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

Hmm, if it's a brand new system color shouldn't be a problem, but if it is refurbished it will be hard to get a color you want. If you do decide to push for a certain color they'll probably send an LCD replacement. Again, just be persistent.

 

I was approved for another warranty replacement today (wifi, bluetooth, usb ports still being problematic). Any tips to offer when negotiating upgrades due to inconvenience?

 

Every time they offer me a refund I refuse. I tell them it's ridiculous that 3 months in, they are offering me a refund. They have to give you a similar or upgraded system, in other words "NOT A DOWNGRADE"

 

That's hard.. I've never argued over pure inconvenience. Sure inconvenience is a problem, but I'm not sure they'll do anything about it. The only thing I was offered was an extension to my warranty because 3 months of my warranty was wasted on a faulty system. I haven't accepted it yet because I still have a faulty system and I might want a longer extension. Thanks for reminding me however

 

Wrong reply? I asked if anyone was able to get a "PRE-MANUFACTURED BY DELL" 1645 with BOTH the RGB screen and HD 5730.

I was told there is no such thing and I would have to swap the RGB from my previous machine on to a new one with the HD5730.

Did anyone receive a prebuilt machine with both? Thanks.

 

You can't receive a prebuilt machine with both. They never provided the 5730 until they stopped manufacturing 1645's with the RGBLED screen. I did a screen swap just like you were told to do. I think the RGBLED screen was taking so much power so they stopped manufacturing them. (Atleast that's what I was told by Dell) So the throttling I am having could be an issue of my own greed for more vibrant colors

 

What do you mean wrong reply? I was answering phobos' question..

 

I see. Do you have the 840qm with you right now? Did you swap the screen by yourself? If yes, was it easy?
I am totally envious of your set up.

You used wrong quote then.

 

I don't have the i7-840 because it was back-ordered when they were going to do an in-home service for me. Instead they are sending my out a new system (again) and I told them if it isn't to my liking I won't hesitate to send it right back. They recommended another system exchange because I was having speaker cracking at less than 40% and I experienced wireless issues when I had 2-3 peripherals plugged in.

I had a technician come in to do the screen swap. I know how to do it, but I wouldn't as I think it would void the warranty.

I'm going to have to have another in-home service done to swap the screens once my new system comes in. They wouldn't allow me the first time I asked, but I demanded it.

I used your quote because I was asking the same question
You asked whether his system was refurbished or new

 

Very nice. I don't know if my guy is capable of offering me all that. You're really lucky, imo.

 

Haha, I'm not lucky..

My guy wasn't able to do anything for me. His name was Vikram_Rajpal or something..

I demanded 10000000000000000 times to talk to his supervisor and though he said he had none, he eventually gave in. After I caught him lying 3 times :O

I told you! Just be persistent. And use a house phone or your minutes will sky rocket

 

They're building me a brand new system. I had the motherboard swapped and the screen was being problematic still (hence why I don't just swap the screen - who knows whether the problem is the screen or the rest of the computer but since the mobo's been swapped I lean on the screen) so they offered to swap the screen and mobo or build me a new one so I went with build me a new one. Only thing different spec wise on the build page is of course the smaller 1080P WLED screen and now it's a 5730...oh and it has bluetooth because they're all specced with bluetooth stock now.

Same amount of RAM, same network card, same removable drive (already had a Blu-Ray reader in the first machine), same processor (maybe), and same hard drive.

I'll be real happy to just have the thing show up so I can play with it...I hate waiting.

 

Pretty sure I talked with the same guy. He told me either I like what they send or I get a refund, and then had me talk to his manager, who told me the same thing. I said fine, I'll take the new system as configured. Then a few days later I get a call from the "back end team" letting me know the new system was in production (already knew as I'd been checking the dispatch status constantly) and asked if everything was OK. Expressed my unhappiness about the lower end screen to him, said the same thing to me - take the new system or refund. Kept the new system being built. Spoke to order status today as I wanted to see if I could get anymore information on what build stage my new machine is in (said I'd have it in about a week). About 20 minutes after I finished chatting I received a call from a woman named Mary in tech support asking how I was doing, told her the situation, same deal - new system or refund. So I've still got the new system coming. Having it show up end of next week would be great as that's when I get home from a trip and it's a long weekend for me, but we'll see what happens.

I just want the screen to not flicker...I can deal with the throttling as I'm not a crazy PC gamer - I have my 360 and PS3 for that mostly.

 

phobos, are you going to swap the screens when you get your replacement?

 

No matter what I would keep my original system so I can have a point of reference. I did that until I got a system I liked. Also, it was the one with a RGBLED, so if I did not have that I would have never been able to do a screen swap. And they never would have sent a new one my way.

 

I want to but at the same time if the screen is the thing that is generating the flickering then I'd rather have a nonflickering screen.

 

Yeah I have every intention of not sending back my original machine until I'm satisfied.

 

May I ask what the "flickering" issue is about? Thx.

 

My replacement has shipped. The order was created this morning and I got a call from my rep saying he had arranged the order to be expedited and I got my tracking number 5 hours later. Unusually fast.

 

= Refurbished unit

 

Did you get a new replacement?

 

I forget the part# but it was a 4GB samsung stick. I have done both, call and chat.

Also sending an email to the micheal_dell address seems to work well for most also.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...b-screen-flicker-issue.html?highlight=flicker

 

Hi again,
Anyone know difference between the Dell 1520 Wireless and Intel 6300 (EDIT: I MEANT INTEL 5300)?
Will i notice a difference online gaming over Wifi?
Thanks!

 

yea i did 10 char

 

They are similar in performance. The Dell 1520 is based on Atheros and is the only worthy dell wireless card around.

Very nice. I am envious!

 

Brilliant, thanks atheros, 1647 replacement; Here I come!
If I really struggle with the 1520, I presume I could spend $20 on ebay for the Intel 5300 and install myself.

 

What's the spec for your replacement?

 

I've read thru all the pages, cant find an info, any of you have a refurbished system bought from outlet being replaced?? or dell only offer replacement for the new systems.

 

Doesn't matter. They will send you a tech to troubleshoot problems and if problems persist after that, then they will send a replacement accordingly.

 

Hey Anodize,

Orig
1640
CPU T9550
6GB RAM
Intel 5300 Wifi
16"RGBLED
BluRay combo drive
Inbuilt TV Tuner
500gb 7200 rpm HDD
1GB ATI 4670

Replaced with:
1647
Core i7 620m
1GB ATI 5730 GPU
8GB ram
16"RGBLED
Dell 1520 wifi (not available on 1647, so CPU to 620
BluRay combo
TV tuner gone (upgraded ram instead)

It was a very painful process, terrible communication from Dell.
First spec downgraded just about everything
2nd fixed cpu etc but then blu-ray gone back to dvd, and other things missing
3rd windows went from ultimate to home
etc etc

In total it took 8 quotes for them to get it right, lets hope I have a little more joy regarding overheating and throttling than my current pile of crap which cant even handle WoW on low settings.

 

Did they ship you a prebuilt machine with the RGB screen + 5730 or did you swap the screens? Was the machine new or refurbished? Are you in the US?

 

I'm in Australia, and it will be a new machine. RGBLED is still available in Australia to dell.com.au if you are interested.

So new machine with RGBLED & 5730

Having said that I haven't received it yet, it only went to "ordered" status yesterday.

 

I got my replacement. It is refurbished and the battery is unsually hard to pull out. Will check some more and decide if this one is staying or going back.

 

Are you sure it is a 1647 with the 5730 GPU?I was told 1647 only comes with 4670 and not the 5730 not as yet.Please confirm it....

 

Absolutely positive - Although I'm in Australia so it differs from country to country.
Order details from "my account"

Studio XPS 1647 Base systerm (Direct) 1
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-620M Processor (2.66Ghz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 3.33 GHz, 4M cache) 1
1GB DDR3 ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730 1

Just go to dell.com.au to configure the 1647 with 5730 for Aussie customers

 

yeah I checked it is available in AUS but not in US ,surpised a bit any info when would it be available in the US?

 

I doubt it will be available again. The panel was discontinued in 2009. My laptop was made in 2010 and the panel from 01/2009. They are just using the remaining stocks in the foreign region. They'll run out eventually.

 

My replacement shipped, we'll see on Wednesday afternoon what I end up with since I'll be on travel for work until then.

 

Btw, how did you manage to get a new replacement?
My guy wouldnt' give to me no matter what.

 

hey i brought the system in usa, but now i am in India.I have transferred the warranty to india.
So can i ask for replacements now if i am facing heating issue/throttling prob/charging issue.

 

i dont get the point if they are building a new one why would they give u such good upgrades like 840 / ssd anyway they have to make a new one then they could have build it with the exact specs you had before.

 

It's not something I would question..

I mean.. if Dell gives you an upgrade and you don't know why, go for it.

I'm completely happy with what I have. Except the throttling issues

 

Dunno, they offered it immediately after the first tech visit. But they weren't willing to do any upgrades even given that I'm losing the RGB LED screen.

 

My 1645 came in last week. It was wonderful for the first 15 minutes when the computer actually worked. Ran diagnostics and it came up having thousands of bad sectors on the hard drive. Tech support says it isn't a faulty drive. They say it is an OS install issue. That sure is interesting considering I can't restore to a previous point, reinstall to factory settings or install new os from scratch because of hard drive issues. It won't even boot into safe mode. I am inside the 21 day return period so I am having to decide whether to let them replace the hard drive or just return and go buy from another vendor.

This is the 4th hard drive failure I have experienced in a dell laptop in 5 years. Two of them were work laptops and two personal ones. That's a bad track record. Seems they are putting cheaper and cheaper hardware in these every year.

 

They use the same hard drives every other vendor uses. You have just got really unlucky.

 

jajorda: it's totally hit or miss. Dell uses Seagate 7200.4 or Toshiba xxx56GSY from my experience. They are at the top of the HD comparison chart.

 

Mine came with a Western Digital 320GB 7200rpm HDD. Same price as a 500gb 5400rpm if I remember right at the time.

 

Exactly Mine has the 7200rpm 500gb seagate 7200.4 and it is the best notebook drive ive had. DEAD silent

 

Just got my specs on the system replacement...

can someone help me out and let me know what processor and graphics card this is. Also i noticed they are not giving my a RGB led like i currently have :-(

1 TMJ06 BASE,NOTEBOOK,XPS,1645,CLARKSFIELD,CONFIGURE TO ORDER
1 2835C Module,Documentation,Airborne,2-DAY,DELL DRCT
1 35W0M Module,Software,Roxio,EZ CD,10.3,Dell Edition,Factory Install
1 3JT7X MODULE,LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY,15.6,FULL HIGH DEFINITION,BLACK,1645/1647
1 5FJ8M Module,Label,Intel,Notebook,CI7
1 CP1VF Module,Software,W7HP64 Consumer Desktop,English Dao/bcc
1 D113N Module,Hard Drive,500GB,Free Fall Sensor,7.2K,SGT-HOLL
1 D9KVP Module,Software,Quick Fix Engineering,W7HB32,Consumer Notebook
1 DH5NN Module,Card,Network,6250,Consumer Notebook
1 H2D7M SERVICE INSTALL MODULE,SOFTWARE,NOTEBOOK,1645
1 HV5FP Module,Media,Digital Video Disk Drive,Resource DVD,Madison,1645
1 J019D Module,Software,DELL-DOCK Consumer
1 J206C Module,Software,Dell Connect 2.1,Dell Americas OrganizationEMEA,Brazil Customer Center
1 J6XND Module,Software,W7HP64,Digital Video Disk Drive,Multiple User Interface,NO-E
1 K478H Module,Information,Liquid Crystal Display,Cover,Leather Black,1640
1 K491T Module,Software,SKYPT,SKYPE Factory Install
1 K9G29 Module,KIT,Software,Creative PANZER,1.2
1 M018R Module,Software,Powerdvd,8.3,Blu-Ray Disk Playback,True Theatre High Definition,Factory Install
1 M239M Module,Software,LTG DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 M97DR Module,Software,Creative PANZER,1.2,Factory Install
1 MJF4V Module,Card,Network,370,Foxconn,Dell Americas Organization
1 MX962 Module,Information,NO MEDIA
1 N533M Module,Software,Mcafee SAPPHIRE,30DAY,Multiple User Interface
1 NC53Y MODULE,PROCESSOR,CLARKSFIELD,XXXX,1.73,8MB,1645
1 P420X Module,Shipping Material System,PALTROW,Dell Americas Organization
1 P881M Module,Software,Compact Diskette,Sensible Vision Facial Recognition,2.3-00
1 R248D Module,Dvd+/-rw And Bd-rom M1640,Sony Nec Optiarc Inc.
1 R609C MOD,CORD,PWR,125V,1M,C5,US
1 RK893 Module,Adapter,Alternating Current,Delta - Ac Adapt,130W 3P,World Wide
1 RN3VC Module,Assembly,Base,Notebook,Madison,1645
1 T013C Module,Software,Works,9 English
1 T22TT Module,Software,Creative Camera,Consumer,1.4,Factory Install
1 T703D Module,Keyboard,86,US-ENG,DellAmericas Organization,1640
1 VR08H Module,Software,Certificate Of Authenticity,W7HP32/64
1 W3HMK Module,Label,Microsoft,Notebook,Windows7
1 W795M Module,Dual In-line Memory Module,8GB,1333MHZ,DDR3,2X4G
1 W871N Module,Software,WINDOWS-LIVE Consumer
1 WU658 Ship Group,Notebook,North 1640,England,Dell Americas Organization
1 X445C MODULE,BATTERY,PRIMARY,85WHR,9C,SAMSUNG POWER DIVISION
1 XM544 Module,Software,PC-RESTORE Transactional Line Of Business
1 Y720M Module,Software,DSPRT-CTR 64BIT,2.0

thanks