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

I have a question. Is it good to discharge the battery once in a while? Or is it recommended to keep it connected to the power supply? Which one will ensure a longer battery life?

 

I think I've discharged my battery completely twice in the past 7 odd months and mine shows 100% still on both HWmonitor and Batterybar.

 

is that normal? why does it decrease so fast?! the first few charges are supposed to extend its life not decrease it! and i was wondering the same thing as kalir now, my brother said to discharge it... and its killing it

 

I have just completed playing AOE 3 on 1645 at ALL MAX settings. The game has good frame rate when there are less people etc. But when i add the Tommynator and start the destruction the frame rate falls to 3 or 4. And the bottom became very hot even when i had a table fan beside it. I will have to use throttle stop next time to record the throttle.

 

I don't know what just happened. My XPS just restarted itself but before that i think i froze. i had my music playing so it just went 'errrrrrrrrrrr.' i was only browsing this forum listening to music and had my torrent running...
Also my wear just increased to 5% in just 3 days!

 

Hi guys, I've been configuring a 1645 as shown below but it's over budget by AU$200. I'm trying to work out what to sacrifice and would like some input/suggestions. Ideally I'd swap the 256GB SSD for a 128GB and be well under budget, but they just won't let me since it's not part of the options available for this "bundle".

Sacrifice
-SSD
-RGBLED
-3yr warranty
-other(s)?

Main options worth noting are in bold:

Code:

Base Studio XPS 1645 Base (Direct)
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64bit (English) [B](must have Pro)[/B]
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) [B]i7-840QM[/B] (1.86GHz, 4Core/8Threads, turbo boost up to 3.2Ghz, 8M cache) 
Memory [B]8GB [/B](4GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM 
Keyboard Dell™ Backlit Keyboard with Touchpad (English)
Video Card 1GB DDR3 ATI Mobility Radeon™ [B]HD 5730 [/B]
[B]Hard Drive 256GB Solid State Hard Drive[/B]
Internal Optical Drive Slot Load Fixed [B]Blu-ray BD-ROM [/B]/ DVD + /-RW Combo Drive [B](can't remove, or this is what I'd sacrifice)[/B]
Sound Integrated CREATIVE Sound Blaster® X-Fi MB Audio Software Solution 
Bundle S541012AU-Studio XPS 16 
Dell Services: Hardware Maintenance [B]3-Year Premier Service [/B]
Wireless Network Card [B]Intel® WiFi Link 5300[/B] (802.11a/g/n) Half Mini-card 
Bluetooth Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth 
Dell Services: Remarks Laptop Batteries Carry 1 Year Warranty Only From Invoice Date 
Dell Services: Remarks Dell's Terms and Conditions apply 
[B]Primary Battery 9-cell[/B] (85WHr) Lithium Ion Primary Battery 
Carrying Cases [B]Targus Soft Hug Backpack 17" (Black/Blue)[/B] - DFD 
Item included in the System Camera Software Item included in the System Sensible Vision FastAccess Facial Recognition Software
Item included in the System Directship Info Mod 
Item included in the System System Drivers Item included in the System Tech Sheet (ANZ) 
Item included in the System Adobe Reader 9.0 Item included in the System Dell™ PC-Restore 
Item included in the System WINDOWS-LIVE Item included in the System System Regulatory Label 
Item included in the System ebay webslice Item included in the System Mod Specs Info (Australia) 
Item included in the System APCC Ship Mod Item included in the System Discount is only valid if the corresponding upgraded item is selected above 
Item included in the System Limited time offer valid until this Friday with payment. No further discounts 
Item included in the System Integrated Fast Ethernet 10/100/1000 
Item included in the System ExpressCard Slot, (DOES NOT SUPPORT PC CARDS) 
Item included in the System Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web cam 
Security Software McAfee(R) Security Center (Multi-Language) 15 Months Version 
Microsoft OS Labels Windows® 7 Label 
Dell Services: Item Included Future Technical Support 
Label Options Intel® Core™ i7 Label 
[B]HD display 16.0"UltraSharp™ Full High Definition (1080p) RGBLED Display with TrueLife™-Merlot Red [/B]
Delivery Requirements Standard Delivery: Delivery 9am-5pm - Monday to Friday (excl. public holidays) 
Freights NB-OS-CTO Handling and Insurance charges(Australia) 
Dell Services: Essential Help I don’t need help while operating or getting started with my PC 
Software Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010 Version 
Other Software DataSafe Local Basic 
Power Options 130W AC Adapter 
Ctl 1st LTO2 
Dell Services: Datasafe Backup Service 1 Year Dell Online Backup 2GB

 

I don't know how much difference does memory make. May be you can reduce the memory to 6 gb, the maximum memory that can be used by a program is around 50% (windows limitation).

Most the mobile phones now have usb transfer cables, unless you have any other use for bluetooth you can drop it. You can buy a dongle if you need one for less than 10 bucks.

I got the Win 7 64 pro for free from my University, if you have any friends at a university you may ask them a copy (university licenses can be used for multiple installs).

I am no expert, but i believe the difference between transfer rates for ssd and normal hard drives is not noticeable.(also check 840 vs 720 qm)

And component that can be upgradable (hdd, dvd/b-ray, ram etc), you can choose a lesser config and later upgrade.(Wisecrack: You can wait for the prices to drop)

 

Here's a quick update....
I kept it on for 2 hours now playing COD MW2 full except AA on x2. Max temps are:
cpu: 77 79 79 76 respectively
gpu: 78
I haven't experienced any throttling or whatsoever, temperatures never reaches the 80's. The missions I was playing including some heavy stuff like rain and smoke...

 

That's interesting to know - so any program running is limited to 3GB out of 6, or 4GB out of 8? Since I wanted a high end config, I started with the best option on the webpage. It comes with 8GB and there's no option to reduce it.

Same applies to the bluetooth and i7 840QM.

If only that worked for me - I work at a high school, but they don't provide Windows for staff and insist we get Pro or Ultimate for network compatability etc. They do give us Office Professional though.

I was led to believe that upgrading to an SSD would be the single greatest performance enhancement you could add to a laptop (or pc in general). Is this not correct?
And as said above, the config starts with an 840, can't downgrade but I don't think I want to... over 3 GHz on a laptop (1 core), and the flexibility of 1-8 threads ... that's very nice, and will help this machine run most anything i throw at it for the next 2.5 years.

Yeah, I would definitely leave out the bluray if i had a choice and that would have saved $238. The deal would have been done 3 weeks ago. Might still go with HDD instead of SSD but that requires a bit more effort reformatting and reinstalling drivers etc once I get an SSD later.

Do you guys find sales people on the phone are unable to do anything different than the options on the website? e.g.The 1640 still up on the website has both the 128GB and 256GB SSD options, but the 1645 has only the 256GB. They absolutely insist they can't do the 128GB ... why?

 

Either way that is illegal distribution of software. And what is Windows 7 Professional x64 going to solve anyway? It has like 3 features (XP Mode, extra network options, network backup).

 

@Iceman82
SSD: What you've heard is absolutely correct. An SSD will be THE single biggest performance upgrade you can get. Programs will launch like lightning, seek times will be infinitesimal, and Windows will load VERY quickly.

Memory: Nope - absolutely incorrect. Windows 7 and Vista (64bit) can address the entire 8GB. l8kmbee is incorrect. However, having said that, unless you're doing some serious photoshopping, 3D modelling, web development and the like, its unlikely that you need 8GB of memory. Maybe in a couple of years time that sort of memory will be relevant. Maybe you could make that investment then, and stick with 4/6GB of RAM.

Processor: Again, its a usage thing. Do you really need an 840QM?

My advice is start with a lower config and customise it with these options. I would cut things in the following order

Bluray>RAM>RGBLED screen=Processor>SSD

Do not even think about axing the SSD.

 

Is it recommended to use Dell's video card drivers or ATI's? Also how do you use Switchable Graphics? Assuming this laptop can do it.

 

The SXPS's don't support switchable graphics

Dell opted not to change the entire motherboard for the i7's but maybe in the next generation we'll see it!

 

Aww man... so our laptops are already outdated

 

I guess! But it's technology, what can ya do? Tbh it's not a massive deal for me because I still get 4 hours battery life which is all I'll ever need!

 

well even if we cant use the i7's gpu, could ati release an update thatll make the 5730 slow down dramatically to a intel 4500hd's speed?

 

Please tell me how you're getting 4 hours! I get max 3 hours while browsing the internet. I have a 9-cell 1645.

 

2.5 here. half brightness.

 

Brightness on lowest, power saver on the power options, and Dell extended battery life enabled. Just for web browsing and stuff.

Put the screen back up to 100% and I lose an hour! You guys might be different if you're on quad core though, I'm just on dual.

 

Is it okay to have my XPS hooked up to the outlet for most of its use? I let it drain twice so far to "break the battery in" and i got 5% wear from it, i think.

 

Here you go, unless the application is 64 bit (i.e. the process uses 64 bit library resources) the max user mode virtual space is limited to 4 GB (All applications run in user mode).

Memory Limits for Windows Releases (Windows)

 

Ok, so I opened up that page but I have to admit, the fancy stuff at the top, which seems to be what you're referring to, didn't make sense to me.

There were 2 options in a 64 bit OS - either max out at 4GB for a 32 bit process or max out at 8 TB (which is a lot!!) for a 64 bit process. But, that's only true only if the default (IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE cleared) is changed (how?) which would cap both at 2GB. Did I read that correct?

Nice, that's what I thought, thanks!

Maybe I just believe too much hype, but I'd rather stick to a matching pair running dual channel, so it's either 4GB or 8GB. Neither configuration on the Aussie website has 4GB, it's 6GB or 8GB. So, I'm going with 8GB ... is that stupid? Should I just get 6GB?

No I don't. I'm sure I won't use it to it's potential very often at all. I just like that it will never be the bottleneck in this system for the next few years.

Very helpful advice, thanks so much!!

OK

 

SSDs will replace HDDs in the future, but there are still reasons to not get the SSD right now:

1. 128GB is too small, and 256GB is too expensive
2. A regular HDD is more reliable if you swap tons (like 20GB/day) of data around all the time (and XPS 16 is a multimedia laptop so this is not uncommon)

 

I was going to say something similar along the lines of the SSD. Its presence or absence is certainly going to produce the most drastic effects on performance, but it is also easy to change yourself and won't void the warranty (I don't think.) You could always buy one without an SSD right now if it helps you get exactly what you want, then buy your own SSD after reading reviews and selecting the best performing one for the cheapest price, maybe even waiting a little longer for prices to come down, and swap it yourself. Just an option. It's what I've chosen to do, especially since I intend to swap the optical drive out for a hard drive caddy so I can have 2 drives...

 

@l8mkbee

Your original post was misleading. You said that programs cannot address 8GB of memory. What this link means to say is that 32-bit programs cannot address more than 4GB of memory individually. However, most mainstream programs in almost all fields are now available in 64 bit versions - everything from Photoshop to Pinnacle Studio, which essentially renders your point moot.

 

What ssd does dell use for this laptop? i just browsed newegg and they are super expensive for 256gb.

 

great replies guys, thanks a lot for your opinions. I'm back at work so will process and reply to all this later.

^^ The SSD is a Samsung P800 or PM800 off the top of my head

 

UPDATE- dell has replaced i7-720qm with an i7-740qm processor as an option during customization on the indian website alongwith a slight reduction in price for the same configuration.
i7-820qm also replaced by i7-840qm.
The Intel Core i7-740QM has a base clock frequency of 1.73GHz, 6MB of cache memory and a Turbo Boost clock speed of 2.93GHz. The second chip, the more powerful Core i7-840M, runs at 1.86GHz and has a turbo Boost maximum speed of 3.2GHz and 8MB of cache.Both processors have eight threads and will end up as complete replacements for the existing Core i7-x20QM parts.

 

I'm glad India has caught up and offered you these updates, and hope the rest of you who are waiting get these soon too!

Yeah, it's an AU$675 upgrade, but I'm getting 10% off with a coupon code, then don't have to pay GST and that takes off about 9% (1/11th to be precise). Also, it comes out of my pay as salary sacrifice i.e. pre tax dollars, so it's essentially another 30% saving from not paying income tax. In the end it takes $386.82 out of my pocket in terms of after tax dollars. Therefore, it's a reasonable option for me. You'll pay this much for some 128gb SSDs or an intel x25-m 80GB over here.

...and it's a good option but the savings I make (above) are unlikely to be matched in price drops for a while. I heard flash memory in general is increasing at the moment? If the Samsung drives Dell use are reasonable, I'll probably not do the "review and choose your own" option. I usually take way too long to learn way too much before buying, and the upgrade now option seems easy enough if the Dell/Samsung SSD is good. Is it??

Yeah, if I did that then I'd be wasting that bluray player they're giving me that I don't want Do you know what SSD you're going to go for? (brand and size)

1. I'd use external storage for large files/media if I had 128GB, and 256GB is reasonable for me (as above)
2. Not in the habit of moving lots of data so also not a big deal.

This is my preference of course based on my usage - obviously you and others will vary. Thanks for giving me these ideas to consider.

Thanks to you all for your input ... I love these forums

 

The other thing is Dell may have several brands of "equivalent" SSDs or HDDs. I know my order status says 500GB Seagate Freefall sensor Hard Drive and I got a 500GB Hitachi Travelstar instead along with a bunch of people receiving the laptop around the same time.

 

Hey everyone-
I just got my new 1645 in the mail yesterday. I promptly installed a clean copy of windows 7 professional and have been reloading it with drivers etc. today. However, for the life of me, I cannot get the Intel 6250 + WiMAX card to work- i've tried most of the versions on Intel's site and tried to do the intel software package as well but it won't work. Oddly, it will allow me to create a PAN using their MiWifi tech or whatever, but I can't get it to act like a normal wireless card. It shows up in the device manager but under other devices and I can't figure it out. Please help! My new baby is nigh-unusable in my apartment without wireless

Cheers,
JD

 

It's always the case, the fun of technology. I'm outdated already.

 

I don't know where you're all finding the i7-740qm. I just checked Dell Canada and they don't offer. I've had my 1645 for 3 weeks exactly now so I would still have time to return it and get the upgraded processor.

 

@spike53 India seem to be getting the new updates first. It was the same story with the new graphics card.
Give it a couple of weeks and it'll be there.

 

Okay, this has to be a detailed explanation, so bear with me. The memory limits that are in the link are that of Virtual Memory, this is different from the actual amount of physical memory that the "Windows Memory Manager" assigns to a program at a single point in time and this is dynamic (context switching), even though a program has large virtual memory (almost the size of Physical RAM) there are limitations on the amount of actual physical memory that can be allocated to a program at a time.

There are page tables, the kernel code and essential services that occupy physical memory space which is a fixed allocation (does not change). Now the share between the user physical memory and kernel physical memory(which is usually low)varies by a number of factors like available memory Hardware, the OS, the Memory management system. I cannot provide the link here but i read in a MSDN blog, that the maximum physical memory allocated for a single user program in XP is 50%.

Link for more comprehensive info.
Pushing the Limits of Windows: Physical Memory - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs
Since the design or code of the windows memory management system used is not open source i or anyone for that matter(unless you work for microsoft) cannot specify exactly how the MMS works. But, if you want to know further about the memory mangement this memory management in linux - Google Search would be good start.

Thus, a single program cannot use all or almost all of the physical memory (the point i am trying to make, which is different from the fact that the physical memory used by a program is proportional to the available memory hardware.)

 

the day i got my Dell Studio XPS 1645, the next day it got outdated with the new processors and new graphics card

 

Hello!

I'm getting a 1645 delivered on Thursday, super pumped. (moving up from a vostro 1500 after 2.5 years).

So it's the
i7-720,
8GB RAM,
500GB HDD@7200,
Radeon HD 5730 1GB
1080p (WLED since RGBLED is no longer available, due to throttling issue I guess?)

I have to admit the throttling issue has me worried as I use Photoshop pretty intensely (6000 px+ with insane amounts of layers, worried I might have made a mistake trading the RGBLED display for the i7, but whatever- a good painting is a good painting, regardless of what monitor it's on), and I'm not terribly certain how much power my wacom tablet will take up, but I worry it might contribute alot. I do game, but not ferociously and have no problem playing on pretty mediocre settings (as evidenced by my playing tf2 on this 8400 GS...)

However, one problem I haven't for the life of me been able to solve is- Where can I get a keyboard protector for this thing? It's been out for over a year, you'd think it wouldn't be too hard to find! My skin is disastrously oily and after 2.5 years, this old lappy is like a nasty slip n' slide for my fingertips. Keyboard protector is a must, I probably won't even unbox it until I get a protector for it :<
Rapid advice super appreciated!

 

I too am looking for a reasonable key board guard and particularly for the palm space besides the key pad. Make no mistake, once you touch the laptop however clean you hand is there will be smudge marks. Right now i clean it every day with cleanDr ultraclear solution with a microfiber cloth. This makes my machine spotless but once you touch it, it looses the clean look. But i want it to be pristine without any marks at all.

 

So this is interesting...I have had my outlet 1645 (configured per my sig) for about 2 weeks now - after having spent a considerable amount of time on the forum here reading about them (since they were first released).

Mine came with a 90W adapter so I contacted tech support about getting the 130W adapter after experiencing the ubiquitous throttling issue. They told me I'd receive the part in 1-2 business days (today being the 2nd business day theoretically). I also mentioned during the support chat that I had been having some screen flicker (again, a well known issue). Nothing more was said about that.

Well, just a minute ago I received a call from a Dell on-site support technician stating he'd be out tomorrow to swap the motherboard on my machine. Had no idea this was going to happen. Is there anything I should watch out for? Seems honestly like a good deal to me but just want to make sure everything is as it should be. Thanks!

 

In my older laptop, I had multiple partitions and so when I had any problem with any virus, etc., I used to format the windows drive and reinstall windows without disturbing the contents of the other drives. Is there a better way of handling the situation or should I think of having multiple partitions? Is there a way to partition the hard drive without formatting it?

 

I do the same thing as you do with all my machines, easiest way I think is through the Windows Disk Management.

From memory, I think I needed to shrink my current partition, then simply create a new partition with the space that's free'd up.

 

Just started using a XPS-1645 laptop with an ATI 5730 graphics chip and i7-720QM processor.

I have noticeable and significant lag times with Borderlands that runs perfectly at the highest resolution 1920 x 1080 on two other machines:

Dell XPS studio desktop with an i7-920 and ATI Radeon 4850 (512 mb) and an
Asus G50 laptop with a Nvidia 9800 GS chip.

The most noticeable evidence of slowdown is jumpiness during movement and slow reloads in Borderlands. This issue is perplexing to me. Performance on the new laptop with this combination should be at least equivalent to my other two systems, and yet it is noticeably NOT.

I have downloaded the latest driver set from ATI, and this has not helped. I am looking for background tasks that might be running at this point.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Dan

 

I suggest you lower your resolution and elaborate on what graphic settings you have set in Borderlands. I do have a ATI MR HD 4670, though that really isn't that much worse than the ATI MR HD 5730. I run Borderlands at 1280x720 (any resolution other than native res. and 1280x720 gives me black bars, so I refuse to use them), all graphic settings on max, with dynamic shadows off (just because shadows is such an unnecessary fps killer IMO). I average around 40 fps (based on watching Fraps, no benchmarks taken, if you need them I can do them).

Firstly you are wrong in assuming that "Performance on the new laptop with this combination should be at least equivalent to my other two systems, and yet it is noticeably NOT." Your Dell XPS Studio Desktop has not only an i7-920 processor but it also has an ATI 4850 (which is the desktop version, in case you were wondering why I put the word in bold earlier in the sentence). The mobile 4850 (which you don't have) is already better than 5730 in the XPS16, then further add to that that the desktop version of the 4850 (which you have) is quite a bit better than the 4850 mobile version, and you realize that you got yourself quite a desktop gaming rig there. Then you add that the desktop i7-920 (beast of a card), which follows the same desktop>>mobile principle, will be quite a bit better than the mobile i7-720.....long-story-short don't compare that desktop with the XPS16.

Secondly, the 9800M (mobile) GS chip is also better than the 5730 that your XPS 16 carries. Now I'm not sure what processor you have in that system but as long as it's half-decent (mid-high end Core2duo), it shouldn't affect fps too much in this game. So honestly, I feel like this might be a classic case of expecting too much of your system. Now, if you used Throttlestop and verified throttling (GPU or CPU) in your system then I'd have to partially retract the part of my statement about you expecting too much. Regardless of that, those other 2 systems you got are much better gaming rigs than your XPS 16, so don't compare them that closely. Test for throttling though and see if there is some underlying problem and reduce your res. and graphic settings.

Why oh Why do I write sooo bloody much ......Forgive the length people, only human...

 

E.D.U.
Love the response.
I have everything maxed out in my Borderlands comparison.
It is disappointing that my old (and cheaper) Asus G50 (mid-high end Core2duo, yes) is out-running my brand new Dell XPS 16. Reduction of resolution definitely fixes my issue but that is not how I want to play! Now I am wondering what I was thinking when I purchased it.

 

When looking at graphics cards take note of the second number

Ati 5*00
Ati 4*00
Nvidia 8*00
Nvidia 9*00

1 - 3 = Low End ( 64 bit )
4 - 7 = Mid Range ( 128 bit )
8 - 9 = Gaming Cards ( 256 bit )

Of course this rule can be broken sometimes but 90% of the time this is what to look for. Normally a Gaming card will out do a midrange card by 2 x over because of its 256 bus.

 

I want to know if anyone has found or knows of a matte screen film I can put on my 1645. The super glossy screen is driving me nuts since I can't use my laptop with a light source behind me. Even in moderately lit areas, I'm constantly looking at myself and stuff behind me. Any help is appreciated.

 

Amount of video ram doesn't really affect performance. It's kind of like having either 6GB or 12GB of regular ram for a video game, won't make any difference.

I believe that the desktop card should have insanely better performance than the video card in your XPS 16, probably at least double the power.

Edit: oops I'm slow and this was already answered.

 

If you type in your graphics card model in google, the first hit is typically a Notebookcheck review. There they post synthetic and some real-life (gaming) results and it shows comparisons. You could check there to see how your two cards stack up.

 

Official Site of ViewGuard® Products including Privacy Filters & Screen Protectors for Laptop, Notebook & Desktop Computers; LCD Screens; Mobile Phones; PDAs and More)

The measurements are right on, according to the XPS 16 manual.

 

Hey Guys,

I need some suggestion. I was planning to format the hard drive, form 3 partitions and install windows 7 Pro. However in the Disk management, I found some partition named "Recovery". I am wondering what that is. If I do the formatting, will there be any problem?

Thanks in advance.