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

speakers are plugged in a different outlet..will see if plugging them on the same circuit will help..

 

yeah that might help

 

took the dive,

called them up and had the screen changed to the 1080p from 720p

hope i don't regret it

 

Since i don't have a blu ray drive, would i still be able to play blu ray from a flash? like when i buy a blu ray disk then i put the files onto a usb would it be still playable on the 1080p screen?

 

I just bought one of these with the 1080p screen as a gift for someone. It's beautiful! I can't imagine why you'd regret it. You can always increase font sizes if reading is a problem.

 

quasi, wow u must b a really good friend LOL

well, obv i won't regret in terms of it being better

I was more thinking i don't really need it - but then again.. there's a lot of thingsin the xps 16 i don't need hahaha...

i wanted a simple laptop for uni, oh i want a bit of power, games? media? heeeeeeeeeey.. if i add a bit here ..... ohhhh.. xps?

lol.. anyway, u get my point.

 

ok guys and girls, im going to college soon and i can't figure out what type of bag i should get. it would be either where its a hand bag where only just my laptop would be in it or a backpack made for a laptop and books. i dono if the laptop may get smashed or something if there are books by it even though there is cushion. so help decided would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

Short answer: No.

 

Ok, then I'd like to hear your long answer.

If you rip a Blu-Ray and store it on a flash drive, why wouldnt you be able to play it?

And screen resolution has nothing to do with "being able to play" the contents of a blu-ray disc.. to get the "best" experience (full rez) of Blu-Ray, yes, you'd want the 1080P screen.. but playing it on the 720P screen would look great too.. 720P is already a huge step up from the meager resolution of a DVD (480P)

 

Have a 25-50 GB flash drive?

Sure, you could rip and transcode blu-ray into smaller sizes, but then it really isn't full HD anymore...

It'd be easier to rip to your own HD and play from there, I'm not sure why a flash drive came up at all.

 

Ah, so basically, short answer is "no, you cannot unless you have a 25-50 GB usb flash drive".

Thats a significantly different answer than "no"

And yes, I have a 32GB flash drive (and it fits Dark Knight on there almost perfectly)

 

I think you can't rip anything without a blu-ray drive to read the disc.

 

Hi there guys,

I'm new to this SXPS 16 thread but have already owned a notorious m1330 machine which heats up.

I just have a couple of questions. With the default state of the laptop and a bios update (from dell) what temperatures should you expect?

Does the laptop still get warm/hot with undervolting and applying as3??

Im sorry if these questions have been answered already but any help would be great

Cheers.

P.s my specs. P8700. Full HD screen,4gb ram, blu-ray drive. Im getting it within the next week

 

Well it depends on how your going to use it. Will you be playing games for long periods of time?

 

Your gunna love your machine. Now saying that in these forums and around the internet there are posts saying the 1640 has heat issues and there are other posts saying that it doesn't. Unfortunately you will have to wait and see if its too hot for you.

My personal experience is that gaming heats up the laptop as much as any other laptop in its class. (the laptop is made with metal and is slim) I play alot of demanding games and I am currently in Iraq and the temp is 108 outside and like 85 in my tent. My machine neither slows down or lags any game that I play. But this is just one of many opinions on the subject.

If you undervolt your temps will be just fine and even better than some laptops of the same class. I am not sure AS3 is really needed on this laptop. On a M1530 or M1330 maybe but on the 1640 not really in my opinion.

On a clean machine with new bios its hard to tell what temps you will get. My temps never break over 62-64c for the cpu and 70c for the gpu. Well within specs for both components.

 

The temps are just fine, its just the casing gets warm (to touch) which I think gets mixed up with this whole overheating argument.

My CPU/GPU/MB rarely go anywhere near 60c (even running a dozen programs, watching video, and having it sit on my bed completely suffocating). It does get mighty warm to touch, but the core temps are perfectly normal.

 

I work with M1330's all day at work, and the sxps1640 is about the same heat wise...

If the 1330 bothers you, then so will the 1640....

Dunno what people expect though... stuff as much computing power into as small a package as possible... what's going to give?...

Heat output, fan noise and short battery life... what does one want?

Al...

 

can someone help me out in choosing a great wireless card out of the following options:

Intel 5300 Ultimate-N Half Mini Card (3x3) with MyWiFi ($45)

Intel® 5300 WLAN Wireless-N (3x3) Mini Card ($45)

Intel 5150 Wimax, Wireless-N combo card (this one is $15 more than the other two)


I don't know the difference!

Please advise asap I need to order soon
thanks,

 

i went with the

Intel® 5300 WLAN Wireless-N (3x3) Mini Card ($45)

mywifi is silly, and the other 5300 card is a half mini rather than a full mini

wimax is your call. if yo uthink you'll be using it in the next couple years go ahead and get it.

 

Having the 1640 since February, it's now having some new issue. There are times when I power the laptop on that some of the touch sensitive keys get stuck as if they are being pressed (previous track, stop, and volume up keys), so they lit up brighter than the rest. This would drive Quickset application like crazy when Windows boot up, causing it to crash. After a few minutes, these keys would stop lighting up (the other touch sensitive keys are still lit normally). Finally, a restart would revert their operation to normal.

 

Time to update your BIOS?

 

I always have the latest BIOS/driver/etc. I install them as soon as they become available.

 

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9800 @ 2.93GHz
3yr In-home Service after remote diagnosis + Complete Care+LoJack
FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD
4GB - DDR3 SDRAM
256GB Solid State Drive
4X Slot Load Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner (Writes to DVD/CD/BD)
Intel® 5300 WLAN Wireless-N

ALL for $2,380 (including $30 shipping and $130 taxes) GREAT DEAL HUH? only problem is im like $300 short - wonder how long cant i hold on to this?

 

Rebellion, Sir:

Silly question but how does your 1640 compare with your Inspiron 9300 in terms of horsepower?

I"m looking for a "force multiplier" of around 5 before biting the upgrade bullet.

My Inspirion 9300 = Pentium M at 2.0GHz with XP

 

or take the ssd out and put a 500 gb harddrive in and you will be able to pay for it then.

 

I agree. Is the speed of an SSD really worth half the storage space and a few hundred dollars?

 

I believe for the Studio Xps 16, the 15.4 computer back packs fits this computer. My question would be what type of bag would be good for schooling? and would a 17 inch be a little better deal since theres a tad more room for the computer? any help would be appreciated thanks!

 

Hi, this is my first and hopefully not the last post on here!
I'm about to buy a Certified Refurbished Studio XPS 16 off ebay, and would like to know some Studio XPS 16 owners opinions about the specs and whether I should get this laptop or not. Oh and are the heating issues mentioned here true or false?


PROCESSOR
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz Processor P8600 (Extreme Performance 1066 FSB/3MB Cache)
HARD DRIVE
Data Safe 320GB 7200RPM 9.5mm Free Fall Sensor hard Drive
SYSTEM MEMORY
4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (2 DIMMs)
VIDEO GRAPHICS
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670
16" Edge to Edge Full HD Widescreen WLED LCD (1366 x 1768) 720p
Intel Ultimate-N Wi Fi Link 5100 802.11 AGN Draft Mini Card
Internal Bluetooth 370 Wireless Technology

Thanks (and sorry for not reading all the 500 pages, after 50-60 I got itchy eyes!)

 

Hi, this is my first and hopefully not the last post on here!
I'm about to buy a Certified Refurbished Studio XPS 16 off ebay, and would like to know some Studio XPS 16 owners opinions about the specs and whether I should get this laptop or not. Oh and are the heating issues mentioned here true or false?


PROCESSOR
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz Processor P8600 (Extreme Performance 1066 FSB/3MB Cache)
HARD DRIVE
Data Safe 320GB 7200RPM 9.5mm Free Fall Sensor hard Drive
SYSTEM MEMORY
4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (2 DIMMs)
VIDEO GRAPHICS
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670
16" Edge to Edge Full HD Widescreen WLED LCD (1366 x 1768) 720p
Intel Ultimate-N Wi Fi Link 5100 802.11 AGN Draft Mini Card
Internal Bluetooth 370 Wireless Technology

Thanks (and sorry for not reading all the 500 pages, after 50-60 I got itchy eyes!)

 

Oops....sorry for double post, had no intention to spam

 

Not really. 1640 is a bit longer than most 15.4" notebooks. Its dimensions are closer to a 17" laptop (like MBP 17").

 

Oh god don't call me Sir, I am a Tech Sargeant in the US Air Force...Hahah.

Okay well if your talking graphics power the 9300's geforce 6800 go gets about 1900 in 3dmark06 and the Ati 3670 in the 1640 gets around 4500 in 3dmark06. A little over twice as fast. To be fair the 1640 has like twice the resolution on screen than the 9300 does so it has to push alot more pixals. So for raw power I would say its almost 3 times as fast.

As for processors. Thats a bit harder to quantify. Here are some numbers to highlight the differences.

the T9550 2.66ghz Core 2 Duo has dual cores.
SuperPI 1M - 17
SuperPI 2M - 42
SuperPI 32M - 1127
3dMark06 cpu - 2385
Dhrystone - 22740

Dothan 2.0ghz

SuperPI 1M - 45
SuoerPI 2M - 101
3dMark06 cpu - 830
Dhrystone - 8556

The superPI lower is better and the other 2 benchmarks higher is better.

As you can see the T9550 is about 2-3x better then the Dothan cpu. Now you have to take in account that the T9550 has dual cores so thats even better.

The inspiron 9300 was a great machine, my kids love it and its still going strong. Its going to be a few years until systems are 5 times faster than a 9300.

I have the Samsung 256gb SSD and it "feels" like this system is 5 times faster than my old 9300. But that is just a feeling, but it is very hard to work on other computers now, it feels like I am waiting forever for things to load.

Hope this answers your question.

 

Anyone care to tell me if I should get the aforementioned system? Or should I stick to a XPS M1530? Thank you

 

The system is great and about 99% of the people in the thread will tell you the same. The heating issues are hit and miss. I just sold mine so I could wait for the new config to be released, but had zero heating issues. Did it get warm? Sure it did, but it wasn't intolerable and the temperatures were well within range of where they should have been, even after gaming for hours. Others have had throttling issues unless the back of the laptop was raised up to allow more fresh air to get in. I think there are some configs, not sure which ones, that will heat up more than others. Either way, it's a great laptop and incredible bang for the buck in an extremely thin case. As I stated before, this is like taking a bus engine, cramming it in a Cavalier and using the stock cooling system. It's not going to run as cool as it would in the bus.

Anyway, I think you'll be more than happy with the 1640 over the 1530. If nothing else the hardware is much better and it looks better IMO.

 

If you can get it for around $800, it's a decent deal. But, I would totally NOT recommend the 720p screen, it is horrible... It rivals the low quality screens of the past (1280x800) I traded mine back in for the 1080p and was amazed at the difference and clarity.

 

any word on when will DELL offer an upgrade of their ATI Mobility RADEON®HD 3670 on the new studio xps 1640?

Don't know if i should buy now or wait? please advise

 

Thanks for sharing your opinion, BTW the SXPS I'm about to buy has same specs as yours, so I guess I won't be having any problems either

@ poison7fl
Thanks for your suggestion, I'm getting it for about $1200, tried to make use of cashback but didnt work. I'm not located in the US, buying and getting it shipped abroad (anyone else done this? Hope I won't have to pay customs fee!), it's available directly from local Dell for companies only and even if I had a company it would be much more expensive than $1200.

More opinions/suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

Hi ppl
I asked a question if pages back and no reply yet.Its not about the hardware,
I would be using this machine for router simulator like Boson,Packet Tracer and also a lot of vmware,would be installing around 4 to 5 OS,So now the question is I should select Vista x86 or Vista x64?,the ram is 4Gb(later wil upgrade to 6 or 8Gb).Are these software compatible wid 64bit OS?
I would be also using it for nfs undercover game(Is it good with 64bit?)
Which antivirus is good wid 64bit,most of ya ppl out thr using 64bit vista or windows 7 64bit,Whats u ppl`s experience wid 64bit on this machine?
Pls reply asap as I need to place the order by tomorrow.

My other configuration would be:
Processor
Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz/ 1066 FSB/ 3MB Cache)
Operating System(Needs to decide between 64bit or 32bit)
Software
Microsoft(R) Works 9.0 (Does Not Include Microsoft(R) Office 2003/2007 Software)
Warranty & Service
1-year XPS Premier Service with 1-year Complete Cover
Display
16" 1080p WUXGA (1920x1080) RGBLED Full HD Display with 2.0MP webcam
Memory
4GB (2 X 2GB) Dual Channel 1067MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Hard Drive
500GB SATA Hard Drive
Internal Optical Drive
Slot Load 8X DVD + /-RW Drive with double layer write capability
Video Card
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670
Sound
Integrated CREATIVE Sound Blaster(R) X-Fi MB Audio Software Solution
Wireless Network Card
Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 (802.11a/g/n) Half Mini-card
Bluetooth
Dell(TM) Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
Carrying Cases
No Case
Primary Battery
6-Cell (56WHr) Li-Ion Primary Battery
Power Options
90W AC Adapter
TV Tuner and Remote Control
No Integrated TV Tuner
Keyboard
Dell(TM) Backlit Keyboard with Touchpad (English)
More Services
None
Datasafe Backup Service
Dell Online Backup 2GB
Security Software
McAfee(R) Security Center(TM) 30 days trial

How is this one for my usage?
Hope u guys will reply ASAP

Sorry if the post appeared too big!!

 

Man, you sold yours? Where? I would do that to get the new one... Do you think I could?

 

Yeah, I had it on Craigslist and kept getting guys in Africa offering to buy it. Then a serious local buyer bought it. I didn't need to sell it, but I got a little more for it than what they were selling on the outlet for so I did it. I'll get another one, I'm so busy right now I was hardly touching it. I really want the better video card.

 

Cool, more and more of us waiting for the new one Hopefully it gets here by this month. I was hoping it would be out by now but I guess not.

 

is the new video card really worth it? your computer when you get it with the new video card will become outdated in 6 months, will you then get another computer just because you don't have that all powerful video card?
to me my computer currently can't play games so with this new system its just going to be awesome for me. and ill just be happy of what i got since there are people in this world that doesn't have the luxury on buying a new laptop...

 

To me, yes it's worth it. What does it matter to you if I sell my laptop to buy a newer better version of it? Fortunately I'm not one of the people that doesn't have the luxury of buying a new laptop, so I'm going to get the newer one that suits my needs better. My laptop before this one couldn't play games, and the 1640 I had didn't play everything I wanted it to. It was still an incredible computer that only needed a little bit better GPU to make it perfect for me.

 

Well the 4670, even the 4650, look like fantastic GPU's and so worth waiting for if you want to do any sort of gaming. There is that big of a performance jump. If gaming isn't important, then there is no reason to wait. And I suppose it is possible that we are waiting for nothing, 4670 being added is merely speculation at best.

 

I sent mine back, they picked it up yesterday. now gonna wait patiently to see if they upgrade the gpu.

 

where would we hear from first about the new gpu upgrade? I've been talking to dell online the past couple of day trying to get some news of of them but nothin.

i can't wait months to buy my studio xps 16.

 

Since it isn't official, just inferred due to a bios update reference, we can't predict when and if it will happen. People who want to play games really have no choice but to hold out as long as they can. Who knows, maybe another attractive laptop using a 4670/4650 will pop up during the wait. People who aren't really interested in games probably shouldn't bother waiting beyond the beginning of July if at all.

 

well, i think, dell wouldn't create and release a bios upgrade for a specific laptop to support a gpu, which is not even possible to put into this model, so i think it's definitely more, than speculation..
the problem is i'm slowly running out of time too..

 

Actually, it's not at all uncommon for Dell to release a BIOS update without releasing the actual product upgrade. They still have a whole list of drivers for Studio 1435, which was never released and is now replaced by Studio 1440.

 

Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll release a Studio XPS 17 with a slightly thicker profile, dual HDD + ATi 4850 GPU