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

Judging from metroline's pictures, there is CLEARLY enough space to let heat escape. All the comments made here that the screen COMPLETELY blocks the vents, has really made me angry now. Those are apparently lies. Either it is blocked or it isn't. The pictures show it isn't.

metroline, are you shure that the screen does not block the vents in ANY position?

Just had an thought. Maybe both parties are right. Some are blocked, some are not. metroline simply received revision2 where Dell made a change in the design, to have a gap there

 

Nice! Glad it finally arrived for you!

How doe's the Leather Trim feel on the lappy??

Cin

 

has it got a HDMI output? and what is the actual 720p resolution ????X???? wise?

 

There is apparently a millimeter or whatever on YOUR system. That does NOT allow air flow. There is NOT air coming up between the system and the screen, or I COULD FEEL IT.

The problem is quite clear, and has been stated repeatedly-the screen blocks the vent.

If you want to test this for yourself, put the system under 100% load, and check the temperatures perhaps while under load for 30 minutes with the screen in a normal position, and then allow it air flow by sticking the left upper edge over the edge of a desk for 30 minutes (or mostly close the screen for 30 minutes). If the claim that the vent wasn't blocked were true, there would:

a) be air flow coming up between the screen and system (there isn't)
b) temps would be the same regardless of whether the system was used normally, or in an abnormal manor that allows more air flow (as described above). They're not, the temps are 20 degrees Celsius apart (they swing back up to about 69 degrees eventually though, as the fans eventually ramp back down, but that's still quieter, and with a good 15 degree difference).

That's preposterous for numerous reasons (not least of which is that YOU CAN SEE THE ISSUE FROM PICTURES without even owning the system). I could (more easily) say you work for Dell and are trying to gloss over an issue.

I have a Blu Ray drive and have never had a BSOD. I don't know what Blu Ray would have to do with anything, but Bluetooth seems a common culprit on other systems, and I didn't order that. It would be interesting to see if there's an hardware that's causing this, but baring that it could just be some faulty hardware, bad RAM or whatever.

A 'bit more'? No. Check my earlier photos. The vent is almost completely blocked. The temp difference is also actual 'conclusive proof' that the screen is blocking the vent.

 

Yes, the system has HDMI (and I think Display Port too? I can't remember.) It's 1368x768 (same as a lot of HDTVs, actually).

IMO that's a really nice resolution for the size screen. Anything higher would be crazy IMO. It's basically the same resolution as my 19" screen, and for me is just on the verge of being too small-I mean any more would be.

It's VERY nice to work with that res on that screen. Very easy on the eyes IMO.

 

Testing with the edge over a desk isn't a reliable test because more airflow from the bottom is going to help anyway, whether the screen is blocking the back fan or not. Test it with the screen open, then test it in the same position, but with the screen closed (use an external monitor) so the fan isn't blocked. That'd be an accurate test.

 

there is only one vent on that back of the notebook. its on the left side, there is no way to block it no matter how far open the lid is open. the draft flows upward, you if you put your face above the screen you feel it. the only problem i can ever imagine is that dust could accumulate on the screen over time. but seriously, this is a non issue - the to put it as blunt as possible, there is no fan problem.

my suggestion is that wolfpup has a loose understanding of the basics of thermal dynamics. the airflow for a computer fan does not need a wide opening like central airconditioning in a mansion. the gap is almost identical to the studio 15. honestly wolfpup, you didnt like the machine, thats fine. but the reasoning you posted i disagree with. you no longer own it and you prefer other brands.

the backlit keyboard is phenomenal. i really like it, and the brightness control function key. the media touch controls are really nice and i like the monochromatic scheme. no blue or green lights on this, its simple white lights, black computer. i have been installing all my programs and am very happy to see how quickly the 7200 works. the computer has never become that hot, however i havent installed creative suite yet and that will be a good test.

the leather trim is nice, it is a hard leather, kind of reminds me of the leather used in car seats or also similar to my leeds leather binder. its very tight, not at all plush. actually its most like the blackberry bold.

im installing cs3 and half life 2 now and see how that goes.

also, i never did a fresh install of vista as i planned. i removed as much bloatware as possible when i ordered it. the rest were small applications like the dell dock, etc, that i uninstalled. ill probably remove and merge back the 10 gig recovery partition.

as far as the fingerprint magnet goes, the dust cover that it came in works as a polishing cloth, so i use that.

 

Cool Metro, thanks for that! I can't wait to get mine. I'm canceling my order with Dell to order form Best Buy and save $400. Sucks they don't offer RGBLED though.

 

I did, it was similar either way.

Opening the screen a normal amount blocks it, as I and others have noted again and again and again. I posted pictures of it ages ago showing what it looks like.

No it doesn't, unless you have some second revision already, or its assembled differently or whatever.

Right, insult me again, that will definitely make you correct. I'm hallucinating the system temperatures, I suppose.

Good grief. There is so much wrong with this. 1) Airflow does matter. Blocking off a vent does affect how well the cooling system cools, AS EVIDENCED BY ACTUAL SYSTEM TEMPERATURES (and common sense...)
2) The vent is pretty big, BUT IT'S BLOCKED BY THE SCREEN WHEN OPEN.
3) You can disagree with me all you want, but you're wrong. The vent is CLEARLY BLOCKED BY THE SCREEN, as shown in pictures.
4) I've probably owned Dells longer than you have. This snide 'prefer other brands' thing is nonsense.

There's a lot to like about this system, but there are also issues with it, regardless of how loudly you claim otherwise, or how many times you insult us.

 

This is a very helpful thread

I have a couple questions that you guys hopefully can answer - are the DVD+/-RW and Blu-ray optical drives a SATA connection? And what are the make and model numbers?

Sorry, but I tried reading this from the start but got to 41 and my eyes were burning!

 

I've followed the entire thread and don't remember anyone answering that question. I can't because I don't have mine yet, and mine won't have a burner.

 

Not sure if it's SATA or PATA, but my Blu Ray drive is an Opteric (Sony!) and is probably the best drive I've ever had shipped with a computer. Normally you expect to see that Matsishisu or whatever that's pretty unreliable and loud, but this thing runs pretty quietly and without vibration.

 

Let's get one of the pics visible right here:

 

Look at mine. Just look at the system from behind with the screen open and closed, don't jam the camera in a certain spot so you can't actually tell what it looks like.

 

I'm sorry? So the camera mysteriously pictures a gap that isn't there in reality?

 

Good grief. Taken from that angle you can't tell that the vent is blocked off. The only reason anyone would take a shot like that is to try to spin this. Take a shot from the BACK. You can clearly see the large vent when the system is closed, and that it's almost completely blocked when open.

 

To keep this objective and civil, here's a shot I believe comes from Wolfpup (?):

 

I am liking the informative debate/discussion between owners right now.... Dont forget to those reading: EVERYONE will nit pick what they DONT like first and the MANY good points are usually overlooked.. And some have preconcieved notions of purchasing this BEFORE they got it and will bash it regardless of its plus points.. BUT it helps the discussion.......
In an effort to be polite, I think that says it all

 

Some has stated that the heat is pulled out down under the laptop, being somewhat trapped there. Looking at the slanted backside, and the gap between the screen and chassis, I don't think they are right. This is the thermal design of the laptop as I see it:




I have a question:
Is the fan speed affected by the position of the screen? Listen and test. Normally, if you hold your hand up against a fan exhaust on a laptop, you will hear it slow down when your hand is close enough. If the screen position on the XPS16 affects the fan speed, this whole thing IS a problem.

 

Well mine is going back. I decided that I wasn't comfortable having a brand new computer repaired. They wanted to send a replacement but they wouldn't extend the 21 day return policy so if the next one didn't work I would be out of luck on returning.

And just to add my 2 cents. No air comes up the screen on my computer. Why in the world would you want hot air blowing on your screen? I think that would be worse than the problem it already has.. which is not enough air flow! The vents point down on mine. Lifting it off the desk and closing the lid enough to open the vents cools it off. So it is a problem for me.

 

This was in response to hjorte:

There's not much air flow though. Most of it is getting trapped. Again, the temps are 20c different, which is massive.

 

Yeah, as near as I can tell this was a (sort of interesting) theory some people proposed before we started getting our systems, to try to explain why the vent gets covered over. But it is NOT what actually happens, as per all of us who actually own/owned the system.

 

I wanted to chime in on this situation. I have had this laptop for about a week and a half now. I have had my share of problems (BT burnt card, hardware crashes) but regarding this heat/vent issue, I just checked now, and yes, there is some air coming from under the left side of the screen. I can feel it, so to those who say that no air comes, it DOES. Having said that, I still do not think its adequate enough when you have the screen tilted FULLY. However, I will not be doing that often, so its not a problem for me.

 

I ordered a 2.8GHz model, so wrt. heat, this is...... "exiting".

 

hanging your computer off the desk would not change a blocked vent. so you contradict .

anyhow, i dont know what you guys got for a processor, but mine is 2.4 and has yet to get remotely hot during normal usage. it is possible that this problem exists with the rgbled, it looked thicker in some photos, but who knows. id offer you all to come see my perfectly cool working sxps with a gap between the monitor and normal airflow.

wolfpup maybe you received a crappy built machine, im not saying you are crazy, i am simply saying that your problem is not happening on mine. my vent is not covered, not ever.

maybe you received a crap machine, but i see no point in being nice when you try to tell me i that my photos are somehow magical in showing the obvious gap and uncovered vent.

for those of you who got the bsod, i presume there is some similarities between the configuration you ordered.

i have the base model, plus bluetooth and 2.4 ghz. ordered from us, made/shipped out of nashville. ordered a few weeks after release. missing no disks.

 

Adding to my post above. My laptop has not frozen once. The only issue that I have had is my bluetooth issue. I have also had my hard drive crash a couple of times. But nothing due to the heat per se.

 

hi guys, has any one from the UK ordered an 1640 and got it yet? i ordered mine on the 8th of january and my esd is the 27th of febuary now for sum reason (used to be the 6th of feb). do think its a bit stupid to have to wait over 7 weeks for a laptop to be shipped to you, are dell usally this useless? im tempted to just buy a mac. do you guys that allready have your 1640's think its worth me waiting? do think dell could have over looked such a major design flaw in the vent placement if it really does block air flow? that would be like a car design placeing the exhaust in the inside of the car. i just can understand how any one could ok a design so important if i didnt work the way it should. right? thanks in advance.

ryan

 

I'd monitor the temps. I suspect that possibly just propping it up on some kind of laptop stand or cooler may take care of it. (Also it probably won't be an issue unless it's being pushed anyway.)

Read the thread thread from the beginning when this is all talked about. You'll find out it redirects some of it downward. I'm not 'contradicting' anything.

You're not pushing it, nor monitoring temps. You also have a somewhat cooler CPU. If it's 'cool', it's because you aren't pushing it, not because yours is designed differently from the rest of ours. You're going to need to raise the rear or something along those lines if you push it, just like everyone else.

Yes, it is. Look at the back of it. Monitor the temps under load. You've got the same machine as everyone else.

I got one of the good ones, not a 'crap machine' (aside from the physical issue, etc.). It hasn't crashed once, under heavy load. Your pictures are (again) misleading, as yes, if you shoot it from certain angles you can see the vent. If you have the system actually sitting on a desk, open, the vent is covered. Period.

 

does seem to take some time to get it in the uk, but thats not the worst thing, i mean the price!!

p8600
4gb ram
250gb HDD
add those upgrades to the basic £800 model and you get it for £964, and £870 with the 10%discount which is wayy to much.

i really like the laptop but the prices is putting me off and im thinking weather to et this or a spny FW

 

I'm actually with Wolfpup on this one. If you have your older laptops, just try "covering"/"blocking" the heat vents with a book or any object, leaving just a few millimeters between the vent and the object. I'm sure the temperature would go up.

Wolfpup is saying he is getting 20C temperature lower if EITHER he:

1. hangs his laptop off the desk on the left upper edge where the vent is;
2. OR almost close the screen so that nothing is blocking (even if partially) the vent.

Let us forget about #1 for now. If you doubt Wolfpup's statements, then it is easy to test for #2. As he said, put your notebook to 100% load, test the temperature with the screen fully open and test it again with the screen almost closed.

20C is a significant drop (and a bad design on Dell's part) if it is true.

 

Could this be the reason it was delayed? If it is, did they "fix" it or decided that it wasn't "enough of an issue" to redesign the 1340/1640, which would have caused several more months of delay.

 

And you need to run it like that for a while too. Temps continued creeping up for a long time after I put it under load, and likewise continued creeping down for a long time after I did something to unblock the vent.

If not for the way the screen blocks it, I'd think the cooling system is pretty nice, as it actually (unblocked) is pretty quiet at full load. MUCH quieter than say a Macbook Pro. It's like if they had put the vent on the side, or something...

 

Personally I'd guess not. I mean I can't believe they wouldn't notice that when...well probably before they ever made mock ups, let alone before they built the things. I'd guess they just figure most people don't push the hardware, so it doesn't really matter. But if you do push it, I would try to get something to leave space under the system, or a laptop cooler or whatever. I was planning on trying something like that out, before I realized I had to send it back for other reasons.

 

Quick fix for the "blocked" vent issue:

 

Uh...I assume that's a joke, but no, that would not be a good idea

 

Well I bit the bullet and reordered. I want to test it out and see if it was the hardware on the first system. Lost my $200 gift card and the shipping charges for the first one but I called and managed to get a $150 gift card and free shipping. So I won't be out anything more if the new one does the same thing.

I love this laptop so I really want it to work!

 

So have you decided on what notebook you'll get now?

 

Does the T9600 produce much more heat than the T9400?

 

No, I don't know If they offered this one with an Nvidia GPU (particularly a 9700GTS or better) I'd probably order a new one. Other than that, I don't know.

-Asus n80-seems like a good deal, but some of Asus' models have ionizers on them, which is insane, and has me iffy about any of them.
-Sony AW-pretty expensive, and Nvidia's drivers aren't officially supported (though they do install).
-Macbook/Pro-iffy cooling systems, expensive
-Gateway FX-cheap, good GPU, but a florescent screen Ditto for the flame red Toshibas.

So...I don't know :-/ I really need something though. If the 1730 had an LED backlight I would have bought one of them a year ago!

 

Mine is the base model P8400. We aren't saying the vent is completely blocked. There are 2 rows showing... but when you are doing something graphic intensive it isn't enough. Hanging it over a desk helps since the vents are angled down, as does picking up the laptop. I haven't been able to find out if it creates a problem or not since mine doesn't run long enough to test it out. I tried to turn it on before packing it up to recheck for any airflow coming up the screen and it won't even boot.

 

Wonderful

That's my 1640.

http://benyouhui.it168.com/thread-902487-1-1.html

 

This vent problem is really intriguing. Has anyone tried emailing/calling dell technical support, to see why it was designed like that?

 

im going to upload you guys more photos, proving once and for all that their is no issue. tell me what program you want me to use to monitor heat and ill paste the heat vs cpu usage.

i feel like im trying to prove there is no lockness monster.

 

Will dell offer a 12 cell battery ?

 

Good for you! And, look you still got a great deal. I hope that this one fairs better for you! When's your ESD on this one???

No, probably not...a 9 cell at the most.

The 12 cell's are usually only for Dell's Business lappy's

Cin

 

Can anyone confirm if the HDMI port outputs 5.1 sound to an AV receiver? Which formats (DTS, DS-HD, Dolby 5.1...) are supported?

 

Could someone perhaps post screenshots of the HDMI Sound Device configuration tabs? That would give indications as to what the supported formats are...

This is very important to me, since without surround through HDMI the laptop is useless as a Bluray device.

Thanks
Laurent

 

ionizers Don't tell me they're for cleaning the air around you.

Anyway, I wonder if there will be a Studio XPS 18? That might be something to consider if it comes out this year.

 

Ooooooh. Now THAT would be cool. (Googles XPS 1840 ) Throw in a 9800GTX, a quad core CPU, LED backlight, Blu Ray, and DON'T BLOCK THE VENT!!! And I would be whipping out my credit card right now

You realize there isn't a single system in existence that meets all that? The 1730's fine with me...I just need LED (and preferably a single 9800GTX and updated chipset/CPUs). Oh, and as long as I'm dreaming about a system here, it gets a 1440xwhatever resolution on that 17" screen.

 

4 days already and my system's still in testing stage....wondering what they're doing with it....maybe they're using it as a pillow after super bowl? lol....anyway, a rep called me and said that my order should ship out in the next 3-5 days....ummm I dont trust her though