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

Can anyone else check if they get horizontal and sometimes diagonal lines is darker/black areas of the screen while watching a movie (VLC) on a WLED please?

 

Folks, I need some help.

I want to buy the zalman NC2000 because some of you said that it would be a great fit for the 1640. I wanna play some heavy games, so I think it's really a must in order to extend the laptop's life.

A friend of mine is in the US and it would be really great if he could buy the cooler in a store (not online). Does anyone know where he might find it?

Please forgive me if I went offtopic, but if it works, I promise future posts with information about temperatures.

 

http://zalman.com/ENG/WTB/Network.asp
Looks like you can only buy online or from their single store in California?

 

I was looking for it in the BestBuy, Staples and WalMart stores. Nothing in any of them... I think that's the answer than...

Ok. So I must go online. I had a hard time using my international credit card with Dell... They would always put my order on hold, but I got used to it (since I bought the sxps, some headphones, a mouse and a bag.. Different orders..), and learned how to solve the problem.

Anyway, I guess I'll take a shot with amazon and see how it goes.

 

im not sure what you mean. can you explain it more what youre seeing?

a lot of sony vaio threads talk about diagonal lines through the video, see if any of these vaio threads match what youre seeing:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300340
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166409&highlight=lines

 

Horizontal lines are sometimes common in lcd but diagonal? I really haven't heard of those, care to explain?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=155022

my screen is like that. so its graininess then? and considering that dell are useing 1 model of WLED and 1 model of RGBLED.
i am definitly sure now that i want to return this laptop for a refund and get a vaio. well dell got a call yesterday, im getting a refund .
this has got to be the worst laptop i have had, considering i paid £865 for it and the screen is crappy.

 

i would describe my screen having green/grey hoizontal and diagonal lines instead while the screen displays a darker/black area. but unlike the m1330 thread, mine seems to in motion and still images

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php

i just tested the black levels on this site.
hard to believe but i have lines going through the imagegs from 4-40, and some images get horizontal lines, and others get vertical.
and i cant see the black difference between 1-3 so black levels probably arnt good.

 

If youre going for the FW.. make sure to get the 1080p version. Its the only one with the dual lamps and MUCH better than the 1600x900 XBrite Eco; more even lighting, brighter, better contrast, etc.

 

if you see stuff on images 4-40 it sounds like your screen is not calibrated correctly. it probably shipped that way and would have to be replaced. dell would probably only replace the whole machine, little chance of repair.

did you check what type of screen yours came with? device manager > monitor > pnp > details tab > properties pulldown - hardware ids

for instance, mine is the sec5441.

on a separate note i still have no idea how anyone who has seen the fw in person would want it. it was my choice before the studio xps came out and as soon as i saw it the love affair was over.

 

owais, can you take a photo of whats on your screen. it would be helpful to anyone else on here who might have your problem.

 

Or, you could get the XPS with RGBLED instead?

 

well i did ask dell for the RGBLED screen but its £150 more.

they said they would replace the whole system but i really, really hate the 1366x900 res with a passion and i also dont know if all WLED screens in the studio xps will be like this.

i have to say that the studio xps looks better then the FW slightly.
although the touchpad and keyboard is better on the FW for me.
and i can get the dual lamp 1920x1080 as well.

i mean this is the spec i got atm:
P8600 2.4GHZ processor
4gb DDR 1066mhz RAM
250gb HDD free fall sensor 7200RPM
ATI 3670 512mb GPU
16" 1366x768 720p WLED screen

for about the same price i can get:
P8600 2.4ghz
4gb DDR2 800mhz ram
320 HDD 5400 RPM
ATI 3650 512mb GPU
16" 1920x1080 LCD screen with dual lamp
Plus a free blluetooth laser rechargeable mouse (worth £60)

i mean they are pretty evenly matched. they may be a slight drop of 3-4 FPS only when gameing because of the GPU difference.
other then that, the FW with dual lamp 1920x1080 will be easier to use and watch movies on.
i only watch movies, do school work and go on the internet. i think the FW is better for that anyway.

plus i dont want to take the risk of getting another crap screen.

 

Along with everything else you were saying in other threads about how dull the colors look on the wled and it was worse than a 5 year old monitor, then I'd venture a guess there is something wrong.

 

yeh, i do think that i have a faulty laptop but i cant be bothered with another studio xps. it is going to take 3 weeks to get another new one dell said.

so i thought might aswell give it back,as i do like the FW with the 1920x1080

 

What percentage can you expect off for the first coupon on a system like this?

 

you can call EPP department and get 7% off. You can also brag about free/cheap upgrades when you talk to a rep....I personally got a 2k system for the price of 1k6, not bad huh?

 

Please explain.

 

If you get EPP and DPA then you get 11% off but I was talking more about a coupon.

 

since the system is so new, I highly doubt there's a coupon for it

 

Dell here in Sweden offered me 15% off as soon as I called and started asking questions about the different laptops (I asked whether it was possible to upgrade the GPU in the studio xps for instance).

 

Is anyone using one of these for windows development? Visual Studio 2008, etc? I'm thinking about ordering one for that purpose with just some web surfing and slight gaming on the side.

I just want a nicely powered laptop to use on the couch as opposed to being stuck at my desk.

I owned a Dell Inspiron 8500 with a 1920x1200 resolution and it was entirely too small for writing code so I think I'll stick with the lower res screen.

 

I'm setting mine up for Windows development now. If 1920x1200 was too small on the 8500 for you, then 1920x1080 on the XSPS will be even smaller, I think. I've been pitching back and forth DPI settings. For myself, the more text on the screen, the better, as long as you can read it and it doesn't give you headaches

I may experiment with custom resolutions (powerstrip) if the 1920 doesn't work out for me. Using custom DPI settings has some non-optimal results.

 

Thanks. Does it seem to be fine for development? I assume the faster ram, 7200 RPM drive make it fine. I've been using a HP 6910p, this should scream compared to that.

I think I'm going to go ahead and order today if I don't read anything that throws up a red flag.

 

finally, I've pulled the trigger and purchase the 1640.
Shipping Method: 3-5 Business Days
Est. Ship Date: 2/23/2009
Est. Delivery Date: 2/26/2009-3/2/2009

I also got a free shipping with my system. Hope it will come in perfect shape.
Thank you guys, after reading your discussions from page 1 of this thread, I think I've made a good purchase.

 

To me it does. Not sure what kind of things you are considering. For me it is speed, keyboard and screen. In terms of those things it should be fine. I think wide screen lends itself well to programming, as it gives you more room for tool bars and reference windows. I've gone with the SSD option on mine, so hopefully that will really make it scream. It will take me a couple of days to get a fully functional work environment installed, but I will be using a VM on it tomorrow at work for development so that should give a pretty good indicator and native operation I would think would be even faster, though I'm not sure that's true anymore with today's VM technologies. Some VMs seem like they run just as fast as running natively.

 

Well it really depends of your preferences.

When I do web programming I always have 1 window for development which takes about half the screen, one window open with the project I'm working on (1/4 of the screen) and one with my ftp or ssh client depending on what I'm doing (also 1/4 of the screen) The code isn't too small (for me) so it's perfect.

Haven't tried visual studio on my sxps yet but I will soon enough, I'm pretty sure I won't have a problem with the size either

 

I understand. I guess since I had a display that was similar in resolution that I didn't like I worry. I'll try the lower resolution and see if it works. I want to get started with Silverlight so there will be some graphics editing involved. I know that lends itself more toward the higher res screen but I do want to try this out.

What processor did you choose? I guess the T processors have a larger L2 cache, but the P is going to help with battery life.

Decisions decisions

L2 cache will def help with running virtual server.

 

I chose the P series since the performance gain is too small to justify the price as well as the heat gain and battery life reduction... I do run some virtual machines but I only use them to port my applications and make sure they're compatible on different OS. Haven't installed any VMs yet on my laptop so I can't comment on whether it's good or not but I highly doubt the extra cache would make a huge difference in my case.

 

Well, after striking out on going cheaper with a Outlet Studio 15 & 17, both not working correctly, I ordered the XPS 16. I read here how calling them will possibly get you a discount, so I figured I'd do that.

I actually just opened up a "Chat" window with a salesman, told him I was concerned about getting the wrong PowerDVD software, and he honestly told me he thinks that's fixed on all shipping systems now, but he can't verify that. I told him some people I know have been getting % off when they call instead of online ordering. He told me, "put a system in your cart and let's see what I can do".

I ended up with the following:

P8700 - 16" 1080p - 500 HD 7200 - Blu Ray

The rest is all standard, I did just 1 year warranty.

After he looked it over and asked his manager, he gave me 7% off... so, it saved me a bit over $125 from the original price. Essentially taking off the tax and shipping, so, I guess it was very worth a few minutes of typing some chat back and forth...

Estimated delivery date, on or before Feb. 23rd.

Tom

 

Mine shipped today!!! Strange that they operate on sundays, but it will come in 3-5 days

 

Yes you did. Congrats! Be sure to input on your SXPS when you get it.

I think all the red flags have already been addressed, and in my opinion this laptop will be awesome.

Nice job. I'm a bit disappointed however. I placed my order on Feb 12th and I am set to receive the laptop on Tuesday. But I just noticed that the P8700 (2.53Ghz) is the standard, as apposed to the $50 upgrade P8400 (2.4Ghz) when I ordered. I think I will try to get Dell to compensate me for the difference. Especially since the change went in effect before I even received my laptop.

Nice! Mine shipped Friday and it's set for Tuesday. Yours will probably be closer to 3 days than 5.

 

You'd work on Sundays for a customer like Dell, too.

 

thanks

You said you placed your order on feb 12 and they shipped it on friday? Wow, they sure have a real fast assembly line

 

Well, I ordered. WLED Screen (going to try it, see if its adequate), 500 GB 7200 RPM and the P8700 processor.

Looking forward to it

 

I ordered mine on feb 12 too, and its still in build stage, this is so unfair

 

Did you order the P8400 or P8700?

 

hmm I just noticed that for the exact same price I paid they've upgraded the CPU to a P8600 (instead of P8400) and the wireless adapter to an Intel 5100 (instead of Dell's adapter)

Do you guys think I should call them up? I mean it hasn't even been 10 days since I ordered

 

you can cancel your order and place a new one

 

well I received the laptop 2 days ago

 

I was shocked too!! Because I got the call from my Dell EPP rep on Thursday at work to confirm the order.

I think it might have something to do with the fact that I ordered through EPP

I ordered the P8600 for a $50 upgrade from the P8400. But now the P8600 is standard and P8700 is a $50 upgrade.

 

that sucks, I don't see how they can compensate for it... I doubt they'll send a new cpu just like that...

If you do try to get compensated, please let me know what happens.

 

Well I'm hoping they will give me back the $50 they charged me for the P860 processor seeing as how it's now standard. I'll keep you posted.

1500!! Woohoo!

 

I ordered thru EPP too...but it's still in build stage. Did you order from "ships fast" category?

 

Hi,

New to the forums here.I have a dell xps m1330 laptop which my wife has been constantly using.So i had to buy one for myself.I ordered the studio xps 16 on 7th and my laptop still shows in production.I called csr and all they say is still in production, will ship in 2-3 days.I don't know what is the hold up.I see several peoples laptop placed after me already shipped.I just did one modification to my order on 9th.I changed the internet security from trend micro to norton antivirus.No other changes

Here are my machine specs:

1920X1080 RGB LED screen
2.53 ghz t9400 processor(now this does not show on website any more)
6gb ram
256 gb ssd
intel 5300 wireless card
blu ray/dvd rw

Is there any no. apart from regular 1800 no. where i can get info what the problem is.I got 200$ off through epp and also 200$ gift card

Thanks

 

I have no idea. I just told the EPP rep that I needed it fast, and he said he would try and see if he can put it first on the list, so maybe that was the trick.

 

You entered into an agreement.
You paid for it on the day they charged you what it cost that day. They didn't charge you a week old price so you shouldn't expect refunds on a week later price change.

Prices and computers change weekly and shipping time doesn't really measure into it unless it's extreme, then they are the ones not holding their end of the agreement.

Besides the P8600 is still the default for the basic configuration build. If you ordered through a rep a lot of times they start building at the basic and add options from the base. 8600 is default just not on the high end configuration which doesn't offer a WLED or lower end wireless, etc. (so it should come without those things I guess).

Haggling should be done on the front end, but that's my 2 cents.

 

Is anyone else having a problem connecting to wireless networks after the laptop hibernates. It only started happening a few days ago. Thanks.

 

I actually get disconnected sometimes while using the webcam (or possibly after hibernating) I'm still connected to the wireless network just not the internet. I haven't had time to fully isolate the problem yet though

 

I'm hoping it'll come on wednesday (3rd day) but not before noon because i'm having some outpatient surgery early and i'm assuming they need signatures on the package... i'll post pics and video once i get mine are there two distributers in the US? I heard there was one in nashville i think, but i'm in Oregon so just wondering if one was closer?