**The Official Studio XPS 1645 Intel Core i7 "Owners Lounge" - Part 2

@NinjaAssassin
The 5370 will probably run it a lot better than mine does, though I imagine the heat could be worse. Sadly I live in Japan, and there was no offer with a 5000 series radeon here Got tired of waiting in the end.

 

They work fine (30-50 fps easily), but I find the loss of sharpness irritating after a while. It's not a huge deal, though. I mainly just want to make sure that the performance I'm getting at max settings at a high resolution is normal, and by the sounds of it, it is

 

So, I should be good for mild gaming (Mass Effect 2, Arkham Asylum, Modern Warfare 2) on a lower resolution than the 1080P (720p) but also for all of the other uses I want without needing to go to the Alienware M15X?

 

Question for someone who knows please:

I will be upgrading my ram to 8GB and wondering what the difference between:

DDR3 1333 10600
DDR3 1333 10660
DDR3 1333 10666

Anyone?

Thanks

 

Nothing. Different manufacturers "tests" found some DDR3-1333MHz modules which had bandwidth of about 10,600MB/s. The variations come from different tests, but obviously of the same memory at the same speed.

It's like using HD Tune or HD Tach to find out your HD speed. The MB/s will differ, but it's same the drive, right?

@gaming issue

Wish I could help, but I don't game on mine.

 

Anyone else have problems with changed/canceled orders?

I got no e-mail notice or anything, but logged in to check my order status today, which simply says "changed" and that I should check "order details" for more info. There is no "order details" anywhere that I see. I called their customer service line, which is closed at the moment, but their automated way to check the order status told me it was "canceled".

It's bizarre to me that they didn't think this was worth sending an e-mail about.

Ordered May 24 with an original EDD of June 9. It was i7 720QM, WLED LCD, 6GB DDR3, 500 GB 7200RPM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 1GB.

Not happy....

 

this is classic dell - i had ordered mine sept 27 - got cancelled nov 8 - no warning - they put in the exact same order again nov 9- and I received it Dec 1st....

they do this sometimes for no apparent reason - a new order should be regenerated though...
maybe they are going to give you the 5730 instead of the 4670....

 

Yeah, you called it. Got ahold of them by phone today and found out they upgraded the video card. Not too awful overall, as it only pushed back EDD a few days.

 

holy crap. I want this

 

I purchased the 1645 today with 3 discount codes. I was going to wait until august to buy a laptop for college, but this deal was too good for me to turn down. The specs are:

317-2361 Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
317-2364 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz 2 Dimm
320-8333 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p Full HD WLED LCD, W/2.0 MP, XPS 1645
320-1307 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 - 1GB
341-8989 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
320-8352 Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish with Leather XPS 1645
421-1737 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
430-3605 Integrated 10/100 Network Card
313-8874 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
421-2000 Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio Software Enabled
430-0737 Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11AGN Half Mini Card
312-0950 9-cell Battery

Got it for $1,035.42 before taxes but I got free shipping.

Ordered on 6/7/2010
In Production on 6/7/2010

Estimated Delivery Date 6/18/2010

 

Anybody experiencing fuzzy screens, like the ones in television after using it for a few hours? I leave my computer on 24/7 but with CM infinite below. Running on the 130w adapter and on A08 BIOS. The fuzzy screen comes up no matter what I am doing. Happened rather frequently these few days. It will go fuzzy, then black, then the computer will restart itself and it will say that I have just recovered from a BSOD. Anyone with this problem too? btw, I'm gonna update to A09 and see if the problem still persists.

 

FYI: i7 processors are back ordered and are delaying shipments.

Purchased an XPS 1645 online on May 24 with an EDD of June 11.

On May 28 saw on this forum that the HD 5730 video card is now available. Called to ask them to change it and was told it wasn't possible since machine was in production.

Today, no way they'll make the EDD since the machine hasn't shipped yet and past experience tells me it takes about a week to clear customs and arrive. Called to inquire why and was told i7 processors are back ordered. New EDD is July 7. Ouch! However, I did get them to agree to change the video card to the HD 5730 since the machine won't actually be built for a while.

I'm not sure whether to be happy I'm getting a 5730 or sad I have to wait up to another month to get the machine.

 

Well I got my EDD bumped to the 11th and I ordered on the 28th but I guess thats because Im in the US. As for the 5730 being worth it, I would say yes 100% over the 4670. It is considerable jump in performance and should make for a considerable drop in heat and power consumption.

 

I am going to call in and see if mine will be back ordered, I originally ordered on the 17th but cancelled and reordered a few times with the lastest order on May 30th. Order has been in production since Friday with an EDD of June 14th. If it is backordered I wonder if we can change to a 1647 or downgrade to an i5? Im not waiting over a month its already been 2 weeks without a computer using my iphone all the time and im about to go crazy.

 

Honestly a month may seem like a long time to wait, but if you downgrade to a lesser CPU and GPU you will have to deal with that for years. So a month or less of wait time is a small price to pay to get a quad vs dual unless of course you dont need that many cores. I am sure that with a EDD of the 14th it will be here by then.

As for the backorders are you sure it has to do with the CPU or the 5730 motherboard due to the influx of normal orders and random upgrades.

 

Yeah, I would say try to wait also, but hey I can't blame anyone for deciding to settle, for majority of users these are still beasts.

 

My EDD was JUNE 14th and I called Dell Canada this morning and they said there shouldn't be any reason for a delay. I asked about i7's being backordered and he hadn't heard anything. My order is still in production and the EDD has never changed since I placed the order on the 30th.

I was referring to getting an i7 dual core instead of a quad core if it's only the quads that are out of stock, but who knows. I'll try calling in again and see if anyone knows about whats backordered but as far as I can tell my order is still going along just fine.

 

This is pretty cool to have a screen like this for the people who want to use their machines outside, Like New Dell Studio XPS 1640 1645 1647 16.0" WXGAHD LCD Widescreen -...

 

I ordered an i7-720QM quad core processor. Two different reps, one in customer service and the other in online sales, told me that the i7 processor was back ordered. I asked about changing to the i7-820QM and was told the same thing. They referred to "i7 processors" but maybe it is only the quad core models.

 

Has anyone here thats ordered a 720QM or 820QM had there order status or EDD changed on the Dell "my account" website?

Mine still remains the same but I am going to call in again and see whats up, I really dont think I can wait a month...

EDIT: I just called and talked to the rep who I purchased my system through, he said not to worry about the backorder as I was not affected and he said my EDD still stands being June 14th.

 

Purchased mine yesterday with a 720QM and my EED has not changed. It is still 6/18.

 

Wow...not literally five minutes after I called Dell, another person called me back informing me that there was a back-order on my notebook...GREAT. My EDD is now July 13th, I can't go that long without a computer.

 

My EDD has not changed on the order status page but two reps confirmed by telephone it has changed.

 

It takes up to 24hrs for the website to update usually. Can I haggle anything out of Dell for this delay or is my only option waiting? Normally I wouldn't care but I sold my other computer so right now I don't have anything to use. They told me the new EDD is likely a large over-estimation of when I will actually get my unit but who knows...I'm starting to whish I had just kept my order with the 4670 and I would likely have the laptop in my hands right now.

 

lol...you guys are still young.

The first few people who bought it (myself included) waited well over 40 days, IIRC.

And you know the only "extra freebie" we got extra out of Dell? CPU throttling.

~Ibrahim~

 

Yeah I know I'm being a drama queen but the way I understand it, they don't start production until they've verified the availability of parts correct? (according to the video I watched on YouTube anyway), so can't I just say "hey look...throw in whatever cpu you have available and give me a bit of a discount"...at this point I'd take an i5 if it was available.

 

What a freebie! haha

 

well guys im gonna do a clean install in a bit. having couple glitches after installing/reinstalling ati drivers and such. meant to do one right when i got it anyways. hopefully i dont mess it up :l haha.

 

Hey I'm thinking of buying the XPS 16 and would like to know if there are any problems with it? Or anything I should know about it to finalize my decision.

 

Dude there are hundreds of pages here, which issues would you like to know more about specifically?

Take a few hours and scour the forum.

 

I'm asking cos maybe problems were fixed so I wasn't sure where the 60 or so pages of problems all stand. I guess there are a lot of problems. How can I know which laptop to buy then? Any recommendation would be really nice.

 

Straight up, if you are a light to moderate user, the 1647 will be great for you. 1645 is the real muscle for multi-tasking and such.

 

I think he would like to know if there are any issues that still haven't been resolved.

 

My EDD is 10th June with ATI 5730, and still 'In Production'

 

Well I am pretty sure they are all still throttling with the exception of some 1647's if I have read right....?

 

Even the ones with the new 5730 gpu with the WLED?

 

No one has got them yet, tough to say. We all are hoping no...

 

I really hope my EED really does end up being June 18th, considering I ordered it yesterday.

 

Got my 1645 back today and sadly the Dell repair "Depot" was a FAILURE

Had 3 problems, they fixed none of them...
1) heat vent won't go back on all the way after last tech visit
2) front left corner silver trim is loose and coming up
3) HEAT and CPU throttling...for this they replaced the heat sink
And on top of that my screen was covered with finger prints and marked up at the bottom around the dell logo...I was able to get that off with a bunch of cleaning

Do I need to give the thermal paste time to set in?

No GPU throttling but CPU throttling still occurs even playing world of warcraft: 1st try @ 1920x1080 most setting medium to low, 2nd try all setting on LOW, all effects OFF and at 1020 x 600, with this CPU hits ~82C, GPU 90C and then throttles. Tried Left 4 Dead (1)...throttled in less than 5 mins, CPU hit 84C, GPU hit 101C (212F)...(not set to lowest settings). (130w AC, A09 BIOS, Ambient air temps ~72F)

Am I asking too much to play games on my laptop?
(I can run wow on my 10" netbook, yes its choppy but it will run for hours...)

Dell will be getting yet another call...

 

This sucks, which graphic card do you have? It's not a graphic issue though I suppose... crappy

 

I think this is good way for take out fingerprint: YouTube - Dell Studio XPS 16 is a Fingerprint Magnet. Not anymore!

 

I have the ATI 4670...

Yea with the A09 BIOS the terrible GPU throttling from A08 is "fixed", and no longer thermally limited to 84C (have no hit 101C), but for some odd reason I now get bad CPU throttling (where others don't) and I don't know if it is temperature dependent or not But seems to happen when the CPU hit 82-84C...

What am I doing wrong?
Any chance of wiping my system and starting fresh would maybe help

 

Not sure when you placed your order originally, but don't know that this would have worked either. Placed mine on 5/24 with the 4670, but had my order abruptly canceled because they ran out of them.

 

yeah, 99 times out of 100 there is a problem. i have sent in all my dell computer's (except the 1645, knock on wood) about 15 times and not once have they ever repaired everything, and/or there have dammaged or "lost" something. i hate depot

 

brought forward.

 

This is probably a dumb question, but using bluetooth can you connect multiple devices at the same time? I plan to tether my notebook to my iPhone for internet access AND use a wireless mouse at the same time. Is there a limit to the # of devices you can connect at once? Thanks.

 

So, technician came and replaced the motherboard, screen, and heatsink. I only needed a new motherboard, but I had mentioned I had some dust underneath the screen. Apparently that requires an entirely new screen?

Anyways, after the technician finished, I booted up and lost half the cores on my i7-720QM. From 4C/8T to 2C/4T. The technician said, somewhat curtly, that it wasn't his fault and went on his merry way. I was a little freaked out, but updating to A09 (it was on A08) fixed it.

The left side of the palm rest is a bit loose now....what can you do?

Yah, that sounds pretty messed up. Try A09, if not call Dell.

@wetcardboard

I don't see any reason why it shouldn't. Unfortunately, I don't actually any BT devices to check that with.

 

is there a way to control the ati fan speed? or a way to unlock it in the driver. running 9.4.
Ive tried riva tuner and ati tool but neither let me change fan speeds.

 

If you go into Catalyst Control Center and click the ATI overdrive tab on the bottom left there should be an image of a key while all of the settings are greyed out. Click on the key and it will give you some warning then you should be able to control the fan speed. Of course there's a good chance the overdrive tab doesnt exist since it's a notebook gpu, but that's how you'd change it on a desktop.

 

The Studio XPS 16xx series only has one fan and one heatsink assembly. Both the GPU and CPU feed into this one heatsink, which is cooled by one fan.

SpeedFan?

EDIT: NVM, tried SpeedFan. Obviously detects temperature, but no fan speed (even with the "Dell" setting enabled).

~Ibrahim~