Good CPU, memory and SSD. Use you own keyboard and/or mouse (only 1 full USB socket though). 90 Day Return to base warranty
Avoid P&P if picked up from SP6 1BD (New Forest I think)
15 comments
polarbaba
23 Jun 171#1
a very capable tablet, see if they have the keyboard and stylus pen to go with it.
I have purchased from them previously. MSc is a decent company to buy from in my opinion.
CampGareth
23 Jun 173#2
I bought the same model from them what must be 2 or 3 years ago, they're decent tablets but have their flaws.
Weight, heat and noise are downsides (these ones are the last generation before dell went fanless iirc). The wifi card's a bit dodgy over 5GHz when pushed very hard, the pogo pin arrangement for connecting to keyboard accessories is straight up bad as the pins always seem to end up pushed in permanently and making a poor connection.
My final complaint is that while it charges over micro USB and that's great, it only charges at full speed on the stock charger since it puts out 5V or 19V over microUSB. This also leads to some weird behaviour while charging on a stock 5V 2A charger, it tries to do its absolute best to reduce power consumption including clocking the processor down to a level so anemic that web-browsing is impossible. That isn't actually enough to let it charge while on mind you, so it irritates and doesn't achieve its goal, an all-round terrible idea.
Incidentally I'm looking to replace mine with an XPS 12. While they had short battery life I'm living the thunderbolt 3/USB-C with PD lifestyle now.
polarbaba
23 Jun 17#3
I have something like the dell xps., yes it's lovely, battery isn't great, but charging is fast and the product is lovely. prior to this tablet I had written off windows for tablets, but I am very pleased it's quite usable.
SavageDonkey
23 Jun 17#4
I had a few variations of this tablet and found the i3 much better than the i5's but could never get a keyboard that worked without issues.
These used to always have a 10% discount offer.. Was FacebookFriends and have had a few other in the past.
Got my eye on a couple of things on the site but knowing me as soon as I buy they would offer another code!
Tom_DD
23 Jun 175#5
I'd recommend spending a little more and getting the 7140 models (available at same website) as they run the Core M processor which is fanless remove the noise issue etc... I've had both models and the 7140 is a much better machine.
CampGareth to Tom_DD
23 Jun 17#6
They're also thinner, lighter and possibly even charge off USB-C. I would buy one but the XPS 12's just a little bit shinier :P
Towelie to Tom_DD
23 Jun 17#7
Was just about to post the same and they are very capable machines.
I've only got the 4gb ram version but still great portable computer with a full OS on it and combined with the battery keyboard and the desktop dock, you have a very capable 3 in 1 machine with excellent battery life.
Much more capable than any iPad or Android tablet but a lot cheaper.
pankomputerek
24 Jun 17#8
Replaceable battery in this thing also rocks. Had one for about 2 years now.
Agharta
24 Jun 17#9
The 7140 uses micro USB for charging. It was superceded by the Latitude 11 5175 which has two full size USB 3 ports one of which is type C and is used for charging. It also uses Skylake versus Broadwell for the 7140.
Agharta
24 Jun 17#10
Be warned that this company started putting void if removed stickers on the back of Dell tablets so even though Dell allow you to open them up this company don't. A shame as it's easy enough to swap out the M. 2 SSD and the coms cards.
captainbeaky
24 Jun 171#11
More capable as a laptop replacement but you're probably better off with iOS or Android if you primarily want to use as a tablet
iceburglettuce
25 Jun 17#12
Also bought this from MCScom a few years back. It did have problems which were mostly fixed by firmware updates and in itself, works great now.
I also bought the keyboard dock with added battery, but I've ha dproblems. When it works it's excellent, but sometimes the touchpad wont work and sometimes the extra battery wasn't recognised.
The whole package with the battery, dock, tablet was worth over £1,000 when I bought it. Got it all for just over £300. Still going strong too. I generally take a mouse with me in case the trackpad doesn't work (or just use the touch screen).
musefan2001
13 Jul 17#13
Tempted by this to replace a recently faulty laptop. Is it a risk with them covering all but the battery in their warranty? Or are the batteries in these pretty solid?
polarbaba
13 Jul 171#14
I thought the same when I was interested in buying from them.
Others reported on the thread that the battery was fine.
And when I received my tablet, it was performing as per the reviews online.
musefan2001 to polarbaba
13 Jul 17#15
Thanks for the reply!
Here's what their CS team replied to me -
Hi Darren,
We are a Dell register partner which means we are able to buy customer returns and outlet products direct from Dell and refurbish them for reselling on our website. The products we purchase can have been returned of any number of reasons, most are cancelled orders or lease machines that have been returned at the end of the hire periods.
With the Venus the most common reason for return is that people damage the charging ports. We replace these with new ports, clean the tablets, format reload and benchmark each one. Once we are happy that the tablet is fully working and that the physical condition is a close to new we then list it on our website.
Batteries are not given a year’s warranty on anything even if you purchased a new one from Dell. They are seen as consumables as the length of life will determined by the end users charging habits. For example someone who leaves the tablet on charge all the time will overcharge the cells in the battery and damage them reducing the life. Our batteries normally have a minimum of 85% health left in them. Anything less and we replace them.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
Use you own keyboard and/or mouse (only 1 full USB socket though).
90 Day Return to base warranty
Avoid P&P if picked up from SP6 1BD (New Forest I think)
15 comments
I have purchased from them previously. MSc is a decent company to buy from in my opinion.
Weight, heat and noise are downsides (these ones are the last generation before dell went fanless iirc). The wifi card's a bit dodgy over 5GHz when pushed very hard, the pogo pin arrangement for connecting to keyboard accessories is straight up bad as the pins always seem to end up pushed in permanently and making a poor connection.
My final complaint is that while it charges over micro USB and that's great, it only charges at full speed on the stock charger since it puts out 5V or 19V over microUSB. This also leads to some weird behaviour while charging on a stock 5V 2A charger, it tries to do its absolute best to reduce power consumption including clocking the processor down to a level so anemic that web-browsing is impossible. That isn't actually enough to let it charge while on mind you, so it irritates and doesn't achieve its goal, an all-round terrible idea.
Incidentally I'm looking to replace mine with an XPS 12. While they had short battery life I'm living the thunderbolt 3/USB-C with PD lifestyle now.
These used to always have a 10% discount offer.. Was FacebookFriends and have had a few other in the past.
Got my eye on a couple of things on the site but knowing me as soon as I buy they would offer another code!
I've only got the 4gb ram version but still great portable computer with a full OS on it and combined with the battery keyboard and the desktop dock, you have a very capable 3 in 1 machine with excellent battery life.
Much more capable than any iPad or Android tablet but a lot cheaper.
I also bought the keyboard dock with added battery, but I've ha dproblems. When it works it's excellent, but sometimes the touchpad wont work and sometimes the extra battery wasn't recognised.
The whole package with the battery, dock, tablet was worth over £1,000 when I bought it. Got it all for just over £300. Still going strong too. I generally take a mouse with me in case the trackpad doesn't work (or just use the touch screen).
Others reported on the thread that the battery was fine.
And when I received my tablet, it was performing as per the reviews online.
Here's what their CS team replied to me -
Hi Darren,
We are a Dell register partner which means we are able to buy customer returns and outlet products direct from Dell and refurbish them for reselling on our website. The products we purchase can have been returned of any number of reasons, most are cancelled orders or lease machines that have been returned at the end of the hire periods.
With the Venus the most common reason for return is that people damage the charging ports. We replace these with new ports, clean the tablets, format reload and benchmark each one. Once we are happy that the tablet is fully working and that the physical condition is a close to new we then list it on our website.
Batteries are not given a year’s warranty on anything even if you purchased a new one from Dell. They are seen as consumables as the length of life will determined by the end users charging habits. For example someone who leaves the tablet on charge all the time will overcharge the cells in the battery and damage them reducing the life. Our batteries normally have a minimum of 85% health left in them. Anything less and we replace them.
Think i'll take a punt