Genuine question - what keeps the Framework Laptop from being the standard issue laptop for the iFixit team? From an outside perspective, unless someone needs more GPU power it checks just about all the boxes, including being able to upgrade the main board. That's a box no one has checked.
To my understanding, when they decided to upgrade, the Framework laptop had not yet been released; only XPS and other premium thin and lights were available.
A lot of iFixiters (including me) do have the Framework Laptop! It's on our recommended hardware list. For folks who need a dedicated graphics card, we've recommended the XPS 13 or 15-and now just the 15.
I have a Dell gaming laptop from a couple years ago, and the repairability made my life a LOT easier after an... unfortunate incident. Swappable battery, storage and RAM, full instruction manual, and when I wanted to add a second storage drive the cable I needed to connect it was already inside the laptop, just taped inside the tray where the second drive was supposed to go. Super appreciated - really hope Dell doesn't stray away from repairability before I need to upgrade my machine!
why are you being evasive about the "incident"? Was it a sexual thing? Were bodily fluids involved? Over the decades, I've heard a LOT of ways to break computers, I don't think anything you might say would surprise me.
@@sealwheel Basically, only a couple months after getting the computer, I made the mistake of putting my drink right next to it in an open glass... then knocked it over, spilling the entire thing onto the keyboard... I had to disassemble the entire laptop to get the keyboard out and clean it - and I'd never worked inside a computer before (although I had a bit of knowledge from watching teardown videos at the time.) Not a single component was glued in. I was literally able to remove EVERYTHING. The manual guided me through the whole process, and was beginner-friendly enough that it all worked perfectly when I put it back together. TL;DR repairability spared me the fate of having "Sticky Keys" permanently enabled for the rest of my laptop's lifespan
Unlike other laptops, there isn't empty unused space. The battery occupy any available space. If their aim was for slightly ticker body and smaller battery, then it seems possible to include removable ram and storage.
I used to work at the IT department of a 6000 employee company in Hong Kong. Everyone at the help desk hated dell’s laptop because they are extremely unreliable. Their SSD often fails and as we enabled bitlocker it was not a swap and done process. In the end they stick with thinkpads while mixing more and more HP laptops into the company, and abandoned dell laptops.
I like my XPS 13 (Early 2015). While currently its battery only lasts 6 hours instead of the 8 when I bought it, The only issue I had with it was with the WiFi adapter. After upgrading the card to an AX200, everything works great.
@@adrko the dell battery lifespan cant be comparable to macs, as macs now uses ARM processors which is much more efficient. But anyway I still agree with you as my experience with my dell laptop, the battery os half the way wear out only after 5 months of use from brand new
@@Haloreachfenix but there is the fact that Dell now enable bitlocker on all their new devices. All partitions on the SSD that comes with Dell machines, from laptop to desktop, is bitlocker enabled. In most cases, standard users don't even know what bitlocker is, so when they swap their SSD or factory restore their PCs, they scewed it up and frustrated
@@RinoAP And the most terrifying, you can easily lost all the important data in it. Imagine if your soldered RAM is broken and all your important data is lost for mainboard replacement in service center because the SSD is also not removable
Important to mention that the Dell XPS 13 Plus, which is Dell's new bread and butter, still has upgradable storage, so the regular XPS lineup is probably going to be more experimental for Dell now.
@@aqua_whale well that makes it worse than a MacBook Retina (you know, the ones with their single USB type C port, meaning dangles for everything). At least the MB Retina had a USB-C and an AUX port. Now one manufacturer has done it, we'll now see really thin laptops with no headphone jack either. Sorry, I'd rather have functionality and practicality over thin and light. If I want thin and light, I use my Surface Pro 3 (which still has a USB-A port, and can have a docking station/adapter plugged into it for desktop use).
One of Dell's redeeming factors has been their excellent upgradability and thorough manuals, but this is just disappointing. Hopefully their Precision 7000 series will stay modular until everything becomes SOCs...
@@TheSpotify95 ha, brings me back to the 1998 iMac without a floppy drive. Forcing customers to go without, or pay up to get backwards compatibility, is an old game by now.
8 GB is pretty standard for 2022 and likely 2030+ until DDR6 becomes mainstream. OSes, applications, and others are designed for 8 GB systems. Is it good on a high-end system like this? Yeah, I disagree. But under $1000? 8GB is the default.
Impressive how small the mainboard is. And I can kinda understand that ram and WiFi is soldered on, especially given that ram connectors are stupidly large and that the low power ram isn't available in DIMM format. The soldered SSD just isn't acceptable, though.
I know that in order to have the thinnest laptop with big battery and small logic board removable memory and storage is not really an option. However, if you're going to solder the storage onto the main board at least do what Apple did back in older macbooks and have a "Lifeboat" connector. It would definitely be a thin, fragile proprietary cable but should be available for decent price at the manufactures online store. and be as easy as plugin it into the main board and the other end of the cable would be USB (C or A doesn't really matter) and make it so that it will still work if no other components on the Logic board are working.
I wonder if that was descendant of the "Firewire Target Mode" in old iBooks. You could plug one mac into another, pressing "T" and the second mac would be recognized as a hard drive. It was very useful for diagnostics.
For me must to have options are usb c charging, don't like to travel / commute with more than one charger. Touch screen, more of a pet peeve, but once you get used to one is difficult to go back. And finally be able to change the storage. While I have a NAS where everything is stored I like to know that I don't have to offload every time I have to start a new project. However having a Mac mini with base storage as my home work computer has really helped me to have a efficient pipe line and to stay organized.
I can live with soldered on RAM, it rarely fails. But soldered on storage is a disaster waiting to happen with so many people being so bad at backing up their data. I have helped countless people in reclaiming their data from dead laptops by moving the hard drive/SSD to an external enclosure.
Ditto. Like you I can live with soldered ram (even if I’d prefer serviceable, if only to avoid the [insert-company-here] tax on at-purchase upgrades), but soldered storage is a pain in everyone’s asses when the computer fails.
I got 9305 which I believe is the last refreshed model that Dell released with old 2015 form build factor. The replaceable SSD is great thing about it. Too bad they are following steps of Apple and integrating storage into motherboard just like RAM.
Not gonna lie, the thing that interests me the most is the display connector. Never seen one that uses contact pads like an iphone speaker. Pretty interesting.
9/10 was for the old Dell XPS 13 - this model would probably get a 4 at best. 2 points for the battery being easy to remove, 1 point for the removal of the logic board/hinges, and if you're lucky, 1 point for the display. Oh wait, the display hinge screws need to be removed in orer to get the logic board out... 3/10 it is then.
Where did all the space go? The older XPS 13 looks like it has way more space inside for stuff like an SSD or memory, but the new one looks crammed in.
I'm pretty sure no real Xps 13 buyer would care if this years model would be 2mm thicker if that meant that sometime down the line they could recover their files from dead laptop
Hmm. I have one of these with 16gb for work and we were at constant 95% usage, to the point external devices were crashing under the system stress. What a disaster we can't upgrade the memory. Also reading the SSD issues... Guess I better keep a cloud backup.
No headphone port either. Any laptop I buy will have one of those and an M.2 slot. I have an XPS 13 9310, and it has both of those, though not removable RAM or wifi card. There is an advantage to non-removable RAM, though, on a laptop. The RAM on my XPS 13 is LPDDR4x, which improves the performance of the onboard GPU compared to DDR4, and it saves some power, at least in theory. You can't get that on a unit with removable RAM. There are no LPDDR4x SoDIMMs!
So what happens if the drive fails and it's not replaceable? Will Dell automatically cover it no matter what under warranty? Otherwise you're literally just buying a device that is on a clock ticking down until the drive just bricks the computer.
I'd be interested to see your take on Lenovo Thinkpads as they supposedly offer documemtation for them online and, At least from what I remember, Have a repuation for being upgradeable.
@@binary_dale One would think that you'd NOT add weight to keep a semi-Portable machine, err, Portable. Kinda funny in a sad way if HP actually did that, But at least they're not Dell. I know Ifixit likes them but I've had nothing but poor experiences with them, Machines and company, over the years.
@@binary_dale It's quite sad to see Thinkpads go downhill. My Latitude E6410 is starting to age, and I will need a replacement for it soon, but I'm definitely not willing to buy any of the new Thinkpads because of their lack of upgradability. Framework laptops are a great choice, but way too expensive for me as I already have a maxed out Precision 7760 as my main laptop.
The higher-end and more expensive XPS 13 Plus still has the internal layout of the older 2021 XPS 13, so the SSD is still removable on that XPS 13 Plus 9320 model, no idea why Dell downgraded the regular XPS 13 2022 soo much though. It even has worst processor options than the XPS 13 Plus.
Maybe we need a new kind of socket for RAM and storage. It's not like this storage and RAM couldn't be replaced, but there are real benefits to getting the parts closer to the CPU, and BGA packaging. If there was a compact BGA-like socket, maybe companies would be willing to make these parts replaceable again. ...Or maybe it exists and they just don't use it.
I have the XPS 13 still has a MicroSD slot on the left-side and comes with the Intel Core i7 and 16GB RAM & 500GB SSD HD. Would you know if the internal of it is the same as the model here (particularly the RAM & SSD integration)?
Everyone in the comments is praising the XPS, meanwhile my XPS 13 9360 had major fit and finish issues out of the box (the bottom edge was capable of scratching me) and my screen developed a pink hue in the bottom half after sitting on my shelf for 3 years powered off. No parts or service manuals available for it either. Made me wary of buying any Dell product
I am almost positive there will be parts available. Any of the hardware components not related to the mainboard should be the exact same for different models with the same chassis style. And the same thing goes for service manuals.
@@vivek_v Link a a 9630 1080p non-touchscreen replacement display for under $350 USD, along with a Dell service manual that shows step-by-step instructions on replacing it.
Wife has a Dell Inspiron 5570 15", 2018 model. Put a new battery in it yesterday. Previously upgraded RAM and SSD to Samsung 970. Sooo easy.....Dell....WHY go backwards......??? 2mm thinner? Nope
If the RAM or SSD completely fails then an entirely new motherboard is needed, unless you're good at microsoldering. Otherwise, your motherboard is dead and your data is lost forever.
"In the past Dell *has been* one of the computer manufactures that *have been* easy for us to recommend to people." That's a long way to say: don't buy.
XPS 13 9300 USB Type-C ports not working. Battery dead. Motherboard lights flashing when charger connected. Hi all, I have a bit of a problem. Sorry for the long description but any help/advice would be appreciated. While living in North America In September of 2020 I ordered and received my new XPS 13 9300. I haven't been able to use it now for over 2 years. I moved abroad and was using a stepdown converter to charge it which worked fine for a little while. Then I relocated again within the same country and suddenly the laptop would not charge even with the stepdown converter. The charging cable light will come on and be steady when plugged in to an outlet (either in the stepdown converter or using an adapter in the wall) but when I connect it to the laptop the light on the charger starts blinking on and off steadily. Before my battery depleted completely an error message came up briefly stating something about the system not being able to detect the charging system. I removed the battery and tried to use the laptop with only the charger attached but the same thing happens. The lights on the motherboard flash as well when the charging cable light flashes. I want to know if getting a new already charged battery might give me access to the laptop long enough to go in and reset the type-C USB port drivers since it seems that the different voltage in my current country of residence has confused the ports. If anyone has any suggestions that do not involve replacing the motherboard entirely (as that is not very possible for me at this time) I would really appreciate it. I have seen other customers having similar port issues with the XPS 13 9300 but I have yet to see any suggested fixes that the customer can do themselves. I even discovered that there are "External battery chargers" available for older dell laptops so that the batteries can be charged separate from the laptop itself but I have not been able to find one that is made to function with the XPS 13 9300 battery. Thanks in advance for any help 🙏.
I'm guessing 95% of laptop users do not upgrade their components even if the laptop can. And most people live the majority of their laptop lives in a browser. So, unless I'm mistaken, the repairability is important when things go wrong, but no so important for improving the hardware.
I mean... Seeing how extremely tiny that motherboard is, it's hard to judge Dell here to have soldered on memory and storage. This is an x86 Board with the size of 2 credit cards.
There have been many reports of QU issues with the dell laptop in the last year, apparently have have had supply issues and been sourcing parts from a large range of vindors not all them as high quality as you might hope and possibly not all permutations of parts fully tested to worth well long term together.
I think recent Dell decided to following 2016 apple😅 Soldering everything, Removing ports, Touchbar(ish), Too much focus thinness that causing so many hardware failure..
i wouldn't touch soldered storage w a ten foot pole. soldered ram is bad enough but we've gotten used to it, but storage? no thank you!! its absolutely NOT worth the laughably small decrease in size
LOL... it goes to the bin... Soldered on memory and storage are a no-no with me... Which is why I am sporting the lenovo 14 inch models these days.. crappy display and all it is more reliable as I can swap these known to fail components out. I am missing the dell display, they are really something but it is not worth it for me to give up everything else for it. I still have my XPS13 from 2016. It was a great machine to use but now this new model without any ports takes away from the usability... and it is even less repairable.
It seems that everyone is copy all the bad things that Apple does, and nobody cares about it. One interested note, if there is underfill under the RAM and SSD chips ? Underfill really complicate any repair with soldered components
Bought a Dell XPS 13 back in 2019 for $1100. That piece of crap died on me the 1 week after the 1 year warranty expired. Took it to dell, and they wanted an arm and a leg because the motherboard had to be replaced. NEVER ANOTHER DELL PRODUCT.
They just want to push "thin and light" to the absolute max which, I think for a 13 inch, is understandable. At least their 15 inch remains incredibly repairable and, while running a bit too hot, very performant.
shipping a laptop in 2022 with 8 gigs of ram should be a crime. especially in combination with 12gen intel that kicks every other notebook in this class in the teeth otherwise
The Apple silicon MacBook airs and pros are much more repairable than the prior generation retina MacBooks. If a laptop can be easily repaired but, has soldered on ram and storage, it can only go up to a 7/10 repairability score.
This laptop looks cool but it commited two crimes. Soldered RAM and mainly soldered storage. I can forgive the RAM even though 8GB may not be enough for anything more than watching netflix in a year or two. Soldered storage cannot be forgiven since if anything happens to the motherboard then you can pretty much say good bye to all your data since recovering them will be really hard.
Genuine question - what keeps the Framework Laptop from being the standard issue laptop for the iFixit team? From an outside perspective, unless someone needs more GPU power it checks just about all the boxes, including being able to upgrade the main board. That's a box no one has checked.
I think is perfect, however I would like to have a 15 ish option
To my understanding, when they decided to upgrade, the Framework laptop had not yet been released; only XPS and other premium thin and lights were available.
A lot of iFixiters (including me) do have the Framework Laptop! It's on our recommended hardware list. For folks who need a dedicated graphics card, we've recommended the XPS 13 or 15-and now just the 15.
The lack of a 15" option for one thing. That and the weird aspect ratio is what's keeping me away from Framework.
@@elizabethchamberlain7819 okay awesome! Genuinely just curious. Thanks for the reply!
it's kinda amazing to see such a tiny motherboard is designed to take 80W load
Soldered on RAM isn't a deal breaker with me that much, but soldered on storage that has a higher failure rate does.
I have a Dell gaming laptop from a couple years ago, and the repairability made my life a LOT easier after an... unfortunate incident. Swappable battery, storage and RAM, full instruction manual, and when I wanted to add a second storage drive the cable I needed to connect it was already inside the laptop, just taped inside the tray where the second drive was supposed to go. Super appreciated - really hope Dell doesn't stray away from repairability before I need to upgrade my machine!
why are you being evasive about the "incident"? Was it a sexual thing? Were bodily fluids involved? Over the decades, I've heard a LOT of ways to break computers, I don't think anything you might say would surprise me.
not trying to be too nosy but I would love to hear what happened
@@sealwheel Basically, only a couple months after getting the computer, I made the mistake of putting my drink right next to it in an open glass... then knocked it over, spilling the entire thing onto the keyboard...
I had to disassemble the entire laptop to get the keyboard out and clean it - and I'd never worked inside a computer before (although I had a bit of knowledge from watching teardown videos at the time.)
Not a single component was glued in. I was literally able to remove EVERYTHING. The manual guided me through the whole process, and was beginner-friendly enough that it all worked perfectly when I put it back together.
TL;DR repairability spared me the fate of having "Sticky Keys" permanently enabled for the rest of my laptop's lifespan
@@fictionhead39 thats an interesting story.
i often drink iced tea next to my laptop..
Unlike other laptops, there isn't empty unused space. The battery occupy any available space. If their aim was for slightly ticker body and smaller battery, then it seems possible to include removable ram and storage.
I used to work at the IT department of a 6000 employee company in Hong Kong. Everyone at the help desk hated dell’s laptop because they are extremely unreliable. Their SSD often fails and as we enabled bitlocker it was not a swap and done process. In the end they stick with thinkpads while mixing more and more HP laptops into the company, and abandoned dell laptops.
True, and lots of problems with batteries, for zero reason. Their lifespan is not even comparable with macs, as much as I hate to say that
I like my XPS 13 (Early 2015). While currently its battery only lasts 6 hours instead of the 8 when I bought it, The only issue I had with it was with the WiFi adapter. After upgrading the card to an AX200, everything works great.
I always had dells never any problems i never use bitlocker
@@adrko the dell battery lifespan cant be comparable to macs, as macs now uses ARM processors which is much more efficient. But anyway I still agree with you as my experience with my dell laptop, the battery os half the way wear out only after 5 months of use from brand new
@@Haloreachfenix but there is the fact that Dell now enable bitlocker on all their new devices. All partitions on the SSD that comes with Dell machines, from laptop to desktop, is bitlocker enabled. In most cases, standard users don't even know what bitlocker is, so when they swap their SSD or factory restore their PCs, they scewed it up and frustrated
So a scale 1 to 10 how y’all like it?
I was wondering the same.
0
About 3. Battery can be easily removed, as can the display, but that's about it.
In the negatives
@@TheSpotify95 No 1.5 Because too much is soldered apart from the battery and there is too much e-waste in this product.
The motherboard is impressively small for an x86 system. Too bad you can't swap out the SSD and the Wifi card.
at least Dell doesn't charge ludicrously for RAM and storage upgrade.
@@allansh828 or are they? Board replacement is very expensive if one or any of the components break, especially outside of warranty
@@RinoAP And the most terrifying, you can easily lost all the important data in it. Imagine if your soldered RAM is broken and all your important data is lost for mainboard replacement in service center because the SSD is also not removable
@@sihamhamda47 yeah, this practice is pretty bad from big company because sooner or later smaller company will follow
@@allansh828 not yet
Non-removable storage is an absolute no-go...
Non removable ram is also a no go
@@Tiger9194 Agree
Important to mention that the Dell XPS 13 Plus, which is Dell's new bread and butter, still has upgradable storage, so the regular XPS lineup is probably going to be more experimental for Dell now.
But no function keys or headphone port. Dell "bravely" copied Apple once again!
@@tid418 Heck, even Apple hasn't removed the headphone jack from their Macs!
What the heck Dell? I've been a diehard XPS fan all my life, but soldering the SSD is just too much. I guess framework is the way to go.
That, and the fact there's only two USB C ports and nothing else... gives me flashbacks of those hideous Macbooks.
@@TheSpotify95 literally not even a headphone jack
@@aqua_whale well that makes it worse than a MacBook Retina (you know, the ones with their single USB type C port, meaning dangles for everything). At least the MB Retina had a USB-C and an AUX port.
Now one manufacturer has done it, we'll now see really thin laptops with no headphone jack either.
Sorry, I'd rather have functionality and practicality over thin and light. If I want thin and light, I use my Surface Pro 3 (which still has a USB-A port, and can have a docking station/adapter plugged into it for desktop use).
One of Dell's redeeming factors has been their excellent upgradability and thorough manuals, but this is just disappointing. Hopefully their Precision 7000 series will stay modular until everything becomes SOCs...
@@TheSpotify95 ha, brings me back to the 1998 iMac without a floppy drive. Forcing customers to go without, or pay up to get backwards compatibility, is an old game by now.
I am genuinely shocked that an 8GB model exists, with no option to upgrade.
Utterly embarrassing in 2022.
8 GB is pretty standard for 2022 and likely 2030+ until DDR6 becomes mainstream. OSes, applications, and others are designed for 8 GB systems. Is it good on a high-end system like this? Yeah, I disagree. But under $1000? 8GB is the default.
@@ikjadoon under $1000 for 8gb is a scam, Especially for a cheap soldered one
@@itza8334 true i have 300$ laptop that has 16gb bruh
A PS5 has 16gb of ram.
if you want 16GB then buy one with 16GB. Ram is not the only thing to decide a laptop is good or not
Impressive how small the mainboard is. And I can kinda understand that ram and WiFi is soldered on, especially given that ram connectors are stupidly large and that the low power ram isn't available in DIMM format. The soldered SSD just isn't acceptable, though.
Everyone's obsessed with "sleekness". I think there's something to be said for *lightweight* , which is why I prefer the Dell Inspiron 3000 series.
I know that in order to have the thinnest laptop with big battery and small logic board removable memory and storage is not really an option. However, if you're going to solder the storage onto the main board at least do what Apple did back in older macbooks and have a "Lifeboat" connector. It would definitely be a thin, fragile proprietary cable but should be available for decent price at the manufactures online store. and be as easy as plugin it into the main board and the other end of the cable would be USB (C or A doesn't really matter) and make it so that it will still work if no other components on the Logic board are working.
I wonder if that was descendant of the "Firewire Target Mode" in old iBooks. You could plug one mac into another, pressing "T" and the second mac would be recognized as a hard drive. It was very useful for diagnostics.
For me must to have options are usb c charging, don't like to travel / commute with more than one charger. Touch screen, more of a pet peeve, but once you get used to one is difficult to go back. And finally be able to change the storage. While I have a NAS where everything is stored I like to know that I don't have to offload every time I have to start a new project.
However having a Mac mini with base storage as my home work computer has really helped me to have a efficient pipe line and to stay organized.
I can live with soldered on RAM, it rarely fails. But soldered on storage is a disaster waiting to happen with so many people being so bad at backing up their data. I have helped countless people in reclaiming their data from dead laptops by moving the hard drive/SSD to an external enclosure.
Ditto. Like you I can live with soldered ram (even if I’d prefer serviceable, if only to avoid the [insert-company-here] tax on at-purchase upgrades), but soldered storage is a pain in everyone’s asses when the computer fails.
Look on 2021 and 2022 main board. This is BIG change and now it's much better.
I got 9305 which I believe is the last refreshed model that Dell released with old 2015 form build factor. The replaceable SSD is great thing about it. Too bad they are following steps of Apple and integrating storage into motherboard just like RAM.
I hate when manufacturers copy the terrible aspects of Apple. A Windows laptop that doesn’t have replaceable RAM or storage is a no buy for me.
This is sad. My next laptop is definitely going to be the framework laptop!
Update, ended up buying a gigabyte. Framework isn't worth it unless you constantly end up damaging your laptop. Which I'm not.
Not gonna lie, the thing that interests me the most is the display connector. Never seen one that uses contact pads like an iphone speaker. Pretty interesting.
any windows laptop without several useful ports is dead to me, being unrepairable and no storage replacement just makes it even worse
Take a look at the new XPS 13 Plus as well!
I have an HP now, but I have since decided to switch to Dell when looking for my next laptop.
So thats why after my current XPS13, I’ll go with Framwwork
9/10 for repairability is a joke with both CPU and GPU being soldered to the motherboard.
9/10 was for the old Dell XPS 13 - this model would probably get a 4 at best. 2 points for the battery being easy to remove, 1 point for the removal of the logic board/hinges, and if you're lucky, 1 point for the display.
Oh wait, the display hinge screws need to be removed in orer to get the logic board out...
3/10 it is then.
Hello Gyus and @Ifixit, the laptod Dell Xps is Beatifaull arquitecture computer
Where did all the space go? The older XPS 13 looks like it has way more space inside for stuff like an SSD or memory, but the new one looks crammed in.
I'm pretty sure no real Xps 13 buyer would care if this years model would be 2mm thicker if that meant that sometime down the line they could recover their files from dead laptop
Hmm. I have one of these with 16gb for work and we were at constant 95% usage, to the point external devices were crashing under the system stress. What a disaster we can't upgrade the memory. Also reading the SSD issues... Guess I better keep a cloud backup.
No headphone port either. Any laptop I buy will have one of those and an M.2 slot. I have an XPS 13 9310, and it has both of those, though not removable RAM or wifi card.
There is an advantage to non-removable RAM, though, on a laptop. The RAM on my XPS 13 is LPDDR4x, which improves the performance of the onboard GPU compared to DDR4, and it saves some power, at least in theory. You can't get that on a unit with removable RAM. There are no LPDDR4x SoDIMMs!
Dell is this best ❤❤❤ XPS is my love
So what happens if the drive fails and it's not replaceable? Will Dell automatically cover it no matter what under warranty? Otherwise you're literally just buying a device that is on a clock ticking down until the drive just bricks the computer.
I believe HP Spectre's 13" model with Alder Lake still has removable storage. HP is a lifeline for some of us. :(
Dell XPS has always been the best sleek Windows laptop
Oh so that's why Dell emailed me today about my repair saying I'm losing all my data
I'd be interested to see your take on Lenovo Thinkpads as they supposedly offer documemtation for them online and, At least from what I remember, Have a repuation for being upgradeable.
@@binary_dale One would think that you'd NOT add weight to keep a semi-Portable machine, err, Portable. Kinda funny in a sad way if HP actually did that, But at least they're not Dell. I know Ifixit likes them but I've had nothing but poor experiences with them, Machines and company, over the years.
@@binary_dale It's quite sad to see Thinkpads go downhill. My Latitude E6410 is starting to age, and I will need a replacement for it soon, but I'm definitely not willing to buy any of the new Thinkpads because of their lack of upgradability. Framework laptops are a great choice, but way too expensive for me as I already have a maxed out Precision 7760 as my main laptop.
Soldered on SSD's is equivalent to making the tyres of a car non replaceable imo....
Look at a SYS76 Lemp10. You can say that there are not a lot. But, you'll have to say that it's repairable.
The higher-end and more expensive XPS 13 Plus still has the internal layout of the older 2021 XPS 13, so the SSD is still removable on that XPS 13 Plus 9320 model, no idea why Dell downgraded the regular XPS 13 2022 soo much though. It even has worst processor options than the XPS 13 Plus.
the sheer size of that mother board though :O
Not to mention the new S0ix modern sleep mode that consumes the battery and overheats the laptop
Maybe we need a new kind of socket for RAM and storage. It's not like this storage and RAM couldn't be replaced, but there are real benefits to getting the parts closer to the CPU, and BGA packaging. If there was a compact BGA-like socket, maybe companies would be willing to make these parts replaceable again.
...Or maybe it exists and they just don't use it.
how could the go backwards on repairability like this :(
Are there Plans to reviewing the XPS 13 Plus too?
need an xps 13 plus teardown.
Dead storage doesn't brick the PC. Reflow soldering exists.
I have the XPS 13 still has a MicroSD slot on the left-side and comes with the Intel Core i7 and 16GB RAM & 500GB SSD HD. Would you know if the internal of it is the same as the model here (particularly the RAM & SSD integration)?
As far as I've known Dell's 14 inch and upper still have non soldered ram and SSD at least as 2021 models went, do 2022 still have non soldered ram?
Everyone in the comments is praising the XPS, meanwhile my XPS 13 9360 had major fit and finish issues out of the box (the bottom edge was capable of scratching me) and my screen developed a pink hue in the bottom half after sitting on my shelf for 3 years powered off. No parts or service manuals available for it either. Made me wary of buying any Dell product
I've got a 9360 still going strong after battery swap and thermal repaste
I am almost positive there will be parts available. Any of the hardware components not related to the mainboard should be the exact same for different models with the same chassis style. And the same thing goes for service manuals.
@@vivek_v Link a a 9630 1080p non-touchscreen replacement display for under $350 USD, along with a Dell service manual that shows step-by-step instructions on replacing it.
Ram failure for soldered memory is very unlikely. Most memory failure come from socket issues shorting.
but when that unlikely comes, you are screwed
@@trandinhvietdung9357 not really, it is standard LPDDR dies and board level repair store can swap these out rather quickly.
@@hishnash yep but with socketed ram, it is easier to do tho. also you can upgrade (which is why framework exist)
You can have a notebook as thin as this, or, a notebook with replaceable ram. You can't have both, due to the slim size.
This laptop is TOO thin imo. They also could have fit in socketed storage and more ports but they just went too far too fast.
We don’t need the background music, it detracts from the commentary.
Still gonna go with a Framework laptop though
what is a framework laptop?
You guys should try tuxedo or system 76 or star labs based laptops for repairability or even HP dev one (no thunderbolt 3 on ryzen 5000u series)
Wife has a Dell Inspiron 5570 15", 2018 model. Put a new battery in it yesterday. Previously upgraded RAM and SSD to Samsung 970. Sooo easy.....Dell....WHY go backwards......??? 2mm thinner? Nope
Welp, that sees Dell out of my book of manufacturers for me to look in a 13" laptop...
THANKS :)
My only question is this: is the charging port any good on *this* Dell? 😅😅
My 2015 xps 13 still isn’t modular. Ram soldered onto mb 😑 what a crap!
When all the other components in the motherboard are generally soddered what makes soddering ram and SSD so critical?
If the RAM or SSD completely fails then an entirely new motherboard is needed, unless you're good at microsoldering. Otherwise, your motherboard is dead and your data is lost forever.
for me, ssd must be removable, because if my laptop fails (be it hardware or software), i want my data back asap.
Takes some tips from the Apple anti-Right-to-repair techniques , sad and i loved dell as an IT for there where easy to repair and upgrade.
Hard to hear the dialogue over the background music.
Where's the score? Am I missing something?
xps 13 plus when
"In the past Dell *has been* one of the computer manufactures that *have been* easy for us to recommend to people." That's a long way to say: don't buy.
XPS 13 9300 USB Type-C ports not working. Battery dead. Motherboard lights flashing when charger connected.
Hi all, I have a bit of a problem. Sorry for the long description but any help/advice would be appreciated. While living in North America In September of 2020 I ordered and received my new XPS 13 9300. I haven't been able to use it now for over 2 years.
I moved abroad and was using a stepdown converter to charge it which worked fine for a little while. Then I relocated again within the same country and suddenly the laptop would not charge even with the stepdown converter.
The charging cable light will come on and be steady when plugged in to an outlet (either in the stepdown converter or using an adapter in the wall) but when I connect it to the laptop the light on the charger starts blinking on and off steadily.
Before my battery depleted completely an error message came up briefly stating something about the system not being able to detect the charging system.
I removed the battery and tried to use the laptop with only the charger attached but the same thing happens. The lights on the motherboard flash as well when the charging cable light flashes.
I want to know if getting a new already charged battery might give me access to the laptop long enough to go in and reset the type-C USB port drivers since it seems that the different voltage in my current country of residence has confused the ports.
If anyone has any suggestions that do not involve replacing the motherboard entirely (as that is not very possible for me at this time) I would really appreciate it.
I have seen other customers having similar port issues with the XPS 13 9300 but I have yet to see any suggested fixes that the customer can do themselves. I even discovered that there are "External battery chargers" available for older dell laptops so that the batteries can be charged separate from the laptop itself but I have not been able to find one that is made to function with the XPS 13 9300 battery.
Thanks in advance for any help 🙏.
Why is there no repairability score at the end?
music bit loud
are there even any DDR5 laptops with SODIMM rather than embedded?
I'm guessing 95% of laptop users do not upgrade their components even if the laptop can. And most people live the majority of their laptop lives in a browser. So, unless I'm mistaken, the repairability is important when things go wrong, but no so important for improving the hardware.
no useful ports and no ssd? so it is basically a flagship phone?
I mean... Seeing how extremely tiny that motherboard is, it's hard to judge Dell here to have soldered on memory and storage. This is an x86 Board with the size of 2 credit cards.
so what's the repairability score?
This looks like Raspberry Pi in a notebook.
There have been many reports of QU issues with the dell laptop in the last year, apparently have have had supply issues and been sourcing parts from a large range of vindors not all them as high quality as you might hope and possibly not all permutations of parts fully tested to worth well long term together.
I think recent Dell decided to following 2016 apple😅
Soldering everything, Removing ports, Touchbar(ish), Too much focus thinness that causing so many hardware failure..
Its basically an Intel NUC at this point lol. Its not a bad thing.. but I would absolutely prefer an upgradeable RAM
i wouldn't touch soldered storage w a ten foot pole. soldered ram is bad enough but we've gotten used to it, but storage? no thank you!! its absolutely NOT worth the laughably small decrease in size
LOL... it goes to the bin... Soldered on memory and storage are a no-no with me... Which is why I am sporting the lenovo 14 inch models these days.. crappy display and all it is more reliable as I can swap these known to fail components out. I am missing the dell display, they are really something but it is not worth it for me to give up everything else for it. I still have my XPS13 from 2016. It was a great machine to use but now this new model without any ports takes away from the usability... and it is even less repairable.
Yeah...no! I'd rather a framework, that I can actually do something with when the time comes.
Bat 50 w but macy 98 one
It seems that everyone is copy all the bad things that Apple does, and nobody cares about it.
One interested note, if there is underfill under the RAM and SSD chips ? Underfill really complicate any repair with soldered components
Bought a Dell XPS 13 back in 2019 for $1100. That piece of crap died on me the 1 week after the 1 year warranty expired. Took it to dell, and they wanted an arm and a leg because the motherboard had to be replaced. NEVER ANOTHER DELL PRODUCT.
They just want to push "thin and light" to the absolute max
which, I think for a 13 inch, is understandable. At least their 15 inch remains incredibly repairable and, while running a bit too hot, very performant.
That's not a laptop mainboard. its a long phone mainboard.
Yea true, the super small x86 motherboard is impressive though
Brands that do not keep all components replaceable and upgradeable will not get my business. Simple.
Thats it, I have completely lost my respect for the XPS series after knowing that it has un-swappable ram, storage and what is considered.. no ports
Is it just me, or they haven't given a score?
They haven't given a score to a lot of devices recently.
shipping a laptop in 2022 with 8 gigs of ram should be a crime. especially in combination with 12gen intel that kicks every other notebook in this class in the teeth otherwise
You're better off getting a Dell gaming laptop than have something that spits in the face of upgradability.
8gb is too low these days
LETS REMOVE EVERYTHING GOOD ABOUT THE PREVIOUS MODEL! & RAISE THE PRICE!
No removable SSD?? really ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
The Apple silicon MacBook airs and pros are much more repairable than the prior generation retina MacBooks. If a laptop can be easily repaired but, has soldered on ram and storage, it can only go up to a 7/10 repairability score.
1 step forward, 3 steps back imo.
No need to buy this Dell XPS then, with soldered on memory and storage - get yourself a 12th gen Framework Laptop instead!
This laptop looks cool but it commited two crimes. Soldered RAM and mainly soldered storage.
I can forgive the RAM even though 8GB may not be enough for anything more than watching netflix in a year or two. Soldered storage cannot be forgiven since if anything happens to the motherboard then you can pretty much say good bye to all your data since recovering them will be really hard.
caught a nice discount, guess I'm still not buying it.