Official Dell Studio 14 1458 Owners Thread

I noticed that the Studio 14 did not have a thread of its own.

Does anyone notice that the fan is constantly on? It is driving me crazy.

 

My 1458 will be here in another week or so...
Have you found a solution to the fan issue?
How do you like the machine otherwise?

 

The machine feels cheaper than my XPS, plus the screen isn't as sharp. the keys are smaller too, which is weird. The 1GB memory doesn't rate as high as the 9500m in the xps either. I think I am just bitter because I really liked my XPS.

No resolution on the fan yet.

 

How long did yours take to ship? I placed an order on 4/26 and it's still in production.

 

Mine took about 2 weeks once it was in production.

 

Are you thinking about returning it? There seem to be some issues with the new studio fans...really concerned about having to ship it right back and start shopping again. ugh.

 

I know this is a matter of opinion, but I am not happy with the quality and feel of the laptop. It does not feel like a ~$1000 system. I cannot see myself being happy with this thing for very long.

 

I just received my i7 1458 last week and agree it doesn't look/feel like an expensive laptop. This may not be a bad thing from a theft stand point

It is fast and stays relatively cool with max cpu 78C at full load. It is currently the only i7 14" laptop with back light keyboard. But that will change in June when HP starts selling the envy 14.

I was hoping that the 5430 ATI GPU with eyefinity would allow me to connect two external monitors and use the laptop LCD at the same time. But, I cannot figure out how to get it to do that. I upgraded to latest ATI drivers and it works better with my monitors. Prior to the driver upgrade my hdmi monitor was stuck at 50Hz and emitted a high pitch noise.

I think I saw in the bios or dell tool that the fan is set to passive on battery and active on power. When I run it off battery the fan only runs when the CPU heats up. When I run off power the fan seems to stay on all the time, but it doesn't seem that loud to me.

I paid $905 which is good price for the specs, but also not sure I will stay happy with the way it looks/feels. Of course I think an HP envy 14 with similar specs will probably be $500 more.

Prior to this laptop I tried an HP envy 15, it overheated and was returned. I then tried a HP dv8 which was nice but I did not like nvidia GPU and it was not very portable. The screen was very nice but I read reviews that they had overheating problems as they get older.

So the Dell studio 14 with i7 CPU, runs 3hrs+ on battery and doesn't overheat so far, has back lit keyboard and is easy to carry around. Plus when I need to run VMs or edit video it is up to the task.

FYI I also had hoped to replace the optical drive, but it requires one to disassemble the entire laptop to do that.

 

Hey all,

I've had my Studio 1458 with Core i5 520 and ATi 4530 since early Feb. Gotta say I've been more than happy with it. The thing is portable enough, screen is nice and I've never had any cooling problems with it. When the fan is on when plugged in you can hear it in a quiet room but it's not annoying in the sound it makes. On my lap the things is quite quiet and cool unless I'm stressing the GPU/CPU and even then I don't find the fan annoying. Overall quite pleased.

 

I guess I am the just comparing the 1458 to the XPS 13. The XPS was quiet and well built. I feel a little better knowing that others are happy with theirs.

 

My machine was just delayed by about a week - could this possibly be due to a fix for the fan problems?

 

Looks like I'll be returning the machine and most likely going with the new Envy 14 - this Studio just sketches me out (build quality, GPU, size, etc).

 

I hope you are satisfied with the Envy line. I hear good and bad things about it. Most people opt for the Sony Viao Z. Both laptops are built much better than this thing.

 

Hi guys. I have a Dell 1458 with core i3-540 and it has been working quite well.

Last week, my little sister press quite hard over the screen and now the screen has a black mark. I connected my laptop to an external monitor and everything works ok. Do you know where to buy a new LED screen for this laptop ? Should the inspiron 14 screen works ?

Cheers

 

A Studio 14z LCD panel might fit. They can be found on ebay (which is where most people get replacement screens) for under $150. They have the same exact resolution.

Also, does anyone else's power adapter wiggle when it is plugged into the laptop? Mine moves quite a bit and is knocked off with the slightest touch.

 

My power adapter does seem to wiggle a bit - little unnerving.

My fan has been constantly on, but isn't as loud as I'd expected from the posts I've read - but still if it's always on most likely it'll die sooner than it should.

Also I've been having some major issues running games via Steam, especially GTA 4 - I'm only getting 15fps on low settings even with: Intel Core i7-720QM Quad Core Mobile CPU
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 1GB
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive
Rather disappointed considering the 1,300 price tag

 

I sent mine back. Even though I had a great price.

I really wanted to replace the optical drive with a hard drive and it was not worth the effort to take the whole laptop apart to accomplish it. Also if I let it run at max load for several hours the 90 watt power supply started making noises. I had a 130 watt PSU that did not do this but that is not what ships with these laptops.

I still think it has potential and it is the only 14" laptop that offers a quad core.

For future shoppers. This laptop idles at 10-15 watts and max cpu load 60 watts and average load of 25-30 watts, so it is very low power laptop with a quad core. This probably attribute to the ATI video card and bios settings.

If it had an easy to replace optical drive, 1600x900 display and better power supply I would have kept it.

I had no problems with fan, and after apply the latest ati video driver from the AMD website the video card worked much better with my 1080p monitors.

 

jstyles, what are you going to replace your studio with?

 

Got my laptop about a month ago, so far im happy with it. Got the same specs as jstyles except core i5 instead of the i7. Bought it for $662 so can't complain much except one thing: keyboard has a slight flex which is not too bothersome but it definitely noticeable. But the again for the price i can't complain. Build quality is average or above average IMO. It looks professional as compared to other laptops i've seen that have all kinds of stickers and such ( never understood why manuf. decide to add OS, processor, and video card stickers next to the palm rest ).

I don't have any of the issues with the fan speed; what i've noticed is that the cpu fan is noticeable once the cpu temp is over 45C. In regard to TimboneH2 comment, i would check the cpu temp ( make sure its not overheating) before troubleshooting the fan noise. I have an i5 and i know that if i keep it under 45C don't hear the fan at all whether its on batteries or plugged in. Don't know if this will help but I updated the bios to A04 ( from A03 )

I was able to run some games ( ATI 4530) and i was able to play MW2 (low) and portal with playable fps at native rez so it performs just as expected. Im not too worried about it since i game on my desktop. In regard to GTA4, timboneH2 make sure you check other games cuz i remember reading about GTA4 not being well optimized especially for ATI cards. Make sure you install latest drivers too.


On a side note, the bottom plastic frame on the lcd panel is slightly loose, i tried to snap it in place but i couldn't do it. Not a big deal though. Other than that everything runs excellent ( ran a few stability tests and so far so good).
If some of you guys decide to replace this ith an HP, i personally don't have much experience with HP laptops but from what i've seen ( friends and stuff) HP have alot of problems: i've seen HDD failures, wireless not working, loose components inside the unit, overheating, all kinds of problems, so if you decide to get an HP make sure you invest in a good warranty .

Studio 1458
Core i5 520M
4 GB DDR3 1333 (1066)
ATI 4530
Creative SB X-FI MB
6 cell
500 GB 7200RPM

 

Does it have to stream the game on Steam? It may be the internet speed. My Dell rep told me the internet card is not very good. Also, I heard the graphics card is ok for video, but not very good for games.

On a side note, my 900p display is going to be installed tomorrow. Yay!

 

I am going to give the dell e6510 a try with a i7 quad and 1080p display. It cost about $180 more but comes with a 3yr warranty. I am just concerned it maybe to big. If it doesn't work out then I will look at the HP envy 14 once it comes out. I really want a 14" or smaller laptop with i7 cpu and dual hard drives. I have not found any. So my plan is to swap out the optical drive with a hard drive.

I still think the studio 14 when on sale is hard to beat for the price if you are not wanting two hard drives.

 

I was also disappointed when i realized putting 2 drive would be such a pain. I will just opt for a bigger SSD

 

So is this thing any good? It seems to be a good alternative to the dm4t. My brother wants something that is a little weaker and a little cheaper than my dm4t and the Studio 14 with i3/4530 seems like a good option. Is the build quality that bad and what is the battery life like?

 

Request: mPCIe port layout for Studio 1458

Can anyone confirm if a Studio 1458 has a WWAN slot? If so, can someone volunteer to swap the wifi card and identify what port the WWAN and wifi slots are in Everest->Motherboard->Chipset, like this.

This is to identify if the Studio 1458 has port1+port2 accessible to do a DIY ViDock, attaching a desktop video card, at x2 speed.

The Studio 1458 has port1, port2, and port3 enabled by the bios as shown here.

 

Have to replace my 3 week old Studio 14 (which is a replacement itself). The motherboard crapped out and cannot display on the laptop's LCD properly. I should be getting a call tomorrow about the replacement.

 

Has anybody had a Studio 14z as well as this computer? I'm curious how they compare size-wise, and haven't been given a good idea, or pictures haven't really done anything justice. Also, have they fixed the fan issue?

Thanks!

 

The Studio 14z is almost the same size, except it is a little bit thinner

 

Got my new 900p screen and it is awesome! It took Dell 3 tries to send the right one, but it is worth it.

 

How did you manage to get the 900p screen? I tried everything to get one, and they told me it was a no-go.

 

I was kind of wondering the same thing. I'm replacing a lemon Studio XPS 1340 that crapped out repeatedly. I'm also looking at the HP Envy 14 and HP Pavilion dm4t, but I have no experience with HP. How is the build quality (and customer service/tech support) compared to Dell? I was amazed at how crappy the build of my XPS 1340 was at its $2000+ price tag. How is the build quality of the Studio 1458?

No matter what I get, I'm going to beef it up with an i7 processor and plenty of RAM. abaddon4180 -- does your dm4t have a backlit keyboard? I can't tell from the specs on the HP site.

 

What is your comment on the following config:
Black ChainlinkSoftware & ServicesGenuine
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-450M 2.4GHz (Turbo boost up to 2.66GHz, 4 Threads, 3M Cache)
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
Intel® HD Graphics
Dell 1501 Wireless-N
14.0” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Back-lit Keyboard
Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software EnabledPersonalize
3 Year Basic Service Plan
Microsoft® Office Starter 2010
McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

Do you think it would last 4 years?
How is the build quality?

 

Are the Dell Studio 14 series shiny? The cover and screen?

 

Yes the screen and cover are shiny

 

I have had a Studio 14, Envy 14, Latitude E6400, Latitude E6410. I like the build quality of the Latitude E64x0 series best. The screen on the Envy 14 best, but the size, speed and temp of the Studio 14 the best.

I could not stand the touchpad on the Envy 14 and there was a gap and other quality control issue I could not justify on the Envy 14. It also had the worse battery life.

The Studio 14 feels a little cheap, but is the only 14" laptop I have seen with a quad core, ati graphics, backlit keyboard that still has good battery life and does not get hot on the bottom. If I could have easily replaced the optical drive with a Harddrive and could have gotten a 1600x900 screen I would have kept it.

I was able to get a good deal on a E6410, with a i7 dual core from the dell outlet, otherwise I would still be looking. I wish they made the E6410 with a quad core and ati graphics then it would be the best 14" laptop in my book.

 

That's what I figured from the pics and thanks for the verification. That's the only notebook that matches what I'm looking for and is priced similarly to the Envy 14.

Unfortunately I'm not into shiny.

 

What is your comment on the following config:
Black ChainlinkSoftware & ServicesGenuine
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-450M 2.4GHz (Turbo boost up to 2.66GHz, 4 Threads, 3M Cache)
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
Intel® HD Graphics
Dell 1501 Wireless-N
14.0” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Back-lit Keyboard
Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software EnabledPersonalize
3 Year Basic Service Plan
Microsoft® Office Starter 2010
McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

Do you think it would last 4 years?
How is the build quality?

Anyone?please help

 

It is difficult to say if it will last 4 years. Depends on what you do with it, how it is tranported, etc.

I personally would get the ATI graphics, since Intel still doesn't seem to have the best performance even for non gaming.

If you really want a system that will last 4 years get one with an extended warranty. The Lattitude 6xxxx series come with a 3 year warranty by default. I was able to pickup a 6410 from the dell outlet with i7 620 cpu, 4 GB ram, backlit keyboard, camera, 1440x900 display and integrated graphics for $720. Others have gotten similiar configs with nvidia graphics for even less. Depends on what is available in the outlet and if there are any 15% off coupons.

 

I got the standard issue i7 (1.6ghz) one. (4gb of RAM, 1gb ATI HD5450, 500gb hdd) The only upgrade I did was the backlit keyboard and the 9 cell battery. No complaints at all. Fan is on a lot but its not that I hear it but that I put my hand to the left of the laptop and feel the air pushed out. Kinda wish there was a 1080p screen but the 720p screen is pretty. Saw the 1600x900 screen thread but that is only if this one goes bad.

 

Just looking for some clarification. So when i have been looking at the specs for the Dell Studio 14 specifically the screen it is just listed as a "14.0” High Definition (720p) LED Display". I have been trying to figure out the resolution of the screen and when i look at what different people are saying it is 1366×768 pixels but on the web site they say it is 1600x900 resolution..
Any one want to clarify this for me please and thank.

 

My brother received a studio 1458 as a replacement for his failing 14z hes been bugging me after reading a article about switchable graphics and since it does have the hm55 chipset he wants to know if it in fact can switch to the intel igp... I took a look at it and could not find any clues on how to do it.... he has the i3 with the ati 5450, so does the laptop even support switchable graphics or did dell disable it? THANKS!

 

Should I have any major concerns or worries?

Do you guys uninstall all the Dell additives and excess programs or just reformat immediately?

 

I was in an online chat session with a Dell Canada rep and asked about the availability of the 1600x900 screen. They said it's not available...end of story.

If it did have the 900 resolution available I think I would buy one right now instead of humming and hawing over the Studio 14 and Asus U30/U35/U45.
I'm extremely disappointed in the number of laptops that have only 768 res screens.

 

And my Dell 1458 was a day old.This is what happened,I was working on my dell on battery power it was showing 25% left i thought i'll plug in the charger in a while and i kept working,suddenly the Screen Blacked Out and there was a Screeching Noise from speakers.I thought battery must have got drained out and tried to switch it On using charger but it did'nt started,the power switch white light kept blinking for a while and then stopped blinking the fan started but there was no display.
Called tech support they did remote analysis and there conclusion was that the motherboard might be replaced.They said a technician will be sent on 27-09-10.Now i am thinking whether i should get a Refund or let them replace the defective parts.

 

I got mine a few weeks ago. Everything is great except for the high-pitch noise that comes out of the speaker that sounds like some kind of morse code. I get the same high-pitch noise from the headphones too.

P.S.> I don't like the new plastic finishing the put on the laptop to make it look glossy because it becomes a fingerprint magnet.

 

I'm receiving a Studio 14 (58) brand new replacement for my Inspiron 1420. I asked to see if the replacement screen is a 900p screen.. but the Dell rep said they'll give me a "HIGH DEFINITION" (he said it proudly too) I told him I do not want the 720p because my Inspiron had a 1440x900 and a 720p is not a equal or better replacement...and I told him to tell me what the spec on the screen is.. he wouldn't tell me but just kept saying its High Def.. I checked the order status online right after and it says 720p.... I'm going to have to call them...

It's an i3 too.. I guess that'll do.. but the screen will surely bother me..

 

Could you guys rate my build?
PROCESSOR NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-460M 2.53GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 3M cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English edit
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) edit
VIDEO CARD ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 1GB edit
WIRELESS CARDS Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6200 edit
HD DISPLAY 14.0” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera edit
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Internal (2.1) edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) edit
KEYBOARD Back-lit Keyboard edit
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0


All this at $750 after coupon, good deal?

 

Ya, great, I also own the same system. All is fine except the gaming point of view. Since the ATI 5450 is not too great, so you may not experience the best in gaming. But according to the price, the deal is pretty great! Speakers are sufficiently loud, low fan noise, good performance, etc. too good for such a price!! Go For it

I will rate this as,
quality: 3.5/5; performance: 4/5; features: 4/5

 

Hello, just ordered a 1458 yesterday. Dell claims it will be here by Friday, but I question that as it hasn't shipped yet.

After reading this thread, it has my hopes down a bit, but I am running a C2D LV Latitude D420 which has seen better days... I also got a rocking deal on on the Studio:

$550 shipped, specced with i3-370M CPU, ATI 5450, 7200rpm 320GB drive, and 3GB RAM. I am planning to upgrade to 8GB of RAM as it is so cheap these days.

I'll follow up with my opinion on it once it arrives.

 

I just bought the same thing to replace my much-hyped dm1z. I saw the 1458 at $550 and thought it was too good to be true, so I pulled the trigger. The GPU scores about 3,500 on 3D Mark06. That's plenty for my usual gaming. Does bluetooth come standard with 1458?

 

Been waiting to get my review up until I had some time to play with it.

So far this laptop has been a great value. Not the best build quality, not the lightest, but the performance for the dollar has been great.

For the price paid, I have no complaints. Dell got it here on time and the customer support has been good to me. It isn't lenovo support, or build quality, but it is half to one third less than a comparable lenovo.