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

In case anyone's wondering about the weight of different configurations, I just weighed my 14z (see config in my sig) on a postal scale and it came in at 4.34 lbs. I don't know if Dell rounded down the weight of the base 14z to 4.2 lbs, but even if the base 14z weighs exactly 4.2 lbs, that means that the 900p screen, bluetooth and wireless configurations add less than 2.5 oz. I'd be interested in a weight comparison between the 6 and 8 cell batteries if anyone can do one as the sole reason I went with the 6 cell battery was to save weight.

 

I weighed mine awhile back on my digital scale and got 4.67lbs. The sides were hanging off of a scale a little bit, so I would estimate the 8-cell configuration to be around 4.7lbs.

 

Does anyone know why my backlight button would suddenly not be doing anything... other than highlighting the url on a webpage...

 

If i'm correct, that's the regular function for F6. You'll need to hold fn to change your backlight, or change the setting in the BIOS.

Also, would it be worth getting the 900p screen if I were interested in doing some light gaming, since the 720p screen will probably let the computer perform better?

 

I can't speak from experience (my 900p 14z just shipped tonight), but there is no way I would order the machine WITHOUT the 900p option. Not just better for gaming, but better for everything. I don't think you will see any performance penalty for the increased resolution with a decent graphics chip like the 9400M G.

Brent

 

you can run games at equivalent resolutions with no difference in performance, but you won't be able to run the 900p screen at its native resolution as well, and that's what people have an issue with. It's not really a disadvantage.

 

Congratulations on your recent purchase! The last 3 configuration options you listed are amongst what make the 14z great! After evaluating and comparing different notebooks with the similar specs and pricing, this one won hands down for me! Yea there's a few problems here and there but most of them are OS-related and we all know how Microsoft is about those things. Hopefully the actual release of Windows 7 will bring a new 'life' to not only the 14z, but all Windows computers

 

Not certain if anybody else knows this but just hasn't mentioned it, but there is another way to change this setting besides doing it through the BIOS. To tell you the truth...I forgot how! haha no no. It is one of the icons next to the time on the taskbar. I just forgot which one. If i'm not mistaken, I believe it is the battery icon. If you click it once, it will appear with the little options window. Think the last link on the bottom will open up a new window and that should be where you have the option to change the F key attributes.

Correct me if I'm wrong someone. I've seen the option there just haven't tried it. It might require a system restart but if it doesn't, that's a quicker way of changing how the F keys work. Or even quicker, just press the Fn key!

 

Karan how's your 14z doing?

Any issues with yours? Most issues I've seen (if not all) are OS-related. You running 7 or Vista?

 

Btw, anybody heard from Lexus?

 

It's the windows mobility center - one of the ways to get to this is by right-clicking the battery icon. You can also set presentation mode, etc. - pretty handy.

 

Correct - it's the Windows Mobility Center which you can access by right clicking the battery icon in the system tray.

EDIT: brendanATL beat me to it.

 

hit the windows and the X key at the same time and you can change what the Fn keys do on that screen.

 

Yeah, that's what I figured. Since my system has been completely stable (other than the update issue last week), I figured I didn't want to tempt fate and would just wait for the A04 release.

Speaking of updates, did anyone else get a massive Windows update again last night? I think I need to tweak my settings because my machine apparently automatically installed another enormous update overnight (when it should have been in "sleep mode"). When I turned it on this morning I got the message that it was configuring my updates and when I checked there was a list a mile long of stuff it installed. Not having any problems so far, but I'll let you all know if I do. And I definitely need to see if I can keep it from automatically installing updates without my permission.

Keeping my fingers crossed ....

 

no issues at all, barely even OS. If i've had issues with Win7 (it's what I'm running full-time) it's been due to my own lack of knowledge. Oddly though, today i got logged into some guest or visitor account (forgot exactly what it was called) and I had no idea why. I just put in the first fix I found when I searched on google, and that appeared to be enough. I didn't upgrade to A03 because I don't think there's enough of a benefit to it to warrant the upgrade, considering how much trouble people are having with it.

 

I just bought one of these little guys. I'm curious, any skins of them? There is this annoying little spot on the front that I guess is a tiny nik.

 

Yeah, I was very interested in the laptop when I discovered that it had a 900p option and an 8-cell battery that doesn't protrude out of the chassis. Pretty excited to get it -- but I'm still in the build stage. I've been debating on whether or not to install the Win 7 RC on it. I'm currently using it on my desktop and I love it, I may just have to get one of those early student copies.

Any experiences with drivers and such for Win7?

 

A03 here, and I had tons of problems.

 

So much for crossing fingers.

BSoD is back. I friggin' hate Windows! Should've gone with the MBP.

Not really. I really love my 14z. But, it just sucks that a person almost has to be a software/OS expert just to have a Windows machine to surf the web and do some writing.

If I find a solution to the problem, I'll post it here in case anyone else is having problems, too.

 

It seems like a lot of people here are updating to the A03 BIOS. I'm personally still using the A01 BIOS and everything is stable under Vista.

I'm just curious, why is everybody upgrading to the A03? Were you having hardware problems before so you decided to get the latest BIOS? Have you noticed any difference between A01 and A03?

 

Picked this up from Best Buy about a week ago. (I know, I know. But the free external DVD drive lured me in. I've needed one for awhile.)

However, 2 things are driving me nuts:

1. The screen seems to be a bit "off." The left half of the screen is about 10% brighter than the right. Very hard to explain, but it's been bothering me a bit ever since I noticed it.

2. The keyboard is uneven. I'm not sure if this is standard on the 14z, but as soon as BB gets new stock in I'll head over and check out the display model. The right side of the keyboard shows obvious signs of flex, while the left is pretty solid. And if you look hard enough, you can clearly notice a "wave" in the keyboard. The right side is slightly raised compared to the left - which causes the flex. This has been driving me NUTS. I know to most people it's not a huge deal. But does anyone else notice this?

Am I just way too picky? The 14z is absolutely perfect otherwise. Handles Flash, Photoshop, etc, like a champ. Well worth the cost. But the 2 issues above really do bother me.

 

I'm thinking about upgrading to A03 as well... For some reason, Vista keeps reporting an error about the audio drivers every once in awhile. My audio totally cuts out until I manually enable it again.

Hopefully A03 fixes this issue. Then again, I'm still using SP1 so maybe upgrading to SP2 might work.

Just curious, what issues were people reporting? Was it just the BSODs? The only thing I read were people's problems being solved after uninstalling a hotfix.

My 14z doesn't have those problems. The backlighting on my screen is even and my keyboard is perfectly flat. While it does have its fair amount of flex, it doesn't really bother me when typing.

I would go back to Best Buy and exchange it for a new one.

 

Got mine from bestbuy too.. same red one with free dvd drive for 650 bucks (haggled) My screen works perfectly, very bright and even. Keyboard has slight flex. I can feel it but not bad at all. I updated to A03 bios then installed SP2 then ran windows update and installed everything. All worked beautifully and battery on this thing last forever!

 

I'm here

Except for those annoyances that I described in one of my previous posts, I am very satisfied with this laptop. Running Windows 7 RC without any issues, everything just works. Waiting for October to get the final version of W7. Still haven't purchased an SSD drive, probably sometime early next year. For now this 5400 rpm drive is pretty decent. Hm, what else? Oh, I just LOVE the 16:9 aspect ratio of the screen. I watch a lot of movies, and I love how most of the movies fill the entire screen without black bars.

 

Hey question.....I previous had an HP dv3 with the new Nvidia G105 chipset, but when I installed windows 7, HP coding of the hardware and bios will NOT allow me to install win 7 driver from Nvidia site nor laptopvideo 2 go site. When you install windows 7 on 14z, did you have any of the problems or driver from nvidia site works with dell's 9400m?

Thanks

Howard

 

Only the video drivers downloaded from the Dell web site worked. When I downloaded the newer drivers directly from nVidia, they installed fine, but nothing changed (the version remained the same as when installed the Dell drivers). After that I had to do an *.inf file mod, and reinstall the nVidia drivers, and then it worked (current video drivers version is 186.03). I hope that helps.

 

How thick is the thickest part of the 14z? I'm debating whether or not to get this, or wait for the possibility of the new Inspiron 1320 to hit US shores.

 

You mean the Nvidia stock driver from dell web site works under windows 7 for our 9400m?

 

Yes, correct.

 

I've been gone for a couple weeks, but i thought it was decided that we'd wait for a04 before upgrading the bios? like in the 190's.... Also I skimmed the past 25 pages, so I might have missed the solution.

 

Roger that, thanks for your help

One of the reason I chose 14z besides value for price was also cause there are no flashy light.. touch activated things and all those beautiful but no real purpose stuff. Usually those require new drivers that will be required to operate under winodws 7. Where as 14z is simple and as long as the video driver works, everything else is piece of cake

 

1.2". Thinnest part is .79"

Mine doesn't have either of these problems, and I'm verrrrry picky, particular about screen issues (don't ask me about iPhone screens - makes me sick).

Mine did have a slightly uneven base like some others have reported (i.e. not all 4 rubber pads sit are touching the surface at the same time so the notebook wobbles a bit on the pads). The front left of mine sat about 1 mm off the ground, so every time I rested my palms down on the palm rest, it would wobble down there. Strangely, and fortunately, it's completely disappeared over the past month. Same glass surface I've been using it on from day one, but no more wobble.

 

Agree. I don't like when a laptop looks like a Christmas tree with all those buttons and indicators that light up. But even so, I still think that a Caps Lock confirmation, and possibly Wireless and Bluetooth indicators would be helpful, if placed on the front panel just below the palm rest, or somewhere not directly in the line of sight.

 

All three of these (bluetooth, wifi and caps lock) show in the system tray as icons, so why would you need separate indicators?

 

Caps Lock doesn't. Are you using some software that displays CapsLock status or are you talking about some built-in Windows functionality that I'm not aware of?

 

Quickset shows the capslock icon in the taskbar. At least I think it's quickset, all I know is that when I push capslock I see an icon in my statusbar.

 

I was actually able to fix the keyboard issue. I ran over to BB and looked at the display. It was not nearly as bad as mine. So, not being able to leave well enough alone, I popped off the keyboard and found the problem. There's a pull tab for the hard drive, directly under the keyboard. Depending on how this is situated it can cause lumps / unevenness in the keyboard.



I flattened the tab out and tucked it into a groove next to the HD. All is well now.

My GF says I'm nuts RE the screen. She says it's barely noticeable, if even noticeable at all. I think I'm just used to looking at an absolutely perfect 21" Samsung display. I forgot to check out the display model at BB to see if it's just mine, or if I'm being waaaaay too picky. (Probably too picky.)

 

I thought so. Because I don't use QuickSet at all, I don't see the status of CapsLock. It's not a problem though.

 

Hey Lexus, how is 7 running on your 14z? I've installed the RC on other Dell computers and had problems with Quickset, but I've heard that the final RTM version works with Quickset. I'm just waiting for my 14z to be able to test out the RTM I got from MSDNAA.
Do you know of any differences (compatibility) between the RTM and RC versions of 7?

 

Hi todds! I am one of those who believes that the less software installed on the computer, the better (the computer runs more stable, with fewer problems). That's the reason I haven't installed QuickSet and never will. If I can accomplish the same tasks by using the built-in Windows features, I'd rather do that, and not use 3rd party software for that. If along the way I have to deprive myself of some "flashy" features (like CapsLock status, or sound and screen brightness on-screen indicators while adjusting them), so be it, it's not essential. I can accomplish the same through standard Windows dialogs, without the on-screen visual confirmation. That's the reason why people complain here about A03 BIOS not working with QuickSet, while I don't have absolutely any issues with A03, none at all. That's also the reason I never get blue screens (if the Windows driver works with the device, there's no need to install the manufacturer's driver, OR vice versa, whichever is more stable).

There is a minimal (or no difference at all) between RC and RTM when it comes to compatibility, with RTM more stable (of course). I already downloaded the RTM, but haven't installed it yet. I will report back when I do.

 

Lexus, I'm really glad to hear that Win 7 has out of box support for the volume/screen adjustment buttons (albeit without an OSD). I will probably go without quickset when I install the RTM. Thanks for the information.

 

Lexus, when you installed Win7, do you have any question marks in your device manager? I have two unknown Base System Devices and I have absolutely no idea what they are...

 

Hi BakaB. Yes, I had 1 item (but not 2) with a yellow question mark in the Device Manager. I had to install the nVidia chipset drivers (R215822) and now there are no more question marked items. I'm not sure if it's the same thing as yours, as I don't remember exactly the text on it.

 

any chance you can post a ss with all your devices expanded...i think it'll be the easiest way for me to find the missing ones.

thanks in advance.

 

Here you go! I didn't expand "System devices", as it's too long and not helpful anyways.

 

Are those official specs or did you measure it yourself? I'm sorta wary of manufacturer's measurements.

 

Official. I did compare it to my macbook though - if you look at my previous posts you'll see some direct comparison photos.

 

Has anyone else tried some gaming on this and checked their temps? I was playing the Arkham Asylum demo and temps stayed at 70c or below, but I was just playing some CSS and temps went all the way up to 76c. I was wondering if anyone knew of a tool to control their fan? What kind of temps are you guys getting? I want to keep this thing cool and I'm too cheap to buy a $25 cooling pad

 

Hi, I have been following this forum for a long while now, and decided to sign up as I had a question for Lexus: could you explain the .inf file mod you did for the nvidia drivers? When I try to install the drivers, it only gives me the option to install the nvidia audio drivers and not the video.

And to piyh:
I was at first uhappy with the cooling, and my fan would ramp up even during idle, and I was regretting not going with the p8600. But after undervolting and replacing the thermal pads for both the cpu and gpu with Arctic Silver 5 (I also had to bend the heat pipe a bit because it wasn't making contact with the gpu), the cooling is much better for the gpu. Cpu temps haven't changed much, but now the fan ramps up 10 degrees C later (CPU temp) than it did before, and I assume this is because the fan calculates its speed based on both cpu and gpu temps (they are cooled by the same heat pipe). It's much cooler and quieter now.

 

Hi, are you saying you replaced the thermal pads on 14z with a thermal compound, and now it runs cooler? If so, that's great! Please confirm! Some pics would be nice too, if you've taken them during the process. Thanks!

Video drivers mod. Download from nVidia, unpack somewhere, go to: NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\186.03\International\Display\ and in it find the nvdm.inf file. Open it and in the [NVIDIA_Devices.NTamd64.6.0] and [NVIDIA_Devices.NTamd64.6.1] sections modify the very last line, which starts with: "%NVIDIA_DEV.0862.01%", so the end of the line reads:
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0866&SUBSYS_02BA1028

Save, and run the setup.

I attached the modified file. HTH