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

mine just dropped again with in the last time i posted. 6934 to 6845. Does our battery have a 1 year warrant or is it less.

 

how do u messure that?

and well, do you think dell would replace my laptop i820qm for a 540m only in the first 2 weeks i got the laptop or even later on? and would they refund me for the price difference?

or should i simply send it back now?

thing is i just got it now and im going to hong kong for 3 months in 2 weeks....

 

Well you can be sure Dell will not get you a replacement in 2 weeks... so if you NEED a lappy over there better keep it until then..

 

and what after? they wont replace it anymore after 3 montsh im afraid right?

or u want me to heat my notebook up so i tell them after 3 months its way to hot and go from there?

I might also update the warranty to next business day repair (internationl) since i didnt expect the laptop to be that hot. i will be going to hong kong and its much hotter over there!

 

That is up to you man...

 

That is up to you man... Heck call in and see what they can do for you.. can't lose.

 

ok so in every single test i do my computer is showing only 2 cores...

but when i go into task manager and check the performance it shows me 4 graphs, 1 for each cpu. Also I was looking at the turbo boost monitor and for some reason my cpu speeds never go above exactly 1.73 GHZ...What the hell is that all about, a week ago I was getting 2.6ghz!

 

Well I just wanted to know what Dells Policy is, how long they usually accept things like its too hot id like to replace it.

Worst case is, send it back... and have no Laptop and buy a different brand.

But I dont know of any brand with such a great screen and speakers.

 

Just tried Argus Monitor to see if maybe intel turbo boost monitor was off or something and it too shows 1734hz. Whats causing the CPUs not to go above that number?

 

Actually, task manager should should you 8 graphs (at least it does for me)... 4 cores x 2 processes per core. I'm wondering if something has gone wrong with how Windows is detecting the CPU or something...

 

so, i have had 2 hard drives go t!ts up in the past 3 months, not a big deal imo, but dell wants to replace the laptop... but there is no more rbg 16" screen apparently, so they want to downgrade my screen... they offered a blue-ray burner to compensate but i really have no interest it blue-ray (if i want to watch blue-ray stuff i just Usenet it) so they offered to double my ram to 8 gb, but i already have 8 gb... it would be cool if i could get the ssd hard drive but they say no go for that. don't know what my options are, i really don't want to loose the rgb, it makes this laptop almost perfect.
i keep saying just send me a new hard drive and call it a day but they really want to replace it for whatever reason....

 

Do new 1645's ship with the 130w or the 90w? Or how can you tell between the two?

 

I figured it out. I set the number of processors to 4 in the advanced boot options...apparently I was supposed to set it to 8 since windows detects each core as 2 threads and thus 2 threads for each of the 4 cores=8 processors (4 physical cpus and 4 virtual).

BTW, I tested the true power of this laptop today by opening up every program i have including:

3 HD movies (1 in windows media player, 1 in VLC, and 1 in quicktime), limewire, itunes, skype, windows live messenger, utorrent, firefox, mass effect 2, bioshock 2, need for speed shift, red alert 3, and prince of persia. I opened all of these at the same time and started switching between them all....i noticed NO slowdown in any one of the programs listed above..all 3 hd movies were running without stuttering a single a time, and all the games were set at max graphics settings and i didnt notice any lag or anything..even in the 1 or 2 seconds it takes to switch between games (using alt+tab).

Eventually I ran out of programs to open and the cpu temps were hovering between 75C-80C which is well within the 110C specifications from intel. The cpu speeds reached around 2GHZ for each core only.

I dont know what I'd have to do to max out the computer's power but one thing is for sure; in terms of power this is a beast of a lappy.

 

Are they still selling 1645's? I thought that if one were to go through Dell's site they would get the newest revision; the 1647... no?

 

The new 1645's do ship with the 135W power supply... at least in the US. (I received mine on the 19th of April (ordered on the 7th).

Also, yes, they still ship the 1645, because it has a different CPU configuration compared to the 1647. The 1645 has the i7-720QM and higher CPUs, while the 1647 has the i7-620M and lower in it.

 

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm in Canada so I'm still unsure whether I got the 135W or not. Is there any specific way to distinguish between the two? (I wish I had two to compare!)

 

This is the second XPS 16 I got within 4 months. after 47 calls to XPS tech support and a system exchange just to still have the same issue.

when I log into my facebook account and try to play farmvile the system freezes up and flashes from a white screen to black and so on until I have to force shut it down and restart. now I know that for $2700.00 dollars i should be able to play a simple beta game.


anyone know how to fix it because the last 47 people i spoke with didnt!
please help!

 

130W on the left, 90W on the right. You should see the difference.
If you are still unsure, turn it around and read the "OUTPUT:" rating. Just multiply the Voltage rating with the Current rating (e.g. 19.5V x 6.7A = 130W) [Don't you learn any physics in school? ].

 

I see, thanks.

Well that makes me ponder.. why the hell do they put the faster/hotter CPU's in the chassis that seems to have the best cooling? -Or is this cooling trend on the 1647 not really cooling at all because the diff. CPU temps are pretty major????

 

Can't you figure ?

 

From a potential 7650 its down to 6780, my battery. its barely been a month. Do you think Dell will replace the battery for me, say after 8-10 months ?

 

I wouldn't see why not... hell, wait 'till the eleventh

 

i noticed this too. BUt im sure you have other small programs up. gadgets,mozilla,media player,xfire,ventrilo. are being minorly used but still affect my turbo boost.
i wish they could all just run on 2 cores so my cpu runs at 2.4ghz all the time.

 

THANK YOU

I got the 130W ^^

 

Yup. It's my understanding that the core i5 is a cooler running cpu and thus that accounts for the overaller cooler laptop. The chassis in both the 1647 and 1645 are one and the same.

 

Makes perfect sense lizard, thanks.

 

what are the max temps allowed for the cpu and the cores? and also..is the screen able to all the heat that is thrown at it?

 

also, i see a huge drop in performance when im not plugged in..how do i change the settings to allow the computer to work at its peak performance..even if on battery?

 

@Liz: click on the battery icon. go to more power options, and manually configure each of your plans.

 

Hello everyone,

I am new here but have been lurking on this board for months now, soaking up as much information as I can. Everyone seems very helpful here so I hope you don't mind some questions. I'd been looking at the XPS for a while but I actually purchased the dv6t quad, 8 GB ram, core i7, 500 GB hd for $950 which was too good a deal to pass up. But my bing cashback was revoked, which would end up being a $287 difference so I decided to cancel the order altogether and take another look at the Studio XPS 16.

I am by no means an expert so I apologize if these are n00b questions.

1. Heating issues, at least initially, seem to have been a big concern with this notebook. Is this still a widespread issue? For those with SSD, do you have less heating issues?

2. I can't seem to get a firm answer on the SSD model. I've read that the 128 GB SSD is an older model by Samsung, whereas the 256 GB is a newer model? Also, I've heard that people prefer intel's SSD?

3. I'm debating whether I should get 8 GB ram with the standard 500 GB hard drive (with the intention of replacing it with SSD when it hopefully comes down in price) vs. 6 GB ram with the 128 SSD. Which route would you recommend?

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

Dun worry, I was a lurker once, now i'm an XPS owner.

Heating issues, i've come to learn it depends on what you do. I use it for general use, word processors, websites, youtube, movie, flash games (all at once) - you cant feel the heat. (if you touch the botton of the laptop, which you wouldnt, its somewhat hot) when I played like 5 videos at the same time, the temperature readings started rising but I never noticed much rise in temperature, physically. Ofcourse, prolonged usage of like 5 videos at the same time would make it hotter and hotter, and ultimately unusable - but who plays 5 videos at once ? In my opinion the heat isnt really a problem.

I dont know much about the SSD, all i can tell you is I have the 4gb ram and 500 GB congif, and its dam well good enough. so ?

 

The bottom of your LAPtop doesn't touch you? COME ON!!!! hahaha...

I can say that these beasts are quite warn, yesterday I started using my new replacement and doing minimal downloading of drivers and customization of the first few boots of windows my temps were 50-55C..... that's pretty damn warm for tasks that are not too demanding wouldn't you say?

Anyways, I am going to throw on some ICD7 tonight and see what the difference is.

EDIT: I suppose I will try running furmark and prime before to see what my max temps get to...

 

1. Heating in this laptop is not a MAJOR concern for those who do not intend to game. Those that due find it an issue to a point and some have found that reapplying compound will work well enough so the GPU does not get to the throttling point.

The major component emitting heat in this is the two processors, I do not think that the hard drive accounts for so much of the heat, but I do not own a SSD so I cannot give you a straight answer on that part.

2. Sorry, I do not know much about SSDs...

3. Personally, this RAM is fast as heck, I would opt for 6 gigs of RAM and the SSD..

My 2...

 

Hey guys, I just tried to play a 13GB HD Movie Transformers, runs real sweet! Then I connected my Samsung P2470HD TFT screen (24inch).

Im working on the notebook screen (browser etc) and want to watch movies on my Samsung screen. So im using 2 screens at the same time.

But the 13gb movie runs significantly slower on the samsung screen using the 2 screens... on the notebook, dell screen tho its running fast. any idea why?

Then again, if i only use the Samsung screen, it runs fast on that too.

But I wanna work and watch movies... this should be possible with my config right?

 

Yeah, it DOESNT TOUCH ME. I work on my bed and table all the time, not on my lap. And FYI, I have used it on my lap and it isnt uncomfortable AT ALL, simply because it gets enough air exposure to become cool-ish. To CLARIFY, i'm not reffering to high usage - im talking about like 6-7 low usage programs, and a movie or something and a flash game. Thats the maximum I do on this laptop, as of now.

 

Yup. Should not be a problem with any config of the XPS ...
1) Is it possible you were just having a bad session at that time ? Have you tried to restart your comp ?
2) How are you using 2 screens continously ? maybe its a problem with the software ?
3) Maybe its the video player you are using ? Which one ?

 

I have tried to restart didnt help.

Waht do u mean by how am i using these 2 screens (Notebook and Sasmung) continously?

Im using VLC or KM Player.

Has anyone else tried this before?

 

Well I don't know ... I'm not an expert what work do you do while playing the HD movie ?

 

well, just browsing thats it. could it be the graphics card that cant handle to play the hd movie on one screen and the other one having firefox running?

I also figured this out. When i use both screens, and leave the samsung tft screen empty, play hd movies and use firefox etc only on the dell notebook screen its fast.

as soon as i move firefox to the samsung screen its slower.

 

yea, so that means your machine can handle both in itself, but the moment you start using the screen ... it becomes slow/laggy ... hmm ... does your laptop start heating up alot once you start using the screen ? that would mean its getting alot for it to handle ... another issue that comes to mind is the HDMI calbe your using ? ohh and just make sure you have the latest BIOS etc from Dell.

 

im not sure if it heats up a lot more. playing hd movies was triggering that heating, so just adding the other screen does not do as much? is here no one else having connected a screen to his xps?

I very much doubt it could be the hdmi cable, its not the cheapest and not the most expensive one. its from philips...

The Bios is A08

 

Dell is just beyond words. I suffered with my crappy XPS 1640 for more than 9 months and then finally received a 1645 in replacement last month after going through multiple levels of technical support and cumstomer service people. The very day that replacement arrived, the fan was faulty...it made a very loud buzzing sound. I called up Dell again...politely. 1 week later it was replaced. This was over 5 weeks ago...and today my keyboard broke. At first the H key stopped working and then the spacebar popped out on its own.
I've requested a replacement from Dell and they say it should be arriving in a few days but my work is suffering! Why should a customer have to pay the cost for Dell's poor manufacturing! This is totally unacceptable...I'm seriously considering legal action against them now.
I mean, what is the matter with Dell? This is my 4th replacement of the same crappy Studio XPS series...why can't they manage to get a single one right?!? Is the whole line of Studio XPS 16s just defective??? Why dont they do a mass recall then? Every one of them has had one or the other defect, starting from my first one which arrived dead as a corpse last year in June.

I heard there are Dell employees on this forum. If you guys are out there, seriously come forth and resolve this issue for me. I can't afford to let my work suffer time and again on account of Dell's poor quality standards and I promise you that this time if there is a delay on the repair or another incident, I'm going to take very serious action.

This is totally unacceptable from a company of Dell's repute. I've owned many Dell products over the years but lately it seems their standards are in free fall. I don't know if the people at Dell care or not but they have definitely lost one customer who has been so loyal to them over the years.

Pathetic, Dell, pathetic.

 

wow some people really have horrible problems with this laptop :/ and btw, here's a thought, why dont you demand for a full refund ?

 

Hi fellas,

i got a problem, i can't no more turn up or down the screen brightness.
i don't know why.
it has worked always fine, but now.... the brightness is stand still, i just can't put it low or high.

i already tried to reinstall the quickset, the gpu driver, the bios (but without success, cause i already got the A08), a system recovery etc.

Fn+F3 and the keyboard brightness work fine.

Help me, please.

 

i had a problem similar like that on my xps 13 , but it was about the media controls and volume.Try this, power down take the battery out and hold the power button to discharge the power and turn it on. If that fails just use the mobility center to adjust the brightness.

 

YouTube - StudioXPS 16 RGB brightness doens't work

now i'll try your advice, but i already know that the mobility center doesn't work too.

EDIT: now without the battery, works fine. Thank you. I'll try now again with battery and ac adapter.

EDIT2: ok, everything works. Thank you for the advice.

 

God im having horrible throttle only when playing bad company. but i dont understand is why does my graphics card throttle when it is only reporting about 60-70 degrees . Its not 87 degress like everyone else.I have the 130w adapter so whats wrong here?

 

It shouldn't throttle at 60-70c
My 1645 throttles at 84c, w/130w AC adapter, at which point it drops the GPU from 675MHz to 300MHz until its cool and then it just repeats the cycle...
Highest my GPU has hit is 85c

Try running GPU-z and logging your data and then checking the temps it throttles at, you can also use CPUID Hardware monitor and it will shows current temps and also the max/min

 

Wow, I Hear You and Definitely Feel Your Frustration and Dissatisfaction (you have had a terrible experience). My Studio XPS 16 has worked flawlessly since it arrived in late November 2009. I hope your experience is the rare exception (we really don't know the percentages of problem computers out there).

I can't believe that Dell as a company doesn't take care of a customer / computer when a situation like yours occurs. It's not like somebody is trying to gouge them but just wants what they paid for and expect to work. Honestly it would be in Dell's best interest to quickly and efficiently take care of a problem computer like yours and if they can't do that they should get out of business. With a situation like yours I would hope Dell would have a technician personally use the machine and confirm everything is in top condition before shipping to the customer. I am at a lost about the keys coming off the key board (just poor quality I guess - but never happened to me).

I know if a customer has to deal with Dell Support it is normally a terrible experience in it's self. They are often arrogant, difficult to understand (different native language and strong accent), treat us like we are stupid, sometimes screw up the drivers more than when we first called, often can't resolve the issue. Heaven help us if we have to call Dell if there is a problem after receiving a computer.

Good Luck and Hope You Get A Good Computer Soon (I Hear You and Definitely Feel Your Frustration and Dissatisfaction).

 

i did. it goes down to 300mhz or 220mhz. my sensor must be wrong because the value are about 70ish.