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

I believe Dell uses Fedex and from what I've read on these forums, it seems like some get packages delivered on Saturdays.

 

Depending where you are, you may get it sooner anyway. Mine shipped on a Thursday and was in Toronto at the courier's distribution centre Friday night. It was delivered Monday morning, but presumably would have come on Saturday or Sunday if they delivered those days (Purolator, the one they use in Canada, doesn't). This was with standard, free delivery.

 

Oh ok, thanks.

 

Are the laptop still made in Malaysia?

It doesnt have a SD slot? So have to stick in your own USB drive?

 

Dell outsourced everything by now. The studio 14z has a mini express slot, so you need an 8 in 1 adapter.

 

My box said it's made in China.

You can get an SD reader that fits into the ExpressCard slot when ordering it. Kensington also makes one that costs about the same if you don't get one when you order your 14z

 

Just received a call that my laptop has been back-ordered and the estimated delivery date moved from 8/3 to 8/10.

Now I'm pissed..

 

I was looking into buying the ExpressCard Compact Flash Card Reader/Writer ( http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...il.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=04&sku=A2537474#Overview) from Dell (I'm a photographer and my cameras use CF cards); yet not available from Dell at the moment =/

What was your config?

 

Ruby Red
T6600
3GB Ram
Back-lit keyboard
900p screen
250GB 7200rpm
6-cell battery
1515 wireless-n
Bluetooth
Sound Blaster Software

 

I've seen a lot of people with RUBY RED post messages regarding their delivery date being pushed further. Not sure if the color has anything to do with it, but as jeremyb4 said, i'm thinking it's just their production process that is getting delays.

A lot of people have been pushed towards the 1st week of August. My original del. date is 8/10...but now I'm wondering if they are pushing orders that were for late July/early August...they might end up pushing mine too =/

 

Mine was originally supposed to have been here yesterday, but then it got pushed to 8/3. And now 8/10.

 

And you never altered your order in any way since the original order date?

 

Nope. I would have, since I kind of want the P-series processor now. But I didn't in hopes that it would actually ship sooner.

 

Might want to call in and see if a change like that would make a longer delay or not.

 

In fact, you should demand it for them wasting your time.

 

I second that!

 

just an update on mine. I decided to keep my studio XPS 13 instead more because it is here and my replacement studio is not. I finaly got everything ironed out with dell but it was not easy or pleasent. I had tried since july 6 to cancel my replacement because I needed my system for buisnes and I still didn't have i (hence the studio xps 13 from the outlet) I actualy was so lost and fed up I sent a email to [email protected]. I realy didn't think I was going to get a response but the next day I had a call from dell corporate offices and within 5 minutes the guy on the phone had EVERYTHING worked out in 5 minutes. Canceled the replacement order and handled a seprate issue with a credit and also got the original system I sent back processed (they have had it back for a month but they didn't have it in the system as having it back at all and was about to charge me for it. All fixed by a very polite nice guy in minutes. So if cust service is giving you the run around give it a go.

 

I called and tried to get the processor upgraded, but they said they would give me a discount if I called once I receive the laptop. How hard would it be to upgrade the processor myself?

 

There's guides and stuff for it. You can find the service manual online to help you tear down the laptop, and then more information about how to actually replace the processor and what-not. It's not easy, but it's definitely doable.

 

Good question. I've seen some processor-changing posts around NBR. Mainly with the Asus G51 though as it was a system I was looking at a few weeks back.

 

I think you should order after just because it will probably be faster. Also you will know 100% that you will take good care of your laptop where as service people sometimes don't. Furthermore, it's not that hard changing your processor in Dell computers.

After a lot of struggle I got Window 7 on my laptop using a thumb drive. Will write a review of the laptop later when I finally use it for a bit. Everything look good so far other than the wobbly base.

I have the exact same problem as the video reviewer. It makes me wonder if I actually got his computer since he said he would return it and I have pretty much the same configuration as his.

 

I'm pretty confident that would be sold as a "refurbished" machine.

 

I hope you are right.

On another note, I also had the Window 7 upgrade issue like someone else a few pages back. Basically the service code was not reassigned to my machine properly and I could not sign up for Window 7 upgrade because the system think my system is not eligeable.

 

Did you call it in?

 

Since the site is still relatively new (and buggy) either you can call or wait a couple weeks for them to iron the bugs out.

 

Perhaps the trees are also made in China?

 

Well bamboo grows pretty quick for a "tree"

 

Bamboo also makes terrible boxes, but i suppose that's not totally out of line with dell's supply chain

On a side note i just wanted to confirm that the resolution is 1600x900 on the 14z, not 1440x900.

 

Has anyone managed to snag a deal on one of these? I've talked to a couple CSR's and the best they would do is offer a $10 discount on top of my 7% EPP.

Also does anyone know if paying via paypal would stack with the EPP discount?

 

I found some e-value code when I was getting mine, dunno if it's still being offered. Found the link for it somewhere on this forum. I know it was part of the back-to-school delights program

 

Paypal won't stack with similar things like the EPP or the AAA discounts (EPP is the best) I didn't try, but both paypal and dell seemed unsure, but both said no. You can try it if you want, since I doubt anyone has a concrete answer.

Yep its 1600 x 900

 

I called today to see how much I could talk them down and told them I was having a really hard time deciding between the HP dv4t and 14z and they said that they will upgrade the battery for free and throw in the better wireless card. For $823.56 I can get this configuration if I call them back by the end of the week.

• Vista Home Premium 64-Bit, upgrade to 7
• Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 1066Mhz FSB, 3MB cache)
• 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
• 14.0” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G
• 500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• 74 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (8 cell)
• Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N Mini-card

 

I'm not sure about you, but three things that I added was the 900p and the bluetooth, as well as possibly the backlit keyboard. Although some people like the 720p better, and don't need the other two.

Also, you'd need to add some sort of warranty, and I'm assuming you're getting the chainlink. Other than those, My setup is basically the same, except I went for the 250gb freefall and a 3 year complete care with failsafe (no idea why the failsafe one is cheaper)

Just some stuff to consider.

 

Mine just arrived today. First delivery attempt was this past Saturday but no one was home. Dell website said 7/30 ETA for the delivery even until today (haven't checked since it arrived). Haven't had a chance to unbox yet since I have been busy since it came, but I look forward to opening it when I get off from work at midnight. I seem to be the only one who ordered mine with the base Pentium processor (I didn't want to spend a lot but really wanted/needed the back-lit keyboard and upgraded N wireless card), so I'll let you all know how it works.

 

Mine was set for the 30th, but it came on the 24th, which was a nice suprise. It shipped from champaign IL and shipped in 1 day. (shipped on 23rd)

 

Ok, mine is "in the final stages of production" and should ship "in 2-3 business days". Excellent!

 

"in the final stages of production"? where were you able to see this information? Is it on the order status page or did you call a number? if so, what number?

 

Yes, I had to call, because the Order Status page is useless, it shows the date as "N/A". I am in Canada, and I called: 1 800 847 4092 -- tell them your order number and they will tell you what's happening.

 

Well I'm in the U.S. and the order tracking on the dell website was pretty accurate

 

Is it an automated system or a live person? If person, are they opened 24/7 do you know? And I live in the States (Texas). Where would I find the number for order tracking for the U.S.?

 

From a few pages back:

1-800-283-2210

 

Thanks!

 

Just called. It said it is estimated to ship on August 4; which coincides with the standard free 3-5 business day shipping and is to arrive by August 10 (Monday).

Hmm...wonder if it's possible to get away with faster free shipping so I can receive prior to that weekend...any ideas on how to go about it?

 

you put in your dell order number and your zip and it should come up

http://support.dell.com/support/order/status.aspx

 

I ordered the T4200 CPU as well. I looked up the specs and it would not be worth it to upgrade to the T6400 (maybe even the T6500). The next best upgrade for the cost was the T6600, and then after that, the P8600 because of power consumption, then the top processor. I can always swap the processor out in the future, but for now, there is really no need for anything more than the T4200 for basic internet surfing and the like. The only time I would need a better processor is if I was doing a lot of video editing or playing games. Anything that is continuously using CPU power for a long period of time is a rare event for me.
Sure it would be nice to have that zippy feeling of installing new software or having iTunes render a song faster, but really, I can wait a few seconds. Its not worth 300+ dollars.

 

I would consider the base Core 2 Duo processor an upgrade since it has twice as much L2 cache (2mb vs 1mb on the Pentium) which can help when multitasking or running big programs. I probably won't need the extra L2 cache for what I do but, from what I read, it could easily help even for what I do. I feel kind of cheap for not having spent the extra $50 for the Core 2 Duo, but now I get to see how the base Pentium dual core processor performs. I too would've liked to see a lower upgrade price for the faster yet more efficient P processors, mainly since I plan to go unplugged more with this laptop. I think it's more of a power loss that I didn't go for the 8 cell battery (I too didn't realize it wouldn't stick out) .

 

I did unbox the Studio 14z and went through most of the setup, albeit in my car running on the battery, and first impressions are all good other than the one smudge I left on the chainlink lid (big whoop). The back-lit keyboard is exactly what I've been looking for - it even has two brightness settings and I found the lower setting perfect for in the dark car. The keyboard darkens (lights turn off) after 30-60 seconds (I wasn't counting) of not touching anything and then comes back on as soon as you hit anything including the touch pad. I haven't gotten past where it finally gets to the windows desktop, so I can't yet comment on how quick it is with programs, how good the speakers are, etc. Here are my specs: Pentium T4200, 3gb RAM, 250gb 5400 RPM harddrive, 720p screen, 6 cell battery, back-lit keyboard, Wireless N card

P.S. Dell website still shows 7/30 as expected delivery date

 

Although some people don't like the facial recognition, I think it's that they haven't used it enough yet. You need to log in once in each lightning condition. It'll get me in with most lit areas, and some dark areas.

 

I've also noticed that if I use it on a plastic table (one of the fold up ones) that it shows the same wobbly front left, but if I put it on a wooden table, it goes away. I'm checking now if its the computer or the desks. Maybe this was the reason for the wobbly 14z on the review?

So.. I tried it on a glass tabletop, and it's not moving at all, so I think it was the desk.

 

I downloaded the demo of Call of Duty 4 and got very nice frame rates (40+) with mediumish settings. The only problem is I'm getting the mouse lag problem again! This appears to be happening in newer games that I've played (CoD4, FEAR2, TS3).

Is this happening to anybody else? I'm getting nice FPS, but the mouse tends to lag and jump around. It's really bothering me and makes playing games nearly impossible.