Dell does it again! (Dell Studio 15)

Member Name: steedandpeel

Product:	Dell Studio 15
Date:	20/08/09 (465 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast, great specification, easy to get started, good battery life and reliable. And it looks great!

Disadvantages: The mouse needs some adjusting and the screen surround is shiny - and I have a dead pixel!

Last week disaster struck - the power cord on my trusty laptop died! As I use it everyday, I needed to get back online as soon as possible. I was thinking of upgrading shortly anyway, so rather than shell out for a new cord, I decided to buy a whole new unit. At work, I looked online at PC World, and decided to buy the Dell Studio 1555 laptop in Midnight Blue. I reserved it online and went to pick it up later.

---The Price---

I paid £599.95 for the laptop at PC world. I had a budget of £600, so this came in right at the top end. I believe I could have got it cheaper if I'd shopped around or ordered it online, but I wanted a laptop right away, so I was prepared to pay full whack.

---The Specification---

The basic specification for the laptop is as follows:

Intel Core 2 Duo processor T6500
4GB Memory
500GB Hard drive

In terms of memory space and processing speed, this was certainly the best I could get for my budget and vastly superior to my old laptop.

In addition, the laptop has a dvd/cd drive, two usb connections and an Intel GM45 graphics card. The laptop is wirelessly enabled and has a sound card - pretty much standard fare these days.

---The Look---

The Studio 1555 is a very stylish computer - one of the reasons I was attracted to it! I was tempted by a purple or red one, but in the end I opted for the midnight blue. Basically, only the top of the laptop is coloured, with a slightly rubberised dark blue coating. It looks great.

On opening up the laptop, it is simply and classically designed, with a black qwerty keyboard and a silver mouse and keyboard surround.

The screen is a 15.6 inch widescreen which is anti-glare. It is surrounded by a shiny black plastic surface which does reflect the light. This is something I've noticed that a lot of manufacturers do with anti-glare screens - encase them with a reflective surface to show off how matt the screen is. However, it does slightly defeat the point of an anti-glare surface in the first place!

The power button is at the side of the hinge and it glows white when the laptop is turned on. The power cord has a blue light which complements the whole colour scheme.

Dell have managed to create a fantastically well-designed laptop and (forgetting the shiny screen surround), they get ten out of ten for the look of the computer.

---Set up---

The set up was as idiot proof and pain-free as it could be. I opened the box, ooohed and aaahed over the computer for a minute or two, plugged it in and pressed the on button.

The computer took me through the set up easily, without any complicated stages. Even a relative computer novice would find it easy. The wireless internet appears to be 'on' all the time, so I didn't even need to find out where that switch was. I can honestly say that I didn't need to look at the instruction book.

So once again, Dell get ten out of ten for ease of set up. I can't take marks away from them for all the file transfers and programme downloads that I needed to do - that was the fault of my old machine.

---The Operating System---

The standard operating system is Microsoft Vista. I have had a limited experience of using this on my boyfriend's computer, but never had my own Vista enabled computer. I've heard a few horror stories about it, but so far I've found that it works like a dream. All my hardware appears to be compatible. I like the layout of the desktop, with RSS feeds and a clock on the right hand side - so much so, that I haven't yet altered my settings.

I found navigating Vista slightly disorientating at first, but now, only a week later, I'm used to it. I think that it's just the initial change of settings that can cause confusion and once you've used it for a bit, you appreciate the benefits.

---Other Programmes---

Well the sales man at PC World managed to sell me a deal of Microsoft Office and Norton. I felt it was about time I updated my Office as I had been using 1997! However, the laptop already has Office installed, so it was a wasted purchase. The Studio 1555 also has McAffee installed, so I don't really need the Norton either. I'll have to take these back - this is the fault of PC World, and not Dell, although these programmes aren't advertised as coming as standard.

It also has all the other basic programmes you would expect such as Paint, Notepad, Solitaire and a host of other games for wiling away the hours. Internet Explorer is installed as standard.

---General Day to Day Use---

In terms of general day to day use, so far I've been very impressed with the Studio 1555. The keyboard is light and responsive, and the computer is very quick to start up out of hibernation or sleep mode (I'm not sure what the difference is). The fan kicks in when it's required and doesn't make a lot of noise; it also doesn't run constantly.

So far, I've had no hick-ups with the computer, no freezing programmes or crashes - I'm sure that the dual core processor really helps prevent this happening.

Compared to my old laptop, and my work laptop which is only a few months old, this laptop is very cool. It hasn't run hot at all, which I've often found a recurring problem with laptops. I will have to wait and see if the fan can last for more than a couple of months - overheating is my greatest bugbear with laptops! My work laptop is often too hot to touch after it's been on a whole day - this is just dangerous!

The Studio 1555 has coped brilliantly with SimCity 4 - my geeky computer game of choice! This game would never run on my old laptop, despite the fact that it was two years younger than the game! SimCity 4 doesn't run as well as it does on my work laptop - but this has an expensive graphics card for the work I do, so I would expect it really. I've not tried out the Sims2 yet, but I would expect it to work fine. I may even purchase the Sims 3...

---The Mouse---

The mouse is integrated into the silver surround of the keyboard, with a tap-click as well as left and right mouse buttons. I've had some problems adjusting to the mouse, as it is very light when compared to my old laptop. Although I've fiddled with the settings, I haven't got it quite right yet. I find that it quite often zooms in and out and is a bit temperamental.

When I uploaded SimCity 4 and tested it out, I had to switch to a usb mouse, as the game play was impossible with the integrated mouse.

I'm sure my use of the mouse will improve - this is a problem that I have encountered with previous laptops and it has always sorted itself out over time as I fiddle with the settings and get used to the mouse.

---Power and Battery Life---

I'm thrilled with the power and battery life of the laptop so far. I've been used to a laptop that has to be plugged in at all times with about 30 seconds of battery life. Now I have a truly portable laptop with a battery that lasts up to 4 hours. This is great as I don't always need to carry the power cord around the flat if I'm using the laptop in the study or the living room. There is also an estimated time left of battery life, which is excellent if you're not sure how much time you have left. I've only used it on battery for surfing the net or using Word and Excel, not for gaming. I'm sure that 3d graphics would reduce the power time quite considerably.

---Grumbles---

Well I've had a grumble about the mouse and the shine of the screen surround so far. That is all I really have to grumble about, except for one tiny thing. There is a dead pixel on my screen. I noticed it as soon as I turned on the laptop and it was really annoying. However, I have decided that rather than demand a new laptop from PC World, I will ignore it. I really can't be bothered going through the whole rigmoral of loading up another laptop to my preferences, so I'm going to live with it - it's certainly better than the screen on my old laptop that had a rip in it from when my cat got a bit enthusiastic one day!

---Conclusions---

I believe that the product is good value for money, and that Dell is a trusted brand that makes good quality computers. This was certainly not the cheapest laptop on the market - I paid just shy of £600 and I expect it to be a good quality product that will last me a good few years. So far, other than the aforementioned grumbles, the laptop has lived up to my expectations. I'm very impressed with it in terms of style, battery life, performance, operating systems and general day to day running. I would certainly recommend this machine if you have a similar budget - from my research this had the best specification for a big brand at this price.

Summary: Dell have created a sexy, stylish, quality laptop!

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