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

Dude, i have my wireless connection turned on...

 

Alright guys so I have finally taken the plunge. I have just ordered my Studio XPS 13 with the following specs:

Intel P9600
WLED backlit LCD screen
Nvidia GeForce 9500M
128 GB SSD
Dell Internal Bluetooth Module
Additional 9 Cell Battery
65 Watt Travel Charger

My estimated shipping date is 3/13/09. Hopefully it arrives sooner. For those who are wondering you can not use the e-value code that Cin' posted here with your EPP because that is through Dell Home and Office, a different department. You can, if you find someone agreeable, get them to match it though. I didn't get the full amount off, but he did give me 4% in addition to my EPP 7% and a $100 gift card with my DPA. He also upgraded my warranty from 1 year to 2 years and waived my shipping. For those looking into this notebook, please call. You can get a better deal.

 

Does anyone have alternating light and dark spots towards the bottom of the screen? I just got my LCD replaced and was wondering if this was normal. It's more noticeable when I put a solid light color on the screen, and as I turn up the brightness.

I have the LED-backlit display (I hope...).

 

Hey guys. Just got a studio xps 1340 for the office. To be truthful, the second one, as the first froze 5 mins after booting. Wobbly feet, as everyone else.

Anyway, looking ahead, and for THOSE FEW still wanting Windows XP,

I am doing a windows xp install and its going pretty good. Ill see about all the drivers, starting with the chipset, and will post the results soon.

 

wobbley feet is such an annoying issue, byte, u can take a razor blade and trim down the front left foot, the one closest to the wifi indicator i did that mine doesnt wobble as bad now

 

Have any of you tried the Dell Dock Application?

Is it worth anything or just a resource hog?

 

I like it. It does use a bit more memory and CPU than you would expect.

 

okay, thanks for info

 

I opened my 1340 today just to see how it looked inside. I had the wobbly issue before, but now it's perfectly stable. So all you have to do is tighten the screws?

 

Does yours look like this Studio 15 I sent back?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=343011

This was an LED screen.

 

Wow, that's exactly how mine looks. Did you ever figure out what the problem was? Did your replacement have the same issue?

 

neemoxtrm,
No, I don't know what was wrong with it. Dell wanted to replace the motherboard but I had my doubts that would fix the monitor so I just got a refund. I now have a Studio XPS 13 where you can see just a very small amount of this at the bottom but it isn't noticeable unless you're really looking for it.

 

'Razmaniac',

If you don't mind, what is the final price of your system? I am planning to order XPS 1340 soon. Want to get an idea for bargaining. Thanks.

 

Grat's...you got yourself a great deal there!

Actually, EPP is supposed to match or beat all Dell Home and Office pricing. It states it on the site. My EPP Rep always matches and beats it. If, I don't remind him, he will forget.

See this thumbnail: Always, remind the EPP Reps of this page:
Enjoy Exclusive Savings
and The Call In Price Guarantee
Here: See this print screen thumbnail of the above.


You need to let them know that, or they will try and avoid honoring it.

Cin.

 

I understand Cin', but E-value codes are excluded. See the fine print on the bottom.

However if you talk a bit slyly around them you can get them to add it on to your EPP configured system. As far as my system, I am too lazy to go look it up, but it cost 1760 something plus some change with all my accessories included.

Here's how I got this discount. Ask them to match the gift card by itself. Then talk to them about configuring some more. Then later ask them about the DPA and make it sound like you can use the DPA, but don't need it. Eventually they can give a 4% incentive to use it. I also automatically got next day shipping using my DPA. They also tried to give me a free upgrade to 36 months of McAfee with my DPA. I already told them I already had a subscription to McAfee (which I don't) and got them to upgrade my warranty instead.

Hope this helps you guys out.

 

I think it depends on whom you get on the phone, and how bad the EPP Rep wants the sale. I just purchased a Portable Hard Drive, and used one of the 15% off coupons included in my DPA statement ~ and the Rep honored it.

And, if you ask your EPP Rep..he/she will usually upgrade your shipping to Next Day.


Cin

 

Ok, after a few hours of trouble I managed to install windows XP.

Here are the steps:

Double check your hardware from Vista, like your chipset, gpu, audio and the rest, even though at this point they might all be the same.

Make sure you have a Windows XP cd with at least SP2, I recommend SP3, so that you dont get those BSOD while installing.

When booting, press F2 and get into the bios and change the HDD to ATA.

Boot with the Windows XP cd, partiton and install as desired.

After the installation you will have a bunch of yellow questionmarks in the device manager.

First off, install the MCP79 chipset drivers, which are on the Dell website and also seem to work. The following will be installed: SMBUS, SMU, and the HD Audio driver. If you have problems with this, than install the drivers from http://www.station-drivers.com/tele..._mcp79_1904-2kxp(www.station-drivers.com).ZIP


Second, you want the video drivers. The best for this is http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/. Grab a copy of the latest v185.20 Nvidia drivers from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/nvidia/185series/18520.exe.
While here, grab also a copy of the latest Atheros drivers which we will need for the Wireless install. http://files.laptopvideo2go.com/wlan/atheros_v7.6.1.221.exe
Install the video drivers through the Device Manager-->Video Controller--->Update driver--->Select location...etc.

Third, the audio drivers. Just because you installed the Nvidia HD audio, it does not mean the sound will work. You will need the IDT 92HD73C1 Audio drivers. Grab them from: http://rapidshare.com/files/190141494/PIDT001.zip
Install either way, through setup or Device manager.

Fourth, Wireless. This is a bit tricky. Mainly because you cant just search for the Dell 1515 drivers, you have to find the chipset of the card. Anyway, the chipset is AR928X. So, unzip those atheros drivers we got from www.laptopvideo2go.com. Then go to Device manager, Right Click your Wireless Device (or Network Device) and Update Driver, Select No to search for internet updates, Press Next, Select Install from a Specific Location (advanced) and press next, Click Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install, and press Next, Click Have Disk and the Browse, Locate Driver folder, then go to Drivers and scroll to find the AR928X driver and press Open, Press Ok and install the Driver. It will ask you if you want to install, not certified, etc, don't worry, just install and it will work.

Webcam install from the dell website, choosing the XPS 13 vista drivers.

Ricoh Card drivers install from the dell website, choosing the XPS 13 vista drivers.

Touchpad install from the dell website, choosing the XPS 13 vista drivers.

IR Receiver (ITECIR) install from the dell website, choosing the XPS 13 vista drivers and restart.

Ethernet also from dell website, choosing the XPS 13 vista drivers.

Bluetooth (370), is a bit tricky as well. It will not show with a questionmark, and it will appear anywhere. Have faith, it is there. Grab these drivers, http://rapidshare.com/files/190141488/P186113.zip. They are Broadcomm Widcomm drivers. Just unzip and install, a bunch of bluetooth things will start to install.

Note: At the end I got a Unknown device looking for drivers, which disappeared after a while. I suspect its the HDMI or some enhanced keyboard driver, but I cant get it to come back. The computers seems fine though after a whole day of testing.

Also note that you will not have 4gigs of ram anymore, since XP supports only 3gb. In my case, the computer is showing 2.75gb, and I assume the GPU is stealing some.

I hope this helps, and if you have something to add, feel free.

 

I know you are installing XP there, but on this 1340 the 185.20 drivers cause the screen to blink occasionally. If I drop back to the 179 ones it's fine.

Just mentioning it...

 

And they should. E-value codes do not work because they are computer only, like e-mail. I'm sure you could get a nice rep who would match it, but it's not Dell's official policy. It's one of the exclusions. Other coupons and promotions should work.

 

Right...Well, I guess I have surely gotten lucky then on my last 5 major purchases from Dell EPP.

And, yes..the E-Codes...should work for everyone all around.

Cin.

 

Hi all,

I recently bought a studio xps 1340 from bestbuy. After registering my computer on dell's website I am curious to know whether it is necessary/important/optional to download the updates they have for the computer, such as drivers, graphics cards,etc. My computer is running fine with the exception of one bluescreen when i first updated the computer and 2 times the media buttons did not work, though once I shut the computer down and wiped the buttons off they were fine. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Just got my laptop about an hour ago and i just called dell half an hour ago to return it lol. The problem was that right when i turned on the laptop a bright white screen would just appear. I turned it on/off several times and still had no luck. Windows would not load so i called tech support and they were troubleshooting and they said it was a problem with my motherboard and graphics card. They offered to replace it but i was just so fed up with dell service that i just decided to return it.

sigh... it was such a nice laptop too.

oh btw someone on here mentioned that they didn't like the keyboard. I kinda agree, but only because i have big, long hands. When I typed on the laptop, the bottom half of my hand would be sticking out. It was just too small for my hands and it made typing uncomfortable. Also the trackpad is pretty small too. Well i guess i'll have to get a sony Z or SR then.

 

When you have such questions, remember the Golden Rule of engineering:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In other words, if everything works fine, there's no need to experiment

 

To LexusForever

Thanks for the reply. Based upon dell's website about the updates being "critical" and such I wanted to look into it. I definitely will not download any unless I know they improve performance somehow, and even then there is a risk.

 

The new graphics drivers do improve performance by a fairly significant amount, if you want to install those.

 

On one hand, some updates are necessary. For example, in previous generation XPS notebooks, some video cards were overheating, so Dell released a BIOS update, which would turn on the fan earlier and run it longer to prevent overheating. In that case, if you don't want your video card to die earlier than it should, it would be prudent to install such an update.

On the other hand, there are people, who just MUST have the latest and greatest, so they install every little update, nevermind the wasted time for re-installs, in case something is incompatible or turns out to be slower, etc.

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

 

Hello,

After multiple delays of the shipping of the XPS M1330 I'd ordered, I cancelled it and went to Best Buy to get a Studio XPS 13. It's working great so far, with one exception that I'm hoping someone can help me out with. And my apologies in advance if this has already been addressed; I wasn't able to find it anywhere.

Anytime my computer is muted, it's impossible to switch between using the audio output jack and using the built-in speakers. For example, if it's muted then I plug in headphones or external speakers, after un-muting the plugged-in device doesn't function. If I pull the cord out of the jack the built-in speakers work fine, but nothing that's plugged in will work. The same thing happens if I mute the volume while something's plugged in (only the plugged in thing will work after unmuting).

I've found one solution, but it's somewhat convoluted. My computer uses IDT audio, and the IDT audio control panel has setting for two playback devices. The first is labeled "Speakers/Headphones," was set to default when I got the laptop, and the second is "Independent (R.T.C.) Headphones." If I'm experiencing the problem I described above, I can fix it by going into the audio control panel and pressing the "Test Speakers" button of the R.T.C. device. For whatever reason, even though that's not the device I'm using, it restores functionality.

I have (as far as I can tell) the most current drivers available. I'm using Windows Vista 64-bit with 4GB of DDR3 RAM, with a Core 2 Duo P8600 processor. I'd appreciate any help people can give, and can try to provide more information about the laptop if necessary.

Thanks!
John


EDITED: I should add, after this happened the first time (the same day I bought the computer) I returned it to the store, thinking it was an isolated hardware problem. It happened on the next one I got as well.

 

Well guys...I got my Z today and I've decided to return my 1340 for the Sony Z. In the end, I needed something more mobile and even though I got my 1340 for cheap, I figured there's no use in buying a computer, even for cheap, if I won't be happy with it. It is an excellent laptop that has definitely given Dell a new name though.

Thanks to everyone who helped me secure a good price for the laptop and I hope you guys enjoy the laptop! I'll be in and out to help if people need it.

 

Traitor!


Just kidding. I hope you enjoy the Z. I looked at them but the price difference was a hurdle I just could not get over.

 

Well, that's too bad the 1340 didn't work for you

But, I'm sure you will really enjoy that Sony Z Grat's to you on that.

You would've never known if the 1340 wasn't going to work for you, unless you tried it!

Now, don't be a stranger!!!

Cin

 

Nice! I'm glad you can afford that. I couldn't justify $900 CAD difference for the same configuration. Please do a mini-review of the Z, and how it compares to 1340. Thanks and congrats!

 

LexusForever and Niten,

Yeah, the one thing I am looking for is confirmation on what is prudent to update and what is superficial. I have been browsing websites, such as dell and google searches, but have not found such confirmation. It seems as thought it may be one of those trial and errors, though I would hope to avoid.

 

I just tried this and got the same issue. For me to get the audio working again i got set one of the front panel jacks to "Device:front speakers".
very odd problem, i did not come across it and most likely would not of even known about it if i did not read your post

 

So far I love my SXPS 1340 and have felt fortunate to have avoided some of the common problems we are seeing (monitor issues, wobbly feet, etc), but then tonight, having installed a few DVDs, and even written one or two without issue I tried to watch a DVD movie. There was a loud rumbling sound that I don't recall hearing before as the DVD player read the disc, and eventually it sounded like the player stopped as the DVD played on. As soon as the movie switched to the next chapter the playback stopped and the DVD player started emitting a weird seeking sound and would not stop until I rebooted. Tried two movies and two different DVD playback programs with the same problem.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is this an exchangable offense?

My problem is that I am currently in Canada on a long (months) business trip but I bought it in the US, so returning may be difficult. Also, does Dell allow an exchange it without the hard drive? I replaced mine with a Intel X-25M and the one that came with the computer is now in my stepdad's new Dell - in Chicago. Not to mention I don't want to reinstall everything. Did I screw myself?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

hmmm so maybe its just me.. but does neone notice that audio for music/movies isnt as good as the windows sounds? im noticing that my music playback isnt as loud as windows beeps and tones and stuff ive gone and tried to tweak the SRS and stuff but makes little difference any advice?

 

Hey -

So I actually decided to buy a SXPS 13 and already went through with ordering it. I was wondering - what can I expect for the duration it's in the production stage under order status? It's been in the production stage for just over a week now, and I'd like to know if this is normal. The predicted delivery date is about a week before I go on vacation but I was wondering if this is or isn't reliable and if I may have a problem if the production is taking longer than expected.

 

ive updated my audio drivers and everything else, my windows volume is still louder then my mp3/movie volume this is really annoying now..

 

Hey guys I'm getting some problems with my system. (running w7 64bit, latest nvidia drivers from dell site + default windows drivers, 9500 graphics/wled screen)

1. It seems every second boot the graphics drivers aren't loading so the laptop boots at a crappy resolution and theres no option to change it since NVIDIA control stuff doesn't appear in my control panel. It doesn't bother me that much since i hardly reboot its on 24/7 most of the time.

2. The sound has issues when i have things plugged into a headphone port, press mute on the media keys, then unplug it. the onboard speakers don't work after unmuting it, I have to play around with the sound settings to make it turn on. I've tried both default windows drivers and dell drivers. Not a real biggie, just gotta remember not to mute it when unplugging haha.

Otherwise this machine is great! The only other bugs are probably software issues, I'll get back to you guys on that once W7 retail comes out ahah.

 

I dont get this.. How do you get 30-45 FPS?

I tried with Devil May Cry 4 at the same settings as yours,
But I get 15-25 FPS - See attached screenshot..

And yes, Hybrid Sli should be on as can be seen from the screenshot.

In 3dmark06 i get 3566 - so nothing should be wrong with my hardware..

Regards.

 

@Clay22

At least in my limited experience the Order Status isn't always reliable. I ordered my SXPS 13 on 2/14 and the original ESD was 2/23.

Last week they changed the ESD to EDD of 3/3

Monday I received an email saying it was delayed and the new EDD was 3/6

Yesterday I received an email saying my laptop had actually shipped on Monday and would be delivered Wednesday (today).

I'm certainly not complaining since I should be receiving it today, but there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason behind their estimates.

 

Okay - Apperently I do not have any GPU options in power management.... Even though I just installed the new 179.48 drivers with the modded .inf file...

Suggestions anyone?

 

Update:

I found the solution here - apparently it is important to uinstall the driver via device manager first. However this resulted in a BSOD and I went into a state of panic.. hehe.. but i rebooted and got to install the driver again.. and then it worked.. (see here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=354516)

So now i have around 40 FPS (see screenshot), when playing the DX9 version of the game.. not DX10 - that cuts the FPS in half.

 

how do you guys check FPS while gaming? I bought mine from bestbuy and it came with the 9400m not the 9400+9200. But anyways, i have been playing assassins creed for the past few days and the characters and people look awesome but the background looks awful. Is there any way to change that or is something wrong with where i bought it from?

 

Most games can display their fps by bringing up the console command, by pressing the ~ key

usually, the command is something like fps_1 for on, and fps_0 for off

type into google "(game name) console commands"

 

Hi,

My 1340 did freeze a couple of times and I also had issues with sleep mode. Once i updated nVidia drivers and system BIOS, i havent really had any such issues. I have another question though.
I am not sure if its just me or its a common thing with this laptop. What i noticed is, when i close the lid of the laptop, the bottom part of the display (around the DELL symbol) touches the area above media controls. I can already see a couple of scratches around that area. (not too big and visible only when looked at an angle) but it concerns me ..

has anyone else noticed similar thing? it may not be a big deal right now, but may be couple of yrs down the line, would this be a problem?

 

Hello forum,

i have read all 155 pages....and based on all the problems of the m1340, I'm scared to pick one up from best buy (takin advantage of the $1k deal). I went in and the HP dv3510nr caught my eye, now i'm trying to decide between the two. The m1340 is a lot more powerful but the HP seems more reliable (from what I have heard about the company ingeneral). i have used an inspiron 600m for the last 5 years and it has served me well....though i replaced the dvd player, the motherboard (due to fried graphics card) and has ~10 dead pixels due to a pressure point in the center while throwing it in my backpack while i was in school.

For all the owners: is the 1340 reliable? Are you happy with it? I'm hoping that those on here who had problems are the small minority of 1340 owners (on the forum and off). It's one beautiful machine, but I don't want to buy something that will break down on me.

Thanks everyone!

 

starcr06,

Apart from the clear hardware defects that some people are experiencing (and I'm sure it's a tiny % of all owners of the 1340), the build quality of this system is pretty solid. The only complaint I have in this regard is that the screen can bend a little too easily with some force. IMO, you won't get better build quality until you jump up to the Macbook, which has an entirely aluminum shell.

All the other problems people are having are just software-related and, for me at least, have been fixed by a clean install of Vista (which only took 15 minutes btw). Installing the drivers took another 30-45 min. Any other issues would just be driver-related, which will be fixed down the road by Dell.

Just my 2 cents...

 

I have this problem with windows 7 as well. Even if I don't login - simply hit the reboot button at the login prompt, the next login will come up with resolution 800x600, and if I reboot again, back to 1280x800. The weird thing is I *know* this behavior didn't happen initially during the OS driver install-reboot dance. It wasn't until after I installed more utilities on the laptop like dell's quickset that the problem surfaced.

When the resolution is 800x600, my 9400m shows a device status of not working properly under device manager...

 

mine is running minus the wobble issue.. lol

id recommend this laptop to people if they cant afford the macbook

 

Well, this is nice. The 320GB 7200RPM drive in the wife's 1340 is stuck and repeatedly making a click ping noise. Windows had a hard time booting just before it started. Looks like drive 3 out of 4 is going south.