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

nokiac, i reinstalled vista today, i used Microsoft.Windows.Vista.ULTIMATE.x86.SP1.Integrated.February.2009.OEM. DVD-BIE if thats any help, seems to run smooth thus far, i would rather not exchange the laptop again, this will be the 3rd one.. i knew i should of gone with the blue label toshiba i only got this bc of the keyboard!

 

bcc; my front right is the one that is up off the desk, any ideas there?

 

I would guess the rear cap on the opposite corner is pushed in slightly (not flush with the rest of the bottom). That's the one with 2 screws attaching it. I didn't try to disassemble that one on my laptop so I'm not sure the same fix would work...

 

Only catch with fedora is you need to install the nvidia proprietary X server to get your windows going. There is a linux specific thread here for the 1340 as well.

 

NEWFLASH!!!

New bios version, A04 is out

Feature Changed & Issue Fixed :
==============================================================================
1. Fix sometimes system will show wrong CPU speed string with P9600 and P7450 CPU.
2. Fix JL:"Shift + 1" to disable USB Storage bootable device can not be rememberd
3. Fix Unable to enable radio when radio off first and uncheck "Wi-Fi" from QS.

 

Hey people, just ordered my 1340, specs are in my signature, can't wait!

I was wondering if anyone's tried installing the latest Nvidia drivers from Nvidia's website? Now that the drivers are available direct from Nvidia, I was wondering if anyone's had any success installing these.

 

I got two questions to my fellow 1340's out there:

1. Does your IR work? Mine doesnt even show up in the device manager.

2. Should it be light at the right screenhinge as well. Mine is totally dead there, no flashing, lighting or shining

 

Yes, both screen hinge's should be lighted. Yours is defective if its not lighted.

 

w00t, order number 2 just went into the boxing stage

ordered on 2/13/09
boxing as of 2/17/09
ESD is still 2/23/09

 

You are correct, the 65 watt adapter is enough to power it and charge it with SLI off. In fact, when you plug in a 65 watt power adapter it warns you about this.

I'm using all my old 65 watt adapters daily from my old DELL laptops, as I don't like to carry adapters with me. I leave one at work, one in home office, one in bedroom, and one in living room. It's a nice bonus to not have to buy all new adapters.

 

Did you try turning off SLI when plugging it in? I have good success with charging from OLD 65 watt adapters when I turn off SLI.

 

Yes my IR works. I pointed my Media center remote control at it, hit the green button and watched Media Center start up...

BTW, the remote didn't come with laptop, it was one I've had sitting around from an old media center that I used to use.

 

Those of you who don't like the glossy screen on this notebook may want to check this out. http://www.powersupportusa.com/products/macbook-antiglare.php?category=mb_new

 

Nice Find but would it fit Dell's 1340 screen? Its for MacBook?

 

have you, or has anyone, used these? I'd totally get one if its a decent product.

If nothing else to prevent scratches to the screen...

 

The macbook also has a 13.3 inch screen, so, I'm fairly sure it would fit...

 

Thats what i was having in mind. Just waiting for my 1340. I am thinking about buying this one but just worried whether they ship to india or not!

 

I found a cheap alternative B)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Anti-Glare-13-3...oryZ4601QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

It's a 13.3 inch screen in the same aspect ratio. It will fit. Here's a review. http://www.macworld.com/article/138610/2009/02/mbpantiglare.html

Edit: @Anky I wouldn't skimp on this. A poor filter could be very detrimental to screen brightness and clarity. It's only $20 more. I make that in less than two hours at Starbucks.

 

But they don't ship it to INDIA

 

I tried to use system restore to go back to a time where win update was working.. however, it did not fixed the problem. So i canceled the system restore - and 're'restored to the current 'image'.

anyone knows how i get BITS to be seen in services.msc?


UPDATE:

Finally, I found a solution that worked: http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.backgroundtransfer&tid=194ba3bc-471f-4a94-8136-81e1ef8246d1&cat=en_US_234e7053-1dc1-4518-bdca-5a08310d9ba0&lang=en&cr=US&sloc=&p=1

 

Here are some other options...more expensive, but more options. Here's the first, but I would recommend this one. I have rarely been disappointed by Sony's work and Amazon should ship to India.

 

I have done a bit of crude testing. In Cod 5: WAW the FPS jumps around 10-25 with 1024x768 resolution and everything on low and off (measured with FRAPS).

It makes no difference if i adjust the slider to performance instead of quality. Neither does it make a difference if i set *DUAL GRAPHIC CARDS* to *YES*/*NO* in the in-game options.

 

I don't have SLI, just the 9400m model. So my system never sucks more than 65W regardless. So the inability of the igo to charge this battery is thanks to dell's successful efforts to make 3rd party chargers incompatible.

Nobody has mentioned having success with dell's auto/air/ac 65w charger. Doesn't anybody here use travel chargers for airplane use? Or does everyone fly coach? Well I'll know soon enough, I've got one ordered.

 

As far as I know, "performance" really just defaults to lower graphics quality settings, so if the game has all it's own settings for Antialiasing etc then it won't make a difference. But in some games that don't let you change some settings, then it should.

But yeah, I've been playing some Bioshock and I need to have most things on Low.

 

Yea, even though i knew that this pc was not for serious gaming I still expected a bit more graphics wise.. but overall I am very pleased with the performance in applications.

 

BIOS A04 is out.

"Feature Changed & Issue Fixed :
===============================================================================
1. Fix sometimes system will show wrong CPU speed string with P9600 and P7450 CPU.
2. Fix JL:"Shift + 1" to disable USB Storage bootable device can not be rememberd
3. Fix Unable to enable radio when radio off first and uncheck "Wi-Fi" from QS."

 

I solved the eSATA issue. See here.

 

Too late, already posted

 

I dont know if this was noticed yet:

http://www.cyberindian.net/2009/02/03/dell-studio-xps-13-notebook/

The grey may put an end to the fingerprints, but probably wont be as nice as the black.

Also, could we get a estimate on the battery life with the SLi turned off with basic tasks or something?

Thanks!

 

does the bestbuy model have sli? if so how do you turn sli off? i dont do anything gfx intensive on this..

 

I think i will be getting the grey one, once they are out, or maybe red.

The battery with 9400M only, under light load, is something around 3 hrs.

 

ok, so has anyone ordered the 9-cell battery? im looking around on dells site and cant seem to find it http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...4&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=27530&lid=627063 doesnt look like its the right one but dell.com says it is.. can someone verify?

 

Hey...how did you get Dell to return your computer? The technical support people say they're not authorized for returns and I'd have to talk to a resolution expert, but he never responds to my emails or calls. My 21 day period ends on Tuesday and I might return it due to its technical/build issues, weight, and poor battery life. Great computer but not mobile enough for me =(. Thanks!!

 

This looks to be just an incorrect review. I haven't seen a description of these colors for the xps studio 13 anywhere and they're talking like it's already available.

 

k according to dell online rep..

i have found http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...4&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=27530&lid=627063
Agent BE_Rep_Emerito
I've already checked on it. Yes, that's compatible with you laptop.

 

Considering their 'side view' isn't even a Studio XPS, I'd assume they've got the M1330 colours by mistake. No to mention the fact that the GeForce cards haven't been called "Go" for a while, the card reader isn't "8-in-one", the screen description is wrong, they listed all the ports and forgot the DisplayPort, and wireless is a button, not a switch.

Also oops, I missed the first BIOS post.

 

Dell really does have the worst customer service.

After having my laptop for just over a week, I've had to deal with several blue screen errors and daily lockups (one I even had to remove the battery three times in a row in the span of 5 minutes because it kept on locking up). I called Dell last night around 7pm and let them know the problem and ask either for an exchange or a refund. It was probably the most frustrating experience I've ever had with a company. I got disconnected twice. I was transferred around to department after department no less that 10 times (and I'm probably being extremely conservative with that number). It literally took me two hours after their incompetence and stalling tactics to get someone to issue a replacement.

I guess with this one it's lesson learned. Next time, I'll just be patient and buy it from the store instead of from the manufacturer. It's just not worth the frustration. I had issues with my HP laptop but at least they were far better about actually offering customer service.

I'm really now considering an extended warranty after this week.

 

Yes and No. Sometimes some people might know more than others. I think those colors are a possibility, considering that no other Dell computers have those color names: Crimson Red, Sapphire Blue and Smoke Grey (Current names are like Cherry Red, Midnight Blue, etc.) So, even if the review has mistakes (most likely they "re-used" their older XPS m1330 review text), i think there's a high chance to see those new colors sometime very soon.

 

The quoted article is obviously messed up as it mentions "integrated 10/100 Fast Ethernet LAN connection" but the 1340 is gig-e. Obviously the description is about a different laptop model not the 1340.

 

guac, dont accept that! customer support constantly lied to me saying they didn't handle returns, then customer service would transfer me rite back to them telling me that tech support does the returns. I talked to no less than 10 or 12 people before finally getting a tech support to issue a return. He even admitted to me that my comp had issues that they were aware of and they were trying to work out, (all the BSOD's, and freezing).

I finally got my new 1340 yesterday and this thing is absolutely perfect rite out of the box! I can do all the updating, installing, configuring, sleeping, etc., etc. without any trouble and you should do the same!

Also I returned a studio 15 for refund through tech support last month because of poor build quality.

 

Just wondering.. would anyone like to see any gaming videos?

I have a few games I wouldn't mind recording to give an idea of performance.

 

Well it is an Indian website, abd although I've never seen one in the 'flesh', the grey model shown doesn't look like the sxps 13's that I've seen in pictures.

 

Yeee, please!

 

Hey, with the display switch button next to F12. I know it says it's switching between the laptop screen and DisplayPort, but it works if I'm using HDMI as well.
The problem is, Quickset often crashes when switching (although it successfully switches before crashing). It could be a bug in Quickset, or QuickSet trying to change the NVIDIA settings, or Windows, or the fact that I'm using an HDMI to DVI adaptor, or.....

I can switch monitors manually of course but having a conveninet button is pretty cool. Just wondering if anyone else has problems with QuickSet crashing.

 

Thanks for the info! I will call customer care and tell them my situation and if they can't do anything, I will call technical support again. I don't do BS by companies so if they're lying to me, they have another thing coming to them.

 

UNREAL!!!!
Got my 2nd 1340 today, and it had the exact same problem with the DVD playback, not to mention it also came with dead pixels as well.

Can't believe what garbage this is. To all those that got good laptops, congratulations and count your blessings. I read so many bad reviews, but convinced myself that more people write bad reviews, then those who are happy with there product and simply don't write anything, so i went ahead and got my 1340.
when the first one showed up with the dirt under the screen I figured oh well, and sent it back, then the 2nd one shows up, and it has dead pixels, and still plays DVD'd at different quality levels depending on weather it is plugged in or not.

To those perspective buyers out ther reading this post, scan through all the postings, and see just how many owners, including happy owners, have sent there first, and even 2nd laptops back.

I'm done with the 1340 game!!!!!!

 

That sucks your machine is bonked. But I'm willing to be if someone went through this thread they'd add up a total of like 20 people sending their machines back? Maybe a few more? Not really that many when you consider Dell's probably selling 1000s/day.

If someone's considering this machine, though, I'd definitely go look at the one at Best Buy. I dropped by a local Best Buy today and played with the $999 version, and it actually has Windows performance scores faster than the one Dell sent me! And it's a lot less money. (I even had the 2.5 processor, compared to the 2.4 Best Buy). Though you have to deal with Geek Squad -- which probably has pros/cons for Dell support.

I've gotta say the tech support I've had from Dell (here in the US) has been tops for this machine so far. I've been impressed. I've had a guy call me back three times to see if an issue was resolved, becasue i wasn't around over the weekend when he was calling me back.

Now, the wait for the machine...that took pretty much forever.

 

I purchased a Dell SXPS 1340 at BestBuy store last Monday, and I have exchanged it 4th within last week. All of them have dust under screen and defective spacebar also. You can see my review name TNguyen on Dell's website. I totally give up with that model! I am gong to buy a HP dv3510nr instead!

 

How do you find dead pixels? I got a replacement yesterday for mine (i had raised the issue of the battery indicator not turning amber when power is low and they suggested a replacement) but it still has the low battery indicator issue. I gave it to a friend of mine to play with for a while to see if he can see any performance issues.

I'm sorry to hear that you have had a bad time with the customer service. I ordered mine through EPP and they have been pretty prompt. I was supposed to get a media direct dvd and some other cds with my replacement but didnt. The replacement came at around noon and when i checked and foudn that the dvd and cds werent there, I called them up at around 3 pm. They said they are dispatching the dvds and cds immediately and i got it the next day noon. So i guess we are getting verying quality of service.


I still need to check my replacement for performance. Wish there were some more tools like the latency checker around (to check any other issues a laptop might have).