Dell Studio XPS 1340
I recently got a new Dell Studio XPS 1340 laptop to replace my older XPS m1330 that was having video problems. The Dell Studio XPS 1340 is sold in Dell Ubuntu store but since Dell will not sell PCs with Ubuntu to Higher education institutions I ended up getting the Vista based model.
Comment: Come on Dell, selling Ubuntu based machines to Higher Education institutions is a no-brainer. The college crowd is going to be one of your biggest markets for Linux based computers.
Ubuntu works pretty much out of the box, even on the Vista version of the laptop. Only a few tweaks were needed.
| Device |
Compatibility |
| Processor – Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T8600 @ 2.40GHz |
Works |
| Screen – WXGA WLED Backlit LCD |
Works |
| DVD – GS20N DVD+/-RW, 8X |
Works (1) |
| Video – NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9500 G |
Works |
| Sound – NVIDIA MCP79 High Definition Audio |
Works |
| Wireless – Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half- Mini Card |
Works (2) |
| USB |
Works |
| Firewire |
Works |
| Express Card Slot Reader |
Works |
| Remote Control |
Works |
| HDMI Port |
Non Tested |
| DisplayPort connector |
Non Tested |
| 1.3 MP Web Camera |
Works |
| Media Keys |
Works |
| Integrated 10/100 Network Card |
Works |
| Hard Drive – 250GB Serial ATA 7200 RPM |
Works |
| Headphones – both jacks |
Works |
| Internal Microphone |
Works |
| External Microphone |
Works (3) |
| Hibernation |
Works (4) |
| Suspend |
Works (4) |
- DVD/+-RW Drive: Dell recently released a new version of the firmware (A110) to add Windows 7 compatibly to the drive. This version of the firmware causes errors when trying to burn CD/DVDs. Downgrading to version A108 of the firmware fixes this problem.
- Wireless: The Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half-Mini Card does work with Ubuntu after installing the Broadcom STA driver via System –> Administration –> Hardware Drivers. The card does generate errors and disconnects in Ubuntu 9.04 if you are connected to a wireless access point using WPA with TKIP encryption. The best solution I have to switch your wireless router to use WPA2 with AES encryption if possible. This problems seems to be solved in Ubuntu Karmic. The card/driver also has the problem of always shows 100% wireless strength when connected, I found no solution for this. If you can get the Dell 1397 802.11b/g card I would suggest it instead.
- External Microphone: Works fine with tweaking in Ubuntu 9.04 but not at all in Ubuntu Karmic.
- Suspend/Hibernate: Both seems to work fine even though they generate some errors in the kernel log.