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

Does that mean that, when released, we will be able to sent our laptops in for a replaced vent?

 

I have the 9500M GS. I tried the 186.12 drivers on my Windows 7 x64 and the drivers don't work right. I can not get audio to output over HDMI and they also do not have the custom resolutions option.
The drivers currently on Dell's website for Vista x64 have functioning audio over HDMI, and the custom resolutions option is there, but no matter what custom settings I try it says test failed (though while the box that says test failed is there, the settings I tried are still applied and actually work).
I also like the way you control hybrid SLI in 186.12 where you manually control it instead of having it tied to your power plan.
Anyone else have these problems and or workarounds?

Also does anyone know why I only have 3.75GB of my 4GB RAM usable? If I right click on computer and press properties, it says there that I have 4GB installed and only 3.75GB usable. It was like this in Vista, too. If I go to the about windows screen where it shows how much RAM is available to windows, it was only 3.75GB or so, not the full 4GB... Does the hybrid SLI take some?

 

I don't know what to tell you about drivers, TBH I'm also agonizing about them and waiting for dell to release proper ones already!
About the detected ram, I can tell you that the 9400m is an integrated card and as such it will use some of the system ram, that's why windows has less then 4gb usable.

 

I can pick mine up from Fed-Ex today

 

Ok, I found my post where I said dell could easily release a new vent to fix the "problem" of the screen blocking the airflow vent.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5024437

 

Hey, Im also interested in removing the thermal pads and applying a thermal compound.
Im not sure on how to do it, I've seen the copper mod done to the XPS 16, is this the way to do it ? or should I just apply the compound directly on the cpu and gpu and apply the heatsink.
I think all the 1340 owners would much appreciate if you could make a guide with pics to help us all do this, since you done it yourself.

Thank you very much for the help !

 

The method to reapply thermal paste is almost the same for every cpu. To do so, follow this link:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/274
The only difference for studio xps is that you have to remove the back cover via unscrewing all 10+ mini screws. Don't lose them :O

 

Applying thermal paste is not very complicated. You just remove the old thermal paste with alcohol, then apply the AS to the CPU and GPU dies'.
I think I will make a little guide on how to do this procedure. Just a simple walkthrough

True, but don't worry about losing the screws, they have those little washer things that don't let the screws unscrew off the black cover

 

On my "new" computer
So far loving the keyboard.
What were they thinking with the vent placement?
Temps not really bothering me, my 1720 runs about 10 degrees hotter.
It is a finger print magnet, but I'm okay with that.
Screen is okay, but wondering what LED screen is like.
I will post pictures eventually

 

congratz! I just got mine 2 days ago lol What's your cpu? Mine is p8600. Runs 45C idle and 63C on load. But cus of the vent placement, load temp goes up after time to 73C. You gona undervolt it?

 

cpu is p8600
I have not undervolted before, but I want to.
Right now looking for Windows 7 64-bit iso

do you have CCFL or LED?

 

LED, but so far I don't see THAT much of a difference to justify a price premium. It is brighter and slightly sharper tho. Tell me how windows 7 is working for you. Also, be sure to report your undervolt scores, temp etc

 

ok, now that I have played around with this beast for 2 days now, I can honestly say that this is one of the fastest notebooks I have EVER had (poor me?). Not only am I loving the designs, but the speed too!!! If only the vents were not covered by the screen! DAMN YOU DELL!

edit: is it just me or is the aluminum monitor hinge on the side a little lose? Like you can press it in a little. Also, the little plastic part to the top right of the laptop seems to be a little lose, too.

 

Windows 7 is installed, now working on undervolting

 

So I received the m1330 on Thursday and the XPS 1340 today. I am still torn between the two! They both have their ups and downs. Hoping to get a bit more insight from you guys. I primarily will be using it for schoolwork, basic tasks (ie browsing web), programming (software engineering student), PS (processing 5d mk ii files), after effects/premiere (5d mark ii files) depending on my desktop/laptop usage (have a little more powerful desktop).

One huge thing is the heat issue, but I'm hoping that might be resolved or at least somewhat fixable?

m1330 -- looks almost impeccable, brand new
+lighter (by at least a 1lb, noticeable)
+thinner
+fingerprint reader
+LED display (noticeable)
+runs A LOT COOLER

1340 -- bought s&d, there are noticeable scratches along the hinges and some parts along the body, also the leather looks like it was blemished
+faster (don't see it much yet, P8600 vs T5750)
+hard drive (320 7200 vs 120 5400)
+memory (4gb 1066 vs 2gb 667)
+graphics card (9400m vs x3100)
+keyboard
+feels sturdier


I also got a $40 refund for the m1330 making it $437 after tax vs $617 after tax for the xps 1340. Pricing out upgrades (HDD, memory, etc), would it be reallly worth the extra $180? From owners of both, has the heat difference and weight difference acted as a huge defining factor between loving/hating one or the other?

Sorry for the long post, I'm just hoping to make my decision ASAP.

 

Do you have any lose monitor hinges? My sxps13's monitor hinge is slightly lose, you can push it in a little. The monitor's edge-to-edge glass also sticks out a little on the top right. The glass is somewhat lose at that area, you can push it in just like with the hinge. Did you or anyone else have this same problem? Do you think it's worth having a replacement? Anyways, they are just small annoyances. Overall, I like this laptop very much. In terms of heat, you can undervolt it and apply some thermal paste of your own. Since you are in software engineering, keep in mind that the sxps13's edge to edge screen has a HUGE glare problem. Almost unusable outside.

 

What would work for me would be to base my decision on the performance capabilities of the computers. The 1340 has more ram, a faster processor, a larger hard drive, a more powerful graphics card, and a better keyboard. Furthermore, you mention it feels sturdier than the 1330. To me, these facts are more important than weight and thickness. It is my opinion that the extra $180 is definitely worth spending on a significantly better performing computer. Upgrading the 1330 to the same specs would cost a lot more.
As for the heating issue, I have had absolutely no heating issues since updating the bios.
I hope my opinions help you and that you thoroughly enjoy which ever computer you decide to keep.

 

Anyone here who has one without the leather strip? I'm really curious to find out what it looks like.

 

sorry my IGNORANCIA, but what is the leather strip?

 

I know that this has been discussed and I appologize for bringing it up again, but I don't remeber seeing a solution.

The touch sensitive media buttons (eject, mute, etc.) do not always work. I very often have to restart the computer to get them going.

It is a real PITA becuase I freqeuntly turn the wireless on/off to conserve battery life.

I am using A07 bios and am running the Windows 7RC.

I searched the tread but did non find the answer.

Thanks in advance.

Aaron

 

Me too...

The strip is the piece of leather for gripping the notebook, the leather accent.

Like Howitzer, I would really like to see what the glossy finish looks like

 

I had the same thing happen to me a while ago with my 1340. I restarted a few times and it went away, I've had no problems since.

 

Might try reinstalling the Quickset program from Dell.

 

Same problems.... no real solution yet. Tried all suggestions in this thread many times, nothing lasts.

 

Try the A08 Bios? I don't recall ever having the touch buttons freeze as to need a restart.

 

Sometimes I have the same problem! They dont respond (even in Bios) so its not a problem with the OS or quickset...
A reboot solves the problem...

 

I find it happens more frequently on battery power than plugged in - but it still occurs when plugged in.

 

Funny I thought it was the other way around... But I would not bet on it ^^

 

A08 was pulled a few days after release.

 

You can still get it on their FTP site here: http://ftp.dell.com/bios/1340_A08.exe

Also, I don't recall there being any actual problem with it.

 

Everything after A05 has had an annoying problem for me. Basically, if I put the computer into sleep mode and wake it, the ethernet port no longer works until I reboot. I reverted back to A05 until Dell fixes this, but I'm not holding my breath...

 

I'm still running it. Does anyone have any idea yet as to why it was pulled?

 

My computer used to freeze alot with A08. I think that had something to do with it being recalled

 

Hi guys.

Just tested some new drivers on the 1340 with win 7.
The newer ones gave me the option to change power mode without the need of changing power plans. They all removed the option to put the laptop to sleep tough, so i reverted back to older ones.

But do anybody know if that option can be toggled or added with a reg-trick or something?

 

Which new drivers are you using? I'm using 185.85 for Win7 and I can put the laptop to sleep.

 

NVIDIA Forceware 190.62, with modded inf from laptopvideo2go.

And before that i tried with 186.03 i think, same problem.

But can you change mode in the taskbar without changing power scheme?

 

Yes you can. Dox's 185.85 are the best drivers out (right now) for our Hybrid cards... give them a try.

 

Just curious, what exactly are they better in versus 186.03? Are there any benchmarks depicting the two?

 

XPS 13 and 16 now available in white! Now I know what I'm getting my wife for Christmas (she likes her stuff in white)

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/26/dell-studio-xps-13-and-16-turn-white-we-fall-in-love/

 

Nice, I didn't see that coming

Maybe you could make a new thread about it for those who don't keep up with this thread.

 

damn, and I just bought my lapy lol. Is there a way to fake a fault with the monitor and have them replace it with a white one?

 

I'm glad I have BLACK
If you really really want white you can call dell and I'm sure they could work something out for you to get white

EDIT: Oh sorry Jon, I meant to make that thermal paste guide for the 1340 two days ago. I molded my room and put up closet doors on Monday and Tuesday, so I had no time.
I'm going to make the guide as soon as I finish this post

 

No hurry, don't rush yourself Also, now that I thought about it, the white actually looks kind of tacky with the rest of the lapy all black. I will still have to see actual pictures of it for a REAL comparison.

 

except her men huh...... lol jp

had to you left the door WIDE open.

 

Heh, AFAIK it had already been available on the AU website for a while (noticed it a few days ago).

 

Here is my guide to replacing the thermal paste in the SXPS 1340
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5247927#post5247927

Hope this helps SXPS 1340 owners.

 

I get a BSOD when I use the wireless touch button to toggle WiFi/Bluetooth. Anyone else having this problem?

 

If you hadn't, I would have

 

Having read through all the pages on this forum, I have finally decided to register at Notebook Review Forums lol I have my Studio XPS 13 for almost 2 months now, and although I encountered some minor problems, I must say that this system is really powerful for a 13,3' notebook. Unfortunately, I ordered my notebook a few days before the free Windows 7 upgrade date, but I noticed that the price of ALL products increased when they were eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade. And since I'm a student I just ordered my Windows 7 Pro for 19 dollars from MSDN. Back to the problems, I do encounter the malfunction of my media buttons frequently (everyday!). Although it is easy to solve it by doing a hardboot or removing the battery and put it in again, it does get annoying after a while.

I bought my Studio XPS 13 for college, therefore the moderate specs:

Studio XPS 13 ($1299 incl. tax)
- Merlot Red with Leather Accent
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo P8600 (3MB cache/2,4GHz/1066Mhz)
- Vista Home Premium SP1 x64
- 2 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty
- 13,3" HD WXGA LCD with 2 Megapixel Camera
- 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
- 500 GB 7200rpm SATA
- Slot Load DVD+/-RW
- NVIDIA GeForce 9500M - 256MB
- 6 Cell Battery
- High Definition Audio 2.0
- Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
- ExpressCard Media Remote for Bluetooh

First impressions were very positive. With a 5,3 Windows Experience Index Score, I was blown away. However, Vista used so many resources, that I switched to Windows 7. I do have a lower WEI Score now (4,8), but I guess that is because Dell hasn't published their W7 drivers yet. (For people who wants to know what drivers I use: I use all the Vista Drivers + DOX Forceware 185,85 (causing that 4,8) instead of the Dell NVIDIA drivers)

Although I know I haven't picked the best configurations for my Studio XPS 13, I do think my boot time is too slow for such a laptop. Windows Vista SP2 x64 + loads of programs booted up in 80-90 seconds and then I still had to wait before it was usable. Windows 7 Ultimate RTM x64 boots up in 70-80 seconds, but is immediately usable after I see the desktop. My old Dell Inspiron 640m (classic I know ) boots up in 80 seconds, but it has XP and only 1GB RAM (CentrinoDuo 1,66GHz). I was wondering what you guys boot times are ? I've read on the internet that Windows 7 should boot up in around 30-50 seconds. I kind have tweaked stuff all ready to boost the time (disable unnecessary services, startups, etc. + all other msconfig shizzle)

p.s I was wondering if someone know where I can find those awesome wallpapers on Dell's Studio XPS 13 site ? (the Dandelion and Water drop)

 

I'm not sure what exactly causes this. It used to happen to me rather often but it hasn't happened to me in quite a while for some reason .

I get a 4.8 as well with similar specs (primary difference being a P8700 instead of a P8600 though this should be irrelevant) on Windows 7 using Dell's 186.03 drivers. The lower score is primarily caused by the changes in how the WEI is calculated.


Although I know I haven't picked the best configurations for my Studio XPS 13, I do think my boot time is too slow for such a laptop. Windows Vista SP2 x64 + loads of programs booted up in 80-90 seconds and then I still had to wait before it was usable. Windows 7 Ultimate RTM x64 boots up in 70-80 seconds[/QUOTE]

That does sound abnormally long. I need to measure my boot time....