Studio 17 build qualty: does it have a metal chassis ?

Does it have a metal chassis ? Does it have a metal lid ? How do the plastic components feel ?

I believe it does NOT have creaks ?

Does the paint job wear off ?

How does the build quality compare to the inspiron 1705 ?

 

It has some alloy frame inside a plastic shell; the majority of the machine is plastic. It's generally pretty solid, but it's also pretty chunky and it does creak (flex, you mean?) here and there. I can't compare it with an E1705, but I'd say it's a little better than an E1505. I wouldn't know about the paint; my short time with a Studio 17 was at a MicroCenter half an hour away...

 

I have a Studio 15, but it's made of the same stuff as the 17. Commander Wolf is correct, it's primarily plastic, but still sturdy, and there is some alloy frame as well. The only creaking/flexing I get occurs if I fold up the display by only grabbing one corner of it.

And I've had mine since August of last year, and the paint looks just as good as day 1.

 

I dont have the Studio 17, but I had dome some research on the E1705; and apparently it had the same rugged metal chassis as the precision M90 (so, much better quality than the E1505). I was wondering if the same is true for the studio 17 (rugged metal chassis)

 

I have a Studio 17, and as said by others its mostly plastic on a die cast or cast aluminum frame. There isnt much metal in this thing, but it's fairly solid. No creaks on mine but there is a "mushy" area where the right palm sets on the palm rest and often feels as if the case in that area is going to crack but has not done so.

The lid is covered with a rubberized material, I wish they would have used a glossy plastic lid instead or an aluminum alloy which would have made it sturdier. Im very careful handling mine as I wouldnt want it to come undone since its almost all plastic.

There is no paint on mine , where the palm rest is it appears to be a clear plastic coating and has not chipped or scratched but I am very careful with it.

 

The structural rigidity of the Studio 15/17 is lessened by the bottom cover design. Instead of having a few small removable covers over a few key areas (RAM, hard drive), the entire bottom panel (which is wafer-thin plastic) is removed as one piece. Here's a photo taken by a reviewer that shows the cover removed .

Motherboard flex has been an issue on more than a few 1535s, but the 1537/1737 seem a bit more solidly constructed. My 1535 has a plastic frame and there are occasional creaks and pops (picking it up from a front corner with the lid open makes an unsettling snapping/popping sound).

My experience with the Studio 1535 has not been favorable. But mine was one of the early production units (2nd week of production, I believe) and many of the bugs/problems I've experienced were ironed out. The 1537/1737 don't seem to have nearly as many major problems/failures based on the forums here and on Dell's website.

 

I just got my Studio 17 and it pops sometimes when I open it up.
It pops near the area where the webcam is when I lift up the display from the center. I does not pop when I lift from the side.
I'm going to e-mail dell tech support about this, can't stand the thought of having to actually speak to them.


FWIW my 1705 never popped or creaked.

 

Allfiredup, I noticed you got a black piece the covers the heatsink above your fan. My studio 15 doesnt have that.

 

Hi

my Dell studio 17 has stress cracks near the hinge, and dell say this is not covered by warranty (which has 40 days left) even though this is a very common problem (research and experience shows)

I am a little bit miffed at this, and it looks like I am going to have to pay to get it fixed. I'm not impressed by dell atm.

I'm considering buying my own lid assembly and taking the laptop apart and doing some DIY. If anyone knows a guide for taking apart a studio 17 and doing any work on it, then please post it here as it would be helpful.

Thanks

 

Dell is one of the only companies that has a very detailed, step-by-step Service Manual for each model. Here's the link for the Studio 1735- LINK

With that said, it is UNACCEPTABLE for you to pay for this repair out of your pocket while the warranty is still valid!!! You need to escalate this up the chain of command at Dell until you get results!

Here's what you need to do- Write a letter to Dell detailing the situation, what steps you've taken (tech support chat, called tech support, etc.) and that the system is still under warranty. Be polite but FIRM in explaining your frustration and dissatisfaction with the situation. Make it clear that you know these stress fractures aren't isolated to just your Studio 17. You should also state that the issue was caused by either a design flaw or the use of substandard materials, so you expect them to stand behind their product and repair it under warranty!

Once you have the letter drafted, send it to the following:

In the "To" field:

[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

And in the "CC" field:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

I bought a Studio 15 when they first became available (Summer 2008). I sent it in for warranty repairs five times in the first nine months and problems still persisted! So I gathered the email address of every person on Dell's Board of Directors and a few other key people. I sent them a letter (as I've suggested above) at around midnight on a Sunday. At 11am on Monday, I got a phone call apologizing for my trouble and telling me that a brand new replacement would be sent out in a few days!

 

Build quality is great I dropped mine 3 feet onto tile and the lid popped open but I snapped it back in place like from factory not a dent.

 

hehehe, thanks for the answer I can try that.

To be honest I didnt want to go through with the hassle of sending it off and all that stuff anyway, so I was hoping to just fix it myself quietly, with maybe some epoxy resin and a bit of black poster paint. That would probably void the warranty anyway,

 

LOL, not that Ice is advocating dropping your laptop.....

 

that being said, I was fixing a buddies 5 year old ancient HPDV4000 and the lid and screen are rock solid NO FLEX at all, by comparison the 1737 feels down right flimsy.

the 1737 is no fragile machine, just some are built different.

 

Some of the old boy laptops are so solid and built like tanks. The thinkpad 700 series and even their early X line models were so rock solid. The Dell business line laptops are pretty hardy too. M6400/M4400 and E4400 are very solid and durable.

 

Dell was going to charge £120 for repairs, I told em to shove it, I put superglue on the cracks now which shows up as small lumpy bits on the side, but nothing too bad.

 

If you're still under warranty, they shouldn't charge for that.

 

I wish I knew about/could find this information a year ago when I needed it. My dell studio 15 started falling apart week 1. After 3 months I contacted dell, to which they said it wasnt covered under warranty (power cord pulling out of box, bezel chipping, wierd scratch on frame (like steel wool was dragged on it), speakers fuzzy/cut out/dont work, bios crashing, etc etc | obvious design flaws in the assembly/overall production). I spent about a week talking to different reps (after I dropped it about 2 feet onto carpet and the battery tab holding it in busted) before one finally agreed to have it fixed after I had to self-repair once already. I sent it off, got it back 4 days later (under the est. time frame). Only half the problems were fixed, and it came back with a slew of new ones (F U dell tech support). So now the frame chips are turning to stress cracks. The lid/monitor is about to fall off any day and has probably around 1,000 dead pixels, the power cord is once again a fire hazard, and dell was no Fing help.

I will Never.Buy.Dell.Again.

Oh, and if anyone is considering buying a dell: Dont. If you "must" have one, save yourself the money, buy the cheapest Inspirion sub $300 and save up for a decent laptop when that one breaks in 6 months.

I recommend a HP. A friend accidentally dropped one 6 feet onto concrete and it came out with only a couple of scratches on the lid.

 

Its metal alloy frame which IMO feels cheap yes its metal but feels like Pot Metal a cheap alloy.