Studio 15 at Best Buy - good deal?

Best Buy has the Studio 15 in red, T8100 processor, 4 GB ram, integrated video, on sale for $799.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8884497&type=product&id=1211454761803

I was kind of waiting for the newer processors to come out, but for that price, this one has caught my attention.

I'm not a gamer, just casual user, but use Photoshop Elements to make scrapbook pages, and occasional easy web pages using straight HTML. (no flash/java, etc)

Is this a good price for this model? My original budget was $1000, but I bought an iPhone. ;-)

Thanks.

 

pretty good deal

not a strong graphic card and not wireless N but everything else looks good

for that price , id say go for it

 

Nice...if you can get a good deal like this...and don't want to wait..I say just order it! (See, others can make things easier for yah, eh) LOL

The Red is a nice color! My 1530 is in red..and I loves it!

Let us know what you decide to do! Good luck!

 

Integrated Graphics might be too less for your graphics/casual gaming work...other than that I see nothing much wrong...mine has the ATI 3450 graphics card and so not sure how 3100 integrated would have fared.

Also I did hear a few people having negatives to say about Best Buy...can't remember the thread

 

I personally wouldn't ever want to buy anything at BestBuy, as they can have HORRIBLE return / refund protocols. They also suck at handling repairs for you if that should ever come up (will Dell's warranty still apply at BestBuy?).

HOWEVER, I do think that is a good price for what you are getting. What does it get for a hard drive? Is it 64-bit Vista? In a perfect world it would come with discrete graphics, but I feel that, with the way you claim to want to use it, the processor in this case should help make up for the fact that you will have integrated graphics.

 

It has a 320 GB HD and it is 64-bit Vista. I wasn't really planning to buy there either, but the price caught my eye. I'm not happy about the 15% restocking fee, which is why I haven't pulled the trigger to buy it yet. I keep checking the website to see if they have any left in stock at the stores nearby, then procrastinate a little more and do a little more research.

In a perfect world, I'd also love the LED screen, WXGA+, Wireless N, semi-decent speakers, and a metal chassis instead of plastic. And keep it under $1000. (LOL)

 

Yeah, for that price it is decent, but its just the functionality wise. I would value resolution the most because it would be a pain swapping out your display. GPU is also something that is fixed. The Wireless N is upgradable later on, so its no big deal.

Maybe there will be some better prices in the outlet, though highly doubtful.

 

If this is the one you want, and you have a limit on the $$, I say GoForIT!

Alas, that final decision is up to you, though! But once ordered and knowing it is being built for you...You will feel awesome

Cin

 

Question: is the ATI graphics something that can be added later, or are they using two different boards to build these depending on which graphics option you choose?

That would be the only thing about this one I would be concerned about.

 

The Studio uses ATI's Hybrid GPU technology in which the graphics card is soldered onto the motherboard like an integrated graphics card, so you are unable to add it later on since they use two different boards to build these depending on which graphics option you choose.

 

don't buy from best buy... you don't get dell's warranty. all support services are done by the Geek Squad, and we all know how bad they are.

the specs are pretty good for the price, but if i was the one to make the decision, i wouldn't go through with it.

 

I haven't heard ANYTHING good about Geek Squad. Personally, being a former computer repair guy, I think they cause more problems then they fix over there. I can fix the problem twice as fast as they can, and cheaper to boot. My friend brought a fairly new laptop (out of warranty) there that was having problems with the display panel .When he got it back, he was charged $120 for parts (they replaced a SO-DIMM and repaired the power jack on the back of the laptop) and his screen STILL wasn't fixed. Within a week the screen broke, turns out they torqued the daylights out of a screw in the upper display housing, and when he shut the laptop the screen gave out. It goes without saying he was a bit more then angry.

 

Really?? Well, that pretty much seals the deal then.

I'll wait a couple more weeks to see what else I can find.

Thanks, all, for your feedback.

 

I finally got a chance to play with the new Studio 15 in person at Best Buy. My first impression with this notebook is not as good as I expected. First of all, the design makes this notebook looks very thick from the left or right side. Dell use a straight line design in this notebook, no curves at all on all edges. So even though it is only about 1.5" thick, it looks thicker than Inspiron 1525 next to it, and HP DV5 looks thinner also. It is comparable to the very thick Toshiba Satellite in another aisle.

The keyboard flex a little bit. Among the worse for all the Dell there. Since this keyboard doesn't have backlit, so I don't know if this keyboard is the same as the one order from Dell directly. I expect a solid keyboard from this new model. Inspiron 1525 is better.

Screen is very good, but I don't see any difference between this screen and the Inspiron 1525. I think they are the same parts.

Right now, I am wondering why there are two difference models, Inspiron 1525 and Studio 15. Both are using pretty much the same parts. Inspiron looks thinner, keyboard feels more solid. Inspiron has more ports, like modem and S-Video, that the Studio is lacking. If not because of the backlit keyboard (which you can only get it from Dell directly), I will not consider Studio at all.

 

Haha, this is the one I ordered. Got tired of Dell's wacky delays, so I bit the bullet and got the Best Buy deal. I mean, it's not that terrible of a deal... It was either get the same thing from Dell with less HDD space, less RAM, and an older-gen processor for more money, and unpredictable, crushing delays, or get something else entirely. I mean, for what I'm paying, the only thing I'm missing out on is the ATI graphics card, and I can live without that. The most graphics intensive game that I play is Sim City 3000, so... It'll do.

My heart was set on the Studio 15, so I just went ahead and did it. 651 mi and 3 days to go before my ruby red beauty gets here.

 

This is misleading and erroneous. All Dell laptops bought from Best Buy, Circuit City etc. has a ONE YEAR MANUFACTURER'S warranty.

 

I have no idea what you are talking about.

You MUST go through geek sqaud.

Buy one and then call. They will forward you to geek squad.

I dare you!

Buy the $699 Studio 15 at Staples. It has a better graphics card. Plus, no sucky geek squad.

 

The Studio from Bestbuy has the integrated video card.

 

I have NO IDEA what you are talking about.
If something goes wrong with a Dell bought at Best Buy you head on over to Dell.com. Especially, if you have owned the laptop for over 14 days.