**The Official Studio XPS 1647 Intel Core i5/i7 "Owners' Lounge"**

I don't think it is feasible on these laptops. Remove the bottom cover and take a look at how the CD drive is mounted. None of the screws are accessible, so you'd have to literally take the laptop apart in order to remove the CD drive. As for whether it's SATA, it is, but its a special mini-port that somehow delivers power and data through the one plug that is even smaller than a SATA data plug.

 

anyone else order with RGBLED and have their order in the boxing stage?

 

The system seems to have changed. I called the Dell Financial number and I can't go through 3, 2, 1, 1 any longer. I press 3 and they automatically ask for my order number. Unfortunately, this method only says that it's being processed and no other information available. Strange.

 

You'll need something like this caddy and you'll have to remove the faceplate from it. As mentioned above, it is a SATA drive but it uses an "interposer" to connect with the MB; this interposer is removable so all you'll need to do is transfer it over to the caddy.

You'll also need access to the service manual. I haven't seen much SXPS owners do it, but it seems quite popular with the Latitude crowd.

 

Removing the optical drive is documented in the service manual .. its pretty easy -- but involves some work (like removing the palm rest..etc)...
... worth the effort if we can get a 500 GB 7200 rpm hdd here, and put a 40 or 60GB SSD in the primary slot!

 

same here. ... any other number which gives this status ?

 

I have a few questions

1.Does anybody have the i5430 how is it?
2.Is there a huge diffrence in Hd video editing between the i5 430 and the i5 520 ?
3.Can I play old games on this system like resident evil 5 or even 4?
4.Is it safe to trust Dell again ?

 

I have the i5 430 and haven't had any problems with it (outside of throttling when running furmark and prime95 together). If you aren't used to the new processors that Intel have released recently, you'll be amazed at how much quicker everything feels.

I haven't tried to do any video editing but some of the video conversions that I have done have shown that it is a little faster than my Quad core that I have in my desktop.

For gaming, I tried Anno 1404, Street Fighter 4, Team Fortress 2, Modern Warfare 2 all at 1080P and they run great on medium to high settings. Since Team Fortress 2 isn't very tough to run, you can turn everything up. For Resident Evil 4 & 5, you're probably safe.

As far as trusting Dell goes, it is a matter of opinion. Dealing with Dell's customer service can get very frustrating at times but the overall build quality of their laptops are great. However, I would only recommend buying a Dell if you know what you are doing when it comes to computers. That way, when you have problems, you can figure things out yourself rather than going through their tech support.

 

Yeah I noticed that too, you now have to dial the same number then

4,2,1,1

 

Any word on the release for BIOS A04 for the 1647? Bill said it would be shortly after Feb. 14.

 

Thanks for the phone update, I'm still in the "Build" stage. It'll likely change tonight... (Hoping it will)

 

Hopefully, I remember reading some posts a few pages back and those who were in the boxing stage soon after had their orders shipped so hopefully by tonight or tomorrow

Now they're probably expediting orders because there is no delay on anything as of now.

 

Thanks for the update. Still in the Build stage here.

 

Well Chinese New Year isn't over just yet. It lasts a couple days and in some cases, the whole week. Just be patient for it.

 

Yep, they should be.
Wish they would have expedited shipping too. I noticed on my order page that my shipping method went from 5-7 days down to 7days. Did yours?
Would have thought they might have bumped it up to 3-5 days for all the wait and delays. Just some wishful thinking on my part.

 

Mine was upgraded to Next Business Day after the day I placed my order since I was 'confused' about which screen I had.

 

On the first delay notice, I asked for overnight shipping and they gave it to me. I'm sure you can do that too.

 

Cool! You'll likely be the first one (one of the firsts) here to get theirs of all the people going through this RGB delay. Can't wait to hear about it when you get it.

 

Great, had a mail from dell... telling me to re-apply some data about my payment, because something went wrong... That was a week ago, I ignored it, because I had a second mail saying everything was fine.

Today I got a second on that mail and I replied with the data they requested... 1minute later, my xps went into production... pfff, it could have been here, if I responded the first time

 

genius!...

Still in build... here.
my shipping changed to 2nd business day after i asked for expedited shipping with a customer care manager. he told me he could not offer next business day shipping since it was beyond his pay grade... whatever...

Hoping that i get it by end of next week.

 

Thats a very good deal you got 1399!!! How did you get that price if you mind me asking? Im looking to buy another one

 

That was during the Signature Event promotion last month. Don't know when Dell will offer such a deal again. MLK Day and President's Day has passed and the next major holiday isn't coming for a while. Hope for a spring sale in March or April perhaps?

 

I think I got a better deal than the President's day deal and Signature Event in my opinion. I ordered through EPP and now with my recent order delay then are going to credit my account $75 for the inconvenience. Before the $75 credit my subtotal was $1,793. I guess the EPP reps are different than the regular ones.

 

I would consider EPP to be something separate because it's on a different service level than the regular online deals. I've only kept an eye on the online sales that they've had and none of the other channels, which probably aren't available to me.

 

mine is in production now.

Ordered: 1/28/10
1st EDD: 2/28/10
2nd EDD: 2/24/10

 

Nice, so yours in in boxing now?

I ordered the 27th, and mine went into the build stage a day after yours, so hopefully mine will enter boxing within the next 2 days.

 

Hopefully, now that they have no parts on delay I would imagine they're trying to get all of our orders out so it doesn't further back things up.

 

This the happiness that we should of had weeks ago.. lol

 

I think matt got lucky, I ordered the 16th and mine is still in production (same config as far as I can tell, except 4gigs instead of 6).

 

Well I ordered on the 27th, and mine went into production last week. He ordered a day before me, so I expect mine to enter boxing tomorrow.

 

Ok so im about to call dell and order this laptop (1647)....DOES IT throttle or is it ok to order now? I need to know asap what the status of this laptop is...Please help!

 

Read the first page of this thread. Yes the 1647 throttles. Not as much as the 1645 since its an i5 vs i7 but yes it still throttles. As of now there is no BIOS fix for the 1647.

 

What exactly are you buying this for?

 

What computer should I buy that is basically the same as the 1647/1645 that can allow me to play MW2, WoW, on medium to high settings...and some other games. I need one asap because my desktop just crashed

What would you do in regards to purchasing a new laptop?

*edit* I have searched for a month now and havent really found a good deal like the 1645 and 1647...however I was so let down to find they had throttle and heat issues

I would like to stick with the new core technology if possible.

 

I think if you choose the 1647 with WLED screen and not the RGBLED you will be ok. It will still throttle but it wont be as pronounced as choosing 1645 with RGBLED or WLED. Im sure dell will release a bios for the 1647 so your choice will be Ok.

 

Based on the first page..it says that sometimes the throttling is not even noticeable. If its not noticeable then why is it a big deal? I wasnt getting the RGBLED screen anyway. I wanted basic 1080p WLED.

Basically just something strong enough to play WoW/MW2 on high and maybe Crysis on med. I was going to order the 1645 but then saw all the issues with it. I turned to this 1647 hoping it would be a more reliable and smoother match for me.

 

My 1647 plays crysis at high just fine... so it should play wow and mw2 just fine

 

Same here...still in the build stage.. i think i called that number more than 20 times today............grrrr..........

how long does the build stage last ?.......... aaaaaaaaaaaaah

 

Do you notice the throttling? Or do you only play with battery power?

 

I must've missed this in the countless pages I've read but why is TurboBoost disabled by default on the 1647?

 

Then go 1647 + WLED. Enjoy !

 

The throttling that is being referenced here in this thread is only occurring when running furmark and Prime95 at the same time. While it is a problem that needs to be addressed by Dell, it doesn't really affect users in normal applications.

I have the lowest end XPS 16 (see signature) and it runs MW2 on high settings at 1080P. It's not a steady 30 - 60 frames per second, but it can pull it off. Definitely go with the WLED and not the RGBLED if you're going to be gaming and consider bumping up the processor to the i5 520 or 540 if you can afford it. My low end i5 throttles just the same as the higher end i5's.

 

But is the throttling THAT bad? Thats my question. Can you play through the throttling or does it completely crash your fps and display like on the 1645s thats all. I will get the 1647 if it will do what I want it to do. I dont demand much lol.

 

One more thing to note for the people looking to play games with the XPS 16 is that I highly recommend getting a laptop cooling pad. It makes a huge difference in how hot the laptop gets. Especially if you're gaming for extended periods of time.

 

From what I have read in the 1645 thread, the 1647 is nowhere near the 1645. I play games pretty regularly on this laptop and I honestly probably would have never noticed the throttling if I hadn't read through this thread. It runs great and I haven't noticed any problems while gaming.

 

Ok thanks. Can you quickly summarize what you play and the avg frame rates you get; how smooth it runs?

Your imput will help me make a final decision. no pressure!

 

I uninstalled MW2 a few days ago. I installed it just for testing and it would take awhile to install, run, and report back, so I'll just say that it ran fine at 1080P. The rest is as follows:

Anno 1404: 1920 x 1080, settings on medium, game play is smooth and only gets a little choppy when there is a lot going on "on-screen"

Street Fighter 4: 1920 x 1080, settings on high, 50 - 60 fps (60fps max due to v-sync)

Crysis: 1920 x 1080, settings on medium, 30 - 45 fps, playable at that framerate, but sometimes dips when there is a lot going on "on-screen"

Those are the games I've tested so far. I wouldn't really consider this laptop to be a "gaming" laptop but it runs a lot of them fairly well. I actually bought this because I take it to work and to school and it looks a little bit more professional.

 

Since you have the 4670 ATI, im assuming the performance of these games is lower because of your processor rather than your graphics? A 540M should take care of this correct?

 

At higher resolutions like 1920 x 1080, the video card will largely determine the performance in the game. You'll get a little bit better frame rates than I do with a 540m but you would get much better performance by going with a better video card. Can I ask what your budget is? If you're in the 1500 to 2000 dollar range there are a few other options that would "out-game" the XPS 16.

 

1500 is my limit. You know anything better than the xps for that price?