--->The Official Studio XPS 1340 Owner's Thread<---

Oh my Lord, I just got done reading the XPS1340 Horror thread: Please tell me there are as many pleased consumers out there as there are ticked off. Is there that much freezing going on out there? That thread has me ready to cancel and go to a different Laptop. Some positive feedback would be geat.

 

Everything's good on mine except eSATA not working. I did replace the thermal paste on the CPU. It also froze once ages ago, but hasn't since.

 

For positive feedback, I think you are in the right thread.

Don't cancel your lappy because of what you have seen in a thread. Wait, til you get your lappy...stay positive, and I'm sure it will work out for you!

Everyone see's things differently!

If, you happen to receive your 1340 and it doesn't work out...look at it this way: You have 21 days from date of invoice to return for a new replacement or refund!

You should be happy! Getting a new lappy is always exciting!


Cin

 

Knock on wood, but my computer has never had problems and it runs pretty quickly. No freezing problems or awake-from-sleep issues here. I might have been lucky though. The laptop runs very quietly due to the SSD. I wouldn't cancel just yet. I'm still not sure if I'm keeping it due to the keyboard issue but if you don't mind the weight and the keyboard, it's a very solid laptop!!

 

Did anyone have their laptops shipped on the actual ESD, everyone seems have gotten it before their shipping date or had it delayed. My ESD is still 11/02/2009 that's 2 days away. I'm scared they might delay it. Fingers crossed that everything is going to be okay.

btw i orderd on 20/01/2009 its been in production stage since forever.

 

Hm, the lights on my screen hinge do not turn solid amber when the battery is low. It only blinks amber when the battery is critical. Anyone else notice that? Seems like a big oversight considering it's in the manual.

 

I've read that Hybrid SLI are not going to be supported in Windows 7. So, it's only supported in Vista?

Can someone who installed Windows 7 confirm this on the SXPS 13?

http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/605145/hybrid-sli-and-crossfire-unstable-says-microsoft.html

 

I thought that amber was merely used to indicate low power? Or does the manual specifically state they will remain a constant amber glow, as opposed to constant blinking?

 

Mine shipped as well, only 7 days from when I ordered, delivery date on the 11th.. Can't wait to try it out.

I'm planning on running the Vista 64bit, and Windows 7 beta on Virtual PC before making the shift to 7..

 

I can confirm Hybrid SLI does work in Windows 7 on the 1340. What that article is saying is that it won't work out of the box in Windows itself - the same way it doesn't work out of the box in Vista. It just means the Nvidia drivers handle Hybrid SLI, not the OS. And the Vista drivers work in 7.

 

Yeah, i understand that now, thanks.

Do you know wich games that are supported by the geforceboost?
I've seen a list on supported games for SLI, but is that the same as support for Hybdrid SLI Geforce boost?
SLI support and SLI Hybrid GeForce boost support in games aren't the same is it?

 

Yesss! Mine has just been shipped!!!

I ordered mine 5 feb. I placed an early order the 12 Jan, but was so upset once I learned that the nvidia 9500 was indeed a 9200+9400... So I canceled that order. But once the 3DMark results started to show up, I put up a new order, this time 150 dollars cheaper...

When I bought my old XPS M1210 there was also a few horror stories, but it worked flawless all the time. I never use the factory installation, but always format and tweak the system to my liking, and it has always worked great with any laptop that I have owned and there has been quite a few of them already. I bought my first laptop in 1993, a huyndai laptop... Cyrix SLC 486.

 

Ok, I started writing a whole thing up, will post that later. So far, I'm very impressed.

I got the 2.5 chip, LED screen, bluetooth, 320 7200 drive, 9500M. Pretty much loaded.

The keyboard is very quiet. At first I didn't like the keyboard, but now that I've been using it, you can be amazingly light with your touch. Which further quiets it down. One thing that I was nervous about with the keyboard was that the keys were level, or slightly recessed to the chasis they sit in. This is probably to protect the screen when shut. Anyway, at first I didn't like hitting the spacebar, but I've quickly gotten over it.

The keys are quite flat, however, and it's not as easy to find your way with them like in the old style keyboard that had big gaps between the keys as well as slightly concave keys that would saddle your finger tips.

It's actually not nearly as hot as I thought/was expecting it in my lap. I lay on my couch quite a bit with it on my stomach. I've only been running in full performance mode for the time being. But have yet to really stress the graphics. I'll probably not be using it in my lap much when I'm working in photoshop or the such, so I'm not too worried about it. It's warm, but not oppressive.

 

While the palm rest is a finger print magnet, the keys are matte and not really showing any grease after typing on it for a night.

 

What date is considered the invoice date from when the 21 day deadline begins. My invoice shows a order date of 2/2/09 and a receipt date of 2/8/09. I got an email from dell stating it shipped today. Out of all these dates when does the 21 days to return begin?

 

If it's low battery, it should be constant amber. If it's critical battery, it should be flashing amber. It says that in the manual. Mine only flashes.

 

Good news! I called Dell about the promotion Cin had mentioned earlier and while they couldn't match it because my order had already shipped and been delivered, they gave me a $125 credit as a measure of good faith. It makes my entire computer purchase $1338 without tax plus the earlier $200 gift card that hasn't come yet and the $130 printer I got for $25 that I sold for $75. Works with me =).

P.S. If I wanted the promotion, I had to reorder the computer and send this computer back but I wouldn't get the $200 gift card because that promotion has expired.

 

Did anyone answer my question about the facial recognition software? How can you reinstall it? Cant find anything online...

 

theguac, who did you contact to get that $125 credit?

 

I assume that's the free LED promotion going on? When I called them last week, they weren't willing to credit me for the promotion. Maybe I'll try again, as it has a lot to do with the specific person you talk to.

 

gawwwwd mine ESD is today with next day delivery, im getting so impatient! i keep emailing the dell reps, and i think by this time they have started to ignore me. hopefully it ships out today.

 

I called customer care. Did you pay with DPA because you need to in order to be considered for the promotion.

No, the LED discount I got when I ordered the computer. This is a new discount entirely.

 

I finally got around to some benchmarking:

I'm running the 2.5 ghz, P9500, processor with the 9500M discrete graphics option.

PCMark05 with SLI graphics: 5143.
PCMark05 w/o SLI: 4185

I haven't worked with the 3D Mark yet.

Doesn't this seem a little low? Afterall the Lenovo U330 that came out 5ish months ago and with it's 2.0 Ghz P7350, it scored 4,801 in discrete mode, and 4,224 with integrated graphics.

Doesn't seem like for the extra money, the Dell with a 2.5 ghz is all that much more performent.

Anyway, I'm still pleased with the machine at this point. Just a little disappointed in the benchmark score as I was hoping closer to a PCMark05 of 6000 with the 2.5 Ghz, P9500 chip.

 

I have the same config as you I think and I got about 3500 on 3DMark...

 

Thats strange, notebookcheck got 6680/6904
Maybe it's the SSD that makes the difference

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Studio-XPS-13-Notebook.14081.0.html

 

That should be on one of the discs included with the computer.

Anyway, as i said before, i'd discourage using the face recognition feature -- it is not as reliable as a password. If you just want to install and play with it -- that's one thing, but if you want to rely on it -- i don't recommend that.

 

Thanks!

Did you experience any random hangs/freezes that some were mentioning? What OS did you install?

 

Well a Windows password is not safe either... I will just use the face recog. as a cool feature The laptop will be used by my gf aswell, so its nice for account management...

 

Mine shipped a day before the ESD (02/09/09) (last Friday...) But, us Canadians have at least another 5 business days to wait for it to go through customs... ARGH.

As an aside... The Canadians are now paying $200 MORE for the unit, ordering it through Dell.ca -- I notice they aren't highlighting it anywhere, either. Interesting! I had to dig to find the Studio XPS lineup.

Methinks they are having production issues and want to slow down orders for these models.

 

As I said in a previous post; the delivery time is extended with 3 weeks in Denmark according to dell.dk...

so yea, they may be having problems.

 

WooT!

I'm glad it finally shipped for you! After everything that's happened, do you still plan on returning it??

Cin

 

I've had no hangups, and I've kept with the Vista Home Premium that came with it. I did use Acronis to add a partition and I've installed Windows 7 b1 on it, but I have yet to dial that in with the drivers and such. I've only booted into it.

Back on my regular Vista, everything seems to be very good, except for my lackluster PCMark05 score. After it loaded up the first time, it had to reboot once for all the latest Windows updates.

The LED is really nice on this laptop. They keyboard took me a few minutes to get used to it, and now I really like it. Light to the touch.

I also thought I didn't need the backlit keys, but now that I have them, they're a very nice touch.

What's really impressive is the minimal amount of bloat that came on this thing. I've only uninstalled McAffee, Google Toolbar, Dell Dock, and Dell DataSafe.

There's probably some more tweaking I could do, but it seems to be running really nice now.

This is the first post I've made with the new laptop, as I've now moved onto my couch, where I'm laying down with the laptop propped on my leg.

The fan is on a lot. But it's not a deal breaker.

For all those out there interested in this laptop, I'd probably get the $999 one at Best Buy. It's a bargain, if you can live without LED screen, and tolerate Best Buy servicing your computer if you need it.

Did I say the LED is bright? It is.

At this point, I've gotta say it's a keeper. I'm about 24 hours into using it. It waas on all night copying files from other machines...

 

Just wait until she holds a photo of you in front of the computer to see what you've been up to!

 

Well that is what I call "trust"... She trusts me that I dont get in her stuff, so
I will try it with a photo though, want to know how easy it is to fool it.

@Taude
What do you say about the display? Usable outside, bright enough? The fan is on when you are using the energy saving mode?
Don't get stuck on those CPUmark scores.. As long as the laptop is doing what it should I would not worry too much about any scores... But that is just my opinion

Can't wait to get my Studio 13...I will tell you how long the 9 cell lasts

 

taude,

Did you buy yours from Best Buy?

edit - Nevermind, i just read some of you're other posts.

I bought mine from Best Buy last week. Delivery Date: 2/11.

 

I'm sure it could be used outside, but probably not optimal. It's really glossy. As glossy as the new MacBooks. I was getting annoyed enough using it on my couch which has outside light streaming in. With the brightness turned all the way up, I can still see shadow of my reflection. It's readable, though. I'm still undecided as to whether the glossyness is going to bug me. I'm sure even the fluorescent lighting of an office (I'll find out tomorrow) will be casting shadows on the screen.

The fan isn't on when SLI is turned off. It's pretty quiet. With SLI on, and running 3DMark06 demo, you can hear the fan kick in. I'd be curious to hear one of these with SLI off, and WITH an SSD. I bet it's pretty quiet.

 

I just bought this laptop a couple of days ago and I was going to ask the current owners a question. When I was setting up the lap top it completly froze on me and I had to call dell support to reimage the drive. Now I am starting to wonder if heat was the issue. The lap top gets pretty warm all over when just searching the web and anywhere even near the vent is crazy hot. You could not even keep your hand there if you wanted too. Is anyone else having heat issues with this laptop? I think I am going to call support again to talk to them about it. Other than that thought the laptop looks great and performs well.

 

No, I didn't. I don't think they have them yet. My local store said they'd be getting them in over the past weekend, but I didn't check back with them. I'm also not sure if any of the people who mail-ordered a XPS13 received one.

Compared with what I got for an extra $400, as long as the Best Buy one isn't hampered in anyway, I think it's a bargain. (I've got a 2.5 vs 2.4, LED vs CCFL, and Dell support vs GeekSquad.)

 

I'm not having heat issues. While its warm for me, it's not alarmingly so. Even when cranking on 3DMark06, the vent area back by the screen was still just warm.

 

I am looking forward to your next "outdoor" office test ^^ You are not able to compare it to the old M1330 can you?
Do you have a new MacBook ?

 

Cool, let us know what the deal with it is. It seems like a real bargain.

 

Yeah it's completely silent with SLI off and SSD. With SLI though the fan makes it loud =(.

 

Why are SSDs still expensive :'( A completely silent notebook would be awesome...
I hope you dont expect the notebook to be silent WITH sli on? Power=heat=noise ^^

 

I just tried going up to my roof deck, but it's too cold out and there's some ice.

I don't have a 1330, but I can compare to my 700m:
The XPS 13 is on 1/15 for brightness
The 700m is on 7/7.

With NBR open full screen:
I can't see my reflection on the 700m, except for portions of the website (like the Lenovo ad) that are black.
On the XPS 13, I can see myself.

Now, turning the XPS 13 up to about 4/15, I get rid of the background reflection on the white, but can still see it on the dark gray bar "reply to thread"

At 4/15, the newer XPS 13 LED screen is definitely brighter and whiter than my old 700m.

Taking the brightness on the XPS 13 all the way up to 15/15 still shows reflection on the dark portions of the website.

BTW, there's no longer direct sunlight outside my window behind me as it's gone down behind the hill.

 

From the US DELL site, the 128 gig SSD upgrade was only $200. I don't think that is too expensive.

BTW, if I were to order this all over again, I'd probably throw on the SSD.

Even at newegg, I can't find a 128 gig SSD for less than the dell site. But in time, in time...

 

Well compared to "regular" HDDs it is expensive... Also there are some SSDs out there that are just rubbish...
In time... 256GB for 100$ thats when I will buy

[€dit]

Well this is BS... In germany dell wants 360€ (468$) for the 128GB... for 200$ (150€ I would have atleast thought about it...

 

We'll see... When I saw the prices for the same specs had jumped $200 with tax (well, $180) I couldn't believe it.

That said, if that screen is too glossy, or the heating issue is something I can't handle, it'll go back.

We'll see. I don't mind paying for something high quality, but, I don't want to pay a premium (esp. when others are getting deals in the US) for the same product just because it's new.

 

Yeah, that's super expensive.

There will be a day when Dell's order form will say "Limited Time Offer. Free Upgrade to 128 SSD"

 

Gets a lot worse in Australia. Dell wants AU$1038 (US$703) for the SSD. A high-end config for the entire laptop with a 320GB HDD only costs AU$1999 (US$1360).

 

I think I am also getting an SSD, although probably it's not the wisest decision in this economy but i don't wanna wait for another 6-12 months for prices to come down. It would be nice if Dell offered a smaller capacity SSD (64 GB would be perfect for me).