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    Some questions about my SXPS 13

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by CvcDrk, Mar 15, 2009.

  1. CvcDrk

    CvcDrk Notebook Consultant

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    I asked them in the owner's thread but nobody seemed interested in answering, unfortunately. It IS a big topic to keep up with.

    Anyway, 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.

    Thanks for any help, guys!
     

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    CvcDrk, Mar 15, 2009
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  2. DJY

    DJY Notebook Guru

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    2.High quality black electrical tape applied like a professional?Black shrink tubing?
    4.Plug your HDMI cord in to the PC and TV- go to sound options and right click on the HDMI and set as default. Do this before you open your media player or inserting your DVD. Remember to reset your default to speakers/headphones when your done.
     
    DJY, Mar 15, 2009
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  3. jeremysdad

    jeremysdad Notebook Evangelist

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    #1: Wax it with car wax, and then everything just kinda buffs off easily with a soft cloth, no cleaner required.

    #2: Was answered in the other thread. Just wrap some tape around it if ti annoys you. Personally, I think it's nifty.

    #3:two four gig sticks is the only option to get eight. There are in fact only two DIMM slots. Replace one 2 with a four to get 6G. There are no threes.

    #4: Not sure, but I saw this discussed in the forums earlier. Just search HDMI, and the recent discussion should come up. It was solved, and was exactly what you are asking here.

    Enjoy your new machine!!! They're pretty sweet...
     
    jeremysdad, Mar 15, 2009
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  4. CvcDrk

    CvcDrk Notebook Consultant

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    I can't seem to find any 4GB DDR3 dimms anywhere. Even newegg doesn't seem to have them...or maybe I'm just insane.
     
    CvcDrk, Mar 16, 2009
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  5. moose

    moose Notebook Evangelist

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    moose, Mar 16, 2009
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  6. Aaronharmon

    Aaronharmon Notebook Enthusiast

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    They will cost half that much in 6 months lol
     
    Aaronharmon, Mar 16, 2009
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  7. nu_D

    nu_D Notebook Deity

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    Hey man... you've got the same exact setup I am thinking of getting- what sort of temperatures are you getting? What's your battery life like? Both just under normal browsing/listening to music.... thanks!

    I would try to answer your questions but they've been answered! :)
     
    nu_D, Mar 16, 2009
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  8. fernandez21

    fernandez21 Notebook Consultant

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    i would wait maybe a year or so to upgrade the ram. Thats my plan, my processor and grafics card are top end and I will upgrade to a SSD (hopefully 512gb) and 8gb RAM in a year or two when they're alot cheaper.
     
    fernandez21, Mar 16, 2009
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  9. CvcDrk

    CvcDrk Notebook Consultant

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    Temps are not too bad. I don't game so most of the time is playing like Chess while browsing and listening to music...sometimes watching movies. Nothing seems to stress it enough to get it super hot, but I have settings on low performance to maximize battery life (I carry it around the house lol).

    Overall, it can get hot with hours on hours of use, but I have managed to avoid it getting super hot.
     
    CvcDrk, Mar 22, 2009
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  10. jb1007

    jb1007 Full Customization

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    For the exterior and interior of the laptop, use mr. clean multi surface cleaner, just spray it on and wipe it off with a good absorbing paper tower. It takes off all the finger prints and also takes oil off the keys and protects it for a small period against oil build up. Once you've wiped it off, get out the compressed air and blow away any excess liquid that might be lying around. Don't use the multi surface cleaner on the lcd though, water is fine.
     
    jb1007, Mar 22, 2009
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  11. moose

    moose Notebook Evangelist

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    the LCD is covered by plastic u can use whatever to clean it..
     
    moose, Mar 22, 2009
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