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

Does the XPS get too hot around the keyboard? how does everyone like the RGB screen? Does anyone use Maya or After Effects etc?

 

Yes it does. On my unit it gets warm on the left side starting at the track pad. It's all relative of course, and after having read countless topics regarding the heat its hard to ignore so my view on the subject is completely biased. I still love this machine to bits but because I KNOW theres a heat problem, its harder to ignore.

The screen is amazing. At first it doesn't seem all that special, but working on Photoshop and Illustrator is a join with so much room on the screen and such amazingly vivid colors. I still haven't test-printed anything, but I suspect i'll have to adjust my work to reflect how the screen portrays the colors differently than other monitors I've worked on. It's vastly different.

I haven't worked on those programs, but I suspect load times will be blazing fast (as they are with PS and Illustrator), but the graphics card might be a slight letdown. I get kind of a slow refresh when scrolling around an extremely zoomed in vector image in Illustrator. It could just be the program itself, and its not like any other computer I've used (including top of the line Mac Desktop stations) are any better.

 

RGB screen = great
Heat = sucks
Gaming = not so great, especially when it increases heat A LOT!
Mine is going back today. I'm jumping on the m17x bandwagon!

 

so would you still recommend this laptop?

 

This laptop is great

 

so is the heat issue, not that bad, How bad is the glare as well?

 

I play l4d and Empire total war on my laptop when its on my lap and its not even uncomfterable its not that hot really. The laptop doesn't have a heat issue as some like to beleive. The glare i will admit is bad but this laptop does have a great viewing angle so its fine. And you can put an anti glare screen protector on it

 

Just goes to show how subjective this is. I believe there is little to no glare, and I work in an office that has a gigantic window with the sun shining in right behind me. But on the other hand, I'm not pleased with the heat (even when surfing the web).

But for some reason, despite the heat, I can't bring myself to return it. It's a beautiful machine and very fast for the apps I use.

 

guys, i need a quick help!
a friend is comming from the us sunday and my mother wants to get my brother a sxps 13. where can i buy it?? how long does best buy take to deliver? does dell offer fast shipping or something?
tks a lot.

 

Best Buy offers 2 business day delivery.

 

that 4670 case is going to be urgent. i definitely have to order my laptop in like a week, but if i buy this model, i wouldn't miss that new card..
i don't even know what to buy if that card doesn't come out in a short time, maybe i should go for a different model, but by dell, i just haven't found such.. in the end i will have to look at HPs, Vaios, Toshibas, Lenovos.. i don't really have extra demands, all i want is a laptop with 15" screen (+/- 1 "), P series C2D, 2 or 4GB (fast) RAM, min. 320gb hdd, and a properly gpu (like 9600GT or HD4650 or HD4670) for a maximum of like 1500 bucks..
what would you buy, if 4670 wouldn't available in the near future for sxps16?

 

The HP HDX16 has the option of a 512mb 9600 GT or a 1GB 130M, the latter of which is a very, very good card.

The Sony VAIO FW (16.4" but basically same weight as XPS16 and less wide despite the larger screen) currently has a 3650 but it is being upgraded to 1GB 4650 in the near future.

Personally I'm going to wait for the 4670 in the XPS or maybe just settle for the 3670 both ASUS and MSI have some laptops with high-end graphics cards and 15"+ screens for well under $1500.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220483

15.4" ASUS for $1250 with a 512mb NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152099

15.4" MSI with a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS and Blu-Ray

 

if your spending around $1500 id go take a look at the sager NP8662 its the most powerful 15" notebook around with the nvidia GTX260m and is fully upgradable for furture proofing......

 

Did they redesigned the case for the new red color ?
I did some research and i saw some pictures on the web for the new xps 16 red case and the audio jacks, headset jacks and multimedia card are in front as opposed to the black version which they are on the sides. So is that possible that they redesigned the case for better cooling ?

I really like this laptop but the heating issue scares me.

 

mtness,

I see you have the 720p LED screen, how do you like it?

 

yeap mate i thought long and hard abut which screen i needed and im really impressed with the 720p LED screen bright and clear and perfect for my needs...at the end of the day i didnt need any more pixels on the screen...ev en with the new notebook i ordered i didnt take the full hd option...goodluck im sure you will be happy with either screen.

 

man, that red is fugly, stick with black. also, thats a photo of the studio xps 13, not the 16. the red isnt a redesign, its just a different color. and one more time, fugly.

 

sager? hmm, i haven't even heard of it so far.. it's seems to be a pretty nice stuff though, but it seems to be too hardcore gaming stuff for me. i mean, i don't want the most powerful gaming laptop, i only want a pretty good laptop which is still kind of portable. even the sxps16 is almost too heavy for being a portable laptop, but this is even heavier, and the 260m with it's 75 Watt consumption seems to me a monster. so.. size and battery life are really important factors too, this laptop is just not what i want..
also, in price, it's just not affordable for me..

 

Sorry i must have mis read i thought you said $1500 budget.....heat is not a problem (clevo have fantastic cooling in all there notebooks)but yes it does weigh quite a bit at 7lbs, the sager comes with a eight cell battery so im guessing it will perform as good if not alittle better than the sxps16 6 cell battery...
But if what you are after is a multimedia notebook able to play most games at high-med/high settings then the sxps16 is a fantastic choice......the only reason im upgrading is a want to game more and the sager is a great machine for its size...
Good luck with your choice.

 

My logic tells me that the 720p resolution is the way to go for 16'' screen. But at the same time I can't help to think that the 1080p will give so much more work space. But can my eyes handle it? Would hate to make the wrong screen choice. I watched some youtube clips about this xps, didn't help much.

 

Windows 7 looks beautiful on the RGBLED 1080p screen! The size doesn't bother me at all, and I've read that Windows 7 is much more flexible with resizing everything to your liking (if you even need to!).

 

if i choose the sxps16, i would definitely go for the 9 cell battery.. yeah, $1500 budget, but if i want 3 years warranty, it's already 1700-1800..
yeah, sxps would be perfect.. with the 4670. i would be really angry if i would buy it with the 3670 and a few weeks later i could have bought it with the 4670.. i really have to choose fast, but just can't.. not to mention i still don't know if i need the fullhd rgbled.. damn.. i really hope something will help me find this out soon..

 

Here's the way I see it--Order a new one now, just the way you want it, with the 3670. Takes about a week to build and then a few days to deliver. Once you get it, you have 21 days to return it. So now, you have about a MONTH to upgrade to the 4670, should Dell release it. Won't cost you a cent.

Now, should Dell release the 4670 upgrade after your 21 day return period, resell your SXPS 16 (on ebay or Craigslist) and buy the new one with the 4670. You'll have to put in a few extra bucks, but you get the best of both worlds.

If reselling your 3670 '16 sounds good, look to the Dell Outlet and save BIG. Then, when it comes time to resell, you'll be able to resell at or about the price you paid, instead of taking a big "hit" on a new one.(Like cars, new ones depreciate as soon as you take delivery, but used cars hold their used value).

For an extended warranty, use an American Express card to pay. Almost all AMEX cards add an extra year to any purchase, for free.

Keep an eye on the Outlet, and even wait for a coupon code discount, and you can easily score a 1080p LED with a P8700 or higher for around a $1000. While you have it, take very good care of it, to keep it's resale value high until the 4670 comes out, then sell it and buy a new 4670!

Outlet items have the same 1 yr warranty and 21 day return period as new systems, too.

Good luck!

 

As far as heat and Sager, there are quite a few who are experiencing extreme hard-drive temperatures with the 8662, so they don't look to be immune.

Dell and the like are so slow to incorporate new worthy GPU's; especially when compared to Sager/Clevo, MSI, and Asus, I don't think any of us can predict when and if the 4670 will make a configuration appearance.

 

Didn't do alot of research did you?

The "Heating Issue" is a product of people imagination, fueled by people on these forums. I have two SXPS 16's and they are fine. Yes, they heat up, but they are a laptop with a 16 inch screen. It runs about the same as my Studio 15. Don't fall for the rumors and false info.

Also, the picture is the SXPS 13 see the SD slot, if that was on the SXPS 16 it would be a huge slot in relation to the case size, and the red is fugly IMHO. My Mini 10 is red and gorgeous, but come on man....red leather?? It cheapens the look of the SXPS

Finally, Dell is losing too much money right now to do a case redesign on a brand new computer.

 

I thought the lower resolution screen looked fantastic, by notebook standards (it's still TN, but much better than some). Personally the lower resolution screen makes much more sense for me than the higher resolution one-I'd spend more for it if I had to! :-D

The cooling system is sub par, which isn't "imagination". I tested it myself, as have others. As to whether that'll actually shorten component lives...well it probably will (if you really use the hardware), but who knows. There are all sorts of trade offs with computers.

My current laptop has way better cooling though, an Nvidia GPU (which is the biggest deal for me), though a worse screen (but for me that's not an issue as at work I use it on an external monitor and don't even have the internal one activated).

 

this is simply not 100 % correct.

High temperatures on this laptop are definitely not the product of anyone's imagination they do happen.

That said...

They happen if you are gaming *and* the laptop is flat on a desk. Mine got so hot that the touchpad felt like it was burning. as ive stated before i am used to high temperatures on a laptop but this was pretty much insane. Not only that, once it reaches these temperatures, performance decreased dramatically.

However...

With the 9 cell battery installed in..or even if you provide some sort of lift towards the back of the laptop so the vents underneath it can actually blow the hot air out, then heat definitely is not an issue.

i dont think this should be a solution though, as it's kind of ridiculous that you can't really game on this pc or stress it graphically if its lying on a flat surface w/o the 9 cell battery. But, once you do give it a tilt, it doesn't overheat at all, no matter how long you play.

but yeah, high temperatures are definitely not imaginary.


@5150joker - about the return. it seems it isnt as seamless as i thought it would be. dealing with customer service still. I'll let you know how it turns out eventually.

 

Apparently, some are missing my point. The average users will not experience overheating. And the gamers who are maxing their systems out will certainly experience high heating issues... BUT, this will happen to pretty much every laptop on the market when maxed out. It's not an overheating issue, it's a user issue.. These systems really aren't designed for gamers and aren't marketed towards them either. There are many gamer systems out there, this is not one of them.

If making a broad statement about the SXPS 16 having a "Overheating Issue" at least have the decency to provide better information as to why it's overheating, not just "It has an overheating issue" or "My friends, friend told me it does"

 

That's the part of this that has driven me nuts. People coming on here saying their cousins brothers uncles grandmother knows a guy that has one and it felt warm once. "Overheating" by definition means the machine shuts down or throttles back due to heat. Mine never did either of those and I gamed often with it. Again, this is like taking a bus engine, stuffing it in a Cavalier with the stock cooling system and expecting it to run cool. It's not going to happen. I actually just sold it so I could upgrade when/if the video card is updated in the line up.

 

Since I've started putting my computer into hibernate instead of just shutting down for the night, I've noticed that coming out of hibernation, the CPU is very quickly bouncing around run percentages between 75 and 100%, the core is running in the highest clock speed and power multiplier (I've undervolted and these readings are according to RM Clock) while the task manager says CPU usage is about 50-55 percent. This is regardless of what I'm doing with the computer. I can have no apps open and just stare at the desktop back ground image, same readings. These readings don't change with time either.

If I do a simple reboot, things get back to normal where I can run notepad or openoffice and several Firefox tabs while being at idle power and clock speeds. RM Clock reads about 35% cpu usage, Task Manager gives me about a 10% reading.

Everything is totally stable with the power from the undervolting, my settings in RM Clock are correct and I've not had any related problems. Anyone else experience this with their SXPS in and out of hibernation?

 

What is an "average user"? More people than not play games, and that's hardly the only thing that pushes hardware. Are you saying most people don't push their hardware? It's reasonable to assume that you can actually use the hardware you're buying.

No, it doesn't. My laptop is smaller, and has a far better cooling system. Even if every laptop had inadequate cooling, that still wouldn't be acceptable. It's entirely reasonable to assume that any computer hardware you buy can actually be used to its full potential. Why bother having these great CPUs and GPUs if you're not allowed to use them, and have to run them at half speed or whatever?

No it isn't. Not unless Dell started saying "*while this hardware contains a reasonably powerful GPU and CPU, we don't intend for you to push them very hard. Please refrain from doing anything but browsing the web or running Word on this system. Because of this limitation, we'd suggest buying a cheaper system."

Many people on this thread have already done just that. I haven't read anyone say anything like "my friend's friend told me it does".

 

That's a nice system, but it doesn't come with or there's' no option to choose a WLED screen. And judging from the bottom panel, it seems like it's designed to dissipate heat quickly..

 

Rumors and false info, huh??

Just because you think this laptop isn't hot doesn't mean it isn't.

The temps do run on the warm-to-hot side and it is def not comfortable on my lap.
Anyone reading this, please take note of the 1000 other posts with the same complaint.

It might be ok for some, but not others. Love the look and feel of the SXPS, but mine is going back for sure....

 

I keep mine running Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and Web apps for 8 hours a day and from 5 minutes after I turn it on to 5 minutes after I turn it off, it noticeably warm (not scalding by any stretch of the imagination.)

I have never done any intense gaming, the most intense thing I've done is had this on my bed while streaming a youtube video and the motherboard got up to 75c.

Whatever is causing the heat is in the left bottom corner (when faceup). My right hand doesn't notice a thing, but the left definitely does. I suspect it might be the harddrive. If its any fair comparison, which it probably isnt, the HD on this SXPS runs over 15c warmer than the drive on my desktop

 

For me this is the best looking laptop around, i built the system as i would like it and it was around 2500$ here in Canada. But there is just too many complaints about heat issue to ignore it so i put my order on hold. I don't want to replace it in 2 years after the waranty expires. Do you guys think the new gpu will help the heating issue ?

 

I just got my full refund back today so it was fairly quick. What kind of trouble are they giving you? If anything, just tell them that it overheats and has actually burned your leg when you were using it and you cannot accept it. Don't take any offers for tech support and then just have them take it back for a full refund.

 

i ran temp monitors during stress tests and no overheating, not even close. my thoughts are some configurations must be causing machines to get hotter than others. reading all the undervolting threads, i cant duplicate their experiences on my machine, it just runs much cooler. maybe faster cpus are the culprit, but i have no evidence for it.

wolfpup, youre one to chime in, you were promoting the conspiracy theory of the vent early on. the machine for me has only been hot when accidentally left on a duvet overnight downloading. i can imagine a lot of people on this forum think each and every one of them is an average user. regardless, constantly pushing the machine to its max and having it get hot is much different than day to day usage. but hell if i care, mines awesome, sucks to your hot sxps16's

 

"Conspiracy theory"?

 

Well I just pulled the trigger on one in the Outlet. The basic specs are:

4 Gigs of RAM
Vista Home Premium
320 gig HDD 7200 RPM
DVD-RW Drive
C2D 2.4 Ghz
Bluetooth
Intel 5100 wifi chip
and the 720p screen

It was the scratch and dent model for $799, $846.94 out the door.

 

metroline, post your temps.

 

name the program you want them from -- cpuid via orthos?

 

man, how do you find these, every time i check the dell outlet, they don't have anything.

 

question for all of you, im getting the xps 16 in a couple of weeks, but i need to know is how to do a compete restore in Vista with no mess up . I don't want any problems while doing this so id like to get well prepared and read. I did my xp yesterday and my internet card didn't load at all (my computer is 5 year old desktop). any help? Thanks.

 

It's not well-known, but Dell adds units to the outlet every 40 minutes past the hour (e.g. 10:40am). For the next 10 minutes or so, you'll be able to browse a selection of quickly diminishing stock. Add your favorite choices to your cart and then decide whether or not you want them. Do this every hour until you find the perfect model that fits you.

 

eh kind of, people add all of them to their cart at once so they have the chance to review what the specs are, that what I ended up doing, that and spent an entire day refreshing the dell outlet site.

 

Is anybody else anxiously waiting for the 4670? I'm checking Dell's site 1-3 times a day JUST to see if the SXPS16 has been updated lol I guess I just really want to get this laptop and as soon as it comes out I'm making a purchase

 

i figured i would share this with everybody:

i contacted dell tech support regarding my heat issues. my cpu idles in the low to mid 40s and under load can get as high as 73C. the person i spoke to agreed that this was a bit high, so they sent a tech to replace the heatsinks and the fan. with the new heatsink and fan, the temperatures are exactly the same. didnt help the heat issue at all.

 

wow, that's some really useful info! It's crazy to watch them appear, and disappear so quickly

 

Of course it was going to be the same, the problem isn't the motherboard or heatsink, it's the stupid ventilation design. If they would've added side vents + fans this would be a non-issue. If the updated SXPS still has heating problems, I'll probably forego purchasing it and stick to this HP DV7 (which so far has run like a champ and MUCH MUCH cooler than SXPS 16) which cost less than $900 new and has a 4650 GPU to boot.

 

Joker why do you constantly troll the fourms and complain about this laptop if you've got a problem with it just leave the fourm and go to the HP fourm