Dell studio 14 (release sept 2009). Review on Dell Studio 14

I just got my Dell studio 14 into my hands a week back. Made an order for this online on 24Sept 09. This is for the new model of Studio 14 (not the Studio 14z which has no DVD drive nor the old model of studio 14 that has DVD drive on left and exhaust port at the rear). I would say this new version has lot more better features that these two past models.

Dell customer care : One week after laptop booking, Dell removed the order option for this model from their Indian website. Reason I received from few reliable sources was they were facing issues with the BIOS setup and some hardware compatibility problems. That’s when I came to know there are many guys who have been waiting more than a month for delivery. A day before delivery date, I called them up and was told that Dell has temporarily stopped manufacturing of this laptop and I may not get the laptop. So either cancel or go for a studio15. Had to shout at customer care because they did not keep me informed regarding this and wasted my time. Though I cancelled the order, two weeks later Dell called me up to say they have resolved all issues with Dell studio 14. That’s how I got the model. Dell customer care really sucks !!!!

About the laptop :

Before going into details, below is the configuration I ordered. Total cost (including delivery) came INR 55, 000. Basic changes to my config from default model was - intel core 2 duo p8700(2.53 ghz), 4gb dd3 ram

Operating system : Default OS that they are giving is Vista64. 64BIT OS is the high end of technology right now, so I would say go for it. Visat64 is a lot more refined version than Vista-x86. You would experience the advantages of 64bit OS only when you have 4GB or more of RAM. Recommend putting in a 4GB right now. You may in future upgrade it further.

I think probably u can go up to 8GB in a Intel GM45 chipset. Biggest cons though would be you may face issues with some 32bit applns (Adobe flash, acrobat professional etc) which currently do not have 64bit drivers. Heard there are issues with installation of Google talk, Chrome, yahoo messenger but there are ways to resolve this(u can easily find it out in some forums). But ideally majority 32 bit softwares would work because of the WOW (Windows on Windows) architecture in vista64 that enables 32bit applns to run in 64bitOS.

Looks and design: Took a black obsidian chain-link model. Many glossy finish options are available. Sexy looks with a rock solid feeling. Didn’t notice any form of flex on keypad or regions near to trackpad. Felt bit shaky at the bottom that cases the hardisk, not much though. Screen is very sturdy and has no shakiness. One problem observed with the outer surface is that it attracts too much fingerprints. There is no screen lock , so more chance of screen getting dusty.

Myself being an engineer I have been going through laptop fan exhaust in detail for many models. The exhaust is on the left side and I would say this is a good design. Reason I say this is because if u observe xps laptops, the exhaust at the rear has a better chance to damage ur laptop screen due to the hot ar coming out when ur processor/graphics are running loaded. There have been complaints about these in many forums where screen gets blurry at some regions. I tried out a disk defragmentation to load the processor, which took approx 1.5hrs. Laptop gets warm at certain regions near to trackpad but not uncomfortably warm. Fan noise is also minimal.

Computing abilities: Default model comes with 2GhZ processor. If u can spend more, 2.4/2.53 ghz is not a bad idea. Good thing about going with this is the Intel GM45 shipset has capabilty for 800/1066FSB, so its better to put in a processor that can utilise the 1066FSB speed of motherboard. Also you will get a 3MB L2 cache which speeds ur performance. RAM being provided is a DD3 WITH 1066FSB. Ran a few test cases in matlab on this model. Video encoding also works well. Windows experience index = 5.3

Hardisk: Went for a 320GB harddisk with 5400rpm. you may also go for 500gb harddisk. 500gb harddisk 7200rpm will not give much noticeable difference though for the price differnce. Dell gives laptop as a single partition with a backup partition of 15gb. So recommend doing a disk partition once u buy the laptop, so that u can get approx 50% space for your partition. Many forums mention how to do this prrocedure. Windows experience index = 5.9

Graphics : Two options are available - discrete graphics(512mb ati) and integrated graphics(4500mhd). Integrated graphics 4500MHD works fine for me as I do not play games. Tried out the aeroeffects in vista and it looks good to me. Windows experience index = 3.8

Display.: We have a 14" LED screen which gives very good picture clarity. I opted for 720p(1366*768). If u can spend some extra bucks, suggest you go for the 900p. Good brightness. Problem with reflecting surface, especially when working outdoors.

Keypad : Good keypad but makes slight noise while typing. Feels smooth and sturdy. Backlit keyboard is my suggestion, looks beautiful. No flex observed.

Speakers : Two speakers located just in front of keypad. Good sound quality, but no woofer available. Good volume with realtek driver. You will also get creative noise-cancellation earphones, which are simply superb.

Dell bloatware : Lots of useless software installed which can be removed to improve ur system performance. refer youtube for ways to improve ur performance.

Trackpad : slight texture feeling. Very good in response, no lag observed. My kudos to dell. Try to get the bluetooth mouse too, it works very nice.

Battery charge : Dell claims4.5hrs, but observed in some forums about getting upto 2hrs 45mins for a 6cell. im getting about 3hrs when running under low performance mode.

Connectivity - Bluetooth and wireless work good. Bad we have only two USB ports.

Slot drive: 8X drive works good.

Overall verdict :

Very good laptop with comparatively less complaints at a reasonable price.

Let me know in case u need more information.