Dell Studio XPS 1640 ordered today

Well, today I took the plunge. I ordered the following configuration XPS 1640:

CPU: Intel T9550 (2.66 Ghz, 6MB L2, 1066 Mhz)

Display: RGBLED

HDD: 256GB SSD

RAM: 4GB DDR3

Optical Drive: Blu-Ray

Scheduled to ship 3/31/09.

Final cost: 2044.46

Sales Experience

When I tried to purchase this through the website I ran into 2 issues.

First, there is a special that allows Blu-Ray to be added for $49. However, I was in the Member Discount section (to get my Dell Discount through my employer) and there it wanted $170 for the Blu Ray.

Second, the shopping cart in that section would not communicate properly with my Payment method.

So, I used the "click to call" option on the website. The service was fast and courteous, and they manually applied the right discounts and got my order properly entered into the system.


Once it arrives I will post the usual box opening and performance testing information. I am especially curious to see the following:

1) Does the SSD affect temperature? If so, how much?

2) Performance and temp before and after I rebuild the image to get rid of the extraneous apps Dell includes and also to optimize Vista for SSD use.

 

where did you find that $49. deal for the bluray?

 

Here is the non EPP page for it:

http://www.dell.com/content/product...op-studio-xps-16?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

And the EPP page is:

http://www.dell.com/content/product...-studio-xps-16?c=us&cs=6099&l=en&s=eep&~ck=mn

 

An addendum to the Sales Experience.

I was just notified by email (and have verified it on the Dell order status site) that I am receiving a $100 Dell gift card.

Not bad, I may use it for a carrying bag for the notebook.

 

Another addendum.

I selected the Free Shipping Option (3-5 Business Days). Dell changed it to Next Business Day while keeping it free.

Strange. Is this what usually happens with Dell (perks suddenly being added)?

 

Congrats on your new purchase mate, i got mine in the mail afew days ago, exactly one week after placing the order with the sales consultant.
To be honest im extremely happy with Dells service, i didnt get a free giftcard but did recieve free express shipping and also recieved 3 different phonecalls during the week it took to arrive from customercare informing me at each stage what was happening with the progress of the notebook. And the fact tha to recieve a notebook a week after ordering it is already an great accomplishment in my book.
Enjoy it when it arrives, i was gobsmacked when i removed it from the boxing lol.

 

Exactly how it should be lol :smile:

 

That's what you get for paying a premium - you are buying an XPS, after all.
Good luck with your new notebook . Your 2nd test sounds interesting...

 

Dell doesn't seem to include that much extra software on the SXPS 16

 

Not much of a premium as it turns out. I could not find a comparably rigged out notebook at a lesser price.

 

i have epp through my university, but i went to the 1st link you posted and didnt see anything that said 49 dollars for bluray? is it gone already? I configgured and saw it for 150!!!!



-Nevermind, I found IT!

 

Joelist -- I can't believe your Dell experience was so effortless. I tried to place an order for a similar configuration today, and it was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. All I did was try to get the $49 Bluray upgrade with the 7% member discount and the 4% DPA discount (all available on the EPP site), but correcting the website issues turned out to be a nightmare.

The story is very long, but to sum it up: I have spoken with over 8 different people today who have transferred me all over. I had the DPA discount denied AFTER I had already applied for the account and placed the order. I was told that because I lived in Florida, I qualified for a free upgrade to the 2 year warranty, but I was still charged an extra $200 and they couldn't figure out how to remove the charge ("I'm getting an error message"). I've been asked to hold while the rep investigates or changes something, then been hung up on -- twice. I was curteous and patient on the phone, and all of the reps were nice, but they just couldn't get the errors/discounts fixed and I think they just hung up in frustration.

I have learned that I will only place orders with Dell via their website from now on. I've bought multiple computers from them before (all via the web), and I've never had to use sales, techincal support or CS over the phone. If the sales experience is this poor, I dread to think what CS/tech support would be like after purchase.

The only positive is that I learned from one of the reps that the 1640 should be an upcoming deal in the 10 days of deals promo, so if you're considering a purchase, keep your eyes open.

After endless frustration, I canceled my order. Sorry for the rant. I hope others have more success.

 

Let me describe what I did and you can compare methods.

Once I realized the website pricing for the BluRay on the EPP side was in error, I first made sure I knew all the customizations I wanted.

Then, I used the "click to call" function while in the EPP pages to call their sales force. Once speaking to the correct rep (they had to transfer me to EPP) I explained the website issue. The rep asked me where the webpage in question was and I told him (this was so he could log the error for the website folks).

He then took my order with all of my modifications, adjusted the order for the EPP discount and added an additional manual discount to bring the Blu-Ray addon to $49. Order was processed, and I was also assigned a dedicated XPS rep as a single point of contact throughout the process.

If was after this was concluded (total time 50 minutes) that I got the email about the gift card and they also upgraded the shipping.

Hope that helps.

 

Also, if the 1640 comes up as a discount and that discount is bigger than the EPP contact Dell. They have been known to adjust the pricing after the fact.

 

Eyup...and EPP...is supposed to match and beat Dell's home site pricing.


Cin

 

I'm feeling pretty miffed after reading some of the other experiences. I've been an XPS buyer since gen 1. I had a system configured online with a ship date of 19 March. Had a question about something and used the chat feature to ask it. During the chat, the sales person tells me that the ship date would be 1-2 days earlier if I complete the sale over the phone instead of through the website. OK, let's do it then.

So now I seeing a delivery date of 2 April! To add insult to injury, I'm seeing all these freebies and much faster delivery times just being given away to others.

My emails to the salesperson who convinced me to go their route are not being answered. I would not have made the purchase if the delivery date was going to be April 2nd because I need a new computer long before then.

I've always had GREAT experiences with Dell, but this one isn't starting out all that great.

 

Perhaps a difference was that I called Sales and had a specific issue with the website that prevented me from executing the purchase there. That may have had them in "resolve potential customer issue" mode from the start.

 

Well, just got off from another chat session; the sales person tried to deny what was said before even though he had a copy of the previous chat session. If I buy from Dell again (I've had 10+ Dells before), I will definately NOT use their chat or phone sales.

I finally realized what is going on with the $49 bluray and $100 gift card. The other night I specked out my machine starting from the "Best" option where those two offers are available. Later on, just for giggles, I configured the same exact computer using the "good" option and found I could get the same machine for $200 less. So if you aren't going to get the blueray, build from the "good" option. Otherwise, you're just funding someone else's blueray

 

Well, I just customized my build from all three options - they all work out to the exact same price, except I got a $100 gift card for starting on a higher option.

As to which one to build from, compare what you want with the options. If you are going to push it equal to or past 'better', then start there. That way you get a $100 gift card in the bargain.

 

Nice specs enjoy that system! Especially that SSD

 

Out of curiosity, what test tools do you guys recommend for the testing?

I figured PC Mark and 3D Mark vantage for the basics, but what about temperature and HDD speeds?

 

Is Speedfan considered a good temp measuring tool?

 

I use the Hardware Monitor. It works fine. I would recommend it. btw i love this machine.

 

Hi,

The adventures of the XPS 1640 have had a couple of new episodes.

Last week, I was in Los Angeles on business and Dell called to tell me they had shipped the XPS 1640. As it would arrive when I was not there to sign for it, there was a potential issue. Well, the XPS rep called Fedex and had the delivery delayed until the 23rd.

However, they had it at the Fedex facility so I was able to go get it yesterday. So, now we can begin the evaluation...

 

First Impressions

The packaging is impressive, and in fact reminds of how Apple packages their laptops. The XPS box is a black suitcase type box with plastic inserts that hold everything in place. The discs (and there are discs for everything) are packaged in a nice cardboard sleeve box and the laptop itself comes in a black cloth bag (very nice).

The laptop itself looks REALLY sharp. I examined it closely and the workmanship looks excellent as well (no loose hinges or the like). I'll post pics later.

How does it work?

First thing to note here is that there are actually two scenarios I looked at.

One was "out of the box". Amazingly there was almost no bloatware in evidence. The Dell Dock is bloatware I suppose, and I did get rid of it. A negative was the number of reboots I had to do because of software updating - note to Dell please be sure the OS image is kept fully up to date.

I did also notice that performance was not up to snuff at all. Bootup was taking 70 seconds, which with an SSD is unacceptable. As it turned out, the big culprit was (big surprise) Norton Internet Security. I pulled it off and replaced it with Windows Live One Care, and performance skyrocketed. Boot time went to 29 seconds for example.

So killing Norton was part of my second scenario. I also implemented the suggestions in the OCZ form about optimizing Vista for SSD, but did not reinstall Windows as the XPS build is relatively bloatware free.

Under the second scenario I am seeing SSD type performance. Apps open and run almost instantly and so forth.

Temperature

One thing I wanted to see was if SSD would impact temperature, as SSD run VERY cool.

The answer is yes.

I have had SpeedFan running at all times, and even under heavy load for proloned times the CPU has not gone above 34C. The palm rests and such never get hot, and the only hot area I can find is on the bottom under the mousepad.

My guess is that removing the additional heat load created by a mechanical HDD brings the total system heat output into an area the ventilation arrangements can handle.

And I should note that I do not use a cooling pad.

RGBLED

In a word Wow!

First, I have not seen any of the issues with reds or vibrant colors reported here.

Second, this display is amazing. For example, one of the Vista wallpapers has a grassy area on it. In this display it looks REAL. I also played a BD on it (Pirates of the Caribbean 1) and it looked amazing. The display does appear to be fully backlit with no dark areas.

Other things

The keyboard is very nice. The backlighting makes the keys easy to identify, and the keys themselves have a good feel to them and respond properly. The LED buttons across the top are clever, but there is an issue in that inadvertent hand motions could do something unfortunate (like turn off the Wifi ).

The mouse pad is more or less normal fare for a pointer device, and I am getting used to it.


So, overall this is quite a canoe!


One thing to note. My XPS 1640 had a configuration error in the WiFi minicard. It was causing the laptop to take a LONG time to acquire my network, and for thruput to be slow. One call to XPS support resolved the issue in about 20 minutes, so I cannot complain.

 

I got nearly the same configuration as you...I'm glad to see such a positive impression to it.

I got McAfee instead of Norton, but I expect to either install One Care or Avast. Not sure how it'll affect it yet.

 

Based on experience I classify Norton as a virus.

 

I should note that the WiFi issue resurfaced. I have detailed its resultion in a separate thread, but basically Dell has decided to replace the whole laptop (Wow!).

 

So how will they go about doing that? Ship you one and you ship the old one back, or you ship first? It seems counterproductive for you to send the old one first, unless you were getting the new one the same day or next day.

 

Make absolutely sure they are not sending you a refurb. It has happened in the past.

p.s. I was looking at this laptop but I found the HP dv6t to be a better overall value with a better graphics card.

 

Actually the XPS 1640 is a better value. Faster CPU, faster chipset, higher frequency RAM, Solid State HDD and better display.

And no they are not sending a refurb. My laptop is a custom build, and is therefore kind of hard to refurb.

 

Agreed. I saw the HP at Best Buy and was very unimpressed. I had been deciding between the HP HDX16 and the 1640, and my trip to Best Buy really helped sway me (that and the SSD).

Joe, are you undervolting this? If so, could you possibly walk me through the process and what your settings are so that you don't jeopardize stability?

 

No undervolting at all.

As I theorized in another thread, the fact that the SSD has no heat output of its own brings the total heat output of the system down to where the airflow that already exists can handle it.

 

The replacement BRAND NEW Studio XPS 1640 arrived today.

Though ordered for me by Dell XPS Customer Care, it was built in the XPS queue to identical specifications as the original. And so far the wireless works fine - no hiccups.

 

So do you believe that the SSD makes a big enough difference to go for it even with the price tag? I am going to have money after my graduation party and work so I feel like i should go for it. Are the speed and temperature benefits enough to make it worthwhile? How does the system as a whole do on battery life? Does the SSD improve it?

Thanks

 

From all of my research, it improves on average of 15-30 minutes. I think it's tough to compare on a personal level, since we're not buying two machines (most of us, anyway)...you can compare it here, but we all use it for different things.

One thing I'd do if I were you, is get a nine-cell battery (when it goes on sale from Dell or on eBay). I'm sure you've thought of this already, but with their deal last night, I ordered two and spent about $50 less than what one normally costs.

Joe has said that the temperature is VERY cool with the SSD. When I get mine (tomorrow), I'll be able to shed some light on that too.

 

Alright cool, let us know...

I think I see the "deal" you were talking about... an additional 9-cell battery for only 80 bucks more... not too bad, I think it was like 150-180 before. What wireless card are you getting with it? Does it really matter than much?

Thanks,

 

The SSD makes quite a difference in performance. The whole notebook feels more responsive and snappy. Plus the low temp of a SSD means the notebook runs cooler.

 

Two quick questions for you guys that are buying the Studio XPS 16:

What is the Windows Vista Rating of the PC?
What warranty are you guys going with?

Thanks

 

Totally concur. Once I got rid of McAfee...I mean, it was fast before...but *wow*. I'm speechless.