn't cost too much. This part is cheaper than my recent laptop which has an i5-5200u.
Skylake was the first time Intel had mobile quad-cores that worked for reasonable 15" laptops, and those are still 25W+ parts. It's unlikely they'll make a 15W quad Kaby Lake. Maybe 10nm will see U-series quads, but I wouldn't count on it.
I have an Dell Ultrabook at work but noticed that the i7 is lagging to my cheap Lenovo i5 including in 3D games. I knew this is due to the cooling capacity so I just wish that Dell provides a way to control the fan speeds of their Ultrabooks to get the true performance of the i7. I wouldn't mind the fan whining noise when I'm on earphones or an already noisy environment.
I am not sure why people keep saying Killer is subpar. It is one of the best wifi card I have in my Killer laptop with Killer graphics. I think I seriously OverKilled it.
Is that a fingerprint reader at the bottom right of the keyboard? (Looks like the one on the surface type cover.) If it is, why not mention it? That's a big deal.
22 vs 13 hours!! Resolution is dominating power. Is the eDP refreshing every pixel at 60Hz? Maybe it's time to consider compression or only transmitting data on pixels that change between frames.
No need to feel sorry :) You are looking at 5% worse performance at the best in real use. You would never notice difference between Skylake and Kaby Lake unless you do something very specific.
Totally agreed. There's barely noticeable difference between Sky Lake and Kaby Lake bc they are both 14 mm. Intel did say they made improvement on Kaby Lake but it is so small, most users won't noticed the diff.
I'll wait for the 15" version which might finally be a laptop I'm willing to buy - although they'll probably force NVidia graphics which as a Linux user I don't really use.
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Senti - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
WHY would you replace Intel NIC with Killer?? How you even dare to call it "improvement"?Byte - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
hurray for pegged CPU usage and memory leaks! Make use of that kaby lake power!Brett Howse - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
They used a Broadcom one before.Gray05 - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Intel NICs were only in the Developer Editions.ik9000 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
Not true, I got an XPS13 9350 with Intel 8260 wireless AC in a win10pro model. It also has an i7-6560U which has been omitted from the list above in the 2015 specs. It has IRIS 540 graphics and 48EU. Odd they don't mention it.Flunk - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Funny story, a lot of people with the previous version replaced the stock Dell (broadcom really) Wi-Fi cards with Killer Wi-Fi cards. So I guess Dell has just decided to give people what they want.KPOM - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
And here I thought "killer" was an adjective, as in "kick-ass."TheinsanegamerN - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
So it's got a slightly larger battery and replaced there good wifi with sub par killer wifi. And again no iris graphics.Cliff34 - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
You will noticed that no ultra portable laptops ever comes w Iris Pro graphics. I do wish they do.spikebike - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
The current skylake xps 13 has a Iris 540 option.Valantar - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
And there probably will be for this as well as soon as Intel launches Iris-equipped Kaby Lake chips. January-ish?TheinsanegamerN - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
It took dell a long time to actually bring out that iris option last time. I think it was over 4 months after the chips were available?So Dont count on an iris option until springtime at the earliest, assuming intel doesnt delay them again. (according to a dell rep, the iris parts were delayed because they were still waiting on supply from intel. Intel appears to have a difficult time making iris parts.)
TheinsanegamerN - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
Same. I so want a laptop that runs linux but is capable of playing games. Iris pro or a high end APU based machine would be perfect, but nobody makes one anymore. It's all about being thin and having fewer ports...mooninite - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
The last laptop I know of with decent Iris graphics is my Asus UX301LAA. I'd love a Kaby Lake update.nonoverclock - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
My XPS 13 came with a Broadcom wifi card which had an extremely short range where I needed to be in the same room as the wifi router. I swapped it out for an Intel card which behaved fine.niva - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Can anyone explain why the developer edition version is more expensive?Is there something about the non-developer edition that makes it incapable of running linux? Because I could just buy a regular one, wipe it out, and save $150 in the process of just loading linux myself...
Someone please explain, my system76 laptop has died recently and if I'm unable to resurrect it after some more tinkering I'll probably take the plunge on one of these.
gnusense - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
The $950 Linux version has better specs than the $800 base model. It's a bit cheaper than the same configuration with Windows 10.patel21 - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
Yes, I really hope that they use the extra $150 on the CPU and RAM, instead of just shipping the base model with QHD screen.spikebike - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Better spec, and upgraded (intel) wifi instead of the problematic broadcom chip.BMNify - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Look at everyone here commenting on XPS 13 wifi chip without even owning this laptop, many owners were crying due to the pathetic intel wifi card used in the last xps 13 and many resorted to upgrading it themselves or returning the laptop.There are numerous guides posted online for replacing the wifi card of xps 13 and even the forums owners club is filled with such guides and reports. So, it is good to see Dell listening to their actual owners instead of whiners who have never owned the laptop and just shout intel card good, killer bad etc..
spikebike - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Most of the upgrades for the XPS 13 I've seen were to get rid of the standard broadcom, not the intel wireless.Daniel Egger - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
> Look at everyone here commenting on XPS 13 wifi chip without even owning this laptop, many owners were crying due to the pathetic intel wifi card used in the last xps 13 and many resorted to upgrading it themselves or returning the laptop.The regular (non-developer) XPSes came with a Broadcom solution, since Broadcom doesn't work so hot on Linux. For some strange reason the only vendor who is really capable of implementing a "killer" network based on Broadcom is Apple. For anyone else the solution to fix a crappy out-of-the-box network is to go Intel...
tuxRoller - Monday, September 19, 2016 - link
And Linux running on Apple hardware, I might add.How surprised was I that once my gf's MacBook pro had Linux, and the blob driver, installed, and using akmod to handle kernel updates, things Just Worked (as far as network goes---to get access to the Intel gpu was a very unfun thing). Amazingly, it even comes back up after resume.
ik9000 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
The intel 8260 had a 5GHz error on the original drivers (2.4Ghz worked fine). It was sorted out with a driver update and has since been rock-solid. The Dell broadcom wireless options have proved less popular. I've only had te intel version, and no complaints with it. V glad I got it over the dell broadcom one, which I've not heard favourable things about. I also have a decent 5GHz router which no doubt helps.tynopik - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
"frequencies s compared"Cellar Door - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Why no DDR4?NextGen_Gamer - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
I could be wrong, but I think both Skylake-U and Kaby Lake-U only support LPDDR3? Same goes for the Skylake/Kaby Lake Core m-series. Both of which makes no sense to me: the so-called "low-power" series have to use LPDDR3, at 1.35 volts - even though normal DDR4 uses 1.20 volts... :/vladx - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
That's because lower voltage doesn't necessarily mean less powerCellar Door - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
I have a work Dell 7470 with an i7-6600U and 16GB of DDR4 2133.. and this is already 6 months oldjospoortvliet - Sunday, December 25, 2016 - link
... but not LPDDR4 ;-)willis936 - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
In the table it says the XPS 13 2015 has 4-16 GB of memory. I was under the impression it was 4-8 GB.Reikon - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
16 GB was available on the high end version.ik9000 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
yep, mine has 16GB.spikebike - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
The Skylake (2015/2016) XPS 13 has an option for the i7+Iris 540 graphics which is a substantial upgrade over the (non-iris) 520. Any idea if the new XPS 13 will have a similar option? With 3200x1800 you want all the GPU you can get. Sadly the 3200x1800 about halves the battery performance and is rather reflective, not matte.Brett Howse - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Likely when the Iris Kaby Lake parts come out. Usually it's the base graphics on the first release of a new U series. The Iris one didn't come out for quite a while after the Skylake XPS 13 launched.ik9000 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
and the IRIS canes your battery life. Only worth it if you need the extra grunt. If not you'll get a few extra hours without HD vs IRIS.poohbear - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
waiting for the day the i5 mobile CPUs to be quadcores like their desktop counter parts. You'd think by 2016 they would've figured out how to do that....guess i'll stick with my i5 4200 till then.poohbear - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
oh and u have the i7 listed as a dual core as well, is that correct?blzd - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
The i7 dual cores actually perform quite well and are able to be used at full performance on battery. They're designed more for battery life and to avoid thermal throttling.BTW those mobile i5 quads were released Sept. 2015 I just saw.
ik9000 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
not with the IRIS graphics in a 15W TDP. There isn't enough thermal headroom and they both throttle out - see here: http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10395-dell-xps-13-9...blzd - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Intel Core i5-6300HQ is a mobile quad core, so they do exist.I'm comparing an Acer and an Asus ROG both for just under $1000 (CDN) both with GTX 960m, that would be somewhere around $750 USD.
zodiacfml - Monday, September 19, 2016 - link
That's interesting! I've been waiting for this too, a quad core for mobile that doesn't cost too much. This part is cheaper than my recent laptop which has an i5-5200u.drothgery - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Skylake was the first time Intel had mobile quad-cores that worked for reasonable 15" laptops, and those are still 25W+ parts. It's unlikely they'll make a 15W quad Kaby Lake. Maybe 10nm will see U-series quads, but I wouldn't count on it.akmittal - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Which all countries it will be released on 4th? Is it coming to India at same time.zodiacfml - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
I have an Dell Ultrabook at work but noticed that the i7 is lagging to my cheap Lenovo i5 including in 3D games. I knew this is due to the cooling capacity so I just wish that Dell provides a way to control the fan speeds of their Ultrabooks to get the true performance of the i7. I wouldn't mind the fan whining noise when I'm on earphones or an already noisy environment.Lolimaster - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
The next step is to ditch 16:9 and use 16:10 or 3:2. Don't they realize how horrible a 16:9 looks in a laptop design.And its way more horrible productivity wise.
mr_tawan - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
What about an ultra-wide with full keyboard?Murloc - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
how would that fit in a bag?Not everyone wants to walk around with a violin box.
jb14 - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
wonder when they'll update the 960M dGPU in the 15 inch version? Maybe a Jan 17 refresh?Brett Howse - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
There's no direct replacement for the 960M. GTX 1060 is a bigger GPU than 960M. NVIDIA hasn't announced anything under that as of yet.nyankana - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
I am not sure why people keep saying Killer is subpar. It is one of the best wifi card I have in my Killer laptop with Killer graphics. I think I seriously OverKilled it.Arnulf - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
This is why.James5mith - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
Is that a fingerprint reader at the bottom right of the keyboard? (Looks like the one on the surface type cover.) If it is, why not mention it? That's a big deal.damianrobertjones - Monday, September 26, 2016 - link
It's only a big deal when Apple does it.sudhirkhanger - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
Does the Killer WiFi works out of box on Linux?vladx - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
Obviously since Dell sells an Ubuntu model alsoDaniel Egger - Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - link
"Obviously" that's why the Linux version ships with Intel instead of Broadcom/Killer...AnnonymousCoward - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
22 vs 13 hours!! Resolution is dominating power. Is the eDP refreshing every pixel at 60Hz? Maybe it's time to consider compression or only transmitting data on pixels that change between frames.Brett Howse - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
It's generally the more powerful backlight required for higher resolution that dominates the extra power consumption.AnnonymousCoward - Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - link
Oh really. I guess the pixel boundaries don't shrink proportionally with shrunk pixels.fanofanand - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
I didn't know Kaby lake was even compatible with ddr3, and moving to killer NIC? Sigh, stupid marketing.AeroKite - Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - link
I have ordered xps 13 DE. it cost 1025$ with tex + coupon.Now i can see kaby-lake is coming with less price.
How much i have lost? Now i feel sorry for myself
milkod2001 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
No need to feel sorry :) You are looking at 5% worse performance at the best in real use. You would never notice difference between Skylake and Kaby Lake unless you do something very specific.ik9000 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
and skylake will have official support for win7 - if that matters to youCliff34 - Friday, September 23, 2016 - link
Totally agreed. There's barely noticeable difference between Sky Lake and Kaby Lake bc they are both 14 mm. Intel did say they made improvement on Kaby Lake but it is so small, most users won't noticed the diff.pugster - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
Lol, rose gold? Guess Dell is copying Apple on this one.nils_ - Monday, September 26, 2016 - link
I'll wait for the 15" version which might finally be a laptop I'm willing to buy - although they'll probably force NVidia graphics which as a Linux user I don't really use.