OFFICIAL: Studio 17 Owner's Thread

For those who have ordered it or are planning to in the near future.
Post your specs if you ordered it.

Main discussion thread for the Dell Studio 17 notebook.

I'll update it often with new news.

"The Dell Studio 17 is a 17" screen multimedia laptop offered in multiple colors and configurations. The Studio 17 can be equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo and dedicated ATI graphics. It comes with a slot-loading DVD drive, backlit keyboard, sleek drop-hinge design, widescreen glossy display and touch sensitive buttons. Software wise the Dell Studio 17 includes a unique Apple Mac OS X launch dock."

So far the Studio 17 has been named Notebookreviews.com Editors Choice for June 2008 and PC Mag gave the Studio 15 Editors Choice Award.

 

Owners thread?
They only became available today!

 

I assume some people ordered some today

 

I guess someone had to be the first to start this thread!

 

anyone purchase a new Studio 17 in the past few days?
If so, please post your specs

 

mine just shipped - where are the vista 64 drivers?

 

Just ordered one last night:

Studio 17
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
Vista Home Premium Edition SP1

-----------------------
-- System Color Option --
-- Midnight Blue
-----------------------
-- Memory --
-- 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2
-----------------------
-- Built-in Keyboard Options --
-- Back-lit Keyboard
-----------------------
-- LCD Panel --
-- Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920x1200)
-----------------------
-- Video Card --
-- 256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
-----------------------
-- Hard Drive --
-- Size: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
-----------------------
-- Combo or DVD+RW Drive --
-- 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
-----------------------
-- Sound Card --
-- High Definition Audio 2.0
-----------------------
-- Wireless Networking Cards --
-- Dell 1510 Wireless-N Card
-----------------------
-- Camera Module --
-- Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
-----------------------
-- Battery Options --
-- 85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
-----------------------
-- Finger Print Reader Module --
-- Integrated Finger Print Reader
-----------------------
-- WWAN --
-- Verizon Wireless built-in cellular mobile broadband (EV-DO Rev A)
-----------------------
-- Bluetooth Option --
-- Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0)
-----------------------
-- Media Center Enhancements --
-- Dell Travel Remote Control, IR
-- AVerTV Hybrid NanoExpress ATSC
-----------------------
-- LCD and Camera
-- Hi-Res. TL widescreen 17.0 inch WLED display (1920x1200) w/ 2.0M Pixel Came
-----------------------

 

Purchased one on the 30th, it just hit the boxing stage today... est ship date is 7/14 but I'm hoping to get it next week... Anyone think that's possible?

223-9905 1 Studio 1735, Intel Core 2 Duo T5850, 2.16GHz, 667Mhz, 2M L2 Cache
313-6677 1 Jet Black
311-8659 1 3GB, DDR2, 2 Dimm
330-0560 1 Back-lit Keyboard
320-6897 1 Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440x900)
341-6739 1 ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
341-6743 1 320G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
420-8566 1 Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English
313-6256 1 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
313-6727 1 Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy Advanced HD Software Edition
430-2931 1 Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half Mini Card
320-6653 1 Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
430-2933 1 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.0)
313-6279 1 Integrated Finger Print Reader
420-8312 1 Finger Print Software
320-6909 1 Anti-glare, widescreen 17.0 inch LCD w/ 2.0M pixel Camera

 

I have decided to get one, Just have to sell my current laptop and 2 of my desktop boxes first.

 

Quite possible. Granted I ordered a Studio 15.

I placed my order on the 27th, with a ESD of July 15th.

It was shipped today with tracking. I will be getting it on the next week on Tuesday. Much ahead of the ESD. woot!

 

On which Dell site you got WLED in full HD ? i dont seee it on any site LED is only available in 1440 X 900 on all dell site (US? UK, French) full HD is in CCFL

 

leif902
Newbie

Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 6
Rep Power: 1

 

It was on the US site, they told me it was a "transparent" option, so I'm assuming that means they just give it to you if they have them in stock (I didn't think I was getting WLED even though I wanted it, then it said that on my order confirmation).

EDIT: A friend of mine ordered a Studio 15 yesterday and his hi-res screen did not have WLED... so it sounds like it was just the luck of the draw.

P.S. I really like these forums, I used them all the time when researching what laptop to get and now that I finally purchased one I signed up and they seem very useful.

 

I signed up a year ago, posted once then left.
Found it recently and was stumped when I couldn't register - my username isn't exactly in high demand!
Tried logging in out of curiosity - lo and behold!
Nearly 200 posts later, I'm nearly ready to buy a laptop - a year later than I first started planning!

 

I am very excited to order my studio! I am waiting a few days to see if I hear back from our company's dell representative to see if he can get a deal for me.

 

That's a good thing to wait for... I found out the day after I ordered mine that my school has a Premier account with Dell... ordering through it would have saved me almost 300 dollars (and the options were better... if you order from a school account you aren't forced into paying 130 dollars for a WWAN card from a carrier - Verizon - that I don't even use)

 

yee haw, my Studio 17 was shipped today! However tracking information is not available... yet... I'm guessing it should be tomorrow....

Go Dell! Multiple days before the estimated ship date!!!

 

I just ordered mine today from Staples and can't wait for it to show up tomorrow! I got the 2.0ghz Core Duo (plenty fast enough), 4GB of RAM, and a 250GB HD. I went with the midnight blue, although that was a hard choice. The early reviews seem to be excellent, so I can't wait to fire this baby up!

I wonder how easy it will be to upgrade down the line? I had a Dell desktop many years back, and it gave me fits. I know things have come a long way, though, and if the Studio 15/17 can rival the XPS line, I doubt I'll have many complaints.

 

Ordered my Studio 17 yesterday! ESD is 7/22, I live in the US, any possibility it will come sooner?

 

I finally ordered mine today. Giant hassle.

Was getting Inspiron 1720, work is funding it and there was some confusion so it dithered for a month. When I got back to it there was a new Vostro out, and the Studio was around the corner, so I elected to wait. Configured a Studio 17 on the Dell US site, as it wasn't available in Aust, got a price for the config I wanted, then forwarded it all to the Dell person I was in communication with. She came back and told me I couldn't have the Blu Ray combo drive I wanted, and it would be $500 dearer than the US price (even after the US price had been converted to AUD). So I ordered an Inspiron 1720, before getting a call a day later telling me the Blu Ray was no longer available for Inspiron. I told them the US spec Studio 17 was perfect, but they wanted too much money for it, and they couldn't supply the Blu Ray drive. Finally, I got my quote for Studio 17, with Blu Ray drive, at a reasonable price, with a Dell 810 multi function printer thrown in for good measure.

So, this is what I am now waiting for:
Studio 17
T9300 CPU
4GB RAM
320GB HD
Blu Ray Combo Drive (Blu Ray Reader, DVD Burner)
Illuminated keyboard with fingerprint scanner
1900x1200 WUXGA screen
TV tuner w/remote control
Vista Ultimate
Jet Black

Should last me a little while, hopefully it turns up soon!

 

Mine should be here this morning. I kind of wish Staples would post more techinical specs on their computers, but someone here did allude to it being equivalent to the "better" model on Dell's site, which is good.

 

You bought a laptop without knowing what's in it??!

 

Haha, no - I was referring to other prospective buyers. I already knew the specs for the model they offer. Staples always seems to lag behind Best Buy and other retailers when it comes to providing detailed info - even on their most expensive items.

 

I see, lol

 

Got my 17 today... i love it... but the fingerprint scanner is giving me mild fits... for the first hour or two it worked perfect then for about an hour i couldn't get it to scan hardly at all... then it started working perfect again... do you guys & girls think it's a problem with the scanner or my finger? haha... help would be much appreciated!

 

Probably just the scanner, you can't expect much from a cheap biometric-scanner like that, especially if you have calluses on your fingers.

 

According to the specifications, the RAM will be DDR2 and the processor will be based on the Santa Rosa platform.

Why didn't Dell offer newer configurations like the Montevina processors and DDR3 RAM? Why is Dell offering old technology in a new notebook?

The Montevina processors and DDD3 RAM is new, is more power-efficient, runs cooler, and offers a lot more performance!

This is very unusual...

 

I got my Studio 17 today. Pretty pleased, decent performance from what I've seen so far. Seems pretty well screwed together.
I have one complaint, though. I have a 2Ghz CPU and the 256M ATI 3650 discrete graphics card and the fan audibly runs ALL THE TIME.

It's not particularly noisy, for a notebook CPU fan, so it's not like the fan's got faulty bearings.If I run CPU burn-in and put the CPU utilization up to 100%, it will speed up and get even louder, but still not much louder than any other laptop I've used that's working hard, though gaming would put an even bigger load on it since I'm not really working the video at all.

It's just that the fan runs all the time, even when the computer is at 3% CPU usage and it's just sitting there in a 77 degree room, on a hard surface.

I regularly deal with four other Core 2 Duo laptops, three of which are Dells, and three of which also have discrete video cards. None of them run their fans audibly all the time when idling. Sure, if I start playing TF2 on my HP9200 the fan spins up, or if I transcode video for my PSP on my wife's Dell 830 the fan runs. But the Studio 17 runs constantly.

On the positive side, the exterior stays cooler than any other performance oriented laptop I think I've ever seen.

Frankly, I haven't seen a CPU fan run this much since the days of desktop P4 chips in laptops.

I talked to Dell support and they had no suggestions. I upgraded the BIOS ( new version out 7/7/08...) without any noticeable change.

It's annoying to the point that I'm considering sending it back and purchasing something else if there's no way to quiet it down.

 

Is the Montevina platform even out yet? (I thought it was delayed)

 

No - still waiting on Montevina so can't blame Dell for that

 

Well, I love my new Studio 17, but I didn't post any pictures as I spent all night trying to figure out a few nagging issues:

1. Why the media center remote control wasn't in the box?

2. How to enable the keyboard backlight (still can't figure it out).

and the biggest pain (thanks Vista)...

3. I can't get my Wi-Fi network to say anything other than "local only". This is definitely an OS issue, as the hardware is working fine.

All in all, this was a great pickup for under $900. I'm sure you'll get many years out of this quality machine.

 

1. Why the media center remote control wasn't in the box?

2. How to enable the keyboard backlight (still can't figure it out).


same question here on the media center remote, I though it was standard with the media center....

as for the keyboard backlight, press Fn then i the right arrow key... it has a high, low and off.

hope that helps...

does anyone have answers on the freaking remote, I hate dell Customer Service so bad that i HATE to call them for any problems....

 

Thanks for the tip with the light - I'll try it. I also hate calling Dell Customer Service. Since I got mine from Staples, I wonder if they can help me? I was surprised that the remote wasn't in the box - just a plastic placeholder in the media slot.

 

anyoen post pictures now that you have yours?

 

The base model is supposed to come with the remote control, correct? Staples says they aren't sure and Dell is telling me to speak with Staples. Uggh.

 

Staples' tech support is looking into this issue to see what happened. They were very friendly, and I'll post their response as soon as I know. It was my understanding that all the base Studio models came with the remote.

 

They can't offer something that isn't available. Once Intel releases the new chipset/processors Dell will offer them.

 

Ok, so I got my answer - systems purchased through Staples do NOT come with a remote. I didn't really want it anyway, but wanted to make sure I wasn't being short changed. I was told you can order this through Dell, though.

As an aside, I stil can't get the backlight working. I tried to the Function Key + Right arrow, to no avail. Could this be a driver or software issue? I really appreciate your thoughts on this. I hope it's not defective. Thanks.

 

are you sure the Staples Studios come with the backlit keyboard? In Australia its a $30-60 option.

 

Unless it was a mistake, it was listed as an included feature on the Staples product card when I made the purchase in the store. Strangely, though, this feature is not on their website. Is it possible that the backlit keyboard is an optional feature?

 

Hey everyone -- Been reading the forums here for a while and due to all of the hype and praise over the Studio models, I decided to pull the trigger and order one. I ordered a Studio 17 on 7/6 and it's already been shipped and is scheduled to arrive Monday! The original estimated delivery date was 7/28... nice that it's coming in WAY ahead of schedule. Here are the specs of my machine from the confirmation email:

Item Description:
----------------------------------------------------
Studio 17 - Intel® Core蒂 2 Duo T5850 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache), Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
Unit Price: $1,472.00
Quantity: 1
Total Price: $1,472.00

-- Studio 17 --
-- Intel® Core蒂 2 Duo T5850 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
-----------------------
-- System Color Option --
-- Midnight Blue
-----------------------
-- Memory --
-- 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2
-----------------------
-- Built-in Keyboard Options --
-- Back-lit Keyboard
-----------------------
-- LCD Panel --
-- Glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440x900)
-----------------------
-- Video Card --
-- 256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
-----------------------
-- Hard Drive --
-- Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
-----------------------
-- Operation System --
-- Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
-----------------------
-- Adobe Software --
-- Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
-----------------------
-- Combo or DVD+RW Drive --
-- 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
-----------------------
-- Sound Card --
-- High Definition Audio 2.0
-----------------------
-- Wireless Networking Cards --
-- Dell 1397 Wireless-G Card
-----------------------
-- Camera Module --
-- Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
-----------------------
-- Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) --
-- Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 - Word, Excel + PowerPoint
-----------------------
-- Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) --
-- Norton Internet Security 2008, 15-Month
-----------------------
-- Battery Options --
-- 56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
-----------------------
-- Service --
-- 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor,24x7 Phone Support
-----------------------
-- Dial-Up Internet Access --
-- No ISP requested
-----------------------
-- Finger Print Reader Module --
-- Integrated Finger Print Reader
-----------------------
-- LCD and Camera (non-displayed / transparent to cus --
-- Glossy widescreen 17.0" LCD (1440 x900) w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
-----------------------
-- Processor Branding (non-displayed / transparent to --
-- Intel® Core蒂 2 Duo Processor
-----------------------
-- Labels (non-displayed / transparent to customer) --
-- Windows Vista蒂 Premium
-----------------------
-- DataSafe --
-- Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
-----------------------

Final price for the machine was $1349.00. Really looking forward to Monday -- can't wait to get this thing in! Thanks to everyone for helping me make my decision!

-Rob

 

Hi everybody,

I'm new to this forum, I just ordered my first laptop (Dell Studio 1735 two days ago) and I registered hoping to help or find help with similar problems (if any).

My only concern right now is how to install XP, but as someone already pointed out, it's a matter of time for this issue.

Here are the specs of my studio 1735

Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 2.5GHz, 800Mhz, 6M L2 Cache
4GB, DDR2, 2 Dimm
Back-lit Keyboard
Hi-Res. TL widescreen 17.0 inch WLED display (1920x1200) w/ 2.0M Pixel Creative Camera SW
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
250G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English =(
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini Card
Integrated Finger Print Reader

 

So jealous! I ordered my puter on 7/7 and it's still in production with an estimated shipping date of 7/22. I hope I get such good news on Monday (that it is in the mail and on it's way to my eagerly awaiting hands).

I ordered as below:

Studio 1735, Intel Core 2 Duo T5850, 2.16GHz, 667Mhz, 2M L2 Cache
Spring Green
4GB, DDR2, 2 Dimm
Back-lit Keyboard
Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch WLED display (1440x900)
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
320G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English
DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP INSP1735
Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half Mini Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Norton Internet Security 15-Month,English
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
Integrated Finger Print Reader
Finger Print Software
Free Recycling Kit
Hi-Res. TL widescreen 17.0 inch WLED display (1440x900) w/ 2.0M Pixel Camera

Happy computing!

Gina

 

I ordered mine on 7/9. I hope I get great news that it's coming early! I am so psyched that my laptop cover will be purple. I posted the specs in a different post so I don't want to repeat. I just can't wait to get it!

 

If anyone has received theirs yet, could you post some pictures?

 

I ordered my Studio17 on July 11th and got an ETA for August 4th! On inquiring Dell about the delay, they told me that they are waiting for the GFX card (ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3650).

It seems that everyone else here will be getting their laptop within reasonable time while I'm left to wait until August. *sob*

 

I ordered mine july 10th, but they told me that the wait would be 15 work days =( , I didn't get any explanation but I think it was because I got a screen with a resolution of 1920x1200).

 

Hm... 15 work days sounds about the same ETA that I got. I REALLY hope this is a worst case ETA and that my laptop will ship sooner.

I understand that none of the Dell assembly factories have their own warehouses and thus are completely reliant on suppliers meeting demands on time, but GFX and screen shortage not four weeks after the series launch is not very impressive, is it?

 

I ordered a Studio 17 on 7/8 with a scheduled ship date of 7/23. Dell shipped it yesterday (7/14). I'm thinking that they typically overestimate the delivery times to decrease the # of calls/inquiries. Now I see that Dell states " May delay your Studio 17 ship date" under the GFX card. I find this strange since it's the only option available!

T8100 w/4GB
1440x900 WLED (I understand it uses less power)

I had spec'd it a few days earlier and went back on the 8th to reconfigure it. They had dropped a couple of freebies (Norton 15month & 1 yr in-home service). When I saw that the price had increased, I went ahead and ordered my previously saved selections at the lower price.

 

If I were you, I'd be questioning a delay that long around the time Montevina gets released... I don't suppose Studio is getting upgraded in the mean time?