Dell Studio 17 and Studio 15 review roundup

It's not every day we get to glimpse a brand new experience from Dell, and while Studio might just be near-XPS laptops in everyman clothing, that certainly seems to be a good thing. The laptops appear to combine the power of XPS and the prices of Inspiron, with some new perks like HDMI out and slot-loading drives to keep things fresh. The laptops tend a little thicker than their XPS counterparts, and the fact that these are hitting just before Centrino 2 might be cause to hesitate, but otherwise we're getting the feel from these reviews that the Studio line just might be the consumer lineup to beat if you can dig the design quirks and a little bit of bulk.

Read - NotebookReview, Studio 17 ("Hard pressed to find a better 17-inch notebook in the same price range")
Read - CNET Reviews, Studio 15 (7.3 / 10, "We'd be tempted to save up a few extra dollars for a thinner, lighter XPS.")
Read - PC Mag, Studio 15 (4.5 / 5, Editor's Choice, "Retaining many of the XPS's qualities while selling it for Inspiron prices.")
Read - Laptop Mag, Studio 17 (3.5 / 5, "For $1,599, you'll get plenty of multimedia muscle.")

[Pochi @ Jun 27th 2008 9:57AM]

My God, CNET is such a washed up pile of shit.

If you're about to defend them, please head here first.
http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-29148.html

[BobTurbo @ Jun 27th 2008 10:16AM]

There is nothing wrong with cnet.

But... is that a Sony Vaio in the pictures section of the Dell review???

[Pochi @ Jun 27th 2008 10:41AM]

@BobTurbo

I rest my case.

[Mister Scratchy Discs @ Jun 27th 2008 10:06AM]

I loathe slot loading optical drives. Pity, they look like good value otherwise.

[Matt @ Jun 27th 2008 10:11AM]

These are extremely sexy. I'm tempted to sell my Thinkpad and grab one of these.

[DocTauri @ Jun 27th 2008 10:18AM]

Screw the Studio, where's the Latitude E that was supposed to come out this month?

[Rick @ Jun 27th 2008 10:56AM]

I thought all the new Montevina wireless hardware hasn't been certified by the FCC yet plus shortages of batteries and CPUs was causing the holdup.

[Andrew Borem @ Jun 27th 2008 10:34AM]

Where be my 13" model?!? :(

[disciple83 @ Jun 27th 2008 10:51AM]

Where's the 13" model? Really? First of all, the 13" model is a niche market laptop. you just read, or should have read, where this laptop is a little thicker than the xps models, and the inspiron doesn't have a 13". They probably wanna see sales up before they start getting into your little semi-ultraportable market group. And, it's a first-gen model. Let it get to market for more than a week before you start bitching, seriously.

[Khris @ Jun 27th 2008 12:10PM]

@ disciple83

13" laptops are *NOT* a niche market you fool! The only person that needs to stop bitching is you.

Shouldn't you be washing someone's feet?

[Jake @ Jun 30th 2008 1:59AM]

I love my 13" MacBook.

I will never buy a Dell again after I got raped by them last time I bought a laptop.

[Kaiser-Machead @ Jun 27th 2008 10:38AM]

A hell of a lot nicer than the previous Inspirons. Those things were so cheap looking in person. I can see lots of gripes coming in about those slot loaders though.

[Tom Robertson @ Jun 27th 2008 10:53AM]

Ooooooh slot loading :) Mesa like!

[Pochi @ Jun 27th 2008 11:27AM]

Jar-Jar...? Really?

God awful.

[Kelmon @ Jun 27th 2008 11:29AM]

Frankly, that's the aspect of these laptops that jumped out the most to me. Slot-loading optical drives are wonderful and just don't feel as cheap and fragile as the usual tray-loading versions. It's nice to Dell add these to their products and I hope other manufacturers do, at least before they die out completely.

[Tom Robertson @ Jun 27th 2008 11:32AM]

I don't understand why they are awful? Just down to personal taste I guess.
@Pochi - why do you hate them so much?

[Tom Robertson @ Jun 27th 2008 11:34AM]

Really? I think they are really classy. Much better than a clunky piece of plastic. Just down to personal taste really I guess.

@Pochi - Why do you hate them so much?

[Khris @ Jun 27th 2008 12:11PM]

Because if he didn't like them, he wouldn't have anything to bitch about.

[Pochi @ Jun 27th 2008 1:52PM]

You two are a couple of idiots.

I was saying "GOD AWFUL" to the fact that this dude was throwing down "MEESA" ala Episode 1. It made me want ot throw up, and that is what was awful. Not the laptops, which I have (recently, even) praised.

[Salem @ Jun 28th 2008 8:29PM]

I like the way slot-loading drives feel more robust than the traditional pop-out tray, I just wish there was a way to make them work with those cool mini-cds and mini-dvds out there (which I use occasionally..)

[Eric @ Jun 27th 2008 11:29AM]

So basically Cnet was mad that the Studio 15 was cheaper, a bit thicker and heavier than the XPS 1530?

And I think slot-loading drives make a lot of sense on laptops, I always enjoy it when my power cord, or if there is a slight bump, blocking the dvd tray of my laptop.

[eddy @ Jun 27th 2008 1:17PM]

I've said it before, I'll say it again...the Studio 15 WILL be my next laptop. We have any idea when these are officially supposed to hit the market? I seem to remember reading October for some reason.

[eddy @ Jun 27th 2008 1:19PM]

Er, don't mind me...just noticed that they ARE on the market. Need...money...now...

[Gomer @ Jun 27th 2008 4:05PM]

Only glossy screens? Deal breaker.
Why only offer one graphic card option? Why can't I get the 3650 in the 15"? Why isn't the 3800 series available?

[Phoenix @ Jun 27th 2008 5:17PM]

This would be my new laptop... if it had a slightly better graphics card

Although if it is actually good please feel free to correct me

[gheagz08 @ Jul 4th 2008 9:52AM]

I just ordered my very first laptop, the Studio 15.

[Connor @ Jul 8th 2008 3:11PM]

Do you think this laptop would be able to run World of Warcraft fairly well? i was looking at the requirements and the specs on his greatly surpasses them, but i have had that before and it ran horribly.

[blackrayne17 @ Jul 11th 2008 12:38AM]

that's because wow is a horrible game!!!!!

[jack @ Jul 12th 2008 10:56PM]

i just got a studio today and wow will not load on to it at all this may be my CD but so far i do not like the pc

[Steve @ Jul 16th 2008 11:52AM]

really? thats a big problem for me,I am looking at getting a studio 15 very soon and I was hoping it would be able to play wow on fairly high settings, I am pretty addicted to wow so maybe I will have to look elsewhere if it will not run it for whatever reason, letus know how you get on

[knut @ Jul 25th 2008 12:19AM]

DO NOT by this product yet. I did, got it and it would not boot. I called tech support 2 x and they said Dell knows of the problem and a fix is coming...it's a desk pad driver issue that is being worked on...so why was it released and why was I sol a product I can't use???

[Techrecycler @ Jul 24th 2008 6:21PM]

Really? I have a 15 in production that should ship soon and my price was incredible, so I'm not stopping the purchase. But did Dell say it's with all the studio's going out or just some?...and did they give you an idea of when the fix should be available?

Thanks in advance :-)

[knut @ Jul 25th 2008 12:29AM]

They stated the keypad drivers were the cause and that the software team hoped to have a solution soon. This means all systems will have the problem. Mine booted and the touchpad and keyboard did not work 90% of the time or more. They took it back and paid the shipping and had UPS pick it up. This means to me that they have a problem.
I don't know about you, if I spent $1000 on some thing I want it to work now not soon.

[poprobot @ Jul 26th 2008 11:46AM]

I ordered my Studio17 on July 4th and received it July 18th - been using it for a week now and here's my review...

btw - I am not partial - but this is my 3rd Dell (also have an old Inspiron 6000 laptop and a XPS400 desktop)

Love the cosmetics - definitely the coolest looking desktop replacement I've ever seen! The backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader are way cool. The rubberized topcoat is very nice ( I chose Tangerine) and seems more scratch proof than most laptop finishes. The screen is gorgeous though being hi-gloss tends to attract some glare. Not bad though - wouldn't consider this a con.

The wifi N router is fast and reliable. Nice!
Power button is snazzy looking but difficult to press - luckily I don't shut this thing down often...

The touchpad is comfortable but does seem unresponsive on occasion. The software that runs it takes a few minutes at startup to boot also.

Other gripes: the onboard speakers are terrible. Thin and tinny - with a low volume output. My Inspiron had better sound. Forget about watching movies on this thing without headphones. I'm surprised they didn't incorporate a bit more quality into the audio on a multimedia machine.

The touch sensitive media controls at top are impossible to see in the dark - once you touch them - they light up but you may inadvertantly select the wrong button when trying to get them lit. a minor qualm.

My biggest complaint is the DVD burner - only 8X... is this typical of notebooks? I bought a 20x DVD burner for my desktop for $35 why didn't Dell put a faster burner in this machine? At these prices I expect top quality components.

This is my first time with Vista and it seems fairly stable - I like some of the features - definitely has a MAC OSX feel to it. Some of the other features that veer away from XP standards are going to take some getting used to... but I have to admit I'm liking the Vista.

I run the Adobe Creative Suite (Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, After Effects) on the Studio with no problems. 4GB of RAM is a must! I haven't tried any gaming yet - that's what my desktop is for... but I imagine this 256MB video card should handle some decent games (not Crysis but at least COD4)

That's all I can think of for now - I'll try to add more details at a later date... feel free to ask specific questions and I'll try to answer.

Cheers!

[beth @ Sep 7th 2008 12:20AM]

I have a question, I cannot buy this thing without knowing. I was watching a review and noticed that the guy pointed to the wireless on/off switch. Although the guy did not speak english I made out what he was saying. Something about the switch and that it is easy to move the switch thus turning the wi-fi off. It may and may not be a problem, what do you think?

[Jude @ Aug 1st 2008 2:00PM]

Ok Ive had my studio 17 two days, working perfectly for 2 days, come home from work tonight, power up and hey ho...touchpad not working and trying to type on the keyboard is unresponsive unless I hit the key really hard it wont type a letter....NOT HAPPY!

Just read knuts post....looks like I'm going to have the same issue, what I cant understand is, if Dell knows there is an issue why the hell are they selling these products??

I bought a new dell laptop because I have never had any issues with them before, used to have a toshiba and will never go there again, but to have issues with a new piece of kit so soon sort of depletes my confidence with Dell!

Barring that for two days loved the laptop but actually I hate the keyboard, its like a piece of plastic that has just been layed on, bring back decent keys!!!

[Hog Islander @ Aug 13th 2008 10:49PM]

I had the exact same problem with my new Dell Studio 15 - keyboard very sluggish/difficult to type, touchpad inoperable, and all media buttons on top of keyboard inoperable. I have only had this laptop for a day but it did it on my first reboot. Hopefully I won't have to do this again...

Try this:
Power down completely
Remove battery from laptop
Hold power button down for 10 seconds
Replace battery
Turn machine back on

This worked for me. Dell support said that this "released potential static buildup in the machine". I think that's a line of crap but it worked nonetheless.

[Jude @ Aug 14th 2008 2:18PM]

Well I had an engineer come out last week to my home (fortunately Im in a position where I can work from home on ocassion), didnt test it just replaced parts straight away, turns it on and hey ho now decent keyboard and touchpad all working ok.

Now my backlight doesnt work and my media buttons dont work, so back in touch with Dell who rang me and stated they will contact me between 5pm and 6pm Wednesday 13th, still no contact so I will be chasing them up again tonight.

The engineer I spoke to on the phone and I quote "did you not test it when the engineer was there" my reply "yes I tested the keyboard and the mousepad which had issues and they work, what tests do your engineers do prior to leaving site to ensure its serviceable?"

My confidence is slowly getting lower and lower in Dell, they obviously have some real issues.

[Latch @ Aug 15th 2008 1:22PM]

Thanks Hog Islander- you should work for DELL! We had the same problem with 2 Studio Computers from Dell, and after much time and frustration talking to them about the problem that they could not seen to fix, they are "producing" our 2nd replacement. The problem is that we need it by TODAY since our daughter is leaving for college on Sunday. When I talked to them today, they said they are not sure when it will be out of production. When I found your post, I tried your suggestion- and VOILA! It worked!! Thanks for the directions! Our daughter is very happy now! Hopefully it will be a permanent fix!! Thanks again!!

[Sarah @ Aug 26th 2008 7:51AM]

Thanks. Just tried that myself on my studio 17.

Cured!

[Reston @ Aug 19th 2008 9:00PM]

By the way - you are right the sound is soft and very tinny. My Inspirion was MUCh better.

[Reston @ Aug 19th 2008 9:02PM]

I had 0 problems with my old Inspirion, so I replaced it with a Dell. I bought the Studio 2+ weeks ago and I liked the Studio especially the 17" screen. However, I have this week had two failures of the power switch. It really took a while to get the thing started. ( I did the battery thing just out of superstition.) To me "power on"seems pretty fundamental. When I went to Help & Support...the Dell Support portion would not activate, which made me snicker. Dell admitted nothing when we chatted. The rep even told me I had to take it to where I bought it. I may return it because: 1) I do not want to end up with a machine that is a hassle to turn on, 2) they should have gotten it right, and 3) their service was bad.

[SlickD @ Aug 20th 2008 11:23AM]

I just placed an order for a Studio 15 and then found out about this post with all the negative feedback! Should I cancel my order??

[Reston @ Aug 21st 2008 6:53PM]

It is a gamble

[Abhishek @ Aug 26th 2008 12:36AM]

I was about to buy a 5 Dell laptops but after reading the following reviews as experiences I think i would go for some other brand thanks to all of you . I like to learn from others mistake:)

[lauren @ Aug 29th 2008 9:36AM]

I have a studio 15 and have had issues from the first day. Does anyone else have issues with their volume sometimes now working? When that happens my itunes wont even attempt to play, although other media files will play w/out sound. Sometimes updating windows works but now it's out again. Can't bring myself to speak to a foreign dell rep.

[Dana @ Sep 1st 2008 8:50PM]

Mine is doing the same thing. The speakers go out all the time. I have to turn off the computer, take out the battery, and then turn it back on. The speakers will then work for a couple of hours. It is pathetic. I have had to do this up to 5-6 times a day. A lot of media will not play at all when the speakers are down. I have two weeks left in this quarter so I have to keep the computer for at least that long. I am also having the keyboard/mouse problems.

[JuniorCitizen @ Sep 7th 2008 4:26PM]

"I was about to buy a 5 Dell laptops but after reading the following reviews as experiences I think i would go for some other brand thanks to all of you . I like to learn from others mistake:)"

Well...people that post online are disproportionately not satisfied with the product. If you are happy, and have no problems, it is doubtful that the average user will go online & look for these types of threads. I have read reviews for many computers from many different companies and they all have people that have had problems. If something is wrong once you get the comp, then you are not shocked...however, I would not let a message board deter you from making a purchase.

[marky @ Sep 11th 2008 10:46AM]

Hey, that last comment above me is actually a very smart one. I'm typing this on my dell studio 15 i got just 2 weeks ago. It was working perfectly fine until I installed xp, luckily i found most of the drivers on notebookreview.com but the infrared receiver and the remote is not working properly even after installing the supposed IR driver suggested by a poster in notebookreview forum. Anyone having the same problems? It's a damn nice laptop tho, wouldn't say I regret that I bought it but the speakers are indeed not that good and the laptop is a bit too heavy for carrying around campus.

[john @ Sep 17th 2008 10:00AM]

I don't know, I received my Dell Studio 15 last Monday (being in France Dell was the only place to buy a qwerty/english laptop). I've observed problems since Second 1. There was a parasite sound coming from the speakers. Definitely a hardware problem since that
sound came out before booting in the Vista OS. Have the same sound popping up even in WinVista or when running sound Diagnostics utility at startup.

Then problem no2: in Vista apparently there is a conflict between the sound card and the wireless card and there is a lot of sound interrupting/popping/crackling . The solution --> disable Wireless band a. This solution was also given by Dell support.

Also the sound volume is very very low. The quality of the speakers - just terrible by comparison to my other Dell Inspiron 6000.
As for the first problem they wouldn't wanna fix it --> not yet.
And because the return policy allows only 7 days (here) I decided to return it. So now I'm considering other alternatives like HP dv5t or ASUS M50/M51 but french azerty :( and not customized. I strongly hope I did the right choice.

And you are right, if I hadn't had any problems probably I would have posted only 1 or 2 posts and not 10 or more in several forums to express my disappointment.