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

...same here 620...the SSD and the RGB screen.....compared to the ole 1530 screen....night and day....
I went with the 6200..and it's been rock solid mated to the netgear 3700...very stable running at 5ghz...

 

Speaking of upgrades, why can't we change the gpu in our xps systems??? I know about vidock but then I have to spend 200$ for the vidock + 150$ for a new PCI graphics card + 120$ for a external monitor .. That's 470$$ .. Way too expensive.. So if anyone did or know any way possible to upgrade the gpu pls let us know.

Thnx

 

though i won't get technical about it, as i only know the surface of the matter, it is very difficult if not impossible to upgrade the GPU in a laptop. the other problem is availability and price, and fitting the GPU into your laptop.

my short answer is: no you cannot because it's soldered in, or it's not compatible.

the foremost reason behind this is motherboard compatibility. the motherboard in your XPS is compatible with the GPU that came with your laptop: for now let's pretend it's an Ati HD 4670. say now you wish to upgrade to a ATi HD 6950: though your motherboard works with an ATi chipset (is that the right term?) it is possible that it is not compatible with a newer chipset like the new ATi 6xxx series.

as far as i know, laptop motherboards aren't as compatible as desktop motherboards, where you can drop in a new graphics card should it (e.g. PCI-E16) support it. now that isn't to say you couldn't upgrade from a ATi 4650 to a 6950: maybe it is possible provided that the motherboard can handle it, but then where are you going to find an ATi 6950? a quick eBay search for "ati 5850" (i didn't think there would be any ATi HD MR 6950's out there yet) gave me only 1 good result, a 5850 ripped from an Alienware/MSI (the post was unclear) for $300+S&H. now you have to consider getting a heatsink appropriate for the GPU, as well as determine if the larger GPU will even fit in your laptop's chassis. that will eventually rack up to about $400, give or take, and with shipping across the country, it will likely reach $450 which is not far off from the $470 ViDock solution. not to mention that with a ViDock solution, you can upgrade the GFX card down the road for a fraction of upgrading a mobile GPU ($150 vs $300)

that's the gist of it, hopefully somebody with much more technical knowledge can further detail the reasoning behind the "nope, sorry" I just wrote...

 

Graphics are built into the MoBo. there is no way to upgrade it

 

Thankx for the info daver160....

It so sucks when our gpu's cant handle new games after the laptop is one yr old...i wish the gpu's could have been replaced like the RAM...life would have been so easier playing games then... mine has ati 5730 and i can play most of the new games(crysis2, homefront.etc etc) in med settings flawlessly... but im a little worried down the line like 6 months from now...will my gpu handle new games..say suppose when u look at the gameplay of upcoming Battlefield 3 which is due this nov, im not so sure if i can play that game using 5730...
i hope the new graphic engines that the developers use to make the game is mostly software dependent and not hardware...so that we can play them on our laptops since we cant update our gpu's ....

and i don wanna get a new laptop cos i love the xps..its color..its design and everything so...its the best looking thing out till date other than the adamo... so was wondering if we could do something about the gpu upgrades....

anyways thanks guys... and lets keep the forum rolling with new posts and topics cos i look at it daily and it hasnt been moving much of lately...

cheers!!

 

the 5730 is no slouch by any means, it just isn't an impressively powerful GPU like a x8xx card is. i recently gave Homefront a spin, and my 1645 handled it on "high" quite well. it choked a little bit when i got into a firefight with smoke, but after playing with the shader/shadow settings and AA, my 1645 continued through with aplomb.

Battlefield 3 will probably bring the ATi 5730 to its knees in some situations, but you can't honestly expect the 5730 to truck on through that easily: after all it's running on GDDR3 with decent to good clock speeds - i would presume a GDDR5 graphics card would handle affairs like Battlefield 3 or The Witcher 2 without breaking a sweat.

BUT, that doesn't mean our GPU _cannot_ handle these games. Not by a long shot. We just won't be able to play these games with all the visual bells and whistles. Turn off bloom/HDR, disable AA or turn down the anisotropic filtering and shadows. many games will highly benefit from it, and i honestly do not believe anybody who says that having AA turned all the way up makes the game infinitely better - if a game is really that good and immersive, you shouldn't even notice that AA is on at all. i have replayed Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 more times than I can count. and frankly, i couldn't care less of Shepards heroic-ly masculine war-beard had jaggies ...</rant>

 

Does anybody know at what temperature vent in XPS 1645 starts? I'm looking at GPU and CPU temps (each core) and cannot find any relation..

I've bought a cooling pad with adjustable vent speed and I'm trying to find a good compromise between the temps and noise. But for now I cannot find the right value that notebook vent wouldn't start (cooling pad is quieter).

 

i think the fans in start to kick in around 55C. at least that's all i can recall. you might want to try it yourself with HWMonitor and some testing.

 

That's the program that I use

But I still cannot find exact temperature. As far as I can see second speed starts at 60 degrees at TZ01, but first.. I think that something around 55-56 is possible, but since second speed seems to depend on TZ01 rather that CPU, maybe it's the same with first speed?

 

btw andrew, What cooler did u get for ur 1645???

from what i read and searched it seems the notepal u3 cooler master is the best for xps system since it has 3 adjustable fans which can be placed right underneath the vents of xps.... im planning to order this from amazon tonight...its around 29$...

 

hi ppl

just wandering if u could help me out a bit, iv been tryn 2 identify my pll on my xps 1647 mobo, but i cant seem to find it anywhere. could u pls tell me what it looks like or where its located i.e is it near the gpu,heatsink, fan, etc.

im tryn 2 OC my i5. i got a naotebook cooler and thermal paste so temps are not a problem ( gpu idles at 45 and cpu at 39-43). just tryn 2 squeeze extra frames for SC2.

cheers.

 

I'm sorry I didn't reply earlier but I missed that question.

I bought Coolermaster Ergostand. Its not bad but didn't change temps too much (about 2-3 degrees under load). However it is very comfortable to use and usable (different levels to put notebook). Vents are pretty quiet in lowest speed, noisy (for me) in fastest, but can be adjusted. I have 9-cell battery so temperature drop in laptop with 6-cell can be higher (since it's closer to the vent).

Generally it is good construction and very comfortable. Maybe a little expensive.

I'm not sure about U3 thought. It seems to be interesting having three movable vents but it is very, very big and vents aren't quiet (I've seen it in store). I prefer Ergostand from these two.


Also, when I rechanged thermal paste in my notebook I checked what is under ventilation holes. And actually.. parts that seem to get warmer aren't there (like CPU, GPU and HDD). Only memory, notebook vent and empty space seem to in places where extra air can be direct. And memory does't get that warm and vent doesn't need it (actually I'm even concern it would change the air flow for worse). I'm not sure if it's possible to cool this laptop with notepad without making some extra holes..

 

okay, so i just read about pinmodding. just wandering if it could be done with my i5? since i also read that it must be a sonoma chipset or something. any link to a pin mod tutorial would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

 

Hi,
I'm fairly new to the forum.

Got my XPS 1647 in Nov last yr.

There's 3 output for video.
1st is VGA, 2nd is DisplayPort & 3rd is HDMI.

I connected the HDMI-HDMI cable to my 1st external monitor. Works fine.

I tried 2 other cables.
1) DisplayPort-DVI adaptor . Then DVI-DVI cable to a 2nd different external monitor. Didn;t work. I have to choose between moniotr #1 & 2 apart from the main notebook display.

2) VGA - VGA cable with monitor #2. Didn't work either.

I would no choice but to go the only way of either
1) buying a external USB to DVI/HDMI adaptor
OR 2) Connect multiple DualHead2Go or TripleHead2Go Graphics eXpansion Modules - Graphics eXpansion Module



Has anyone tried going to ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver to upgrade the driver of ATI radeon HD 5730 / or another type

to v11 to enable EyeFinity on a mobile GPU ?

The current version:
Driver Packaging Version 8.692.1-100122a-094670C-Dell

 

Is there a way to burn a clean instalation CD of Win 7 on XPS 1645?

I managed to burn CD with factory image (from hidden partition) but I'd like to have clean instalation too. Can I burn it or do I need to contact DELL to get one? (or maybe just download and use data from notebook to install?)



And one more thing. I spent some time trying tu find best settings for sound when using speakers in notebook. Result is good is everything sounds ok. Problem is when I try to use phones. Sound in them is very dim and deep (but not in a good way). I tried to change setiings turning off every sound enchancement (especially bas, premium sound etc) but without any change.

Is there someting that should be changed to have more nautral sound or maybe it can be caused by some problem with notebook? I tried different port and different phones but it's always the same.

 

how exactly did you 'add bluetooth'? my i3 1647 doesnt seem to come with bt.

btw, i just bought an hp probook 4530 and i must say im impressed by hp's driver support. dell's driver support and customer service is balls compared to hp :|

 

I have an issue with my XPS 1647 i5. This is second time when, while watching an online clip/video the laptops stops responding and does a weird sound.
Anyone had experienced this?
YouTube - ‪Studio XPS 16 weird sound‬&rlm;

 

3 monitors can not be done while using the laptop display. Second you have to use a powered display port adapter not a passive one. They aren't cheap either.

 

DELL 2.4 GHz Wireless 370 Bluetooth (2.1 + EDR) Mini-Card for Dell Latitude / Alienware Laptops / Precision Mobile WorkStations : Networking & Routers | Dell

 

Hello to all XPS 1647 owners!

I am new to this forum and I need help.
Recently I got this XPS STUDIO 1647 as a present, but my particular model came with Intel I3 installed and with 2Gb of Ram only. I would like to get an advice which route should I take? Upgrade it to i5 or to i7?
I have already read about CPU compatibility issues and I understand that this model supports only Dual Core CPU. Please tell me what is the exact model should I buy from ebay? Also please advicewhat is the best RAM combination should I order? Since it has only 2gb of RAM I think if I will get a second 2GB stick I will be fine? Or I will have to get a dual channel kit (2 sticks)???
Thank you!

 

The 1647 is capable of using any "Arrandale" Dual Core i3/i5/i7. If you can find one of the 600 series Core i7's for a good price, those are the fastest CPU's that this system will hold. I would also suggest upgrading the RAM to four or six GB as Windows Vista and Windows 7 will generally eat most of 2 GB of RAM just for the OS. I upgraded mine to eight GB for just under $70.

 

hi all,

I've done a bit of searching but only seem to have found people discussing power over esata etc.

I'm looking to buy a hard drive enclosure, something like this: eSATA Quad Drive SATA Enclosure, White | LINDY UK

or another multiple drive enclosure which I would want to set-up as a RAID1 (2x2tb drives for a mirrored 2tb volume).

Apparently the one I've linked to above, as well as some others I've seen, need an esata port with port multiplier.

So my question is, does the esata port on the XPS1647 have this functionality?

FYI - I'm looking to use the enclosure as a backup for important files. I only use laptops so installing an esata card into a desktop PC isn't feasible, and I would like the speed of esata as opposed to a NAS for example.

Thanks a lot

 

Unfortunately SXPS1645/1647 does not support port multiplier. It has been tested before & it only results in data corrupted/lost. Based on this article, only QM57, QS57 & HM57 chipsets support port multiplier.

 

hi kizwan,

thanks for your reply. I guess I'll have to look into the the NAS or USB options then. I already have a Buffalo Linkstation Live connected to my network (albeit only 500gb) that I use for music sharing etc...but it's painfully slow when transferring a lot of files so another NAS doesn't really appeal to me. I'm mainly looking to backup thousands of RAW photo files, approximately 20-25mb each, and want to have a RAID1 setup at the minimum so I have some data redundancy.

 

I think ExpressCard to eSATA adapter can be an alternative solution. For example:-
2 Port eSATA ExpressCard 34 and RAID 5/JBOD eSATA ExpressCard 34
The above product support " Supports FIS-based switching with Port Multipliers".
and look also this:-
eSATA II RAID ExpressCard 34, eSATA-EC
and:-
Sonnet - Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34: 2-Port Serial ATA Host Controller; Compatible in MacBook Pro and Windows Laptops With ExpressCard Slot

 

this is great stuff kizwan, thanks for your time and effort. On the first link you've pointed me to, the addonics hardware, can you clarify something for me if you know the difference?

Is the RAID5/JBOD version basically the same as the other with the addition of the RAID function? Therefore I'd in theory be able to buy two simple SATA enclosures along with 2 hard drives, connect them both individually to this expresscard and set up the RAID through software? With the other card I would have to buy the multiple drive enclosure (I originally was looking at) with it's own built-in RAID functionality?

I have found both versions online for the same price, so some clarity would be much appreciated. If the RAID version does the same thing then I may as well get that one so it allows me to decide on 2 separate (and cheap) enclosures, or 1 multiple enclosure.

Cheers!

 

Based on the specification on several product I found (with RAID support), they should work with:-

• RAID 0/1 with 2 individual hard drives connected to the ExpressCard.
• RAID 0/1/5 with Port Multiplier Enclosure (multiple drives).

The Sonnet card only support RAID with Port Multiplier Enclosure. So, it's not suitable for you.

When buying ExpressCard to eSATA (with RAID support) adapter, make sure to read the specification carefully. Make sure they support " FIS-based port multiplier" & RAID.

BTW, I have never use this kind of solution before. So, I don't know how good they will be. Before buying do some research first. I'm worried especially whether they will be bandwidth issue or not when transferring big files from/to the hard drives.

 

Does the 1647 support SDHC cards ? SDXC cards ?
Thanks.

 

Hi

bought my XPS 1647 i5 for about 1yr and want to upgrade my RAM from 4gb to 8gb.

Been looking at the Kingston Hyper X RAM and was wondering if it will work on my laptop?

Can the XPS 1647 support 1600mhz or is 1333mhz the highest?

And is the XPS 1647 running the Sandybridge platform?

Thanks for your help.

 

If i am not wrong, the 1647 with i5's -- 1066MHz is the max the memory will work on (even if u put a higher speced so-dimm

 

Yes, that is correct. If you put DDR3-1333 or DDR3-1600, it will work in backward compatibility speed which is DDR3-1066 for i5. Dell SXPS 1647 is not Sandy Bridge notebook. It actually Nehalem notebook (Calpella platform).

 

Hi im new here so if im doing this wrong or in the wrong place i apologise,

The problem i have is when i start up laptop i get 88 pings then page is frozen the log in box can appear for a millisecond now and again.

Acer aspire 5336 is the machine does any one have any ideas

Thanks

 

You've posted in the Dell forum. You would get more specific help posting in the Acer forum.

 

At the start of this post I read something about changing the AC power adapter from 90W to 130W, but on other post I read this was resolved by a BIOS update. At this moment I have an XPS 1647 with the latest BIOS and the i5 540m processor, do you think it will improve my performance if I buy the 130w power adapter?

Thanks in advance,

With kind regards,

Floris237

 

Technically, the SXPS 1647 will work properly on a 90 watt adapter and Dell sold them with 90 watt adapters. In reality, under heavy load, my SXPS 1647 uses between 85 and 91 watts measured with an in-line meter. This is within the power tolerances of the 90 watt adapter but I'm assuming, just barely. After heavy use on my laptop, my 90 watt AC adapter is often too hot to pick up.

I do notice a performance hit, especially in framerate, once the 90 watt adapter that came with my 1647 heats up significantly. I am fairly certain that it is a power limitation issue as I have an older 130 watt Dell "brick" adapter and switching to that adapter corrects the issue.

I have the A11 BIOS(Modified with extra menu options: See my Core i7 upgrade attempt), so the issues I have when my 90 watt adapter heats up shouldn't be related to the "stuttering" fix Dell released a while back.

I'm cynical enough to think that what happened was that the 90 watt adapter is probably cheaper to provide than the 130 watt adapter and Dell decided to sell the 1647's with a 90 watt adapter since it would technically meet the power requirements, even if just barely.

***EDIT***

I went back and was reading some old posts in this thread. I initially didn't have any issues with my AC adapter as I was using a SSD which uses less power than a mechanical hard drive. I've also since modded my 1647 to install a 2nd drive in place of my DVD Burner for extra storage space. This, combined with the OC'ed GPU is probably what is driving the power requirements of my laptop above what the 90 watt adapter can provide and causing it to overheat.

***EDIT***

 

can you direct me to this thread? i looked and could not find it

 

Look at this thread. The BIOS's for the 1647 are listed in the first post.

It's entirely possible that I'm still using the modified A10 BIOS that Kizwan provided me a while back. I don't have my laptop with me so I can't verify that right now but I will take a look tonight and repost here. I did modify the A10 BIOS on my own to OC the GPU using Kizwan's instructions and some help from Seeker_Moc but for some reason, I was sure that I had done some work with the A11 BIOS.

It's entirely possible that my memory is a bit off. I'm going to blame it on an induced lack of sleep caused by a 7 week old newborn baby girl.

 

did you get an i7 working?

 

Unfortunately, no. As near as I've been able to figure out, there is nothing in the BIOS itself that is preventing the quad core CPU's from running so it's likely something hardwired on the board. My guess is that the 1647's likely operate with a 90 watt "hard cap" or something similar. The quad core i7's use more power and given how close to 90 watts a stock 1647 is, I'd say that Dell prevented the 1647's from using the quad core CPU's to market the 1647 as a "cheaper" alternative to the 1645.

 

Guys,

I know that stock the 1647 appears to only support 8GB RAM - i have had a mac user free up some 1066 modules (8GB each) and have installed them in my machine.

It is recognised in the BIOS but Windows will not boot.

Is there any way to get memory above 8GB working = one of the Modded BIOS maybe ?

I have an SSD in my machine and run a lot of Virtual Machines so RAM is definitely an issue with "only" 8GB.

Craig

 

It depends on the memory controller. You will be able to get more than 8GB working if your notebook have more than two DDR3 memory slots. For example, four slots: 4 x 4GB = 16GB.

Did you actually try putting 8GB stick on your notebook?

 

Yes i did put in two of the 8GB SODIMMS - 1066

The machine boots up OK and if you go into BIOS you can see the 16GB (it is a XPS 1647 so only has two RAM slots)

However when you boot through to the OS you get a BSOD with an IRQ not less than or equal to error each time - i have Win 7 64 bit with SP1 (Ultimate)

I tried removing one of the sticks (thus only 8GB and the same result - so i can only assume that it does not like the 8GB modules.

These were GEIL RAM

regards

Craig

 

Yes, BIOS will/should detect correctly the total amount of memory. Even if you put 2 x 16GB, BIOS will most likely detect full 32GB. Why you got BSOD is either the memory controller doesn't support more than 8GB (2 x 4GB configuration) or the RAM sticks itself are bad. We will don't know for sure until you can test the 2 x 8GB RAM in another computer. However, the only notebook that I know support 8GB stick (max DIMM capacity per-slot) is Sandy Bridge (SB) notebook.

So far, the only first generation Intel Core processor notebooks (our notebooks) I found that can support more than 8GB of memory are notebooks with four memory slots (4 x 4GB = 16GB). The issue here is the max DIMM capacity per-slot.

 

Hello, recently I have been encountering some adapter issues on my i5 1647; When i turn on the computer it says the adapter is unidentified and im unable to charge my batteries.

Is there any possible way to fix this, and also I read that I am able to change my adapter to a 130W? I am out of Warranty can I still get a replacement?

edit: im from Malaysia

 

I just replaced my hard drive and I cannot find the software on dell.com/support for either Dell Webcam Central or the Facial Recognition! Can someone please point me to where I can find it?

 

Can't seem to find webcam central.
Uploaded facial recognition for you: here

 

Thank you, why does Dell only allow you to d/l certain drivers/software 2 times?

 

I didn't know there was a limit from Dell. With facial recognition though, it wasn't installed on my laptop when I got it, and I saw a friend had it on the same laptop, so I looked on Dell Support but couldn't find it. I eventually emailed Sensible Vision and they provided a download link for me. They're currently on v3, but it's not included with the XPS16, so they only provided a link for v2 (what I have uploaded)

 

I just realized that DELL has changed the LCD screen with different one.
Originally was:
DISPLAY : 15.6IN WLED BLACK LEATHER EDGE

The AIDA64 extreme edition it is saying:
monitor Name Samsung 160HT
Monitor ID SEC5448
Manufacturer M077D_160HT
Monitor Type 16" LCD
Manufacture Date 2008
Maximum Resolution 1920 x 1080
NO LEATHER EDGE

It is better or worse?
Or it is the famous "RGBLED"

 

no the famous RGBLED started with something like "AUD...." and was manufactured by LG, if memory serves me