Buying a Gateway and complaining about the materials on a Dell?![]()
Perhaps visiting a retail store and seeing/feeling/touching/experiencing your machine beforehand is your best bet. The majority of your complaints (barring keyboard flex and case materials - I don't understand this. My buddy has a 1555 and his kb is solid and the case feels great. You can pick it up from the left or right side, both hands on the corners, lift off the table and his has no flex whatsoever in the case) were things that most people probably would've noticed before ordering.
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I lost 100$ , and yes I am little bit subjective regarding "problems", maybe it was only in my mind, but every time when I open an picture I sow purple instead of blue.....I repeat maybe it was only my imagination
@zhaden is right , you need to touch an feel before you buy, I open my laptop home after I order from one online store -
quick question about the CD/DVD drivers for the studio 1555. I did a clean install of vista and wanted to know which drive for 64bit lets me burn cds and dvds.
There seems to be 5 different drivers. The first seems to be for windows 7 and there is another for BD-combo (i think its for the bluray drive). I simply have the 8X DVDRW slot drive which one should I d/l? -
Does this laptop really have no HDD activity indicators?
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I personally LOVE it... I watch a lot of videos on my laptop at night and twenty LEDs are very distracting. This laptop presents a very streamlined viewing experience
Oh, also the webcam has a tiny LED as well. -
Hmm, so how will one know that something is loading with this laptop? I've grown accustomed to see an activity light on laptop and desktops.
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2. If you are talking about applications or something like a video file, it really shouldn't take too long from the time you click it until it is open. And even if it takes 15 seconds to start, I hope some part in the user's brain will go "Hey, I'm opening a big video/application it might take awhile to open up". -
Does it make a difference, with Vista? The activity light would just be on all the time
On a more serious note, you can listen the hard drive if you really want to know...But I personaly am glad that they got rid of it, hard drive activity lights stress me out -
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should i install Windows 7 RC1 32 bit OR 64 bit? I just want to play with windows 7 a bit before it comes out.
I searched and it seems like Win7 will install all necessary drivers alraedy too right? -
Bought a Zalman NC-2000 and loaded up ATITool and Orthos.
With both going, CPU which is undervolted is running at low 50-53c. GPU is chugging at 89c.
If I turn off Orthos, CPU drops like a rock to 36c, but GPU is still hovering around 83c. Kind of crazy. -
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Dell. Mine is here.
I'm new here, so hello. My Studio 1555 has arrived today, and I'm really happy. I've got P8600, 4BG RAM, ATi 4570 512MB, 720p, 500GB 5400rpm HDD, Midnight Blue. My screen is LGD7001, colors and view angles are very nice, but I have noticed 1 dead pixelFortunately, it is placed on the right side and it's not very noticeable, if you do not know about it. Despite this, I'm satisfied with my purchase.
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Also, can you clarify what you mean by good viewing angles? Are they both vertically as horizontally good?
Enjoy your new notebook ;-) -
I know some people who got away with making weird excuse about the screen and having it replaced though -
As far as I know, here in Slovakia the Studio line has limit of at least 5 dead pixels to get the screen replaced under warranty. But I'll probably call Dell, maybe they will make an exception for me
Horizontal viewing angles of this LG screen are pretty good I think, I can see no purple shadows, which some other people complained about having LCD panel from Samsung. Vertical angles are worse, but still fine. I can take some photos, if you want.
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The problem with Dell is that they don't publish their dead pixel policy anywhere; I think Apple are also the same. Some companies are quite happy to. One dead pixel might not be enough; I recently had the display in my 1545 replaced because I had maybe between 7 and 10 dead pixels (it's difficult to say exactly because there was a distinct grouping of them in one area that would have had many in there).
You can always ask though, worst they can do is say no. -
Fortunately Google is our friend
Here's the link to the dead-pixel policy of Dell.
You're screen will be replaced if your have 1 or more bright subpixel (always lit aka ... ? divine pixel) and 6 or more dark subpixels (always unlit aka dead pixel).
Still give it a try! Who knows, support might be friendly
Thank you about the info about the viewing angles. I'm still hesitating if I should wait a while for 1600*900 panels coming to Europe (more space on the screen and slight better viewing angles). Argh, I hate Dell's odd global new product implentation idea.Can't we just get all the same? :-s
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Wow, I could never find that when I had googled before, and even the tech rep a few years back would not tell me the answer; good find.
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Whats the deal with this Premium Panel guarantee? -
You see I never did understand the whole point of "the viewing angles are terrible" comments. It's a laptop, I tend to use it with the display facing me, not at an angle where I can test if I can still see it properly. I can tilt the display back or forward, no need to tilt it side to side.
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My laptop just made a clicking sound for about 10 seconds and everything froze up then it returned to normal. I'm pretty sure it was the hard drive.
Should I be worried? -
p.s, hard drive check utilities include HD Tune, Seatools, and whatever else google spurns up for yougood luck
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my S15 comes with the 320gb western D also have the clicking sound. . .is that normal?
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Clicking is perfectly fine; but clicking and freezing for 10 seconds could possibly be a sign of HDD failure. It could also have been that your computer was just very busy and something else was holding it up and accessing the page file or something a lot. On it's own it doesn't mean "panic panic panic", it means check the SMART of your HDD if it happens like for the original poster.
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Is this something that Dell would replace? Also, I would assume I have to wait for it to stop working in order to get it replaced?
Thanks for the advice everyone. If it is going to stop working, I would like for it to be sooner rather than later. Not something I want happening while in school. Not much I can do though. -
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It is perfectly normal to hear some noises from the HDD.These are the signs to watch out for:
Frequent but irregular crashes, particularly after booting into your OS or whilst booting into your OS
Frequent error messages while performing typical activities like moving files.
Files and folders that disappear or rename themselves (though this could also be virus related)
Hard disk is silent for a long period after you request data by opening a file or folder.
Garbled output from open files or printing.
Hard drive grinds away constantly because of noisy bearings.
The specific clicking noise to watch out for is actually preceeded by almost a buzzing noise, like something winding up. This is where head actuator is active because the HDD is trying to recalibrate.
Now if you have heard the same noises since you've had your HDD, but you've experienced none of the other problems, then chances are your HDD is perfectly fine. They do make some noises that are 100% fine.
If the noises you've been hearing are not any you've heard before, then you may have a problem.
In addition to checking the SMART, you should also run a surface scan. Something like chkdsk will be fine. Open up a command prompt, or go to Start > Run then type cmd and enter. Then typeCode:chkdsk /R c:
Keep an eye on your computer, the chkdsk results page does not stay up for very long once the test has completed, and if you miss the results then you'll have to run it again.
Now if something is wrong with your HDD, Dell may replace under warranty. As long as they are happy that the damage is due to wear and tear on the drive (unlikely with a new system) or a manufacturing defect (doesn't happen often, but this is possible), then it would be replaced. If they find out it's damaged due to being dropped or something then you are out of luck. It will be replaced probably, but I expect you'd be charged.
This last bit is not likely to happen. The vast majority of notebook hard drives have a certain degree of protection built in so that the heads are parked before they will cause any damage to the surface of the platter.
I suspect though that there is probably nothing wrong with the drive; it's likely you would have had other warning signs before now. The common one people see before a HDD failure is that chkdsk loads up very often when booting into your OS. Let us know either way though. -
any recommendations on a free burner software that does it all? Never had a chance to try the Roxio Creator DE that came w/ the laptop. Any good? -
I haven't had any of those problems you listed. Aside from this incident, it hasn't given me any problems.
I don't remember if there was any buzzing after the clicking.
I ran HD Tune and the health was listed as OK. I will run the surface scan tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.
It has not been dropped and as you said, it couldn't be from wear and tear. It is either a faulty drive or the drive just got hung up for a bit and it is fine.
Thanks for the help. -
Hi everyone I'm still waiting for my uni grant to come through before I can order this laptop. Here is the spec I'm thinking of:
Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40Ghz, 3MB, 1066MHz)
4GB Memory
512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570
500GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive* (see below)
Full High Definition (1920x1080) WLED
Blu-ray Drive (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM)
Backlit Keyboard
Ruby Red with Microsatin Finish
Intel WiFi Link 5100
6-cell Battery
2Yr In-Home Warranty Support
On Dell's website it comes to £791 altogether (with 10% off).
* Now I don't need the 500GB hard drive and I'd rather have a 7,200 rpm with lower capacity but they aren't available in this configuration. How do I go about changing this?
If I talk to Dell on the phone, could I get a better price for this config (say around £700)? I think the price they're charging for the 1080p screen in the UK is criminal
EDIT: Forgot to mention that I've owned a Dimension 8400 for a while, would that persuade them? -
Unlikely that you'll get another £91 knocked off the price, that would make the total discount about 20%. You can try though, its not like it will hurt at all. I'd suggest trying with a few different reps if you get no joy with the first. You might be able to get some money knocked off, but you'd be lucky to get it down to £700.
No, you owning Dimension machine will not persuade them in the slightest.
By the way, the 512MB version of the 4570, next to pointless pretty much on that machine. The 256MB will show little to no degradation in performance versus the 512MB version. If you wanted to save money, that's one place you could potentially do it. -
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I'm trying to establish how much battery life T4200, T6400, T6500 and P8600 give.
If you have a Dell Studio 1555 with ATI 4570 please post what Vista indicates at a full charge.
Settings:
-50% brightness
-Vista in energy saver
-Bluetooth off, wifi on
-No running programs, except normal background stuff
-Standard battery 100% charged
I have a P8600 here that reports around 3:30 hours. (sometimes it goes up sometimes down but 3:30 seems to be the middle) -
abaddon4180 Notebook Virtuoso
Is that with the 6-cell or 9-cell, phil?
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6 cell, the standard battery.
And I'm not talking about actual battery life. Just what Vista indicates. -
Hi all, I just ordered one of these. I was wondering if in the future, if I could replace the 4570 with a 4650 or a 4850. The card is the only low-end part in it
I'm pretty sure I could get my hands an a 4850 (since Alienware's m17 uses it) but where could I get a 4650? Are there any other Dell laptops that come with it? Thanks! -
Impossible. You'd be better of with Studio XPS 16 with ATI 4670.
Dell Studio 1555
Discussion in 'Dell' started by ps89, Feb 17, 2009.