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    Dell Studio 1555

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by ps89, Feb 17, 2009.

  1. zhaden

    zhaden Notebook Consultant

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    Buying a Gateway and complaining about the materials on a Dell? o_O

    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.
     
  2. utprabh

    utprabh Notebook Consultant

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    WOW!!..u really hated ur studio...just curious..how much did u sell it for??
     
  3. karan1003

    karan1003 Notebook Evangelist

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    Sucks that you got a bad display - most people here have been raving about them. the flex has been an issue, at least with the 14z (wrong thread I know) but it doesn't significantly slow anything down. The rest of it seems somewhat subjective, but to each his own.
     
  4. krazyeone

    krazyeone Notebook Enthusiast

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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
     
  5. truebullfan

    truebullfan Notebook Consultant

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    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?
     
  6. Deathwinger

    Deathwinger Notebook Virtuoso

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    Does this laptop really have no HDD activity indicators?
     
  7. joshpowell

    joshpowell Newbie

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    The only two LEDs are power-related and on the side. (the white LED that is solid when on and fades in/out when the system is in sleep mode, and a tiny LED right next to that one that turns orange when the battery is critical and white when on AC power.)

    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.
     
  8. Deathwinger

    Deathwinger Notebook Virtuoso

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    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.
     
  9. Streetmagus

    Streetmagus Notebook Consultant

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    In a quiet room you can hear a harddrive being accessed.
     
  10. Enuj

    Enuj Notebook Enthusiast

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    1. That is what progress bars are for.
    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".
     
  11. tipoo

    tipoo Notebook Evangelist

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    Does it make a difference, with Vista? The activity light would just be on all the time :p

    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 :cool:
     
  12. karan1003

    karan1003 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeah, but the webcam thing is more of a flash.
     
  13. truebullfan

    truebullfan Notebook Consultant

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    can anyone help?
     
  14. tracerit

    tracerit Notebook Consultant

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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?
     
  15. fUngw00

    fUngw00 Newbie

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    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.
     
  16. karan1003

    karan1003 Notebook Evangelist

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    go with 64 bit. There's almost no advantage to not doing it.
     
  17. Streetmagus

    Streetmagus Notebook Consultant

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    I was in the same situation. I downloaded the TSST firmware one because I checked the hardware id (device manager>>dvd>>properties>>details>>Hardware ids) and it had a bunch of crap saying TSST corp etc, so I figured that was the manufacturer whatever it is. Check yours =P
     
  18. Yxo

    Yxo Newbie

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    Dell. Mine is here. :D

    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 pixel :( Fortunately, 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.
     
  19. c-mattic

    c-mattic Notebook Consultant

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    You should call Dell about the dead pixel. They probably have it replaced if you want.
    Also, can you clarify what you mean by good viewing angles? Are they both vertically as horizontally good?

    Enjoy your new notebook ;-)
     
  20. Streetmagus

    Streetmagus Notebook Consultant

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    Actually Dell might not replace it if its only 1 dead pixel. I think theres a certain criteria it needs to meet before they are responsible to replace it.

    I know some people who got away with making weird excuse about the screen and having it replaced though ;)
     
  21. Yxo

    Yxo Newbie

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    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 :D 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.
     
  22. Fragilexx

    Fragilexx Get'cha head in the game

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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.
     
  23. c-mattic

    c-mattic Notebook Consultant

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    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 :D ) 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. :mad: Can't we just get all the same? :-s
     
  24. Fragilexx

    Fragilexx Get'cha head in the game

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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.
     
  25. karan1003

    karan1003 Notebook Evangelist

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    the 5 limit is normal for almost all LCD producers around the states as well.
     
  26. Terbo

    Terbo Notebook Consultant

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    Its no surprise you couldn't find it, the article was only published on Friday! Its surprising that they only just put it up.

    Whats the deal with this Premium Panel guarantee?
     
  27. Fragilexx

    Fragilexx Get'cha head in the game

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    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.
     
  28. karan1003

    karan1003 Notebook Evangelist

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    I feel they might be more relevant with larger laptop screens, because many people (myself included) will put the laptop on a desk, pop in a movie, and sit back and watch. Viewing angles may come into play then. However, I don't think it's an issue with smaller laptops. Nonetheless, nice information to know.
     
  29. Sonarav

    Sonarav Notebook Guru

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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?
     
  30. tipoo

    tipoo Notebook Evangelist

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    I would say yes...Run all the hard drive health check tools you can think of/find. That was what happened to my old desktop hard drive, it got worse and worse until it was unusable and we had to buy a new hard drives.


    p.s, hard drive check utilities include HD Tune, Seatools, and whatever else google spurns up for you ;) good luck
     
  31. karan1003

    karan1003 Notebook Evangelist

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    back your data up NOW.
     
  32. Analys1s

    Analys1s Notebook Enthusiast

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    This sounds like imminent hard drive failure; definitely heed everyone's advice and back up your important data often.
     
  33. Streetmagus

    Streetmagus Notebook Consultant

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    This is a sign of HDD failure. Can't say for sure how long you have before it fail, might be quite awhile, might be tomorrow, but yes, you should be worried.
     
  34. lipton

    lipton Notebook Enthusiast

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    my S15 comes with the 320gb western D also have the clicking sound. . .is that normal?
     
  35. Fragilexx

    Fragilexx Get'cha head in the game

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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.
     
  36. Sonarav

    Sonarav Notebook Guru

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    I installed HD Tune and am running that. Thanks for the heads up.
    Fortunately, I still have most everything on my external HDD as I usually update that every couple of days. Just had to update a few picture folders.


    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.
     
  37. truebullfan

    truebullfan Notebook Consultant

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    well I d/l the driver called OPTIARC firmware from the driver d/l page since thats the name that i saw under device manager but it seems i still can't burn. I'm using CDburnerXP software. Could the program be the problem?
     
  38. tipoo

    tipoo Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm fairly certain its something Dell will replace, as its a hardware failure. I advise you to call them sooner rather than later, as there is no way of knowing when it will go belly-up.
     
  39. Streetmagus

    Streetmagus Notebook Consultant

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    I assume the drive itself works? Like you can install CDs DVDs etc? If so, then it doesn't seem like the drive or drivers are broken. I've never heard of CDburnerXP, and it sounds like its for XP? Are you running Vista/Win7? Seems more like a software not picking up your CD/DVD Drive.
     
  40. Fragilexx

    Fragilexx Get'cha head in the game

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    OK, before you start speaking to Dell about this, can you explain the clicking? Is it a new sound you've not had before when using the computer?

    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 type
    Code:
    chkdsk /R c:
    assuming that C: is your hard drive. You may need to reboot your system to allow this to run properly.

    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.
     
  41. truebullfan

    truebullfan Notebook Consultant

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    Looks like it was CDburnerXP that was the program b/c i just installed Active ISO burner and it burned the image. And CDburnerXP actually does work for vista. Its actually very popular.

    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?
     
  42. Sonarav

    Sonarav Notebook Guru

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    This is the first time it has done this. If I remember correctly, I was in Firefox when it happened. I would say it was either a clicking or a grinding and I know it is not the normal sound a HDD makes.

    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.
     
  43. gamezmaster

    gamezmaster Notebook Geek

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    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 :mad:

    EDIT: Forgot to mention that I've owned a Dimension 8400 for a while, would that persuade them? :p
     
  44. Fragilexx

    Fragilexx Get'cha head in the game

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    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.
     
  45. leo9

    leo9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Get the system spec into your basket and then call Dell to modify the hard drive option. I did this with a near-identical UK system a while back. Only trouble with modifying an online order by phone is you lose the chance of getting 6% cashback.
     
  46. Phil

    Phil Retired

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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)
     
  47. abaddon4180

    abaddon4180 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Is that with the 6-cell or 9-cell, phil?
     
  48. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    6 cell, the standard battery.

    And I'm not talking about actual battery life. Just what Vista indicates.
     
  49. jacob5622

    jacob5622 Guest

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    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! :D
     
  50. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Impossible. You'd be better of with Studio XPS 16 with ATI 4670.
     
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