So without realizing it I let the warranty on my SXPS 1640 run out in February. I found out when the hard drive crashed March 1st. No big deal I know how to replace a HD and it is not worth the fight to try and get the warranty extended since I was a day past.
However the next week I get the BIOS message about the AC Adapter is not recognized on boot.
After doing research for 2 weeks now I know it could be 1 of 3 things, battery, adapter, or motherboard.
This makes me sick at my stomach. I have been a loyal Dell customer for 5 years and I finally get a lemon.
I recently took advantage of a 20% off coupon for computers from the Dell Outlet.
I ordered a Studio XPS 1640 that included a 128GB solid state hard drive.
Shortly after the computer arrived I started having weird problems. At first I thought it was because I had installed the Windows 7 RC, but eventually I tried re-installing Vista and the same problems were happening (in other words, I spent a lot of time on this). I began to suspect a hard drive problem.
Finally, I called Dell support and while I was on the phone (for over an hour) the hard drive failed. OK...that was Monday and she sent me a replacement hard drive that arrived yesterday.
I installed the new hard drive and the first thing I did was go into the BIOS and it recognized the hard drive, so all was good so far. Next I went into the diagnostic and it came up with a hard drive error. I called Dell and after trying some diagnostics and re-seating the hard drive it was clear that the hard drive wasn't working - it was no longer even showing up in the BIOS .....
I've ben waiting patiently(ish) for my delivery from Dell, and using the status page I've managed to follow it for so far, but the last action updated was on the 26th, nothing since........................................
So I plan to take advantage of Dell deals and order a 15. I've got it configured with the 1GB ATI card.
What I can't decide is between better screen, or better processor. I have to come in under $1,000 shipped, and can't have both.
15.6” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife (Standard) 15.6” Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife [add $75] ......
I have the computer listed in my signature and I'm getting a replacement in a few weeks, and I do not yet know what the specs are. I am very hesitant about getting this replacement because of the bad experiences I have had with this computer so far. The rep offered me a full refund but that meant I would have to go a certain amount of time without a computer. I then told him just continue to process my current replacement, then when I received that, I would decide whether or not I would want to keep it. He then told me that he would expedite the current repair and it wouldn't be a problem to receive a refund in the future. The only problem I have is deciding what would be better than the SXPS, that I could buy for approx $2,200? Should I go alienware? Is the nvidia card in the M15X better than the ATI 4670? I guess I just have so many unanswered questions.
Any other difference other than turbo? For my uses I really don't see where turbo is going to be beneficial. My most demanding task is encoding where all four cores are going to be used so turbo will be moot. Anything I am missing here? I don't do enough encoding to justify the i7, IMHO day to day performance will be better with the higher clocked 1i3/i5. $75 difference.
IGP vs. Dedicated
No gaming so no dedicated card needed? One thing I am really liking with my current rig is the nvidia GPU with flash 10.1 enabling support for it. If I am understanding this correctly the GMA4500 is supported so it should be fine. Main thing is HD youtube videos, I noticed a tremendous difference once I installed the beta. $110 difference.
A friend of mine just purchased a Dell Studio 15 and I realized the Dell Dock on it would be a useful app for my XPS M1530 as well.
However, I've been reading past posts and articles saying that the Dell Dock has bugs and is not as stable as other freely available ones like Objectdock, Rocketdock, and Stardock.
There are a couple of things I couldn't find here despite the FAQs and all the posts I read. They are:
- My pc came with the T2500 cpu (that's a core duo). Is it possible to fit in a core 2 duo in this motherboard? If not, which motherboard should I get from ebay?
- I want (or rather, desperately need) to replace my ATI x1400. I can get a geforce 7950 at ebay, but they cost about $400. I also found the quadro fx1600m, which is a DirectX 10 card (probably a 8xxxm?) and for much less money. Does the fx1600m work with the e1705? the guy in this post fitted one but didn't work with internal LCD. Does it make any sense? Should I risk it and buy one?
I had a chat recently with a Dell rep and he said that basically the only way to get any sort of warranty (in Canada) is to show definitive signs of malfunction on the GPU.
Recently the left side of my computer has been incredibly hot, and annoying to lay my wrists on the palm rest areas (ironic, I know).
Anyway he told me to do the FN + power button combination to boot up and it would run the diagnostic test to determine if anything was wrong .....
I am intending to buy a Vostro 1320, I will use it for text editing, Internet surfing, occassional photoediting, so I don't have high hardware demands only that computer works smoothly.
There are some things which I dont understand:
1) they offer processors with fsb 800 Mhz and fsb 1066 Mhz, but the RAM memory works on 800 Mhz
I am prepared to pay for little bit better processor but do I have advantage of better CPU when I have slower Ram ?
2) they have also half-height and full-height wireless card, is it some particular advantage with half-height ?
3) is it worth to buy 256 MB Nvidia instead of onboard Intel X4500MHD graphics card, and as I said my demands on graphics are not so high ?
I found a decent priced 1555 on the outlet store so have ordered it (coming in about 2 weeks)
it says on the order form its loaded with vista. I have a retail copy of windows 7 which i bought at luanch and is installed onto my other laptop. i m looking to sell this laptop (i have a retail version of vista i can put on it) how do i go about putting my windows 7 onto the new dell as the liscence is on the old laptop
my business partner dropped her XPS 1330 and cosmetically damaged the case and cover.
we have Complete Care and Next Business Day coverage. phoned in the claim and Dell advised that NBD only applies to hardware failure due to Dell and not a dropped machine
I've had a search through the forums and see quite a lot of posts discussing upgrading processors on the 1525, but I'm still unclear as to my options when it comes to upgrading the processor.
I use my 1525 (with 4Gb ram) for video editing a lot, and now I'm using HD, rendering is taking hours and hours, despite using another PC to assist via the network.
I've been having problems with my Inspiron where it beeps constantly after POST. It's the equivalent of holding down a key continuously, which I think is so because at Windows login prompt my password is already completely filled with *
This started happening after I placed and removed the Admin, System and HDD passwords in Dells BIOS setup. I cannot say if this is the cause, but it is when I 1st experienced the beeps.
My "W" key is behaving erratic, from not working @ all some time to constantly appearing on screen as if I pressed it (e.g in a DOS prompt window without typing anything "w"s would recurringly appear, and also inbetween text as I type).
Dell offered to replace my XPS m1330 that I got from the outlet because I've already had 2 screens replaced(got laptop 3 monts ago). Should I keep it or exchange it for the SXPS 13?
I'm concerned about the overly blown up heat issues. Is the heat that bad with just the 9400m or is it only for the 9500m.
What other issues should I be concerned about the SXPS 13?
What is the average battery life(balanced, 50% brightness, browsing, youTube videos .....
Anyone do it yet? I read that someone run linux, so am assuming XP can be done...I am game for trying if someone can just point me in the right direction...Will the webcam, face recognition etc work?
EDIT: Before people start flaming me, I have gone through the 1640 owners thread as much as I could.. thing just keeps getting fatter by the minute...
I was watching something on youtube when I noticed a small dust-like spot/dot on the screen and i tried cleaning it off but it wouldn't go away. It looks to be inside the screen (if that makes any sense) and is evident when there is a black background/or when the comp is off. So my question to you is
Does the 1640 play GTA IV well? In the official owners forum (1640 w/4650) somebody said its very sluggish but from youtube vids it appeared to play it very well. Can anyone confirm that it plays well at a modest resolution (WXGA)
im new here just wanna ask about my new xps studio laptop..
i bought it with a 64bit vista OS, the problem is i cant install a cad software because its for 32bit..can i install my laptop with a 32 bit OS? would it be no problem regarding my drivers?
I know there is two partitions on my harddrive; one for everything (C and the other is recovery (D..
When I use my vista disc that it came with does it automatically do it for me or do I select which partition to reformat (or reformat both partitions)?
Then what do I do with the drivers disc? install during reformat or after?
I received my new XPS 1640 (2.1gHz, 4GB ram, 512mb vid, Vista 64bit) on Thurs. April 2nd.
Worked fine and dandy over the weekend, but then Monday the 6th I contacted Dell through their customer service feature and their rep took control of my computer trying to update the BIOS ....
Suppose I purchase one today at full retail price. Then, in say a week, there's a 20% (or whatever) coupon that comes out, or they go on sale.
Can I call Dell and ask for the difference? I know they have a 21 (or whatever) day return policy, so I would imagine the sale or coupon would have to come within that time frame.
Another question: Does the return policy time begin when I order or when it ships or when I receive it? .
I just recently bought a XPS 1640, and I am wondering if I have chosen the right hardware for the laptop. I'm a college freshman, so I need a long lasting laptop with good battery life and hard drive space.
Here are the specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3M L2 Cache) 4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm for XPS 1640 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 900p HD+ WLED LCD W/2.0MP, XPS 1640 ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB 320GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive Intel 5100 Wireless-N (1x2) Half Mini-Card 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery
Is this a good combination of hardware? I know a TAD bit about computers, but not any in depth stuff.
