This is MY Studio. What's YOURS?

I chose to get a Dell Studio 1555. After many threads (which most of you read) of questions about what to get with it, I finally came up with my final configuration. (Planning on buying soon) So, this is the configuration I went with. Don't forget to reply with the specs on your Dell Studio xx. (14z, 15, 17) And tell me what you like about it.

SYSTEM COLOUR Black Chainlink
Cheapest, looks good

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB)
Other options are too expensive

OPERATING SYSTEM Vista Home Premium 64-Bit SP1
What else?

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9
Will upgrade later

HARDWARE SERVICES 1 Year LW w/1 Year Return To Depot
Will upgrade near the end of warranty

HD DISPLAY 15.6” HD+ (900p) Bright LED w/ TrueLife™ + Camera
I am standing by this choice. NO ONE SHOW ME THEIR 1080p SCREEN!

MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
Enough for me

HARD DRIVE 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Enough for me

GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
The upgrade is overpriced!

OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load Super Multi
All I need

BATTERY OPTIONS 85 WHr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
Gotta get that battery life... and keyboard lift

WIRELESS CARD Intel® High Performance Wireless-N Card
Need the best connection out there

BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
You NEED internal bluetooth

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
The upgrade is apparently overrated



SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter, 30-Day Trial
Hey, it's FREE

INTERNET ACCESS None
I have a router

KEYBOARD Back-lit Keyboard
Shiny.

In TOTAL...​

Sub-total
$1,109.00

Shipping
$0.00

PST
$88.89

GST
$55.55​

HST
$0.00​

Environmental Disposal Fee
$2.14​

Total Price
$1,255.58​

So... remember to post about your Studio. ...and don't forgot to subscribe.... oops! Wrong site...

 

Are you buying in the US? Your price seems a bit high, but the specs of your computer are good. We have pretty much the same system except for the CPU (I have the P8600).

 

First of all, congrats on making a decision. Second, I wouldn't have taken McAfee if they paid me.

I bought a 14z, as below:

SYSTEM COLOUR Spring Green
Looks good, doesn't smudge, wasn't red so wasn't about to be delayed.

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB)
Wanted the core 2 duo, as well as 2mb cache.

OPERATING SYSTEM Vista Home Premium 64-Bit SP1
differences between home premium and ultimate can be made up with software, a lot of it available for free. wasn't going to spring for it.

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9
Might have left it at this by accident. I have an office license already.

HARDWARE SERVICES 1 Year LW w/1 Year Return To Depot
The less i have to deal with dell customer service the happier I'll be. I'll take care of it on my own past the first year.

HD DISPLAY HD+ (900p) Bright LED w/ TrueLife™ + Camera
I chose this because there was no 1080p being offered.

MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3
DDR3 is likely blazing fast. Wasn't about to spring for the next upgrade.

HARD DRIVE 250GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Don't need any more space, but speed matters.

GRAPHICS CARD (whatever our only option is)

OPTICAL DRIVE
what optical drive?

BATTERY OPTIONS 8 cell
Don't plan on spending much time at home.

WIRELESS CARD whatever the first one was. No upgrade necessary

BLUETOOTH - Yes
saves precious USB ports.

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
The upgrade is overrated.

KEYBOARD Back-Lit Keyboard
To inspire nerd-lust around me/be able to type in the dark/for kicks.

I'm not going to put down any of the other upgrades, mostly because i didn't get anything else.

The price came out to 789 with an e-value code and 7% educational discount. I believe taxes brought it up to around 834.

There it is.

 

Canada.

 

OOOOOOO. This is the only reason I envy Americans. The low prices

How do you like the processor and what do you do on your laptop with the processor.
Also, do you like the 900p?

 

Haven't gotten it yet so can't tell you for sure. I can tell you right now - 900p is going to be a lot looser on your screen than on mine, because I'll have the same resolution as you on a smaller screen. I currently use a e1705, and i have 1920x1200 resolution, which is about 10% bigger heightwise than 1080p. As far as resolution is concerned, I'm a strict believer in more is better.

 

My Studio 1555:

• Black Chainlink
• P8600 (2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 cache, 45nm, 25W)
• Vista Home Premium x64
• No office software, I installed OpenOffice myself
• 4GB DDR2-800MHz memory
• 256MB ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4570
• 720p LED display (Samsung SEC5441)
• 320GB Seagate Momentus 5400.4
• 8x DVD+RW Toshiba-Samsung TSST slot load
• Intel WiFi Link 5300
• Dell Bluetooth 370 internal
• Backlit keyboard (installed myself)

 

i ordered this studio 1555 from the dell outlet a few days ago. should be arriving on saturday according to my tracking information. i think i got a really good deal for it since i had a 15% off coupon.

SYSTEM COLOR Black Chainlink
no choice really. i wouldve gotten any color except pink.

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
no explanation really needed.

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit
i dont need 64 bit at the moment since it doesnt allow me to record from my cable box using firewire. ill still be requesting the disc from dell though.

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9
i have office 2007 that im gonna install when i get the laptop.

HARDWARE SERVICES 1 Year LW w/1 Year Return To Depot
maybe ill add more in the future but i probably wont need to.

HD DISPLAY 15.6 inch High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife
i wanted a 1080p display but it was hard to find one of those within my price range.

MEMORY 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
ill probably upgrade in the future but its fine for now.

HARD DRIVE 320 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)

GRAPHICS CARD 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
was the dealbreaker for me

OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load Super Multi (DL DVD+/-R Drive + RAM support)
i wanted a bluray drive but i took too long to order and all of the ones with them got snatched up.

BATTERY OPTIONS 9 Cell Primary Battery

WIRELESS CARD Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card

BLUETOOTH None
i dont have a need for it right now. maybe ill get a usb dongle for cheap though.

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

System Price: $789.00
Sub-total: $670.65
Shipping and Handling Total: Free 3-5 Day Shipping
Environmental Disposal Fee: $16.00
Tax: $65.36
Order Total: $752.01

 

I might as well join in on the fun since i just ordered the other other day,

Studio 1555

SYSTEM COLOR Black design from custom choices

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
well rounded CPU

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9
bought microsoft office '07 with student discount

HARDWARE SERVICES 2 year warranty

HD DISPLAY 1080p screen
More resolution the better

MEMORY 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
easily upgradable later

HARD DRIVE 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)

GRAPHICS CARD 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570


OPTICAL DRIVE Blu-ray read
The laptop will double as my blu-ray player

BATTERY OPTIONS 6 Cell Primary Battery
not too worried about battery life

WIRELESS CARD Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
It was $5 extra i had to get the 5300

BLUETOOTH internal 2.1 Bluetooth
For wireless cell phone transfers and wireless mouse

SOUND OPTIONS Basic sound option

KEYBOARD the backlit beauty

Total cost with shipping and tax came to $1347.

 

In case I ever change my sig:

Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1GHz) | 4GB RAM | 1080p LED | 256MB ATI 4570 | 320GB 5400RPM | Intel 5300 Wifi | 9 cell Battery | Back-lit Keyboard

It was just over $900

Just got it today and I'm loving it. I highly recommend formatting and installing Windows 7.

 

SYSTEM COLOR Midnight Blue
Was either this or Ruby Red that had Edge to Edge

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Duo P8600
Not too fast, not too slow. Just right Might upgrade in future, don't trust myself enough to go that deep into replacing parts yet. Never done a CPU replacement on a laptop before.

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit
4GB, never had a 64 bit system, heard good things.

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Office 2007
Installed myself. Had trial crap under my configuration.

HARDWARE SERVICES 1 Year LW w/1 Year Return To Depot
May consider extending my warranty when expiration is near. Depends if I have my eye on another laptop at that time or not Maybe a new studio? haha

HD DISPLAY 15.6 inch High Definition (1080p) LED Display with TrueLife
Heard nothing but good things, no regrets. Love it!

MEMORY 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
Will upgrade when these types of ram become cheap.

HARD DRIVE 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
Didn't care about the speed. Unnecessary for me, and if I wanted to upgrade I can always swap it out in the future.

GRAPHICS CARD 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
512 because I can

OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load Super Multi (DL DVD+/-R Drive + RAM support)
Blu-ray was too expensive. I have an external one whihc works perfectly fine.

BATTERY OPTIONS 6 Cell Primary Battery
6 Cell for now. Don't need the 9 cell yet.

WIRELESS CARD Intel WiFi Link 5300
Original config consisted of Dell Wireless 1397 card. Upgraded to 5300 myself getting a good deal off Ebay. $20, not bad.

BLUETOOTH None
Never used Bluetooth on my old laptop. I can always buy a bluetooth chip so no worries.

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
Other option was a waste of money and ridiculous.

System Price: $1184.00
Sub-total: $888.00 (After 25% rebate, when it was working)
Shipping and Handling Total: Free 3-5 Day Shipping (Received within 18 hours!)
Environmental Disposal Fee: $32.00 (Got charged $16 twice due to error)
Tax: $77.70
Order Total: $997.70

 

Chainlink Black
1080p LED (looks awesome)
P8700 (2.53 Ghz 1066 bus)
3 GB DDR2 800
250 GB HD
ATI 4570 512 MB video
8x Slot Load DL DVD Burner
Hi Def Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless
56k modem
6 cell battery
Dell 10/100/1000 LAN
Vista Home Premium 32 bit

Cost:

$0.00

Was a warranty replacement for my hopelessly busted 1520.

 

These are my Studios, in order of age:

Studio 1737, T9400
4 GB RAM
9 Cell Battery
Blue Paint
CD/DVD Burner
250 GB 7200 RPM
2.0 M Webcam
17" 1920x1200 LED display
Mobility Radeon 3650
Backlit Keyboard
Intel 5100 Wireless card
AverTV Expresscard TV Tuner
Original OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Right Now Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Price: $1934 CDN (back in January)

(Desktop, you may want to skip over)
Studio XPS 435MT
i7-920 (8MB L2 Cache, 2.66 GHz)
12 GB DD3 RAM 1066 MHz
Blu-Ray read, CD/DVD Burn
250 GB 7200 RPM
512 MB Radeon 4850
Dul;e 640GB Drives (1.2 TB RAID 0)
Hauppage TV Tuner
Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

$2124 CDN, also in January

Studio 14z, T9400
4 GB RAM
9 Cell Battery
Blue Paint
CD/DVD Burner
250 GB 7200 RPM
2.0 M Webcam
17" 1920x1200 LED display
Mobility Radeon 3650
Backlit Keyboard
Intel 5100 Wireless card
AverTV Expresscard TV Tuner
Original OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Right Now Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Price: $1934 CDN (back in January)
(And yes, it SCREAMS)


STUDIO 14Z NOTEBOOK
74 WHR 8-CELL,LION,PRIM BATT
HD AUDIO 2.0
PURPLE PAINT WITH BLACK Trim
P8600 (2.4GHZ) Core 2 Duo
3GB, DDR3, 1066MHZ, 1 SoDIMM
14.0 HD+ TL LED DISPLAY W/CAM
BACK-LIT KEYBOARD
500G HARD DRIVE, 7200RPM, I1440
MCAFEE SECURITY 9 30-DAY SUBSCR,DIM/INSP
Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N
WARRANTY SPRT,INSP,INIT YR
RTD,STDIO 1440,SOL,INIT CA
HW WRTY + SVC,STDIO 1440,SOL,INIT CA
INT 365 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS

$1401 Canadian, earlier this month.

 

my babys in my specs and the total price *including a bag and external 500 gig hard drive* was 1750 and no bluetooth... it was cheaper to buy it sep. and install it myself

 

Here's mine:

Dell Studio 1555
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3MB cache
4 GB DDR2 at 800MHz
Back-lit Keyboard
15.6” Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
500GB SATA Hard Drive 5400RPM
Black Chainlink color
Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit
8X Slot Load Super Multi DL DVD+/-R Drive
High Definition Audio 2.0
Intel 5300 Ultimate-N Half Mini Card (3x3) with MyWiFi
Microsoft Office 2007 (came as part of the "bundle")
6 cell battery
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal
1 year warranty

Total was $1,004 after $333 savings. I won't have it until the 17th!

 

See my sig below for specs - Studio 1537, Intel Centrino T9400...

Only one upgraded planned in October ... Win7 OS

 

Nice config!

 

I paid just about $17 shy of $700 for the laptop in my sig.

Studio 17, CoreDuo (Penryn) 2ghz, 3gb ram(will be 4 and will be on 64bit before the years out w/Windows 7), Radeon HD3650, 1440x900 LCD (non-LED), in flat black trim.

The GPU tied with price for the most important aspect of my build, which is why I only have 3gb ram and a CoreDuo 2ghz. Though, it's a Penryn chip, which means its actually a C2D with less cache, so it's every bit as fast as a "Core2Duo" with the same cache.

I do wish I had sprung for the backlit keyboard, though.

 

Studio 14z does not have such specs, and it wasn't available in January It's only 2 months old

 

Sorry, my cutting and pasting got mixed up. I am planning to get that L-shaped screen extender that takes it to 17 inches as soon as it's out though.

Correct specs:

These are my Studios, in order of age:

Studio 1737, T9400
4 GB RAM
9 Cell Battery
Blue Paint
CD/DVD Burner
250 GB 7200 RPM
2.0 M Webcam
17" 1920x1200 LED display
Mobility Radeon 3650
Backlit Keyboard
Intel 5100 Wireless card
AverTV Expresscard TV Tuner
Original OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Right Now Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Price: $1934 CDN (back in January)

(Desktop, you may want to skip over)
Studio XPS 435MT
i7-920 (8MB L2 Cache, 2.66 GHz)
12 GB DD3 RAM 1066 MHz
Blu-Ray read, CD/DVD Burn
250 GB 7200 RPM
512 MB Radeon 4850
Dul;e 640GB Drives (1.2 TB RAID 0)
Hauppage TV Tuner
Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

$2124 CDN, also in January
(And yes, it SCREAMS)


STUDIO 14Z NOTEBOOK
74 WHR 8-CELL,LION,PRIM BATT
HD AUDIO 2.0
PURPLE PAINT WITH BLACK Trim
P8600 (2.4GHZ) Core 2 Duo
3GB, DDR3, 1066MHZ, 1 SoDIMM
14.0 HD+ TL LED DISPLAY W/CAM
BACK-LIT KEYBOARD
500G HARD DRIVE, 7200RPM, I1440
MCAFEE SECURITY 9 30-DAY SUBSCR,DIM/INSP
Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N
WARRANTY SPRT,INSP,INIT YR
RTD,STDIO 1440,SOL,INIT CA
HW WRTY + SVC,STDIO 1440,SOL,INIT CA
INT 365 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS

$1401 Canadian, earlier this month.

 

I'll bite since I'm getting anxious for my 14z to get here.

SYSTEM COLOR Midnight Blue
Was torn between this and red, but work color is red so hell no! lol

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Duo P8600
Got this mainly for 25w vs 35w of the T series (gotta last all day at class)

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit
Waiting for Win7


OFFICE SOFTWARE None.
Open Office is great.

HARDWARE SERVICES 3 yr with in home service and Complete Care
Don't plan on buying another lappy soon and I HAAAATE having to wait for my repair returns. I'm also not used to caring for a PC on the go, so Complete Care was appealing to me.

DISPLAY 900p LED
Wanted more real estate than 720p

MEMORY 3GB
Will buy a 4GB stick later for 5GB when they're cheaper.

HARD DRIVE 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
Upgrades aren't that expensive and most of the 5400 RPM drives today don't lag behind the 7200's much if at all. Plus less vibration.

GRAPHICS CARD Integrated 9400M
Only option, but a big reason I went to the 14z instead of an E6400

OPTICAL DRIVE
Laptops are supposed to have these!? I've been swindled!

BATTERY OPTIONS 8 Cell
Again, gotta last all day at school.

WIRELESS CARD Dell 1515 N
Only N option. Don't think the 5300's play nice with Nvidia chipsets. Easy upgrade later anyways.

BLUETOOTH Integrated 365 2.0
Syncing with the phone is easier without cables.

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
If it says "software" in the upgrade and isn't referring to what comes with hardware, it's pretty pointless.

All in all was $1138. Might add a backlit keyboard later. Didn't see the need for it at the time of ordering. Plan on having this super nice laptop for awhile

 

My Studio 15 (1537) specs in my signature...

 

i'm cringing at the prices paid for new Studios.... i'm glad i got mine used

 

How much was yours, tracerit?

 

Just ordered my Studio 1555 from the Dell Outlet.

• Black Chainlink
• P8600 (2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 cache, 45nm, 25W)
• Vista Home Premium 64-bit
• 4GB DDR2-800MHz memory
• 512MB ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4570
• 900p LED display
• Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
• 8X Slot Load Super Multi (DL DVD+/-R Drive + RAM support)
• 9-cell battery
• No bluetooth - never really needed it before

Total: $844.28 (including tax/shipping)

I would have liked to have one of those 15% off coupons but I contacted Dell and a rep told that they will probably not be mailing them out for another 2-3 weeks.

 

got it used from a user here on NBR for $675. i switched out the T9550 for a P8600, saved another $100, so overall $575. downside is my warranty is out in a month.

 

You guys and your lucky ATI 4570's. If only I had that option back when I bought my laptop.

Specs in sig.

 

Your signature says P8400...which is right?

 

Just ordered my Studio 1555 from DellUK:-

Intel T6500 (2.1GHz : 2MB)
Vista Home Premium 64bit (signed up to Win 7 upgrade)
15.6in Widescreen High Definition (1366x768) WLED with TrueLife
512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Midnight Blue

£522 (with 5% off Voucher!)

 

Ordered the 14z in my signature on the 3rd, it says it's still "In Production" Ideally that thing will say "Shipped" tomorrow. I'm sick of waiting already.

I'm planning on actually underclocking this to 2.4GHz along with an undervolt. I'd be willing to bet that I see better performance with an underclock+undervolt than the majority of 14z users, and hope to see 5 hours out of a powerful machine with a 900p screen

 

Underclocking will not save you any more power than undervolting alone. Leave the speed alone and just undervolt.

 

You don't think underclocking may have repercussions in regards to ability to undervolt? I was thinking you may be able to undervolt more as a result of underclocking. And keep the temperature down even more, potentially. The biggest advantage of the processor lies in its 6MB cache, and a 266MHz hit is not that substantial for what I am using it for, for the time being.

I will certainly test many different configurations and keep the people informed as to how it turns out and what I end up feeling is ideal.

 

The processor automatically underclocks when you don't need full processing capacity anyway; it's called SpeedStep. It gives you full power when you need it, and when you don't, it underclocks and undervolts.

 

I see. So all the rage about undervolting is just to reduce the top end voltage then...

 

Basically. Your lowest multiplier should already be using the lowest possible voltage that your processor can draw.