Dell Studio 17 laptop

[andy_mk3]

I'm not going to bother re-installing yet. I don't urgently need the 14gb of recovery space

Thanks for the heads up on the COA though. The battery meter on the battery is a very nice feature too!

The battery life is great, I'm getting 3 hours on max performance, screen 60% and keyboard backlight on.

 

[iv-tecman]

Well, started to encounter the first of my problems with this laptop…

I’ve re-installed the O/S using the Dell recovery backup options. Dell are too cheap to provide a DVD with the O/S on it, so you need to make a copy yourself. I only needed the drivers and utils etc as I’ve already got an O/S CD. I have a copy of Windows 7 Home 64bit.

Anyhow, to be sure I make backups of everything. I used the backup copy of the Windows 7 DVD supplied by Dell on the system, and deleted the O/S pre-installed and started again. You don’t need the COA with the Dell O/S DVD as its pre authenticated.

I’m up and running again, not a problem, apart from..

Dell backups do not backup the blu ray playback software.
Dell backups to Media creates a driver CD, sure. Shame some drivers are missing, I’ve managed to get it mostly up and running, with exception to Windows 7 Device Manager showing unknown device. I think it’s a Creative Labs Integrated Webcam Driver that is missing. I’ve no longer got a webcam.

So, this isn’t very clever Dell. First, you’re too cheap to provide restore media, and you need to create it yourself using DVD. Ok but then when its created, its missing the media playback software and DVD Burning software, no video drivers and no webcam drivers.

Not only that, I go to their website, enter my tag number and guess what… No webcam drivers. I’ve searched everywhere for them, so guess I’ll need to call tech support? To find drivers.. Wish me luck on that..

Laptop is quick though. I’m not liking the top touch panel with the blu ray controls and volume controls. It feels bouncy and its bending, I can see it bending upwards, and if I push it down, it bends down… Now that’s poor..!! Oh and the eject button works, sometimes it doesn’t. and the USB /SATA port is really hard to push USB devices into it, it does work but you need to push harder then expected….

I’m not so sure this laptop is as good as it should be….. Early days. Lets see if I can get all the devices working before I pass anymore judgement..

Screen is excellent though, haven’t tried media playback yet but Half Life 2 ran great on it.. lol

 

[andy_mk3]

I have copied the drivers listed for my webcam and uploaded them, feel free to use them.

http://rapidshare.com/files/395251980/Webcam_Driver.rar.html

They were found in the system32/drivers/ folder.

I also noticed the USB/eSATA port is pretty tight.

The touch panel seems fine for me though, and having no problems with eject.

 

[Andybtsn]

Well I was sick of the heating problems I had with my Studio 15 so called support on Thursday, guy was pretty understanding of my problem and agreed with me the laptop shouldn't be behaving like it was. Anyway he suggested that a new heat sync/fan should be installed (maybe the system board too) I just hope they properly stress test the thing.

They picked it up today, very good service so far...

 

[andy_mk3]

My S17 stays pretty cool. It's certainly cool enough to keep on my lap.

the speakers are actually pretty immense for a laptop

 

[iv-tecman]

Thank you so much Andy, that worked a treat. O/S is now fully configured and all devices now working correctly again...

In fact using my new laptop to post this. Its working a treat now, still not 100% sure about the touchbar at the top, but other then this seems to be going much better...

Backlit keyboard in the evening and late at night, such as now is superb...

As for heat, mine is ok. Plays Half Life 2 fulll whack, and doesn't seem to trouble it too much. Fan kicks in for a few seconds then thats it, and its not overly noisy...

Still not impressed with the eject button but well impressed with the screen... Its fantastic for a laptop, and the built in speakers are the best laptop speakers i've heard...!!

Would I recommend this laptop? Maybe but it's not without fault....

I'll give it some more testing.... MP3 playback with the built in speakers is superb, battery life is good as well.

 

[andy_mk3]

No problem

Not tried any games yet, I'm hoping it will run Just Cause 2 and GTA IV to some extent.

I would reccomend this laptop. While it does have it's flaws, the pro's outweigh the cons by a long way!

 

[iv-tecman]

No problem

Not tried any games yet, I'm hoping it will run Just Cause 2 and GTA IV to some extent.

I would reccomend this laptop. While it does have it's flaws, the pro's outweigh the cons by a long way!

Oh for sure, its a good laptop no doubt.... The screen and speakers are the best i've ever seen on a laptop. Makes my old and now dead Dell D600 look like a fisher price toy..

Still has a few faults. I'm downloading Dirt 2 via Steam right now, see how that fairs.... Runs VLC quite nicely, yet to try the HDMI out, but I will... Hoping for big things from the HDMI on my 42" plasma.. lol

 

[andy_mk3]

I can't download any games, on mobile broadband only

I used the HDMI yesterday, although it's no better than VGA, I think it's something to do with my TV though, it doesn't like the 720p res!

I have XP running in a VM, it's very quick

 

[iv-tecman]

just tried the HDMI out, and it worked perfectly fine. 1080p mode using 1920 x 1080 at 60hz and played a DVD using XBMC without any problems...

It even turned off the inbuilt speakers and used home cinema speakers.... That was a snap..!! Very easy, and great results..

Hmmmm so far its getting better, I want to know my money has been well spent... lol

oh gf hates my new laptop.... Just been caught, so I'd best get to bed. To be fair, we've got an early start tomorrow, so better put this away and get some sleep..

Its a new toy, boys and toys.. lol

 

[andy_mk3]

Yeah it must have been my TV not liking it, although it accpets 720p from my PS3 just fine!

I just had a thought though. Dell offer this laptop with an option of a second hard drive. So could this mean SSD and HDD?

Edit: Just installing GTA IV, looking forward to see how well it handles that.

 

[Rob N]

Does anyone else finds the fan annoying on Dells?

Fan keeps switching on and off even when I'm only surfing the web

 

[andy_mk3]

Mine stays quiet all the time, it only steps up when I load another program sometimes.

 

[Rob N]

Maybe my fan runs more because it has the i7 quad core processor

 

[andy_mk3]

Quite possibly, I'm on the i5, which does perform very well!

I've decided this laptop is good enough to replace my desktop, so the desktop is going

 

[iv-tecman]

Quite possibly, I'm on the i5, which does perform very well!

I've decided this laptop is good enough to replace my desktop, so the desktop is going

mine just played Batman Arkham average 35fps max detail x2 AA at 1920 x 1080, and to me that's bloody amazing..

3Dmark2006 ran quite smooth, but i had to knock that down to 720 to make it sustain a decent FPS. But still thats bloody impressive for a laptop..

Its not as fast as my desktop though, but its darn well giving it a good run for its money....

Overall, had the laptop over the weekend and its not missed a beat since I got the O/S all up and running again.

I too would recommend one, my fan isn't all that bad. It only kicks in when I load a program up, or play a very intensive game...

the HDMI support on a 1080 Panasonic Plasma is fantastic, it works without hardly any hassle at all..

My only gripe now, is the size of this beast.. lol so glad I got that rucksack carry bag, I can see my laptop being used a lot, posting this message using said laptop.. lol

 

[andy_mk3]

I got the belkin laptop case, it's a snug fit but it's comfortable to carry!

I've been getting 20-30fps on GTA IV which is amazing really, this was on full res with medium settings. My desktop was getting lower fps on a lower resolution!

I'm very pleased with it. I thought it was a lot of money for a laptop, but it's worth every penny.