Dell Studio XPS 1340/1640 now available for purchase on Dell's site !!!

And I can't find anywhere where it says "Savings apply to the new Studio XPS models" ! The current coupons work for Inspirion, Studio and XPS, that's it.
Yesterday I asked in Dell chat if there will be coupons for the new series. The nice employee told me savings are scheduled for the 15th of January.

 

Thanks anyway.

Just ordered an XPS 16. Since my budget is rather small, I've gone along with a small version of it:

P 8400
3 GB RAM
1080p Full HD Screen
160 GB HDD
DVD/RW-Drive
Bluetooth Module

the rest is standard. I had a friendly DELL rep who gave me about 10 % off. Delivery date is Feb. 6 so far.

 

What review? Can you post a link ? Thx

 

I should never have read this thread! I just ordered a XPS 16. Since I got the last new laptop in the house I'll have to give this one to my husband. But at least I get to check it out...

I went with the WLED screen and it has the $200 gift card. Maybe I'll use it on a mini for me!

 

This question may have been answered before but searching for SLI did not return results.

Is the Dell Studio XPS 1340 able to use the 9400 and 9500m at the same time?

If so, is there any indication on the 3dMark06 score?

 

It's my understanding that its the combined power of both the GPUs that give you 9500 performance.

 

The 1340 is using dedicated 9200M and a 9400M IGP together in GeForce Boost to create a 9500M. Note no GS or GT.

 

How is that going to work under Linux? Will there have to be specific software in order for it to work ? Or is it just hardware based and it recognizes stress on GPU and puts the external in place?

 

Nice, congrat's on that order! The ESD is not so far off, and perhaps it will ship before then! And, that's nice the rep gave you 10% off!

Cool! Look's like more peep's are ordering! You should like that screen, and especially like that gift card!


Cin

 

does this mean if you want to "oc" you would have to overclock both?

 

I'll let you guys know about all the early errors and troubles

 

wooo where did you get this information? a 9200?

 

It's listed in the manual. Says a 9400G (part of the 'chipset') + a 9200GS.

I think this new naming convention is insanly confusing, where you call a 'chipset' by the name of a GPU, and call two GPUs added together a different, more powerful GPU. If SLI/Crossfire was actually seamless and undetectable by software that would be one thing...

Oh well, I guess for a 13" notebook...

 

The 13' LG P310 with 9600m GT, is released and gets about 5800 in 3dMark06 and there is a person on this forum that got 6800 after overclock.

 

Ok thanks. I would call that misleading advertising. I think there are some people who ordered and expect a 9500 GPU and 9400 to be present.

 

Bydus, judging by how it is implemented on the MBP, and the resulting press surrounding that release, it will be a software controlled selection, and the drivers will only support Geforce boost (both chips working together) under Vista. However, it seems that Geforce boost is not available anywhere yet (at least officially), so it will be interesting to see how Dell pulls it off.

 

Well, and isn't that just normal SLI? I mean...Crossfire/SLI just don't work that well. They need to be completely transparent to the software they're running on. I'd rather have that second GPU than not, but...

Oh well, I guess it's still an upgrade from the 1330.

And geez do I wish the 1640 had an Nvidia and/or better GPU. I'm just right on the fence about ordering.

 

Great.... Hopefully there will be no early errors, nor troubles with your order!


Cin

 

I am another one of those early birds taking a chance on the Studio XPS 16. I also ended up getting a pretty good deal plus the 200 gift card from my EPP.

My estimated Arrival date is 01/30/09 and I am very much excited to get this laptop. Having said that, I really hope the third times the charm for me as I have already gone through an XPS m1530 and the Studio 1537 and had nothing but troubles with those.

 

How'd you get the gift card with EPP? And wooonderful about the problems with the 1530 and 1537

That inspires lots of confidence

I've got one configured. Wish it had Nvidia graphics, and I can't decide on the CPU (2.4/3MB or 2.53/6MB)...the one in my cart is the 2.53/6MB...I guess I'm doing this...

 

What about what this guy said ?

 

AAAAARGH!!!! I shouldn't be buying this thing at all, what with it's doubly lame GPU, but but but...

2.53GHz/6MB or 2.4GHz/3MB? Is it worth $116 more for the step up CPU? I'm even a little worried I'd be better off with the slower one since I'll be running this CPU at 100% whenever it's on (Folding or Gaming).

I've got it in my card, one click away from buying it with the higher end CPU. Don't know... And ugh I hate ATi. But it's like $670 more for a Sony with the same hardware but a 9600GT (and those don't come with clean install discs)

 

I ordered yesterday and called EPP. I told them about the gift card promotion and they had no idea what I was talking about since it was for Home and home office. Anyway, I showed the person the email, and then she told me that she cannot give me the 7% discount on top of it. In the end, she did give it to me (after talking to her supervisor) plus give me free next day shipping. Not too shabby.

I only opted for the P8400 as that is what I had on my Studio before I returned it and I felt that it was fine for my needs.

What I felt was that the problems on the Studio >>> XPS but that is just me.

 

Nice! That's how it work's when you are persistent with EPP.

(off topic - Thru EPP I just got a 37" Sharp Aquos 1080 LCD for $586 shipped. It was already on sale for $699 (from around $1100) + I got next day shipping for free!
^^^^^
That's why I tell peep's if you have EPP take advantage of it...They are supposed to meet and beat Dell's consumer site on pricing!

Congrat's on that order!


Cin

 

Dang, that's not bad. I'm paying $40 for shipping and no gift card. I hate having to try to haggle

Ugh...I don't know. Psychologically for some reason The $1430 just seems much cheaper than $1557 or whatever, but if it DOES work it would be handy to have the extra cache and whatnot, if I'm using it for years.

Geez, I hate spending this kind of money on something with a low end ATi GPU. I'd at least be happier with a low end Nvidia GPU. I can't even adjust DVD playback color right on my computer with ATi video

 

The ATI 3870 HD is definately not 'low end' GPU ... yes I agree that Dell should have (and could have) went with the 4xxx series

 

Well, we can get into all kinds of semantics about it being "mid range for notebooks", but it's a low end GPU (others are lower still, but...) this is the 3670 the XPS 1640 has I mean.

And I don't know if I can run ATi's reference drivers on this, and I hate ATi's drivers even if I can...

But I went for it

I don't know. I hope I don't regret this. I went for the 2.53/6MB over the 2.4/3MB. $116 more. Probably stupid. If nothing else, it'll Fold faster, IF it doesn't explode from Folding to begin with. But oh well... I've always liked my Dell desktops, and a cheap-o low end Sempron Dell laptop seemed to Fold with no issues at all, so...

 

Yeah, the 3870 is definetly not a low end GPU.
Too bad that the 1640 has the 3670, wich is slower than the 9600GT.
If Dell only had gone for the 4650 or 4670 or something with the 4xxx series, it would have been so much more worth the money...
Oh well. The Precision is my choice then... I just can't see any jutification for paying more for the XPS, when the Precision has a better GPU and better CPU for a cheaper price... granted I might miss the blu-ray option but still... Why, oh why did Dell go for the 3670, I'm a little dissapointed...

 

Their GPU choices have been disappointing since they shifted focus a few years ago. The 1705 was probably the last one that wasn't a disappointment.

Ugh. What Precision are you looking at? I considered that one high end one that offers quad cores and a...oh whatever Nvidia's...oh whatever that high-end Quadro is, but the price was so high, and it didn't even offer Blu Ray that I just gave up. I don't know. I really don't know if this is a huge mistake :-/

 

Wolf! Remain optimistic, you made the purchase of a next gen Dell, and EXPECT to enjoy it rather than worrying over this! If it meets and EXCEEDS your usage it is GREAT for you!! And dont forget Dell's great satisfaction return policy!!

 

I'm looking at the Precision's 15.4" model M4400.
On Dell's UK site it can be a bit cheaper for the same or even better specs...

 

Will the 1640 work well with Linux?

 

Is it just me or does it seem like the 1640 doesn't have integrated webcam?

 

Uhh...It's just you I guess

 

Just took another look, and there it is. Weird.

 

Why won't you just order an M860TU 15.4 with 9800M Gts and u about xps 1640 for some reason? M860 has similar looks and way better specs than 1640. Ofcourse it has a ty GPU but the only thing that would make me go for it is the looks, that's why I'm selling my M860TU as I don't game as much and would rather get an fcking awesome looking 1340 which would handle COD4 and BF2 , BF2142 and do the rest of gaming on console. I went into that direction cause I don't mind playing on PS3 or 360 and having a 13.3 inch desktop replacement pluged into 1650x1050 res TV/Monitor and to all my work there. I still have few games that I love to play that I've mentioned b4. Thats the reason I'm going for 1340 if it gets close to 4k in 3Dmark06. But god LG Q310 with 9600GT put me down when looking at 1340 . Scoring 6k on 13.3 is a dream... Why can't I find any website that would sell LG Q310 which is btw fckng ugly compared to xps studio line...

 

Who are you asking that of? And what's an M86OTU?

 

Here's a question... why isn't the LED screen on the 1340 standard? Perhaps there are good reasons but why use the CCFL as the base and medium confing, when a lot of the competition only uses LED?

 

[... And what's an M86OTU? ]

It is a OEM machine that resells as the Sager 8660. You can find it under the Sager/Clevo discussion. 15.4 inch (1920x1200 option) gamer with NV video.

 

There are lots of systems with higher end video options, but none of them have LED backlit screens, often don't have Blu Ray, etc., so personally I'm kind of stuck with the 1640.

 

I think you will enjoy it! You should be looking forward to receiving it!


Cin

 

Exactly.. worrying over if you made a mistake or not and only focusing on its weak points (even tho 3870 gpu is plenty for most games) you're likely to just remain with buyer's remorse and return it.. Wait for it to arrive first!

 

I was hoping the Sony VAIO FW (16.4 inch) refresh would offer a 1080p LED. But no. There screen use dual lamp CCFL, so they arent too bad, even brighter than some LEDs. You have to move up to the AW if you want LED and 1080p on the Sony line..

 

How does the 17" Precision's NVIDIA® Quadro FX 1600M stack up against the 16"XPS 3670?

Thanks

 

Well, that is what the 21 day return policy is for! I've returned more Dell's than I've kept or owned.

If you can't feel excited about your laptop, honestly, it's probably not the right purchase for you or you wouldn't feel this way.

That said, since I just ordered an HP DV5T after waiting to see what CES had to offer from vendors, it's not my DREAM laptop but when I made a list of what I wanted in a PC:

1) Fast graphics
2) Montevino chipset
3) LARGE battery option
3) GREAT value/price since I plan to refresh in a year when options for i7 exist
4) Good looking laptop (hey, it's last at least on my list )

The DV5T met or exceeded all my requirements, especially the price/value part since I definitely plan to upgrade when i7 hits mobile since that will truely change what is possible... And this is the first HP i'll have ever owned.

So I'm happy and excited and in a year, will give this to someone and get my i7 from whomever has the best option, be it HP, Dell, etc. I got such an incredible deal it makes upgrading guiltless

So if you are not able to get excited, make your list, and put down your vendor options. Don't buy a laptop just because you might have been waiting, their option when it came out was quite underwhelming, but you feel you kind of need to buy it to justify your waiting...

21 days...

P.S. For the record, our household now has HP and Dell so we don't have a bias although the only way to get what we REALLY want in a dream machine, at least for desktops, is to build your own down to the last wire One day laptop building will be mainstream enough to warrant that too and no more complaining on our ends!

 

I agree completely. If you aren't 100% happy with your purchase, don't order the laptop, no matter who the vendor is or the "great deal" you are getting.

I myself am in the process of looking at laptops to buy, but I dont want to feel like I am not getting my moneys worth. Look at HP, Dell, Sony, ASUS, etc. Dont be afraid to shop around for the features you want. I personally want the best tech I can get, and am willing to pay for it since I haven't upgraded my laptop in about 2 years. Some people want the bleeding edge of laptop tech like the i7 (me!!!!) while others just need something to do their homework on and surf the net.

You need to evaluate your needs when it comes to a laptop, write down what you are going to do with it and how much you are willing to spend. Most people buy more laptop/computer than they will ever use or need.

Dont be afraid to ask anyone here on the forums what they think of the laptop configuration you have chosen. They will give you their honest opinion and most of the time suggest places that can be upgraded or downgraded with little affect to the overall performance of the system.

 

You can use ATI drivers, just need to use DH Modtool. I've been running ATI drivers on my old Radeon 9600 mobility equipped Inspiron forever.

I'm interested in the XPS 13 since I do find my old Inspiron to be a luggable, even at 15.4. Though I'm waiting for a review, not sure how the Nvidia GPU solution will pan out. I still see many a site refer to the GPU's as being 9400M (integrated) and the GeForce 9500M (discrete), which would be nice if true. The 9500 equivalent after combining the two GPU's sounds sketchy.

 

Here is the benchmark list from notebookcheck

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

It has almost all the GPUs. Quadro FX1600M is in there. In the review of Studio XPS 16 here you can find 3670's benchmarks. And since you are refering to the FX1600M i assume you are not comparing it with the new Precision 17' model (m6400 that has the FX2700M and FX3700M).

 

It's a 3670 though. If it were a 9600GT even I'd be a lot more happy.

Yeah, that was the reason I was looking at the AW. It's $670 more though for me, so...I guess this makes more sense. (Possibly it's even more if I'd have to buy a much more expensive case for it.)

Probably fairly similar. That's basically another 8600 derivative. Might be a bit faster (and of course have much better drivers), but they'd be basically equivalent.

Well...there's nothing that really meets me needs. I want something cheap, reliable, LED backlit, high end GPU, and with Blu Ray...and there's nothing with that combination yet. This is kind of the best compromise I can get, hopefully. It's not really much more than these Asus notebooks I was looking at, but it has a bigger, probably better screen, and Blu Ray is integrated.


I maybe should have just gone with the slower 2.4GHz/3MB cpu though, with the assumption that worst comes to worst I'll upgrade in a year.

Yeah, I guess I may be stuck doing that. At least there's something I can do as a last resort, though hopefully I'll be able to just force install them :-/ (and hopefully either way it won't break Blu Ray playback!)

 

wolf,
Can I ask why ATI drivers may be a problem with an ATI card? Why you need DH Modtool (??). Is it due to something specific you are doing? I'm thinking I'd get the 1640, deal with the ATI card, and go, but do I need to worry about drivers out of the box? Pardon my ignorance with all this.