===> The Official Studio XPS 1640 + ATi 4670 GPU Owner's Thread<===

Glutton!

Second only to the RGBLED screen...

 

lucky. I just got my 2nd notice of Delay. With the new Estimated Delivery Date of August 19th (From the original of 8/6 and then the first delay till 8/13). I asked them on the phone, if they would give me free expedited shipping because of the second day (Putting the total estimated time from order to ship to 34 days), and they still seemed a little hesitant about that.

Guess ordering that SSD drive before it it disappeared as an option, is killing my order.

 

I'm also experiencing some fps slow downs. The fps overall is good... but for some reason it just dips out of no where. I'm not quite sure why but if anyone could help us that would be great. Even in World of warcraft and heroes of newarth my FPS dips out of no where.... The loading times are great, the game looks great, and the fps in general is great... but dips and slow downs are fail.

 

Is it normal for the upper center of my screen to get pretty warm(while the sides are cool) while gaming and watching movies? Too man the zalman2000 cant cool the screen.

 

Sorry can't agree with you on that one. Yes the screen has stunning colours and clarity but the black levels suck and black levels are so important on a multimedia screen.

 

well my system has been finally ordered on 8/3, EDD is 8/20. they told me to phone them so they can change the 3-5 days delivery to NBD, but i only phoned them a few days later so they told they can't change it now.. sucks but i hope it won't be delayed at least..
specs:

1 224-1938 XPS 1640, Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3M L2 Cache)
1 320-8178 Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish XPS 1640
1 311-9487 4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm forXPS 1640
1 320-7329 16.0 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p FullHD RGBLED LCD W/2.0 MP, XPS 1640
1 330-4424 ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB
1 341-8989 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
1 420-9319 Microsoft Windows Vista with SP1 Home Premium Edition 64-bit Edition English
1 330-1917 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP XPS 1640
1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron
1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
1 420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 420-7938 Dell Connect 2.1
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
1 421-0187 Dell Support Center Software 64 Bit 2.0
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
1 430-2600 Integrated 10/100 Network Card
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
1 313-7054 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive for XPS1640
1 420-9850 Roxio 10.2 DE
1 420-9334 Cyberlink PowerDVD DX 8.2 for DVD
1 313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.2
1 430-3580 Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11AGNHalf Mini Card w/ My WiFi
1 410-2090 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 15-Month
1 312-0811 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery, for XPS 1640
1 420-6589 Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition
1 950-3339 3 Year Limited Warranty
1 993-3498 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year(s)
1 993-3497 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
1 992-1212 Third Party At Home Service with Nights and Week ends, 24x7 Technical Support, 2 Year Extended
1 992-4460 Third Party At HomeService with Nights and Weekends, 24x7 Technical Support,Initial Year
1 960-3652 Warranty Support,2 Year Extended
1 960-8710 Warranty Support,Initial Year
1 412-0359 Soft Contracts - Qualxserve
1 988-7707 2GB DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 FOR SDO/DIM/INS/XPS
1 988-0099 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online
1 420-9518 DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 2GB
1 330-0171 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
1 430-3206 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
1 320-0997 Premium FHD WLED Display Obsidian Black, 2.0 MP Webcam
1 420-8223 Dell Video Chat
1 420-9699 Facial Recognition Sensible Vision
1 421-0464 Dell Webcam,1.2
1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System
1 330-5122 Intel Centrino 2 Label

a few questions:
-where do u recommend to get the 9 cell battery from? i think i need this, but for $180 i did not order it, i'm rather looking for an other shop to get it for around the old price (up to $100). what shop do u recommend?
-what case do u recommend for it?
edit: one more question:
-it seems that i'll be not in the US when Win 7 will be released so i won't be able to get it via mail/shipment.. is there any other way to get it then? (i mean: to get online only the license for it (and not the disc), so i could download it and use it using the license). a rep told me it's not possible and if i won't be in the US, there's no way i can get it.. that would suck too..

 

Can you mail it to a friend and have him/her forward it to you?

 

well, i thought about that too. it MAY be possible, but i'm not really sure if i can arrange this. even if i could do that, it would have some shipping cost, but probably it would still worth it pretty much.

 

What do you mean by backordered? And do you know how much longer it will take? Does that apply to the 1920x1080 15.6" panels as well?

 

I find myself in a kind of crossroad... I don't know if I should get the XPS 16 or the HDX 16. As I said before, I will be using it for Rhino and somekind of game like Sims 3. Anyone can give me any advice? BTW, I would be getting them with the best specs out there.
Thanks!

 

Has any1 had problems with dvdrw's? Cause mine won't work at all. I'm trying to burn one and it won't recog it blank.

 

If I install Windows 7 in the main partition and leave the recovery partition alone, will I still be able to later restore Vista to it's factory original state?

 

My laptop finally arrived. I ordered on July 20th and I believe it got to California (parentes home) on 29th or 30th. Shipped out from there to Guam on August 3rd and it arrived this morning (its Saturday here, 17 hours ahead of the US). From what I have been reading I am really happy with the deal I got. I thought I got jipped and could have shaved a few hundred dollars here or there if I waited but I ended up getting the battery for $30 and to hear its now $180 is :O and relief at least for me. Heat issues seem to be plaguing everyone and Im a bit concerned as I ordered my laptop with the t9800..I have yet to open and unbox it yet as I'm anal and want to set up my desk first...Today was like christmas, laptop, esata enclosure and extra 9 cell arrived right after my desk did...Really excited to set it all up this weekend..

I will be using my Dell 2408wfp with it, and now the question is do I use HDMI or Display port..I had used DVI with it previously with my tower at home but now I own a machine with a Display port and hdmi out..Ive tried searching around the web but no one seems to be using 2408wfp with Displayport. If anyone knows of any info or experience with it, please share!



edit: the anal person I am..I did more digging..I could get my config for about $150 cheaper including the 9cell battery (25% off deal, wow realllllllly good deal)...I havent opened my box yet, does Dell do price matching/fixing if you buy something one day and its cheaper the next?

 

Give em a call, its worth a try

 

My questions seem to have been missed, so here they are again

Quick questions:

What current processors are compatible with the MOBO?
Can the GPU be upgraded?
What is the MOBO? Make etc.

 

1. I believe any of the P based processors are compatible since it is a PM45 Express chipset. Check out intel's website for more information.
2. GPU cannot be upgraded, it's soldered to the board.
3. Don't know, probably some cheap Taiwanese branded board.

 

Any of the P or T process (7xxx or higher) should work. Range I've seen is P7350 to T9900. Quad core Penryn should theoretically work but probably would require a BIOS hack to be recognized properly, and obviously the cooling capability is borderline even for the 35w TDP dual cores. M fav CPU is the P9600 -- identical performance to the T9550 with 10w lower TDP. Dell doesn't offer it with the SXPS16 (thought it is an option for the 13) and it is not one of the more common mobile CPUs at places like Newegg. I've seen it on Ebay and some smaller vendors for about $375.

Cheap Taiwanese branded board, unless you have to pay for Dell for a replacement, then it becomes a very expensive Taiwanese board While the GPU is not upgradeable (it is not MXM or other slot design), a 3670 potentially could be upgraded by replacing the motherboard with one that has the 4670 (or future GPU). But generally this is not worth the cost or effort, you'd be better off buying a new notebook and selling the old one.

 

One thing I have noticed is that the Bluray player on this thing is a lot slower than my PS3's. Could be the drivers? I don't know.

 

You should update to the latest firmware. Hope it helps.

 

Where can I get the latest firmware/drivers?

I just got mine from Dell about 2 weeks ago, so shouldn't it be up to date?

 

On the dell drivers page: http://support.dell.com/support/dow...ID=STUDIOXPS16&hidos=WLH&hidlang=en&TabIndex=

 

Does the mobo support a P9700 processor?

 

I just thought I'd let people know. I installed the 9.7 drivers on a 64-bit Windows 7 7600, and the Street Fighter 4 performance seems to be fixed. It is still probably 10% slower than windows XP, but it's a lot better than it was with the earlier drivers.

Hadouken

 

well. Vista suxs..........Win7 suxs..............XP does not

(XP is such better OS, and always will)

 

win7 does not suck either, vista does.

 

Win7 sucks? first person ive ever seen say that.

 

Please someone tell me when Ati radeon 4670 1 GB will be available in india?????

Or can anyone contact them for me and ask this question because every time i email them, they just ignores it!!

PLEASE HELP!!
I wan't to know whether i have to wait or not for buying a new laptop!!!!


regards
bony

 

well, in games (which I assume we talking about here), there is XP such better OS......

XP is the best gaming-OS all time.....higher FPS, eats less Ram, AA/AF runs smother.......and so on.

 

well. on xp u can forget about dx10.

 

How would you expect any of us to know?

 

Actually, I remember someone mentioning India and '2 months later' regarding the 4670. So maybe India will get it in September.

But it's annoying to always know your country is on the bottom of that list they have...

 

Greetings and salutations from north of the Canadian Border. It's a bone chilling 36C with the humidex today... lol.


Here's my story...



Back in 2006 I purchased an Inspiron 9400 (also known as an E1705 in the US). Over the last two years I have had nothing but problems... It all started with CPU and GPU overheat issues, then on to multiple LCD Failures, followed by cosmetic damage from a Dell service depot (which sliced my left hand open). Next I had the bottom and palm rest plastics replaced, which unbeknownst to me did not have GPU exhaust ports punched out (which subsequently resulted in my burning of my leg and hand), and so on.



I've been more than patient through whole ordeal, but my patience has grown quite thin over the last 4 months... So much so that I started spamming the Dell Facebook webpage, Dell Twitter pages, Dell Rep, etc...



Finally after high blood pressure and what seemed to have been a million phone calls, I received a call from corporate office and configured the following exchange unit to replace my ailing 9400.



1 XPS 1640, T9550 (2.66GHZ) CORE 2 DUO
1 VISTA PREMIUM STICKER
1 4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHZ,2 DIMM, XPS 1640
1 56 WHR,6-CELL,LION,PRIM BATT,INSP
1 HD AUDIO 2.0 $0.00
1 BLURAY COMBO,INSP
1 OBSIDIAN BLACK LTHR,INSP
1 16.0 HD WLED, BLK-LTHR W/2.0 MP 1640
1 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,XPS 1640
1 ATI MOBILITY RADEON M96XT - 1GB
1 INTEL CENTRINO 2 LABEL CNB
1 320GB HARD DRIVE,7.2K, XPS 1640
1 ADOBE READER 9.0,MLANG,I/S/X NB
1 MCAFEE SAPPHIRE MUI,36MTH,XNB
1 VISTA,PC-RESTORE, DIM/INSP
1 DELL WELCOME,SW,DIM/INSP
1 DELL CONNECT 2.1,DIM/INSP/XPS
1 DELL VIDEO CHAT,INSP
1 DELL DOCK CONSUMER,INB/XNB
1 WIN VISTA SP1 HOME PREM,64,ENG,INB
1 POWERDVD DX 8.1 BLURAY,TT,CSMR,INSP
1 DATASAFE LOCAL BACKUP 2.0 BASIC
1 FACIAL RECOGNITION SENSIBLE VISION,XNB
1 DELL REMOTE ACCESS, FREE BASIC SERVICE
1 ROXIO 10.2 DE
1 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 DELL SPRT-CTR SW,64BIT,2.0
1 MS WORKS 9.0/HS,ENGLISH,I/S/X NB
1 WINDOWS LIVE SEARCH,MUI,CSMR NB/DT
1 DELL WEBCAM,SW,1.2,I/S/X NB
1 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth,INSP
1 INTEL 5100 WRLS-N (1X2),INSP
1 THANKS FOR PURCHASING YOUR DELL
1 PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH MORE DETAILS



I was on the road at the time, so it wasn't until later that I had found out I could have had the RGBLED screen, 9 Cell Battery and Intel 5300 Wireless card. I'm a little bothered by this... Although I'm sure outputting to my Dell W3707c via HDMI will suffice...

 

Surely, though, you would have had to pay for the RGB LED, batt and wireless card? Still, not bad for a free replacement 3 years on.

 

Is the upgrade from the - P7350 (3M Cache, 2.00 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB) - to a - P8600 (2.40Ghz, 1066MHz, 3MB) - a massive difference?
Worth £30?

 

it's noticable better. check this out and u'll see if it worth it for u or not: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

 

That all depends on how you look at the situation. I was pretty close to filing suit for gross negligence causing bodily harm. Still though, not a bad deal.

 

i was reading this link but haven't found the answer.. i'm walking in the same shoes: living outside US, purchased it there, so i don't know how can i receive win 7 when it will be released..

 

i have the t9800 yet scrolling at some websites is choppy,,, anyone else have that issue?

 

Ryu Hadoken -

I know this sounds really obvious, but I recently set my power profile to battery saver and didn't realize it until I got severe choppiness in a number of places and overall very degraded performance.

This was with the laptop plugged in

Just saying...make sure your performance profile is set to the appropriate level when plugged in (I'm guessing max performance).

Joe

 

^^ thanks alot mate. NP, high performance helped out a lot but there is still surprising bit of chopiness.

 

wow, they've just updated my order status. it's shipped and EDD moved from 8/20 to 8/13. sweet news

 

I have the T9550 and SSD and any desktop/program activity is incredibly snappy, sort of puts my desktop PC to shame. But my install is very lean, just Vista64 fully patched and malware protection. I have used my 1640 to surf the net and play LOTRO, okay mostly the latter.

 

my order is still delayed going on a week because the 900p screen is backordered, they already told me they were going to give me a discount, I am going to try to get them to give me the RGB screen so I can get this damn computer tomorrow this is ridiculous

 

Well I got my replacement today. Ah the smell and look of a new laptop right? Yeah that's right until it hit the Windows welcome screen and I noticed a big spec of dust behind the clear panel!! Take a look:



Don't know if I have faith in Dell sending out another replacement that won't have the same problem. The good thing about this new laptop is that the keyboard seems to be better than the last one (not as flimsy feeling though that could be because it's new) and the power cord doesn't slip right out. Pisses me off to know that I might have to open this panel up like the other laptop to clear this dust out of the way if they don't issue another build. I'll definitely not settle for a refurbished screen replacement.

 

I'm very happy with my XPS 1640. Absolutely no problems with it (dust, LED bleed, power cord problems, heat issues). I guess I just got really lucky.

 

wow that just sucks.

 

Joker, why didn't you just ask Dell for a screen replacement? I did, because my lid was scratched on arrival and it was a new and nice screen.

 

Oh man sorry to hear that. That's no insignificant blemish either.
My second one was perfect, knock wood. What a damn shame, that looks worse than your first. Unfortunately there is no system I know of with similar specs and price point...third times a charm maybe?

By the way, when I was offered the replacement it got here in five business days, so if you do order another insist on priority shipping and fast build time, they'll do it. They want the sale.

 

Does anyone have a picture of the new motherbaord layout? I'm interested to see what they have changed

 

It seems as though Dell does their shipments in waves. My exchange system is slated for delivery here in Ontario Canada for the 14th, but the order was placed in the last week of July. I guess they just wait to fill up the shipping containers and/or planes.