New Dell Studio 17 announced (Studio 1745/47)

Mine is fine. It sleeps then hibernates. Unless it's on high performance mode, then it just sleeps and never hibernates.

 

Really? XP32 on this box? Just run virtualbox or xp mode (if you got win 7 pro, enterprise or ultimate).

 

Go to windows mobility, you can change it right there as one of the options.

 

IMO, you need to upgrade that warranty. On PSU, I got the following two models and both work:

PA-13: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Dell-AC-POW...rs_Chargers?hash=item3ef893b6b2#ht_1682wt_934

PA-4E: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...326518&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_1177

 

installation worked for me without a problem right from the start... (installed from cd)
flash bothered me too, but with the help of this (german!), a fresh install from adobe (not flashplugin-nonfree) and especially the "clicking buttons does not work right" (used 3. solution from here) it works well now (as well as flash on linux can run... its not as good as in windows as we know)

i've been one of the first here with a 1747 and after about a month it still works great. (no 7 peeps, seems im lucky)
most of the time i'm running on ubuntu and i have never used sleep mode, but stressed it quite some bit a few times already (when using a core to its maximum the heat seems to go REALLY up, as the fan runs at full speed... havn't found a way to get the temps in ubuntu though, seems like the sensor is not supported >_> )

 

I'm so disappointed. I did not pay for the other monitor, because I never dreamed it would change the colors so. I have the studio sitting side by side to my old gateway - and it's so sad. THe color difference is huge. Grays look like lavender - whites are gray, blacks are gray, and eggplant is violet.

I did not pay to ship the machine to me. I am in Wisconsin. But in the return policy it states that you have to pay to ship it back to return it. That sucks - when they were the ones who sold me this ucky monitor.

What upsets me even more - is the tech support would not listen to me. They were belligerent that this is normal.

I had someone else look at it tonight - and I am not going crazy. They said the contrast was way off. No lack of adjusting will fix it.

Is it worth it to maybe ask them to change to the other monitor the 1080P or just get rid of this?

This is my first Dell. I read the bad reviews about them, but I also read good ones, so I went and ordered.

I do website editing, video and picture editing - so having the right colors are imperative. I did not pay exorbitant fees for my old gateway monitor. Its just a basic HD wide-screen - but beautiful colors.

I really had no idea the monitor would change things so much.

 

Its a gift for my 65 year old mother who is used to XP (dell vostro 1700 is her current PC). It came with 7 Home Premium (I was planning to downgrade to XP for her) so no professional / XP mode.

I guess I could run Virtual box but I dont think she would get it.

Actually the reinstall is more to do with the bloatware & I figure XP is faster than 7.

Most of her software should work in 7 (Office 2003, Quicken 2009, skype, etc).

I find it amazing that if you do a search for "Dell Studio 1745 Windows XP Drivers" nothing comes up.

I guess XP is going away for sure?

Any advice would be great in terms of XP drivers.

Thanks,
Rich

 

On a side note, if I go the win7 route, are we better off performing a reinstall to get rid of the bloatware?

 

Keep windows 7. It is easier to use and works better. My mom is older than that and had no problem moving from xp to vista. Haven't put 7 on her computer yet. I used to use classic start menu until 7 and had no trouble adjusting. It works great. Go through the programs and pin the stuff she uses to the start menu. She'll appreciate the added features and how much easier it is to download pictures or burn them to a cd. If she has never done any of this before she'll be able to now!

There isn't much bloatware installed. I just uninstalled what I didn't want and then run CCleaner to clean up the registry. You can use CCleaner to uninstall the programs, too. There really isn't a need to do the reinstall.

 

There is no charge for return shipping. Just checked my account to verify. I was credited for the exact amount that I was charged. When your return is authorized they will email you a label to put on the box and take it to the shipper or you can choose to have them pick it up and the shipper will bring a label with him.

If you want to return call 1-800-964-8321 and tell them you need to return it. You'll be transferred around until you get to returns and they will give you a comfirmation number. Don't ask them.. just tell them that it is unacceptable and you want a refund.

 

Hi, I am looking for a tool to control the fans in my Studio 1747 (Core i7 720QM, Intel PM55 chipset).

I tried SpeedFan and i8kfangui, both don't work :-( With my old Inspiron i8kfangui worked fine. OS is Win 7 x64.

Does anybody know a solution for this?

 

I believe RivaTuner and GPUTool have fan control options.

 

So do you really see a benefit from the 130w adapter or you're just using it as a precaution? I've read in xps 16 thread that the added power is not the solution and that in many cases it doesn't resolve the problem and that the motherboard doesn't even support it. Anyone else using the 130w ac?

 

Whats the name of that tool to see the speed and how any cores are in use, I just wanna check my i7 usage and see if it ever clocks itself to 2.8 like it says on the box

 

With blackbox software you'll see any info you want.
Here's the link: http://blackbox.hardwaremania.com/en/

You can see a screenshot in attachment

 

I think I've found a fix for the 7 beeps.

1. Take out the main battery.
2. Take the plate off the bottom on the laptop.
3. Take out the CMOS battery which can be found near the wireless card. (It's held down by double sided tape.)
4. Wait a couple of minutes.
5. Replace the CMOS battery.
6. Replace the plate.
7. Replace the main battery.
8. Power up - You should hear 5 beeps.
9. Power off by holding down the power button for a few seconds.
10. Cross your fingers and power on!

 

It's called i7 turbo. If you download RealTemp or ThrottleStop it's included.

For the previous question, if you are using ThrottleStop to override clock modulation, you need to use 130W PSU. I do see differences in using ThrottleStop and not using it. However, that can depend on the screen a bit and on brightness (more power draw on 1080p screen). Voltage is the same, and I very much doubt that the motherboard "cant handle it" for the 130w PSU. It's the usual Dell Tech level 1 bullcrap.

Check the thread in XPS forums for more info on that and for utility download. Grab SuperPi or Prime95 and run it together with Furmark or 3dmark06/3dvantage. Using i7 turbo util you will see modulation in action, your multiplier will spike down quite a bit without ThrottleStop.

 

stocovick: How'd you order the i7 CPU and the 1080p from Canada? I don't see those as options (though they are in the US)...did you just call them up and ask for those? I want to get the multi-touch dsplay version, but in Canada, there are very few options for the cpu specs - unlike the US.

 

They were available on the canadian site up until about a 1-2 weeks ago. I ordered one as well.

 

I got blackbox and i7 turbo. ran load tester whike I looked at the cpu speed of each core, and it reached +49% (approx 2300mhz).. dont know of thats normal..
Tried in ubuntu (my primary os) under load with the cpu fequency panel applet and it never showed above the 1.6hgz.

 

linux does (as far as i know) not yet support turbo mode, so it can't go above 1.6 ghz
windows can use the turbo mode to boost the core up to 2.8 ghz when used right, this is what the i7 (720) is capable of

 

When I ordered it was available but it's not anymore. And from what I remember when I was searching for info on the laptop the multi-touch screen was only available for core 2 duo systems.

 

I think that's about normal.
The 720M can overclock with turboboost to 2.8 Ghz for one core (with the three others disabled). So the more cores are actived, the less they each can be overclocked. So for the 4 cores overclocked, 2.3 Ghz seems about the maximum.
Maybe someone who's more familiar than me with the whole multiplier and turboboost technology can do the maths and calculate the max overclock for the 4 cores together. Only then you'll be sure that you got the max out of it

 

yeah I searched around a bit and found out it doesnt, yet. Shame.
Well I noticed 1 more thing in ubuntu (not sure about win7). With speedstep disabled, so all cores report 1.6ghz, encoding with ffmpeg using the very slow, demanding x264 codec using 8 threads it was around 25fps encode speed. With speedstep enabled, and reporting 933mhz while not under load and 1.6ghz under load, encoding with same settings yields 41fps. More speed ? Hmmm

 

Has anyone got a shipping update on this computer yet? My date is now 12/6 -Is anyone getting theirs with the 1080p option? - I'm in the US...

 

Is this true? That's great news if so.

 

Confirmed to be working.

 

You're the man! Has it 7 beeped for you since?

 

It survived all of last night in sleep mode. I put it back to sleep about mid day today so I'll know in a couple of hours if it's survived a second 8 hour sleep.

 

great, i'll stop worry about this
finally got mine too
it really is huge
sure build quality and the screen could be better but overall it's good for me

 

Hmm. I think it is great that this fix works....but at best it can only be temporary. What is stopping it from happening again? Do you really want to be opening up your laptop every time this happens and remove the cmos battery? To me that is unacceptable. Dell needs to get on this, fix the problem and start shipping with 130w power supplies.

I cannot imagine that their profit margin is that much greater on the 90w than the 130w power supply to justify all this hassle and limiting the potential of these computers.

 

OEM partition can be deleted after backup? or does it do something?

 

I have been waiting for mine since the 12/4 and they have not given me an estimated dilivery date ....NOTHING at all....

 

I ordered a Studio 1745 with the 1080p display on Dec. 11. Was given an EDD of Jan 6. Much to my surprise and delight, it shipped on Dec. 18! The screen is gorgeous!!! Monsters Inc. BD looks fantastic.

I went to order another for my wife and found that the 1080p display is no longer an option on the Dell US website! What's up with that???

Oh, and one note: I was unable to change the brightness of the display with the installed video software. I had to download the Intel drivers for the video card (Intel GMA 4500MHD) and the brightness controls worked fine. Typical Dell. Still learning all about Windows 7 (previous laptop was XP - I skipped Vista).

 

I personally think it's absolutely ridiculous that users can manage what freaking Dell Support can not for a simple CMOS reset. Dell is telling everyone to send laptops in and some techs are BSing about chipset issues.

 

There is no guarantee, but it depends on what the actual issue relates to. Now, without ThrottleStop you will get neutered performance under certain conditions (gaming basically, or maybe heavy 3d modeling that uses GPU and CPU), and you won't draw more power then laptop is set to in the bios (i.e. 90w). So the only way you could exceed this would be with ThrottleStop or something similar. So I doubt that the cause of 7 beep issue is the PSU.

IMO, there is something funky set initially with the Dell install on certain machines which causes this. CMOS reset may put the machine in correct state. This is complete guess though. My box is fine doing the regular Sleep/Hibernate routine (or just sleep) and I do have i7 (q820m).

 

Sorry I meant a 1747...

 

Are you in the US?

 

well, maybe this is no real fix but if it works it is a temporar one, so you can save your files and such i would say

well, my cores run at 933mhz most of the time, only going up on demand
never tried to disable speedstep, and i won't try it
but i heared disabling turbo mode gives linux a performance boost, any way to try this? there seems to be nothing in the bios (A03) to disable turbo mode...

you and 95% of all win-users XD

 

CMOS battery fix seems to have solved the problem for good.

 

Oblomschik, you seem to be a real tweaker looking at what you've been doing so far. If these problems are generic to all 1747 you should have had at least some problems...
I have a few questions that may clear things up a bit.

1) Do you use standby or hybernate for longer periods, like say overnight, and did you ever have problems waking up the 1747?
2) Did you do a fresh install of Windows 7 since you received your 1747?
3) Not sure, but I believe I read you did not update or reset the BIOS, can you confirm?

After doing a lot of reading on the 1747 problems I think there are 2 different problems: one with only 90W of power being available, and another with power saving management settings.
These 2 might come together after a system has been throttled because the 90W limit was reached, but I've seen no confirmation on this.
Maybe people with the 7-beep issue can tell us what they did (had their CPU throttled??) before they received the 7 beeps.
Do the 7-beep issues always happen after standby or hybernate?? (this is what I assume atm)

 

This would support Oblomschik's statement:
there is something funky set initially with the Dell install on certain machines which causes this. CMOS reset may put the machine in correct state.

Good to hear the communies are making progress isolating the cause since there's nothing but a deaffening silence on Dell's side.

 

Yup, Im in the US

 

1. Yeap, usually let the system go to sleep then hibernate overnight. I have not had any issues with the box coming back up. Seems to work very well so far (had the notebook for about 2 weeks).
2. Nope, using default install since there was not really any bloatware to speak of. I uninstalled McAfee, installed Avast AV instead, and uninstalled a few Dell utilities. Then cleaned this out with CCCleaner.
3. Nope, haven't had any issues so did not need to do CMOS reset or anything drastic. More then this, I've been testing overclocking limits on GPU with various utilities as well as running Prime95 for hours (sometimes with Furmark just to load it up).
4. I've been using the ThrottleStop utility, various benchmarking tools and loaded up some games for testing (COD4, Far Cry2, NWN2, DragonAge). With throttlestop and GPU overclock everything is working fine. It's also working fine without any overclocking. I am using 130W PSU, both the newer and the older versions.

In short, other then annoying keyboard flex and media button bar "pop", system been pretty solid. If only I could find the stupid 2nd drive caddy/adapter, that would have been even better. So that's why I kept it instead of returning, although news of HP Envy 17 today have shaken my confidence in that decision .

Edit: Forgot to add. Just buy the 130W PSU if you plan to do some gaming (or any activities with heavy simultaneous CPU/GPU loads). Either PA-13 or PA-4E. The latter is the most compact and the newest of the bunch. They all should work (19.5 volts is the key). System just does not have enough power for everything otherwise, especially with the 1080P screen. Although 130W will only really work if you use ThrottleStop.

 

...and when you login to the website your status says...? "In Production"

 

Hi everyone,

On the Dell Studio 1745, I noticed a very strange FAN behaviour:

When Windows 7 is running, and without any activity (processor < 5%), fan is completly off (0 rpm).
Processor cores temps start at 42°C (107°F) and increases alone, step by step, until 47°C (116°F). Fan then suddently kicks on at 3500 rpm (like an hair dryer) for about 10s (Temps goes down to 42°C) and then stops completly (0 rpm) and so on.
Fan follows short on and off cycles (at no speed to full speed) and processor temperature evolves like sawtooth instead of being stabilized.
After 30 minutes, this cycle happens 1 to 2 times per minute.
Very strange considering the laptop does not work at all...

>> the laptop becomes rapidly useless because you become crazy. I did never see that before:

On a regular laptop, as I usually see, the fan should spin all the time silently at low speed according to low processor activity (in order to stabilize the temperature) and should speed up by steps, according to processor heavier activity, until the temp. comes down again.

The Laptop is up to date (Bios A02, last Dell drivers, Windows updates...).

- How does it work with your laptops ?
- Is it a regular FAN behaviour ?
- any solution ?

Thank you for your help, information or suggestions.

 

Order Status: In Production
Shipping Method: Next Business Day
Estimated Delivery Date: Data Temporarily Unavailable
Carrier: Not Shipped
Tracking Number: Not Shipped

 

Has it always said the temporarily unavailable thing?

 

yup since the order was placed because its an exchange cause the first system dell sent me as soon as i took it out of the box kept crashing and kept getting a BSOD for everything