Dell Studio 1555

Quick question... is the slot drive supposed to be this loud?? The sounds it makes when it's reading the CD is utterly terrible. If this is not uncommon, it is easily the worst part of the laptop.

 

I dont think its too loud...It makes a loud noise at startup, but other than that the noise is manageable even at top read speeds.

 

lol..the startup sound when it swallows the disc really scared me initially...as if something broke inside...got used to it though..

 

I'm afraid reading all 291 pages is a bit daunting. Can someone tell me if replacing the screen is relatively feasible? And what sites that sell them are reputable?

Mine has a glaring dead pixel that is just annoying the heck out of me. Was also curious about upgrading the screen from 1366x768 to 1440x900, if that's even possible (can't seem to find on any of the websites I've come across screens of that resolution that match the 1555 model number).

 

Isn't a 1440x900 screen 16:10? I doubt it'd fit on the 1555 as it's 16:9. If you could get hold of a 1600x900p screen then perhaps it's possible. No idea how to go about swapping it though...

 

You're right, I hadn't even realized that. And I just read they changed the aspect ratio from the older Studio 15s, which would explain why I was seeing those 1440x900 screens.

 

haha , usually slot loading makes lot of noise ... after all they are ingesting and i know its scary when i keep hearing sounds on my car CD player, which is slot loading and 6 CD changer.

 

If you just bought it try Dell tech support, maybe?

 

see the description.

most probably just typo...

 

Dell requires at least 6 dead or stuck pixels to consider a display defective.

 

Seems like I had incompatible media. Tried another brand of disc and it burned perfectly first time at full speed. At least I can rule out a drive issue but doesn't anyone know of any place for a modified firmware with better media support? Tried CD Freaks but no joy.

 

If my computer is coming monday, can I pretty much assume that all the drivers are up to date out of the box?
and for people with the t6500 processor, how you rate its performance?

 

They might be but I would never assume that. I would definitely check your BIOS version (the one thing that should definitely be on the latest revision) and I always think it is good practice to download the latest drivers direct from Dell. For the video card, if you have the ATI option then I would consider downloading the latest catalyst drivers direct from ATI/AMD and modding them for mobility use.

 

hi guys,

I hav a 2.5 mths old Studio 1555.T6400 4GB Ram 320 HDD 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 1366 x 768 LED screen. When I had bought this laptom, 720p was the only screen available in Dell India but now they r providing 1080p too.
So Dell has agreed to upgrade screen from 720p to 1080p. Ironically the technical guy himself was only 99% sure of success.

When the screen was changed today, the newer screen looked too white and faded, right from the system boot up. When Vista loaded, it first showed the older 1366 x 768 resolution then automatically adjusted to the native resolution 1920 x 1080. however the screen looked same i.e. very white, faded, not so clear and colors almost washed out. screen was checked twice but showed same result So i had to keep the original 720p only.

my query is, do 720p and 1080p work on same hardware configs like motherboard and Lcd voltages etc. my studio 1555 is only 2.5 months old and Dell still sells the same configuration and has added new options for 900p and 1080p. Can they be providing different mainbaord now according to screen selected by the buyer, while GPU being the same? my 720p screen is from Samsung and the malfunctioning 1080p was of AUO.

I do understand that ATI supports 1080p. only concern is , can motherboard be a reason, not to show the 1080p display correctly today? my only worry if the 2nd replacement 1080p also doesnt work, how would i put forward the matter to dell then.

though i hope dell will send another 1080p to retry.i really dont find reasons that my almost new 1555 may not be compatible with 1080p that too when the new 1555 is available with same GPU but 1080p screen. 1555 was launched in india just 4 months back. so why would they change motherboard just to match with 1080p. if incase second 1080p screen also does not work then what can be done?

pls write your suggestions. thanks

 

I know I have high hopes but....Did they agree to do it for free???..

 

yes. but then my case is different. 1555 was a replacement for my original Inspiron, which had high resolution screen. so they are doing it, as an obligation.

 

Typically they wont do the upgrade unless there is a problem with your machine, but it will work just fine. My Inspiron was upgraded from 720p to 900p due to dead pixels - all I had to pay was the cost price of the upgrade - about £25, vs the £95 that was being asked for the upgrade via the website.

The difference in colour display is not suprising, it's made by a different manufacturer, and as we all know different manufacturers display do look different. Just take a look at standalone monitors next time you are in a computer store to see what I mean.

 

so basically u paid the cost for upgrade right...nice...even ill try for an upgrade!!...but does it make too much diff...especially for a person who doesnt watch much HD content??

 

But in my case, the 1080p display was too white, fade and washed out right from the first screen we see after power on( shows Dell logo and the F2/F12 keys options) Later on Vista colors and text was also not at all readable.

 

Depends on individual choice. 1080p is good not just for HD movies, its almost a necessity when working on high end graphics and designing applications. it also gives u more space in windows aswellas applications. everything looks sharp and crispy.

 

hmmm...i guess its worth it cause it costs 2k INR or so in india for the 1080p and 1.5k INR or something for the 9oop.. ..its time to call dell!!

 

Well yes I paid for the upgrade, but only cost price, which was like a 75% reduction in price near enough. My point though is that they wont give you the upgrade unless they actually have to replace your display anyway, or if there has been a string of problems with your machine - and even then you have zero right to demand an upgraded display. You can ask for one, but they do not have to give you one.

Yes it makes a huge amount of difference. It's not just about watching HD content, it's more about screen real estate.

 

I really hope mine doesn't come with a dead pixel. How reliable are the online DIY solutions for fixing dead pixels?

Also there is a program called Dead Pixel Fixer which flashes the screen in different colours in an attempt to re-light any dead pixels. Has anyone tried this? It's at http://www.widowpc.com/2005/08/fix_dead_pixels.php

 

The chances of fixing a dead pixel are very very small. I had maybe 10 dead pixels, and neither any software programs or massaging the pixel worked, I did not expect that it would.

 

yea my new 1555 comes monday.. im praying I have no dead pixels and that everything just works out of the box with out too much issue.....mine is the last to arrive from my work's massive order..

 

Excellent. Its by no means a high-end processor, but it gets a 5.0 on the Windows Expirience Index and is very snappy overall. I found the T6500 to offer the best performance per dollar, too.

 

finally ordered my studio 1555

2.4ghz
512mb radeon
5300 wifi card
720p screen
250gb hard drive (7200rpm)

cant wait !

coming in 2 days

 

Hey, you guys know how the Win7 upgrade is free for some users and some have to pay shipping and taxes, depending on their region? Does anyone know if Canadians (in Nova Scotia, if it matters) will have to pay anything? I was under the impression that it was completely free until i read the fine print.

 

If they do charge shipping (and I don't think they will anyway), it won't be more than $5. It's just a DVD and maybe some documentation.

 

Can there really be any imcompatibity issue from the hardware side e.g. motherboard, GPU etc? or the laptop screens too are plug n play kind? So what other factors can be the reason, if 1080p can not be successfully replaced for 720p.

pls write your comments. thanks

 

The display is plug & play. I've actually installed a 1080p display on a laptop that originally came with the 720p for a friend. It went pretty smoothly. You may have just gotten a defective display panel.

 

Thanks Mastershroom

Good to find that you have actually done this thing and its hasslefree. So no hardware imcompatibilty issue should arise. BTW on what laptop model u did the replacement?

I really hope that was a defective screen. I would ask Dell to send another one.

 

yea i did some comparisons on the processor and for the money the t6500 gave me the best benchmarks for my buck.. the t6600 benchmarked lower for 50$ more and the p7350(?? I think) is 150 more and performance was only slightly better than the t6500.

 

This replacement was also on a Studio 1555. Fragilexx here also replaced his 720p with a 900p, although I'm not sure if he did it himself. I'm sure he'll pop in this thread and answer, though.

 

I had the upgrade done on my Inspiron 1545, from 720p to 900p as Mastershroom mentioned, but a technician did it - I've got onsite warranty, so whilst I could have done the replacement, it was easier to get someone else to do it

As Mastershroom says, it could have been a faulty display, but my original comments still stand also - it may simply be the different manufacturers displays actually look different. Post a pic of your display (thumbnailed of course).

 

Does anyone recommend getting a cooling fan or should the laptop be okay?

 

I have one..but I dont use it...I use my studio for around 5-6 hours on my lap(not continuously though)...no probs.

 

Same here. I have a Targus Chill Mat, and have not really used it at all with this 1555. I ended up giving it to a friend for his HP DV7.

 

I personally have a notepal infinite at home and a Zalman NC 2000 at the office. The Zalman does a better job, but the Notepal is slightly quieter.

Neither are necessary though; I just use them because I had them for previous machines; if you've got it, might as well use it.

 

Thanks Fragilexx, Mastershroom

I am now confident that 1080p shud replace 720p quite comfortably and the screen I had earlier got as replacement must have been faulty.

I cant post the pics, as its taken off and sent to dell already.


Will update to you guys, when I get the new screen1080p.

 

Is it safe to shrink my recovery partition?

 

I've got a question for the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB, if I do a clean install of Windows 7 when I get it, would I lose the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB software suite? Could I store it temporarily on a separate disk?

 

Yeah you would loose it, as it is entirely through software...If you can locate the files i think you could save them somewhere until your ready to re-install them.

 

You should have the drivers on a disk that came with your notebook. If not, they can be downloaded from Dell, but you need to search the forums for how. Can't remember where I saw it, but you need to register somewhere to prove you paid for them, then you can download them again.

Whether they work with Windows 7 however is another matter.

 

What kind of battery gradient can i expect? I can push 8 hours out of this (low brightness, no wifi, hdd and dvd drive off) thing this week, what am i looking at after a few months?

my friend got a macbook 9 months ago and his battery life has tanked to just over two hours.

 

I'm assuming your on the 9 cell? 8 hours is very impressive. Vista never seems to stop accessing the hard drive though, how can you be sure its off?


Anyways, expect it to be reduced to 80% capacity in one year, and 80% of that the next...Your friend must have used his macbook like crazy to get it to that much of its original capacity in just 9 months!

 

Battery lifetime depends upon how you use your notebook, it's impossible to tell you how long you'd expect because of this very fact. You see, batteries last for a specific number of recharge cycles (although they do degrade slowly even without use). Your friend who used their macbook, I bet they use it away from AC power most of the time, henceforth the battery goes through many many more cycles than somebody who would use it connected to AC power most of the time.

 

For an OS that does access the hard disk that much, I'm quite surprised that it gave battery life as good as it did on my 14z - for most of us, Vista gave much better battery life than win7, and we still have no good explanation as to why. I thought it might be because of suboptimal drivers, but I don't find that too convincing myself.

 

I've seen some places indicating a 15% IMPROVEMENT over Vista in battery life (I think Anandtech did an article on it, i dont remember) so i would say that the decrease you saw was probably because of those incomplete drivers.

p.s Win7 has a baked in feature that lets you see whats eating up your battery life. Hardware, vampire-ey processes, you name it. I dont know what its called though, you'll have to do some searching for that.

 

Is this what you were thinkin of?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/4569-power-efficiency-diagnostics-report.html