I had an Inspiron 1420 and I installed Windows 7, I could not get the wifi working with the dell drivers, so I had to reformat my entire computer. I was able to sell my 1 year old Inspiron 1420 for $525 on ebay. Then I found notebookreview.com and the fourms, now I am happier than ever that I did!
Received my scratch and dent studio xps 13 from Dell
Ordered on Tuesday 4/21/09 at midnight. Arrived 4/24/09 7:55pm Friday
Shipped from Tennessee to Pennsylvania
Specs: Studio XPS 13
P8600 2.4ghz
4gb ddr3
320gb 7200rpm
WLED screen
Wifi 1515 n
Bluetooth
Cost: $729 dell outlet + 15% off coupon (expires 5/1/09)
With tax and shipping $656
Time on Dell Outlet website hitting the refresh button: 3 hours to find the studio xps 13 outlet pc for $729 with WLED screen
Most had LCD.. so I had to keep checking every 5 minutes for a couple of hours
Looks:
Looked almost brand new when I opened it up
one word.. awesome.. design is very sharp looking, blacklit keys are really nice
Small surface scratches hardly noticeable on the top of the laptop..have to look at it in the light at a certain angle to notice the scratches. When I opened it up it looked really nice, keyboard is brand new, no scratches of any kind on the inside.
Design: Very good, I have no wobbling problems, on a flat table now.. no issues. When you open this up the keyboard seems pretty big.. It definitely does not feel like a 13 inch laptop.. the keyboard looks like it could be on a 15 inch laptop. Lots of extra space for your palms etc
Weight: not a problem at all even if you had to carry it with you
Keyboard: Typing on it now.. Definitely there is a learning curve to it as I am used to smaller keyboard with the keys closer. I watched that video of the other person showing keyboard keys were loose.. I noticed that some keys are looser than others but as I am typing on it now I have no problems whatsoever. After 20 minutes I noticed the oil from my fingers showing as smudges on every single key (again only in certain light can you see this) but it does not bother me at all. The sound buttons and eject button works great on the keyboard
Trackpad: Very small, learning curve here also but its not a deal breaker. Very responsive
Monitor: LED screen is beautiful and totally kills my old Inspiron 14 inch LCD. So clear and bright
I would not trade it for anything, also looks brand new. I did notice that the monitor hardly blocks the fan on the bottom.. not a problem. The heat on the left of the monitor is slightly warm but not hot. The 1200x800 display is the perfect size for the monitor
Heat: I received the laptop, put in my 64bit windows cd and reinstalled, then upgraded the bios to A06 Both cores run between 41 and 45 C , Have noticed this creeping up to 50 C sometimes but never over 50
A little warmer than other laptops I have used but not a problem at all. The laptop feels warm (but I would not say it is hot.. Even if I put my hand under the laptop it is only warm. The palm rests are comfortable and slightly warm but nothing bad. When I was doing the windows reinstall from the cd, when I put my hand under it, it was very hot.. the A06 bios update really helped cool it down!
Performance: Fastest laptop I have ever used and now owned.
Add/Remove programs loads in less than second.
Word, Excel, Powerpoint load in 2 seconds
If I hit the power button and put this into sleep mode.. walk away and then open up the lid again, it comes back up in less than 3-5 seconds.
Windows vista 64 loads very quickly
Sound: Good and loud, same as any other laptop
Fan: Bios A06 update seems to have the fan running all the time now.. I do not have any problem with it. It is very quiet and it does not run 100% of the time either
Battery Life: Regular 6 cell battery.. not sure how old this battery is but I think with wifi on, Screen brightness on max, giving me 2 1/2 hours
Might need to upgrade to the 9 cell in the future, but it works fine for now
HDMI: Plugged it into the tv.. looks really nice but I cannot get sound to work yet.. I was trying to play a tv show from fox.com through Internet Explorer.. Video worked very good, but sound was not working.. still need to look into this more............
Just ordered a S&D M1710 from the Dell Outlet with a 7600G chip (woo) and 7950GTX to replace my "ailing" off-warranty Gen2. I also ordered a three year warranty with CompleteCare, something I *didn't* get on the Gen2.
I'm expecting the scratches and/or dents will be superficial at best, and I can deal with that. If the notebook was heavily damaged I'd assume Dell would just junk it and sell the salvageable parts as "refurbished." Should they *not* be, however...
1) Does CompleteCare "cover" damage that was already done to the notebook at point of sale? If the notebook is damaged beyond my level of comfort, does CompleteCare cover its repair, since I'm assuming it'll be a lid or chassis problem. Or is this a case of "someone else broke it, and *you* bought it?" I would think the logic of the situation would be that (and please do not read into this as I'm not this type of person) if I damaged the notebook myself accidentally, I assume they wouldn't just fix the dents *I* put in it. =/
2) If the "damages" are severe, does the Outlet have the same 21 day return policy (or *any* return policy) regardless of whether an item is refurbished, off-lease, or S&D? EDIT: Found the answer to this one myself, it's the same return policy with a possible 15% restocking fee.
3) Could anyone with *past buying experience* (or knows someone and can recount their experience) with the Outlet please tell me what to expect and how your refurb or S&D part arrived?
4) Not a question, but yes I'm aware I bought an "older" and therefore "non-1337" model. I don't much care about DX10 at the moment, and also didn't feel like spending 2500 for a new notebook that is *slower* graphically than my 7800GTX was or 3500+ on a SLI 8800GTX setup and gives me more pain in driver support. Sufficed to say, the difference between 1900 dollars and 2500-3500+ dollars is not "slight." So if you're going to post in here and say something to the effect of "why didn't you buy a 1730," please don't bother and keep the discussion on topic.
And before anyone asks: T7600G / 2GB (upgrading to 4GB despite the chipset limitation) / DD DVD-R/W / 7950GTX / Vista Ultimate ("downgrading" to XP with my Gen2's disc) / Intel N-Band Card ("downgrading" to a Gigabyte PCIe SuperG to take advantage of my existing network)
I know some might think I am being over dramatic but I pay the high premium and I expect a high quality product.
I got my new i7 15" macbook pro last wednesday. I noticed maybe 2 or 3 days after I got it I that there was this tiny dent to the left of my left speaker. It's nothing huge, maybe 1 cm long and a fraction of a cm wide but once you notice these things they really start to tick you off.
In the last 3 months I have gone through about 2 dell "studio xps" systems due to major build quality issues and finding this mark today just about broke my heart (thearpy).
What are my options?
I don't really want to go without a laptop for another week so if that is my only option I will just live with it....
And, I know this is not anything of my doing unless my soft little generous fingers somehow dented my macbook... I have babied this thing since I brought it into this world (unboxing) and this whole ordeal just frustrates me.
Am I able to get a replacement for it being "defective"? If so would it be brand new. If not would I be able to get a full refund and re order? Or would they send me a new laptop and I sent this one back? Does the 10% restocking fee apply?
So I purchased a "scratch n dent" mini 9 from the dell outlet. It arrived today. When I looked at the bottom it had a refurbished sticker on the bottom. I know on the outlet they have ordered previously new, refurbished, and scratch n dent.
Do all the scratch n dent computers come with this sticker? I figure the refurb would but didn't think the scratch n dent would as it's only a used computer..
I'm trying to figure out if I should keep it or not.
Specs for the laptop are: Latitude E6500 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB) WindowsXP Pro, with Vista upgrade disk. There was no documentation (manual) with it at all.
-- 6 Cell Primary Battery -- Back-lit Keyboard -- 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMMs) -- 90W AC Adapter -- NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M -- Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module -- Integrated Webcam with digital microphone -- Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card -- 250 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM) -- 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability -- Genuine Windows XP Pro with Vista Business License -- 15.4 inch WXGA+ LED Laptop Screen
I paid $735 with a 20% off coupon.
It's definitely got a rather visible dent, and the chassis is bent out of shape. Looks like it fell and landed on it's right front corner.
It runs fine, no problems connecting to the wlan or the internet, sound seems fine with no crackling (if a little tinny), the backlit keyboard is fantastic and I love typing on it. Touchpad is a serious hassle when it comes to scrolling, and I hope they are planning on an upgraded driver soon. My previous touchpad is a Synaptics and beats this one by a mile!
I'm not sure about the screen (1440x900, LED backlit). Is it supposed to be a vast improvement over regular screens? If yes, I'm not seeing it and the colors seem a little off. I've tried adjusting it, but am not convinced I did a good job. Does this laptop have an "Auto Synch button" somewhere? When I try and use the Nvidia Screen optimizer Wizard", it tells me to locate that, and I'm not finding any info about it.
Fan is very nice and quiet compared to my emachines M6809, but the dvd drive is very loud! Is that normal, or could it have to do with the chassis being bent in that corner?
Hardrive is fast and quiet, and the laptop is a lightweight compared to my almost 9lbs emachines!
I ordered a XPS 16 scratch and dent from dell outlet few weeks ago for $750 after taxes/coupon:
P8700 4gb 500gb hdd Full hd Blu-ray RW Ati-1GB 6cell
anyways..orders kept getting delayed and delayed (found that strange since they are already built). Today I found out the order got "changed" and they reinstated a new order for what it look like a brand new system (for same price!) plus the upgraded to next day shipping Here is the new system: ...
What I found quite interesting in the cnet review is that their performance testing of the Dell 1569 was second place just behind the Toshiba E205-S1904 (the other Best Buy Blue Label). I do not understand why, the specs are basically the exact same specs, EXCEPT our Dell has a 500gb 7,200rpm hard drive while the Toshiba has a 500gb 5,400 rpm hard drive. I would think, if anything our performance would be slightly better than the Toshiba because of our 7,200rpm hard drive. All the other specs are the same.
So, with that being said, why did the Toshiba have slightly better performance numbers than ours, since as I keep stating all the specs are the same except we have a faster hard drive?
* Excellent Storage Options * Hybrid Graphics Provides Good 3D Graphics * Wide Range of Peripheral Ports
Cons
* Very Heavy for 13.3-inch Laptop * System Runs Quite Hot
Description
* Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 Dual Core Mobile Processor * 4GB PC3-8500 DDR2 Memory * 320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive * 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner * 13.3-inch WXGA (1280x800) Wide LCD With 2.0 Megapixel Webcam * NVIDIA GeForce 9500M Graphics With 256MB Memory and GeForce 9400M Integrated Graphics * Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless * Two USB 2.0, eSATA, FireWire, HDMI, Display Port, ExpressCard/54, 8-in-1 Card Reader * 12.6" x 9.3" x 1.4" @ 4.9 lbs. * Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, Works 9, McAfee Internet Security
Guide Review - Dell Studio XPS 13 13.3-inch Ultraportable Laptop PC
Mar 13 2009 - Dell's Studio XPS 13 is much more of a replacement for the XPS M1330 because of its improved features. Most notable of these is the hybrid graphics that combines a GeForce 9400M integrated graphics for light desktop work and a dedicated GeForce 9500M with 256MB when accelerated 3D graphics are needed. This gives it some good 3D performance that was lacking from other Dell 13.3-inch laptops.
Another surprise in the Studio XPS 13 is the storage options. The standard 320GB hard drive is spacious, but the 7200rpm spin rate provides it with a high level of performance. Those needing more space can always upgrade to the 500GB drive option. Solid state drives are also offered but are quite expensive. It would have been nice to see Dell offer a Blu-ray option as well.
Performance is very high thanks to the use of the Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 mobile processor and the 4GB of PC3-8500 DDR3 memory. This combined with the graphics actually gives it some performance levels that are equal to or at times higher than the XPS M1330. The problem is that all of these parts generate a lot of heat.
In what can only be considered a major design accident, Dell put one of the primary cooling ducts on the back side of the laptop. This duct can be blocked when the LCD panel is folded beyond a straight perpendicular position, something that many users do with laptops. Combine this with the aluminum bottom panel and this system can get very hot on the bottom where it should not be used on one's actual lap without some sort of cooling device.
The other downside is that the Studio XPS 13 is quite large and heavy for a 13.3-inch laptop. At nearly five pounds in weight, this is a system that is much more comparable to a 14.1-inch for portability.
On first look i found that the build quality was better than expected, I had read a fiew reviews by owners that thebase was flimsy and so was the keyboard. I have found this to be quite solid and i can see no flex at all. The keyboard is very responsive and a pleasure to use, although i find that some of the keys give a slight squeeking noise when pressed. I intend to get a backlit keyboard sometime soon so that should fix the squeeking problem. I bought this from the outlet as refurbished but it looks brand new and i saved nearly £300 this way instead of self configuring the system. What's in the Box: Dell Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit installation dvd, Works 9, Driver and Resource Disk, 90w Power Supply Design Nice design and a sturdy construction, has a kind of wedge shape. Screen: This WLED 720p screen is far brighter than anything else i have ever seen, the picture is nice and crisp and colours are very vibrant. There is no ghosting at all and HD movies are a pleasure to watch on this, its a 15.6" 16:9. There is an option for a 1080p screen but i did not have that option getting this from the Outlet. Under sunny conditions the screen is quite reflective but i plan to use it indoors 95% of the time so it will not be an issue. Keyboard The keyboard is a pleasure to use, I did not get a backlit version but i intend to as soon as I can get dell on the phone, I find the keys very responsive and well laid out. The multimedia keys are on the top of the keyboard along with the F Keys, to use the F1 Keys ect you have to press the Fn key. Touchpad At first i did not like the touch pad as it has a textured feeling and not a smooth finish like im used to , after a while i have got used to it and its not as bad as i first thought, there is a scroll pad on the side although the touch pad has no indication of this, when playing games this area gets quite hot. Features: Multimedia Keys The keys are on the main keyboard and shared with the "F" Keys. LEDS One of my main complaints abot this machine is there are no LEDS for hard drive activity or wireless ect. The only light is on the power button on the side of the screen hinge. Wifi – My system has the Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN card and the signals are strong and i have not suffered any drop outs or interference. Just a pity this laptop has no Wireless LED. Speakers The speakers are of a decent quality, i had read about the previous Studio 15 which had poor sound quality but this is more than acceptable and a subwoofer is included. Input and Output Ports Front There are no ports on the front of the machine Webcam Pictures The screen has a 2.0mp camera in and the quality is very good, the best i have seen in a laptop. Pictures are good with no noise or distortion. Right Side: 1 x USB 2.0, Slot loading DVD-RW Drive 8 in 1 media card reader, ExpressCard 34 and Power Adaptor Left Side: VGA, HDMI 2x USB 2.0 (1x USB/E-SATA combo, 2x standard) IEEE 1394a/Gigabit NIC (no RJ11 – via dongle for USB External Modem) 1x Stereo in, 2x headphone speaker out. Rear: There are no ports on the back. Bottom: There are 3 ventilation grills and the usual opening for the memory and Hard drive access. Benchmarks I have had time to do 2 benchmarks, 3dmark06 and Super PI 3dmark Vantage would not run with the resolution on this laptop. 3DMark06 Scored 4193
and Super PI took 48 seconds to do 2 million count. Size and Weight The laptop is light about 2.61 kg and is easily carried around so its very portable. Heat and Noise Under general use the laptop does get warm but nothing to worry about, when gaming it gets quite hot so it will be uncomfortable on your lap if you game alot. The fans are quite quiet i have found and do not cause any disturbance when on. Battery Life Under general use with a 6 cell battery i get around 3 hours 30 mins, I do not feel that a 9 cell would of been benefical to me. Software The software that came pre-installed was Roxio CD Creator and Windows Live. Accessories All that came was the power supply (it has a nice blue led on the power jack) Pros: Great Screen Fast Processor Light and Portable Long Battery Life Cons: No Activity LEDS Gets quite hot under Gaming Backlit keyboard not standard. Conclusion: A great all rounder laptop that should full-fill the needs of most, Not to over priced and has some good choices when configuring to buy.
So I got it and let me tell you, what a machine. couldn't be any happier. seriously fast and very nice and stable so far.
a few positive and negative points to those shopping for one.
A. RGB LED screen is unfreaking real, colors like I've never seen before from a computer. well worth the premium but there are 2 drawbacks.
1.whites are not really that pure in comparison to other screens (you get used to it, as the trade off is well worth it)
2.the resolution is a little high for 16". Catch myself squinting a little from a slight distance. (the 2 finger pinch zoom gesture completely fixes this slight nuisance)
I'm stuck between getting a Sony Vaio FW and a Dell Studio 1555...
Unfortunately, the only review I've found on the 1555 was on Youtube but the guy doing it had a thick combination Australian/Chinese accent and it was hard to understand most of what he was saying....
I am an Electrical Engineering student at Drexel University, with a minor in Computer Science and hopefully a dual degree in Software Engineering. I used to own a Dell Vostro 1700 laptop.
It was a beautiful machine, but I am a daily commuter so it was too big and too heavy for my needs.
I got an Asus EEEPC 901 netbook, and it's great for some of my needs but since I also code it was too small for that. I ended up selling my Vostro on eBay and used the funds from that to get myself a smaller, lighter laptop
It oozes style and has plenty of substance. The $1,354 Studio XPS 13, the 13.3-inch sibling to the XPS 16, has an attractive design, complete with leather details, white LED lights, and responsive touch controls, not to mention strong performance and switchable graphics to match. The short battery life will give highly mobile users pause, but you can easily upgrade to a 9-cell battery.
Once upon a time Dell's notebook PC range was pretty straightforward: Inspiron for the mainstream consumer, XPS for the enthusiast, Latitude for the business user and Precision for the specialists - easy. However, in the last year or so, Dell has strived to complicate matters, launching the Vostro brand for small businesses, the Studio range for "upmarket" consumers and now the Studio XPS range which is...some kind of amalgam between the those two brands one would assume. Clearly someone at Dell has discovered a large leveraging tool in their desk and has been up-selling synergies with abandon, the latest spawn of this activity being the Studio XPS 13....
With a few exceptions, Dell has often been seen as the safe choice, a PC manufacturer that offers good value for money, if sometimes workmanlike designs. Forget everything you thought you know, and meet the Dell Studio XPS 13 notebook.
Various models are available with different processor and storage combinations, starting at £749. We tried the top-spec Dell Studio XPS 13 model with 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 128GB of Samsung solid-state drive.
Focusing on the design first, the Dell Studio XPS 13 reeks of art deco tech, all black with silvered aluminium accents such as the hinge bracket and screen support structure, along with a neat silver trim that encircles the chassis top. On the lid outer is a finely grained black leather insert, finalising the executive flair for the design.
The Dell Studio XPS 13 is a very good laptop. It could have been excellent, but Dell seems to have actually tried too hard in some areas, such as the laptop's design, and we feel it's backfired slightly.
In the beginning, Dell created the high-end XPS range, and saw that it was good. Years later, it created the Studio range — a slightly trendier alternative to its long-running Inspiron series. Dell then went and baffled the backside off everyone by launching the Studio XPS line, an alternative to the Studio and XPS ranges. Confused? We certainly are....
Dell’s Studio XPS 13 is a stylish 13.3-inch notebook that is aimed at the higher-end of the consumer notebook space. The Studio series brings style and improved materials to Dell’s consumer notebook division, marking a clear distinction between it and the Inspirons, which are a step down the ladder. Performance is a priority as well–the XPS name denotes the use of improved components, in this case things like LED backlighting, discrete graphics, and a slot-loading optical drive. The Studio XPS 13 is Dell’s most direct competition to the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
How do you improve on one of the best and most popular notebooks in the 13-inch class, the Dell XPS M1330? If you’re Dell, you keep the same sleekly tapered form factor but make the industrial design even more striking, with luxury accents such as brushed aluminum and genuine leather. Then you offer the latest performance components—like Nvidia Hybrid SLI graphics and solid-state drives—to boost speed, and you offer conveniences like a backlit keyboard and a great selection of ports. The Studio XPS 13’s $1,099 starting price ($1,354 in our trim) will put off budget buyers, but it’s still $200 less than the price the M1330 debuted at and is more than reasonable given all you get.
The Studio XPS family—available in 13.3-inch, 15.4-inch, and 16-inch screen sizes—is slotted above Dell’s style-oriented Studio line but below the luxury-oriented Adamo offering. (Originally, the XPS line carried Dell’s gaming flag, but that has been passed to the Alienware brand.) Like the Studio XPS 16 we recently reviewed, the 4.8-pound Studio XPS 13 has a striking, modern design that looks great without being over the top. The piano-lacquer black lid is set off by forged aluminum accents and a wide strip of genuine leather at the hinge, which makes for a comfortable hand-hold.
As for creature comforts, Dell has squeezed in an exceedingly comfortable full-size keyboard. The flat-top keys feature letters and symbols with a pleasant white backlight (offering two brightness levels, plus an off setting) that carries over to mouse buttons and multimedia control keys. At 2.5 inches wide by 1.6 inches tall, the touch pad is too small for our tastes, but it and its buttons are very responsive. And Dell has done a great job with the capacitive-touch multimedia controls, which, unlike similar buttons on machines like the Gateway TC7804u, respond quickly to the touch.
The 13.3" Studio XPS 13 is more than just a miniaturized version of the XPS M1530. It's a blend of portability, power and style, something that's rarely offered together in a form factor this small. Typically, users gunning for a 13" machine have to sacrifice extra power to get a machine that's thin, or they have to sacrifice style for a machine's that widely available at a reasonable price. Dell's attempting to do an awful lot within a single 13" notebook. We're going to explain just how well we feel they've succeeded, in the pages to come.
Pros: looks good, i believed dell was good product.
Cons: will not run 30 minutes any day, any time you turn in on without locking up and must be turned of with power button, froze up while writing this review, can't correct.
Summary: Is the only lap top that I have purchased for my personal use or my business that is a total failure. my first and last DELL.
The Dell Studio XPS line emphasizes style without sacrificing functionality. These multimedia laptops have a bit of leather trim here, a backlit keyboard there--and a whole lot of plugs, ports, and features packed in.
The Studio XPS 16 is in a prime position to outmuscle one competitor, the slick but slightly flawed Gateway MC7803u. The Dell's advantage speaks to the idea that you can get a little luxury in your laptop without having to shell out a fortune. The polished looks and edge-to-edge glass of the MC7803u make Gateway's $999 all-purpose box seem a little more premium than its guts actually are. In contrast, Dell's classy Studio XPS 16 starts at $1199 (as of 1/8/09), $200 higher than Gateway's offering, and that shows in its build quality and construction (which I'll get to in a bit).
But it has more substantial possibilities, too: The blingy, premium version of the Studio XPS 16 that we received for testing offers significantly more than the Gateway machine does--at a significantly higher price (our review unit sells for roughly $1804 as of 1/8/09, according to spokespeople). In truth, it would probably be fairer to compare Dell's beefed-up box with the HP HDX 16, which tips the scales on price, but offers comparable features.
Inside our Studio XPS 16, a 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 CPU, a 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 graphics processor, and 4GB of RAM run the 64-bit flavor of Windows Vista. That configuration notched a 92 in WorldBench 6. It lags a little behind the HDX 16, but it's more than enough for everyday tasks -- and some games when you're done. What I can tell you is that I had no problem playing Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead at the screen's native resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. Thank the capable mobile graphics processor and the laptop's speedy, 7200-rpm, 320GB hard drive (whose fast rotational speed enables better read/write performance during game play).
Images looked sharp on the laptop's RGB LED screen. Provided that you don't have bright daylight bouncing off the colorful and glossy display, you're in for a treat. Inky blacks, such as in the creepy corners of Left 4 Dead's zombiethon, look deep and rich. And the sand-blasted landscapes of Fallout 3 pop off the screen.
The sound of the Studio XPS 16, on the other hand, falls a little flat. Two speaker grilles flank the keyboard. Though you can sit for a spell and listen, the audio comes off as hollow. I had no issues with the volume level, though; the laptop's sound became loud enough to disturb my cubemates.
Besides extra audio outputs, the Studio XPS 16 has a number of nice input options around the sides. You get two USB ports and one shared eSATA/USB jack, and DisplayPort, HDMI-out, and VGA-out jacks cover all possible video needs. In addition, it sports a four-pin FireWire 400 port, a five-in-one flash memory card reader, a 2-megapixel Webcam, an ExpressCard slot, and a slot-loading Blu-ray Disc drive. Our review unit came with both a six-cell battery and a nine-cell battery for the price. And with the 9-cell battery our test unit survived for three hours, 41 minutes. That's about 12 minutes under the average, but certainly long enough to watch a movie on it's crisp display. Another thing to keep in mind: HP's HDX16, another multimedia all-purpose machine, only lasts about two hours, 14 minutes on a single battery charge.
The operative word with the Studio XPS 16 is "extras." In addition to all the hardware hoopla, it has you pretty well covered on the software side. Included in the price is Microsoft Works 9, a 2GB Data Safe Online account (free for one year), and a slick little facial-recognition security suite that uses the laptop's Webcam to drive the biometric security. And everything from the software to the online storage is accessible through an unobtrusive quick-launch bar at the top of the screen.
Not only is the Studio XPS 16 packed with features, but it also boasts a reasonably sharp-looking design. Earlier, I mentioned that this machine and its siblings are Dell's answer to Gateway's MC series. If you were to put the two open laptops side by side, you'd see that the Studio XPS 16 one-ups the MC7803u. The two laptops share similar backlit and square-cut keyboards, but on the Studio XPS 16 the keys feel a little more satisfyingly solid. The same can be said for the Dell's nicely positioned touchpad and backlit mouse buttons.
Like the MC7803u, this machine sports edge-to-edge glass on the display. The difference here is that Dell locks down the screen by bolting the hinges firmly into both sides of the bezel. In the end, even from a quick glance at the Studio XPS 16, you can see what the $200 difference buys you.
Oh, just so don't you think I'm completely in love with Dell's design, I did spy one head-scratcher: The leather pad on the lid adds a classy two-tone touch, but it's also a little silly. I'd rather have that leather on the wrist rest.
Dell's Studio XPS 16 is squarely aimed at people who want to get a little more for their entertainment buck; it's a solidly built multimedia machine that piles on features without breaking the bank. Dell's Studio XPS 16 looks to be a solid choice for gaming and movies, as well as getting the job done, while keeping costs within reason.
We had the pleasure of reviewing Dell's Studio XPS 13 back in early May and found the machine to be sleek and stylish, and a good value. In an effort to provide that same sleek styling and great performance to those looking for a somewhat larger machine, Dell has now issued an updated Studio XPS 16 that seems to up the ante in a number of key areas. The 16" notebook realm is a bit less crowded these days than say the netbook sector and the full-on 17" desktop replacement arena, giving Dell the perfect opportunity to stand out and make a play for those dead-set on a 16" rig.
The 16-inch Studio XPS 16 dazzles with a first-of-its-kind RGB-LED screen option—which bursts with colors and offers wide viewing angles—and a sleek glossy black design, complete with leather accents. And Dell matches style with substance by offering a powerful Centrino 2 processor, gamer-friendly ATI graphics, a fast hard drive, and Blu-ray playback. Priced at $1,804 (and starting at $1,199), this 6.8-pound multimedia marvel isn’t a system you’d tote to a coffee shop on a regular basis, but entertainment seekers wanting a luxury notebook will drool over this model.
