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

The Canadian store gives you 3 options, incl. the Dell branded option.The BT is internal i believe (looking at the internals posted on the 1640 review).

I chose the 5300 (and BT) to be a little future proof.. the 5300 has the 3 antenna setup that can use the crasy high bandwidth 3 antenna routers (there is a technical explanation somewhere). When my Linksys 54 router gives out, i should be ready.

I also heard that the 5100s are based on the 49xx series Intel.. which i have on my current laptop and which ive had some issues with (nothing major).

 

Maybe I should have gone with the 5300, I don't know.

And no, you're not being lame wanting an Nvidia card. I'm regretting this more and more. ATi's drivers don't even do a good job letting you adjust video playback settings, let alone game issue...

 

Can anyone tell me if there is an option to turn off the back lighting?

 

thanks for the info guys

as for the Nvidia card, I guess I've had more luck with Nvidia over ATI in my desktops, and just kind of lean that way when wanting a new computer.

Good question I hope to ask... what is the average delivery timeframe for a Dell in Canada ?

I have a buddy who ordered a Studio 17th on the 12 of Jan, and the original date he had for delivery was the 12 of Feb ! ( 30 days on the dot ), it turns out that it is now slated for delivery tomorrow ( the 27th ), I thought it may have something to do with him buying it off "The Shopping Channel ) but perhaps not ( ? ) it's an extra step, TSC has to turn his order over to Dell, then they process it... etc.

On another front, I don't have a clue between the LCD screen options, RGBLED vs WLED LCD ( with WLED LCD being the default setting ) , is this RGBLED that much better that it merits a whopping $300 extra ? ( ouch is what my wallet is saying ) so I'm going to go with WLED, but I'll wait and see what you guys say.

Thanks a bunch, and sorry if I'm going off topic.

 

In the case of the Studio 17; the reason for going RGBLED is for resolution, colour, and brightness.

If you just want resolution (ie. 1080p), they offer the 1080p with traditional back lighting (ie. CCFL).

If you dont need resolution, but, want brightness and better colours, then Dell offers the LED backlit LCD with a lower than 1080p resolution screen.

If you dont care about resolution, brightness, or colours, then go with the default screen.

 

The 'normal' screen on the 1640 probably has much better color reproduction than typical laptop screens. It's not something I'd worry about. Don't know about the brightness, but I don't know why the more expensive screen would be brighter. They should be pretty comparable, and both much better than normal laptop screens.

 

How is it?!

 

Don't be too sure. Sometimes the difference, in particular brightness, but color as well, is quite substantial. Take the ECO display (standard display) & XBRITE-FullHD display on the Sony VAIO FW. Now if only Dell could offer a 1600x900 WLED. We'll have to wait for the first people to get the standard display before we know for sure.

 

Yeah, but those are standards florescent screens on the FW.

 

I just placed my order. Got everything maxed except HD w/ 320gb.

 

That's true, but as we know from some unsatisfied M1330/1530 owners, not all WLED screens are created equal.

 

Getting mine tomorrow (en route from Reno to Sacramento). Base package with upgraded WiFi card, B/T and 2 year warranty.

 

it's interesting to note that on the system builder, the NIC is set to a default of "none" even though the cost is $0 ! ( ? ) kind of interesting why they have it set that way...maybe they feel many now are wireless, but I would always want that extra port so I can plug it into a wired high speed connection if needed.

 

I just read another thread reviewing the Zalman NC2000 cooler. Besides the price, it seems like a good choice. Considering the placement of the vents on the XPS 16 and very hot reading on the back/bottom of the unit (in the NBR review), would it be a good choice for the XPS 16?

 

I think you shouldn't buy that cooler, at least not yet. All those talks about heat might be exaggerated. My advice would be: first get the notebook, see for yourself if it's really warm/hot and then decide about the cooler, IMHO.

 

I think one of my questions got unanswered in the original "13/16" thread...

Anyway, when does the 21 day return window start?

i) From day of receiving?
ii) From date ordered?
iii) From day shipped?

Thanks

 

My understanding is "shipped"

 

Mine just arrived... well, it is my husband's but I get to set it up! She's a beauty

Can't turn her on yet. It is 10 degrees here and she has been in the Fedex truck for 7 hours.

I can't wait to see how the lower resolution looks.

 

The 21 days, start the date you are invoiced (usually when it's ready to ship)

Congrat's on the arrival of your new 1640!


Cin

 

after reading all 200+ pages of the previous 1640/1340 thread, and reading the reviews of those who already received their orders, i took the plunge and bought the sxps 16. i was very happy for learning about the epp discount, and delluniversity.com. i havent been in college in years, but it works with alumni too. basically anyone who has ever gone to college gets 7% off and better deals. thanks to nbr forums for teaching me that!

also, you guys taught me that ordering on the phone gets you free overnight shipping which i was also happy about. the only downside is the waiting period, feb 12 for me. how much sooner on average did you guys receive yours from the eta?

i didnt order the rgb led, which seemed to be speeding up some of your orders. i got base configuration, with 2.4 and bluetooth.

 

also, i should have signed on here earlier, a lot of crap posts were making it to the previous thread without being challenged. one major thing i want to say is that i was not in the market for dell. i had a latitude that just sh*t the bed and i went through hell trying to get dell to honor the warranty (which they didnt). i was dead set on the sony viao fw, which i have to say is an absolute piece of crap. i would have bought it, i priced it out, had it ready to order, except i decided to visit it at the sony style store. it was made out of the same crap grey plastic that my latitude was made from, and it felt so cheap when i handled it.

 

Congrat's on your order! I always say..that there's a chance it will ship sooner than the ESD..as Dell always overprojects to cover any potential prob's. Yes, if you have EPP...and can take advantage it's a great thing, as is getting Next Day Shipping!

I think that's one of the reasons there are 2 dedicated threads now..for the 1340 and 1640 only

I also think everyone has that *certain lappy* that just works for them. No matter what brand/model


Cin

 

I just got mine today and got BSOD during a reboot after install Office 2007 and VS 2008. Unrecoverable. So gonna try my luck with Windows 7 and see how that goes. Hoping it's a software issue, I really don't want to deal with CS and get a replacement and then hope to hell that one works.

 

Ooish..hope it works for you. Your the 2nd person that has had something like this happen. If you do decide to get a replacement, the process is fairly simple, it's just waiting for the new one to be built and arrive to you.


Cin

 

i saw more than one person has had this problem, what were you specs? this is usually a memory problem, which means win 7 might not fix that. either way post the progress. else take advantage of that in 1 year home repair and have them send a dell guy to your door with new memory.

 

Any way to request a 32bit copy of Vista from Dell?

 

Hey everyone. Been reading the rumors thread and now owners thread for weeks in anticipation of purchasing the 1640. NBR is a great resource, thanks everyone for your input.

Now to the questions/concerns that have given me pause:

1. Why is only a 6 cell battery still offered at this time? On the spec page it list a 6 cell option, and a 6 cell + 9 cell option. Does this imply you would receive two separate batteries? Does anyone else feel it is important to wait on the larger battery option?

2. Fingerprint magnet. I'm interested to hear from owners how bad this problem really is. A few fingerprints on the lid of an XPS 1530 was one thing, but a big fat palm smudge on the palm rest is another. The 1530 also was hard to wipe clean, is that the case with the 1640? Has any of this been an issue for new owners? Does anyone have any suggestions to overcome Dell's incomprehensible decision here?

3. Heat. Yeah yeah yeah, what can you do? I agree with whomever stated previously that to get this much power in a laptop you may have to sacrifice cooling (and size/weight).

4. GPU. Can anyone explain in lay terms what about the ATI video card is inferior to other options, and what it may mean to a casual gamer who does enjoy at least dabbling in games like COD4, GTA4, etc.

5. Screen resolution. I've had a 1440 x 900 and can definitely go higher res than that. Has anyone had experience with 1080p on a 16" display? Is it still workable? Any problems seeing text?

Thanks for the help guys. I'm hoping to join the ranks of the 1640 owners soon.

 

What I always do is format the drive and reinstall the system from scratch. Always worked for me. Give it a try.

 

^ I'm getting mine tomorrow (720p screen though) and I'll be playing Fallout, CoD4, and next Diablo on this.....

I'll post my full impressions and pics by Wed......unless I get a DOA from this !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtNaLenV3n4&feature=related

 

lexstyles

2. Yes it is a finger print magnet. It's as bad as the back of my iPhone 3g. If stuff like that drives you crazy. stay away.

5. I got the 1080p screen and with pumping up the fonts to 12 points it's very usable. I have to get used to the glossy screen though. Never had a monitor with that and the glare was initially annoying.


Also I remember someone asking if you can turn off the back light on the keys. and the answer is yes, there are two brightness settings plus an off option. But the touch keys on the top are pretty much solid and can't be turned off.


Windows 7: So far so good. The only thing that doesn't work so far is the infared port (does anyone even care anymore?). The onscreen display when you adjust the volume is gone but the buttons still function. Installing some apps and will hit it hard and see if it breaks. Hoping I can just keep 7.

 

Yea, this might be an issue for me too. I'll give it a chance, but, if its too much, im just going to take fine sandpaper and sand the gloss off. You could also try painting it or applying a sticker to it.

 

I'm interested in getting Fallout 3 for the PC since I read that the PS3 version is inferior. Let me know how well it plays on the XPS 16 as well as your impression on the quality of the lower res. screen.

Thanks.

 

I agree about Sony, but for me the problem is not that it feels cheap, but that it's terribly overpriced. Also, while you can compare Vaio FW to Studio XPS, Latitude is completely another class of notebooks. It's designed for business users, and the quality of plastic is not the most important thing there, but the chassis, construction, build quality, not the materials used. You mentioned problems with Latitude, can you describe what model it was and what exactly was wrong? I'm using D630 for 8 hours everyday, and so i'm very curious. Thanks!

 

hey lexus, i used to have a d400, awesome little machine. replaced it with the d810, which was a workhorse, ugly as sin, but got the job done. i used it a lot in transit, went to half a dozen countries with me, took it on several dozen flights, but it didnt hold well. the usb jacks broke first, then the audio jacks, it got really really hot when using demanding programs. all in all a laundry list of problems went on with the machine, dell replaced a lot of parts under the warranty from the adapter to the dvd drive and battery. eventually one of the internal fans went, and then finally the video card. it was a good machine for a desktop replacement, but the second i was plugging and unplugging a lot of peripherals it didnt stand the wear. the coup-de-grace was when the latitude fried my dell lcd projector because of some power current problem (my d810 use to shock my wrist when touching in the lower left corner below the keypad). it died almost 3 years to the date from when i bought it. i had the extended warranty but they said that didnt cover the motherboard and video card replacement. i dont knock the latitude series, it was a performance machine even in its old age, and did a lot more than a lot of newer offerings.

i found the earlier models of dell to be more sturdy, like the inspirons 1200 or 2600 series hard black plastic. weight is not an issue for me, that is why i couldnt care less how much the studio 16 weighed. the fw was comparable in price, but it was really not a durable feeling machine. mac drew me in with their aluminum unibodied machines, but ultimately it was $2500 for the same speed with less functionaliy. the hp was on par, a bit more money but ugly as sin. then once it came down to the 1530 vs 1640, 1640 beat it in price, speed, newness, and attractiveness.

and now you know way more than you asked. but dont worry, i think my machine was cursed from when i bought it.

 

big question for you other 1630 owners or soon to be owners...since i have a few weeks time to kill before i get my machine, i wanted to get a good case for it. i dont mean a laptop bag, i mean a sleeve or jacket or whatever its called. anyhow have a good brand theyve gone with before, or a direction i should be looking in? all my past machines have slowly scratched up and id like to give the sxps a fighting chance!

 

The only Sony i would consider are their ultraportable line; the VAIO Z and TT. Awesome design and smallness.. the SR isnt too shabby either; but, their mainstream (CR) and entertainment (FW, AW) laptops are generic as anyone else's.. so, its really a toss up. The new P has an unbeatable form factor (1.4 lbs), if youre looking for that.

The 1640 i ordered today is my first ever Dell; ive had Toshiba in the past and writing this from a TZ.

 

Belkin makes some really good (Neoprene) sleeves, as does Shinza:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=belkin+neoprene+17"

http://shinza.com/product_info.php?cPath=5_10_15&products_id=71

Hope that helps!

Cin

 

i saw this one dell made for the m1330 i wish they made it for the studio xps. thanks for the belkin ones, thats a good start. also one other question, when i was looking at the m1530 they offered the remote control. do you think the 1640 will offer these some time later?

 

Yes, those sleeves are nice!

I'm not sure on the remotes. That would be a *let's wait and see on Dell*... But, it would be cool! -

And, I bet soon you willl all start seeing dedicated *accessories* for the 1340, and the 1640


Cin

 

Yeah, I just checked if they added sleeves for the 1640, not yet. I have a sleeve that I was supposed to use for my M1530 which I canceled last year. It would probably be too tight for the 1640.

 

It prob's would've worked ~ it just would have been very snug.

Have you ever been to this site, for custom made sleeves?

I checked, they don't have the 1340 or 1640 availi yet
http://www.sfbags.com/products/sleevecases/sleevecases.htm


Cin ;

 

Dell Singapore offers those Dell sleeve made for 1640, for about US$49.

I added one for my 1640 order.

 

well if they are any good im sure we'll see them on the other dell sites, and if not maybe someone will ahve them on ebay. i looked into getting the 1530 one, but it measures 14 some odd inches, and the 1640 is suppose to be 15 1/2 or so wide. id rather have a good fit than a snug one, else a single piece of sand could drag along the gloss and make me not love it anymore ;-)

 

What was wrong with them? I hadn't heard anything about that.

What country is that? At least when I ordered mine a week or two ago there wasn't an option for that, and I kind of suspect it's just a screw up. I may never even use Wifi on this thing, but will use Ethernet almost constantly.


****

I am SO scared of this. I'd forgotten how terrible ATi's video controls are (or the lack there of) 'till I had to play some video on one of my ATi based systems. I wish I hadn't ordered this, but it comes tomorrow

 

Something's rotten in the state of ... Germany.

Ordered on Jan 13, and it went into production on the same day and has stayed that way ever since ... (come on! 15 days of tightening screws?)

 

Last Thursday I rang up Australian Dell to get some questions answered on the 1340, the guy ended up try to get me to buy the laptop then (I am waiting for a review first). I mentioned a sleeve (like the old XPS one) and he was willing to sell me one that was 'specially designed for the studio XPS' and not even on the website yet. He said it was $69 AUD but would give it to me cheaper (not exactly sure how much as I didn't go through with the deal).
Try calling and ask for one. You don't ask you don't get.

Also, anyone with a 1340 please post a review on the graphics card or if anyone finds one please link it! I am going insane with waiting!

 

Would you both please post pic's of the sleeves, when your receive them? I would love to see what they look like!

Thx!

Cin

 

Has anyone gotten a 1640 with the SSD option ? I ordered mine but am very curious about performance and heat. Anyone ?

 

Hmmm, in the UK Dell now let you order up to 8GB RAM (this wasn't available as an option before), but don't let you choose a 64-bit operating system. It just gives a 'compatibility problem' error with your configuration. Is Dell always this erratic with what you can order?

 

I ordered an SSD, but, my est. ship date is Feb 13. I suspect it will be better than the 7200 but, its not a top of the line SSD like the ones from Intel. Its probably a Samsung SSD, which puts it at 90/70 MB/s read/write.. which is quite fast considering it also has no access times.