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

So I got my XPS1640 on Monday and after playing with it for a few days I can say that I love it. The only complaints I have are:

1) GPU isn't quite up to par.
2) It does get a little hot. And I don't think thats a problem with the stuff inside, but with the case. My friend has a 2 yr old Insprion 1545 that runs at only 10 degrees Celcius lower than my XPS. His feels a lot cooler however.
3) The fact that if I had purchased a week later, I could've saved $150.

Otherwise it's awesome. Very snazzy looking. Everyone who's seen the backlit keyboard says something along the lines of "I WANT A KEYBOARD LIKE THAT". Loads Vista 64bit very quickly.

If your looking for something STRICTLY to play games I would consider getting anything with an nVidia card in it such as what MSI offers. For pretty much everything else though this machine is awesome.

I purchased the base model. 4GB of RAM. 2.40 Ghz processor. Basic screen (which does look very good btw). Like I said, only thing that pisses me off is that I couldve saved money by waiting. But it's like that with everything. I just dislike Dell for changing their promos on a weekly basis.

 

Its a better approach than, say, Sony.

I was shopping their FW series and (in Canada, at least) their top line FW285 hasnt changed in price since its intro; it should be at least $200 cheaper based on how long that config has been on the market (and sitting in inventory).

Not only that, but, their official retailers have little in the way of lower prices for sales and such (their SURE program).

 

I got my freaking 9 cell battery from Dell just now and my 1640 still stuck in the boxing stage.( its now day 4 in that stage) ?

 

I agree it would look terrible, but you have to consider that many people find looking at a bunch of fingerprints & smudges everyday terrible as well, sometimes to the point where they do something crazy. If Dell offered a "matte palm-rest area option", I have a feeling most of us would choose it without hesitating.

 

heads up for those u choose standard config and want to upgrade the HDD.
Newegg.com has the G.SKILL FM-25S2S-128GB 128GB Solid State Disk for $199 after $20 instant discount and $30 off coupon code EMCLPLS35 (expires 3/11/09), which is 20% off the $249 original price. Shipping is free.

get up on it.

 

64-bit has no ability to run 16-bit programs at all (which can also be an issue with 32-bit programs with 16-bit installers). Driver support is also worse.

It's just going to be luck of the draw as to whether you run into big issues or not. So far I've run across a lot more incompatible programs than I was expecting (including the DVD burning program that was included with my system!) but I'm more or less okay now. In one case I was actually able to extract a file on 32-bit, and it runs fine on 64-bit...but that was just because it's a simple program that doesn't actually have to be "installed".

Again, I just don't get that, I mean at best, it's personal preference. You already get visual feedback for a files type without the extension. 99% of the time I have no need for the extension. It's redundant, tell me nothing I don't already know, and wastes space that I need to see files names which I *DO* need to know (or to see more files on screen, or more other data I need, depending on the view).

Also, it makes renaming files much slower, as I have to make sure I'm not selecting the .*** along with the file name. In fact, about the only time I need the file extension is just if I want to quickly change it-in which case I just temporarily turn on the view and turn it off afterwords. What would be kind of handy is a quick way-maybe hold down an extra button while clicking a file-to show the extension to change it quickly.

Otherwise...I'm trying to think, and I don't know what else I need to see them for. I know it's really common for power users to turn that off (or back on as the case may be), but I don't see the point, as I'm renaming files far more often than I am changing their extension, so I always get annoyed if I'm having to carefully exclude the extension.

 

I agree, from testing my new system, it is very hot overall. Which, I'm mostly using it for a desktop replacement with a mouse and don't type too much. So it's ok, I guess.

 

Well being a hack developer, I can tell you why I do it. Because I often make new .exe's of the programs I'm writing. When I do I always name the previous version .old so that if the new version doesn't work correctly, I can go back and delete the new one and rename that one. It's much easier then having multiple .exe's stored somewhere. I agree with you on it being personal preference, but if you know what you're doing, it shouldn't be a big deal to have hiding them turned off.

 

Last night I noticed if someone is standing at a far angle to the right of the notebook, you can see a white light strip from the LEFT screen edge. The right side of the screen edge doesn't have this. You cannot see this from straight on.

It was very hard to get on camera but this is as good as I could.

 

Yeah, but you can get a 7200rpm 320gb drive for the same price and it will be faster and not "studder".

 

I just undervolted my XPS16 and it's much cooler now. Temperature goes down from max 88C to 70C (190F -> 157F). I have C2D T9400 which has at maximum 2.53GHz on 9.5x multiplier and 1.132V. I lower that voltage to 0.962V. To do that I used CPUgenie 1.0 x64. It is trial for 30 days. But RMClock is also possible, but doesn't support .5x multipliers and cut them out (which means in my case 133MHz lose from max frequency).

 

I work a lot with assembly language as well as a multitude of other programming languages and I always need the file extensions. It might not be useful to you but it's useful to a lot of people.

In any case Vista by default when you rename a file it only selects the name and not the extension

 

Do you lose any performance form undervolting? If not, why don't the notebooks come that way in the first place?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

"Not all processor chips are built equally. Each individual processor have different voltage tolerances. Instead of Intel tuning each chip's voltage individually for the lowest voltage possible and risking instability, they made a fully stable standard voltage for all chips to run on. The problem is this standard factory voltage they put is quite high. Undervolting takes advantage of this by reducing it to the right amount.

This is also why some people can undervolt more than others even with the exact same model processor. It’s like the same concept for overclocking, some can go higher, some cant. Unlike overclocking, Undervolting will not void your warranty or damage your hardware."

"Undervolting will NOT compromise performance at all. Underclocking and Overclocking (clock speeds) is whats responsible in regards to performance. Benchmarks will also prove that performance remains the same. Most beginners usually think and assume undervolting will sacrifice performance but they are wrong."

 

Can I run CPUgenie x32 on Vista x64? I see they have a x64 beta version for Windows 7 with unsigned CPU drivers...

 

i just ran into the first problem with my 1640. the backlit keyboard stopped working. the trackpad light still worked but the keyboard light stopped powering on. i was hoping this was a software problem but after checking the forums and doing lots of reboots i figured it was hardware.

basically the ribbon cable for the backlight was poorly connected and had to be reseated. dell has the assembly manuals online which really helped.

the downside is how many bloody screws there are before you have access to the underside of the keyboard. first you have to remove the 10 screws for the base cover. then slide off the two rear caps. next the 14 screws for the palmrest, and finally 2 more on the top side. all total 26 screws to get access to the keyboard ribbons. reseating the cable took only a second, and of course i powered it on briefly to check before putting all the screws back.

i have to say, it is beautiful in there! i wanted to take some photos but my camera wasnt charged.

i was nervous as a first date working on it. i was so afraid to apply pressure to remove the palm rest, but it disassembles so well. removing the rear caps gives you access to that bottom 1/2 inch of the screen, which came in handy for dusting back there, since its normally impossible.

anyhow, 26 screw and 35 minutes later the lights are back on. lets hope i dont have to do this again.

 

Can any of the owners explain the "Edge to Edge" screen for me?

I have been reading and someone pointed out it looks like it's actually a second layer of screen (one on top of another) and that it makes the quality look bad, and is especially bad with glare. Anyone experiencing this?

 

its means the frame and screen are all one peice and level.

 

Can someone please recommend a nice sleeve for this laptop? I've been looking and looking but haven't managed to find any nice one yet, they're all the wrong sizes or not good looking

 

Its exactly the way you described it. They buy the LCD panel (from Samsung probably) and whereas other would just take the panel and fit it into the lid of the laptop.. Dell does that AND puts an extra piece of glass over it that covers the area of the LCD panel and the bezel of the lid (hence, "Edge to Edge").

The RGBLED is so bright that it offsets some of the glare.

 

they are offering a dell sleeve in the uk, im hoping its like the 1530/1330 sleeve. has anyone ordered this?


Studio XPS 16 Slip Case [add £39.99 or £1/month1]

the price outright sucks, no matter what brand it is. but of course i want it.

 

its means edge to edge plastic

 

I've read about a few people ordering a sleeve that Dell offered for this laptop (I'd guess it's the one you mention, but I'm not certain), and they said that it was really hard to even fit the laptop in it. Someone's bound to have found a nice sleeve for it though

If not a sleeve, has someone found a nice messenger bag?

 

I thought that was the Timbuk 2. But maybe not?

 

haha, maybe i should just make my own and by taping cardboard to the dust cover

 

Dell added the remote option for the 16. $60.00 USD is a steep price, though. Wasn't the remote on the 1530 gratis?

 

is it any different than the 1530 remote? because i can get that on ebay for $15 dollars, and from dell for $25

 

Looks the same. This one says it's bluetooth. Was the 1530 one an IR remote?

 

I have it. It is offered with an order of SXPS 16 in Malaysia/Singapore. It's a Timbuk2 sleeve "made for Studio XPS 16". It's a very, very tight fit for 1640. With a 9-cell battery it's not even gonna fit.

 

i google it, it probably looks something like this http://www.smklink.com/index.php?id=Njg1

the old one was ir, this one is bluetooth, and if its like that one it charges in the expresscard slot, where the ir one didnt.

id rather buy the ir one for 15 bucks, since ill never use it anyways. i just want something to be in that slot instead of that piece of plastic.

 

I didn't like too much how it looked in the picture, but now I know to steer clear of it, especially since I'm thinking of getting the 9-cell. Thanks for the warning.

 

oh wait, no its this one: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&sku=A0691231

"Enhance your presentations on the laptop by controlling PowerPoint from up to 30 feet away with ExpressCard™ Media Remote from Interlink Electronics®. It works with laptops featuring integrated Bluetooth®, avoiding the need for a receiver to be installed. This Media Remote fits conveniently in the ExpressCard™ slot and recharges automatically. Additionally, its standard media controls make the remote compatible with a variety of software; from DVD to MP3 players."

Now I want it.

Since its not made by dell, you can get it $20 cheaper anywhere else that sells it

 

The IR remote works. My brother in law has a 1530 and brought his remote over, it worked fine.

 

I just looked at a review on Dell's site and people are saying that the remote sticks out of the slot which to me is a bad thing.

 

youre right, i dont want it anymore.

 

So, i think its not me alone..
Everybody has here heating problem below touchpad area..

Even watching a movie on your lap becomes hard.., & even touchpad feels slightly warm..

Has anybody tried complaining or a successful chat with dell care ?

 

I found a dead pixel on my screen (1080p), or maybe it's a spec of dust in the screen? It's really small so I hardly noticed it. I guess it's because pixels are way smaller on this than my old desktop lol.

This pushes me to sending it back. I wonder how fast dell replaces systems? Will they just repair the screen, or send me a new unit?

 

is any one else having troubles opening the new bios A02?

 

Even if you complain, the replacement you'll get will have the same heat issue. That's due to the laptop design.

So if it's bothering you, the only solution is to return the unit and get a refund.

A single dead pixel will not warrant you a repair nor replacement.

http://support.dell.com/support/top...dsn/document?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&dn=1018431

I didn't bother with this "new" A02 BIOS, because the one on my laptop is already A05. Most here thinks that that A02 BIOS was uploaded by mistake.

 

So I'm screwed? It also has light leaking out of the side edge when looking at it on an angle. I'm still within the return policy, if that matters.

 

hahaha, they actually have a dead pixel count! so if you only have one dead pixel, time to get a needle and hammer and add 5 more!

as for A02, until its A06 I wouldn't go near it. I'd be very surprised to see A03 come out next, unless for some strange reason new 1640s are being sold with A02 on them.

Quad -- Regarding that light bleeding, what monitor do you have? I can see light on the left side on my WLED, but its way back under the black bar. seriously though, when would I ever need to be viewing my monitor from a 5 degree angel?

 

QuadAllegory, seriously do yourself a favor and stop looking at your screen's imperfections. Just enjoy your laptop.

You said you hardly even notice the dead pixel, and that light leaking would only be visible on dark scenes and as you say is only from a certain angle.

 

And why would you do that? Just download CPUgenie 1.0 for 64-bit Windows and use it with any x64 Windows

Like I have wirtten here before, my XPS temperature goes down about 20C which is amazing and the area next to the touchpad is not so hot at all.

 

Does XPS 16 have Infrared port? Dell offers here IR remote controler to ExpressCard Slot for only 4$, but without IR it's useless.

 

If you are truly unhappy with it then your best bet would be to call them and return it. Then order another one. Only you can decide if it bothers you or not.

The reason I say return instead of replace is because you would then be out of your 21 day return time if you don't like the replacement.

 

OK, for the 4th time, yes.

I have used an IR remote from a 1530, it works.

 

Does the brightness of your RGBLED screen reset to the maximum/highest setting everytime you power up your laptop from proper shutdown (not from standby)?

 

I just ordered my XPS 16 with the following spec: T9400, 4GB ram, 500GB HD, RGBLED, blueray combo drive, Intel 5100 WLan, bluetooth module, both 6 cells and 9 cells battery and the total price came to $2062 cdn.

 

Wow, thats awesome... did you get in on the $1499 offer they had for a few days? Just wondering when your est. ship date is.. mine is March 12 (ordered on the 2nd).

 

i am pretty sure the computer remembers the brightness from the power settings (and not from the previous manual setting).

try setting the brightness in power profile you are using.