---> OFFICIAL: Dell STUDIO 14z Owner's Lounge <---

As long as you got it worked out, i suppose it's ok. Did you ever find out why exactly you were "ineligible"?

 

No, but she was able to correct the problem within a few minutes.

 

Can someone weigh the studio 14z with 6 cells to see the difference with the 8 cells (4.92 lbs) ?

 

I'm sure you meant 720p and not 780p for the screen. But nonetheless...is this delay due to the Ruby Red lid?

 

I was thinking about the Ram and processor choices: would ddr3 really even help anything below the most expensive processor choice? The frontside bus is at 800 while the ram operates at 1066. Doesn't it mean that the processor's fsb couldn't keep up with the ram, thus having no difference on the speed? Someone here must know about the hardware; I can get hardware, but the interactions are something in which I'm not well versed.

 

Could it have been because of the date of purchase? I believe that in order to be eligible you would have had to purchase a computer with Windows after July 16....NOT SURE on the exact date...but know there was a date.

 

They could not tell me exactly what part or parts created the supply shortage and they could not "guarantee" that my laptop will, in fact, be delivered on or before the new delivery date, August 6th. However, after being transferred a few times, I finally got to a customer service rep who told me that my unit was in the very final stages of production and that it should ship in the next 48 - 72 hours, though he would not guarantee that. I asked if there was any chance I could have expedited shipping due to the multiple delays and was told, essentially, no.

I'm bummed, but I'm still encouraged by the reviews I've read and the comments in this thread from folks who have received theirs already. I'm just frustrated because now people who ordered their machines after me with identical or nearly identical configurations have received theirs. I don't understand what the issue is. Just my bad luck, I guess. I must've kicked someone's puppy in a past life or something.

My config was/is:

red lid
P8600
3GB ram
320 GB/7200 RPM HD
bluetooth
backlit keyboard
780P screen
originally ordered on the phone 7/9
original delivery date 7/24
second delivery date 7/31
third delivery date 8/6

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck everyone.

 

Dell offers free windows 7 upgrade for some models that were purchased on or after June 26th.

 

See I knew there was a date...and it looks like you cleared it though. Hmmm...maybe just a glitch somewhere along the line. Glad you cleared it up though.

 

I don't know enough to give you a proper answer to that one, but i think the ram will help, especially since the graphics chip shares the same ram as the processor (again, based on my humble understanding of how the graphics work with this particular card).

 

FSB and RAM frequency do not have to be linked. As Karan said, the integrated graphics will get some good use out of the DDR3 memory.

 

Just ordered my 14z from Dell Canada.

Black Chainlink
P8600
3GB ram
900p screen
500gb 5400rpm HD
Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N Mini-card
8 Cell Battery
Standard keyboard (still don't have backlit at dell canada, but I wouldn't have gotten it anyway)

Cost $1,159.00 (canadian) without tax. It also came with 36 months of McAfee but I'm probally gonna end up uninstalling that. Don't suppose I could pass the subscription onto someone else, or will it be linked to my laptop?

 

The keyboard on this thing is awesome!

Perhaps one of the better keyboards I've used. They're just a little harder to press than my old laptop. But when you get adjusted to it, it's really nice and provides awesome feedback.

I was planning on trying a PS2 emulator. I'm not at home right now, though.. I'll try it out and report back with results asap!

I tried installing other drivers, but none of them worked.. Did you check out the circular scrolling? This is the first time I've used chiral scrolling and it's amazing! I feel like I'm scrolling on my iPod.

Those games aren't too demanding. I haven't tried them out, but you should be able to run them on medium-high settings with decent FPS.

That's strange, when I weighed mine with the 8-cell, I got closer to 4.7lbs. But anyways, if I recall correctly the 6-cell weighs around .22lbs and the 8-cell weighs around .44lbs. So you should expect 4.5-4.7lbs with the 6-cell battery.

 

A 500gb hard drive does not weigh more than a 320gb hard drive, assuming they have the same number of platters--which they likely do in this case. The 500gb just has a higher platter density.

 

My original order got delayed from a delivery date of 07/31/2009 to 08/06/2009 so I called and upgraded the screen and battery.

Ruby Red
T6500
3GB ram
900p screen
500gb 5400rpm HD
Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N Mini-card
8 Cell Battery
Backlit keyboard
Bluetooth

$843.00 est. delivery date: 08/11/2009

 

Have you guys been able to register for the free windows 7 upgrade on dell's website?

My system meets all the requirements, but it still says it's ineligible for some reason

 

I called in, talked for about an hour, and the guy said he'd confirm it.. I get no email, I call in 3 days later, the girl had to undo all the crap he did, and 90 minutes later its fixed.... The first error was that it was the 32 bit of windows 7, the second was I couldn't login to the windows 7 site. They had to make me a totally new one... I wonder if I'll get an extra copy of windows 7 for my troubles..

 

It's a known bug on Dell's website. You have to call. But no worries, everyone who bought after June 26 is eligible.

 

The 9400M is even better than some discrete cards, entry level ones, but nonetheless.

And yes, there's a difference with the type of RAM used. Using DDR3 allows the 9400M perform about 33% better than if DDR2 was used in that same configuration.

 

Yes, you can.

 

So the real weight of the 14z with a 6 cell battery is truely 4.2 lb?

Where can I see a demo of the screen at 900p? Is that 1920x1200? 1080p?

Does the 8 cell battery stick out?

 

Same here, I am also frustrated that I ordered earlier than some people who already received theirs. But I guess this laptop is worth waiting for Hehe
Ordered: July 10
Original delivery date: July 24
Delayed to: July 31
Currently displaying the estimated delivery date as: N/A

 

It is 1600x900. So No, it is not 1080p, but 900p.

That's the beauty of an 8-cell battery on this laptop: it does NOT stick out!

 

The 6-cell battery should be between 4.5-4.7lbs depending on your configuration.

 

cool thanks...do you know which exact number to call (because there are multiple support numbers)? ..it probably doesn't matter eh?

 

Quick question : If I can't spend the extra 125 on bumping up the processor to 2.4, is the next best option getting a HD that spins at 7200 rpm?

 

The T6500 is the best bang-for-your-buck, in my opinion. I'm currently in the process of underclocking mine and it's running pretty cool so far. I have it 10C/50F cooler than stock and still going!

And yeah, the 7200RPM drive is always a good option. It might sacrifice heat, weight, and battery life, but the differences would be minimal.

 

IMHO, the P8600 is the best option for 14z and the Intel X25-M G2 SSD is the next best thing (look for one on NewEgg or Provantage). But otherwise, the T6500 and a 7200rpm (or 5400rpm) drive is ok too

 

I multitask with tabbed webpages, maybe a youtube video as one of them, with some system browser windows up, and music playing. Is the 2.1 ghz processor with the 5400 hd enough to do it all smoothly?

 

I have that setup and it'll do all of that smoothly. Everything is lightning quick! Probably even faster if you choose to go with the 7200RPM HDD.

 

Yes.

 

Thanks guys. Say, do these have circular scrolling on the touchpad?

 

Yup, and it's awesome!

 

exactly what im planning

 

That's odd. I've viewed quite a lot of youtube videos that are running the emulator flawlessly using similar/weaker hardware. I'm thinking that you probably need to tweak your settings or choose plugins that offer higher performance.

As I mentioned on a 2.1GHz inspiron with integrated graphics, I was able to get 4-5fps playing Soul Calibur 2, a graphic intensive game. With a faster processor with larger cache ([email protected]) and acceleration (9400m), I'm hoping that that number increases at least 3-fold. With some funky frame skipping, I'm hoping it will be adequate for playing RPGs or slower games!

I may test the inspiron it with a simpler game (RPG or something) just to see if the performance differs. I'll also tweak the settings.

I can't wait! Put it through it's paces! I'm looking forward to hearing the highs and the lows of using the machine in this way.

A brief review of gamecube emulation (dolphin emulator) would be great as well! From what I understand, the GC hardware is much less exotic than the PS2 hardware and emulates better.


YARR!
}:^)~
Capt'n Cube

 

perhaps you are right about the emulator.

to all those asking about the weight most options tack on a little bit of weight. how big of a difference it makes is another story. i'm pretty sure 320 -> 500gigs of hd does involve a weight increase. whether its noticable at once is different.

the 9400m is indeed muchos (33%) faster with ddr3 than ddr2. i'm gonna second that statement

Also for those value conscious people out there.
I like to buy a new laptop every year or two as the battery lifespan is near the end at that point. however, with that purchasing habit, I could never justify spending an extra 300$ for a more powerful processor. I mean, when I think about it, $300 for the extra processor power (which doesn't make that big a difference for work applications ie. word) + $50-100 for a replacement battery + my AC adaptor cords wearing out + other problems. That actually puts be in close range for a new base studio 14z. When my next purchase date rolls around, new stuff will be out and thing will be faster than previously. It's sort of like tv shows. would you rather watch house on TV with annoyingly long ads or be behind a week watching things on hulu with less ads?

Now this is just my personal opinion. Dont want to offend anyone but I do have friends that like the idea of buying a new laptop every 2 years rather than a big $1.3k purchase for 4 years of college.

I spent $650 on a dell vostro 14 that served its purpose well and now $758 on a studio 14z.

Value wise, its been a good time as my dell vostro is retiring. the battery life, ac adaptor, graphics card, heat problems are all downhill.

(Yes. I am a speed junkie. thats why i have a desktop too

Cheers! and congratz to all those who got their 14z.. cuz i didn't get mine yet

 

Ok.. I've just done some more PCSX testing (very preliminary) and have really good news to report!

I've tweaked some of the emulator settings and have gotten a really great improvement in speed, even with this hardware:
-Graphics: GSdx (SSE3)
-Speed Hacks: 2x cycle rate
-Speed Hacks: INTC Sync Hack
-CPU: VU Skip

Game tested: Soul Calibur 2

The resultant FPS count (including skipped frames) is an AMAZING 26-28 frames per second (average 26fps) on some stages. The more graphically intensive stages can see a framerate around 15fps. The result is animation that's slightly slow and choppy, but fast enough to be playable. Don't read me wrong, it's FAR from perfect, and may not make a very enjoyable experience with action titles, but may be fine with RPGs or less speed intensive games! This is impressive for the Inspiron hardware. I've no doubt that the 14z will do much better thanks to the 9400m and faster P8600.

I am going to test Shadow of the Colossus next, and an RPG.


YARR!
}:^)~
Zero Corrupt

 

Thanks Azu, wise words.

After tweaking the settings, I'm confident that the 14z can handle PCSX2 emu quite well. Even a 2 fold increase in speed would result in games that are 100% playable. I now want this laptop more than ever!

Good for PC games, good for emu games, good for graphic apps, good for productivity, good for surfing, good for movies, good for portability etc.

I'm tempted to buy it without the backlit keyboard, though I'll wait at least a month before I do this. I wouldn't want to make a rash decision and miss out on this killer feature!

YARR!
}:^)~
CCz

 

Well, add me to the list of delays. I ordered on July 18th, estimated delivery July 31st, then changed to July 29th, now bumped back to August 7th. I called dell support and the woman I spoke with told me my laptop was in the "final stages" of production and that it would ship in 2-3 business days...but I'm not sure if I'm willing to beleive that after all of the problems I've read about here. I'm especially sad because it was supposed to ship today and arrive tomorrow, (they bumped me up to next day delivery for free??) but when I checked my status expecting to see that it had shipped I was greeted with a delay notice. My specs:

Chainlink Black
2.4 ghz processor
320 gb HDD
3gb RAM
backlit keyboard
900p screen
card reader
bluetooth

 

I'd rather have a TV tuner in my PC, record it, start watching it 15 minutes after it's begun, watch it with no commercials at all and finish watching at the same time as everyone who had to watch it with the annoyingly long ads.

After I started writing this, I did a search and Avermedia just introduced a tuner that fits the 14z's mini expresscard slot! I have one of their larger ones in my Studio 17.

 

Just called the phoneline and it stated that my 14z is now in the boxing stage.

 

This would be my guess as to where the delay is coming from. Dell Canada is now not even offering it as an option when they did a week or so ago.

 

what's the #?

 

1-800-283-2210

 

thanks (10char)

 

I had called the line last night and it was still being built, but when I check an hour ago, it was now being boxed, so I'm not sure of how long it has been boxing.

 

Well first they go out and find a tree, cut it down, pulp it and make it into corrigated cardboard, using the by-products to make the plastic shell they slide your notebook into. All part of Dell's built-to-order philosophy.

Count yourself lucky. Those who ordered it when it first came out had to wait for Dell to grow the tree!

Seriously though, I expect the status will have changed to shipped by the end of the day.

 

I got my laptop yesterday. Ordered July 3rd.

I have wobbly base problem. Anyone else have this problem?

 

Is that what they ask for in the order when talking about planting trees? I didn't pay for it so that's why it must have taken so long........

 

I just called again but I heard no mention of a delay, just that it was still being built and it would ship within the next 3 business days (after being tested and boxed). I don't think the backlit keyboard is causing a delay, I just think it's taking them a long time to assemble everything with the high volume of orders they're getting.

Also, does anyone know if the service Dell is using (UPS?) ships on Saturdays?