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

With the new drivers it got 4504 at 1280 x 1024. It jumped 200 points

 

Mine has always done that so its definitely not new

 

Sorry for such a dumb question. But is that good or not?

 

4500 is a mainstream score. Most average notebooks get near this. But the 4500 from 4300 corispondes to a 2 fps increase or so in C&C Red Alert 3

 

thanks for that.
just downloaded the new drivers and had a play of need for speed most wanted for less than half an hour and noticed that the fan is extremely loud. cant really compare it to anything else though, Im sure that the fan noise was already there.

got this computer gets hot

 

Have you tried undervolting it?

 

I'm pretty sure I read that in here awhile back. I haven't pulled the back off of mine yet and don't really plan on it unless this card comes out and it able to be put in it.

 

how do we do that sorry?

EDIT:
just had a look at this
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

Ill see if I can on this machine.

before I do, has anyone managed to undervolt this machine effectively

 

Search the thread for CPUGenie. I posted a link to it a few pages back. It's free to try and it's only like $15 to buy it after the 30 day trial. It reduced my temps, it still gets warm, but nothing like it was.

*I did the work for you.

Link

 

Hi N20D5OH,

Do you experience any occasional stuttering with your music when playing from your laptop when GPUGenie is managing your CPU's voltages? It happens to me with RMClock.

 

Let's make a bet. I say it'll NEVER happen

 

Yes. Me. ~18 degrees celsius cooler under 100% load.

~18 degrees celsius!

Cost: 0
Cons: None

 

hjorte, which undervolting utility are you using? And what's your max CPU temp now after lowering your VID to 1.0375V?

 

RightMark. Max temp: approx. 72 C.

 

No issues at all, my music plays fine. I use Winamp, not sure what you're using.

Like I said, I read it awhile back. If it's not that easy, that sucks. :/

 

The one guide on NBR has a whole process to undervolt; is it possible to use other ppls settings on your; given a similar CPU config?

Of course you should still stress test, but, you would be able to start from within the ballpark of the optimal volting instead of trial and error from the beginning.

 

I've got two identical 1640's and would like to test their performance against each other. Does anyone know what would be a nice easy but accurate way to do that?

 

Have to tried Benchmarking them?

 

How do you do that?

 

Download and run this.

3dMark06

 

So having finally gotten my mitts on mine, I'm one happy camper. I'm definitely glad i popped for the upgraded screen. I'm wondering if any of you guys actually use the facial recognition software? It sounds like a cool premise, but given that it takes like 20 seconds to initialize at the windows login screen, and doesnt even work (yet), it seems like a waste of background resources.

 

Mine worked great after about 4-5 login's on my first 1640, my second one took a bit longer but now it's instant. You do have to wait the 10 seconds or so for the camera to initialize, but I like the convenience. Even with that running in the background I have no resource issues at all.

 

I would prefer a thumbprint reader like the one i have on my ultraportable.. but, being that this is basically a desktop replacement for me, its not too much of an issue. So, i have it off since i can key in my password fairly quickly.

 

thanks for the link. I'll look into it

 

Has anyone had any luck with their Infra-red port. Mine just does not work.

 

Is there a way for dell support to decide which driver updates I need? I see several urgent updates under the xps 16, but i'm not really sure if i need them. Does dell not have an automatic update feature?


Like for instance i see an update driver for the IDT 92HD73C1 Audio driver version 6.10.0.6162, A14


My manager shows I have IDT High Definition Audio CODEC version 6.10.0.6124

so would that be something I need?


and #2, What about under System Utilities the driver for Dell Utility -> System Software dated 3/18 version 6.2.1,A02???

 

that is not your wireless card

 

That's your WWAN not your WLAN

 

Let's take a look at what I wrote, shall we?

" and found the wires for the 5530 wireless"

Now, where's the problem?

 

Hmmm . . . my idle/usual CPU temps have gone up since upgrading to the A06 BIOS. Before I upgraded, my CPU temp can get as low as 26-27C. Now, the lowest is only 30C.

 

sigh we are morons. sorry

thought it was a typo, didnt realize the wwan platform was called 5530 with dell

 

One thing I was wondering...it is not a big deal whatsoever, but I wanted to know how upgradable the machine was over time. I know the RAM can obviously be increased, but what about the video card? Can that be upgraded to a 1GB card?

When it comes to hardware like this, I'm on the more novice side...hence the potentially idiotic question. ; )

 

m noticing an increase in temps as well. i duno. maybe i shouldn't have updated the BIOS when i had no issues. anybody want to tell me how you rollback in case i wanna do that...??

 

I have always wanted to know this as well. But from what I have heard, the GPU is soldered on to the motherboard. So if you wanted to change the GPU you would have change the mobo, which could be extremely difficult. However dont take my word for it, this possibly could be wrong for this machine.

someone here opened this up or can confirm this? I'm too lazy to do it.

 

Right now my only guess is that they tweaked when the fan will start to kick in, like they gave it a higher temperature tolerance before setting the fan to turn on.

I don't think it's upgradeable, or more like you're not supposed to. There aren't any instructions on Dell website how to remove/replace the graphics card, whereas there are guides for every other component.

 

The first 1640 that I received had a bad video card. The tech said that the motherboard would have to be replaced to fix it. So I'm pretty sure that you can't upgrade the video card.

 

There you have it. The GPU is attached to the motherboard so, unless you want to change the whole motherboard, you cant just swap the GPU over.

 

i see an update driver for the IDT 92HD73C1 Audio driver version 6.10.0.6162, A14


My manager shows I have IDT High Definition Audio CODEC version 6.10.0.6124

so would that be something I need?


and #2, What about under System Utilities the driver for Dell Utility -> System Software dated 3/18 version 6.2.1,A02??? Is this something I need?

 

I would upgrade the audio but not the utility. But that's just me. It wouldn't hurt to upgrade both.

Dell Utility seems to be an upgrade that applies to a lot of systems since it is also listed for my 1720. But it doesn't have anything to do with the hardware in your system.

 

Need some help / advice

I let my computer's battery finlly drain to critical levels before putting in my charger. I useually keep it on with the charger but was playing music and forgot about it.

The problem now is that my 6 cell battery will not charge at all when plug into the wall outlet. I get a black screen at boot up saying something bout my computer cant detect my battery or something like that. I click continue anyways and then after windows loads i get the following message....

QuickSet
"The AC power adapter type cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge. Please connect a Dell 90W AC adapter or higher for best system operation.
"

Any help will be great...thanks guys.

 

jamal33, if I'm not mistaken, you can check in BIOS the type of adapter you are using with your laptop, if it's 90W or not.

Try checking the BIOS with your battery connected to your laptop. Then checking it again with the battery removed.

 

Is it me or has the latest audio drivers actually fixed the balance issue?

 

by adapter u mean the cord that runs form the wall outlet to my computer right. the one that looks like a battery pack?

I'm at work but i believe it is a 90W

 

Someone else in this thread reported a similar issue (adapter not detected) and they had to replace the whole mobo.

 

if that's the case will Dell take care of me even if i just barely pass my return window date?

by the way how many days do we have from time received to return it if not satisfied??

 

It is you

 

Actually changing the motherboard and power adapter in my case didn't even fix the problem. I still had the same message telling me the power adapter wasn't recognized.

At which point I followed N20D5OH's advice, called dell, complained alot, and got them to send me a brand new one. It arrived this morning.

 

will i have to be winthin my 21days or will i be able to return it and get a new one at no additional cost or restocking fee? Please advise.

 

If its a defective unit or component, then it should be covered under warranty. That 21 day period is basically if you change your mind or just want to return it for whatever reason.

 

No, I'm pretty sure it's fixed.