Seems like all you read are all the negative posts about the Studio XPS 16. Well I think its by far the greatest notebook I have ever owned, and I have owned quite a few in my time.
You never see any threads dedicated to how good a notebook is just how bad. Let this thread discuss ONLY GOOD THINGS about the Dell Studio XPS 16 series
My UK Outlet Dell Studio XPS 16 is due to be with me this week hopefully. Here's what I managed to 'snipe' off the Outlet website:
P8600 2.4Ghz
4GB RAM
320GB HDD
1080p screen
BD
Intel 5300 Wifi Link
TV Tuner
£805
Last night I went to switch on my dell inspiron 9200 and the initial screen with the bar along the bottom came up but subsequently froze.I powered down and started up again and it did the same thing..
After powering down for the second time, nothing came up at all, although certain lights came on ( bluetooth,power,batt etc ) but then it switched itself off without booting.
I see a lot of "can't run CS4" and "can't run 3dsmax" comments, but not so many "CS4 is smoking on my machine" comments. Is poor performance in certain apps a constant with M6400s? I hear a lot of good things about the display, but it won't really be worth it if the machine is slow.
View 10 Replies View RelatedI'm in the process of selling a laptop and looking at the E6400 as a replacement. I was just wondering if you all are happy with your purchase, and would you recommend it? Also, I'm thinking of buying it refurbished; is there anything i should be wary of?
View 10 Replies View RelatedI know people have stated that they are liking there new laptop. My question is more of a what would you do type deal. How does the 1730 perform in vista with wow and world in conflict etc? are u guys having any studdering issues? Reason I'm asking is that im getting ready to pull the trigger on this or a alienware 9750. I have never used vista, my desktop is running xp.
I have read the forums and searched but i want to know how it performs in game. Are you guys missing the horsepower from the 7950? Im just looking for a some advice on what i should do.
This is interesting... a friend of mine just tried to order the SXPS with the i7-820 processor and got denied by Dell. Apparently, the 1645 has been fully discontinued, and Dell will no longer be placing the i7-820 processor in any SXPS form factor. They quoted that due to hardware and power issues as the reason behind discontinuing the 1645 (and replacing it with the 1647) and killing i7-820 support. The sales rep said the only offering will be the Studio series for the i7-820.
As a 1645 owner with the i7-820, this is kinda scary that this laptop has been discontinued this quickly as well as the offering of the 820 series chip. We ended up calling a second time, and another sales rep confirmed the same story.
Anyone get similar information from Dell on this? I'm also wondering if this is a "Dell Canada" thing...
here are my questions:
1. What's the best way to clean the polished black plastic? I know they're prone to finger prints. I also have compressed air...is that ok for cleaning the keys and stuff?
2. Does the blue LED on the power cord annoy the out of anyone else? Anyone got any ideas on removing it? Just wondering...
3. I have 4GB DDR3 RAM. There were were options to upgrade to six and eight GB, but Dell always charges too much for RAM and I decided I could do it myself with premium RAM rather than the junk they use. My question is, I hear there's only two dim slots, so what are my upgrade options? Would 2 x 4GB DDR3 sticks work?
4. I plug my HDMI cord from my TV to my computer and it displays the picture just fine. Vista recognizes the new monitor and works well. Problem is, I can't get it to play sound through the cord. I've tried going into the sound settings and saw that there is a grayed out option for NVIDIA HDMI OUTPUT under the playback tab (screenshot below). How could the computer be recognizing the cord but the sound options say it isn't? Its frustrating because it means the HDMI port is almost useless for me.
Its been 2 years since my last decent lappie, an HP dv9000t C2D t5500..... well I finally had need meet opportunity meet my uber picky tastes.
that and AW never released a black m15x those arses.
Main specs in my sig, scheduled delivery date 5/13
SSD aftermarket of course, fcuk jmicron controlled ssd's FTL
I already know Im gunna love EVERYTHING as hela pimp except the following:
I'm probably gonna buy a SXPS 16 tomorrow or something but I was wondering a fethings and hoped you guys could answer.
1. Is the SXPS 16 uncomfortably hot? If yes, do you think undervolting would make it more bearable? Like a noticeable difference?
2. Is it worth to spend the extra $350 for the ATI 4670 and RGBLED screen? Or I can split it, is it worth to spend $100 for the 4670, or is it worth to spend $250 for the RGBLED screen? And if possible where could I find a cheaper way to get those 2 or one of them? Like a reseller or something. (Sorry that question is long and kinda confusing I guess)
Im getting severely annoyed with Dell now! My order has been in 'pre-production' for 12 days now! Im sick of the constant 'your EDD is 25/2' 'everything is fine' 'your order will be delivered on or before the EDD' from the pretty much non-english speaking Dell reps
Im getting very close to cancelling my order now! My only issue with that is, are there any decent alternatives that you can buy off the shelf? Or at least ones that will be delivered within a week?
A few days ago, I placed an order for the SXPS 13 by going to the direct configuration link on Dells website. I had read a lot of reviews and done my research, and it seemed like the perfect fit for me. I'm starting college this summer and need something that packs a lot of power into a smaller size since I'm majoring in engineering. I also do a lot with music and some of that software can be a real powerhog.
Now after I placed my order I began to read through the SXPS 13 owners lounge thread to look at the pics and just get an idea of what to expect. After reading through the a good portion of the thread, I'm starting to question whether or not I should stick with it. It won't ship for a while since the hard drives aren't available at the moment, so I have a while to change/cancel if I decide to.
So overall, what have your general impressions of the laptop been? Would you reccomend it to a friend? Anything I should be keep an eye out for?
I ordered my SXPS 16 a few days ago. Is there really enough bloatware that it's that important to reformat once I get my laptop, or will simply uninstalling via the Programs & Features menu be sufficient to get rid of the crap I don't want?
Another question: When I get my free Win7 upgrade DVD in October, will it be advisable to reformat then (and can you reformat via an upgrade disk?) or will simply doing an upgrade install of Windows 7 be just fine?
I'd rather avoid the hassle of doing any reformatting, but if bloatware is that big of an issue, then I probably should.
i want to here different type of opinions. (helping a friend with his SXPS 16" which he will get from DELL Solution center)
# is 2GB DDR3 enough for playing DX10 games on a 32.bit Vista home ??? (Bioshock on medium settings)..
# or is it better to install 3GB (single channel) for Vista 32.bit then 2GB dual channel ???
For 2 months I been having trouble with my CD-ROM ... every time I insert a disc it wont read and sounds like a dying weedwacker !
First time, dell sent tech with a replacement drive ... that didn't work so the tech called dell and recommended another a drive swap and a replacement mobo... so when the parts came in the tech got lazy and didn't want to do the mobo swap ... (understandable the SXPS 13 got a lot of screws lol), I didn't care how he did it , just get it working
And so he did, I was able to play a DVD and that was good enough for me, so later that day I went to install Microsoft Home & Student '07 and the I still having the same problem !!!!!
So I got a screwdriver and went in myself, and made sure it was probably aligned with the connectors and was in place ... which it was so I don't know what's wrong with it ... I spent a couple hours making sure it wasn't software related and it's not .... and this was a month and a half ago
I'm an Engineering student and work 2 jobs and so I don't have time to deal with this B.S. and forgot about it and now I got part of a project that I got to do ... I got no word and powerpoint !
Now the first 2 attempts I had with dell to correct this issue was B.S. the reps wanted to take control of my computer ... I did, went to the bathroom and came back .... This Bi*ch was on my Facebook page ! ... I polity told her that I had class and will be dealing with this another time
I so fed up with this machine, before this I had:
2 keyboard replacements
1 palmrest replacement
1 Lid/screen replacement ... They promise to upgrade to an LED screen and arctic white but never the LED
And to top it all off, I think my suck a** wireless card just crapped out on me ... it won't work, It keeps dropping the connection and won't refresh itself
I'm at the point to I want a system replacement ... I rally don't want too but I think I got a Lemon, I should I let them fix what's wrong or should I ask for a replacement
Is this even enough to warrant a replacement ... they mite just give me a 1640 ... the only con I have with that is it's size but hey ... whatever
On the front of teh laptop there are 4 icons:
Disc Access
Bluetooth
WiFi
What's the 4th one?
i just got my laptop yesterday. Just a question, how do I know whether all my drivers are up to date. Is there a driver check tool ......
View 3 Replies View RelatedSo a few days ago I tried to boot up my machine and it did nothing after the BIOS screen. I had to hold the power button to get it do shut off. After a few minutes I tried to reboot and Vista tried to fix the problem which it indicated it couldn't. So I tried to do a system restore and it failed. In fact it failed on every point I tried.
The next day the system seemed to be running normally so I just figured it was a fluke. Then the next day Vista booted but I had no desktop icons, all programs initialized with errors and nothing was responding. So I rebooted and backed up my data.
I then downloaded Active Hard Disk Monitor and was shocked to see my Raw read error rate was 57% and my seek error rate was 66%! So I contacted Dell tech support and was instructed to run their diagnostics. The initial test indicated an inverter cable issue but the HDD passed all tests.
So my question is shoudl I be concerend about the SMART feedback info or should I rely on Dells diagnostics? My concern is that their diagnostics may only flag a problem if the drive is really close to death not just on its way. I plan on reinstalling the OS but don't want to spend the effort if this drive is going to be on its way out.
Whenever my laptop is on a flat service such as a desk I get incredible vibration and distortion from what seems to be the subwoofer in front, even at low volumes. Is this normal? Seems kind of silly...
View 3 Replies View Relatedi got lots of dusts stuck on the surface beside the speakers... i was wondering if anyone could show me the way to get rid of the dust...
View 4 Replies View RelatedI'm getting my SXPS 16 soon and I know it gets really hot. So can you give me the best cooler for it at a resonable budget?
View 9 Replies View RelatedI buy the SXPS 16 with a 4670 the minute it is released in Canada and configure it to as closely to my current config as possible.
When it comes in, I manually swap the HDDs from my current SXPS 16 to the new one.
Would this allow me to get around installing Windows and all my programs? Once I swap the HDDs and turn on the new laptop, will it boot up as if it was the old one, but with newer hardware?
And I'd just like to vent my frustration that I can't order the SXPS with the 4670 and a T9800/T9900 in Canada yet
I've read that GDDR3 is better than DDR3 (regular) in terms of performance. Which one does the SXPS 16 with an ATi 4670 in Canada have?
View 5 Replies View RelatedI have searched different combination of keywords and have been unable to locate any thread related to installation of Windows 7 on SXPS 13.
Could I someone please point me to the right direction?
I am beyond my 30 days so i guess a return is out of the question? I am really not happy with it.
I didn't notice it too much because i got used to leaving it on my lap on top of a laptop bag ... so i don't feel any heat.
But it is soooo hot that i literally cannot even hand it to my wife, it would burn her.
The hot zones are all along the back, all along the left side, and the bottom on the left side.
I am dreading calling dell customer support, i know it is horrible for personal products
I posted here a few months ago about a SLI problem in Vista that was resolved. I have recently installed Windows 7 and have been having more SLI problems. I've installed many different Nvidia drivers from laptopvideo2go, from Dell, and from the Nvidia website.
My problem is that I have a huge performance increase under Power Save rather than Performance Mode.
What I believe is causing this is that when I am running in Performance Mode, it only runs off the 9200 which is slower than the 9400. It doesn't actually use both cards together.
I've noticed significant FPS drop and rendering issues while in Performance Mode while playing Call of Duty 5 and more recently, Dragon Age. However, when I go into Power Save, I get a significant boost in FPS and virtually no rendering issues .....
I'm new to these forums and also to my new XPS-16. I'm here to ask the wise gurus of these forums for some help.
Does Dell automatically install the newest drivers onto your laptop or do you have to do it yourself.
Anyone knows how to verify if the subwoofer is working? Listening to the audio coming out of the laptop,
I can't tell if the subwoofer is outputting any sound. Is there a way to disable the speakers and just have the subwoofer active (aside from taking the laptop apart and disconnect cables).
I just realized that the port on the right side of this laptop that I typically use as USB also doubles as an ESATA port. I have a 1TB external that supports eSATA but didn't come with a cable *sigh*.
Can a normal 5400 RPM 2.5" laptop HDD even reach speeds that make it worthwhile to use eSATA instead of USB? Or am I just better off using the drive over USB and living with the slow speeds?
Probably stupid question, but is it possible to install a nVidia chip into the SXPS 16?
View 8 Replies View Related