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

Wow, good lookin' man. Didn' think about that. I just moved into a new place and are retrofitting it into a studio. Doing A LOT of cleaning and painting and stuff..and Ive yet to set up my new desk. Didn't wanna open up my new baby and have it get spray painted on or dirty. It should be up within a few days.

This was when the batteries were going for $100. EPP 7% discount brought it to $93 then the rep took off ~$70 off my laptop to compensate for the "Free" Battery Upgrade deal that was going on in the home segment at the time (I was in EPP and it didnt apply). The battery ended up costing me around $25.

edit: crap, it shipped on the 28th to my mom before she shipped it here to Guam. I have 1 day..looks like I gotta boot it up tonight..

 

Well, I have the RGBLed screen, and from what I've seen there is no comparison. Ok, I have to admit that there are some disadvantages / weaker points, but the general impression that the screen gives is that it's one hell of a display. I compared it to a Sony FW31ZJ (which also has a fantastic screen, by the way), but I prefer the RGBLed screen. (Note: The Sony owner preferred the Sony display )

In general, the colors are not 100% accurate, but I'll try to calbrate them via a Spyder Pro. As far as the blacks go: I noticed That in movies the blacks are displayed as grey, whereas when I open up Mspaint and draw a black square it is pretty much a black square (instead of dark grey). However, when I compare that to the black on my Philips Cineos 42" Plasma, then the plasma wins it by far!

I think it is a very personal thing, and you have to see (and decide) for yourself if it is worth the extra buck. If I had to order this laptop again, I would undoubtedly order this screen again.

 

One more thing worth mentioning about Dell's service:

I ordered my SXPS on 29 july and received it a week ago. Two days after I got it, the 4760 became available, so i immediately called them back stating that if I had known this upgrade would come, I would have waited ordering the machine. Without any problems they started investigating upgrade possibilities. After that all turned out to nothing, the sales rep advised me to return the machine, so that I could order a new one with the 4760 card.

The new machine (with ATI 4760) should arrive on or before 28 August!

I have had good experiences with Dell's service in the past (a battery which would not fully recharge 2 months after warranty expired was replaced for free, screen replaced 4 times on-site without extended warranty, etc...).

 

The 4670 doesn't use hypermemory. Also if there was an option to control it, it would be in the driver control panel not the bios
I would say its probably either a reporting error or a human error

 

Actually no, its in the CCC. I too see this..Not user error or reporting error. Im looking at "Graphics Hardware" tab under information center and it says

Memory Size: 2813
Memory Type: HyperMemory

Even outside off CCC, under adv display settings it says it. Anyone know how to disable this?

Also, finally booted my baby up as I'm typing on it right now

no complaints so far. Screen is really over saturated but I was expecting that. Just like my 2408wfp, this is a super wide gamut monitor and I already know what I need to do to make this monitor shine

This is my first time owning a Vista machine. How to I turn off ALL PROGRAMS from scrolling. I want the windows to pop out in different menus..And no its not classic..

 

CCC shows it as well in the information section. Wonder what this does, anyone know?

 

I got the black NC2000, it looks really nice. I could post a picture of if you like. However, i haven't use it because my system does not get that hot. It looks like i got a really good one.

 

From my experience it depends on where I plug my 1640 in for AC power if it will get hot. Where my 1640 normally sits, attatched to a power strip, it doesn't get any hotter than what I've experienced with similar laptops. But if I plug it into another AC outlet on the other side of the room my 1640 and it's power brick get hot and quick.

 

I have had the RGBLED and really like it. But I'm placing another order and would like to save some cash if I can get away with it. I haven't seen the WLED so I'm not sure what to think. I wish someone here has seen both because I wonder if the WLED is that much worse?

 

FINALLY got my SXPS16... I'm setting all the software up now... so far the build quality is 100% flawless... everything works, screen is 100% beautiful, I've never seen the RGB screen but I can't imagine how much better it could look compared to this

there is 0 keyboard flex and no lights that are out... I hope this is a keeper and for $1050 I'm very happy

EDIT
just noticed they gave me the wrong damn screen... the 1366x768 screen not the 900p screen... I cant fking believe this, I was delayed for 2 weeks because of a screen that they did not even give me... I'm about to btch dell out for an hour

 

Wow they really screwed you there. You should complain enough to get the RGB LED for free at this point. Replacement system #3 for me just shipped out today and should be here tomorrow. Hopefully this one will be dust free.

 

I doubt they give it to him. They seem really stingy, at least from my dealings anyway.

I hope your replacement will finally be dust free. They really need to fix this issue once and for all, because it's the worst thing about this laptop IMO.

 

Even though I like my RGBLED, I found a good deal with the WLED 1080p. I wish I would've ordered when the 25% off sale was running with the RGBLED. Now I've got a 25% off deal but only with the WLED. So I guess I'll give it a try and if it's bad I'll return it.

 

I have the RGBLED screen and love it. You need an ICC profile in Windows 7 to get the colors accurate. I used the one posted on the thread about this.

That said, advantage of RGBLED over WLED is the expanded color gamut. This does does make calibration more difficult, so if you are okay with a standard gamut screen the WLED should be fine. I would think it is at least as bright and the actual panels themselves are both TN. Point is that the RGBLED backlight gets more colors out of the TN panel, but it is still a TN panel with its typical viewing angles and color accuracy. Many would consider the ultimate PC monitor the NEC x90 series which is H-IPS with a CCFL backlight, and a standard color gamut.

Size is a different issue. Not that there is much of a difference between 15.6" and 16", but the XPS16 is bigger and heavier than most 15.4" notebooks so it really should justify that by having the larger screen.

 

Your going to go to the trouble of returning the RGB you have, to get the WLED because you "think" it's going to be better? Based on a couple people here complaining about the color (out of thousands who are happy with it).
Is it about the screen, or about the money? What about the restock fee they charge because you changed your mind?

 

I wouldn't recommend this unless you really want to save money. Even then they might stick you with a restocking fee which would offset any money you saved.

 

No, not at all. I like the RGBLED, but found a better deal with other upgraded specs I want (3.06GHz, 8GB RAM, HD 4760 GPU, BD Burner) and the deal only has the WLED. So it's kind of a lose one thing gain another.

 

8 GB is overkill, the only attractive part is the CPU which you could always upgrade on your own. It's not worth losing the most critical component (LCD) for those in my opinion.

 

u guys really scare me..
now i'm not sure if i have the RGBLED screen and not the fullhd WLED.. is there a way to know it for sure?

 

A picture would be very much appreciated. I'm someone who's anal about aesthetics.

 

That's very interesting. I have mine plugged into a power strip, right next to me, and after about 15 mins of regular multiple program use, the touchpad gets pretty hot. Of course, this doesn't really matter to me, as I plan on getting a wireless mouse, but I'm definitely going to see what the Zalman NC2000 can do about this.

 

To possibly correct the incorrect colours when watching movies, try this link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=912720

 

I'm not into gaming much, but how well does the HD 4670 perform in gaming? Is the XPS 16 considered a mid-range gaming laptop? Can it play all the latest games with ease? I'll be getting the 3GHz CPU and 8GB RAM w/Intel X25-M 80GB G2 HDD. So I'm hoping it will be very smooth and nice at playing games like Crysis, etc.

 

A quick Youtube search answers all your questions.

 

Got mine today! Overall first impressions are very good. I still need to install all my programs. Also I noticed one thing... without a cool bad it does get kinda hot, but with, it is more than bearable. I will do an in depth review later on...

 

Check out this table here. Check the 4670 against the latest games; it seems to fair quite well.

Also, I reckon 8GB RAM is overkill - especially for the runaway cost of buying two 4GB sticks. 4BG should be fine, unless you frequently move around massive, huge files.

 

For those who have done the Mobility Moder driver update, do I need to uninstall the driver that came with my laptop before I install the new cats 9.8? Also do I need to uninstall CCC too? And lastly (this pertains to the previous question) do I just download the newest driver or newest driver+ccc?

thanks

 

http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php

Scroll halfway down and do exactly what it says, it's very simple to do.

 

I read that already. Doesnt answer my questions about uninstalling first..

 

Well you asked a bunch of questions, most were answered there. No, you don't need to uninstall first.

 

And I asked about uninstalling ccc and redownloading that cause I know the newest version the GUI changed..Nothing is mentioned about CCC on that page..

 

It should all be included with the new driver package.

 

Thanks! Will certainly try this tonight. Will post back with the result.

 

I totally agree... Save the money, get only 6Gb if you have to, or get a bluray writer for that money... Don't expect serious performance increases with the 8Gb.

 

Actually 6 GB will decrease performance because it will run in single channel mode. 4 GB is the best configuration, unless they're making 3 GB sticks of RAM now.

 

anyone? in device manager maybe?

 

In the Catalyst control center for the video card, one of the tabs should show you what resolution. It would say 1920 x 1080 unless it has been changed by someone.

 

ah my order has been 'in production' for 2 days. how long does it usually take to move from in production to delievery?

 

Yeah, but now that the new WLED 1920 x 1080 ones are out you can't tell. Or are the WLEDs 15"6'?

 

Also once you install the modded 9.8 catalyst drivers can you delete the file? Or do you have to keep it?

 

You can delete the folder but you may as well allow the folder(s) containing the driver to remain, ATI/Support, since all future Catalyst drivers will extract there.

 

Device manager>Monitor>monitor ID should read seiko.

 

Based on my last 2 laptops, 1 week from order to your door. It does vary by configuration in some cases.

 

I always delete it.

 

Hey guys, thinking about getting this laptop once school sales hit. I had one quick question though...

Has anyone gotten dust inside the screen display? Between the glass and the display?

I ask because I currently have a HP dv5t with the Edge-to-Edge glass similar to the XPS 16 and I have dust trapped between the glass and LCD. Anyone with those issues on their Dell? Thanks.

**Also, how many hard drives can it fit? 1 or 2? Seems like only 1 could fit since Dell doesn't give me an option for 2.

 

Monitor ID?

Mine goes:

Device manager>Monitors>Generic PnP Monitor>Properties
then there's 3 tabs that say General, Driver, and Details.

Also, sendmarksmail,
There has been some issues with dust getting stuck with 2 people. 5150Joker and ViperGTS. And you can only put one hard drive in, unless you do the optical drive mod. Take out optical drive and put in hard drive. Forgot where I read that or if it is possible for the SXPS.

 

I was doing it off memory but here's the exact place:

Device manager>monitors>generic pnp monitor>details>hardware ids

It should read: MONITOR/SEC5448

 

System #3 is here and I'm happy to report it's dust free. Although for a new laptop it is quite dirty. Lots of dust on the top of the screen with smear marks etc that I had to wipe away. Fortunately aside from that it's fine. Glad this ordeal is over with for now.

 

Congrats and enjoy!
Funny, when I got my "good" unit, it was in the fancy schmancy box upside down. I feared the worst but it was perfect. The black bag was dirty however but not the machine itself.

 

Yep mine was upside down as well. It was full of dust and marks on the screen but it was easy enough to clean. Now to reinstall everything once again...fun times.