===> The Official Studio XPS 1640 Owner's Thread<===

Hey guys. Heat IS an issue on this laptop. I have read that some of you say it is not an issue, or that it is easy to ignore it, but do yourself a favor and touch the AC adapter after about an hour of mild use. The thing is dangerously hot and completely unsafe. I love the laptop but the overheating is a safety issue at this point.

The second drawback to this laptop is that it is a fingerprint magnet! It is very reflective (the laptop & the screen) and whenever you touch anywhere, it shows big time. I think this is even more emphasized since the overheating causes your palms to sweat out more, and leaving that much more residue all over the place.

I turn off the system after about an hour and a half of use and just let it cool down... not worth it!

 

Jamal, please stop. I almost vomited onto the laptop, which is running so hot it will make a vomit omelet!

 

Totally not worth it... Sell it... sell it now... I'll give you $100 for it, just to get it out of your sight.....

Seriously, The AC adapter is not part of the laptop! And, did you really think that the laptop was going to be fingerprint free... DO all of the other manufacturers have fingerprint resistant laptops?

You might be better off with a desktop system.

 

I'll give you $250 and a pack a jaw breakers. I'm without one right now and really missing it.

 

Guys, I need some help... I cant play mkv files any more. I had k-lite codec pack installed and also some divx software. This software asked for an update and I did it... Big mistake! The movies wouldn't play normally (they started lagging..) so I uninstalled the divx software. After that I've been getting BSOD when I try to open the files in wmp.
These are 1080p files that I downloaded, so they are 12GB in average. What do you guys use to play such movies?
PLEASE, someone help me!

 

What were your settings and results? Also if you could post your config I'd like to see it all. I wan to compare it against my HP that has an ATi 4650 GPU. The CPU I have is a bit weak (T6400 2.0 ghz..just ordered a QX9200 cpu which I plan to retest with when it arrives) but that shouldn't make a huge impact.

For reference, with everything set to max, filtering at 8x and AA off at 720p, the laptop scored an A with an avg of 73ish fps from what I remember. At 1600x900 it was still averaging in the 60s and making an A. I'd like to do some comparative benchmarking if you're interested.

 

poison, I am sad that you are from Florida, you should move to Alabama.

Did I say that the laptop was supposed to be fingerprint free? Please take some time and think about things before you make yourself look foolish.

The AC adapter....wait, why should I respond to you? I dismiss you.

 

N20D50H, I feel you pain. I has to return two previous studio xps1640 and im missing them. I've been without a laptop for about a month and im starting to go crazy. I was trying to hold out to see if Dell refreshes the vid card on these machines but i was checking out some recent xps16 configs with great deals right now. thinking bout going with it.

 

Please! Someone?!

 

Google might be a better bet than here Brazilian guy...

 

Brazil, please stop.

 

Try Satsuki on google!

 

Where can I edit the sound settings to tweak them?

 

Try these steps:
1)Last known good configuration(if this doesnt help for BSOD) then
2)System Restore(Anyone among these two steps would probably cure BSOD)
Then,
Uninstall K-lite codec and install Win7codecs(As ur OS is win7)just google windows 7 codec pack and u wil get it
Also download Gom player(Google is indeed our best friend )
then install win7 codec and gomplayer,
Happy watching then
Hope this helps...........

 

Please post LOTS OF pictures and videos!

 

Why don't you shut your mouth when you don't have anything useful to say?

Man, that worked! Fantastic! Gom player is really nice...
This is one of the good reasons these threads exist, thanks for taking the time to help.

 

I guess Dell got second thoughts about that 4670. That, together with a rumored redesign of the notebook for better cooling has put me in a position where I have no option than to wait, until something happens. Ah...

 

Agreed, +1

 

I was looking at dells website today, and i was looking at the tech specs page of the Studio XPS 16 and it shows

Graphics
ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670-512MB
ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670-1GB

Under the Graphics Section

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/note...d.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-16&s=dhs&cs=19

It just came up today, but when you customize it, it doesn't show the option to choose that video card.

Click on the tech specs tab and scroll down you will see it!

 

They also took away the 256 GB SSD option, at least on the link you provided.

 

Do you use Gomplayer for all media? Is it better than the Power DVD that was pre-loaded?

 

Seems we're getting very close... can you feel the excitement?

 

Cool! I'm glad I sent mine back. Would be nice if they'd upgrade the cooling and add a quadcore, also a non fingerprint version lid

 

Well I think even the current SXPS 16 will take a quad core if someone puts it in. As long as the bios recognizes it there shouldn't be much of an issue since it uses the PM45 chipset.

 

Just updated to the new A08 Bios.

First my screen was flickering and I couldn't control the brightness but now it looks like it is all okay. The major improvement I can see is that the fan is spinning faster. I think they try to improve the cooling. Normally the fan stopped when temps where under 40c, now it keeps going.

 

Great find. It's a good thing I didn't listen to that guy complaining about us getting rid of our laptops to wait.

 

Damn right, I cancelled my SXPS 16 order two days after I placed the order (about two weeks ago) after reading the improvements in the BIOS update. How pissed would I be now if I didn't cancel it?

 

Can you hear the fan under normal operations? How many rpms is it usually at?

 

Personally I never really liked Power DVD... I started using Gom yesterday, and until now it's been holding up really well. I played some heavy stuff on it without any problems. It also looks much better than WMP Classic (pretty much like any other program would) and have many features to choose from.
Go for it!

 

I checked in Dell India website,not showing here....
I dont know how long its gonna goin to take to get that in india....Since the news spread abt new gpu,I am holding my order....now its very close YET FAR for me

 

It's not showing in the Ireland/UK website either, but I expected that it wouldn't. While it's not listed under "Tech Specs" in other regions, what is for sure is that the HD 4670 will be offered eventually in all the SXPS 16 systems worldwide. So the only question that remains (wherever you are), is how long are you prepared to wait?

I don't need a new laptop until the end of August, and since I just had my motherboard replaced again on my M1330, that should keep me going until then!

 

Yes I do,(Though its ur independent choice of sw).I like the Gom player`s UI,the controls are easy,up and dn arrows for volume,lft and rt arrows for prev and fwd..etc.If ya dont have codec,it gives you link to dl codec. seems neat,clear and ease of use,above all its FREE!!

 

1GB 4670... That make me think on selling my lappy. I'll try mercadolivre.com.br (brazilian eBay )

I guess now it will hold GTA IV, since the 3670 can play it with the graphics on minimum... What do you guys think? And what graphic card should the 4670 be equivalent to?

 

Great to see that they'll be rolling it out soon, SUCKS that i placed my order last week

Anyone know if this is going to be an option or the standard. In other words, will it be an upgrade option that will cost extra?

 

Same here,can wait.....But reviews and excitement is killing my patience....Now am So crazy about this lap that wanna place the order now itself...Still tryin to maintain my excitement,hoping for better specs......

 

Guys, I updated the bios 20 minutes ago. Monitoring the temps since than, I didn't notice ANY improvement... I had the A07 before.

 

Dont know for sure.Though I strongly believe that it would be an upgrade option.1 gigs of ATI 4000 series!Sure Dell wont be prepared to give it as standard just like that.
Above all it is not reflecting in most of the other country sites of Dell,So it would be too early to judge
Anyways,Will dell goin to give this upgrade option for existing customers?

I mean,kinda replace the gpu part.

 

wow, this is really awesome news!
i spoke to a dell agent and he couldn't tell much yet. he said no official announcements has been given out yet, and they have no information about it. he suggested to wait for updates, i hope it will be really available soon.

"There has been no official statement for this but let me go ahead and verify this with our marketing department, so I suggest you check on this models from time to time or register an email on line to get updates form Dell."

 

well, 1 gig and ATI 4000, but don't forget it's 4600 series, not like 4800, etc. 4600 series is in the same category, than 3600 series was in it's time, i think 4670 could easily replace the 3670. but we'll find it out soon, anyway.

 

It ranks near the top of the medium tier GPU's. It really looks to be the class of the GPU's that fall just under the beasts that require thick cases and lots of cooling.

 

4670 betters the 3870, so it is a significant step up from the 3670.

 

Could anyone post a working xorg.conf for DELL STUDIO XPS 1640 with radeonhd driver. Also is hotplugging (evdev with HAL running )working for any of you guys, I get frozen X with no keyboard and mouse.
I would be glad if you guys can post your xorg.conf driver version and kernel version.
Thanks

P.S Catalyst ing sucks in LINUX

 

Do these reps just make up things out of their butts to get a sale? I asked about the 4670 and the guy went to go check on it. He came back with this answer:

12:23:20 PM Agent BE_PR2_Rep_Ronald_C
thanks for waiting, sad to say but currently we had removed the option for the 1GB of video card due to incompatibility issues

 

Sounds like stock answer 2-C from the support / call center handbook.

Seriously, I don't see any point in calling as they really won't / can't say anything. When and if the 4670 shows up as a configuration option on any of the Dell sites, then we'll know.

 

LMAO. They clearly don't know.

 

haha ROFL, thats a nice one

 

I know im excited! =D . Dell refunded my credit card a couple of days after my return and now im just waiting till the new configuration is out! Can't wait to have this baby back in my arms

 

Yeah it's nice how fast they refund everything. I just bought a QX9200 processor off ebay and I'm crossing my fingers and hoping the SXPS 16 bios recognizes it. Otherwise I'll be out nearly $300

 

I am excited to see the new 4670 upgrade as well, but I stand by my original comment about some people encouraging others to return their perfectly functional laptops. It's one thing to not order the laptop and wait (which is what I am doing), it's a completely different thing to order the laptop with the intention of returning it after playing with it for a few weeks. That is just abusing the system. Then again, I guess it's Dell's fault for not enforcing the 15% restocking fee.

Anyway, I will order mine (and keep it) once the new 4670 comes out.

 

If Dell lets people return it without penalty, why do you care so much? Do you have some sort of personal stake in Dell or are you a stock holder? If the answer is no to both questions, then you need to get a life and stop worrying about what others do. Besides it's Dell's fault for being so shady about hardware updates, especially ones coming in the near future. It wastes their money and people's time. Nobody wants to drop >$1000 and see it trumped by something twice as powerful a month or two later. You had the benefit of timing and information available to hold off on purchasing the SXPS, not all of us were in that position when we ordered our original laptops, so get off your high horse.