is there any build difference between dell vostro, inspiron and studio?

hi,
Assuming a vostro, inspiron and studio have the same processor + gfx card, what is the difference between all three ? any upgradable components like RAM, HDD, DVDRW, mini-pci, etc doesnt count.

Is there a build difference - I am really liking the new Inspiron 1464 and its brushed metal look, but I want to figure out whether the build is better on a vostro/studio ?

 

Inspirons are dell's budget line, and tend to have decent to bad build quality, from my experiences with them this includes: creaky/cracking hinges, LOTS of flex in the chassis, touchpad spring breaking a few times etc

The new Studio line I'm not sure of, but it's not considered the budget line, so it should be better than the inspirons.

Vostros are built like TANKS. Little to no flex, and unbreakable. Laptops built for corporate/business uses are built a lot better than consumer laptops, and usually include much better warranty.

 

I only had my hands on a 13 inch dell vostro which they still sell, and it was very light and sturdy, which is more than I can say of my heavy, cracky acer.

Its tru what ronnie said, bussines laptops are of better quality than consumer laptops, AND you can opt for a matte screen which isn't as bad for your eyes as those laptop with mirror screens which they sell for consumers.

 

hmm.. actually a vostro supports upto 8GB RAM, while the brushed metal Inspiron 1464 (which looks mighty cool), supports only till 4gb.

I'm liking the new Vostro 3400 series.

 

Inspiron and Vostro are generally similar. Studio is a little better built/sturdier in my opinion and from what I have seen.

As you say though, the Vostro 3400 is looking to be a pretty good system and appears to be fairly well built. The i5-520M makes it a winner in my book.

It looks like it will have an i7 at some point as well.

 

I'm a little disagree with you... If your impression on Vostro's built quality like "TANKS", your are most likely to be stuck on the first generation Vostro which are with those magnesium roll cage thingy.
Later and subsequent batches are mostly plasticsy till the latest V-3xxx series.

 

@Ed, any opinions on the latest vostro 3xxx series vs the brushed metal inspiron series ?

 

I couldn't really comment much on the Vostro built quality...
When it was first introduced, the Vostro 1000, was based off the Inspiron 1501(which i am still using now ). Due to the only option of AMD processing power, i couldn't really tell how much response it gets from serious buyers.
Btw, the body was all plastic.

Then came 1200, 1400, 1500 as well as 1700. Appearance wise, 1400, 1500 as well as 1700 were externally identical to Inspiron 1420, 1520, and 1720.
I believe that 1400 is a hit, follows by the rest. This could be due to the attraction of magnesium/alloy mettal roll cage under the hood, as well as the option of having dedicated video option.
But after some while, complaints starts to plague. First, the leak of current on the left corner front side of the set, which can be found in most models.
Then the infamous nvidia 8400/8600 incident that got numbers of owners banging their head...

The next wave comes 1310, 1510 and 1710, all plastic, no 12 or 14inch screen option available. This is the time where the Vostro have its own business look, distance itself away from the Inspiron image. This time round not much complains, except for the heat/outstanding warmth felt at the palm rest area. This could due to the design of the HDD position that was under the palm rest area. Hence not really a big hoohaa was heard, as numbers of owners felt that this issue can be forgiven about.

The following wave comes 1220, 1320, 1520, 1720 as well as the introduction of the little netbook kid, 2100. Still all plastic, as well as the absence of 14inch screen. If you had observed, not much complains about the built quality. Except for the same issue of heat at palm rest area.

Now with the new wave of Vostros, the V3xxx series, i saw a complete family made up with different size of screens, from 13 to 17. Whether will we see smaller screen Vostros or not, time will tell.

However, looking back, ever since 1000, i don't really see any AMD heart powered Vostros then. I would really hope that there might be V3xx1- which AMD powered Vostros may come to our surprise in next few months?

 

You might wonder, why had i ommited out the A840/860 as well as the 1014/1015/1088 that comes in between.
To me...these are not really special in anyway, since you can find their appearance as well as characters same as the previously available Inspiron 14/15.

So... it can be possible that these Vostros are rebadged Inspirons that were not selling well in the home section... Just my 2 cents...