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

OK, I am pretty sure now or at least 99% sure, that the flickers on my display come from the web camera or a sensor near it. It happens when there is a direct ambient light on it (from a window for instance).

This should be reported to Dell as well. I'll try my luck

Nikolay

 

Hm ... a minute ago i noticed something strange, while reading the review about ATI 4670 at:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-4670.13881.0.html

Look at the column with all models at right. Click on one of them and then return back. And now look at the link color. Complete mess of green and red colors.

Is it just me?

Another thing. Currently my CPU shows 60C. An hour ago it was 50C average. I am not doing something different that an hour ago. Why it is 60C?

PS: Those display flickers are starting to make me mad. Soon my eyes might start bleeding .

Nikolay

 

No. It does it on my desktop, too.

 

It does not happen to me, when I click on one of those links and go back the link is one solid color.

 

Seems a problem with FireFox (3.6) only. Can you check it with FF ?

Thanks
Nikolay

 

I was using Firefox 3.6, the latest version.

 

Those links look like light grey with colored edge on my non dell laptop.

 

Strange. I believe there is a bug within FireFox and even Thunderbird. For example on a website that has rotating text objects and while they change there is a fading effect. While fading the texts has strange colors (mostly green). The same applies to the Thunderbird tray bar notifications while fading out.

I can not reproduce this problem on any other browser (tried IE8, Opera, Chrome)

Exactly like on mine. Try it now with another browser. The text will be solid one color.


Nikolay

 

Would you tell me the video drivers you use?

Thanks

 

Video drivers are: 8.683.2.0

 

Hi all,

This is something really strange.

I was performing stress test on my laptop. When doing so, I tried to turn my laptop towards the left (display port pointing vertically downwards) and I saw that the processor temperature skyrocketed !!!! When I revert it back to the original viewing position (on the table), the temperatures stabilize again ..

A dell technician had come today to replace the motherboard and fan, as I was having problems with some random OS crashes. When doing so, he did replace the thermal paste over the CPU and the graphics card. Is it possible that the thermal paste was not put properly resulting in such a weird behavior?

 

I just tested this myself and I saw the exact same behavior. Strange, yes, although not worth concerning myself over

(Prior to this, I'd NEVER seen my core temperatures go over 75 while under a full load. I was seeing 90s in this odd position. The second I restored the system to its normal position, the temperatures started falling and have since stabilized between 62 and 73 depending on the core)

 

Ohk .. In that case I don't have to worry about the processor heatsink/thermal paste fitting !!

 

Link color issue:

Probably Firefox. I'm on my desktop with a nVidia GTS 250 1GB and the edges are definitely multi-colored.

 

It seems like they want to mass push for the i7 core XPS. They been having better deals on it than the i5 core version.

How's the heat problem on this compared to the i5 core?

 

Ok thanks for replying, I will try and contact Dell, they are like a brick wall though, tried to get some recovery discs for the system after reading how somebody on here got Dell to send them. I had incompatibility issues with 64 bit processor and had to put everything on for scratch after the registry got corrupted, and didn't realise that you had to make back ups through data safe local as didn't know I had it, anyway I use Norton ghost but will be a pain when I want to sell this computer and have to build from scratch again, Dell told me they do not have recovery discs, so I complained to Dell head office via email, got a phone call from India support telling me exact same thing, oh well, somebody is lying or cant be bothered. And any idea when the next Bios will be? its embarrassing having all this power and paying alot of money and I can't access all of it. Thanks in advance.

 

VIRTUALDAVE,
Try these two places,

HERE and HERE

 

while installing mobility modded catalyst 10.1, i am getting video drivers failed to install error. I have 9.12 version of modded driers installed.
I tried every thing. I Removed older drivers , also tried installing manually. But nothing works.

anyone else facing this problem ?

 

I didn't try it but if i were to guess as to the temp spike's cause it would be that heat rises. If you tilt the laptop in this direction, all the heat is going to work its way up, in this case, away from the exhaust on the laptop. I would expect the temps to actually decrease if you tilted the laptop the other way (with the ac adapter side down) as all the heat would rise up towards the vent.

 

Guys,

I know I am getting annoying, but I think that I am also getting crazy.

You know might already know about the display flickering issue. But it is so strange. When I am at home I never noticed this issue, but when I am at my office the issue is there.

So I am thinking if there is something in the office that could interferer on the RGBLED displays. Near me there is a secondary monitor, UPS device and wi-fi router and some other gadgets.

Thanks,
Nikolay

 

Do you have flourescent lighting in your office? 'Some' and usually the older styles or types of Flourescent lighting operate at the mains voltage frequency 50hz or 60Hz, and this may be setting up a harmonic or beat frequency with your display refresh frequency. I believe on the RGBLED display is 60Hz and the natural flicker of the office lighting is making the display flicker more noticeable. It may be worth testing this under std Lighting and other types of Flourescent lighting. I am not sure if the display refresh frequency can be adjusted which would make it easier to prove or disprove.

Hope this helps
Hillie

 

I received the usual driver disk, apps disk (although newer versions are on the download site) and Dell OEM Win7Pro64 (not recovery disk). Did you not get these?

 

yeah.. i also got these.. and i'm from INDIA.. i think VIRTUALDAVE shudda got hem too..

 

What do you mean recovery disc? I didnt think that these discs exist. When You tell Customer service that you need the recovery discs they send you the OS disc and the resource cd for drivers and the some apps cds. I have never seen a recovery disk. I could be wrong.

 

Yes, Dell sends in a set of 5+ CD/DVDs with the laptops. After installing them all, the OS is configured to a particular state, i.e. the factory state, which is similar to the factory image.

Dell laptops (not sure if all of them) have a software, Dell PC Restore (similar to Norton Ghost) which gives you an option of creating the recovery media. So you can burn your own recovery media using that application. In the rare event of the laptop crashing, you can restore using this recovery media. You don't have to use the 5+ CD/DVDs to get working.

 

You can also "burn" the recovery image to a USB flash key with Dell PC Restore. I did this before wiping the hard drive and reinstalling, although I have no intention of using the recovery image. One thing I like about Dell is that they give you an OS disk (albeit an OEM one) and not just restore disks or just the facility to create your own restore disks.

 

Are all the Dell OEM Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation Disks same?

My Windows 7 reinstallation media that originally shipped with the laptop was damaged. I received the replacement, but I am not in possession of the same currently. Can I use some other identical reinstallation disk to reinstall my OS or will it create issues with activation? I am trying to find out an image for the same, but unable to find it. Unfortunately, the website My Dell Downloads is also not working for my country of laptop purchase(India). Can someone suggest a link where I can download the legal Dell OEM Windows 7 edition?

Thanks in advance!

 

coolvap, on the bottom of your pc is a label with the windows key, I think you you can use any disk.

 

Yes, I have fluorescent lighting in the office and I thought that might be the problem. But the flickers occur during the day as well while the lights are turned off . There might be something in the building that is making this, but this screen should have been designed to isolate such things. Don't know

Nikolay

 

Yep any copy of Windows would do, even pirated ones. After entering a legit key on a dell system ,it would become a genuine OS . But you won't find it exactly as the dell disk because dell supplies an unattended version of OS disk with minor modifications.

@coolvap
I am also from India. I never really tried to download anything from My Dell Downloads but i think it would work even if u select some other country.

 

Thanks for the workaround godai_nin! But I think the tags are tied to the original country of purchase. Hence, if I select some other country in the Downloads page, the system response is "The service tag is invalid". Unfortunately, your trick isn't working!

 

Thanks for pointing those links out, Tenax but I already tried that route before contacting Dell, link one is if your US based I am in England, and the second link Dell don't offer me to download data safe local 2.0, but I already used that link to download all my software and drivers to rebuild my system. I use a disk image now so I am no longer bothered with datasafe local 2.0.

 

Does it happen when running on battery, with the AC adapter disconnected? This would eliminate external noise derived through the mains power supply. If it still happens on battery, I am at a loss. If this works then try the AC adapter through a filterred UPS or similar clean supply or even try a new adpater if one is readily available. It is entirely possible you have noise being injected into the system via the AC adapter as a result of a noisy building supply and this is causing the display to flicker.

Out of interest is your office near any heavy euipiment or power rooms, e.g. motor rooms or heavy duty Air Con systems, adjacent to any eltrified rail way lines of close to overhead HV power lines. Any of these sources and more can generate noise on the power supply. How this would ultimately impact the Display is open for discussion but is not out of the question.

I feel you have to approach this logically and eliminate the obvious. Dell Tech support will pay more attention and be more sympathetic if you have tried and tested all options before hand in a structured way. Adds more credability to your arguments if it comes to the worse and you need to claim a refund or replacement system.

Hillie

 

I got that too but was hoping for an all in one disk with everything on it.

I got the re installation disk and app and drivers. That side is now sorted anyway. Thank you.

 

I don't know if I just never noticed it before, but at my 2nd home (the Dell Outlet) I saw over 250+ XPS Studio 1645's and they suddenly started disappearing like candy in a room full of kids!

In any case, there were a few that had listed the "Blu-ray - w/dbl layer BD write", and there was one with that and RGBLED for a bit over $1200 after coupon. Curiously, once in my cart, the "Blu-ray - w/dbl layer BD write" turned into an 8x DVD/RW. I checked a few of the other 1645's listed with "Blu-ray - w/dbl layer BD write" and they also showed as 8x DVD/RW. So, I wonder if I'll really get a blu-ray burner or not? Most of the 1645's listed with blu-ray burner were almost $1900 at the outlet. This one, fairly nicely loaded for $1200, seems like a good deal, and an even better deal if it really winds up coming with a blu-ray writer! Fingers crossed. (I took a screen shot of the discrepancy, so I always have proof should I need grounds to return it).

 

Hey guys, I'm a 1645 core i7 owner, and have been since about november 09 (when after about 2 months my lappy was finally shipped to me), I thought I might just write up a post with the pros and cons about this computer from my perspective. Firstly the basics and cost of my build are here:

Price AUD
$2,102.48

-Studio XPS 16 Base (Direct)
-Intel(R)Core(TM )I7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, turbo up to 2.8GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
-Genuine Windows(R) 7 Ultimate 64bit (English)
-16.0 " UltraSharp(TM)Full High(1080p)Display with
-Obsidian Black info Mod
-Full High Definition (1080p) RGBLED info Mod
-4GB Dual-channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB)
-500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
-Slot Load 8X DVD + /-RW Drive with double layer write capability
-ATI Mobility RADEON(R) HD 4670 - 1GB
-Integrated CREATIVE Sound Blaster(R) X-Fi MB Audio Software Solution

Ok, well to start off with, I'll list the GOOD things about this system:

The RGBLED Screen is absolutely amazing! It's not only bright, but true to it's name it brings out colours fantastically so they're almost leaping out of the screen at you. This makes using anyone elses computer quite a bore after having such an amazing experience! (Also I should note, that I've compared my brother's WLED screen of the SXPS 1645 with the same bright colourful backgrounds, and the difference is soo obvious!)

Another pro is the backlit keyboard is nice (still not sure why there are two brightness settings for it as I'm sure the 2nd setting is the one most people would use, but hey-nothing wrong with more options to keep ppl happy!

The laptop exterior is really good to look at, clean lines, solid build, leather trim (which is a good place to carry it, as the 9Cell battery provides a nice handle)

The trackpad is conveniently positioned more to the left, so it's more comfortable for right handers (I'm assuming there is a left handed model? However if not, it shouldn't be too uncomfortable for lefties! - also the trackpad doesn't appear to be textured as it looks the same as the handrest section, however it IS TEXTURED and this is a really nice touch, because you're fingers don't get stuck to the pad, instead they glide over it smoothly.

The keyboard, has a really nice feel and click to it, and the keys although positioned really flat, however comfortable when typing.

The media touch buttons (which I thought would pose a few problems as they were removed from the Studio 15 models) are surprisingly very responsive and have not malfunctioned as yet, so that's a welcome surprise!

Battery life is good, with 2.5hrs easily achievable for most applications in power saver mode, probably less if you're gaming (I'm sure someone out there has an acurate post about this with actual figures so I'm not going to measure it unless asked!)

The system is relatively fast and also boots up at an ok pace, not lighteningly fast, but definately a comfortable speed (considering I didn't upgrade the HDD, memory or processor this is the speed I was expecting)

Also there are many other nice touches and creature comforts ranging from the double headphone input to the slot load dvd player, however I'm not going to go through these little parts as their function and useability is pretty evident!

Now for the BAD and ANNOYING parts about this laptop build!

I'll start with design problems and then later actual issues that I hope to resolve:

The whole computer is a fingerprint magnet - I personally don't care too much and wipe it down occasionally, if you do care however and don't fancy typing with microfibre gloves on, then perhaps this isn't the laptop for you. Also I have the obsidian black model, and it's great at showing dust particles, so maybe a lighter colour like the alpine white or merlot red is more suitable for you.

There is NO NUM LOCK KEY! I do NOT know what Dell was thinking when they designed this keyboard, but frankly I'm not impressed - if they were trying to make the keyboard smaller yet with large comfortable keys then they might have considered making the speaker cases on either side smaller (considering the ACTUAL speakers are a quarter of the size of the case!) - most people probably don't use the num lock key - but SOME people do, certain applications rely on it in fact, and I'm not ready to go buying an external numerical pad, because dell are annoying! - so this is a pet hate of mine! ( i may as well mention too that scroll lock is also gone if anyone was missing it) - I really don't see why they had to get rid of them, why couldn't they be a secondary function of another key? or even a touch button on the top panel? Highly annoying Dell!

The laptop does run kind of warmish if you are doing word processing etc, however when you game (especially for long periods of time there is a noticeable heat increase! So much so that you must use a table as your lap will most likely combust! I knew this was going to be a problem, so frankly I'm not surprised, and I'm not worried, as I'm sure the computer's insidey bits are protected ok, and if not, well I guess Dell will be replacing them eh?

Another small annoying thing is where the battery is, and more importantly what your computer looks like without it! As I mentioned before, I was given a 9Cell battery standard at the time I bought mine, and well I took it out and it seemed that I lost half of my computer! The Battery actually makes up a portion of the physical computer build, therefore when the battery is removed it looks as though there has been a chunk taken out of your laptop - I personally don't like this, but I guess it boils down to what your computer is on top of - If the answer is your leg or a desk, then this is highly unflattering! (lighter, but not sexier)

Screen reflections are as you guessed annoying, however the picture quality remains good, it's just you will most probably always see some part of your head etc if you are in a room with any light. I'm used to this now....however I kind of found it annoying to begin with!

Ok - well I think we're up to the problems I've faced, and I'd really like help with these if anyone can offer more insight into them, or even to know if anyone has experienced the same issues.

1. The sound quality is terrible past the halfway volume limit! It gets distorted, and seems to be vibrating parts of the computer - I suspect this is a subwoofer issue, but whatever the issue it needs to be fixed! - This doesn't happen with external speakers, so it's not the card, it's the speakers themselves! I personally can't listen to music anymore unless I'm hooked up to external speakers.

2. There is some major issue with latency or something during high demand gaming. I will use Sims 3 as an example, as you would assume this laptop is more than capable at running it with most settings on medium, at the very lowest of the scale. The graphics look awesome....BUT when you scroll around the game the screen dooesn't move smoothly, it staggers to where you want to go, and the voices and music also hiccup at the same time as the video. This makes the game unplayable with sound on as it's so bloody annoying! I'll admit the problem magically disappeared for about a week, but then it was back! Doesn't matter how many sims in your household, how big the house is, it's always there...and it's annoying...I heard things like it could be a problem with the graphics card not accessing the RAM fast enough, but seriously it's a dedicated 1GB graphics card in there to start with, and my friends laptop a ty little sony VAIO FW series with 512 integrated graphics can run the game fine (not as nice looking as I can but without the problems I'm facing) - if anyone knows how this can be fixed, I'd love to know the answer!

I should also mention another issue I experienced ONCE, and it was just once! I was merely looking through folders on the desktop when the RGBLED screen started flashing violent colours at me and blinding me! I immediately panicked and hard restarted the machine, only to find that the same problem occured when the dell logo came up! so I hard restarted again, waited about 1minute, turned on the machine and the problem was gone! I was pretty confused and worried, that I'd have to send it back, however I haven't seen this problem again since, and I hope it never comes back! But it is kinda worrying that there are little issues like this that occasionally could come up, with nothing to do with changes you personally have made!

Another issue I have noticed that ticks me off is with the trackpad. I own a Logitech VX Nano mouse, and I love it, and because of that I use it all the time, however there are times when I need to use the trackpad, for instance when I'm on the couch and I don't want to use a mouse. Anyway, the problem is it takes me about 5 swipes of the trackpad to get to where I want to go on the screen, and before you think I'm an idiot and didn't change the settings, know that I have changed them and for that one instance when I do change the trackpad settings to make the mouse move faster it's fine, and works well, except then if I restart or plug my mouse in again the problem is back! I don't get it - I assume it's the VX nano settings overiding the OS settings as, the logitech software boots on startup, but I've even tampered with the logitech settings to allow the OS mouse settings to overide it, and nothing works, so please if someone has a fix for this I'd greatly appreciate it!

I think they are the only major issues I've had - if anymore come to mind I'll post them here, but I'd really like some feedback of anyone experiencing the same problems or if anyone knows a fix for any of these issues! Thx!

On a final note, I love my SXPS 1645, and I DON'T want to send it back to get fixed, OR replace it, I don't believe I've made a bad choice at all, I just think there must be solutions to these few problems and I'm going to discover them!

Cheers.

 

I wonder anyone will read such long text for a product which is almost phasing out.

 

Ummm have you seen this thread?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=446193

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

 

1645 EOL? I'm curious what makes you say that?

 

How do you change the back lit keyboard brightness settings?

 

Dell Quickest

C:\Program Files\Dell\QuickSet\quickset.exe

 

backlit keyboard has 2 brightness settings and you can toggle the lights bright1 bright2 and off by using: Fn + lft arrow, there should be a illuminated key icon there!

 

Thx mate, i hadn't seen that thread! Cheers, although it's not quite the solution, it's better than thinking everything is doomed! Cheers! Stupid Dell, they probs won't bother with a fix...I hope they do tho!

 

I am really thankful about your attention regarding this issue. But as I read it and as I you said, I am now completely lost . This morning I started to notice the flickers at home as well .

So, seems the problem is not the environment around me. It is a problem within the machine itself. May be a driver, BIOS or a hardware problem. But I can see soooo many other people complaining about the same issue.

Perhaps I will have to return replace it. But, I am not sure whether this is possible at all here in Bulgaria. Or if it is, it will take 2 months at least. I am sooo disseminated

Sad,
Nikolay

Edit: I found this information, but I am not sure it is related: Also the RGB LED's tends to flicker or 'reset' when they are put in parallel together and being controlled by one resistor. It is a good idea to give every LED's their own resistor to prevent flickering. My LED's did not flicker bad, so I left them without resistor.

 

Not sure is anyone can help here. I have re-installed W7 due to lockup issues that. The install completed without any problems except the option for a factory restore is now missing. http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?docid=362066
Does anyone know how to get this option back?

 

Did you modified the partitions ?

 

Only formatted the OS partition. The recovery (20GB) and the other small partition are still intact.

 

Nikolay

Call it in and speak to the Dell Tech support team. Explain the tests you have done, refer to the threads here and ask for a replacement machine or onsite repair given that the machine is less than 2 months old versus the price paid for a top end machine.

As for the RGB LED resistor, this may be true, but I cannot comment as I do not know the design of the RGBDISPLAY on the Dell and how they have implemented the RGB layout or circuit

keep us posted on your progress with Dell

Hillie

 

For those who don't know, that little keyboard icon is a button that brings up a dialog where you can set the timeout for how long the keyboard stays lit without any activity. I never noticed that until someone here pointed it out.

 

I think, this is just me, that the MBR doesn't "see" that partition any more. It doesn't think it is bootable as I think a reinstall of Win7 resets it.

Same thing happened to me, but I realized I didn't want that image, anyways, and made some updated ones on some BDs.

Try running a tool like MBRWiz or something to see if you can get it back. :/

~Ibrahim~