Studio 15 - build quality

Hi!

First of all, sorry about my bad english.

I'm about to buy new laptop, and I found Dell Studio 15 very interesting.
But, I didn't see anything about it's build quality. So...
Is there any hard drive protection (such as hard drive head parking)?
Is case build quality good (is there soft parts, what materials - is there metal parts, or it's all plastic)?
Can it handle long uptime (like 24hrs) without overheating or some other issue?

Can You compare build quality od Studio15 with HP 6715 b of Vostro 1510?

Tnx for answering.

 

I looked at the Studio today at Staples.

Build quality seems good. The finish on the cover had a soft feel to it. There shouldn't be any problems with overheating. There is also no hard drive free-fall sensor.

Unfortunately, the Studio is nice but is not a leader and Dell continues to lag behind HP in terms of design and features. It would be great to see Dell being a leader instead of a follow but we can all dream.

 

I've had a Studio 15 for around a month now. Generally speaking, it's well put together and feels quite solid.

However, there are some points that feel sub-standard. First is the huge amount of flex on the keyboard, it feels very cheap and spongy. There shouldn't be any need for this, all of dell's recent laptops have excellent keyboards.

Secondly, the strip of plastic trim that contains the media keys is a very poor quality, thin plastic. Lots of movement if you press it near the screen, almost like the plastic rulers you used to have at school that would shatter if you bent them too much.

The rest of the laptop is excellent. Very good quality plastics around the palm rest and on the underside of the machine. Good trackpad and firm, responsive buttons.

 

I hate to hear it about keyboard.... :-/
I type really much, so good keyboard is a must have.

Can You compare Studio15's keyboard with the Inspiron 1525's or Inspiron 1520's keyboard?

 

I think the build quality of the Studio is OK, but I have to saw my g/f s inspiron seems slightly better built. Certainly the keyboard is firmer.
There is a noticable amount of flex on the studio keyboard, but in my view it does not negatively impact the experience of typing. If anything, typing seems smoother and more relaxed then when using say, a desktop pc.

To me the look and feel of the machine is good, it has a quality feel BUT I have noticed the odd creak when picking it up. It only seems to be in one certain point, if I apply pressure above the network socket.

From all my research I deducted that all laptops have some niggles. For exaple the Sony FZ series are very nicely put together, but for the price the spec in no way stacks up.

I think the Studio is more than adequate for the use that a laptop is intended for. I hope to get 4 years out of mine and I am sure it will last.

If you want a laptop that you can throw around, maybe hammering the keys etc. then I don't think the studio will hold up.

If possible, see if you can find one in store and look at it, trying keyboards flex etc.

I got some strange looks in one store when I was walking around, slyly flexing all of the laptop keyboards.

I think with laptops we need to remember the price. I spent GBP800 on mine and got an awesome deal. I couldn't come anywhere near the same spec for that price with other brands, and I looked at all of the major players.

Maybe look at the HP DV5 but in the UK there was no LED option and the resolution was not upgradable beyond 1280 x 800, hence I went for the studio.

 

As the previous poster stated, nothing in the UK came close to beating the Studio for the price/performance ratio. There is no denying the keyboard is very spongy, but it depends on how important that is to you. For me, it's not an issue, the perfect laptop just doesn't exist and the Studio ticked 90% of the boxes for me.

It's easy to get obsessed by the most minor points on a laptop, I've read several threads over the years of people rejecting laptops for the most trivial of reasons, then proclaiming the "laptop hunt" must go on. Probably for the rest of their time on earth.

 

Thank you all for answering.

So, it's build quality is not as good as I expected, but I still think that the computer will last 2 or 3 years.

I'll go to shop to check out Studio by myself, for sure. Maybe Vostro will be better choice.

 

I have a Studio 17, but I'm sure the build quality is very similar to the 15 model.

The only things that bugs me about the Studio laptop are the following:

• Black plastic trim (with media keys) gives too much flex.
• Keyboard flexes a little bit, but only if I press middle keys (ie G, H, J) excedingly hard. In everyday use it's not an issue at all I think.
• Speaker is VERY poor. So poor in fact that I'm always connected with a set of earbuds.
• Black trim gets nasty fingerprints! (but what can one expect with the glossy finish ) Be prepared to polish a lot.
• Screen cover (I have the Ruby Red Silk Finish) is somewhat prone to scratches.

Other than this, I'm as happy with my Studio as Rosie O'Donnell at Dunkin' Donuts.

 

Haha, good to hear (and I'm not talking about Rosie).

 

I'm not really care about fingerprints and speaker. It's ok with me.

One more thing: Do you use Studio's in car, bus or something? Can it damage (unprotected) hard drive?

 

Agreed - absolutely. Be careful when researching laptops. Its very easy to get caught in an infinate loop of 'waiting for the next new technology'. For example, the new HP DV5 uses the newer P series processors, whereas the studio uses the T series. Theres always something new coming out.

One big plus point with the studio is that it is a fairly new model, its only been out months. Any laptop you buy though will be quickly outdated. Once you buy it, don't do any more research!!!

I spent a month researching mine and I was fairly thorough. I am happy with that.

So far I've been very impressed with my laptop, it does exactly what I want.

Even the speakers are not that bad, certainly not as bad as everyone says. A friend of mine has a HP with Altec Lansing speakers and he admits that they are weak also. Studio sound through headphones is excellent however.

I was using my laptop last night and I purposely watched the keyboard as I typed natuarally. Almost no flex during normal use.

I still say that there is no substitute for seeing it in the flesh first. I was lucky and Tesco got them in stock just before I ordered. (wanted to customise so got it direct). Happy hunting.