---> OFFICIAL: Dell STUDIO 14z Owner's Lounge <---

So the 8-cell battery doesn't stick out? That's good news. When will the first reviews start showing up? I need to see this in action.

 

Just heard about the new Studio 14z. I'm looking for a 14" machine for my first laptop, and I have been planning on getting a HP DV4T, but this Dell sounds pretty good. Any thoughts on how these two might compare, with the same processor and memory?

Also, the DV4T has an option for a 512mb nvidia G105 for graphics. Is this better or worse than the 9400M that's in the Dell?

 

G105 is a discrete graphic card, it's definitely better than the integrated 9400M in terms of gaming performance.

 

the G105 gets 2200 in 3DMark 06 and the the 9400M get 2000

 

Only marginally better and it should not be the deciding factor in your purchase.

 

The HP DV4T has a DVD drive. That would sway me.

 

I was actually considering the Dell DV3t or DV4t until this Dell came out. I am now set on the Dell.

The HP models are actually reasonably thick in person and even the DV3t which is 13" will be noticeably heavier than the Studio 14z.

I don't need a DVD drive on the go so anything to make it lighter is good for me.

 

The HP dv4t is only available with a 1280x800 display (even the LED version costs an extra $60). It is a 14.1" 16:10 aspect ratio display.

The Studio 14z has a standard 1366x768 LED display OR optional 1600x900 LED. It is a 14.0" 16:9 aspect ratio display.

The Studio's nVIDIA 9400M G performs almost as well as the G 105M in the dv4t, but uses less power. Less power used = less heat & longer battery life.

The dv4t will soon be replaced/updated with a 14.0" 16:9 display.

My vote is for the Studio 14z...comparably equipped, it's about $150 cheaper than the dv4t, too!

 

It always makes me scratch my head when people talk about icons and text size being too small on high resolutions.

both can be easily adjusted to preference.

 

i think this lap can't become populate in working/ studying environments because of it lack VGA port. Most of projectors at work places only provide VGA input, and people who want a good notebook for presentation may be meet problem with this issue.

 

But then who gets a multimedia consumer laptop for the workplace?

Businesses probably wouldn't consider getting this 14z over, say a Latitude or Thinkpad.

 

You're right, the Studio 14z is not really a workstation, but then again, it's not supposed to be. The Dell Studio series is marketed as a multimedia entertainment line. Businesses would be better off with Dell Latitude or Precision notebooks, or Lenovo Thinkpads, as kkl1014 suggested.

 

how long will it take for it to start showing up in Europe? I can probably wait a month or so.

 

I'm wondering what the difference is in the WLED display as opposed to CCFL LCD displays. I had a refurbished Studio XPS 13 that didn't have an LED display and when I got it I was horribly upset with how bad the viewing angles were and the screen in general (I returned it for this among other reasons). Will the WLED look noticeably better? I also noticed when looking through the dell cofiguration page the 900p screen is labeled as "bright." Is there any known reasoning for this? Possibly an increased nit rating?

On a related note, would the 900p screen be expected to decrease battery life? What about the backlit keyboard?

 

Guess I'll have to see a 14z in person to see how it feels and looks compared to the DV4T. I REALLY like the keyboard feel on the HP, which has no flex at all, and the 16:10 aspect ratio seems better for me as I don't plan on watching movies at all, and only playing a few games. It might come down to the almighty $$$ and any special offers that are coming down the road this month.

Here's a kind of dumb question. If I got the 14z, since it doesn't have a built-in optical drive, how can I play COD4 or Far Cry without always having to use an external optical drive? Is there some way to just copy the game CD onto the hard drive, and then just play it from there?

 

There isn't too big of a difference in viewing angles between LED and CCFL backlit panels. The main difference is LED backlit panels seem to be more "white." CCFL backlit screens can have a warm tint to them, which LED doesn't have. As a result, color quality as well as black level is generally better with LED screens. You also don't need to wait for LED screens to reach full brightness.

The 900p screen should not have any adverse effect on battery life compared to the 720p screen. What uses up electricity is the backlight method, not the lcd panel itself.

I can't imagine the backlit keyboard having too great an effect on battery life either and you can always turn it off if you don't need it.

 

wait... theres no vga port on the studio14z?
soo, i cant hook up my external monitor...
this could actually be a deal breaker for me now then =\

 

you could get a HDMI to VGA cable

 

The screen is one of the main reasons I'm looking at this over the Studio XPS 13...

The battery life should also be nearly twice as good, with the same weight just a little larger (though still slim).

The optical drive keeps coming up as a question, and its just a personal preference I think. Some people dont mind getting an external one for when they need to install discs.

I do know that most games you can copy onto a hard-drive so you dont need the discs. Usually this is an option during the initial install process (though it can take up a considerable amount of hard drive space if there are alot of cinematics). If you get the 500G then you're fine.

 

Or you could get a DisplayPort to VGA adapter.

 

I'm probably going to order this laptop next week. I wish there were some real reviews though! Any idea what the hold up is? Can I expect to wait this long for mine to get delivered???

 

I heard shipping is not before the end of the month. Expect some reviews by July

 

I also noticed that as of today the dell 1515 is the Default and only wifi option

 

Ordered mine on the 4th of june. I have no need for a optical drive and the specs vs price is awsome. the wireless N is back up but now delays your laptop I should have gone with the wireless G.

 

I'm really torn between this laptop and the 13" Timeline (with the SU2700). Hmmmm.

 

I guess it just depends where you priorities are. Studio 14z can't approach the 13" Timeline's battery life, but certainly beats it in performance.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Dell is probably postponing sending these bad boys out because, incidentally, that is the same day that the free Windows 7 upgrade program goes into effect (aka you'll receive the upgrade for free or at a low cost).

I really think this laptop is going to sell. The timing, components, and pricing just seem right.

 

An owner has posted a very short review on the Dell site here and gives it a high 5 - does this mean people actually have these in their hands or is someone just pretending to have one to be the first to review it

I'm in the UK and hoping this laptop will arrive here sometime soon, the 14 inch Inspiron never arrived here so hopefully this 14-incher will. I think this could be a reasonable replacement for my XPS M1330 that has recently suffered the infamous Nvidia 8400M GS death by vertical lines but has now been 'fixed' hence I think it would be a good idea for me to replace it before it's 2 years old and the extended warranty runs out.

 

I think it's a bs review. It doesn't have any real hands-on information in it.

 

Anyone know when this thing is available in the UK?

 

And that is exactly why I'm putting off my purchase decision (HP DV4T or Dell 14z) until after the end of the month. Definitely want the option to get Windows 7 instead of being stuck with Vista.

 

The dv4t is the oldest model in the Pavilion line. Along with the dv3t, they're the only ones that still have a 16:10 aspect ratio display. With the introduction of the Studio 14z and the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450, both with 14.0" 16:9 displays, HP will probably follow suit. It would surprise me if the HP dv4t doesn't switch to 14.0" 16:9 in the next few months...

 

Got through several pages of this thread but not all so maybe it has been said already.

I had this "Frankenstein" computer I threw together but I did not have a spare optical drive. Easy fix: make the drive on another computer shared. Either use a wired or WiFi connection and install from there. Don't know how it works for writing as I had a 4gb thumb drive and a usb powered external for transferring data. It it weren't for Netflix, I would almost never use my optical drive. The free program ImgBurn along with Daemon Tools works great for instances like this too.

I don't like the RAM setup though. 1gb soldered to the board with only one upgrade slot? Really? If you are going to go that route, there should be 2,3 or 4 minimum. So is the first 2gb dual channel with the rest single channel or what? That is new to me.

 

And both are lighter with better battery life. I dont think the DV4 can compete with their portability or image quality.

1GB is soldered in (DDR3 @ 1066 MHz), but there are only 2 slots. That means in the second slot, it comes with 2GB (not soldered) baseline (also DDR3). If you wish to upgrade to anything beyond that, you need to stick a 4GB chip in, which goes for about $400. You can buy two 2GB chips for about 60 bucks, but that is no use if one of the slots is unavailable.

I really have no idea or explanation why Dell chose this when Vista 64-bit is an OS option, which requires 4GB to take full advantage of. It is frustrating, because if I choose the 14z I will just have to sit tight and wait a year for the price on the 4GB chips to come down.

The Lenovo Y450 doesnt have this issue (albeit, the max processor configurable is only the P7450). Also, the Y450 doesnt have a 7200 RPM HDD option, or a backlit keyboard.

I will be interested in seeing how the 14z measures up to the Y450, these two are my focus right now.

 

I know from past experience that you need exact matching sticks of ram for dual channel to work at all, so I wonder how it works with this setup?

I have 4gb installed running Vista32 on my PC, so really only 3gb, but have never maxed out the ram. I did with 2gb though.

Seems like it will be a nice Laptop for the price. Small, light, thin, good battery, plus it is powerful enough to do real work.

 

Answered my own question.

I suppose I should have researched it first. Intel memory controllers can use "Flex" mode, so the 1gb of soldered ram and the first 1gb of the ram in the expansion slot will be dual channel, but the remaining 2 or 3gb of ram will run as slower single channel.

I would think that with the absence of an optical drive that there would be more than enough room for a normal ram setup, like every other notebook in the world.

 

I agree Carcinogen.

Unless the reviews on the 14z are downright stellar, I'll probably be picking the Lenovo Y450. The 14z has some promising traits with the backlit keyboard, 900p screen, and the '6 hours' of battery life. But the Y450 will come with an optical drive for similar weight/thickness, a 720p screen, and 4GB of ram. Not to mention, cheaper.

I will be waiting on reviews of the 14z, and also another month to see if Lenovo drops any updates for the Y450 (it was supposed to have up to a P8600 processor and a Blue Ray Drive at launch but neither of these are available yet)...

 

DV3T is 16:9, HP site lies.

 

Is this Studio's chassis sturdier than the other Studios? Does it use some magnesium alloy? When I've handled the Studio 15 at Best Buy and Staples, it seems like it's all plastic, and flexes a lot (to me at least). Is the 14z supposed to be stiffer, with magnesium alloy?

 

I answered your question in the "Studio 14z First Look" Thread.

 

Also, keep in mind that nobody besides reviewers actually have their hands on one yet, as they wont be shipped for another couple of weeks.

 

Thanks. I hope they're working on that review right now.

 

I have no idea.

If its not up in the next week, mutiny shall erupt.

 

Ordered with core2duo 6400 & 8 cell battery. ETA July 8.

 

Is the 70$ price upgrade for the 6400 worth it compared to the 4200 ?

 

if all your doing is email and browsing the web then no. anything else like multimedia and multi tasking then yes it is worth the upgrade

 

Yes.


Seriously though, that's entirely subjective as the previous poster said. My impression is that it's not just a faster processor but also a different (better) architecture.

 

Answering my own question after some research
T4200 : http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37251
T6400 : http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=40479

Same architecture, same clock speed. The only difference is the 1mb of cache vs 2mb.

70$ seems pretty steep for such an upgrade now...

 

Yes it does. Wish I spent that money on 900p now.

 

Can anyone confirm the starting weight of the 14z? On Dell.ca's website, it says the 14z starts at 5.3lbs while Dell.com says it starts at 4.3lbs.