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

my dog almost jumped on my laptop so i whisked it up very quickly. the hard drive started beeping like a watch alarm and the computer stopped working a few seconds later. then i figured out this computer has the seagate g force technology. so the hard drive sensors froze the needles or whatever the g force protection does.

i had to reboot but its a pretty cool idea. though it would be cooler if the ssd was cheap enough so i would not even need g force protection in the first place.

 

Won't the TV tuner be rubbish after [in USA] we switch to digital signal? Or is it like a TV where you can plug the cable into it?

 

i know this might be hard but can someone email me or pm me a list of bloatware that's safe to remove from the lappy when i get id be thankfull

 

I just played red alert 3 for about 2 hours whilst the unit was on my lap.
Its warm but definetley not anywhere near what I have been hearing.

I am really loving this laptop.

 

Sounds good. Glad they FINALLY fixed that...or at least it looks like they did. Who knows how many people were complaining (how can they overlook that?) I even put that in the reasons for why I was sending it back.

 

I was connecting my Cell Phone to Sync with my 1640 the other day and upon connection noted a selection of functions came up on the phone (hadn't used the Bluetooth on the cell with a laptop before) and to my surprise it came up with "Desktop", "Presentation", and "Music Player" Functions. I can select the "Desktop" Function and move the mouse around, right/left click, page up/down and many other functions... Just thought was interesting

Oh yeah, my phone is a Sony Ericsson W810i

 

I had assumed the tuner was for digital signals. Is that not correct?

Thats one of the reasons I have been holding off on ordering. the other is the 9 cell battery which given the cooling issues seems like a no-brainer. Its a built in air circulation system!

 

YEAH purolater has my lappy just a couple days now i'm so excited i could almost pee....well not quite but you know

 

In the U.S. I don't think it's been legal to sell stuff any other way for quite a while.

 

I was thinking of waiting for the 9-cell for the extra capacity, but it looks like it might serve a better purpose.

 

I had the same thing with the metal in front of the trackpad. You've got to be careful if it is on your lap.

I'm not sure what is causing the problem. I tried to get the bottom of mine off but I had one screw that refused to come out and a bunch that weren't set in straight so they took some work to remove. I want to see if it is the design or something else.

 

I have a question about the 8 in 1 card reader. I cant find details about what cards it actually will accept. Will it accept the Compact Flash Card?

 

No. The slot is too small to fit a CF card.

 

Does it take the standard size SD card? Do you know the specs on the 8 in 1 reader? I cant find exactly which form factors of memory cards that it accepts. Thanks.

 

I believe it does. Outside of the reader, it lists: SD/MMC and MS/PRO

 

I am trying my luck for the third time here.

Can someone please check what formats are supported by the HDMI Audio Device? (control panel > audio & sound )

I mean, this is a freaking multimedia laptop, come on!? I can't believe no one has tested it for what it is supposed to do, which is sending Bluray HD picture and HD sound (DTS-HD, Dolby True HD) to your AV receiver!

So far I someone has sent this screnshot but we are missing the details.

Without the tab information for the HDMI device there is no way of knowing which surround formats if any are supported through HDMI!

Am I the only one using using his laptop as a Bluray player attached to a home cinema?

 

What happens when you max the settings and resolution, can you measure fps or is it playable? What happens when there are two many units on the map or a big explosion, does it slow down?

 

when i get it i'll let you know but the invoice says hd sound so i'm betting it's there

 

Can someone please check what formats are supported by the HDMI Audio Device? (control panel > audio & sound )


just checked mine. The formats able to decode are DTS Audio, Dolby Digital and microsoft WMA pro audio

EDIT:
Now for the people that have done a successful clean install could you post up the step by step way to do it, that would be greatly appreciated.

 

for those of you who keep turning off the wifi when de-fingerprinting you can adjust what that wifi button does:

control panel > windows mobility center > radio control options

i set it to bluetooth, so now i just accidentally turn off my mouse.

 

LOL... thanks, I'll take a look at it when mine gets here.

 

This is great thanks. Probably won't transfer DTS-HD without downsampling, so no 7.1 sound.

But not many laptops actually use HDMI for the audio. Many use optical, coaxial or jacks!

 

For the price of the BD (READ ONLY) drive (or a little more).. you can get an actual BD player than is many times better at BD playback.

 

2 channel 48khz max.

PS) There is no motherboard based HDMI solution that bitstreams the DTS-MA or TrueHD via HDMI, because Microsoft/Intel/Software players haven't got the their crap togethor when it comes to PAP(Protected Audio Path). Desktop or laptop doesn't matter.

 

So are you saying that you can not use a computer b-ray player to play true b-ray dvd through your HD TV?

 

My 1640 idle temps:

CPU 32/34C
GPU 44C
HDD 42C

 

My 1640 idle temps:

CPU 32/34C
GPU 44C
HDD 42C

Any idea what typical temps are in lappy's at this performance level? What about the XPS 1530? I still contemplate canceling my 1640 and replacing with a 1530 primarily because the reported high temps make me nervous about longevity.

 

i think the temp of 1640 still acceptable at least to me, when normal surfing, listening music, watching movie or so the temp is always around 45c for all the parts and i'm from malaysia where the ambient temp is more than 30c in the afternoon. sometime at night the temp will drop below 40c.

i have heard xps 1530's gpu over here get until 90c when gaming while 1640 remain around 75c.

 

Not at all, they're saying you can't decode the fancy audio stuff, if I'm understanding it right. I have no idea, but for me I just want stereo so I can watch Blu Rays wherever I am.

 

Does the XPS1640 support booting from an external drive connected to the eSATA port?

 

I got my 1640 earlier.

---

Overall I'm impressed with this laptop.

+ It looks beautiful.
+ The RGBLED screen!!!
+ Backlit keyboard (though it flexes a bit)

Disappointments
- loud Blu-Ray drive
- Even though internal CPU/GPU/HDD temperatures are not that high, the laptop does feel very warm and can feel really hot... I'm getting a cooler to remedy this.
- No numpad keys combination with Fn
- I feel too much friction with the trackpad

---



It happens that the listed "PowerDVD for Blu-Ray" item on my order details turns out to be PowerDVD DX 8.1. As I don't have any Blu-Ray movie with me at the moment, can anyone confirm if this particular PowerDVD version plays Blu-Ray?

I also did not receive any installation DVD for this PowerDVD. Do you know if Dell is offering a download of this online?

Thanks.

 

The Studio XPS 16 is HDMI 1.2, i.e. should support multi-channel LPCM via bitstream?

 

I recieved mine about a week ago, so far so good really nice design!

I am currious though were can i get a 9 cell battery i can't seem to find one

i want it for obviously the extended life but also to raise the back as it get quite warm while running games and if i prop up the back it helps a ton!

 

You need PowerDVd ULTRA version for Blu ray

 

BTW, the "Designed for Dell(TM) Studio XPS 16 " Sleeve" I ordered with my 1640 happens to be a Timbuk2 specifically "designed" for this laptop, but IT WON'T FIT MY LAPTOP!

I didn't dare force my laptop into it . . . I think it would "fit" eventually (VERY TIGHTLY) if I stretch the sleeve until the zippers are able to close the whole thing, but then I would risk scratching the laptop.

I'm going to return this sleeve to Dell if I can.

 

So I tried to play Mass Effect on the 1640... So far I am not impressed with the graphics card.

The game plays okay at 1280 x 800, with everything medium, film grain on, motion blurr on, and the one point filter thing whatever...

The performance is similar to my m1530 with 256mb 8600m gt... Same setting except with grain and blurr off. Now, we all know that Mass Effect is more CPU/RAM dependent than other 3D games, and my m1530 had only 1.83 GHZ duo core, 2GB RAM. The 1640 has DDR3 4GB RAM and p8600. And the performance is merely similar!

I am a little disappointed. I thought the 3670 was supposed to be more powerful than 8600, especially with GDDR3 and 512MB of GRAM!

 

Has anyone installed Windows XP on this ?

 

I've read that someones XPS 16 started to melting on the underside on the laptop while gaming. Hope that the XPS 13 i've ordered aren't that hot..

 

Try updating drivers with that mod tool that's been posted on here (Driver Modder?) Might help. Other than that, it's kind of looking like the 3670 with DDR3 is maybe a bit worse than a Geforce 9650GT with DDR2, and quite a bit worse than that with DDR3. I sooooo wish this laptop had a Geforce 9700GTS (48 processor) or better...but even a 9600GT would have been great.

What brand is it? I had a Sony/Opteric (or something like that) that was loud when inserting a disc, but then ran quieter and more stably than just about any drive I've ever used. I was really happy with that (particularly since OEMs usually include super junky optical drives to save a few bucks).

Apparently you can't tell by the version number. It's the same number regardless of whether they've included Blu Ray support, apparently. Mine claimed it was 8.2 for DVD, but was actually 8.1, and couldn't play Blu Rays. Sounds like the order SHOULD say 8.1 for Blu Ray.

Nope, they're not. You'll need to contact them and ask for discs. Doing it through chat might be best.[/QUOTE]

That is hilarious, but is in keeping with shipping systems with Blu Ray drives that can't play Blu Rays, and putting the main vent so it gets covered by the screen :laugh: I don't know how they can get so much so right with a system, and then make such obvious mistakes, but it's kind of funny to me.

 

What do you mean by melt? Were there any pictures? I discovered the bottom of mine was kind of collapsed in. I assumed it was a defect I had missed since I didn't look, it over real carefully at first (I intended to just boot it, ensure it worked, and then swap drives, but instead spent days getting them to ship me discs).

I'm half wondering if that was actually heat damage.

 

I'm not sure, he just said melting and he is going to contact Dell about that.. I keep you updated if he writes some more about it.

 

I just checked. Looks like Dell has an optional 9 cell battery now for US store. Going for $190.00.

 

Maybe they should have made the entire body aluminum like the MBP.

 

Check this link, apparently you can now get the 9cell with your 6cell battery, my sales agent said he could even pull up the 9cell now so maybe its available in the US now, just not online yet. http://accessories.dell.com/sna/PopupProductDetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=312-0815&price=190

 

The 256GB SSD and 9 cell is available on US site.

 

This thread has reached over 1000 posts so far.

Thanks Cin' for creating it

 

What can I tell you, when configuring HDMI I only have stereo as an option and 48khz as a frequency. 5.1 is available using the IDT and the jacks on the laptop, not available via HDMI.

 

Yes, I'm saying there is no way to get lossless 24 bit audio to your receiver from a motherboard based HDMI solution. It will be downgraded to 16 bit LPCM by the sotware players. That said, there is one daughter card PCI-X solution that does bitstream as is with special software.

The only other solution is to rip to mkv with flac audio and use madflac as your decoder, it will convert 24 bit flac to 24 bit lpcm.

 

This is EXACTLY what was was afraid of!

So people who want to use this as a Bluray player for their 5.1 home cinema through their AV Receiver can't!!!

This is ridiculous.

The Toshiba Qosmio can output 5.1 and DTS-HD through software down-sampling though HDMI. Why can't the Dell????

How can they call this HDMI 1.2 if this can't transport the full HDMI signal???

I sent back my Alienware M17 because of precisely that issue.

PS: DTS-HD is supported by 2 intel chipsets that use specific RealAudio ALC codecs.

Even the PS3, which is not known for über-pawnage and it an old platform supports DTS-HD !!!!

Now I will need to try my luck with HP and Sony.

 

Yay - both of my orders (don't ask!) have just gone to 'delivery' status and say I should get a phone call from the courier within 24 hours.

This was for a fully loaded 1640 with all the extra's (TV card, 3G Data Card, Bluetooth etc.)..

Mark (UK)