Dell's XPS 1340 and 1640 get official, latter gets reviewed

The new XPS 1340 and 1640 laptops just appeared yesterday, and now (a mere day late) have been given the blessing of officialdom from Dell. Of course, we already knew all there was to know about them when it comes to specs, so rather more interesting is the first review of the bigger of the two, also called the XPS 16. The 2.4GHz machine scored high marks both when it comes to aesthetics and overall performance, but the thing got a little too hot for comfort, costs a good bit more than the competition, and those glossy screens are always controversial. Overall it sounds like a nice machine if you have the dough -- and don't mind a little glare.

Read - New Dell XPS laptops confirmed
Read - Dell XPS 1640 reviewed

[aeth @ Jan 8th 2009 5:04AM]

It's nice laptop. Shame about the weak GPU (only 3670). But given heat, it doesn't seem the model could take anything more powerful.

[ed. @ Jan 8th 2009 5:13AM]

Well according to the table they provide, the 3670 beats the 9600M GT in the HDX 18T. All the scores in the table were produced from running 3dmark at 1280x800 or 1280x768. I really didn't expect that. Perhaps the score on the HDX18T is just an anomaly.

[Jonyah @ Jan 8th 2009 9:56AM]

I don't feel so bad now about buying the m1330 a couple months ago. Sure, the black looks nicer, and it could be a little faster, but the 1340 starts a full pounds heavier and with the heat issues people are talking about, I have no buyers remorse. There's practically no heat with my 1330 and it's loaded to max (except for an ssd so far).

[Samboini @ Jan 8th 2009 1:59PM]

Agreed, the M1330 ticks every box as far as I'm concerned. One of my best purchases in a long, long time.

[keteracel @ Jan 8th 2009 5:04AM]

Dell and poor thermal control? Never!

(Well apart from my one and only Dell that blew up when the fan died just after the warrenty ran out)

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 8th 2009 5:09AM]

All my Dell are in perfect condition. Anyway, Dell being cheap I can change computer every years and get the best! I dont realy care if its bust after 2-3 years.

(I admit the old inspiron laptop had a quite a bad reputation...)

[Samboini @ Jan 8th 2009 2:00PM]

My Dells only get hot when I block the fan intake. Coincidence?

[Level 5 @ Jan 8th 2009 5:12AM]

Aside from the leather accented exterior and the glossy screen, I kinda dig it.

[distantbody @ Jan 8th 2009 5:16AM]

Those side bars on the screen are distracting.I would not buy it, because of that. Please make them black.

[LloydChiro @ Jan 8th 2009 9:07AM]

No, no. In this era of non-user-replaceable parts, Dell is bucking the trend. If one of the hinges break, you can just get replacements at Home Depot where they keep them in stock.

[Matt @ Jan 8th 2009 11:28AM]

Couldn't agree more. The silver hinges are not good. Also, if it's a task keeping the piano black border of my pioneer TV clean, I can't imagine what it will be like trying to remove fingerprints from the case and palm rest of this thing.

[GenBanks @ Jan 8th 2009 5:16AM]

I'm really glad to see a more performance oriented XPS laptop without garrish, over the top 'gamer' styling. I only wish it had a better graphics card though... if it had a 9800m GT or equivalent/better I'd be thinking of getting one.

[aeth @ Jan 8th 2009 5:33AM]

It hardly handles a relatively low TDP GPU such as the Mobility Radeon HD 3670 (30W TDP). It will never be able to take a Nvidia 9800M series GPU, let alone a 9700M (45W TDP) .

It could however handle an 8700M GT (29W TDP), or even a 9600M GT (23W TDP) (which is generally assumed to outperform the 3670 HD Mobility Radeon).

[Dani @ Jan 8th 2009 5:21AM]

It's not a Dell XPS 1640, it's a Dell Studio XPS 1640.

[CJ @ Jan 8th 2009 8:06AM]

Symantics

[Neha @ Jan 8th 2009 9:13AM]

Is that new subsidiary of Symantec?

[Jeff @ Jan 8th 2009 5:37AM]

I fail to see how this costs more than the competition. This is a 16 inch screen notebook that comes standard with 4GB of DDR3 and a 320GB 7200RPM HDD. There's nothing else on the market like this! Sure compared to other DDR2 laptops it's a bit pricier, but I'd take this any day.

[[e-mail] @ Jan 8th 2009 8:41AM]

A nice bump up from my Sweet XPS m1330, I was hoping for a lil more GPU power but until they start liquid cooling in laptops, heat will always be an issue. But not enough for me to upgrade.
Anyone know if the 1340 has a backlit keyboard? (it doesn't say on the website)
Also does this mean there won't be a true XPS m1330 sucessor, as this studio XPS will take the place?

[Matt at Dell @ Jan 8th 2009 10:14AM]

Hi...Saw your question. Yes, the Studio XPS 13 does come with a backlit keyboard. Here's the description from the product website. Hope this helps:

"Simply luminescent
The Studio XPS 13 shines a light on features that matter. Its backlit keyboard and touch pad buttons are easy to use, day or night. Capacitive multimedia buttons also glow white when activated."

Once you go to the dedicated Studio XPS page on Dell.com click on the Design tab. There, you will find the detials about the backlit keyboard and other features as well.

[Leo @ Jan 8th 2009 12:54PM]

This 1340 is the successor to m1330.

[Cliff @ Jan 15th 2009 11:01AM]

Yes it the Xps Studio comes with a backlight keyboard as standard

[Corinne @ Jan 8th 2009 9:03AM]

The XPS Studio 16 pretty freaking sweet--LED widescreen, 1080p rez, killer looks. PCMag's got a full review (it scores an Editors' Choice!) http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2338322,00.asp

[holycow @ Jan 8th 2009 9:20AM]

lord thats sexy!

[Kevin @ Jan 8th 2009 10:34AM]

The exposed screws on the sides of the display look crappy to me. At least make it try to blend in with the rest of the display, since it draws eyes pretty quickly.

[Jon Doe. @ Jan 8th 2009 6:09PM]

No 17" refresh makes me a sad panda. :-(

[Rob Fraser @ Jan 9th 2009 2:49AM]

Yeah Dell laptops are cheap compared to the other brands in todays market
http://www.aarkstore.com