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

I bought one from the Outlet last week. With a P9600 CPU, 4GB RAM and 500 GB HD, the amount of heat generated by this laptop is unreal. Just letting the laptop sit idle and browsing the internet, the fan runs constantly even with updating to A05 BIOS. There are no unusual CPU processes running. If I left this on a wood desk for a couple of hours, I'm sure it would leave burn marks on the finish underneath. My temp range:

ACPI: 60-64
core 1: 48-60
core2: 52-61
Geforce9500M: 75-76
Geforce9500M(listed twice?): 63-69

I tried using a laptop cooler but the temps only went down about 3-4 degrees C. Tech support was of no help in solving the heat problem so I am returning the laptop to Dell. In contrast, I have a Sony Vaio FW290 16 inch laptop which runs at least 10 to 20 deg C cooler and the fan hardly comes on.

Aside from the heat issues on the SXPS13, there are lots of quality control issues too - laptop rubber legs are not level so it wobbles back and forth on the desk; when the laptop screen is closed against the palm rest, it is flush on the left side, but there is a gap opening of about 1/8 to 1/4 inch on the right side. And last, the "so called" flush edge to edge screen protrudes slightly near the microphone and camera. I can see how dust could get trapped between the plastic front and the screen.

Really too bad about all the negatives because the LED screen is absolutely amazing and is just as good if not better than the double lamp Hi color Sony screen. Keyboard backlight is a great feature too. Guess I'll be looking for another smaller portable laptop.

 

I really love everything about this laptop, the looks, the specs, etc
Why is the Dell Outlet Studio XP 13 cheaper than the Dell Outlet XPS M1330 with 2gb of ram, no WLED screen and slower processor?

Should I be scared.. ? $700-750 for specs that should cost $1200+

 

To fix any wobble problems, just grab each side firmly and twist a little bit. I've done this on my M1530's and just a tad bit on my 1340, although it wasn't off much at all.

I'm not talking twist it with all your strength, just a little bit is all it takes. I can't believe how many people are sending laptops back because of this, seems like a waste of time to me.

 

Just doing a Vista 64bit reinstall on mine, but the install keeps on hanging on the "Completing install" part. Apparently this has something to do with drivers?

Did anyone else experience this problem?

 

New BIOS is out. Apparently it "improves thermal function" which translated from Dell's special language into English will mean something like "runs fan a bit faster." Like when they fixed the completely broken touchpad driver for the M1530 and it "improved touchpad performance."

I haven't noticed a difference. DPC latency issue still there.

 

Good Evening Everyone,

I'm starting to get horribly frustrated with the poor quality of my XPS 1340. Over the past 6 or 7 days I've been having the issue of my AC Adapter not being recognized. Every time I would turn on my laptop, it would warn me that it was not the correct Adapter. I thought nothing of it, so I had to fly home yesterday and used about 60% of my battery. Finally, today I plugged it in to charge it and voila, nothing. My AC adapter seems to be a dud all of a sudden, and it will not charge my laptop. I have to call Dell and get it exchanged.

I also noticed that my dvd-drive sounds like an airplane from the vibrations when I have a disc in, this is just getting ridiculous! First the screen, now this?

Why is Dell's quality so POOR on such an "Elite" laptop - it strikes me as a run of the mill!

Anyone have any suggestions, and yes I've tried different connects for my AC and nothing

 

Thanks for the heads up! I just updated to it, hopefully it does make it run a bit cooler (I wouldn't even mind the fan running faster)

 

my 1340 is running about 5 degrees cooler with A06 bios. Fan doesnt seem much louder.

(running in boost power mode) 56 degrees for GPU


however my dell quickset will not work at all.. really annoying trying to guess volume level and brightness for screen..ugh

 

What DVD drive do you have? I think there are 2 suppliers - Toshiba-Samsung and LG-Hitachi. There is a firmware update for the Toshiba drive.

 

hey all my dell studip xps 13 has arrived today yay and im having a bit of trouble

all was working fine till i restarted my laptop after some updates now it just freezes when i log in for reason unknown to me. ive started it with safe mood with no problems but it just freezes for no reason,

i dont really want to format it and install vista again any ideas?

 

Can you boot into safe mode and do a system restore before you updated everything?

 

thanks se92692 i just finished doing that but still freezing at the welcome screen now

any advice? or just format?

 

Sometimes it takes a long time to recover from a system restore and it may look like it is frozen, but if the hard drive light is still flashing, it is not frozen.

Only other thing I can think of is to boot up, keep pressing F8 key before Windows starts and select the option to do a Windows Repair. If that doesn't work, best to start reformatting from scratch. If you still have lockups, might be a hardware problem like bad memory chip or bad disk error.

 

thanks alot for your help, ill tell you how it goes later i have to go to uni sadly i cant take it with me

 

ok i failed

the laptop just freezes on the screen where it says "Preparing you desktop" when i did a return to factory image restore, its been at the screen for around 20mins

so im guessing its a hard ware problem and i should ring up dell and get there aid?

 

It says TSSTcorp so I'm assuming that means it is the Toshiba-Samsung, is the firmware available from Dell's website?

 

Yes its in their driver download section for the 1340. Assuming you have the right dvd model, firmware was posted last week. http://support.dell.com/support/dow...1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=32&fileid=307035

 

I installed A06 last night, ran it for a while and again today.

I spoke to Dell this morning as my 1340 is still very hot. He asked me to check gfx drivers which I had already updated. So tomorrow I have a Dell Engineer coming to look my laptop tomorrow. The guy on the phone thought it maybe heatsinks...? Maybe he'll just repaste the cpu and heatsinks?

Lets see what tomorrow brings.

 

Hey downloaded it, and I'll check it out. Thanks for the update regarding that, any ideas about the AC Adapter not charging my laptop?

 

Manc...keep us posted!

Other "quirks": i recommend a new install a vista when you get your XPS. Mine and issues too, and after the reinstall, it hasn't had any operational issues.

Although: My hard drive light NEVER goes on. Probably busted, but no other issues with the HD.

Finally: I have some Sleep Mode problems. Setting to Hibernate, no issues. But Sleep? It goes to sleep, but has trouble waking up. I press the power button, it seems to come alive, then nothing. I press the power button again briefly, it shuts off, then press it again and wakes up. It's like it needs two tries.

I'm a bit worried about going to A06...if anyone else has it, please let us know if there are other issues.

Thanks.

 

I have been using A06, for the last 5 hours, not have any problems with it so far.

The laptop does not appear to be running any cooler.

 

My 1340 runs approx 10 degrees c cooler now with the new BIOS, but the fans goes all the time for me now, having the lappy on a plane surface : /

Will probably revert back to A05 BIOS later on.

 

just ran mine on A06 for a few more hours, the heating temps are still the same as previous BIOS A05 and A02 which I have tested. So I wait for the DELL engineer tomorrow.

Mine seems to cool to about 50degc for the CPU then the fan stops. it quicker heats to 55 then the fan kicks in again

 

I don't think people realize that ALL 1340's run hot. I see so many people saying "I'm shipping it back, I'm waiting for a dell "engineer" (ha ha..engineer)" I bet that you all will have the same results with your replacement heatsinks, and replacement laptops. Its just the way these are!!!!

Then again, I guess if you look over at the M1530 and M1730 threads, people do the exact same thing. Spend hours on the phone to get a heatsink replaced only to see the exact same temps.....

Laptop cooling pad and good airflow are your best bets if you are truly worried about the laptop's heat.

 

I imagine Dell's BIOS updates go something like
- "Hey have you guys fixed those problems with the 1340 yet?"
"Nah, it's not even a software issue, it's the hardware."
- "Well, we've got customers complaining! Can we put something out?"
"What if we just update the version number every now and then?"
- "Like not actually update anything? What'll we put in the description?"
"Just say it 'improves performance' of something. They can't quantify that."

Though they fixed the touchpad problem on the M1530 on BIOS A08 so I can't actually complain too much.

 

So my new 1340 came and its screen doesn't pop out on the top as much as my old one (it does, but barely) but now the lid doesn't close perfectly! These refurbs are just so random.

 

So why do Dell admit to me that the heats I quote are too high?

What cooler do you recommend then if it turns out your right?

 

Don't know why...I'm not Dell, so I woulnd't know why they said that.

Also, I don't use a cooler as its more of a hassle than anything else to me. When/If my laptop breaks because its overheated too much, that's when I'll worry about getting replacement parts from Dell.

 

LOL If it works...
I replaced all the thermal paste in my sxps 13 and put in an SSD.

Overall I think the heat is fine/normal for a 13" notebook.
If you're so worried about the heat, buy a cooling pad.

 

Notebookreview.com recently made a SXPS 1340 review.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4974&review=dell+studio+xps+13

If you read the review and look at their video, it shows the media buttons lights flickering. The review also states that the lights flicker when it's running on battery.

My studio xps 1340 does not do this Did NBR have a defective review model?

 

Hello, I just registered to the forum, tbh i hadnt tried A06 bios, but to me this is bull, the fans never go full speed and at least for me the laptop is pretty hot.

I may get bashed right now, but what I did (till a good bios with a good powermanagement is released) I disconnected the fan-control wire from the fan pin and now the fan is running full speed all the time. Yea its a bit noisy but I dont care....Im willing to have a noisy laptop better than a portable oven.

 

I'll give you a little bashing by telling you that it might void your warranty.

I'll also say that it's not a half bad idea

 

@pmcnano, If fan speed doesn't matter to you, then you should try the new bios. It makes the fan run constantly (which I like) and it keep the computer much cooler.

I'm at about 40 degrees when idle, compared to 50 degrees from before. Also, when I've got music on, the fan isn't even noticeable anymore.

 

Lol..well elijahRW its not like Dell will know i did that right? I mean, if something happens to my laptop, ill just reconnect the cable ^^!!

@DemonicHawk

Well like this, idle i get 3x degrees and I live in a HOT city, like 3 days ago we had 45ºC...so I guess its fine XD..lol

 

Does anyone think that we will get some kind of break when Windows 7 comes out? I have it running in a VM box and its only using 500mb or RAM compared to Vista right now using 1.4 gigs, and Ubuntu using 300mb.

 

Cool! Just like the last Dell tech promised then another one will show up on Wen/Thru. And a cool guy jsut showed up and he did everything slowly but with extreme care unlike the first guy who forgot to put the scews on the heat sink...... But the LCD is fixed with the LG one!!

 

I want to get rid of mine, its too late to return now though. I'm probably looking to sell soon.

 

not all sxps 13's do this; one of my replacements did this as well; it was annoying.

 

My 1340 seems to be putting itself to sleep occasionally while I'm using it. Its on High Performance setting, so I know its not timing out from being idle. Any other ideas or anybody else having this problem.

 

For anyone interested in a review on the Studio XPS 1340 here is my review:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4770718

I noticed a 10c drop in the GPU and CPU after the A06 BIOS update. I was waiting for a fix and i'm glad it works.

 

This is a n00b question, but I just updated my bios from A02 to A06. The laptop runs alot cooler, specially in power save mode. Since i went from A02 to A06 is it recommended to install the other updates such as A05,A04, and what not?

 

no you are fine.

Each bios is complete so there is no need to update like the way you suggested.

Enjoy

 

Interesting. I'm traveling right now, so when i get back, I'll try A06 and post the temps. Hopefully it will help. 60C in powersave mode is simply ridiculous.

Thanks for the updates guys, it's really helpful.

 

Update on the Dell "Engineer" visit

changed the mobo, fan and heatsink

put it back together and the lappy just shut down right away. finally booted and checked temps, gpu was 100degc.

he opened it up again and he hadn't screwed the heat sink on it. so he did that and its ok. now on boot up I get dos errors PXE-E61 - Check Cable and PXE-M0F - Media fail !! any ideas how to fix it?

and now my HD/WIFI lights don't come on!

and I cannot flash the bios!!! I get an error 1 , what ever that means


heating hasn't improved!

utter joke!

 

Ah! what percentage of stories of the engineer visit have ended badly? 50% 80%?

 

Wow, sorry to hear that. That Tech must have had no idea what he was doing to cause all those errors.

It sounds like (especially with Check Cable error msg), that he didn't reconnect something inside the laptop correctly, I wish I could offer a suggestion of what it might be but I'm not sure.

If that's not the case, it sounds like the motherboard might need to be replaced again!!

 

I've got rid of the boot up error now and flashed the bios ok.

I think just moving the network option in the boot around a bit and restore defaults cured the PXE error.

online with dell at the moment to clear up the hd/wifi lights, oh yeah the guy had no idea.

 

Let me know about the HD light. I've seen mine light up once...ever.

 

the guy told me to download APP_WIN_R213459.exe for the HD Lights, its 579Mb! so I am downloading now

 

What are you guys using to monitor temperatures?