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

This the best I can do, sorry............

 

That looks pretty good actually...

What do you find the 15.6" LED 1080p screen like?

 

I don't know if I'm too bothered whether the panel is the best or not or an RGB version. It really is very clear and bright. I'm not really a gamer and I have a PS3 (video streaming on my Sony TV) and a Quad core desktop. I got the XPS because of the mobility at a reasonable spec for under £1000. An RGB screen would be wasted on me. The 4670 gives this machine the extra bit that I need. I'm thinking that if I did task the machine with a game or video encoding I wont be too disappointed.

I'm certainly no expert but this machine does seem to be the best value ATM.

 

I'm in the same boat as newhit....I've been playing Neverwinter Nights 2 and for the past few days I've also been watching DVDs of Entourage (which, as a show, is starting to me off).

The 1366x768 screen is brilliant with wonderful clarity, smooth transitions, and just looks fantastic with DVDs and the like. The brightness is also stunning, as I never have it set above 50% indoors, and on a very sunny day outside I set it to 80%.

If you aren't a true screen-fiend, I don't think the RGB screen would be worth it for you....but I haven't seen it in person. I just find the normal screen to be superb, far and away better than anything I've ever used.

 

Thank you very much for the images newhit!
Can you tell me please how long it took for your laptop to be delivered from the time you ordered it? Thanks again

 

the WLED screen is really nice. (its drink less battery. have really good brightness and still crispy colours)

very nice picture. looks great

 

Ordered on the 3rd August, delivered 11th August approx 11am. This is for a bog standard machine with only a 5300 wifi upgrade, not sure about ppl ordering different configs though. My machine might have already been made/rejected by another punter.

 

No problem! Thanks for the effort Really appreciate it

 

i'm going on day 23 with an estimated arrival date of 29 days after ordering (three delays)

the only thing keeping me from canceling the unbelievable price I'm getting... everything in my sig including a 2 year warranty is going to be $1050, that takes into account the $100 discount they are giving me for it being so late.. what prices did you guys pay?

 

i just installed win7, and then the catalyst drivers. but i cannot open the CCC. whenever i try to open it, nothing happens. i can see it open in the task manager, but i dont see the program. i tried both the dell one and the ones from ati website. what am i doing wrong.



also, when my screen is on a low brightness level, every so often it slightly flickers. its barely noticeable but can get annoying. anyone else have this?

 

Newhit, did you order yours with or without the leather accents, and if you did order it without, what does it look like?

 

Ok, I fixed the Dell DataSafe 2..0 crash issue.

Go to start and then Run (may need to enable the run command in start menu)

Type: msconfig

go the the tabs at the top for "services" make sure to check the box to HIDE all MIcrosoft services, and then disable ALL of them. Then click on the tab that says "startup" and again Disable ALL of them. Then do a reboot. Datasafe should NOW be able to be uninstalled from the normal add/remove programs list in control panel. Then you will need to reboot, and re enable ALL of the services and statups that you unchecked, and should be good to go

 

You are the man. Thank you.

 

Sorry if this is anal but could you put it in a series of steps? like 1, 2 etc..

Also when you say to "hide all microsoft services and then disable ALL of them" what do you mean by "ALL"? the microsoft services that you hid or the ones that remained unhidden?

 

No worries dog, glad it worked for you as well! To the Luanme person.... um im not sure how much more i can break it down. just click on RUN in start menu. If you dont have a RUN option, then do a serch for "MSCONFIG" and you will see it in your search/start menu. Once you click on it, a box will come up. once the "System Configuration" box comes up do this:

1. click on the tab "services"
2. on that page Put a check in the box that says "Hide all Microsoft services"
3.after you have "hidden" the mocrosoft services, click the box that says "Disable All"
4. THen click on the tab at the top labeled "Startup"
5. Click the "disable All" button in this section.
6. Reboot
7. uninstall datasafe 2.0
8. Reboot
9. Go BACK into the MSCONFIG menu, and then RE ENABLE (click the "ENABLE ALL") on BOTH the services AND start up tab. Basically undo what you initially did...
10. Reboot

11. Drink some beer



HOpe that helps.

 

Thanks a lot. I got it now . Just out of curiosity, did you call dell support to figure this out?

 

Well i tried to.. but after being in Que for a support Chat rep for an hour, i was able to figure it out. I knew somthing was stopping the uninstall... and there was nothing listed in the services section, so.. just decided to disable EVERYTHING i could, and try to uninstall...

 

Ah I see. Nice find nontheless.

 

thanks, hopefully your computer doesnt explode.

 

Not sure what "leather accents" are. There is a leathery patch on the back of the screen above the battery section. The rest of the case is shiny black plastic.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. It used to be that all SXPS machines came that way, but now you have to pay an extra $40 for the leather, which I didn't. Was wondering if you encountered this option yourself; I'm curious what the machine looks like WITHOUT that leather strip.

 

I realize this might be boring to most (shut up at the back!) but here goes..................

If anybody in the UK has tried to use the TV Tuner (with a decent aerial) with Media Centre and found that hardly any digital channels download I found the following worked..............

First, I went to "www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe" to check how far I was from my transmitter. Further than fifteen miles and the supplied "Rabbit Ears" wont cut it (maybe), hence my plugging in the house aerial.

I then went to the Support Page at Hauppauge.co.uk, selected the "WinTV MiniStick (55xx), which corresponds to the "WinTV-NOVA-T model 18109" installed in my XPS1640 and downloaded the latest 1.1f CD. After following this I got all my digital channels (about 80) and am watching what I want at the same time as typing this.

 

No, I did not see any case option, but I have to admit that I did not look for any. Of course there was the different colours page but I just skipped that. Maybe there was something there. OOPS! there isn't a colours page.

 

did anyone tried to upgrade their HD3670 to HD4670? even swap motherboard?

 

I don't believe anybody has. But you can buy one for like $500 and ask Dell to swap it. Sure it's expensive, but if you really need it, hell go for it. OR just wait and use the money for your next notebook purchase.

 

Hi guys I just received my XPS 16 yesterday and I am very pleased with it. I have the P7350 with basic screen and everything basic and it runs very smooth and I doesnt get very hot I have it on my lap no problem. Of course it get hot a bit but not as I expected after reading some reviews around so I am even more pleased.

One thing I noticed and that I found pretty interesting is that you guys benchmarcks from post #4 seems lower than mine even if you guys got the Duo 9x processors when I have a 7350...

Here are my benchmarcks results for 3DMark06 (mcafee off):

3DMark Score 7164 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 2793
SM 3.0 Score 3640
CPU Score 1772

P7350 cpu
320 GB (7200 RPM)
catalyst Driver Packaging Version 8.603.1-090422a-080116C-Dell

 

I think it's because you're not using 1080p, but instead a lower resolution. I'm guessing completely because I didn't bother to check the other posts.

 

You likely ran it at a lower 720p resolution. Those of us with 1080p run it at 1280x1024.

 

????

it does not matter which screen you have. when you run 3dmark06 in default (1280 x 1024) you have the same graphic resistance as everyone else.

its quite normal he hit above 7000 in 3dmark06......
if you compare "all" 4670 cards they are slightly different. some 4670 cards runs better then other 4670 cards....that the way it is

 

Um what now?
Of course screen resolution matters. 3Dmark will not run at 1280x1024 on a 1366x768 screen. And all 4670 in the studio xps perform the same (barring some rare overheating issues or other malfunctions), let's not forget we are talking about computers here not hunting dogs

 

he he he. sorry.
but does not 3dmark adjust its settings to the resolution so it gives same graphic resistance ????? (you get me ???)

let me explain........

a PC with a wxga+(1440 x 900) and go7900gtx who run 3dmark06 in 1280 x 800
or
a PC with wuxga(1920 x 1200) and go7900gtx who run 3dmark06 in 1280 x 1024................will get same scores. (Just because 3dmark adjust it self to the screen resolution and there by gives same graphic resistance)

am i right ???

you wrong about one thing though ............all 4670 cards does NOT performs the same....its common sense.
(for the record ive been using same Dell 9400 with 2 different screens, (wxga+ and wuxga) and with same GPU (go7900gtx) and they performed same in 3dmark (Default of course))

 

No, you're wrong. Resistance? Nonsense. Video card bandwidth consumption goes hand in hand with resolution. As you increase it, bandwidth consumption also goes up and performance goes down. So yes, you would get better scores using a lower resolution. For example, I get 7000+ with 3dmark06 at 1280x720 vs ~6400 @ 1280x1024.

 

I just listed my new 9 cell and travel remote in the marketplace section. I also have the Creative Panzer disc w/ serial #

 

which service pack two do i have to download?

* ISO for Windows Server 2008 x86/x64/ia64 and Windows Vista x86/x64

* x86 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista x86

* x64 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista x64

* ia64 for Windows Server 2008 ia64

 

There's Vista SP2? Sorry, I've never really known...

 

This one should do it.

 

thanks, appreciate it

 

urgent question: on dell.ca it says i have 30 days from the "date of receipt" to return my product. what is the date of receipt? is it day i the day i received it, or the paid for it?



i need to kno as i am going on vacation and dont know whether i should call them during my vacation (dell canada not open on weekend). or wait till i get back.

 

i think it must be the day u received it

 

Indeed I dint think of it because since I used free version I could not change resolution or any srttings. So that make sense on why I had a little better score with cheaper CPU

 

So here's an update..And to note as a personal observation, Dell is a giant pandora's box. They really need to streamline all their departments and divisions as none of them know what the other is doing at any given moment.

So anyway, after a few emails and a few phone calls to customer service I ended up getting a $130 credit to my account for my laptop. The 25% sale was really a huge deal and even better when they added the T9900 (the cpu I really wanted and actually had a hunch would be offered soon) and dropped the T9800. I'm in Guam currently and 17 hours ahead. It was a challenge to get a hold of customer service and as a result the 25% sale ended before I actually finally got a hold of someone. The first person I spoke to obviously couldnt find the sale because it had expired on the 13th and I got a hold of them after that. He informed me they don't keep records of sales and if there was a sale of 25% and it expired he had no way of knowing. ? I said the price difference was about $200, based off memory. The sale was gone so I couldnt re-price it out and prove it, my fault for not saving the quote. I had to PROVE there was a 25% sale, which is ludicrous. So after an hour of trying to understand this rep, as he was indian with a very heavy accent, I gave up. After going back and forth he said he would 3way me with a sale rep because they COULD have access to the past sales. During the transfer I got hung up on.

I did some remembering and realised the true difference was about $130-140ish rather then the $200 I originally said. I called back and said $130 instead of $200. Apparently it was the magic # because the convo lasted 5 minutes and the rep (different than the first but still Indian) submitted the request to refund me. It was credited this morning.

Im sorry for rambling but I like being detailed. Im just really dumbfounded about how dell works. It seems random and hit or miss.

Anyway I'm happy. My original price was $1764 (discounted from $1850 to compensate for a free 9 cell when it was $90 because they cant sell things for $0). With the $130 credit it brings it down to $1634: T9800, 4gig, 16" RGB 1080p, BD-ROM, 4670 1gb, 500gig@7200rpm + 9cell for $90

Have had it for 10 days now and havent booted it up yet (painting) but I can finally say Im satisfied that I got the best deal I could possibly get. I hope its cherry when I finally boot it up!

 

Cool story! I was going to purchase when the 25% off deal was running but got delayed because of a trip. I chatted online with three people on the 13th, the day after it ended, and they simply wouldn't give me the 25% off. Any1 have an idea how I could get the 25% off?

 

Your half way through the return window, I'd suggest you take a look at it soon.

 

how did u manage that?

 

updated status... my July 22 order still has not arrived... Talked to my dell rep last wed and he said he would give me a $100 discount, friday morning his supervisor called and said he would give me a $50 discount, I told him my rep already promised a $100 discount and he said if that is true that is what I will get... Called yesterday morning about turning that $100 for the $99 Mini 10v promo since I'd rather take a netbook and have had no response

my ETA for the laptop delivery is 8/19 (wed) but the past 3 delays have all come 2 days before the ETA, I have yet to see "boxing stage" or anything passed in production, so this should be interesting... i've been assured the 900p screen has been in stock since last Monday (which puzzles me why I still dont have it, I was in a 3 week queue and expedited/approved twice) I better get this by this date

Also everything in my signature along with a 2 year warranty is $1150 before my $100 being slow discount, $1050 after it along with free 9 cell bat and $50 gift card

 

just rechecked... my order status is "shipped" with no data available.. it has next day... after that month debacle I finally get to await if I have a quality unit build or not

 

Is the RGBLED really worth it over the WLED 15.6" 1080p screen? I've got a RGBLED and it's very nice, but I'd think the WLED would be nice too? Maybe even more color accurate?

 

Hey everyone Ive got a question...why is my dxdiag showing total memory for my ATI 4670 2807MB...how can i turn off the hypermemory (or whatever is causing this) and just keep the 1GB of dedicated memory....i didnt find an option in the BIOS. Has anyone else noticed this???

 

Kind of an anal question, but does anyone think that the black or silver zalman NC2000 looks better with the SXPS16? I've definitely made up my mind, that I'm going to get one, just wondering if anyone thinks the certain color goes better with this laptop?

 

Well, I like the black one because it's the same color. Makes the Zalman invisible almost... like the SXPS is just floating on it's own accord. muahaha