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

eh not really, but that same questions gets asked here over and over again.

 

Can you provide links that compare both screens and also the links to the reviews?

Thanks

 

I think they may be out of stock, or there is low stock. Last I checked about a week ago, the SSD was still an available option but only through Dell Small Business custom orders. Dell SB pricing was way higher than EPP or Home, so I didn't order. I then found a well priced laptop without the SSD on the outlet so I bought it.

It came with the 500gb Samsung HDD. I wanted the 256GB SSD so purchased it separately through Dell for $480 - 7% EPP discount. Although it says "usually ships without 24 hours" they are in fact out of stock with delivery date pushed back at least 10 days from the originally specified date. This applies to part# 341-8981 and #341-9999 which I believe are in fact identical, but probably binned different for different units.

I still have an open order for the SSD so hopefully they will be back in stock soon. I did get a response to an email inquiry that they were "confident" it would be delivered by the newly promised date. I suspect once the backorders are filled and there is adequate inventory, it will again be an option for new orders on EPP and Dell Home.

If the G2 Intel 160GB drive becomes available for order before Dell ships, I will probably buy it instead even though I'll miss the 100GB extra capacity, and my guess is that there will be no noticeable difference in real world performance. In $/GB, the Dell/Samsung will probably not be beat anytime soon.

 

There is a noticeable difference between the Intel G2 and the Sammy. Even the Intel G1 is much better than Sammy for an OS drive. It's much faster at OS related things.

 

hey quick question, how big would the Seagate 500GB 7200rpm drive be (on the SXPS 16)? is it 9.5mm or 12.5? I may buy my brothers internal one off him and I wanted to know if it'll fit in my ultra bay.

 

The Seagate 500GB 7200RPM is a 9.5mm drive. The newest 750GB drive is 12.5mm.

 

Have you used both? I have the new Samsung 256GB SSD and also have various OCZ Vertex's and Summits. I have not used an Intel, but cannot imagine it much faster. The review at tomshardware.com of the Samsung vs. others (including the Intel M and Intel E-series) conclude the Sammy is "a screamer", but some of the benches (synthetic as they are) show the Intel's at the top.

BUT (and this is a big BUT), I got the 256GB Samsung SSD for about $300 at Dell.com...bought it with a M1330 that had a 25% discount, and the upcharge was $400. I've sold off the M1330 at cost, so I wound up with a super cheap 256GB SSD!

 

Yeah I've owned both. I can feel the difference just in OS & App speed (for normal usage). I prefer the Intel with external storage route. Provides more speed and more space (500GB for me atm).

 

Both would be a huge upgrade over the 5400rpm HDD in the laptop now. Maybe the Intel is a bit quicker in general use, the Dell/Corsair/Samsung definitely has 60% more capacity. I do wish Samsung would at least acknowledge that its firmware can be upgraded, when TRIM support is finalized. Without it, occasional low level wiping with HDDErase may be required to keep performance at maximum.

At this point I am happy to spend $446 or less for the Dell ($480-7% EPP, minus any other coupons I can find) , or $450 for the Intel. Whichever drive I can get first I'll probably take Sounds as if Intel is shipping product again, but no one that I am aware of has any stock of the G2 models at the present. Nor does Dell have any 256GB Samsung drives to sell right now. Obviously I won't be paying $600-700 for the Corsair since it is the exact same drive that Dell peddles !

 

Umm.. You can buy the 256GB Sammies from Dell right now in the Accessories section. Just can't get one when you configure for some reason.

They list @ $479 but you can get a 15% coupon to bring it to ~$400.

Link

 

You can place the order (either for 341-9999 or 341-8981) but they don't have any to ship right now, based on what I was told. They expect to deliver by the promised 8/21 date so hopefully that means more are on the way. My order was placed a week ago and still has not shipped.

By the way, price listed for the 341-9999 (which you linked too) and the 341-8981 is now $790... That's a $310 jump in one day! At that price might as well buy the Corsair P256 which is the same drive.

 

WOW! what a drastic price increase!

Guys, you should just wait until the price goes down and maybe some better technology comes out.

 

They won't sell any, or hardly any, at that price. If you want a 256GB Samsung the identical Corsair P256 goes for under $700 on Newegg. Maybe that is there way of capping the backorder list until they acquire sufficient stock.

And Intel G2 320GB drive will probably be around $800. At $480 the Samsung will still sell, but at the same price point everyone would prefer the Intel because of higher capacity, upgradeable firmware with TRIM support, and probably higher performance.

Well it does make me glad that I placed an order for the Dell for $480, with EPP discount covering the tax...

 

It is my understanding that the Samsung 256GB SSD has internal "garbage collection" built in. During idle periods, it performs the equivalent of Wiper.

 

Dang, that's awesome...320GB is good enough for me, for now. I'd love to upgrade to that at the same time I upgrade to Windows 7...

Except I'm not 100% sure I want to upgrade to Windows 7, as my understanding is it drops a lot of fantastic programs like Movie/DVD maker.

 

Hi guise first post I saw this wallpaper on the Studio XPS 16 on the Dell website and was wondering if anyone has it? Thanks

 

Well, My cooler came into today its the Cryo LX and my computer is way cooler. Even the front which normally gets hot with general use, and gaming isn't hot which is good. the top is like luke warm. But i have the fans going at full blast. I would recommend a cooler for this machine when gaming!.

 

About the heat, I have really only found my 1640 to be hot twice. Both times running off of the same AC outlet in my apartment. I found this very interesting. Normally my 1640 is on my dining table plugged into a power strip connected to an entirely different AC outlet. Last night I moved my laptop to my coffee table and then plugged it in so I could fire up LOTRO. It got noticeably hot, first time it felt like that since first getting it. Which happened to be when I was configuring my new 1640 on my coffee table in front of the TV.

 

I believe someone was asking this before, and it was how do I get the touch controls like the pause stop forward work with Itunes? Well in order to keep them working, all is needed is to put Itunes into mini player and have mini player always on top. You just need to position the mini player where you want, i put it by the task bar with Windows seven since it gets covered and also out of the way. The controls work even if i go to another internet site. So there you go.

 

unfortunately, the internal garbage collection is only available on the most recent samsung based SSDs, and most likely not on any that came with the sxps16. Samsung has assured OCZ, who assured its customers in the support forums, that there will be an end use firmware update to coincide with the release of Win7 to allow for Trim support and garbage collection.

also, i have had both the Intel x-25m and the Super Talent Masterdrive SX (samsung drive), and using Vista in the xps16 I noticed no difference whatsoever. they both scream. benchmarking shows the samsung drive has faster sustained reads and rights, and intel has higher I/O, just as all the reviews say, but in every day usage, i did not notice any difference at all.

 

Ordered my SXPS 16 on August 10th; estimated arrival date was the 27th.

Just updated that it shipped today; revised arrival date is the 20th.

Nice.

 

Just spent close to two hours on the phone getting this deal but having second thoughts...what do you guys think?

It includes the 25% off XPS and the Dell student purchase program (7%)


Intel Core 2 Duo P9600 (2.8GHz/1066Mhz FSB/6M L2 Cache)
Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish
3GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm
15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p FHD WLED LCD W/2.0MP, XPS 1640
ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB
500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Vista with SP1 Home Premium Edition 64-bit Edition
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal
6 Cell Battery

$1,205.28

Dell Mini 10v

$92.07

9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery

$167.40

Before tax Total
$1464.75

 

if you are in the US that is not a very good deal

 

Yea im in the US.

Please elaborate on why its not so good...

 

Seems like a good deal to me. Don't know what Cleric is talking about. The price for the battery is way too high though, I'd remove that option.

 

yeah battery is high now, why don't you go to 4gb of ram? You may need it in the long run and its only 35 dollars.

 

I was just about to cancel the battery this morning but they've generated a shipping label already. Will I be charged S&H plus restocking fee now?

 

Those batteries were $79 at dell.com just a month or two ago (not on sale, either...it was the normal price)

 

it's a pretty nice deal imho.. except of the 9 cell battery which is a rip off in it's current price. brw how did u get P9600? it's not even listed as an option for me..

 

Its a typo it should be T9600.

Hopefully I can get the battery refunded without the restocking fee...

 

well, not counting the battery, and the mini 10v, the sxps16 on dell.com, with those options, comes to $1,454 then you claim to have gotten 25% and 7% discounts, which would bring that price to $1,014.17.

You, however, paid $1205.28. Therefore my good chums, that is not a very good deal. So unless I am missing something...i stand by what i said

 

If only dell works like that then everyone would have amazing deals!

the 25% is off the msrp like always.

 

Great deal!

 

Hello everyone! I had an XPS M1530 that kept giving me problem after problem. Dell finally decided to replace the system for me. I just logged into my account over at Dell.com today and noticed an order number with all the specs in the system. Here they are:

1 224-1944 XPS 1640, Intel Core 2 Duo P9600 (2.8GHz/1066Mhz FSB/6M L2 Cache) $1010
1 310-0173 Airborne Documentation, System Exchanges,Factory Install $0.00
1 310-8319 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor $0.00
1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System $0.00
1 311-9486 3GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm forXPS 1640 $0.00
1 312-0811 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery, for XPS 1640 $0.00
1 313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.2 $0.00
1 313-7054 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive for XPS1640 $0.00
1 320-7330 Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish with Leather XPS 1640 $40
1 320-7332 Premium HD WLED Display Obsidian Black, Leather, 2.0 MP Webcam $250
1 330-0171 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks $0.00
1 330-1917 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP XPS 1640 $0.00
1 330-4424 ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB $100
1 341-7911 250GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive $0.00
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE $0.00
1 410-2089 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 24-Month $19
1 412-0148 No ISP requested $0.00
1 412-0359 Soft Contracts - Qualxserve $0.00
1 412-1397 No Productivity Software requested $0.00
1 420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp $0.00
1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron $0.00
1 420-7622 Dell Support Center Software 32 Bit 2.0 $0.00
1 420-7938 Dell Connect 2.1 $0.00
1 420-8223 Dell Video Chat $0.00
1 420-8585 Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Ultimate 32-bit Edition English $150
1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer $0.00
1 420-9334 Cyberlink PowerDVD DX 8.2 for DVD $0.00
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic $0.00
1 420-9699 Facial Recognition Sensible Vision $0.00
1 420-9850 Roxio 10.2 DE $0.00
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG $0.00
1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface $0.00
1 421-0464 Dell Webcam,1.2 $0.00
1 421-1193 Download Store Links $0.00
1 430-2600 Integrated 10/100 Network Card $0.00
1 430-3206 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate) $20
1 430-3207 Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N Mini-card $0.00
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access $0.00


First of all I was shocked at the significant upgrade I am getting in my processor! I have a T7250 (2.0ghz) currently. Also, in my current laptop, I paid to upgrade the screen resolution to 1440x900 since I do web designing/graphics work and I much prefer more viewing area. My question is, is anyone able to tell what resolution my new screen will be? (1 320-7332 Premium HD WLED Display Obsidian Black, Leather, 2.0 MP Webcam $250)

Any help is appreciated!

 

I am pretty sure it's the RGBLED. Congrats on the great swap config.

 

I think it's the 1920 x 1080 but it's not the RGBLED. It would say RGBLED instead of WLED.

The only other thing I would have seen if you could change would be upgrading to the 4GB of RAM.

 

Viper786: 3GB RAM sucks badly, u won't have dual channel with it which means half writing/reading speed

 

My son had his two year old E1705 replaced this week. No issues until about two months ago. After we replaced the motherboard twice and the graphics three times they asked us if we want a new machine. All problems related to screen artifacts. We were pleased with the machine below being better than the E1705 specs in every way. Son back at school and after five days all seems well so far. Hope the information below helps you.


224-1938 XPS 1640, Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3M
L2 Cache) EA 835.00 835.00
1 1 310-0173 Airborne Documentation, System Exchanges,Factory
1 1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System EA
1 1 311-9487 4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm for XPS 1640 EA 35.00 35.00
1 1 312-0811 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery, for XPS 1640 EA
1 1 313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.2 EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 313-7056 BluRay Combo Drive EA 150.00 150.00
1 1 320-0997 Premium FHD WLED Display Obsidian Black, 2.0 MP Webcam EA
1 1 320-7329 16.0 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p FullHD RGBLED LCD
W/2.0 MP, XPS 1640 EA 250.00 250.00
1 1 320-8178 Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish XPS 1640 EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 330-1917 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK -UP XPS 1640 EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 330-4424 ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB EA 100.00 100.00
1 1 330-5122 Intel Centrino 2 Label EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 341-8989 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall Sensor Seagate Hard Drive EA 75.00
1 1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI - LANGUAGE EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 410-2090 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 15 -Month EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 412-0360 Soft Contracts - Banctec EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-6436 Vista, PC -Restore, Dim/Insp EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-7938 Dell Connect 2.1 EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-8223 Dell Video Chat EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-9319 Microsoft Windows Vista with SP1 Home Premium Edition
64-bit Edition English EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-9519 DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 5GB EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-9681 PowerDVD DX 8.1 Bluray Playback, True Theatre High Definition
1 1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-9699 Facial Recognition Sensible Vision EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 420-9850 Roxio 10.2 DE EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 421-0187 Dell Support Center Software 64 Bit 2.0 EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 421-0464 Dell Webcam,1.2 EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 421-1358 Microsoft Works 9.0/HS-Trial,E nglish EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 430-2600 Integrated 10/100 Network Card EA 0.00 0.00
1 1 430-2955 Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11AGN Half Mini Card EA 45.00 45.00
1 1 430-3206 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data
Rate) EA 20.00 20.00
463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon
after system set-up to access EA 0.00 0.00

 

Dell has had a problem in their system with the RGBLED screen labeling. My order showed the exact same thing and it has the RGBLED.

 

Hi, Thanks for the replies. I really don't have an option upgrading the rams since this is a replacement computer. I don't think I can request to have more RAM added because i'm not paying a penny for this laptop... I'll try to buy a 2 gig 1067mhz stick.. depending on the price. Is it really that big of a difference?

 

It's really generous for dell to be replacing some peoples old dell laptops with new ones like the 1640

 

Also, I have a spare 2 gig 667mhz ram stick laying around... If I do one stick of 2gig 1067mhz and one stick of 2 gig 667 mhz, would that be better than having one stick of 2 gig and one stick of 1 gig both rated at 1067mhz?

Oh and i was just chatting with Dell asking what the resolution of the screen is:

08/21/2009 04:29:38PM Agent (Mukarramuddin_195613): "16 inch HD1080(1920X1080), RGB LED"

 

What problems did you have that warranted a brand new replacement laptop

 

I believe it's not brand new... I think it's refurbished.

I have had my XPS M1530 since April of 08 and boy.. where do I start. When I first got it, there was a bulge in the middle of the keyboard which was very annoying. Second, the touchpad at the top where the power button and the volume/media controls are was bent.. it was like indenting inwards on the left side. Third, i had a really "grainy" screen. And finally, it wouldn't sit flush against a flat surface, it would wobble. All this when I first got it.

After I got all that fixed, everything was fine for a few months. Then my LCD screen would have dark bars appear on the left and right side of the screen whenever I was running on battery with the brightness lowered. So they replaced the screen again. Then my touch pad's spring in the left click died... it got stuck in the click position... If i pried it up, it would just fall back. So they replaced the touch pad. Turns out they sent a faulty touch pad because when I got that, the touchpad refused to work for about 10 seconds after I opened my LCD lid up. So, again, touch pad assembly replaced. On the new touch pad, the fingerprint sensor didn't work so it got replaced again.

Then, the fan or heatsink on the motherboard died... the laptop would just overheat and turn off. So they replaced my fans and motherboard.

Then, when I close my LCD lid (i have my setting set to put the laptop to sleep when i do this) nothing happened.. the LCD woulnd't even shuf off.. So they replaced the monitor and motherboard (don't know why they would replace the motherboard for this) and it started working again.

Then my bluetooth card died, which i regularly use to sync my phone. When I contacted Dell about this issue, I told them that every month parts keep on failing and im sick of having my laptop torn apart every couple of weeks to replace parts so they offered to replace the laptop.

I'm sure i'm forgetting some other things too because the only thing that didn't get replaced in this laptop was the hard drive and the wireless network card.

 

you cant put DDR2 memory in a DDR3 slot

 

Ahh yes, I don't know how i missed they were two different kinds of memory.

Question 2: I remember reading somewhere that 2 gigs of ram running in dual channel is better than 3 gigs running in single channel. Is this true? If so, would it be better for me to pop out the 1 gig stick and go with just 2gigs?

 

yeah, dual channel makes a notable difference. having only single channel is not that bad, but dual channel is just better. however, depending on what u do on ur computer, 2gb might be not enough for some stuff. i'd rather say go for another 2gb 1067mhz ddr3 laptop ram (i think they must be not really expensive nowadays) so u'll have 4gb (2*2) ddr3 in dual channel.

 

Why is having a dual channel better than a single?

 

with dual channel you have 2 "ways (read/write)" to the CPU instead of 1, BUT ive been seeing some benchmark tests lately there 3GB single channel is better then 2GB dual channel

 

Dual channel gives you double the memory bandwidth. Any time you need more bandwidth than a single channel can provide, you'll be hurting your performance if you don't have dual channel.

Luckily RAM's dirt cheap, so it's no big deal to run 4GB in everything