Dell :: Studio 15 Special Edition Overview [Pics & Video]
Apr 1, 2009
here's the skinny. After what seems like an eternity I've finally got this bad girl in my hands. The screen will blow you away, well for me at least. The edge to edge display looks just beautiful and at full brightness it has enough light energy to power 25 homes for 2 years. The hinge design is awesome. Other than the paint job and the edge to edge display I'd assume it's pretty much like a regular studio.
Speaking of which....it's a fingerprint magnet, but that's to be expected. I'm afraid somebody will end up lifting one of my prints with a piece of tape and logging into my computer. I like how the black and red meshes together, not too bland but not too extreme either. Besides the keyboard and the red bezel around the screen the entire surface of the notebook is glossy, I'd describe it as piano black.
I'm surprised at the level of crap. It's actually minimal. Right now I'm contemplating doing a clean install, but I want to go x64 because I don't like having 1gb being wasted. But the average user won't need to do a clean install.
There are a couple of quirks though. The touchpad takes a bit of getting used to, it felt kinda rough and hard to use at first. I'm noticing a bit of keyboard flex across the board.
So yea, overall I like how it looks and feels. It runs like a bat out of hell with minimum tweaks to the factory install. I'd recommend it over a regular studio 15 any day.
I just wanted to see if anyone has gotten the chance to check out the new SE Studio 15 from Dell.
Link is here! [url]
My mom wanted to get me a Dell Mini for my b-day and I was like mom, let me configure one and you can tell me I can or can't have it. I just about tapped it out and came in a little over $1,700 with all the goodies, a travel ac/dc charger, and blue tooth wireless remote.
The laptop itself is not found on the site when you go to setup a Studio 15/17 but it is in the gray drop down menu towards the top it says special edition.
I really like the Studio 15/17 line but it has always looked plain to me even with the top and side accent colors... I was looking for something different but my mom did not approve the $2,400 configuration of the Studio XPS 16.
Spec's are as follows... (From the Dell Order Status Page)
Studio 1537, Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 2.4GHz, 1066Mhz, 3M L2 Cache Back-lit Keyboard 15.4 inch ETE Panel with WXGA+TL (WLED), W/ CAMERA 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with Free Fall Sensor, Seagate Casey Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0 Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11AGNHalf Mini Card Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, 3 Year Limited Warranty Blue tooth Fingerprint reader
All of the software to go along that comes standard, no MS Office package. I have a 07 version that will be used when I get this, and I opted to get the microtrend internet security over the norton/macafee counterparts.
The thing that sucks is it will not be here until 04-14-09, so I will have to wait. But with every laptop I customized on Dell's site it was maybe 6-8 days sooner but it was not "everything" that I wanted. And it was the "blah" colors and the configuration was not as good as I wanted. I wanted a XPS 15 but the hard drive choices where meager, a 500gb 5400rpm drive, a 128gb SSD, and a 256gb SSD, "COMMON DELL WHATS UP WITH THAT?". I had to have a eSata port and this one has it, the top usb port on the left side is a usb port but it doubles as a eSata port, sweet! I have a 1tb WD triple interface usb/firewire400/eSata drive and I wanted the speed of internal sata drive with an external use.
The only thing I may have problems with later down the line or in the days/years to come is getting newer games to play on it. Before my old desktop's videocard crashed I was playing TF2:Source, DOD:Source, CS:Source, and a sweet racing game called ToCa Race Driver 3... best racing SIM I have played, I love it. From what I have read this laptop should blaze through all of these games without a hitch but if I wanted to installed like COD4, Fear2 or something newer alone those lines I would have to run far lower settings than standard/default.
I spent three days during my spare time trying to get the right configuration and stay below $1,800. I kept going back to the SE Studio 15 and I think I will enjoy it. It's got about everything I need other than maybe a better video card I could want or ask for, and from what I hear the nine cell battery not only helps it run cooler because it is raised up higher in the back for air flow, but it gives you at least a 1/3rd longer battery life over the standard six cell.
Dell has officially yanked the Studio 1537 SE from their website. It hasn't been an option on the actual Studio laptop page for several weeks, but you could still access the model's page by searching for "Studio 15 Special Edition" on Google, or Dell's own search.
Today, though, that page no longer exists. The Google and internal Dell search links just redirect to the main Studio laptop category page.
It was a good machine, and if I had my way, that's what the Studio 15 series would have become, not the 1555. The edge-to-edge display and that unique black and red finish were fantastic. T
his now means that the 1555 is the only Studio 15 model available from Dell anymore, and there's no way to get any of the 15.4" models with media buttons brand new.
Does anyone have experience with the dv4t Special Edition?
I've been researching pretty hard for a while now, as I'm getting a laptop as a graduation present, and I keep coming back to this one. I really like the specs on it (4gb RAM + 400gb hard drive) since I do a lot of digital art and photography work, and even small things like the memory card reader. The estimated battery life is good, and most of the reviews I can find have been positive.
I was just wondering if you guys had any extra input on this- I've seen the dv4 owner's lounge, but the Special Edition seems like a fairly different computer. I want to be absolutely sure I'm making the right decision!
Oh, and Best Buy seems to have a much better deal than the HP site right now. Does this look good, or is there anything crucial I'm missing that I'd be better off custom ordering for?
Also, Windows 7. Presumably I will want to upgrade to this when it comes out. Are there any future upgrade offers I should be aware of? I seem to recall reading something about this, but I don't remember exactly what.
I've found a deal on craigslist, supposedly this laptop is in perfect condition and I can get it for $300, however I've read that it usually runs into a lot of problems like, overheating, and screens that just stop working. Also notice, that they discontinued the product.
My laptop has been freezing for a while, and it would create a distinct buzzing noise about 10-20 minutes into a game. It originally started when my motherboard was replaced for a malfunctioning video card and then when I reported this issue a technician came and replaced the motherboard again and the heat sink + fan. The issue is still there and diagnostics comes up with no problems. The only parts that haven't been replaced in my computer are the HDD, the processor and the RAM. I don't think its a problem with the HDD as using it for anything else works, so I was wondering if it was possibly a problem with the CPU.
I would like to add a mSATA card to my system to be able to use IRST.
I am skeptic because I have read online that systems which were not shipped with 32 GB mSATA card, doesn't have mSATA port for later installation.
When I purchased the system at that time dell had the option for adding 32 GB mSATA card in the customization section, but now dell has removed the whole customization section from the website. And in the pre-configured models, there is no option for mSATA card.
I was just given (free!!!) an Inspiron E1705 -- 2.16Ghz core2, I'm putting 2GB ram in for $40, have a spare 320GB disk laying around, even came with a power supply. The original owner had video problems with it within months of purchasing,
and rather than going after the warranty, simply shelved it an bought a new one (!). So basically I am looking at a barely used notebook that does 1920x1200 on a 17" screen -- free! Needless to say I'd like to put a few buck in it and make it work.
Here's the problem:
I've done a little research and it seems like artifacts aren't terribly uncommon on this model, and most have said its fixed with a new video card. Trouble is, the only one on Ebay ($40) also has artifacts as per the seller, and the online retailers want up to $536 (not a typo) for one. Really? .....
I've been reading the threads for a while and wanted to get some more opinions on the 1555 vs SSE. I know the SSE is basically the 1537 with the edge to edge monitor.
I placed my order for the SSE last week with an estimated delivery date of 6/15 I could cancel my order and go with the 1555 with an estimated ship date of 6/01. what do you think. I have ~$1000 to play with ......
dose any one knows have any idea about this floral...blossom art on the studio 17.
i have a jet black but it has only the topo pattern on the palmrest like a wite lines, but this one is cool i found htis form a website but i have noticed it was only there on the midnight blue, if anyone already owns a midnight blue please let me know whether they have this blossom patterrn on the palm rest am about to order another studio so it would be helpfull...
Dell recently added an option to get the Studio XPS 16 without the leather on the side (the leather's now 40 extra bucks). Anyone have pics who has bought this version?
As I took my Dell Studio 1555 apart to upgrade the cpu (not a job for the feint hearted!) I took some photo's of the mainboard and HS/Fan.
If any of you have noticed high temps in HWMonitor on one of the ACPI I have tracked it down to be related to the GPU. Well when you look at the Heatsink you will see why!
Thermal pad on GPU Tiny heat sink with copper bar which sticks to the back of the fan assembly Tiny noisy fan
just got my Studio's palm rest replaced today since the touchpad freaked out after I accidentally spilled water on it, thank God for complete warranty.
However, the replacement palm rest seems to have the pattern on which came with my old Studio, the graphite pattern. Here are some before and after pics, and some pics showing what happens when the media panel does the all buttons stay lit glitch.
This an example of the later palm rests. However, I had this on my Studio before the palm rest change because I received a replacement which had the newer palm rest. So, this is the before picture .....
I was wondering if anyone on here uses a special size or brand of screwdriver when working on Dell laptops.
The reason I ask is because we support a number of Dells here at the office, and my team mostly has an el cheapo laptop repair kit with a very cheap universal screwdriver set.
I've noticed that the phillips head of the screwdriver doesn't seem to set very well into the Dell screws on the bottom of the laptop
I bought dell xps15, last year in January, from past week, I am facing problem with the keyboard keys, number keys are not working at all, it affects the special characters also, earlier I thought, it could be some keyboard driver related problem, so I even tried on Ubuntu OS also, it din't workout either. Then I formatted my complete system, but unfortunately nothing good happened.
there are many out there that likes to dab in linux, unix, opensource, and usually those folks demand nvidia video, and will not even think twice about a rig unless the nvidia option is available..
ati video cards are very hard, if not impossible to configure with linux..i know, i have tried.....i just wonder who makes these decisions for dell, and if they even smart enough to realize this...
i went to dell laptop sales chat ,and asked them about the nvida choice -
1. don,t have info 2. might be a product shortage 3. design team made the ati decision 4. will pass along the info
I bought an Acer Aspire 7720G the other day. It's a good computer for me but all I need is a better videocard. There is a Geforce 8400M GS 256mb card so u know.
Can I just buy any videocard and plug it in? Or is there special videocards for laptops?
I have dell studio 1737 with a core 2 duo T9400, 4GB Ram and ATI Mobility Radwon HD 3650 and i was wonderfing if i could change out the video card for a 512?
I'm looking at the Studio XPS 16 right now, because the Studio 17 doesn't have the option of coming with a 512 meg video card ( very disappointing )
If you look at the base system for the Studio 17, it's an amazing machine with the 2.4 ghz chip, for around $1,000. Crazy stuff. This is a beautiful laptop, but with only 256 megs of fram on the video card it just isn't good enough.
With that said, what other options are there for laptops with a 2.4 ghz chip, and a 512 meg card out there right now ?
I have an Acer Aspire 9410-2079, its about a year old.
I need to do a complete restore (default setings) on my laptop, but it needs a password.
Well I think i might have made a mistkae when I first put it in a year ago. I want to keep my D: drive in tack, but the C drive needs tro be wiped.
Only thing is, I cant get eRecovery to run without a password.
I tried searching and the only things I find are:
Quote:
Like many others, the first time that you launch eRecovery on your laptop you have use a password. Then the months the years passed, and you need eRecovery, but now you forgot the password...
Note : The method can be very different with your model, but the principle remains the same one, there must be a file which stores your password, and it must be in one of the most recent files since you changed your password.
Note 2: Vista compatibility
This problem is solved very easily, makes a right click on the partedit32 icon, goes in properties, clicks on the tab compatibility and set the compatibility on winxp or win98..................................
Is there a way to get rid of the beeping sounds that are made when you press a special button or use the volume control. Perhaps locating the wav file if there is one
solution to remapping the annoying Envy special function keys
[url]
I bought an envy about a month ago and have been working through the usual new laptop quirks. There are plenty of hard-to-notice-until-bought pros and cons that I might pour over some time, but right now I'd just like to mention my findings with respect to the Envy Quick Launch keys that are located on the left of the keyboard.
By default, these keys open up a mail program, HP's MediaSmart SmartMenu, a web browser, printing, and the Windows calculator program. You can see them on the left side of the keyboard, with labels I'll explain in a moment:
There's no way in the HP software to customize the buttons, so I did a little bit of fishing around and found some useful information.
My original intent was to make a small program that would sit in the system tray and simply have a menu to disable all the buttons at will or re-enable them. The buttons are nice, but they aren't the most useful thing to have enabled when one is trying to play a full-screen game. I'd keep getting sent back to the desktop because I accidentally opened a calculator instead of pressing ctrl............
