Studio 15 is on it's way! Can't Wait!!

So I've been on a laptop rollercoaster as of late. I'm normally a Mac user. I had a MacBook Air, and just wasn't happy with it. So I sold that and bought a Sony Vaio CR series, and am not happy with this one.

I've been eyeing this Studio Series for a while and finally bit the bullet. Decent Specs for just a little over $999.

graphite grey with black trim
Intel Core 2 Duo T8100
4gb Ram
320gb hd
1440-900 WLED Screen
ati 3450
8x dvd burner
backlit kybd and fingerprint reader
wireless g card

took out the bluetooth didn't really need it, and used that to defray the cost of the ram and screen upgrade.

can't wait!!!

 

Good Specs. Good choices but i would have gotten an N card.

 

I got the exact same one but with a wireless N and Jet Black. It is amazing, thinner then it looks in picture, one of the best keyboard I have used on a laptop (honest). As for that speaker issue it's not really an issue, people who buy a studio will be using external speakers or headphones. They used smaller speakers saving us customers both cash and weight on something we would not use. The jet black cover is to die for, makes it look very classy and professional.

 

Yea, I really only used the wireless n in my home, other than that everything else is still in G where I use it, and for what I do it's fine.

I figured the T8100 would be plenty and the T93 or 9500 would be overkill for what I do.

Really anxious to see the screen. Estimated ship of 7/31 but they are usually quicker than that.

As for the speakers 99% of the time like you mentioned, I also use headphones so it won't be an issue for me.

Will keep this thread updated as needed!

 

Waiting for the Studio 15 is one of the worst experiences of my life

I ordered the 14th and have to wait until August 8-12. I'm really hoping it goes into boxing soon. The production stage started the day I ordered and I call 2 times a day to check the status. I emailed Dell about expediting my order and they send me "computer-generated" emails.

"Thank you for contacting Dell Online Customer Care.

We are unable to expedite the order. However, your order number 381435936 is currently in production and has an estimated delivery date of August 12, 2008."

Thanks for telling me what I already know.

This battery business is a bit ridiculous.

 

wow that is a long wait, nevermind it will be worth it, hehe

 

redwine- what are your specs?

Wondering how it was shipped so quickly...

 

320GB SATA Hard Drive
Jet Black Colour with Black U-Trim
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9300
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
15.4 " Widescreen WXGA + WLED (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife(TM)
4GB ( 2 X 2048MB ) 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Dell(TM) Backlit Keyboard with Touchpad (English)

 

i got the free hard drive upgrade

and $100++ discount

 

I ordered mine on the 21st as well...my estimated ship date is August 4th. How sad.

 

Well, when i was configuring it tonight on the preliminary ship date it said 7/31 then after the order went through it now says 8/1.

I took no chances and went for next day shipping, I'm leaving on vacation the 5th. and I want it before then.

 

my estimated ship date according to dell online website is on the July 31st!

but on the 22nd they called me and they said my STUDIO 15!!!!! will be delivered within 4 business days

Don't be sad.. it's just a few more days wait...

 

I ordered mine on the 17th, estimated shipping date on the 31st. Yesterday they sent me an email saying I'm in the confirmation stage of their order process, and the estimated shipping date showed that it has been pushed back to August 5th. I don't mind the wait...even though it's killing me >_< rrgghhhaaaawwwr

 

I ordered mine on the 14th, est ship date aug 8-12.

I think it's because of the 9-cell battery.

 

ya, probably it's the battery, i heard there's some problem with the battery factory in the US(fire or something?)

ok, the Dell in my area is CRAZY! It went into the transit stage today! i'm starting to think that my studio 15 might arrive tomorrow (Friday).. if not.. it will only arrive on Monday..

 

I don't like you

 

lotta221221, i apologise for being obnoxious there awhile, i was just so hyped bout my 1st ever laptop.. i guess i should have put myself in your shoes a little bit more

Truth to be told, i'm kinda worried bout my laptop, is it well built? or just simply produced since it's arriving so early

 

Congrats hope you like it

 

No no, don't apolegize. I'd be the same way. This will be my first laptop, and new computer in 6 years for that matter, which is why I am so excited.

I'm sure it will be fine

 

well...i dont know why i keep dealing with dell...
i have the exact same config red wine have...(maybe the color is diferent)
AND i order mine last sunday (07/20) and it still on assembly...
WTF!

 

@ joel.rivera

maybe it's because i'm in a different area.... i'm from Malaysia.. there's a production site here in Malaysia... come visit Malaysia

 

yup thats is def. why

 

red wine is so lucky ill continue to be patient even though its killing me!

 

you guys think that if i order tomorrow i can get it in 2 weeks?

 

I just waited 11 days... So, probably you can get it in 2 weeks...
Hey the keyboard flexes a lot!!!! I pressed the H and J, and the keyboard went like 5mm down, really bad!!
Any ideas to get this better?

 

you could ask for a replacement

 

I mentioned that several days ago and everyone said it was a non-issue.
If anyone thinks their Studio doesn't have much flex, just compare it to
a 1525 - they will be surprised(the 1525 is solid as a rock).

Rob

 

how did u get the free hard drive upgrade? upgrade from?
i've checked the current msia dell site... no free upgrade but only rm100 discount
unless buy up to rm5k then get another rm500 off

u think there will be a better offer during the pc fair weekend or event the merdeka weekend? me not in rush to get a new notebook but should wait for better offer?

i noticed a lot ppl opted for the tft screen upgrade - worth to do it?
and also the backlit keyboard? need this?

should i upgrade to 4mb RAM? 32 bit doesnt utilise fully .... will dell upgrade to 64bit?

thanks.

 

there was a free hard drive upgrade promotion which lasted for 3 days before the RM100 discount promotion came up.. i got rm500 discount + free hard drive upgrade which would have costed me an extra rm163

there's always some small different promotion everyweek, sometimes they offer free backpack, or laptop bag or something else, u'll just have to keep checking out their website for new promotions everyday and when the promotion is something that you like, order straightaway

i dunno if there's a better offer (maybe they give you some free cheap stuff like low-end mouse, cooler, or blank discs) but if you're not in a rush, i suggest that u should wait, there's always better laptops with better price in the future.

for the screen... for me, yeah, but it's up to ppl's preferences.. bt i heard the ones with LED is the best choice.. since it saves energy and gives very bright screen (better contrast) that's why i chose it, and i'm very pleased with it at the moment

for backlit keyboard.. again, up to ur preferences, it's an accessory, i want it coz it looks cool, and sometimes i might type in the dark (somehow) and mayb play some horror game like F.E.A.R. in the dark.

the RAM thingy, even though i cannot utilise it fully (mine has 4gigs of RAM) i can utilise it till... 3.5? is that correct? ii think dell (or microsoft?) will give you a free cd installation for 64 bit.. erm.. again.. not so sure.. go give dell a call and ask them bout it

 

I did a fresh install of Vista x64 today as soon as I got the Studio, every driver is there, just the touchpad Alps driver is not ready, you can live without the scrolling for a while, can't you?

Do you think I'm going to send it back to USA, from Colombia, pay aother shipping, and wait for like two weeks, no way! I'd rather do it myself
hihihi

 

Nice im doin my 1530 tomorrow......did you follow the guide?

 

Your Studio should be squeaky clean, now. I'll bet it's running like a
race horse!

Rob

 

hey red_wine...thanks!
inform me once u received your notebook

 

i received it yesterday, formatted it as well

 

congrats with you new baby

u re-formatted.... did you opted for the Consumer Standard Installation?
did u re-formatted and install the vista x64?

u think it is durable enough to be on for like 24 hours?

 

hey red wine!

i was wondering how you got all your order status extended. mine just says in production. i cant wait for my studio 15

 

oh and im new to this forum. i was wondering why you guys reformatted and installed vista 64 and how'd you guys get it?

 

i did went for the Consumer Standard Installation.. but it's not really needed.. if there's anything wrong u can actually call Dell.. i just realised that these few days there's some woman from my area calling me and asked me whether i need help with installing stuffs into my baby.. is actually because i paid for the Customer Standard Installation.. i think i'll give them a call since when i reformatted my baby, the Dell Dock is gone (i downloaded the software from Dell website but couldnt install it.. some registry files seems to be missing..)

i reinstalled vista x32... it's fast enough for me.. and i think i read somewhere that some softwares wont work well with vista x64.. so.. dunwan to take my chances

* there's a free hard drive upgrade now which expires on 04/08/08

the order status only updates itself during working hours.. i received mine on saturday during lunch time.. and the status has not been updated till Monday

wait.. if you mean order status EXTENDED being EXTENDED... you should check your order status on the Dell online website (there's a clickable link that says 'my order status' or something... if via phone, it only tells you which stage your laptop is in

 

we reformatted because when the laptop comes.. it's filled with bloatwares.. it lags.. a bit.. runs faster if u format it and reinstall again.. u can check out the sticky thread on the Dell main forum about formatting dell laptops

for the vista 64.. not too sure

 

The same day I got this beautiful lappy, I formatted and installed Vista x64. It runs great, I just used the drivers on Dell's website.
I found the x64 driver for the touchpad as the R157047 it's a x64 ALPS Touchpad driver for Precisions. Google for it, since I really don't know anymore where I found it!
BTW, I'm having some issues when the laptop starts the Desktop, it freezes and I have to do a hard shut-down. It's been happening since Vista x64. I haven't been able to identify the driver that's causing that, I installed the latest version of ATi CCC today, let's see how it behaves...
Other thought: How do I take care of my battery?
I had a Vostro and 8 months later the battery has 40% capacity!!!
So, could be good to answer all questions!
Laters!

 

thanks! yea saw the upgrade deal.... it's better that the rm100 discount cos the upgrade is a little bit more than tat... and there's still the rm500 discount if system >rm5k.
currently with my planned upgrades which exceeded rm5k:
- t9300
- 15.4 " Widescreen WXGA + WLED (1440x900)
- 4GB

but still a little greedy... so questions :
1. u think pc fair will have better offer?
2. did u get them to do the partitions? should i? it's easy to do it myself rite? (sorry i'm not a techie)
3. did u upgrade your warranty? is it worth to do so?

thanks ya!

 

1. not really sure since the pc fair in my area usually don't include Dell.. bt like i said.. they would probably throw in a few cheap stuffs like blank CDs, mouse, and so on.. but MAJOR offers are available through the internet (i'm guessing).. personally i would not go for the free cheap accessories.. i would rather buy a good one myself

2. yes, i did get them to do partitions (i'm not a techie too).. but kinda regret now since that the 40GB primary partition is a bit too small for me (about 18gig (??) is already occupied by Vista).. 100GB would be better.. i would like to learn how to make partitions some time too

3. I did not upgrade my warranty.. is it worth it? it depends... for me, one year is enough.. i've been doing some intensive usage on my laptop for the past few days.. to see what's not right and all..

if everything is ok, u shud be alright with 1 year warranty.. and also if you take care of your laptop properly.. 1 year warranty would be enough


btw WLED is a GREAT upgrade

 

WLED is the best!!!!!

 

Although now everyone with a 1900x1200 or w/e size screen is saying that it is labeled WLED. Why doesn't Dell label that on their site??!?! It doesn't bother me though, although I would have paid 25 dollars extra if I knew

 

wahsei... 100GB already 1/3 of the total harddisk space...
so we actually can partition first... reformatting later will not destroy the partition?

yea i figured to spend the extra $$ for this as i read so much "happiness" it gave some users...

anyway... more feedback from you ok? since u have been intensively using your baby ....

 

i install quite a number of software

reformatting later won't destroy the partition, you can format it drive by drive

one small tiny little problem that happened to me after formatting my laptop is that the dell dock application that dell studio line uses... is gone.. i've downloaded the application through the Dell website, but couldn't install it.. it says it's only meant for a reinstall of Dell Dock.. and that my registry key for Dell Dock is gone ... it's not a big deal, it's just something that makes the studio line a bit different from others

and the DVD Drive... man... something is not right with it..

ok, sometimes it works like a charm.. but sometimes when i try to erm.. let's say copy some files from a dvd, and if the dvd is like 'not in a very good condition', it got jammed like hell.. then the disc inside makes this horrible loud helicopter sort of like sound... i couldn't eject it out
for the next 15 or so minutes... erm.. mayb it's my fault for using a 'not-in-a-very-good-ORIGINAL-state-discs'... nevertheless.. it still shouldn't sound like that...

ok, enough bout the problems... this piece of machine is actually AWESOME...

the remote control is AWESOME...
the screen is AWESOME...
the keyboard feel is AWESOME... (although there's a little flex when typing... i like to think of it as keyboard with cushion... keyshion.. lol..)

the design is AWESOME... (looked professional and i especially liked the rubber rubber sort of feel at the back of the lid..)

this machine is noiseless... temperature... on the palm rest it's above human temperature by mayb 1 degree Celcius when on idle mode..

will be trying some new games soon... hopefully.. mayb tonight i'll leave it switched on... if it works maybe switched it on for a couple of days without shutting it off...

 

ahhhhh the wait is killing me! It's been in build since the 24th! suppose to ship by Friday.

So tempted to cancel and get it from Best Buy, but none of my local stores have it in stock. argh!

I must call that 1800 # like twice per hour lol.

I need to return my Sony Vaio to Best Buy tomorrow. hoping I get my new lappy by Monday as I leave for vacation on Tuesday....

 

Bestbuy doesn't come with a HD screen and it only comes in red - gross.

 

how's that with the 1920x1200 screen?? is it WLED too??
I can't believe it...