Will i be sorry going with a Dell Studio 15?

I currently have a Lenovo R61 with a Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM (Maxed). I'm feeling kind of cramped on the memory end. I'm one of the few users where memory is king. If i could up the memory of my lenovo id probably keep it. I've been pretty happy with it except for a few things:

1. Sounds is absolutely horrible. I don't expect it to be excellent on a buisness class notebook but sometimes while listening to screen cast i can barely hear it when turned on the way up.

2. I got the better screen at the time. Don't remember the exact resolution but its something like 1600xXXXX. The screen is just mehhhhh. I like the resolution is good but otherwise pretty low end.


So long story short I'm notebook shopping. A 15 in screen is about perfect for me. I will also probably stick with the Core i5 because of the AES instructions and being 32nm. I've seen some pretty good deals with the studio lately. Here is my quesiton:

How is the build quality? I've heard everything from its almost identical to the XPS systems to its almost identical the insperons and then ive heard the build quality of the insperons was actually good a couple years ago but has gone down hill. Of course the lenovo T series is supposed to be one of the best. I have an R series which externally looks almost identical to the T-Series so i don't know how much difference there is in build quality but mine is a little bit over 2 years and its running fine. Had problem with buttons below the touchpad but i was able to fix it. I just don't want some piece of junk that starts falling apart a little bit after a year. Am i going to be sorry going from a lenovo to a dell studio?

I'd love to get a lenovo again but i having a hard time justifying the cost of a T-Series now. The only think i will probably miss which i don't think the dell has is a TPM module (i use bitlocker).

I use the notebook for mainly for software development purposes. I currently have integrated graphics and the studio i'm looking at has ati 5470 while i know its not high end i'll be happy if it has hi-def accelleration.

 

The Dell Studio 15 is a laptop aimed for consumers, while it is more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than the R61 there will be areas where it won’t have the same rugged feel compared to a business grade notebook in general. Certain components such as the LCD screen, hinges and system boards will probably not be reinforced well for impact in comparison to business grade machines (HP Elitebook/Dell Latitudes have metal chassis for protection, Lenovo’s have internal magnesium roll cages including your R61). It’s due to these materials (as well as service warranty) that makes them so expensive in comparison to consumer notebooks. So if you accidentally drop the Dell Studio 15 for example, the results would probably not be very pretty, the majority of the construction is pure plastic to keep costs down and affordable.

That said, it’s generally how well you take care of it as we have a 6 year old Dell Inspiron 510m still chugging away fine and Dell’s customer service are pretty good should you have trouble over time. If you don’t plan to take it around a lot then it can be an OK choice, maybe add some extended warranty for peace of mind. I can’t say much on how it handles heat so you have to ask seasoned owners for this info (though I did had a Studio XPS 16 for a day whose cooling sounded like a jet fighter taking off – pretty loud stuff).

If you do plan to take it around, want it to shrug off some knocks and bumps along the way and probably last well beyond the serviceable 3 years then I do suggest going business grade route instead. You may be able to find some affordable deals at some Outlet Stores which makes better budget sense since prices for brand new business grade machines cost a lot of money.