** The Official Studio XPS 1640/45/47 replacement thread **

I decided to make this thread because there are so many of us out there who have all had the same problems and have gone through he** and back with Dell customer/tech support and are wanting to get a replacement and/or already have. Our posts are scattered everywhere so I just thought we should all unify them and post here to help others who are in our situation.

State what you currently have or previously owned, ( ie the bad laptop), specs etc. and what the problems are/were. Then if you have already gotten a replacement, only the relevant specs (the ones that changed or upgrades you got) and any additional notes you want to add about the process, how long it took etc.

If anyone is on the fence about what to do with their situation please feel free to ask. This should be an informative and helpful thread for those looking into getting there laptop replaced or fixed by Dell, or just want some advice on what to do with their problematic 1640/45/47. This is by no means a thread to gloat or brag about your replacement upgrade, but rather a place for everyone to share their experiences and help others. Thanks!

Problem Laptop: Studio XPS 1640 - throttling, heat, speaker rattle/distortion, dust behind screen

(specs in sig)


Replacement: Studio XPS 1647 - In transit

i7 620m
6g ddr3
Blutooth
X-fi Soundblaster

 

I'll join into the fun...

Studio XPS 1640 Problems: Throttling, bad speakers, overheating.

P8600
4GB DDR3
Bluetooth
5300 Wifi intel
16 RGBLED
500GB
ATI 4670 1GB
DVD-RW

Replacement: Studio XPS 1647 - Factory New! - Problems: Flickering screen, touchpad semi working, capslock key tabs over, eject button does not function, screen flickers when dimmed/idle.

i5 540m
4gb DDR3 1333mhz
500GB HDD
4670 1GB
6200 Wifi intel
15.6 WLED 1080p
DVD-RW
Bluetooth

Status: COMPLETE AND UTTER .... FECES!

Replacement: Studio XPS 1647

Specs are still pending confirmation but if everything goes well...

i5 540m / i7 620m
4GB DDR3 1333Mhz
500GB HDD
6200 Wifi intel
15.6 WLED (maybe RGB upgrade)
ATI 5730 1GB DDR5
Bluetooth
DVD-RW

I should find out this Monday what the exact specs are.

 

that would be GDDR3

 

Studio XPS 1640 Problems: Throttling, bad speakers, backlight keyboard not working- HDD Failed- Blisters in the LCD lid - Battery will not charge.
( tech damaged the HDD and Ram, installed the palm rest wrong, damaged the keyboard- causing the backlight to fail) - approved for replacement on 3/17 - still waiting for order number)

P8400 - Upgraded By me to T9800
3GB DDR3 - Upgraded By me to 4GB
1510 Wifi intel
15.6 900p - Upgraded From Dell Due to 900p not in stock- sent 1080P
250 - Upgraded By Dell for Tech damaged HDD- to 500GB
ATI 3670 512MB
DVD-RW - Upgraded part provided by me - Sony 5600s Bluray installed by Dell tech

Dell does not want to acknowledge my added upgrades- Ive explained to then that the upgraded parts will be send back with the system - so they need to provide "like" parts- they want me to swap out my upgrades into and replacement system to get me back to where i am now-

I just called them again they did agree to the 1080p, Blu-ray, harddrive to be the same - the rest they say is to many upgrades- i explained i have thottleing issues and GPU Driver disconnects- and would like the 1647 ( i5) they told me that i will get a refurb only and there are no refurb 1647s available- and that my system is delayed due to backlog of parts.

 

Waiting on fedex...replacement set to arrive any minute...


Commooooooooon Fedeeeex~

 

Here is mine:

Studio XPS 1640 Problems: Throttling, intermittent touchpad issues, overheating.

P8400
4GB DDR3
128GB SSD
ATI 3670 512MB
16" RGBLED
Bluetooth
Intel 5300 WiFi
DVD-RW

Replacement: Studio XPS 1647

i7-620M
4GB DDR3
128GB SSD
ATI 4670 1GB
16" RGBLED
Bluetooth
Intel 6300 WiFi
DVD-RW

Status: Delivery - ETA 3/30!

 

Wow, it seems a lot of people are getting i7 620m upgrades, even from P series..I shoulda pushed for more, like a SSD


Why was it so difficulty for EGM and MKelliny?

 

I dunno. I didn't even request it. I think they looked at my support history and from that, they gave me the i7. I wish I had requested as I would've loved to get the new 57XX video card series. But still, I can't complain...

 

I can't complain either..I got the i7 coming too but I felt like I had to fight for it a little bit..Not as much as the others I mentioned but still..It seems so random. People who ask for it get i5s, and people who don't even look into it, get i7s...

I am very happy but still.. to think Im getting this today (hopefully) and the 5730 is so close...meh!

 

Alright, where to start!

Studio XPS 1640 cost $2,889.65
Specs in sig
Problems: Throttling, Screenx3, Keyboardx2, Touchpad, Motherboard & HSFx4
Replacement:????

Offers:
first offer was a 1647 Cost $2,637.55
Specs: 540M, 5730, wifi 6300, verizon wireless 6250 WWAN,RGBLED -declined

second offer was a 1645 Cost:$2183.11
Specs: 720QM, 4670, 5300, no verizon wireless card, WLED- declined

IDK what the heck is the problem all I want is the first offer with a 620m processor I need the verizon card as i pay a monthly subscription to it.

two words Fuster-cluck to describe this experience! hopefully this time will be right I stressed same exact config as the first offer only one change an i7 620M. I also noticed they seem to be dropping the price of the system


Why is that so hard?

 

Fedex just showed..just got my laptop!! So weird how anyone can sign for it...without checking ID or anything..he just gave it to me and the package has my mom's name (she ordered the original one for me when I was out of the country) on it and he didn't even blink. Crazy..Anyway I opened the packing slip and saw i7 -820..and i was like !?!?!!?!? then realized the 6 was just smeared...hahaha...bout to go get some Artic silver 5 and set my new ish up!

Next thing I gotta do is call back and ask for a 4 gig dimm to be sent out that I was promised for a total of 8!!

Also when will I receive instructions or a shipping box to send back my old 1640?


Everything looks good so far..(havent powered it on yet). Just inspecting all the cosmetics..noticed I had a 5 slot vent, yay, but then its like flat at the top and mine has a huge line going through it, not like a scratch but same idea?

Im about to get a followup call from my guy that handled the case...Should I ask for a new vent panel? Im trying to take a picture of it but its near impossible to show of the marks in this lighting..

 

Ok, Had a xps 1640 with overheating. Specs were:

320gb harddrive
3670 ati graphics card
5300wireless
T9900 processor
16 RGBLED 1080p
dvd-RW

Replaced with 1647 with blue lines and dots on LCD on delivery. Specs were:

500gb harddrive
4670 ati graphics card
6200 wireless
i5-540m processor
16 RGBLED 1080p
DVD-RW

Replaced with 1647 brand new(after refund). Estimated Delivery Date 3/31/10. Specs are same as above except:

Blu-ray drive
and New 3 yr accidental damage warranty

 

How long do they usually take to get back to you with an offer? I recently was approved for a system replacement and they said 4-5 weeks?

 

sounds about right

 

I was told my system will be getting replaced last Thursday and the offer should be made today. Waiting on the call right now.

 

They say 4-5 but in reality it is less than a month... I think mine came in like 3.

Is anyone getting theirs replaced simply because of the overheating and requesting the newer graphics card or even a ssd? I have a 1645 i7 720, 4670 and this mofo get HOT, just curious if anyone had luck with it or if I shouldn't even try......??

 

EGM92 just confirmed that the 5730 isn't even available to be configured and he was promised one...I hope this isn't true but I'm glad I didn't get my hopes up..That 5730 has been showing up in dell's product lists forever now and nothing has materialized..

Also I got my system replaced within 10 days. The ordered got submitted on the 3/19 and I got it yesterday 3/29. Total time for a replacement to come to my hands after I wrote the letter, 16 days.

 

Yea my agent said that the product number is in the system for the part but it's a system wide thing and not specific to the XPS Studio product line.

I asked to get the laptop expedited as this laptop is just not working for me, he agreed and i'd get the order number later today. Lets see how long it takes. I'm in the market for a brand new laptop now, screw Dell, I got fooled with the inspiron 9300, again with the m1530 and it's constantly failing motherboard and screens and now with the 1640, and 1647....

 

Posting here instead of my thread about more problems while waiting

Dell Tried to give me an AW m17x - with p8600, 4gb, 250gb, wuxga, dvdrw, 11.2 lbs - to replace t9800 ( shipped with p8400) 4gb, 500gb, 1080p, Blu-ray..

they tried saying that it was a better system and the downgrade in some parts was because it was overall an upgrade... UM NO

REJECTED- come on really. he went on to say the XPS 164x was discontinued and they were now shipping the AW for XPS customers. I told him no go find and XPS- he replied ok that will really delay your system and the AW is ready to ship today......

this was a exc mamanger - HUH?

 

Recall those adds where DELL flew in some developers from Europe to test the XPS16 - and it was all thumbs up... Im thinking about booking a flight to Austin to shove this XPS up the Excs A^^

 

Yeah, that is pretty low. There is no reason for this, when at the top of the spec sheets it lists the processor power, and I'd hope that one knows 9 is bigger/faster than 8. God help US!!!!!!

 

Hello All..

Which would you guys recommend i5 540m or i7 820qm and why?

Also is there a huge difference in quality between the rgb and wled?

Thanks

 

820qm because its a quad core with 8 threads and can run as fast as the i5 with 2 cores / 4 threads with its turbo boost on.

yes rgbled is great, never used wled so I can't compare first hand but RGBLED best screen out hands down. and fyi if you choose the 820qm you won't be able to get an RGBLED..

 

I got my order number today, and like they said I will not be getting the 16" RGBLED, but will getting upgraded to the i7-820 instead of the i7-720 which I had.

What are my options if I dont want this? The i7-720 was plenty fast enough for me, and I would much rather have the RGBLED and a Blu Ray layer instead.

 

ask for a i7 620m with RGBLED

 

I just hopped back on Dell chat to see if I could get any further as far as what I will be getting as a replacement for my 1645 and they are having a "manager" call me in the next hour.

Any pointers on what I should be asking for? my current setup is 720qm, 4GB ram, ATI 4670, WLED, 500GB HDD....

 

Just got an e-mail saying they were having my replacement built. It got the same rep both times, a Mr. Bhavani. Anyone else get him before? Kind of weird that I got the same person twice, unless I'm assigned to him for all my issues.

I expressed to him that I want a 1645 or 1647 due to my throttling issues. Trying to make 100% sure that he understands a 1640 replacement will not suffice.

 

Yah Bhavani is a good man he is always willing to listen he was helping me earlier and he is the one that sent me my first config.

 

If you're looking for an upgrade, go with ram or SSD. 6gb of ram should be easiest upgrade, a 256 ssd would definitely be the winner though.

 

I got Ravi a few times, as well as Muhammad.... I voiced that a XPS for a replacement wouldn't do because they all get too hot... As soon as this "manager" calls me I will let you guys know what they tell me.

 

Thanks Magicite

 

You said your laptop is getting too hot. I've had great temperatures on my machine so far. When I undervolted and applied premium thermal paste I was hitting around 60-65c under full load

Sadly the I series of cpu's can't be undervolted =/

 

Thanks. Is there a better way to contact my case manager other than through tech support? I dont really know who owns my case, and have spoken with several people.

They havent even called me about my replacement order, other than to see if they could substitues the 15.6" WLED for the 16" RGBLED so they could initiate the replacement.

My new order just appeared in my dell account.

 

I need to confirm something, talked to a dispatch manager today about my replacement not being "able" to get the 5730. He/She told me that the part does exist and will be included in the 16 series very soon. Yet my case manager is telling me that the part is not available.

I want to know if anyone else here was also offered the part in their replacement?

 

uh yea mkelliny did..dont you read the posts?

yo I noticed your sig, how do you have have an SSD+HDD and still have the optical drive installed? !?? I'd love to do that

 

yo I noticed your sig, how do you have have an SSD+HDD and still have the optical drive installed? !?? I'd love to do that[/QUOTE]

Yea did this yesterday. Replaced Hdd with ssd, put old hdd into optical drive bay using a caddy(after installing windows and drivers on ssd)

this thread

now im waiting on one of these for when I rarely need to use optical drive. Should be here next few days.

Boot time less than 20seconds

 

I've read his posts on the config he was told he was getting but I want to see if anyone else got that offer as well, I'm talking to someone on another board in the UK who was offered the board but when his config arrived it was a 3670 lol.

 

read the post I just made in the other thread. Moral of the story is not to trust or believe the techs. You're letting them get you mad. You believe what they say and then are disappointed when they don't make good on what they say. You're setting yourself up for heartache and frustration.. These techs arent all on the same page obviously..THey don't always know what they are talking about and I feel like you're kinda doing this to yourself..You're getting thrown around with misinformation..I really dont think its worth trying to get a 5730...

 

Disappointment? maybe. Heartache? HA! I was PROMISED something by a high ranking official if that doesn't stand for anything well we're all ed.

Was also told 6gb of ram would be 2x3gb dimms... when the hell did they start doing that? I didn't even know 3gb sodimms exist.

 

Er, 99.9% sure there's no such thing. All 3GB "kits" that exist are just 1+2GB sticks in combo, just like 6GB = 4+2 if there's only 2 slots for the RAM.

 

I agree. The 5730 speculation has been going on since January, and people have been saying it would be out 'soon' back then. There are also cases where orders were downgraded from 5730 to 4670 for users that have ordered the 5730 when it was listed as an option "by mistake", such as this user.

The Studio XPS 13 replacement/refresh is expected to come out sometime in the second half or 2010 ( link). I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Studio XPS 16 replacement/refresh then as well. If there is a SXPS 16 refresh later this year...maybe they are just waiting to put the 5xxx series in those?

That just validates tenknics point! They don't always know what they are talking about...3GB DIMMs do not exist.

 

Not to sound like a jerk EGM92, we've been posting back and forth a lot these past few weeks but man you really don't remember or read my posts do you? Thats exactly what I just went through, you're setting yourself up by believing what they tell you without doing the research....Like literally man, I just talked about the whole 6gig thing in details days ago..I was bumped to 6 gigs like I've said in many posts and I said I didn't want 6 gigs because of the unmatched pairs and he couldnt confirm dell carried 3gb sodimms, (they do exist just not at dell). He didnt even know and this was the highest point of escalation. He said if I got the laptop to check myself and if it wasn't then he'd rectify it (I got another 4gb dimm in the mail today). I dont think these people we are dealing with on the phone are tech heads nor know the products as well as us..To them 4 gigs is 4 gigs and 6 gigs is 6 gigs and they will say WHATEVER to make you happy or to get you off the phone/their case.

In this case they told you 6 gigs would be 2x3, and before they told you you'd be getting a 5730. It makes no difference to them if you get it or not..you are letting dell get best of you..

 

Very true, thats why I'm just gonna settle on the 1645 it's a deal or w/e I suppose(even though it's $700 cheaper than my current laptop)

I couldn't have said it better "support" has been a joke with all the lies/misunderstandings w/e is your cup of tea. Lol I wish I could just blatantly lie to DELL, but then again if I said Ya sure I'll pay my bill and didn't it would go on my credit. (at least there is the BBB)

Yah, got told that a 35NM i5 is way more stable than a T9900 due to it being 45NM. I love to talk tech with them they get all flustered and want to get off the phone,guess it's hard to accept sometimes that the customer knows more than most of the CSR's.

 

Just finished installing the extra 4gb dimm and applying the thermal paste (AS5) on the cpu and gpu..pics coming soon. Right now im doing a fresh install of windows 7...Dunno about you all but I delete all the recovery and OEM partitions and merge to make one so I can have all the HDD space (467 gb vs 451) Could give a crap about the dell oem partition

Hopefully my next post will have updated specs in my sig, meaning it will be from the new lappy


Edit: teeehee


prior to thermal paste, showing the on chip (NOT on die) gpu adjacent to little ole arrandale...she's cute

 

Just got my new replacement. So much for a portable school notebook. It is pretty awesome that aside, but I do need a bigger bag to carry it now.

 

god, I was confused there for a second, the monitor? behind the laptop looked like it was part of the screen lol that thing would have been massive. You can still use it for school, you just need to buy an extra 2-3 9cell batteries to get through a lecture.

 

LOL i thought the same thing EGM That thing is a beast!

 

Yeah I should have moved the monitor more. I have a question though. The SXPS has ST9500420ASG while this new one has ST9500420AS, I checked Seagates website to see what the difference was and it only show the G to mean G-Force. Is the previous HD better?

 

G-force just means it has a rapid movement/drop sensor, it'll make a high pitched noise if you move the laptop around too fast if it's on. I've found in my past experiences with seagate drives that the G sensor can go faulty and cause it to set off every 2 minutes causing massive system performance drops.

 

Yea the freefall sensor was also the cause for a lot of noises people were complaining about from their HDD..specifically clicking noises..IT was do to the freefall sensor going off when it shouldn't and holding the needle back causing it to click...

There is a firmware update/patch that was listed in this forum that worked wonderfully..HDD is way quieter now..