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

Just using the laptop normally is all it takes to block the vents. That's the issue-it's a stupid cooling design that places form over function. And my current laptop does indeed stay much cooler (like 20 degrees or more if I'm remembering right...and it's a 14" versus 16").

N is backwards compatible with b and g. I'm not sure about a though, or if it varies from card to card.

(Sorry, I chopped out who wrote this accidentally.)

No room for it.

Noooot really. I mean theoretically it's keeping things cool enough, but the design blocks the vent when in use, and results in much higher temperatures than it really should have. So I wouldn't say it's doing it's job correctly.

 

Okay, now I'm back to not being able to get the escape key to work.

What the hell is going on!

 

I

problem solved, nice service from zagg.

 

I have to compliment you on your machine! Very nice set of components! As for the noise, my answer is: not at all. The computer is very very silent with normal use... It makes some noisy under load (just a little tiny bit) because then the fans go to max.
The Zalman helps in all cases: you can just put it on your lap and dont even turn it on (just as I am doing now) so you dont block airflow, and the fans on the sxps dont have to work harder (and louder). Under load, you should turn on the cooler to its max power, and even like that it stays really really quiet. Definitely, this is a very silent machine, you shouldn't worry.

 

The Spirit, now I have a question for you: what kind of Wimax service will you get? I live in Sao Paulo, but never heard of any company that offers service here... Im from a small town in another state and, as impressive as it sounds, they have wimax there! The guy who told me about it said that the range is impressive just as the bandwidth! How is it in your area? Too expensive?

 

I'd make sure you know what the bandwidth cap is on that if you're considering it. I mean I don't think it's available many places, but so far all the cell-phone type services have absurdly low bandwidth caps that pretty much make it unusable as a real ISP (though Wimax will hopefully be different?)

I'd certainly be willing to consider service like that as my ISP, *IF* it's priced decently and either has no, or very high caps. (5GB/month isn't going to cut, and I consider myself a fairly light user.)

 

With the Studio Xps 1640 would it make a difference doing a clean restore with Vista? would it make it fast enough where the user will notice a difference in boot up, and running other programs?

 

Ok, I have read this Zalman is good, why is it good? and is it better than any other notebook cooler? Also, what is the point of a cooler is it just because the Studio Xps gets hot and this extra cooler will help? will it help the computer in the long run?

 

I did a clear reinstall and deleted that stupid 10GB partition that came with it. This procedure not only made the computer faster, but also fixed a problem with BSD that I was having every time I tried to update windows... I surely recomend it.

 

What was the 10 gb partition for? and for the partition how big should i make one for Vista, and will that be the only partition i should have?

 

Heat really shorten the computer's components life, I believe you know that... The cooler helps in that sense. Also, it feels better to touch, as a hot machine can be very unpleasant.
The zalman is a good fit to this machine: it is made with aluminium (nice material for this end), looks good, has a velocity control to the fans, is silent and has just the right size for the sxps to sit... I'm not selling them, if that's what you're thinking, i just really think it was a good investment and recommending!

 

Thaks for the heads up! Thats a really good point... I was considering some 3G service, but when I saw the caps I gave up... 2GB/month! I thought to myself 'that must be a joke'. Too bad it wasnt.

 

The partition is a rescue partition. If you have a serious problem with windows, you can reinstall it completely from the partition - nothing that cant be done with the OS DVD that you should have received from dell.
As for the size, depends on what your needs are... I made just one big partition, as I backup all my stuff every week on an external hd and get only one OS installed.

 

Regarding the skins for the glossy XPS 16 the ZAGG site now sells these on their web sight. You might also input ZAGG20 for a 20 percent off the purchase price. I find 30 bucks a bit much for these things but after spending 1200 bucks on the computer I thought it might be wise to protect this from getting beat up. Hope this helps.

 

I keep 2 huge books underneath the right and left corners to make a mini stand and then start a mega long session of usage Keeps the vents open

 

I wish the heating issue would solved on the hopefully upcoming line refresh.

If there is a god...he'll make it happen tomorrow!

 

I think this whole heating issue is kind of exaggerated. I just received mine today (woot!) and it doesn't get hot at all. While I am programming/web surfing/playing music/watching videos my temps are:
cpu: between 28 and 59
GPU between 41 and 54

when gaming (unreal tournament 3, tf2, GTA4) I will admit the laptop does feel fairly warm, but it is by no means uncomfortable and and doesn't seem to me to be any hotter than any other laptop I have gamed on. The actual internal components are not even close to overheating.

gaming temps:
GPU: max was around 72, usually was at about 68 or so though
CPU: same as gpu really, although it never got higher than 70

 

why tomorrow? do you know anything we don't to say this?

 

I was thinking the same thing... why tomorrow

If anything i thought some magic would have happened after the 4th, but alas, it didn't.

 

I was thinking the same thing, i don't have my computer yet so i can't really prove it lol.

 

ok you said one big size..., what if i wanted to make a Vista partition and then leave the rest for whatever else i need would that be a good choice or just one big one do the job good to?

 

Temperature readouts really don't give you the whole picture, I mean I undervolted mine and my CPU rarely goes above 40 regardless of what I'm doing. The motherboard is also alot cooler, running around 45c at all times. The GPU idles at about 48c.

The real problem is not the core components, so all these people judging the XPS 16 based on other people's temp readouts is a clear picture. The Harddrive runs at 41c, making the left side of the 1640 uncomfortably hot.

Now keep in mind, I have my hands on it about 8-10 hours a day for work.

I still can't find a lappy that looks better than the 1640 with the same hardware.

Edit: Can some of you guys please post your HD temps? Thanks

 

It would be interesting to know the temperature of a SSD hard drive, i think a SSD run much cooler than a 7200 rpm HDD. If i order my xps i think ill go for a SSD, not for the speed but for the heat issue. It also comsume less power.

 

I use my laptop for around 8 to 10 hours a day too, and I will admit that you do notice that the surface of the laptop gets hot... but it isn't in any way uncomfortable. (as I said before, it seems to me to be about the same level of heat as other laptops I have used)

After about 4 hours of uptime now (half or so was in team fortress 2) my max hd temp was 40 degrees celsius (currently it is 37). Note that I am not using any type of cooler or stand and I have the 6 cell battery. I am in an air conditioned room (never above 66 Fahrenheit).

 

you people and your crazy Celsius

 

haha agreed lol.

So are ssd faster than harddrive that goes 5400 rpm or are the ssd slower?

 

SSD's (if you get a good one) are significantly faster than a hard drive. even the bad ones are still around 3 times faster. They also run cooler and are less likely to fail.

 

I think that would be fine... Note that your machine will stay a long time coping files, updating the system and you will also need to install some drivers yourself. So reserve some 3 hours alone with your lappy.

 

I guess the ambient temp may play a huge role. I mean, I can have it sitting on my bed (basement and very cool) watching a video and it doesnt seem as hot to the touch as opposed to being propped up for airflow in my smoldering office.

I'm still convinced its my harddrive causing the excess heat on the left wrist area. Right now, the pads are cool as ice and the HD is 34c. As I watch that temp go up, and hit about 41-42c, I can definitely feel the wrist pad.

Either it just takes a while for the machine to conduct heat and pass it on to the surface, or theres a direct connection of the HD heating up.

If putting in an SSD or new HD solves my only complaint of this beautiful laptop (that I can't stop using and admiring), I'd be in heaven. Forget the new graphics card!

 

Well,Vista with basic softwares like office,acrobat reader and day to day necessary softwares would take around 30GB to 50GB(correct me,if am wrong),I personally tend to install vista and few softwares on vista installed drive.Other data like my important docs,songs(to entertain myself on the move ) all this I keep on the other large partition and also will backup on external drive.Am comfortable this way
So,if tomorrow the need be to re-install vista,I dont have problem,as I need to format only the vista drive and I would be loosing only the softwares installed,this can be easily installed back again.

 

Well guys, instead of waiting for the 4670 I think I might just go with the really good $419 discount Dell has going + 7% student discount and just get a very reasonably priced model with the 3670 and of course and additional 9 cell battery to help alleviate heating problems.

EDIT: I decided to pull the trigger and get an XPS 16 now instead of wait for the 4670.

Using the $419 Instant Savings and a 7% college discount I was able to get this SXPS for $1509:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/ 2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
3Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty + LoJack + Accidental Damage Protection - this is great for future college students like me
Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
BluRay Disc Combo (DVD/CD read/write + BD read) Slot Load Drive
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 3670 - 512MB
Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio
Additional 9-Cell Battery - great for classes + gaming overheating
Bluetooth Enabled

So basically it was a very good deal - although in some ways I wish I had waiting until the 4670 came out (I mean, for all I know it could come out tomorrow) deals like these don't come very often, and I need this laptop soon for college. I'll be sure to tell you guys all about it when it arrives later this month.

 

My laptop arrived this morning. This thing is beautiful. It is gorgeous!!!
I installed speedfan, and both cores hang around at 40 degrees however, it is uncomfortably hot when placed on your lap. I will post the details later. Also, speedfan does not show Harddisk and Video Card temps on this laptop. What software do you guy's use ?

 

Glad you like your new computer... IMO they are the nicest looking PC's available.

for temperature monitoring, I would suggest hwmonitor ( http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php).

 

Where did you get the $419 instant discount?

 

I can't remember where it was, but I remember someone mentioning a very faint, high pitched whine noise coming from their 1640.

I have the same thing sporadically and was just wondering if its cause for concern or what it is even?

 

wow, i'm wondering too where did you find that discount :O
i'd go for almost the same config (though i think P8600 would be enough for me, and i'm not sure if a need a bd drive (maybe for $50 add on, but not 150), but that's all)
it this price after taxes or before taxes? even if its before, its still a wonderful deal. also i haven't seen 500gb 7200 rpm hdd option for a long time.. so i'm really wondering where did u find that

 

glad you used that deal i found static! i'm about to do the sameee thing. i need one for college also haha. you might also want to get the kensington laptop lock dell offers--leaving your laptop in your dorm room can be pretty sketchy sometimes f you forget to lock the door by accident.

 

What is Speedfan? is that were you can read your temps like cpu gpu hardrive ect?

 

i also noticed that my school requires vista business, enterprise, or ultimate. i dont want to make the $150 upgrade to ultimate,do you think windows 7 would have enough of the features to suffice?

 

the 500gb 7200 rpm option is in the business part of dell.com.

 

Thank you SO much Colbs, that discount finally inspired me to purchase this laptop! As much as I wanted the ATI 4670, at this point I'm so happy that I found such a good deal for such a good price! For college the 3 year warranty is wicked nice!

Here's the link that Colbs posted with $419 instant savings:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...k_number=17970622&kc=features~vpjune_xps_16_2

I believe that it only works for the EPP site, which means that you must be a student or a member of the EPP program. Because you are getting so much off Dell starts you off with the 2.53ghz processor and at least a 3 year warranty w/ complete care and a Blu-ray player...but even if you don't need these it still comes out cheaper than a comparable one with the $229 discount even with less warranty and a slower processor.

To the person who asked about the 500gb 7200rpm harddrive, it looks like they are only for EPP members as I had the option to select the 500gb 5400rpm, the 500gb 7200rpm (no extra cost just delays shipping by a week), the 320gb 7200rpm, and the 128gb/256gb SSD's.

Basically, if you are in/going to college and are looking into the SXPS16, this is the best deal that I have seen for this laptop so far. Dell pretty frequently has $229 in instant savings, rarely they go up to $366 in instant savings or so (like the 20/25th anniversary sale), but $419 is very rare. Obviously if you want to wait for the 4670 go ahead, but honestly I just want to have my laptop for a month/month and a half in order to get in ready before I go away.

Thanks again Colbs, I never would have found that discount without you!

Cheers!

And I will consider the Kensington Lock. The only accessories I bought with it were a Bluetooth Logitech mouse and the additional 9-cell battery (which will be really useful for helping with the heat problem and for taking it to classes).

 

Hi everyone. I did a mod on my XPS1640. I replaced the thermal 'crap' that Dell had on the chip dies with some Artic Silver 5. These are the results:

Idle:
Old:
Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------
ACPI hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 48°C (118°F)
Temperature sensor 1 44°C (111°F)
Temperature sensor 2 44°C (111°F)
-----------------------------------------------------
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 40°C (104°F) [0x3C] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 40°C (104°F) [0x3C] (Core #1)
-----------------------------------------------------
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 34°C (93°F) [0x22] (GPU Core)

Artic Silver:
Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------
ACPI hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 43°C (109°F)
Temperature sensor 1 43°C (109°F)
Temperature sensor 2 42°C (107°F)
-----------------------------------------------------
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 37°C (98°F) [0x3F] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 36°C (96°F) [0x40] (Core #1)
-----------------------------------------------------
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 34°C (93°F) [0x22] (GPU Core)

Load:
Old:
Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------
ACPI hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 68°C (154°F)
Temperature sensor 1 61°C (141°F)
Temperature sensor 2 65°C (149°F)
-----------------------------------------------------
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 60°C (140°F) [0x28] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 63°C (145°F) [0x25] (Core #1)
-----------------------------------------------------
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 56°C (132°F) [0x38] (GPU Core)

Artic Silver:
Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------
ACPI hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 68°C (154°F)
Temperature sensor 1 55°C (131°F)
Temperature sensor 2 62°C (143°F)
Dump hardware monitor
Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 55°C (131°F) [0x2D] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 55°C (131°F) [0x2D] (Core #1)
Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 hardware monitor
Temperature sensor 0 50°C (122°F) [0x32] (GPU Core)
Dump hardware monitor


Basically, it seemed I was able to shave a noticeable amount of idle and load temps. I tested load with approx. 30 minutes of CS:S each time. Ambient ranged from 72-74 F for the tests. The unit was on a flat, wood desk with the 6-cell battery. No undervolting or any other mods present.

None of the thermal crap Dell applied seemed to cover well or make good contact. The NorthBridge was also "oily." I cleaned that off so it could make better contact with its thermal pad.

Here's some pics:









Photobucket Gallery with more:
http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/xxthebradxx/Artic Silver XPS1640/


Also, I did a MS blog regarding my horribly delayed 1640, check it:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=135217668&blogId=489365006

 

haha i'd just stare dumbfound at my computer if i took the bottom off and tried to do that. nice though!

and thanks static, glad i could help! i'm ordering mine tomorrow, can't wait! don't want to take the chance of it not being there anymore haha. i will be adding the 9 cell (for the same reasons as you), kensington lock (all the kiddies will be wanting this laptop, but they can't have ittt), and maybe 1 more thing (think i'm upgrading the wireless card.) My mom is also making me upgrade to vista ultimate because she is afraid home premium won't be enough. TECHNICALLLLY the school website says I need business, enterprise or ultimate, but i think its a little BS. especially since i'll be upgrading to windows 7 soon. OO well, they want to pay for the 150 buck upgrade, not my problem! haha loveee going to school on a scholarship

 

Wow! I wish I had found your post sooner. I couldn't agree more...completely useless. I did not even attempt the back cover...it's just that bad. Your laptop will be covered in water droplets trying to apply this thing, and even then, it will not fit right. There is way too much adhesive, once it contacts any part of the notebook...it's there until you pry it off and spray water again. If anybody has this kit and has not used it yet, I would suggest making a stencil and trimming it down so that it's manageable. You may even try two separate halves...and try and cut the lower right corner out, because after four attempts, I still could not get it to cover the Intel Inside and Windows Vistastickers properly...there will always be water or air trapped underneath because the stickers are raised. Your mileage may vary...

 

Guys one of my friend is comming from us and am planing to get the 9cell battery,can anyone provide me the link,wherein he can order and get it for me.

One more stupid question:
Can I use that 9 cell battery,with the lap I got in India?

 

On a happier note, I think I may be one of the few who ponied up an extra $40 for the Bluetooth Media Remote that was offered as an add on when I ordered my system. It was delayed for a long time, but I finally got it and it seems to work as advetised...I-Tunes recognizes it too. It is not a dell part. It's an aftermarket device...the name of it is "Interlink Electronics Express Card Media Remote for Bluetooth". It does not fit flush into the express card slot...a quarter inch or so sticks out, but it's black and doesn't look bad. Maybe ya'll can find one cheap somewhere. Last time I looked, there was no option for any kind of media remote now on the Dell configurator.

 

so.. isn't this for anyone only for EPP members? what does this even mean, how can I be part of this? or can i even be EPP member if i'm a student but i'm not from the us and don't even live there only for a few months?
or should i just forget about this deal because there's no way for me to get it and look after other deals?

 

If you are a student or an employee then there is a good chance that your school/employer has a deal with Dell that allows their students/employees to access the Dell EPP website.

Just to see what it looks like:

http://ucityschools.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2007/06/11/466d6a4e41140

This website is for some sort of school and they provide a link to the Dell EPP and a Membership ID. Most likely your school/employer has some sort of membership ID, so trying asking somebody in the computer sales/IT department.