To owners of the Dell Studio 15: How satisfied are you?

Hi, i've been looking and researching the Dell Studio 15 for some time now. I like the design, look and feel of the Studio line of laptops (my friend has the Studio 17 so i've had my chances to take a close look at it) and I'm thinking about picking one up around Christmas time. Other than the fact that it looks nice, I want my next laptop to have a higher resolution LED screen, larger hard drive and a backlit keyboard, as part of my upgrades. Although I'm not exactly happy that it has an HD3450, it can't hurt for me to play less computer games.

The last time I purchased a Dell laptop was the Inspiron 5150 and I gotta say, that thing was a P.O.S. I am curious to see how many people are satisfied with their Dell Studio 15's, especially the ones that have had them for a month or more (enough time, in my opinion, to get aquainted with a new laptop).

Owners of Studio 17's are welcomed to chime in with their comments!

 

The only major issues I've heard that concerns the Studio 15 is the waiting time which I why I ordered a 17. Some people have waited as long as 4-6 weeks to receive their laptops.

I can't speak too much of reliability and quality since I've just had mine under less than a week. But I do love the build quality. My laptop is lighter and more rigid than any normal 17 inch laptop. Hardly any squeaks or flex when I twist, turn and squeeze it.

 

I think its pretty good for the price i paid for mine ($510). The only thing is the plastics feel a little cheap, but the cooling and looks are very good.

 

Just looking at all the complaint threads on here makes me think I should cancel my order because they almost sound like pieces of crap....... it seems like the complaints WAY outweigh anything good being said about them

 

I like mine. I got a killer deal when I bought it. I ordered it July 31st and didn't have it in my hands until Sept 2nd.

The problem was the wait time (4 weeks for me.) I also had some hardware problems after I got it. The cables for the keyboard and touch buttons were improperly seated which caused the fan to mis-read temperatures and go full speed all the time. Got a replacement one sent to me by Dell.

Other than that, the system is great. I'm sure there are lots of people who love their Studios and don't bother posting as they're not having problems.

 

Owned one for about a week.

Got an OUTRAGEOUS deal on it new. Configuration was $1200 but I only payed $575 for it.

To tell you the truth I was not satisfied at all with the quality of the laptop.

Chassis was not sturdy IMO. Of the 2 laptops I have owned in the past few months including the Sager 5796, I have found my Asus 1000H to be the most sturdy of the bunch.

The LCD screen, which was an LG btw, did NOT impress me.

I was just not satisfied.

What I was satisfied with was Dell's service however. Paid for my return label and refunded my account within DAYS of recieving my returned laptop.

I just cant praise Dell service any higher. It was great. Left a great first impression on me.

 

Had mine for a week (might not be long enough), got an awesome deal on it too.
It's great. First you'd probably think it's heavy, and it is compared to the other laptops with the same size, but you'll get used to it. It's very tolerable.
Aside from being heavy the sound is very low. I usually use my headphone so it is no problem for me, but if you want to use this with the speaker, you'll be fairly disappointed.
Everything else is pretty good.
The built is great, looks sturdy, and depending on your configuration it could be very fast.
I'll post back again later if I find anything I'm not satisfied with this laptop, but as of now I'm very happy with it.

 

I've had mine since early September and couldn't be more happy with it. I would definitely recommend it if it meets the specs that you are looking for. Plus it is one of the only Centrino 2 notebooks Dell offers at the moment.

 

thanks to everyone for your responses so far.

wait time shouldn't be of concern to me, because if i was going to buy it, it would be at Dell Outlet. but i hear their shipping time might be 2+ weeks if you don't call them about that! hopefully, Dell inspects their returns well as I would hate to run into hardware problems.

the speakers on my friend's Studio 17 is pretty bad but I use earbuds and external speakers so again, shouldn't be a problem.

i also ask that the users who voted to please also post your reasons why. i would love to hear them!

 

The Dell Outlet is a great place to order a laptop. Shipping from the Outlet is usually the same day unless later in the day.

 

I love my Studio 15 and, if DELL Outlet paid me a finder's fee for everyone I send to their site (from NBR), I'd be loaded! For months now, the Outlet has been flooded with "Previously Ordered New" systems for hundreds less than the same system could be configured to order on the regular Dell site. Case in point- the Outlet had my Studio 15 priced at $929 (T9300, LED display, ATI HD 3450, 3GB RAM, 320GB HD, Backlit Keyboard, Fingerprint Reader, Bluetooth, N-wireless AND 36-months McAfee Security. With a coupon, I got it down to $767.50 plus tax and shipping. I configured my exact model on the regular Dell site just out of curiosity- $1417 was the total! BTW, mine was a Previously Ordered New system, so it was NEW!

There's another Dell model that keeps catching my eye- the Latitude E6400 and E6500 are now plentiful in the Small Business Outlet. They have an LED display option, fingerprint reader and backlit keyboard option, just like the Studio 15. The Latitudes have a leg up on the Studio 15, though- they're all based on the new Montevina/Centrino2 platform. The E6400 and E6500's base processor is the 2.26GHz P8400. They have the Intel 4500MHD integrated graphics standard and the optional nVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M posts almost identical 3DMark scores to the ATI HD 3450 in my Studio 15. And the Latitude E6500 15.4" just weighs 5.1lbs with the LED display and it's 1" thick on front edge and 1.3" on its back edge....I'm lusting after a thinner laptop....but I love my husky Studio 15.

I'm just kidding, sort of. But it's probably a good thing that they don't offer Vista Home Premium on any Latitude models.....and there's a 3-year warranty standard!

 

the Latitude's have caught my eye as well. they are probably more sturdy and tough being business laptops. and 5.1lbs is just insane for a 15.4 inch notebook. but I like the design of the Studio 15, husky and all.

i wish the Dell Outlet search would have the option to weed out the LED screens so they are easier to find and sort by multiple colors as well. I see way too many purple, pink, tangerine Studio 15'. nothing against them, just too flashy for me

hopefully we'll start to see more Centrino 2's at the Outlet now that they are available.

 

more opinions are welcomed

 

So far, I love it. I got it this past Saturday, Nov. 8.

 

I've had mine a few months now.

I got a really good deal on it with 4 years in home cover for 'free' etc.
I did MASSIVE research before I bought and for me, the S15 was the closest match to my requirements, for the money I wanted to pay.

So far I've been really happy with the performance of the machine, its never let me down or given me a major issue. My wifi catcher doesn't work mind (see other thread on here) but this isn't a major deal. Look out for this problem though.

The backlit keyboard is very nice and comfy to use but there is a lot of flex in my opinion.

What is exceptionally good is the LED LCD - its awesome and something that I was not prepared to compromise on.

So overall, it does what I want. My 'gripes' are:

Chassis - not as sturdy as I'd like. Some plastic flexing and it 'clicks' in some areas (for example where the cd goes in) if you pick it up with one hand.
Also (and I think many laptopns share this) unless you put a cover (such as a piece of the original packing foam) between the keyboard and LCD when closing, you will eventually have 'grid type' scratches on the LCD from the keyboard. Luckily I read this before I got mine so the LED is perfect.

Studio seems to pick up a lot of fingerprint marks, but it doesn't seem to scratch easily, which is good. I've got a matte lid though.

The Sony Vaio (to me) seemed much better built, but didn't stack up anywhere near on spec. So in the end I made a trade off, performance was important to me. Also (at the time) the Sony battery life was rubbish. I get 4 hours from my big battery.

To summarise, if you want a machine that will get the job done with minimal issue for a good price, get a studio. If, on the other hand you want a machine you can throw about and abuse, maybe choose something else.

My g/f s inspiron BTW seems much more sturdy, but at the time I couldn't spec it up to what I wanted (i.e. no LED).

Hope this helps

Thanks.