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

I am with you on the no jabbing, I was only defending.

I think he has stopped now though : )

 

same team! same team! haha

 

Thanks Cin' for keeping the peace, and getting us back on topic.

Cheers!

 

Here are my specs for the studio xps 16 that is arriving at my door. I am finally happy with dell! I am getting the new ATI HD 5730!!

1 224-6716 Studio XPS 16 Notebook
1 310-0173 Airborne Documentation, System Exchanges,Factory Install
1 312-0950 9-cell Battery
1 313-8874 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
1 317-2361 Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
1 317-2364 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz 2 Dimm
1 320-1307 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 - 1GB
1 320-8339 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p Full HD WLED LCD, W/2.0 MP, XPS 1645
1 320-8354 Arctic White High Gloss Finish with Leather XPS 1645
1 330-6222 Windows 7 Label
1 330-7785 RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,MADISON,XPS 1645
1 341-8989 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
1 410-0487 Microsoft Office Starter 2010
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
1 410-2466 MCAFEE PEARL MUI,15MTH,Without Media
1 420-6436 PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron
1 420-7938 Dell Connect 2.1
1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer
1 420-9352 Dell, Software, Wild Tangent Inc Games
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 421-0187 Dell Support Center Software 64 Bit 2.0
1 421-0188 Facial Recognition
1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
1 421-0757 Skype VOIP Application
1 421-1010 Dell Webcam Central v1.4
1 421-1361 MOD,SW,RXO,EZCD,10.3,DE,FI
1 421-1582 Cyberlink Power DVD 8.3 Playback
1 421-1737 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
1 421-2000 Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio Software Enabled
1 421-2086 eBay Webslice
1 430-0700 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
1 430-0737 Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11AGN Half Mini Card
1 430-3605 Integrated 10/100 Network Card

and cbaty, I will not make any more jabbing, I really don't care anymore...as long as dell can fix my problems. Sorry for the outburst before.

 

(math)nerd rage! Haha couldn't resist, but yeah its understandable to be frustrated with customer service sometimes you get lucky sometimes you don't and it takes some working around to get what you want, but in the end everyone just wants to get the system that feels satisfactory.

Anyway I am going to device manager and all I see is generic monitor under monitor am I looking in the wrong place to verify my lcd type?

 

nice specs. congrats

 

that's a great system replacement. the intel 5300 is so stable at long range, i think more so than the new 6300. all you want now is bluray!

 

Your almost there!

Device Manager > Monitors > Generic PnP Monitor (well, for me) < Click that (for you Generic Monitor) > Then you will see:

3 Tabs: General > Driver > Details

You want: Details

You will see: Property: with a "Drop Down Arrow"
You want: Hardware Ids:
And then it will Return in Values: Monitor\SEC5448
That is what mine shows, which is the RGBLED.



Cin...

 

Hi Guys.

I am supposed to get a replacement on my dell 1647, keyboard issues 2x , overheating problems.

Original : i5 520, RGBLED, 4 gb, 4650 vid, 500gb.

PROMISED : i7 720, 15.6 1080p, 6 gb, 5730, 500gb.

Production : i5 520, 900p, 4 gb, 5730, 500gb.

called supervisor, said i might not get i7 and will have to see in 4 more days to get 1080p and 6gb.

Any advice?

 

APU, you are not getting a better system esp without the rgb. I would not accept that at all- Has to be same or better specs, The LCD is the biggest issue- as for the CPU the i7 720 would be a 1645 not a 1647. I too was promised many things that did not happen, until i emailed the michael dell email esc queue. Got exactly what i wanted from then on.

 

Nice purchase Mathnerd, mine is almost exactly the same spec'd.

However I went through the Employee Purchase Plan as my parents could get a discount and there was no option for adding bluetooth (something I really need).

Therefore, I'm skeptical it is going to come with it. Is there anyway I can relatively easily add the bluetooth module myself?

 

my specs never said anything about bluetooth and it still had it (replacement system).

 

Thanks Cin, seems they did that bit right however they will be coming back tomorrow to give me another replacement palm rest/ LCD

However after complaining for about an hour that the throttling issue is now worse since I am stuck at 3x multiplier and sometimes down to 1.5x, the supervisor assured me that the processor was the problem and that fixed many other systems even though I assured him it wasn't, anyone else get told that?

 

I have emailed Michael. does he call or email back? i gave my number hoping he calls tomorrow.

 

yeah apu,
I fought really really long just to get a studio xps 16 from my xps m1330. Dell decided to replace it first with a studio 14 (Core i7, 4gb, 500gb 7200rpm). Then, after system crashes and hardware failures with the studio 14 within a week, Dell decided to give me a studio xps 13 (P8700, 6gb, 320gb 5400rpm). I was furious because even the lcd panel on the studio xps 13 was not as good as the studio 14 I originally had, plus it had worse specs. Not to mention that computer came with also two defects (hard drive lights not working, hinge light malfunction). I must have talked to at least 30 different reps until I got one who was helpful, and even then, I had to talk to an additional three more reps before I was promised a system that was better than my studio 14 I had before the studio xps 13. When they promised me a better system, I talked to two more reps confirming that statement because I did not want to be screwed by the dell exchange (as most of us had been).

I also did Dell chat, and had a dell chat rep tell me that the resolution on my screen would be 1080p, and that my processor would be a core i7 720qm or better.

Hope this helps, like I said, I don't think anyone would want to know how much I've gone through just to get this.

 

So after my 2nd in home tech came in today I decided to email [email protected] and surprisingly they called me in about 30 minutes and finally approved me for a refurb exchange, with that being said will it show up on my order status page to see what they are sending me? and for those of you who got refurb replacements was it generally an upgrade or did they send you another 1640?

 

Upgrades are hit and miss man, really no way to predict.

And yes, as soon as you sign into your dell account and an order number has been generated you will see it there. And yes, specs also.

 

Ah okay wasn't sure if getting sent a refurb counted as an order, but it seems on the service page it says the exchange was authorized so just awaiting the order number

@cbaty with your first replacement was it still a 1640 or they give you a refurb 1645?

 

I started with a 1645 refurb as an upgrade from my studio, then everything since that has been a newly built machine.

 

Doh! I forgot you didn't start with a 1640 my mistake

 

You may be right. Assuming my router configurations are fine, my internet connection goes in and out at varying times of the day. Some days, it's completely stable.

Usually a disabling and re-enabling is enough but sometimes full restart is needed.

 

I use to have that issue with the 5300... tried new drivers and nothing worked. Chatted up with a rep. and he remotely wiped the drivers and installed some package he had and it has worked flawlessly ever since.

EDIT: But the again, I just did a fresh install and it is working like a champ too without that reps. software....

 

i spoke with a person after i sent an email to micheal_dell.

they said they will call me tomorrow with an update.

should i push for better specs that what was initially promised or just accept it (provided he agrees to upgrade)?

 

Don't get too greedy , but maybe you can ask for something as compensation (Maybe pick some reasonable spec you wanted). Just make sure the specs of your replacement system are at least equal or better (usually better). But you never know, they might actually allow you to configure what you want... maybe. Tell us how it goes.

 

ya im trying not to be greedy but having been lied to after confirming 3x over 15 days i feel it could be justified.. the original specks were i5 520, 4gb, rbgled, . To be honest i would love to keep my specs as is with my rbgled.

could i possibly push for the 250gb ssd? its really the only thing i can see making a noticeable difference. i7 vs i5; 4gb vs 6gb; 5730 vs 4670. probly wont be noticeable..

 

rgbled is great. wish i could have a ssd drive though. pretty happy with my specs though (huge upgrade). let us know how everything goes

 

I've lately been having issues with my 1640. The common ones, throttling/touchpad/fan sounds like its from a WWII plane.

Now, i have complete care, which covers almost anything that happens to the laptop.

Heres my question...do i talk to Dell and try and get a replacement for my 1640, possibly a 1645/1647? Or should there be an act of god that accidentally drops it that would require a new one?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

I would NOT go the dropping route if you do not want a 1640 again.... Use the heat/throttling/fan issues the best you can to argue for a 1647. Good Luck.

 

An act of god upgraded my $675 refurb 1340 to a newly built 1647. Of course, YMMV. I don't think the issue matters as much as the rep you get.

Best of luck to you in drawing a rep from the hat with BOTH authority and understanding.

 

yeah i wouldnt go with dropping it. its one thing to get a computer replaced because of it not working properly but 'accidentally' dropping it is not the way to go imo

 

So when you guys got approved for replacements new or refurb, did someone call you later to confirm? I called up dell today after I was authorized for replacement because I had to change to the shipping address, and while I was on the phone I asked if it would appear on my specs page and he told me that another representative would call me sometime in the near future, does that sound right?

 

So my 1640 T9950 with 4670 basically had a meltdown... Support originally tried replacing motherboard but no go and decided on replacement. An email to m... got me to the escallation department who said they were ordering me a new machine. Problem is its another 1640 same specs except the rgdled is no longer available and I can't get them to call me back after 3 emails over the last 48 hours. Anyone have a contact number?

 

In my case I was approved for a replacement on 5/28 and was told I would be contacted later regarding the replacement laptop/ On the following tues the 31st I saw an order on my dell account screen for the replacement which had all the stats of what I was getting had a xps1640 with the throttle.games issue and was replaced with a xps1645. I called them because the new system did not have a blu-ray drive like the old syste.

After talking to tech support the guy I spoke with said he was taking responsibility for the case and I inquired who I needed to speak with regarding the blu-ray drive he said not to worry that the system I saw on my dell account was just a porposal not a final shipping item and it could change.
He then told me I would receive a call from the replacement team and set up a day and a time for that call and I should forward any concerns.issues with them. He set the call up for 6/8.

Of course the system on my account shipped that evening and I had it the next day. Kudos for quickness but Dell loses points for bad info from tech. But the new system was great games played perfect must faster cpu i820 and 8 gigs of ddr3 everything was much improved from previous system except the blu-ray. Ok fast forward to 6/8 and lo and behold the Dell replacement team called me right when they were supposed to. The rep I spoke with asked If I received the replacement system and I replied yes and she asked was there anything else she could help me with. I told her about the blu-ray and she said she could dispatch a tech to replace the dvdrw with a blu-ray. (slightky surprised by this because before In dealing with Dell they couldnt upgrade items on-site just replace current items) Also inquired if I could get a 16 in lcd as my previous one had instead of the current 15.6 she put me on hold a few mins and came back and said they could not do the 16 in lcd and to make up for it they usually upgraded the cpu or the memory in the system (since I was more than happy with both) I inquired if they could upgrade the 500gb hard drive to a ssd. She put me on hold a few more mins and came back anc said the largest ssd they had was 256gigs would that be ok. Of course I said sure.

Dell tech shows up early this morning, Installs the blu-ray and the ssd (ssd even had the correct recovery partition) and everything is working great.

Dells loses some points for communication I guess due to all the levels and everytime you speak with someone its somebody new. But they do seem to try and help the customer out. The replacement team rep did give me her direct number and extension so I could call her back if any issues.

So now am very pleased with the process it wasnt perfect but did achieve getitng me a working laptop.

 

Glad you're satisfied man. enjoy!

 

Wow nice upgraded to a 256ssd good deal! Can I ask what you started with?

 

Wow thats a sweet deal there. congrats

 

So after looking at my service call status is seems they are building me another refurbished 1640 and I am supposed to be waiting 3-4 weeks for it, so does this mean I am pretty SOL in getting my hopes up for a 1645? My 1 year warranty expires in September and at this rate, and I am just tired of calling about the same problems and am terrified that after having to wait 3-4 weeks (Though [email protected] reps told me 7-10 days) this whole nightmare is going to restart.

 

if you get ahold of them right away you could request a 1645. worth a shot

 

I email'ed michael_dell again but they didn't respond quite as quickly this time, would it be worth a shot to call the regular customer service or wait for a call from michael_dell office?

 

well you want to do it asap. my replacement system only took 1 day to get here once it showed up in my account so id jump on chat at least. maybe i was lucky tho

 

Yeah I tried on chat and they were being completely evasive and non competent, the odd thing is that the system is seems like it is being built in parts shipped to some location as it is not on my orders page but slowly updating on my service call page

 

weird mine didnt happen that way. could call them i suppose

 

Yeah why not it can't hurt

Edit: Well it seems the Indian customer service agents who answer calls at 2 in the morning are finally helping me out, they told me I will receive a call from a rep to discuss my new system and what options I have for upgrade, hopefully one of those options is a good one!

 

So Last Monday my replacement order was canceled without my knowledge and yesterday have barely been given a reason why; they sated my account was FROZEN... I said what, why? How? they told me that my system before last was not accounted for and they could not ship the next one out.

I told them I had dropped it off, which I had, and insisted that she check again.... She went as far as to having me forwarding all 3 of the emails that I HAD TO REQUEST that contained the shipping labels for every system I shipped back; Yeah, NONE of them came with the return shipping label like they always talk about.

Anyways, to sum it up, it seems the drop off center I dropped it off at does BOTH Fed-Ex and UPS..... Well, the box it came to me in was a Fed-Ex box and it was being ruturned via UPS.... Stupid DELL... Using the 2 FF-ing different shippers and cause confusion like this..

I called the store and they said it went out so Fed-Ex man must have grabbed the Fed-Ex box! So I called Fed-Ex and they assured me this happens all the time and that it would be found..... RIGHT.

So I am pissed, they won't ship out the next one because of it and she ould not answer why the last one was shipped if this was the case, right?? And also, they have my credit card and could just charge me if it never showed up!!

-Wish me luck guys.... this process an last FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

wow that sounds rough. hope it works out for ya

 

Cbaty- you did not keep the print out when you dropped it off? ALWAYS have the store scan it and give you a receipt. Then you are not accoutable for it.

 

...amen. You have to protect yourself. Especially when you are on the hook for 1600 plus bucks.

Good luck, again.

Let us know how this one resolves itself.

 

my M1530 has now had 10 service calls, with two motherboards, three LED panels, the mouse twice, speakers three times, and touch panel three times. Now dell wants to replace it with a 1640 with the t9600, and fairly crappy specs. as far as i can tell, its the absolute base model.
my current system:
Black Dell XPS M1530
T8300 (2.4GHz)
4GB DDR2 Ram
1440x900 Resolution
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
250GB 5400RPM SATA HD
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module
Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit.


For some reason, I can not use Chat. It says my system is not supported by Dells Chat system, whcih is strange since ive used it to schedule and report all my previous service calls. I have emailed Michael Dell asking for help. Given how much trouble this one has been, I dont want to be given this 1640 and have it turn out to cycle on me. The tech support guy over the phone confirmed they are still having issues with the 1640. I have yet to hear back about my system. How long should I wait to hear back from Executive help? Do I have any recourse to change the system specs to something with a newer processor? As far as I can tell, the one they are offering me is only 19 dollars less than one with an i7 processor, 6gb memory, and 500gb 7200rpm drive. They are currently offering, t9600, 4gb memory, 250gb 5400rpm drive.

 

Oh, I always have the tracking info... But the store I take it to ships both and sent it with the wrong guys... Nothing I can do after it's in their hands.. Over the weekend I have thought about it and I am not worried.... I did all a customer should HAVE to do, right?

 

I can't use chat either... And there is no way in 2010 I would take a damn Vista machine neither.

Ask about a 1647, use posts here and on Dell comm. to show support for your reasoning on requesting the 1647 because it doesn't have all the problems and you have already been through enough. Good luck.