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

those lights are for the WWAN card, which most likely you didnt buy

 

hey, i've got a problem with my HDMI output. Basically got a 42" Pansonic plasma which ive had for couple years now, supports upto 1080p and works fine with skyHD via HDMI etc but when i try and connect my SXPS16 to it via HDMI cable it comes up but for some reason the whole screen has a red tint over it and obviously this makes watching things.. well rubbish, also i cannot seem to get the sound to come out of the tv although the HDMI sound output its selected and seems to be working in sound properties, could anyone help with this?

Just strange as SkyHD works fine and this doesnt, slightly confused, and yes i have latest ATi drivers. Thanks.

 

Is this a proven method? I have never heard of this and I tried to search the topic but found very little......

 

It could be a faulty HDMI cable or the HDMI Port itself.

 

I'd lean towards the port if you're using the same cable you use with SkyHD. Do you have any friends with HDTV's you could try it out on and see what it looks like there?

 

Heat is a battery's worst enemy. The cooling in a fridge is to slow the process of the chemicals. Heres another thread on it http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272519 hope this helped you

 

Yeah, good idea. The HDMI from my Nvidia based laptop works just fine on my ancient monitor with DVI, so I'd think a newish TV would...uh...also work just fine

 

I love my SXPS and it has a lot of great qualities (especially the speed and video quality), but it is a desktop replacement. The battery doesn't last very long and it is fairly heavy. So, if you are look for something to run a long time without being plugged in, you might want to look elsewhere.

 

I didn't want the Vista based drive involved at all, everntually it will be pulled and replaced with the W7 RC1 drive, if everything went well. I want to use the Boot Manager temporarily until I was confident in RC1 and then just pop the drive in and move on.

But apparently that was wishful thinking. I hope a bios update fixes it.

 

6.5 pounds 2:50 min battery life. Id say its portable enough. I lug mine to school everyday no problem and waiting for my 9 cell to arrive

 

Okay thanks guys, going to try it when i get home from work on a different TV see if that works, will not be happy if its the port though, i thought it might be i've yet to test it elsewhere.

 

Has anyone already tried the Invisible Shield for the SXPS 16?
I'm planning to buy it but am a bit affraid it just isn't that nice on a lapp (Already have a invisible shield on my phone)

 

I carry my SXPS 16 to and from work in my bag every day (and I take the subway!). It is NOT much heavier than any other standard 15.4" notebook and less than 1 lb heavier than my old MBP. The battery lasts for about 3 hrs when I have it on battery save mode. Not bad at all.

 

I guess I'm just comparing it's battery life to my old laptop which could go about 4 hours w/out a charge. And I think the weight thing may be a difference of gender. My old laptop was about the same weight, and I hated lugging it around school. Even in a padded bookbag it would get heavy after walking any distance. But, of course, then I was carrying heavy casebooks too... Now it just gets to hang out on my sofa .

 

I will say that it is nice and thin which does make it more portable.

 

Porability is all personal preference I think. I mean there are some people who need 13" or smaller, and others with no issues with a 20" laptop.

This seemed plenty portable to me.

 

This machine is pretty light...and the battery life isn't all that bad. I get over four hours with the nine-cell (closer to five, though I am on powersave mode a lot of it).

 

i have to say, i truly regret not buying the inspiron mini 9 with the discount. i love my sxps, and i always thought the mini 9/10/etc would be utterly pointless, but i saw a guy with one on a greyhound the other day and its just perfect for portability.

i see no reason to go middle of the road. i have no regrets about getting the 1640 over the 1340. but i dont always need the whole machine with me when i travel. id love a mini 9 for away missions

 

Well you're insulting tone and anti-64bit campaign deserves a response.
With 15 years of experience as a systems administrator and 25 years of hands on programming I'm not going to be swayed by your unfounded fears of 64 bit or your allegations of me doing a disservice.

Your comments show you obviously lack experience in writing 64 bit code, don't know that it hardly differs from 32 bit except for your misconceptions.

You are recommending based on your own lack of understanding and scope in claiming people will run into bugs and compatibility problems.
There is no good reason for average people to avoid it, good reasons for people to embrace it. You're just promulgating fear and ignorance, that's the real disservice.

It's a shame you have to make things personal when discussing technologies strengths and weaknesses. I guess you know better than most that 64 bit is not ready for primetime and people should avoid it, I'm sure it's not because you have anything yet to learn.

Funny thing is if people like you would stop avoiding 64 bit and helping others do so, that very day there would be no more possible claims of compatibility issues, because they would disappear.
Strangely, you are unaware of the programs that crash specifically because of 32 bit.

 

It should've worked in the BIOS as long as the drive was the C drive of the machine where you previously loaded it, being active with it's own MBR. I guess the only thing left is a limitation of the lappy not allowing to boot off of the Esata, although it would be strange. If so inclined, go ahead and report it so they know to fix it.

 

And here I was trying to figure out how to get rid of all this evil technology and "upgrade" my xps 1640 with a intel 80286 processor so I could go back to the real 16-bit software. Nobody needs 32bit OS's, 16 bit is where it is at.

 

LOL. Great stuff guys.

 

Sorry everyone for posting on the wrong thread. Yes. It's a xp 13..

errr. lack of sleep. carry on!

 

Received my 9 cell and can get about 4:30 on balanced lowest brigtness and 5:10 with powersaver

 

I am excited that I scored a refurb 1640 from Dell for ~830 with RGB LED. I am going to replace my aging Inspiron 9200 and I am hoping for big things from this screen. Not so much for gaming, just hope my eyes can adjust to smaller print. I have read some negatives about the keyboard feel. Anyone care to comment? I am a touch typer and wanted something with a backlit keyboard. Can't wait!

 

How'd you score such a good deal? What are the other specs?

I think the keyboard is great, no problems here.

 

It was a scratch and dent. Base config P8600 and small 160 GB drive. They have a 15% off coupon right now. I bought my last one thru the Dell Outlet and haven't had any probs. Glad to hear the keyboard is good. Thanks

 

Cool. Is there any way you could give me a link to the coupon codes? Thanks

 

i have my 500gb sata drive already partitioned by dell called recovery. i have reinstalled vista 64 the day i got my sxps to remove dell bloatware i install programs of my preference. do you think its a good idea to delete the recovery drive partition or do i still need it?

 

If you know how to do a fresh install, you don't need the recovery partition. All of the disk utilities still work.

 

Wow - that is great battery life considering the size of the notebook! I've read in this thread that lowest brightness on the RGB LED screen is still fairly bright. Is that your experience? Like, can you still see it easily in a brightly lit room? I know this is completely subjective, but thought I'd ask anyway!

I do quite a bit of traveling so battery life is important to me. I still travel with my XPS Gen 2 but the battery has degraded to less than 1:30 from a boot up on battery.

Also, do you get these battery readings from using Vista or Windows 7? Do you see a big difference in battery life between the 2 operating systems?

Thanks!
Rayt

 

I'm fine with the keyboard too. It is similar to any other Dell laptop that I've ever used (my last laptop was an Inspiron 8600). So if you are used to Dell, then you should be good . The print is small sometimes, but it isn't a problem because you can magnify using the mousepad (at least in Office and on-line). It takes a little getting used to (I still keep accidently doing it while reading and trying to scroll), but it is nice.

 

the keyboard on studio 16 is completely different from older dell comps.
the keys are bigger, it will take you a full month to get used to it.

 

I would say exactly the same.

They're not "unfounded" and they're not "fears".

It's clear in retrospect that you're thinking of yourself when you're writing this anti-32-bit stuff, assuming any of your claims are true at all. YOU don't want to deal with 32-bit, presumably because you're actually writing programs with huge memory requirements.

That's very understandable, but you're not taking into account what's actually best for an individual user.

What is this "lack of understanding"?
People WILL run into compatibility issues. That's a fact, not a "fear" or something. You're apparently trying to hype up 64-bit just because YOU don't want to deal with 32-bit. Well if it's not that, it's a depreciated API, or a new instruction set, or whatever. There's always something, and either way this is a forum, and in particular a thread about regular people buying what's probably going to be their main system. What YOU want in some abstract way in pushing people to a particular OS is not helpful to what a user actually needs.

There IS a trade off going with the 32 or 64-bit version of Vista. You're claims otherwise mean you're either intentionally lying, or you don't know what you're talking about. NO ONE with significant experience with 64-bit Windows would claim it's not going to affect you.

*I* adjusted to it fairly decently. *YOU* adjusted to it, supposedly, with no issues at all. But I've run into a LOT of software that won't work. A *LOT* of times I have to resort to a virtual machine, or an alternate piece of software, etc. It's a hassle for me, and I'm not getting a benefit from it in anything I run.

Time and again I've spelled out why the average user or power user may want to avoid it. *RIGHT NOW* I (and all other people I work with) think there are more reasons for an average user to avoid it then get it, and you've yet to give a real reason to the contrary.

Obviously 64-bit is the future, but odds are memory limitations are NOT going to hit someone during the lifespan of a laptop purchased now-while compatibility issues will. Even if they do, they may well just want to upgrade to a new OS at that point either way-and will almost certainly be adding more RAM to their system too, etc.

There are clearly exceptions for certain industries and certain specialized programs, but it is a huge disservice to pretend people won't have compatibility issues.

Oh the irony.

I didn't "make things personal". You either lied about 64-bit Windows, or lied about your level of expertise. I've been insulted by you time and again, while you fail to even make a claim that supports your position.

I'm not even "pro-32-bit". I have no agenda other than trying to help users. The decision is personal, but it's disgusting to not give pros and cons of both.

Actually I know exactly as well as most (all?) power users that there are real trade offs either way.

That isn't "funny". That, again, is at best questionable logic.

Yes, what programs "crash specifically because of 32 bit"?

 

I thought it was decent (by laptop standards), but inferior to the previous generation XPS.

 

Okay to update this, i tried it last night on another TV using same cable it was a samsung 23" HD this time and it worked perfectly, well quality seemed a tiny bit off but i think i should be able to sort that in ATiCC but cant get round why port is fine, cables are fine, tv is fine (works perfectly with SkyHD) but for some reason lappy doesnt want to work properly and play sound on the pansonic, someones out to get me i swear.

 

You may have already said this, but did you try a different cable? Maybe try another one (make sure it's 1.3 compliant), and also update your video drivers if you haven't.

 

Regarding this heated debate going on whether to choose a 32-bit or 64-bit OS, it's easy:

1. Make a list of the programs you are planning to run on the laptop you are about to purchase;

2. Check the official website of each of the programs in the list from #1. Check each program's system requirements.

3. If all programs in the list are supported under 64-bit Vista, then go for it. If not, then go 32-bit.

It's that simple.

 

why cant studio 16 have nvidia too just like its smaller sibling studio 13? the videos on my studio 13 with 9400m integrated looks better than full hd ati 3670 on studio 16.
why would dell stick with proven failure like ati graphic. salespeople are idiots.

 

our economy is in a funk, i have studio 16 up for sale on ebay for 2 weeks, there was no taker, not even an offer.
i used to be able to sell dell laptops in one time listing 7 days.
bail me out too, please, president obama!!

 

"looks better" meaning?

 

And since when do Salespeople decide what GPU goes into a computer? Last time I checked Engineering was left up to Engineers. If you don't like ATI graphics cards, why would you ever purchase something with one in it? I don't like import vehicles, therefore I don't purchase them. Simple enough.

 

Not quite, because a lot of programs aren't going to say one way or the other, some that say they work under 64-bit Windows don't work right, and some really ancient programs actually work just fine. That's a good way to get a rough idea, but you're going to run into surprises most likely. (I had a number of bad surprises, but was also pleasantly surprised that my 13 year old financial program continues to run just fine!)

 

I got my Studio XPS 16 on Wednesday. 2.8GHz CPU, 4GB Ram, 256 SSD, 1080p Screen, Blu-ray, 5300 WiFi, Bluetooth, TV Tuner, 4 years warranty & accidental damage cover, 6-cell & 9-cell batteries.

Initial impressions were great laptop, shame about the integrated fingerprint magnet built into the casing. However after spending several fruitless hours with sales support, my views have been somewhat soured. Since I have an MSDN subscription, there seemed no point paying the extra for Vista Ultimate, I'd just wipe the disc & reinstall 64-bit Ultimate myself. But there were no discs with the machine for Fast Access Facial Recognition, PowerDVD for Blu-rays or Roxio Creator. When I originally spoke to the sales rep I explained I'd be reinstalling windows and would need the CDs for all the extra software and he assured me this would be fine. I've since looked at order docs and it does say software install only / no media, but this isn't what we talked about when I originally made the order. No one at Dell seems able to help me. I've been transferred from sales, to tech support & back to sales again, I've had the issue apparently escalated twice and had calls back promised but never made. My sales rep has conveniently left the department. It's getting to the point where I feel that if this is how Dell deal with an issue like this, I don't want to deal with Dell again, and I will return the laptop and demand a full refund. This is the third laptop I've bought from Dell in the last six months and have spent over £3k with them during that period and I expect to be treated better.

Has anyone in the UK had any success getting media for Facial Recognition & PowerDVD (not too bothered about Roxio Creator unless anyone knows better, not even sure what its for)? Or should I just give up and return the laptop? I don't see why I should have to pay another £70 for a new copy of PowerDVD when I am supposed to have already bought this from Dell and I have no idea where I can get get a copy of the facial recognition software from (smartsource.dell.com doesn't work for UK laptops). I suppose the other option is to break the law and use something like BitTorrent, but that's not something I really want to do. Not for any moral reasons since I feel that I already own the software, but I'm not keen on encouraging piracy since I work in the software industry and don't want to run the (admittedly very small) risk of getting caught.

Any advice anyone?

Cheers,
Phil.

 

Same here. I've a Studio XPS 16 as a replacement for my Studio 15 notebook. Unfortunately Dell sent me a NEW SXPS with loads of problems. Today recieved my SXPS back after it has been in a repaircenter for 3 weeks. And guess what? Now the sound is messed up! So monday I'll have a technician comming here to replace the whole palmrest (since the boxes are part of it).

My other complaint was that the Face Recognition software did not come with the system. (Also my order confirmation said: software install only, no media) After a lot of complaining and escallations I finally spoke to the Technical "Boss" and he send me the CD's. The Partnumber from the Facial Recognition CD is C976H, maybe you can call Dell and ask them to sent you this part.

 

https://smartsource.dell.com/Web/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/web/main.aspx

 

I'm from Denmark and yes it is frustrating that DELL Europe doesn't give access to that site. I've got an MSDN subscription aswell(also working with sw development) and i'm not to happy with not having atleast PowerDVD. I don't care much for the facial recognition nor the Roxio but i bought this laptop to watch BD movies(among other things) and now i'm bound to the standard Vista install if i want to do that.

I want to wipe it and install W7 RC1 on it but for now i'm not able to do that which is unfortunate, atleast untill i get this sorted also want to get rid of the 15gb recovery partition..

 

Unfortunetly that site is for US/Canadian systems only

 

http://www.i4u.com/article18688.html

http://www.pcworld.com/article/149055/dell_takes_heat_for_faulty_nvidia_chips.html

http://apcmag.com/nvidia_disaster_thousands_of_gpus_faulty.htm


im thinking this is a reason?

I am buying this studio xps 16 strictly for 2 reasons:
1. Dell warranty - had a dell for 5 years and the extended warranty was perfect. next day onsite service.
2. Ati Card

The nvidia card on my current dead laptop of 1 year has melted down 3 times now, and unfortunately my laptop is not a dell but a sony, who hasnt responded to clients like Dell and other companies have.

I used to have a Dell laptop, lasted for 5 years ... it had an nvidia card at first, but that too failed 2 times before dell upgraded it to an ATI that worked for as long as my pc did.

this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=268277

has a very good timeline on the very first post of the many issues and problems that NVIDIA has been having starting last year, up till now, including its 9 card series.. mine crapped out 2 weeks ago..and it had been replaced 2 months ago.

imho, i cant rely on a card that may give good performance but can die at any moment from normal use. Im one of those people that will not buy any product that has NVIDIA (or sony for that matter..cept for the playstation) and am glad that Dell apparently has learned from its past experience.

Ive never had any trouble with ATI.. and im hoping i wont have any .

Just putting some info out there in case you guys didn't know.

 

Did you even read their posts?

abaddon, I can't PM you because of your post count, but if you leave an email address I can help you. I went through the same thing so I'm empathetic. I was sent the PowerDVD CD, which is now available via the download store, and I have the other two images. Let me know.