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

I bought it aswell. Im trying to figure out how to use it. Do you need any particular programs? It is the european version aswell.

 

Why wait?

 

Today , with varius update drivers, this notebook is ideal for professioanl music production with devices fw and usb?

thanks

 

What Vista Tweak Guide did you use?

 

They probably mean this

Anyway, after a few weeks of looking I've finally ordered the XPS 1640 like everyone else here, I've just got a few questions if someone would be kind enough to answer:

1. I've ordered Vista 64bit. Have I made the right decision or have I led myself into a trap?
2. It's been awhile since I've messed around with laptop batterys but I'm just wondering what is the best approach to make it so the battery lasts longer? Keeping it plugged in constantly or letting it power down to 40% and then recharging/
3. I've just orderd today and the delivery estimate is the may 19th or before. Whats the chance of getting it before?

 

1. You won't be sorry with the 64bit OS. I've only had a couple of issues with programs not running. The worst part of it is that you can't use the 64bit browser because there aren't many websites that support it yet.

2. Can't help you, mine is plugged in all the time, it's a desktop replacement. I've always heard you're supposed to condition rechargeable batteries by draining them and charging them, but I never do it and mine always seem to work just fine.

3. I received my laptop 2 weeks before the date I was promised. I think the majority of the people on here received them before the estimated date. There are a few exceptions though.

4. Enjoy it! It's a great machine. What specs did you get?

 

Yes, I used the one below your post (the one that Fitter Happier linked to)

 

Yes, that was the Vista Guide I used...thanks for the link.

1. I've been using 64bit on my desktop for a year now and I've had no problems since SP1 came out. Being able to use my 4+ Gigs of memory is well worth it alone!

2. I conditioned my last laptop battery and it seemed to always have a consistent charge during the 3.5 years I had it. To condition it, fully charge it and then let it run down. Do this a few times when you first get it and it should be good. After that, I wouldn't run it down unless I was on a trip or working outside (which wasn't often)...yet it held it always held a fairly consistent charge all those years.

3. I ordered mine on the 18th of April and had an an EDD of 7 May. Thankfully it shipped on the 29th and I got it on the 30th!

 

Which driver is the best solution for the graphic card? Would be great if somebody could link to the driver. And is it necessary to change the settings in the graphic card driver for better performance. If this is the best way, is it possible to find a guide for this?

I have installed all the drivers from Dell's support page and the windows updates. But i get around 1000 point less in 3DMark06 than this review: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4764. My Dell features the same configuration except is it not the full hd display. Maybe this is the reason.

My configuration is:
# OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64 bit)
# Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz)
# Memory: 4GB - 2DIMM DDR3
# HDD: 320GB 7200rpm
# Graphics: ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670 (512MB)
# Display: 16in Truelife 720p HD WLED Edge to Edge Display
# Wireless: Intel Wireless 5300
# Battery: 6-cell and 9-cell batteries

Thanks on beforehand.

 

I'm going to. Spec wise its pretty normal and not as fancy as some of the ones around here. 2.4ghz duo, 4GB Ram, 720p WLED, 250gb hdd, the Ati 5670 512 ram and so on. The good side is that I got it for £809 (Was on special offer for £850, but managed to get a extar 40 quid off).

From the research I've done, all signs seem to point to going to this website (Mobility Modder drivers)

 

So I'm on to my 4th SXPS 16. It's been one hell of a ride. Today the power supply for my second system, which I'm curently using, failed. But an hour later it started working again. @*$&^£. I was playing a game and I could smell an electrical burn comming from it. Anyways, below is the email I sent to a bunch of Dell execs and the correspondence that followed..

Sent: 2009/5/1

Reference Numbers:

Customer No.: GB8768467
Order No's: 23809107, 23919212, 23977232
Dispatch/Purchase Order for latest replacement order: 4025201663

To whom it may concern,

So where do I begin. I honestly do not know. All I hope is that this email gets sent to the correct person who will understand what customer service is all about. Not some mindless, headset-wearing automaton at Dell UK's call center.

18/03/2009 - I place my online order for my very first Dell Studio XPS 16 with Avinash K. Kumar the online sales person. Everything goes according to what I would expect. Payment is made and a few hours later I receive an Order Confirmation email from Dell. The next day I receive numerous calls from a Dell sales rep confirming all address details. Which I guessed at the time was all company policy.

29/03/2009 - I receive an email from Dell giving me the bad news that they will not be able to make delivery on the previously agreed date of 02/04/2009. The new Estimated Delivery Date will now be 14/04/2009. After numerous unanswered emails, I find out, from Avinash K Kumar the Dell sales rep that helped place my order, that Dell had RGLED LCD stock issues. Nevertheless at the time I saw this as a minor. After all, this is a customised system so I was not fazed about the late delivery.

08/04/2009 - I receive my first system (order no.: 23809107). She was a beauty. But unfortunately there where noticeable manufacturing faults which at first I tried to ignore but I decided that spending £1500 on a high-end system did not warrant the defects. Faults I found are as follows:

Left LCD hinge cover was slightly open (I am not the only customer with a faulty left hinge cover. There are many other customers from all over the world with this same defect on their laptops); Keyboard back-light flashes when it lights-up and the network card never connected at 1Gbps.

I also found that the Roxio, PowerDVD and Facial Recognition software installation media was never shipped with the laptop. I called the Customer Support and they explained that I should have selected the media when I ordered the system. I find that an absolutely atrocious explanation. Firstly there was never an option to have the installation media shipped with the machine. Secondly the laptop came installed with the software so surely I should get the installation media shipped with the system. Dell ships MS Windows and Works with installation media why not the Roxio, PowerDVD and Facial Recognition software. What happens if the PowerDVD becomes corrupt and I need to reinstall it? If Dell doesn't provide the media I won't be able to play my blu-ray movies. If they don’t ship the media I wouldn’t mind having to download the software. At least then the Dell execs will still be able to keep costs down and there shareholders happy.

Fortunately I was able to get hold of Akanksha Mishra from Customer Support who was able to arrange Getronics to send me the PowerDVD software which I received yesterday. For more information on why I was not able to get the Roxio or Facial Recognition installation media, see the email from Akanksha I attached.

13/04/2009 - I call Dell Customer Service and after 1h 30m of being transferred between numerous representatives, I was transferred to a very efficient Dell Customer Support representative. Her name was Jasmine or Reta. She placed the replacement order over the phone and 3 hours later I received my Order Confirmation email.

21/04/2009 - Current System - My replacement system is delivered and as far as I could see it doesn't have the same faults my first system had. As I go through the steps of testing the system I open Windows Media Player and play the first available song I could find. But something is wrong. At first I thought it might be the sound card drivers but after updating them and even reinstalling the OS only the subwoofer/off-center speaker produces sound. The left and right speakers were totally dead. I even opened the machine, removed the palm-rest and made sure all the speaker cables were connected, but to no avail. I couldn't find anything wrong. That evening I tried calling to have another laptop sent but again I was transferred from department to department and after spending £15 on pre-paid cellphone time I decided to call it a night.

22/04/2009 - The next morning I was met with the same troubling inter-departmental finger-pointing and after 1h 15m I was told that the customer support department does not order or authorise replacement systems anymore. It was now the job of the Technical Support department. After speaking to a Technical Support representative he said he could not help me but that I should receive a call within 24 hours from someone that will place the order.

3 Hours later (good response time!!!) I get a call from Shareesh an incompetent sounding person informing me that he will be placing the replacement order for me. What troubled me the most was that he kept asking me the specification of my machine. Surely that information is available from the previous order's items??? Nevertheless I was assured the order had been placed and that I should be receiving an email confirmation soon. Shareesh also gave me dispatch number: 04025201663. After waiting for almost a day the confirmation email, unfortunately, never came. For the next few days I tried enquiring about the order from numerous Technical and Customer representatives all of whom assured me that the order was placed. I even spoke to a very unpleasant and irritable Technical Supervisor who was clearly not interested in his job. Even he assured me that the order had been placed. The weekend came and gone, still no email confirmation.

27/04/2009 - Monday I receive the first email confirming my order which includes my order number and the specifications attached in PDF format. I also see that the order was only placed on Monday. According to Swechcha from Dell Customer Services there was a technical error and the order was only placed on Monday instead of 22/04/2009 as promised by the numerous people I spoke to the week before!!! I wish I could speak to that very unfriendly Technical Supervisor face to face and see how he explains this "technical error".

29/04/2009 - I recheck the order status of order 23977232 and find according to the packing slip the Optical Drive is a DVD drive instead of a blu-ray drive as I originally ordered (Order no's: 23809107 and 23919212) . I wish I could tell you how I felt. I couldn't fathom going through the whole process of reordering for the third time. Obviously someone made a mistake. The item numbers are almost the same. It should’ve been item number 429-13367 and not 429-13366.

30/04/2009 - The next day I call customer care and get transferred to technical support (as if I didn't know that was going to happen). After explaining what had happened the technical support person says that according to the dispatch number 4025201663 the machine will be fitted with a blu-ray drive but I tried telling him the packing slip states its only a DVD drive. Again he assures me that it will be a blu-ray drive. But how can I be sure? Dell previously promised that the replacement order was placed and yet almost a week later it wasn't. The technical support agent says he’ll transfer me to Customer Support, but I hung-up as I was too upset to continue the charade any further.

So my question is this. Is there someone at Dell who can confirm that the optical drive installed in my replacement system (order number: 23977232) is in fact a blu-ray drive. If the wrong drive was indeed fitted, instead of having the delivery company send the wrong machine just have it redirected back to the manufacturing plant in Poland to have the correct drive fitted. Otherwise when it arrives on Wednesday (6/05/2009) and it indeed has the incorrect optical drive I'll just a have to send it back again. This would mean that Dell would have to spend more money on sending me a fourth replacement system instead of just having the third system refitted with a blu-ray drive.

As I said above, I can only hope that this email arrives in the right person's mailbox and that I get a speedy resolution to this saga. Otherwise I'll have to take this further and maybe even take my story to the papers. I'm sure Dell will agree that in the current economic climate that would be most unfortunate.

Yours sincerely,
Mr Ryan Rutzen


Later that afternoon I got a call from Latha who works in the Dell Corporate department. She appologised provusely and ordered my fourth replacement system.

Here is my reply after I spoke to Latha:

To who ever reads this,

I just received a call from Latha in Indian who is with the Dell Corporate Office. She has confirmed that order 23977232 has in fact been shipped with a DVD drive instead of a blu-ray drive. She suggested that a technician be sent to have the drive replaced once the system was delivered. But I did not find that appropriate as the machine would need to be opened and who knows what would go wrong. So instead I requested that another replacement be sent. She agreed and said that she will be placing the order and will be calling me once an order number has been generated.

I appreciate the call from Latha and that Dell has acknowledged my complaint. Lets hope everything goes smoothly with the fourth order.


Here is a list of all the addresses I sent the original complaint to:

[email protected],
[email protected]
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]

I got the email addresses of the Dell execs below:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/exe...l-addresses-for-19-dell-executives-321353.php

I await the delivery of my fourth system which should be on or before 19th May. I can only hope and pray that I don't have any problems with it.

 

1 - yes. The big trap is people's lack of knowledge on 64 bit and their fears that go along with it.
2 - Do not discharge lithium-ion too deeply. Instead, charge it frequently. Lithium-ion does not have memory problems like nickel-cadmium batteries. No deep discharges are needed for conditioning and it's harmful to it's longevity.
More from BatteryUniverity on Lithium based batteries -
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
If you want to understand batteries, read the whole site starting on part 1 or look for specific Lithium Ion articles.
3 - Be patient it may get pushed back.

 

Ok so, without being able to get my game on, cuz of my Sony Nvidia chip meltdown as mentioned a few posts ago, i don't think i can really wait to see if the studio xps 16 gets an eventual vid card upgrade and am almost set on buying it now.

2 main things are my motivation for choosing this pc: 1. dell warranty 2. ATI .

I will not buy NVIDIA .

However, i get a bit confused with all the options i get.

Im willing to shell out the cash for the best processor available, but am wondering is 4 gb of ram enough to make use of it, or if id have to shell out even more cash to get more RAM. in that case, id have to tone down on the processor a bit...what with how laptops have been crashing lately, i'm a bit apprehensive to spend 5k on it.

so i guess my main doubt is this: if i buy the T9800 processor, will i have to necessarily get more than 4 gb ram in order to make the best use of it?

thanks for your comments guys. im really excited bout this laptop ^_^

 

Alot to be excited about...

Choose performance options in this order for the most benefit and bang...

Samsung 256GB SSD
Processor upgrade - 2.66 should be good if money isn't a big option (gives you a wolfdale with 6MB cache, remember 5-10% frequency increase won't be palpable, but if you want 2.9 go for it.
Memory - Only choose more memory now if you require it for Photoshop, HD video editing, or doing both simultaneously, etc.
RGBLCD - a given!
BluRay combo - of course!
9 Cell battery
3-4 yr warranty with oops I dropped it down the stairs coverage (forget what it's called)


The problem with the memory upgrade is is you are getting 2x2 GB sticks after upgrading 5GB = 4x1, 6GB= 4x2, 8GB = 4x4. There is some question if the chipset can truly deliver dual channel memory performance properly in all but the last config. Obviously once one channel is filled, then real world dual channel benefits disappear. it may be enabled, but it can't deliver, so performance will likely degrade in certain conditions in all but the last two.
Secondly, don't even consider memory upgrade unless you are positive of the memory footprint you require, that would mean you would know 100% what you need every MB for, it doesn't sound like you are in that category.
GB's of unused memory won't help you one iota.
You can upgrade memory later if required, DDR3 continues getting cheaper.

 

thanks for the reply! much appreciated

lurking the dell website right now....

 

Yeah, you may want to go with thw 2.9 ghz cpu if the price isn't a big deal, it's an additional 10%, more CPU is always a good thing but not if it means sacrificing the other addons.

 

Can someone explain what tweeks have been made to vista when using the SSD that increases performance?

Thanks

 

Hmm, that's a large request. I thought of writing a guide and a tool but the fact is there is enough out there. Check this tool out.
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49779

I haven't researched it but it hits the major ones, check the theread out to make sure it's good to try.

Infact, OCZ forums have topics dedicated to that as well as the SSD thread here in aftermarket Hardware.

 

thts all good but all that costs money. Also, why is blu ray a must have? thts wont be no blu ray apps for the pc is agessssss, until everyyone has blu ray, and iv got a ps3 for films and so have a lot of otthers.
I find the P8600 better then the T9550 unless your going to be doing cpu intensive things as its only .26ghz slower and uses 25W instead of 35W that the T9550 uses and it gives off less heat, both good for a laptop.

 

After rereading tiduspr message I guess I misunderstood he had alot of money to burn. The 5K thing threw me off me.

owais - you're right the P8600 is fine. But for people that have money to spend then they can go higher.

I was under the impression he wanted a monster laptop, hence all the addons I threw on, yet looking back at his post I guess I misunderstood.
P8600 is fine and if I didn't get a free upgrade to the T9550 I would have a 8600 too.

@tiduspr - sorry, if money was no object then all that initial stuff I mentioned was great but yeah the 8600 is fine, the small percentage in frequency isn't worth the bumps economically. The rest is up to you.

 

I'm sorry if this has already been addressed, but I have a quick question, on the Dell website(at least the Canadian one) when you can customize a SXPS16, there are 3 screen options, 2 of which look almost identical...

They are:
- Edge-to-Edge HD Widescreen 16.0 inch WLED LCD (1366x768) W/2.0 MP
- Edge-to-Edge HD Widescreen 16” WLED LCD (1366x768)in Black w/2MP Webcam

So umm, the only difference I see is one says "in Black" so could anyone explain to me the difference between these 2 options .

They're both the same price btw.

 

There is no difference that must be a mistake. The only 1366x768 screen is in fact black.

 

oh, no worries, thanks to both for the advice.

It's not like i want to spend 5k on a pc, but throwing in most of the stuff, including the high end processor, it would all come to about 2.7k , which im more than fine with paying. Seeing as my last Dell Laptop lasted for 5 years and I pretty much use it for Photoshop and gaming, i just wanted to know if the higher end processor would help the video card out.

Most of the games i use on a pc are mmo's. such as FFXI, wow, and soon Star Wars the old republic. These games usually are not very graphically intense but i wanna make sure, for that very reason, that i can play them with max settings with no problems. Hence, my question about the processor.

Really, no matter how much stuff i add to it it doesn't seem like it'll hit the over 3,000 mark, and i'm fine with that. Knowing that if it craps out ill be backed up by dell's warranty i feel pretty safe.

In terms of blu-ray, well im a blu-ray buff..and am pretty set up @ home with my player and HD setup, however having a nice screen on the laptop, and seeing as i pretty much carry my laptop everywhere, i definitely want it. I can hook it up via hdmi @ friend's houses that might have an HDTV but no blu-ray player yet (yes, there are some... go figure).

In any case.. i really like to feel like ive bought a really nice product ... pretty much want to be blown away.

Thanks for your advice guys =)

 

YEh that must be a mistake. If you order you should call and say you wanted the Edge-to-Edge HD Widescreen 16” WLED LCD (1366x768)in Black w/2MP
not the Edge-to-Edge HD Widescreen 16.0 inch WLED LCD (1366x768) W/2.0 MP lol

 

I have installed Windows 7 RC, and I am surprised that the performance is worse in Win7 than in Vista. I have installed all the drivers, including the Beta ATI driver specifically for Win7 RC 64.

When I run the WEI under Win7 I get a Gaming score of 5.1, whereas under Vista it is 5.5.

Annoying that the touchpad scroll function in Firefox doesn't work for me under Win7, as others have also noted, but I haven't found a solution yet.

Overall the Win7 experience seems sluggish compared to Vista, which I find quite surprising, because everyone else seems to be raving about how fast and responsive Win7 is, esp. compared to Vista. Well, I am finding exactly the opposite to be true!

So, I'd be interested in hearing your experiences running Win7 on the Studio XPS 1640. Maybe I am overlooking something, or have the wrong drivers installed...

What has your experience been?

Edit: I do see that there are a couple threads here specific to running Windows 7 on the SXPS...I'll check them out.

 

Seems strange. I don't see why that would be the case.

 

I thought it was way better then Vista, so much so that as soon as I was able to watch Blu Ray's on Win 7 I blew away the Vista partition. I'm not running RC though, I'm running 7057, which I wouldn't think would make a difference. My WEI score was 5.1 with Vista and Win 7, so I didn't see a difference. I did see FPS increases in CS:Source, which is pretty much the only game I play on this.

 

i just got a realease candidate email from windows 7 saying i can get it may5.
what does that mean?

also does the windows 7 OS expire like a trial then you have to buy the real version?

 

http://blogs.pcmag.com/miller/2009/04/windows_7_release_candidate_al.php

 

The OS is faster and more responsive. The OS will be a worthwhile upgrade from XP for those that passed on Vista for all the right reasons.

As to your issues, I dunno, but I sure would not be judging anything based on WEI.

My Win 7 install seems fine, maybe your power options need fiddling, it might have your CPU running a 1.5 GHZ or something.

As a side note, the color gamut seemed improved. I know that Win7 is supposed to improve the color gamut but I didn't think of it until I was seeing color detail in screensaver pics that I didn't see in the Vista partition.
I'm sure many won't notice it because it's not a stark difference.

 

your WEI score in win7 is less as they have upgraded the WEI, so you need a better pc/laptop to get the same score.

 

I just got the email too. Did you even read it?

 

I want to take advantage of this deal going on untill may 7
Studio xps 1640

Starting Price.........$1,702
Instant Savings.......$403
Subtotal...............$1,299

does anyone have any additional stackable coupon codes, like employee discount or something like that?

This would be my 3rd xps1640 ..firstone had bad motherboard, second has busted speakers(got money back) now i am making my 3rd attempt.

 

Thanks Boris. I'll have to play with some available AVHC files once the laptop gets in.

 

Just wanted to post a score of 4428 for 3Dmark06 which seems on par with others that I've read about.

But it looks like I'm getting 2 hours and 30-40 minutes on my 9-cell battery with High performace mode selected. Does that seem really low or will switching it to balanced or power saver mode really make that much of a difference? I say this because I haven't tried those modes (yet) and Laptopmag.com said they achieved that time with their 6 cell battery (not sure what mode they were in...but by default, Vista is usually in balanced mode). After I try out the different battery times with the different modes, I'll test out my 6 cell battery as well and let you all know what I am getting.

 

I get 3:10 or abit lower on balanced lowest brightness setting wifi off(Using Ethernet) on 6 cell and i just ordered a 9 cell so i expecting about 4 hours on balanced lowest brightness With wifi

 

The 15% off outlet coupons are gone now, right? I just found a good 8gb ram system, damn.

 

To get more battery life...I think these are the biggest impacts...

LCD brightness
Undervolt CPU
SSD hard drive over mechanical
Disable unused devices - Disable bluetooth, network card, etc. (do so in BIOS when possible)

In the end the graphics card appears to cause alot of draw without any decent power savings and higher end GPU's are pretty notorious hogs.

 

Has anyone been using the ATI HD3670 drivers from the dell site....
Release date: 3/23/2009
version: 8.590.0.0000 A06
size: 105mb
and if so have you seen any increase in performance using this version?
Cheers

 

i use dell drivers, the newest ones but i dont play games

 

How exactly does the european (UK) TV tuner work?
do i need to connect it to an ariel, does it have an internal antenna?
and does it find all the Freeview channels?

 

You need to connect an ariel, it is supplied with the laptop. Use Windows Media Center and it will find all the freeview programs for you.

 

how would you connect the ariel to your laptop?
isnt the tv tuner a internal pci-e mini card?

does the tv tuner go next to the WiFi in the laptop, so its a PCI-E mini slot?

 

Yes it's internal but there is an port on the left side of the laptop beside the VGA port where the arial can be connected using a special "converter"(that is included).

I'll take a picture later when i get home to illustrate.

 

Ok, just opened up my laptop to see where the tv tuner would go?
where could i put it? there is only 2 slot which looks like the wifi.
there is a WWAN slot though, anyone know if i can put one there?

also, the GPU is easily changeable as far as i can see, its near the fan on a platform where you can remove it, the 3670 is the saame size as a ATI 4670,4650, 4830 (nearly as good as a 4850).

so if anyone can find one of those and fit them it, you should be fine.


the laptop also can a broadcom enthernet thing, if you just disconnect the lead, it shouldnt use the part and save you battery life (as long as you dont use the enternet). i cant see many people useing the enternet anyway as its a laptop...

 

which port?

 

There is a picture of the port on NBR's review, but I don't have it on mine. From what I understand though I shouldn't, it was only available on European models.

 

im from europe and i didnt get that on mine.


do you mean that circle thingy? but it seems filled up or something, i dont have it at all on mine.

 

That's it, it's just a dust cover. I don't have it either, but I was under the impression it was only included on European models, which I'm assuming you have.

 

yeh, shame :/

but if it has an ariel wouldnt want it anyway. plus it doesnt catch HD freeview in the UK. there is a new HD tv tuner coming out that just slots into that slot on the right of the laptopabove the SD slot and near the DVD drive.