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

they just like to feel more confident about their purchase and need to be validated. let them be. personally hp's are just too ugly for consideration

 

Troll? I already had the SXPS 16, loved it (despite its heating problems) and have been waiting on the new one. But the point is if a sub $900 laptop can deliver superior performance for gaming AND cooling, then Dell needs to seriously rethink it's cooling design for the SXPS 16.

 

Are you seriously going to take some elitist attitude with a Dell? Did I take a wrong turn and end up in the Apple forum? But I agree, HP's are generally pretty ugly (this DV7 would be nice if it didn't have the ugly swirly pattern they added). Dell's entire line has been pretty atrocious until the studio xps 13/16. I owned the XPS 2 and M1710 before the SXPS 16 and both of them were pretty tacky looking though they performed great. This is the first Dell that looks decent and isn't made of cheap material.

 

its simple, it cant, the dv7 has a crap screen, old memory, has no subwoofer, backlit keyboard, and finally it is no cooler than my sxps 16. its also yesterdays model. just go pout in some other corner of the internet.

 

and i am definitely not a dell fanboy, ive got my list of things to fix on the sxps, but i dont bore people with my attitude in forums for a machine i dont own. dells other lines are absolute crap, i definitely would have picked a dv6 over an 1530. that said, get your facts straight and shuffle out to the hp forum and actually contribute.

 

The screen isn't much worse than the SXPS 16 actually. As for the rest, I don't really care except it definitely is MUCH cooler than the SXPS 16. You are definitely in denial if you don't think the SXPS 16 runs scorchingly hot. Scroll back a few pages, I posted screenshots of how hot it ran until I added a 9 cell battery to it. As for you supposedly not caring, you sure are getting defensive about a laptop lol. Hey it's not my fault you got stuck with an overheating laptop that throttles during games! I'll keep playing games on this POS HP's 4650 (which doesn't get hot and runs circles around the 3670 in the SXPS 16..not bad for "yesterday's" model) until Dell releases the revised SXPS 16 with the 4670 and I purchase it. Then I'll keep laughing at you

 

Now now children play nicely............^^

 

the exact same thing has happened with me. No difference at all! But I see people running their sxps 16s at sub 65c temps even after gaming where's mine gets to 90c while gaming and throttles. Looks like our systems are defective bro. I'm going to try for a system replacement.

 

Has anyone tried to make holes on the side of the case, so as to create new airflow vents? That could help cooling a lot. I was wondering, since our Bazilian Guy is pretty handy, if he ever tried such a crazy thing as taking the drill out and going for it.

 

Ouch! My machine is already in production, and I see Dell just added a 4X Slot Load Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner (Writes to DVD/CD/BD) for an added 125 bucks. Bummer...

 

Actually, that is $125 over the price of the BD-ROM...it's a whopping $275 over the price of a DVD-RW...

I had to check when I read "125 bucks" because I thought Dell actually had a good deal on something!

 

What bag or case if any do you guys recommend for the SXPS 16?

 

Can anyone tell me why my escape button doesn't work for anything?

Is it a Vista thing that makes it so I can close little windows (such as Photoshop or Dreamweaver tools) or stop pages from loading in Firefox? The only thing it works for is CTRL + ESC which brings up the start menu.

What gives?

 

How is the world is he trolling? As somebody planning to purchase a laptop I'd rather have people that own the laptop discuss its pros and cons and what models are comparable to it. Joker is doing that, and I see nothing wrong. This isn't a Dell Studio XPS16 fanboy thread where you can engage in group polarization and pretend that nothing is wrong with the laptop, this is just an official SXPS16 thread where we can discuss the laptop.

 

If the HP is so much superior to the SXPS, then it should be a no-brainer, shouldn't it? Why wasting your time here???

 

I never said it was superior, I said that amazingly enough, a "budget" (I put this in quotes because you can customize it to add in penryn/quad core cpu's etc) laptop is able to outperform the SXPS 16 (which I owned) and at the same time run cooler without throttling. There's no doubt I will be getting the new SXPS 16 with the 4670 as soon as it arrives but that doesn't mean in the mean time I can't compare the existing one to other comparable laptops. More people than not have suffered from overheating laptops here and it's good if they are made aware of alternatives.

Take tiduspr for example, he's a gamer and he also had throttling with his SXPS 16 due to overheating and had to return it. He may find the information I'm posting useful especially since it's a direct comparison to the SXPS 16. Besides, this HP has a 4650 GPU in it which is the same one expected in the revised SXPS 16 so it can serve as a good indicator of expected performance increases from the 3670. I mentioned before I'd post up benchmarks but I need someone reliable to compare with.

The few guys here who have lashed out are the same ones that have denied any overheating problems happening with the SXPS 16. If the laptop wasn't overheating, why are so many people posting about it with proof (e.g. screenshots)? Not to mention all the talk of undervolting the CPU just to reduce temperatures. Obviously it exists and hopefully Dell (and potential buyers) is made aware of this so they can take actions to remedy it in a future revision. I know I've done my part by e-mailing their tech support about it as well as executive customer relations.

 

Whats happening?Am a buyer,reading posts and trying to conclude,if this lap is worth..... And I personally feel that joker is not doing anything wrong,on the contrary he is helping the potential buyers to choose the best,comparing the other brands.Yes,this lap is good that doesnt mean the other brands aint doing well.So I request to stop personal attacks and continue the posting as before.
Ok,So as anyone tried Redhat linux on her?

 

I just tried hitting escape on Firefox and it did stop a page from loading. My version of Dreamweaver doesn't have any separate windows so I can't test that. I've never really used escape for anything though. Normally to close windows I hit alt-F4.

I don't think too much has changed negatively for the interface between XP and Vista. Vista has a lot of nice improvements, and otherwise is mostly the same, although they did unfortunately remove one command line ability I used to like (but added some other Unix-like capabilities, so...)

 

What model of HP did you buy that outperforms it and is cooler. I may change my mind. You got it Costco right?

 

joker, you bought it, found a complaint, returned it, bought a new one, and need validation. when you actually list your problems/complaints with the studio xps 16 out there instead of being smug, you might do some people a favor. no one cares about your purchase like you do, and if you plan on hanging around and promoting your new purchase, you better take a note from wolfpup, who like you bought and returned his sxps, except he actually contributed where you just complain. so, you detract from the conversation, and i see someone childish who couldnt live one day without a return policy.

 

I talking about things like find (CTRL+F), at my desktop at home I can hit escape and close it. Photoshop tools like Feather, or the text tool, don't close with escape. And like I mentioned, Firefox doesn't stop pages with escape anymore. I could go on, but theres tons of times I have to adjust my process to close little things manually. It really disrupts my workflow, and its little things like this which makes me despise having to move to new versions (especially OS's).

 

hmm. this sound interesting. and after you add it to cart, will it be reserved for you and hidden from anybody else and you can still choose to keep it or not (if yes, for how long?), or if you want to reserve it, you'll have to place your order in place and finalize your choice?

 

ive not had this problem with the escape key, i can stop pages in firefox and dont have the same problems in photoshop. i use photoshop for my business every day. its not an os problem, check to see if youve remapped it via an external keyboard program.

 

or see if the sticky keys feature is on, that could mess you up too, control panel > ease of access

 

wow, that sounds great. so within 21 days u can just return it only saying you don't like it in all cases?
whats the difference (except of the price) between scratch&dent and certified refurbished, what do u recommend?
the reselling idea sound also good, but i won't find sxps16 with 4670 on outlet short after release, so i would definitely have to buy a new one, that would cost me i guess at least $500 more which is not affordable for me.. only if i buy one already on outlet, i wouldn't lose that much..
also, where can i found coupon code discounts?
ohh and the most important question: is there a way, the get 3 years warranty for an outlet laptop? i really need this, because i'm not from the us, and won't use this laptop there, and only warranties above 3 years are international. i don't know why, but that's true as i heard.. so if there's no way to get 3 years from outlet, i have to buy a new one anyway..

 

wow.. i mean just... wow.

is this supposed to be a laptop review thread? because this is exactly what we have been doing.

5150joker's posts are incredibly helpful.. and they particularly helped me.. if it wasnt for his suggestion of giving some breathing room under the laptop, i wouldnt have been able to even use it.

He has even said that right now , this is the laptop he likes the most on the market... what is up with this?

Were here to discuss the finer points as well as the faults of this laptop so that potential buyers and current owners can get the help they need.

He is not trolling.. in any case you are trolling the forum and him, doing a disservice by leading other people on.

The laptpop DOES overheat and throttle while gaming IF there is not space under it to allow the vents to pass air. Im definitely for this laptop and its the one that i want...but if it hadnt been for this piece of information, i just wouldnt have wanted anything to do with it.

Why is the person giving information being thrown stones at? For God's sake, grow up.

For the record, I am a Dell fanboy as most of my experience with Dell has been totally awesome. This doesn't mean that I will turn a blind eye to any faults it has or worse yet, convince people that something is not happening when , clearly , it is.

Its beyond me what benefit would anybody get from "lying" to people about a laptop's heating.

Everyone has been very specific. If you're a casual laptop user then probably you wont feel that the heat is bad at all. But try gaming on this laptop for more than half an hour on a flat surface without any breathing room for the vents. Thats all you have to do.

Get off joker's case. His posts have been very informative.

and.. for the record. i DO love this laptop. Regarldess of the temperatures its one of the sweetest laptops ive ever set my hands on.

 

Do you even know anything about computers? Overheating is defined as the computer throttling itself or shutting down due to the temperatures reaching the limit. 105c for cpu and 120c( Correct me on this i know its 1*0 ) for the gpu. The studio xps 16 dose not OVERHEAT! its just hot. And not as hot as you seem to believe it is. IDK what you do to your computers but i don't really care. Lying down on our bed using it is a way of making the laptop over heat or a soft surface were the vents are blocked will do it. And yes you are trolling. Coming to a forum and saying to everyone that it is overheating is pure BS. What is right for someone you may not be right for some else. If some one wants to find a problem with a computer they sure will because there searching for one. Your just slandering the computer because you didn't like. WHO CARES MOVE ON

 

i never accused anyone of lying, and i have never rebutted his posts prior that were informative, only those smug comments made after he returned his sxps. and overheating is not the same as getting hot, semantics is important in this instance. mine hasnt even gotten hot, but i also compare it to my former machine a dell latitude d810 which would burn my lap if i tried to use it off the desk.

 

soooo as long as i get the 9cell, or prop it up with like a ruler, i'll be good to go with heat issue?

 

btm, brendan, how do u have vista premium and windows 7? partition?

 

Yes i did but i deleted the windows 7 partion i was having problems with drivers for the video card so i just deleted it

 

Control F doesn't close like that, but does close the normal alt-f4 way. Firefox as someone else mentioned does stop loading with escape-I just tested it, though had never previously used that.

Overheating might not be the right word that's being used, but these do get hotter than they should because they do have poor cooling systems. If nothing else, you are likely to shorten your competent lifespans, and could conceivably run into throttling issues, etc., certainly more easily.

It's not slander, and it is relevant. Dell's clearly shifted from making well built but supposedly un-sexy boxes to putting more of an emphasis on looks than how it works. Personally I think that's a terrible trade off, and something I used to praise Dell for. It's worth knowing about if you're considering one of these.

 

I for one don't experience the heat that everyone here supposedly does. A long with N20( can't remember his name ) But yes saying it overheats is slander because it isn't the proper term so it wards people from buying it which could be potentially a great system for there needs.

 

in my experience, yes. all i needed to do was prop it up a bit and i was able to play for hours without any sort of heating problems.. i mean it will get warmer but not hot. playing at full fps whereas if i have it flat on a surface after a half hour of gaming it will go down to 5 fps and heat up terribly.

so, prop it up or get a 9cell and u have no problems.

 

haha, actually its one of the things i needed when buying a computer. otherwise id be all over alienware. i do a lot of presentations and demos with my clients where i am one on one with them on my laptop. i use to cringe when i had to bring out my old latitude to go over work. it was like i put a dirty shoe on the desk. the new latitudes are a lot prettier, but no where near the horse power of the xps line. i was near to buying a macbook pro just for the look, but i wasnt willing to shift to a new os just for the shell, and have to pay double for the privilege of doing so.

 

I need some input here, Dells 16.0 inch Wide Screen 16:9 720p HD WLED LCD, W/2.0 MP VS 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050).
In layman's terms, which is better, and what is the difference between the two screens.

 

WSXGA is 16:10 vs HD 16:9, thats a personal preference really, some like the more square vs the wide screen. The main difference is the LED backlighting which uses less power and is significantly more even and brighter, also it wont wear out in splotches.

 

LOL! Sorry man, but that sounds very very crazy... even for me... I just opened the screen because it was really frustrating to see a 1080p screen with dust particles in front of it.
As for the heat, just get a Zalman as i did and you're problems will be GONE!

 

HDX16 in prize is almost the same, and 9600M GT is only slightly better, then the 3670 - as i heard.
these asus laptops have too hi-en graphic card.. 9800M GS consumes also 60W, which - for me- is a monster in a laptop.. 30W (4670) would be ideal..

but i like that Vaio FW. if it would have 4650 (which is only slightly slower than 4670) it would be really cool. it's even a but cheaper than sxps16. though i can't really imagine how could it be less wide if it has .4" more in display size. what does the "near future" mean regarding to 4650? where does your information come from? is it for sure?

 

THIS IS DISGUSTING! ZAGG INVISIBLE SHIELD!

By highflyingbull, shot with iPhone at 2009-06-04
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/7118/img0190.jpg
http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/9618/img0189e.jpg
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6389/img0194h.jpg
http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/1235/img0186.jpg

 

I made no changes to my settings of any kind, and now all of a sudden its working...

Bizarre...but I'll take it. Hopefully the problem doesn't return

 

Obviously someone doesn't know how to install it

 

Yeah the heating problem i read that it depends on what you do with it, if youk block the vents yes it will overheat, but most laptops get hot even if you say yours is "cool"...

I got a question, the wifi card 3x3 N is it backwards compatiable with a/b/g? and if i wanted to do a clean install is there a tutorial on it? it would be helpful incase sometime goes wrong.

Thanks!!

Hellriser

 

I don't know if this is a joke, but I honestly don't know how you managed to do that.

For everyone else, I would suggest watching a video on installing a similar shield before trying to apply it. Also, I sincerely hope you didn't leave your computer plugged during the process.

 

Ummm...I think it was a joke...if you look at it, it looks like a plastic bag or something!

EDIT: just looked at the other images..not a bag, but obviously a visually impaired person who didn't get the braille version of the application instructions!

 

Holy Crap


thats looks like a laptop baglady

 

The two things that bug me with my XPS16 is the small 320HD...why isn't there a dual HD offering? The other is the lack of number keypad...there's space for it. The heat, i can live with. It's not over heating....but it's correctly venting the large amount of heat that the cpu/gpu and net cards are generating.
My old 17" HP dv9000 has 2x 500gb HD's and a decent keyboard layout. as much as i like my XPS16, some things are a step backwards. If this lappi is supposed to truely be a desktop replacement then I need a lot more HD space and PC keyboard. Other than those gripes, it's a stunning lappi

 

If I get a Zalman, it will add some fan noise though. I have this old Gateway M675, 17 inch screen mamooth from 2004. The fan noise is unbearable, and when I stop it I realize just how much it gave me a headache when it was on. I don't want the same to happen with my XPS. One of the reason I bought it is because it is relatively SILENT! Especially with the Samsung SSD 256B in it. Or so I hope, since Dell keeps delaying my shipping (already been delayed three times, not sure why... I ordered the RBG screen 1080, 8GB of DDR3, BD/DVD combo, Wimax, and 256 SSD).

Will the Zalman add a lot of fan noise? And do you find your XPS silent to start with?

I couldn't find decibel measurements before buying it, but read in reviews that it was silent indeed.

 

No wonder my XPS system is delayed. See this article: Dell Halts XPS, Releases New Alienware Laptop. Let's hope Dell won't cancell pending orders to force people towards the graceless M17x.

 

Why didnt you go for another HP or the Studio 17 which has the numpad and dual HDD bays. You could have gotten the 1920x1200 RGBLED as well.