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

Well here I am again...

I know there´s a lot of experts in this forum, so im trying to get help in here first before trying something more drastic such as formatting my system.

here´s the deal:
im having some serious problems with video playback in my sxps 1340.

I bought the basic version of sxps with 320hd and gforce 9400 and the non-led display (ticker and less brighter) and it comes with vista ultimate 64bits on it

Problems are with video playback and webcam on MSN messenger. The first one is that the image quality is poor. quite poor actually. here´s some screenshots







with webcam, the problem is when I start a video chat, the images (mine and the person im looking) keep switching like crazy and doing some images issues... I tried to re-install msn messenger and doesnt work. plus the video chat on skype happens normaly. perfectly normaly.

about the video playback... I tried to play dvds, avis and mpgs, install, and remove several video codecs and nothing seems to help.

 

Dell studio xps 1340:
change AHCI to ATA in bios, vista hang
change back to AHCI => OK
Does any one know the reason?

Many Thanks,

 

Have you tried reinstalling GPU drivers?

 

try installing 3rd party drivers, sees to fix most ppls gfx issues.

 

Dell apparently doesn't like the pretty powerful (for an IGP) to do any video decoding. Try running it in "high performance" and see if it helps or change drivers. Mine does the same thing but kicking it into "high performance" fixes it. I have the hybrid SLi setup though, so maybe it just offloads it to the 9200. Might work for you too though.

 

This is exacly how mine behaves on Vista 32-bit. It appears to be interlaced video (rather than just poor quality) on "power save" mode using the IGP. Clicking on high performance fixes the problem immediately even if the GPU doesn't actually switch (and it won't during playback). Try it, you should see the video improve immediately as it plays. IGP is still doing the processing here, that's the point. It's fairly safe to say it's a driver issue rather than a problem with the hardware.

Everything behaves normally using the drivers from Windows Update with Win 7 64-bit on the other hand.

 

This was on the previous page, and I was just wondering if the Studio XPS 13 is really that bad compared to the M1330? I have an M1330 right now, and I need to contact Dell to fix my webcam or screen (some wiring is loose that makes the webcam kinda iffy).

Since the M1330 is already discontinued in the U.S. , I wanted to see if I could try to "upgrade" to a Studio XPS 13 (I have the Nvidia 8400, and had my motherboard replaced before too), but I don't want to "upgrade" if it's actually a downgrade..

Any thoughts?

 

The Studio XPS 13 is not a bad computer. You're just hearing mostly problems because that's who usually posts. Most people aren't having any, but you aren't hearing from them. I love mine.

 

I have this issue every now and then where Ill be working along and all of a sudden the wifi light gets really bright and all the wireless cuts out. I have to end up rebooting the machine to fix it.

Anyone had this problem?

 

Mr Bots:

I have had my Studio XPS 1340 for over 2 months and have had no problems. This is an absolutely fantastic computer. I have been keeping this computer on for approximately 14 hours a day. I have had it on sleep mode, at times, for 8 hours and it comes back on within 30 seconds after lifting the lid or pressing the power button. This computer is fast and has been, so far, completely reliable. My colleagues who have this same model have also had no problems.
As previously stated, forums generally tend to report problems, not successes.

 

Try it with the Windows 7 RC. Resume from standby is so quick for me that the system is fully operational before I finish lifting the lid . It's a massive improvement over Vista.

 

anyone bought a hood for this lappy for outside use? i wire a lot of images to my photo agency so need to see what I am doing.

 

I have read all 300+ pages of this thread, and I thought I should contribute my thoughts. My 1340 arrived this past Wednesday, and...... well let me start off by stating my specs.

Vista Home Premium
P9600 @ 2.66 GHz
4 GB RAM
NVIDIA 9500M
500 GB Hard Drive
WLED Backlit LCD

Let me start off with the things I like. Overall, I think is has a good form factor with nice, attractive design; from the edge to edge glass display, to the aluminium accents, to the illuminated circles on the hinges, this computer just looks nice. It is a little heavier then your average 13 inch laptop, but I feel that it is still highly portable. The screen is bright, vibrant, and great to look at; however, I haven't tried to watch any DVDs on it, so I can not comment on the grainy picture quality. The keyboard is nice, and I love the backlit, however, I have had a hard time getting adjusted to it because the keys are much "flatter" than my last laptop, hopefully I will adapt over time. To track pad has a nice feeling (it has the prefect amount of resistance for me), is very responsive, and works exactly as you would expect it to; some have said that it is a little small, and it very well may be, but I don't notice it because it is pretty much the same size as my old laptops track pad (which was a much bigger 15 inch laptop ). I love the little illuminated action buttons that are above the keyboard, but I do find myself accidentally hitting them a lot. I was also surprised by how the little 1.3 mega pixel webcam took pretty decent pictures and video. I know this doesn't really have to do with the computer itself, but this is my first Vista computer, and.....I kind of like it.....does that make me a bad person ? Performance has been pretty good, however, all I've been doing is web browsing and setting up the computer.

Now to the "bad." As you've probally heard, this computer does get quite hot...under certain conditions. I've found when I use it on a flat surface, where the bottom has totally unrestricted air flow, it only gets slightly warm. However, when I lay it on something that might stop the air flow to the bottom (Like when I lay it on my bed), it can get very hot. I've found the battery life to be kind of average (and disappointing) but I will probably be purchasing the 9 cell battery at some point in the future. The machine is a finger print magnet, and the screen can catch glares fairly easily. However, if I were to be honest with you, all the complaints I've listed above don't really bother me because I knew about them from reading this forum. But, my biggest issue with the machine is something I never expect to be a problem; the really crappy speakers. The actual audio quality seems ok, but they are just so quiet......

Overall, I like the computer, I will probably be keeping it as long as the heat issue doesn't get worst.

 

After posting my input here to help users, I got a chance to sit down and scour the whole thread.

Now I'm really regretting posting. Half the posters here have no idea what's going on under the hood of their notebook.

The people posting that the m1340 runs fine must consider 'it boots' to be the only test of whether there are any hardware issues or not.

This irks me so much, as the whole reason there are heating/stability/quality issues with the m1340 is due to Dell sinking QA standards so low they don't even stress/stability test new models before releasing them to consumers.

When I first got my notebook and was blown away at the temps, I went around town running prime95 on the various retailers' store models that stocked the m1340 to determine if I had gotten a lemon or if they all exhibited unacceptable temps.

Each would heat up to 85c~ on the cpu's after 1min or less of prime95 and hard lock once the MCP topped 90c in about 5minutes.

Reader be weary, people posting here that the m1340 runs stable and without issues may truly believe that's the case, but I also doubt that they have tried to stress their CPU's up to 100% for any duration, or even updated to Dox's 185.85 newer nvidia drivers.

So yes while this notebook may 'run fine' to the 'average consumer', I refuse to accept hardware that can't hold up to normal stress testing or that comes with ridiculous DCP latency. I doubt the posters saying 'it works fine' have even checked their machines for DCP latency issues nor work with audio hardware.

 

I posted that my XPS 1340 runs well because it does. I put it under fairly heavy use on a daily basis through long hours of video conferencing, audio and video playback, and internet usage.

No, I have not tried to stress the CPUs 100%. I do not stress my car's engine 100% either. I bought this computer to perform tasks that the "average consumer" would expect to perform. I am not a gamer, and I do not believe this computer to be a gaming computer.

As for your comment that, "Half the posters here have no idea what's going on under the hood of their notebook", most people have no idea what's going on under the hood of their car, but they have a good idea if the car is performing the tasks they purchased it for.

Regarding the heating issue, I flashed the bios and have had absolutely no heating problem.

I posted my previous post simply to say that my XPS 1340 has worked, and continues to work, well for me.

 

http://i43.tinypic.com/mk848j.jpg

It is stable under load.. an hour of orthos and gpu testing..

 

I agree with you

 

Spotdog14: I have this issue every now and then where Ill be working along and all of a sudden the wifi light gets really bright and all the wireless cuts out. I have to end up rebooting the machine to fix it.

Anyone had this problem?


Yes I have this issue sometimes as well. I have spoken to Dell briefly about it and they just say to remove the battery and hold down the power button for a few seconds and then reboot. I went from Vista to 7 and am still having the issue, I also used to dual boot Ubuntu and it was there as well so it is definitely a hardware issue.

(Sorry, I hit quick reply and thought it would insert below the comment I was writing about so I have had to edit my post to include Spotdog14's post.

 

I used to have this issue but it hasn't happened to me for a few months.. what I used to do is put the computer to sleep and wake it up (just as easy as shutting the lid and opening it once it's sleeping) and then the wireless should work as normal.. and you don't need to reboot..

Make sure you have the latest drivers and bios updates and you shouldn't really have this issue.

 

sorry this noob question, can someone tell me where download the last update for the bios, and how is update on this computer!

Thanks

 

Download the BIOS from Dell Support in their website or any other updates there and just automatically install once you've downloaded it.

 

Just because other people aren't having the same problems you are, they're idiots that have never tested or know anything their machines? I have a P8700 processor, the hybrid graphics, a 7200rpm hd, and every heat producing internal option except for the WWAN card and I've benchmarked, gamed, and done anything stressful I could find and have had no problems. Does it get hot to the touch on the metal parts with both GPUs stressed? Yes. But everything is still within their design thresholds on temperatures and I have not had ANY stability issues. Could it be that not everyone is dumb and that you just got bad machine? No...? Ok, then I must be an idiot.

 

After three weeks of waiting my laptop to come back from the depot service, I am very disappointed. I told them specificly that the antenna in the lid cause my laptop to have 0 bars on the wireless even the laptop is just next to the louter. Then my laptop comes back with only a new wireless card. on the sheet, they stated "the system was diagnosed and extensively tested by certified technicians to ensure the problem you experienced was corrected." It is not corrected!!! I have the same 0 bar problem. Either way, they damaged the lid that it has "A LOT" of scratches and they will come to my house to change it!! I hope the new lid has the working antenna.... But I am not sure, Dell said that they will replace the LCD kit. Do they changed the whole lid or they take the lid apart and change the monitor only?

 

I have to agree here, I have played numerous games and benchmarked my 1340 and like the poster above, yes it gets hot, but never unstable.

As for the DCP latency issues, yes not pleasing to know it has this issue, but has this problem even interfered with anything you've tried to do? Saying that half of the posters here don't know what's going on is just ignorant.

 

So far:

- WLED screen was poorly manufactured. It was warped (literally bent) and wouldn't shut properly, plus scratched and damaged all along the top edge, just not finished properly from the factory.
- The machine also wobbled terribly on any straight desk.

DELL were good with their premium on site service and sent a tech out to replace the screen. Now I have a new screen. This one isn't warped and closes properly, but still has some small manufacturing defects on the very top edge, its not perfect, but much better than the last one, so I'm putting up with it and keeping it.

- Now the LHS screen hinge looks loose and ajar and not snug. Looks really cheap and bent like it won't sit flush.

Then DELL sent the tech out again to replace my machine's entire frame/chassis to fix the wobble. After all that its slightly better but still wobbles. Then I figured out that the problem is in fact the extra capacity 9 cell battery causing the wobble as the machine is now fine with the 6 cell installed.

Now since the new base/chassis has been installed, my audio jacks are super stiff and not aligned properly. It's really hard to get an audio plug in without forcing it really hard, which is no good as that's damaging the jack.

Now the machine has a new metal click noise when you place it down on the desk indicating that something is lose.

So I've fired off another email to DELL asking for a full replacement or a full refund. I feel that I've received a lemon and this is way too much inconvenience all the time.

Performance wise, this machine is fantastic, boots and runs super fast with Windows 7, but I did fork out for the 256Gb SSD drive, 6Gb ram and the top processor. So I'm glad it runs well and very quiet. But very disappointed with the aesthetics and finishing touches. It feels like a rattly, low quality cheap box, not a $4000 high spec business machine.

So awaiting another call from DELL to see what they can offer.

I would like either a full replacement machine as I love its performance, OR a full refund. But I bet they will try to send a tech around again to patch up all the remaining problems and keep their money.

At least they are exceptionally good with their on-site support. You can NEVER complain about that. They will come to your house, or your workplace and bring brand new parts every time and they are very fast. So no complaints there, just a shame the machine was so tacky for what you pay.

 

+1

In mrubin's defense: No, I haven't installed Dox's 185.85 drivers. That said, what is your point? What is wrong with the M17x's 186.12?

 

I'm trying to upgrade my OS from vista to xp. Where can XXP driers be had for the 1340?

 

Dell tech came over today and changed out my mobo for freezing issues i was having with my m1340's media buttons. This new mobo has the dual nvidia gpu's instead of my original single 9400m, however i noticed that the tech did not bring a new heatsink, my old heatsink only touches the cpu and the 9400m the new 2nd gpu 9200m is just sitting there bare. Is this normal or do i need to call dell and ask them to send me the correct heatsink which touches both gpu's and the cpu?

 

Not positive but note that Hybrid SLI is not supported on Windows XP.

 

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if anyone had any pictures at all of what the Studio XPS 13 looks like without the leather? I can't seem to find any with just the High Gloss Black Obsidian Finish (no leather), anywhere.

Thanks.

 

The Studio XPS 1340 only comes with the leather. There is no model without the leather.

 

There is now.

 

Wow, your right and they charge $40 for the leather now! Crazy...

 

I stand corrected. I spoke with a dell sales rep. and he told me that the leather trim is optional, but that the aluminum trim is not optional. He also stated he could find no pictures of the laptop without the trim.

kkl1014, thank you for the correction.

 

Well, I have one in production that will be delivered to me on the 21st, but does anyone have any pictures of this yet? I am really curious as to what it looks like.

 

The bottom where the leather was looks like the same shiny plastic black where the Dell logo is.

They just changed the material from black leather to black plastic.

 

Hi Kirkus: After doing that is your laptop still runing cool or with time it gets hot again? Also applying thermal compound got ur wifi card not to work??
Another question, Do you know if there are any better heat sinks for xps 1340? like copper ones?

 

Just a fw thoughts....

I have a SXPS 1340 and am running Win7 and have a XPS M1330 as well, both systems running Win 7. I did the copper mod on the 1330 and it runs about 10 degrees cooler since I did it a year ago. I find this system to be cooler than that not withstanding what paces I put it through. I also have a 256GB ssd which may be the reason for this; the laptop being fully loaded with just about all options.

As far as the build, I love the look of the SXPS even if it is a bit heavier than the 1330. It is a very smooth and solid system and the different keyboard with backlit keys is great. I would definitely recommend this system to anyone considering such, but then I recommended the 1330 to many people who are still happy with their systems. In fact, I bought and resold 4 myself and am in contact with all of the buyers....no probs.

For anyone reading this thread and having concerns, one needs to realize that this is where people come to compare and solve any problems they do have; it is a very small slice of the pie and no different with any brand of laptop.

Now... two concerns I cannot solve as of yet and both were created with the installation of Win7...

1. When I turn my system on now, there is a definite and noticebale eriod where I can tell that the video software clicks in. The screen flashes and its not too impressive.. Has anyone experienced this and is theire a cure???

2. Once Win7 is installed and facial recognition software is installed, reinstallation of webcam software will not work, at least not for the Dell supplied software. I have tried other (manycam) and find that the facial software seems to fight for control in the task bar continually...

Thoughts or ideas???

I am not really worried as the final release will come out from Dell soon enough which I am entitled to so...the webcam will be fixed in that.

 

I can't comment on the first issue you're having since I don't have it, but for your second problem. You need to make sure the other applications using the webcam are using the virtual webcam created by the fastaccess app.

You should have an option to select which webcam to use, just select the one called FAVirtual (I believe its something like that). That should get rid of the conflicts.

Also make sure you're using the latest version of the Fast Access software or you might not have the virtual webcam option.

 

The problem is that when I install the Dell software/drivers, it says that there is no webcam recognized, this being because it is controlled by Fast Access. Even if I uninstall Fast Access now, I cannot get the Dell webcam software to recognize the webcam

 

Looking foward to being part of the sXPS13 family, it's being shipped from factory as we speak.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P9600 (2.66GHz/ 1066 FSB/ 6MB Cache)
Memory - 8GB (2 X 4GB) Dual Channel 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Video Card - 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9500M-GE with Hybrid SLI®
Hard Drive - 128GB Solid State Hard Drive
HD display - Obsidian Black 13.3 " WXGA (1280x800) WLED Display w/ 1.3MP webcam

The LCD on my old inspiron 9200 17' finally died after 6 years. Now it's my desktop with external monitor, still running fine.

Have found some insightful information on these threads so thanks for sharing.

 

What software are you trying to install?

And just FYI, I just installed the Dell Webcam Central and it doesn't seem to have a webcam selection, so I couldn't get that working.

But I can get it working on apps like WLM, which allow webcam selection.

Also FYI, I'm on Windows 7 RTM with Fast Access Version 2.4.7 and using the webcam drivers provided by dell.

 

My sXPS 13 will be delivered to me this Friday; I can not wait. I am getting the one without the leather trim. When dell released that new version, made me get it. I did not want the leather trim for many reasons which include leather heating up and getting worn away as time went on. I'll post pictures of what it looks like without the trim as soon as i get it.

 

Maybe I spoke incorrectly; the drivers will work. The software package that Dell/Creative/Wbcam uses will not work and allow u to use the webcam itself...its the same as you not having a webcam selection.

 

I had my mobo replaced on Monday, I had the same issues of freezing/crashing. They did the same thing to me, replaced my 9400 with one that has the SLI. Apparently the tech used the same heatsink/pipe without one for second GPU. That caused my laptop to shut down repeatedly. You can test this by switching to High Performance power plan and see if it shuts off. It runs fine when it's in Power Saver or Balanced power plan. Of course Dell decides to just replace the mobo so they sent another tech today with a 9400. If it freezes/crashes again I'm sending this one back for a full replacement or refund. Beautiful laptop, good onsite service, I guess I just got a lemon. Oh well.

 

Can someone tell,. how to clean de keyboar?

 

Carefully wipe each key with a microfiber cloth. Wipe all other parts with a microfiber cloth as well.

 

Although I should be wiping my keyboard like that, I just use a wet cloth and go over all the keys.. I just don't have the patience for it

 

guys, i need help.

On the front of the laptop show 4 lets
1. reading hard disk
2.bluetooth on
3.wifi on
and
4 I dont know, I think that led indicate about the signal of the SIM card that i put on the back of the laptop.

But I dont get it work. I dont know how to activate.

Can someone tell me how it is?

Thank you in aDVANCE

 

yes, thats your wireless signal for sim/evdo