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

*Wonders if anyone will get the $400 upgrade for 1+ GB of RAM and not go for $425 upgrade with 2+ GB of RAM*

 

wow, really? you know you can just buy the 8GB for just 4 hundred something right?

 

Dell isn't the best when it comes to RAM prices.

 

I remember buying a buying a 32MB RAM stick for about $60, and that was a steal! That same PC had a 3GB HDD... lol.

 

my 1640 is still in testing stage (3 days already), does anyone find this weird? I guess there's a problem with it since they usually take a couple of hours to pass this stage, but I still hope that I'm wrong.

 

No, as mentioned many people have had it that long in testing, whatever that means. (Maybe everyone?)

 

Does the SXPS 16 have an IR 'port' [?]?

 

Seems to, in the front right. Actually I'd check the support documents for it to see for sure. It doesn't come with a remote though.

 

Downloaded Fraps and here are my results with CoD4 and Fear2 demos.

Res: 1368x768
Settings: High
Fraps: 22-27 FPS

Games are very playable with some minor jerkiness (very minor though and that's usually with fast running/jumping movements in CoD). Performance is very similar to my Xbox360 except graphics have a clean look to it (DX10 support in Vista).

My gaming verdict......this laptop is perfectly fine for casual gaming at 720p resolutions.

 

That's good to know. Is CoD4 and Fear 2 demos comparable to Crysis?

 

So yeah i called the automated order status line and it said my order was shipped in july 1999 you'd think it'd be here by now eh

 

That is hilarious :laugh:

 

i am so impatient when it comes to waiting for things to be delivered. It's my first laptop and i wanna play. I'll take time to figure out all the little bugs but it's more machine than my desktop is

 

I have been reading through all the posts in this thread and thought I would add my experiences after 4 days with my new Studio XPS 16 ...

Overall, I really do like the system. I had ordered a M1530 just before the SXPS 16 came out but had a number of issues with the system (not relevant to this thread) so ended up returning it and ordering a SXPS 16. I like the overall feel and user experience a lot more than the M1530.

As far as the sound balance issue goes, yes I do notice it but (as someone else pointed out already) I probably would not have noticed it for a while if I had not read about it on this forum. I have my own theory on this which I would be interested to know what others think.

I actually believe the output from the left and right speakers IS balanced. I believe the problem is the location (and capabilities) of the "subwoofer", which is located on the underside, to right of where the track pad is (behind the grill). To be honest, I wouldn't consider it a subwoofer, since it seems to output more in the mid-ranges (just play stuff and put your ear up against it). Also, I have not been able to isolate it's output (it fills in the mid-ranges when either the left or right speaker is selected on their own). Because of it's location (towards the front right of the underside), the overall perception is that the output of the right speaker is higher. This also explains why when isolating the sound output to the left speaker, it sound like there is still some output from the right speaker (try it and put your ear against each speaker). Remember, with the laptop on a flat surface, some of the output from the downward firing subwoofer is going to reflect back up through the laptop and appear to come from the right speaker area.

So really it is a design issue, rather than hardware or software. Maybe the spec for the subwoofer was changed from the original design, and now the user can perceive the location of it's output, or maybe it's just bad design?

In regard to Blu-Ray playback and PowerDVD DX 8.1 (as pre-installed and updated with the available update) - No, it does not work! I have requested a CD copy of PowerDVD and Roxio so let's see if my copy is also labeled as PowerDVD DX 8.1 for Blu-Ray playback??? I'll keep you posted. I have installed a licensed copy of PowerDVD 8 Ultra and can confirm the drive works and the RGB LCD screen looks amazing.

I am experiencing one issue that I have not seen anyone else mention (but just wait for it now that I have mentioned it)! I'm finding that the center of the keyboard does not have have as much support as the sides. When I type with any of the keys in approximately the middle third of the keyboard, they seem to knock against something beneath the keyboard, which is audible and very annoying. Anyone else notice this? I also own a Inspiron E1505 and use a Lenovo T61 for work, and have no issue with these with my normal typing pressure.

Anyway, I contacted Dell Technical Support for both the Speaker and Keyboard issues and a tech will be coming out to replace the speakers and keyboard this week. I am hoping to discuss the speaker issue with the tech but am not expecting any improvement after the speakers are replaced. I went through all my observations with Dell Tech Support but might as well have been explaining it all to my cat (who is actually quite intelligent for a cat, but isn't being paid to provide tech support for Dell ... well, not yet anyway)! As far as the keyboard is concerned, I hope my experience isn't normal and replacing it will fix the issue. The sound issue isn't a deal breaker since I like everything else about the laptop.

As far as the RGB LCD screen goes, there is a little light leakage at the sides when no image is displayed, but it's not that bad and certainly not significantly worse than any other higher end displays I have seen on a laptop. Also, it does not appear to have gotten any worse with time (as another poster mentioned). To be honest, the vibrancy of the colors and the clarity of the display are pretty amazing. For anyone that feels that reading text on the display is difficult, just bump up the DPI a small amount and you'll have no issue. I increased from the default 96 DPI to 108 DPI and it's great!

I have not had any issues with the area around the track pad getting anything more than warm, but I'm not a gamer. I agree that the grill exhaust for the CPU and it's proximity to the screen when open do not look ideal but seem to work.

WOW, that was a bit more input that I intended but hope it adds to the value of this thread! I will continue to read with interest ...

 

Very happy to know that... The 3670 is not very popular, so we don't really know how it goes with games.
I wached some gameplay tests on youtube with the mobility 3650... It is a little slower than the 3670, and looks very good for casual gamming!
For me, a big plus!

 

I appreciate your detailed report. It gives me some hope that there may be a 1640 in my future.

 

nm17103, your theory about the sound is physically possible, and also sims very plausible... Please let us know if the replacement of the speaker fixes the problem... If it does, would answer a big question!
Another thing: did you get any headphones? Like a present from dell, included in the box?
Your big text added a lot! Thanks for sharing!

 

For those of you with SSD questions - been enjoying mine for a week now. Enjoying the speed - 35 seconds from power on thru POST and Vista boot. Haven't noticed any appreciable lag with any write-intensive applications (Outlook, web browsers) yet. Device manager shows it's a Samsung RBX Series 128GB M ATA - not sure what the "M" means.

Noticed Dell took the liberty of splitting the SSD into two partitions, one primary the other, "Recovery," is 10GB. Given that's just under 10% of the total drive capacity, do I need to keep it? I'm guessing it's pretty much what's on the Vista and Dell CD/DVDs which came with the system. As importantly, if I want to delete that partition, how do I go about deleting it and re-incorporating that partition into the main one?

Haven't noticed a problem with softness in the middle of the keyboard, nor audio problems, nor with overheating. Having said that, haven't done much CPU/GPU intensive apps yet. RGBLED screen is amazing, though you may want to increase dpi on display to keep your eyes from bleeding.

Like others, my system did not ship with any Bluray compatible software, and had to spend 30 minutes with a Dell rep remote viewing my system and going thru the CD/DVDs which came (or more accurately, didn't come) with my system before they agreed to send me a CD with Bluray compatible PowerDVD software . . . sigh . . . have they really not figured out software baselining with their Bluray drives? Not like they just introduced them with the 1640/1340s.

All in all, very happy with the 1640 so far.

 

Uhhhh....no.

Lemme put it this way: 128MB 8400m on a XPS m1330 can smoothly run COD4 at 1280x800 (max) res, with a few effects turned on (non-demanding ones like glow). All else being the same, the said machine can run Crysis at 600x480, with everything turned off or set to lowest possible, even then it runs Crysis with lower frame rates and is pushing the machine to be sooner needing a replacement motherboard, more so if you overclock it.

I don't know about FEAR2. The first one runs fine on a 8400 and the sequel is based on the same but improved engine, so I suspect that FEAR 2 is probably somewhere between COD4 and WAW. But Crysis is much more demanding than WAW.

Now specs say that 3670 is a bit stronger than the 8600 found on m1530, so the SXPS 1640 should run Crysis at about medium to high settings fine.

Hmmm anyone care to comment more on that?

 

I hope that new system ordered have the correct PowerDVD program. I think that this would be a issue for the first arrived systems.

Hopefully they've learn and start sending the correct program in the laptop...

 

Just a guess but my order is in boxing and it has been 7 days so they may be holding it to add the correct PowerDVD cds. Since I am sure a lot of people called Dell about this issue and it is an easy fix they can do.

About the speaker issue, has anyone tried installing linux and linux drivers? It can be a driver issue if everyone is experiencing it. They can't possibly misconnect every left speaker they produced since right and left speakers have identical connections to the motherboard. Or it can be a motherboard hardware issue which won't be possible to solve.

You are talking about leakage on the screen. What is leakage anyway? I am writing with my friend's CCFL screen laptop and will I be able to see any leakage on this screen?

 

Light leakage is uneven lighting on the screen. Try displaying a black image full screen (or run the blank screen saver). If there is light leakage, corners/edges of the screen should be a bit brighter than the rest.

 

Has anyone had a successful clean install of the system with the camera and face recognition software working. I'm still waiting for my discs to be sent out but would love some advice from someone that has already done it.
I think I'm getting a BSOD when I install the vista updates at the moment, have to do a restore.


thanks

 

anyone know where i can find face recognition software? did a clean reinstall and lost that program.

anyway own this laptop for more than a week aleady and here's some benchmarks. 3dmark06 get 4.8k+, left 4 dead at highest setting without AA get 40-60fps on 1366x768, crysis benchmark tool get 25fps on 1280x720 and 30fps on 1024x768 with medium-high setting (texture, object and shader high) and get 20-45fps on mirror's edge with higest setting without AA on 1366x768.

 

i just remove the recovery partition and install vista as normal then install those drivers from the cd. is it because you using 64bit vista? i get 32bit for mine and it seems more ppl get BSOD when using 64bit.

 

does 1640 has a Multi-touch pad. like the 1340 ?

 

Yes. My 1640 supports two fingered zooming and circular scrolling.

 

perhaps that could be the problem. I am using vista 64bit

However I just tried again and it seems to have installed all the critical updates successfully now. Not sure why the first time it caused a BSOD.

thanks anyway

EDIT: by the way, is there any use for the recovery partition, I tried going through it but the file names don't make much sense. Its not the same stuff that is on the resource cd that was included?

 

the recovery partition is to recover the computer back to the factory setting (like the first time you on the laptop).

anyone used laptop cooler for their xps studio 16? dunno which to get, cm infinite or zalman nc1000.

 

The camera and facial recognition programs are available to download from the media download site. It took a few times for me to get the site to work. So keep trying!
https://downloadstore.dell.com/media

 

Marcel, any news on your order? Still in phase 3? What is your delivery date (ESD)? As a matter of fact, our laptops could well sit right next to each other; I'm German too, ordered on Jan 13, and as of date, it's still in production (and has been from Jan 13.) ESD is Feb. 6. I doubt they'll make it.

By the way: Is there any leverage that I have if DELL doesn't make it in time? Like, I promise to call them 20 times a day to see whether there is any progress or they throw in another year of warranty?

 

Nice try, but I think the most they can give you now is free next day shipping.

 

Are there step by step instructions to remove the partition? Thanks.

 

Even after 3 days of trying, I am not able to get that site working

Can anyone post the softwares. I only need the face recignition

 

it is still in phase 3, the ESD date from dell is the 5.2.09.
I hope that it comes on the 5.2.09 .

 

That would be Thursday... mine should come on Friday. We'll see. Good luck! Let me know how it went.

 

We know two people here who already sent their XPS 1640 back for a full refund. Is there anyone here who knows for sure that they'll keep their 1640? How are you dealing with any issues you've encountered. I just want to know in case I decide to take the plunge & place an order.

Thanks.

 

I'm keeping mine, and I've really had no issues. Aside from contacting dell and getting the correct bluray software shipped to me in less than 3 days, I'm loving my new laptop.

 

mine arrived today, so the official timeline was
01/26 - ordered
02/02 delivered

so far no problems. and the vent people are out of their minds. there is space for air to travel between the screen and vent. and unless you have thick mucus like air that is unable to fit, than i dont think youll have a problem.

main disklike is that it is a fingerprint magnet. the glossy is nice, after seeing it side by side with a matte screen, now all my concerns with glossy are gone.

what else, oh - the keyboard. i love it, i actually am trying to get use to how big it is. the keys dont do that weird wobble i saw in the 1340 forum. they feel very sturdy. i am digging the backlighting and the media buttons. contrary to what i read the front wifi and bluetooth icons are not also touch screen (which is a good thing). so no worries about accidentally powering off the wifi with my wrist.

speakers are ok. i do notice they red line some when i am at or near full volume. i dont really care at all, because that is pretty loud. not noticing the left/right imbalance in the speakers as mentioned before.

track pad is multitouch, which is pretty cool. you can zoom in and out of firefox pages with it. also i am digging the facial recognition software. this might be a gimmick, but for now i love setting it to lock after 10 second walk-a-way, and it automatically finds me when i am back.

it passed my sturdiness test, it doesnt creak when twisted or slightly pressed on.

the dell dock is weird, its just like object dock. anyhow write me any questions.

 

metroline,

- No heat issues? Can you post your laptop's CPU/GPU temps?
- Are you on 64-bit Vista? If yes, any BSODs with upgrading using Windows Update?

That's all. Thanks.

 

This is absolutely false. There is no such space, unless these things are being put together completely differently. And air DOES NOT GO between the screen and computer. What air can still flow, goes down, basically under the computer.

Temps under full CPU load fell 20 degrees Celsius just by sticking the left rear of the system over the edge of a desk, or closing the screen most of the way.

This whole "air goes between the system and screen" thing was MADE UP by people trying to account for why the vent gets blocked when the screen is open. It IS NOT TRUE. The vent REALLY IS BLOCKED.

 

O man, i ordered on the 1/26 as well and my ESD is Feb 13TH.. which means i wont get it till a week later at least.. crasy.

On another note, its great that everything is working out nicely for you. Did you get the SSD option or RGBLED?

 

Aimed at Metroline, but...

I had no BSODs with Windows Update. Those had to be caused by either some piece of hardware/drivers that my system lacks (I don't have Bluetooth, for example), or defective hardware.

I never got to the point where I could actually use the GPU for anything other than the Windows desktop, but under 100% CPU utilization the CPU ran at around 84 degrees C, unless you stuck the rear left of the system over space-hung it off the edge of the desk, so air would (sort of) have somewhere to go. Doing that, temps would drop to 64C, then the fans would slowly go down, and temps would climb a bit to maybe 69C.

 

the temp would have fallen 20 degrees over the edge REGARDLESS of whether the monitor is open or closed. you are talking about airflow from the bottom. i am going to take a photo of the sunlight passing between the two when the monitor is open. when open the monitor is obstructing the view of the top part of the vent. the entire bottom half the vent vents downward. the top half the vent is never covered. you can see directly between the screen and base of the computer as all times when it is open. i moved the hinge in a range of positions.

 

let me make these links
http://metrolinedesign.com/npr/1.JPG
http://metrolinedesign.com/npr/2.JPG
http://metrolinedesign.com/npr/3.JPG

 

I'm not sure what those pictures are supposed to be showing, but there is no air flow between there. The vent IS covered by the screen, and air is forced down under the system, not up.

That this isn't a sensible design is shown by how drastically temperatures fall when the vent is unblocked.

 

came with headphones? remote?

 

the pictures show the quite obvious gap between the screen and the computer. the monitor is open, there is airflow. i dont see the problem. anyhow after reading so much in these forums i wonder if you guys are just paid negative attack artists working for some other company. there are no obvious flaws with my machine. i will continue to upload any updates with any good or bad i can think of. but it is super obvious that by far this is the best laptop i have ever used or owned. it would take something pretty significant to ever make me mail it back.

and no headphone came with it. i havent ever had a notebook come with headphones though. and id prefer my bose to any free ones dell shipped anyhow. and no, no remote, i called the sales agent last week who mentioned they might carry one as soon as next month.

also no bsod, but i dont have bluray or rgbled, so maybe thats somethign to do with it?

 

I'm very impressed that a religious war seems to be developing about whether the screen blocks the vents. I think those pictures conclusively show that it blocks them a bit more than if the screen was closed, and a lot less than if you actually covered them up completely. It certainly doesn't look like a serious problem to me.