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

Dell is sending me a $75 coupon towards my next dell purchase for all the trouble they put me through.

 

As I was updating the drivers yesterday, I found the Dell recommended power settings file (the one that later nilosys provided the link for). I downloaded and installed those settings, charged the battery to 100%, turned screen brightness to the lowest possible setting (by the way, it's excellent and very usable!), wireless on, bluetooth off. Now Windows 7 reports 4:50 hrs right away, however as it goes down to about 66% it reports 4 hours and at 33% it reports 2 hours remaining, which makes one think that the total should have been 6 hours. Now I haven't measured it, but I will do a real usage test and see how long it REALLY lasts, regardless of WHAT Windows 7 shows there.

 

I love when any company tries to win you over with money off a future purchase, thereby almost guaranteeing your future custom. Still, better than a kick in the teeth eh.

 

Glad I didn't order the external DVD drive with the laptop.

 

fair enough

 

I picked mine up the other day at a local Best Buy. Love it so far, I was dead set on buying the Studio 14z but when I arrived i saw the Toshiba Satellite E105 that was very temping, but I ended up with the 14z because Best Buy was including a $80 External CDRW/DVD drive for free.

I had to exchange my first one for another due to the top right hand corner of the screen bezel cracking and making a snapping noise every time I pressed on it...luckily I didnt have a hassle at Best Buy.

One of my concerns is the battery has a tendency to wiggle around when its connected...annoying but not a deal breaker.

I do have a question though, mine didn't come with a Backlit keyboard, is there any way for me to purchase this separately and install it myself, that is the only thing that makes me wish I had ordered mine through Dell.

 

Works equally well with butter.

 

Yes, Dell will gladly sell one to you. And you can even install it yourself, it's pretty easy, if you've ever taken a laptop apart.

 

The iGo is supposed to be able to do the conversion, but it didn't work properly and while it would power the notebook, it would not charge the battery. I did some research and found that Dell made some changes a while back to their notebooks that basically (intentionally) prevented third party adapters from being able to charge the batteries. iGo has apparently since released updated power tips that will charge Dell batteries, but I'm not sure I want to take the chance.

On the other hand, I'm thrilled by the battery life I'm getting on my 6 cell today. I was only expecting to get about 2.5 -3 hours on it (which is fine because I usually just buy extra power adapters for each of my main usage locations (i.e. home office, bedroom and office) - hence my iGo question. When I realized my iGo wasn't working, I unplugged it and have been running on battery since. That was about 1 hour 45 minutes ago, and my battery indicator is showing 2 hours left at 52%, which, if accurate, would mean 3.75-4 hours. Granted, all I'm doing is word processing, reviewing and creating .pdf's, email and internet usage, so nothing particularly processor or hard drive intensive, but I'm stoked nonetheless.

 

Easy for you to say. I was on the phone with them for 2+ hours trying to get a backlit keyboard sent to me that they forgot to put in my laptop. After all that time, 2 tech support "techs", 2 customer support employees, 1 customer support manager and finally 1 customer retention agent (who was the only person that was actually in the United States) they're just gonna send me a whole new laptop.

 

I just got my 14z last week, and I didn't pay attention to the VGA..
When I was about to connect my monitor to my laptop I was confused..

I was thinking to buy a VGA male to HDMI male.. --> http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-1-8-Meters-...CI%2BIA%2BUA%2BFICS%2BUFI&otn=15&po=LVI&ps=54

would it work tho? or I need the big and expensive adapter one?

 

Price means NOTHING when it comes to cables like that. They all do the same thing. As far as which one fits I have no idea. Just don't let a sales person talk you into buying the "Monster Cables" for $100+.

 

Monster Cables themselves are actually really cheap. It's the snake oil that you have to buy with them that's expensive.

 

that won't work; you'd need a fairly expensive converter, since hdmi is digital and vga is analog. you're probably better off finding a displayport -> vga cable

 

What kind of monitor are you trying to hook your 14z up to (inputs, screen size, resolutions, etc)?

From my limited searching I've found that the displayport to dvi adapters are a little cheaper than displayport to vga. At least that way the signal stays digital until the monitor converts it.

If your monitor doesn't have dvi maybe just time to save for a new monitor? Unless of course you need VGA so you can use it for presentations (From my experience most older projectors only have VGA in).

 

I've had my 14z for about a week now, quite happy with it so far.

Last night I installed Windows 7 RTM (I'm a technet subscriber), and things went well overall. However, I noticed this morning when plugging it in to charge that the charging light on the laptop does not come on anymore. I'm sure this worked fine with the OEM image of Vista installed, so I'm wondering if there is some software/driver I haven't installed on 7 that enables this? I really figured it was just hardware, but unless its a weird coincidence that it broke at the same time, I'm stumped. BTW, the laptop *is* charging when plugged in according to Windows, but the light on the laptop does not illuminate.

Thanks for any help!

 

The light works on the RC. I dunno why that would happen.

 

Just an update for people, I did get $75 credited back to my account for the missing backlit keyboard. I'm not going to bother with trying to get a new one because even in the dark, I can tpye fine with the light the screen emits. This means that with my EPP discount and the $75 back, I only paid $975 for my laptop $875 if you don't include the external optical drive. Not bad.

 

I checked the Dell site to see if they have the backlit keyboard available in canada yet but they don't, also they are only offering the T6500 cpu. I configured a system last night with the P8600 cpu and now it is not valid when I checked this morning although it was supposed to be good until Sept. 9/09. I know Dell keeps changing the systems but why are they only offering one cpu?

 

likely supply chain issues. They don't rely on inventory - they order from manufacturers as they recieve them, and they can only legally backorder so much.

 

I went back and checked the cheapest configuration and they have all the cpu's to choose from so you can pick it from there but not the 2 other configurations. It seems kind of silly that they wouldn"t offer the cpu's on the higher cost configurtions.

 

huh - i stand corrected.
Don't know what kind of random marketing ploy that must be.

 

I don't know what they are doing either, with the cheap configuration the cost goes up about $200.00 for me to have the same system I configured last night so it is a good thing I wasn't going to buy one until close to the end of the month, hopefully by then I can get the backlit keyboard as well as the cpu that I want.

 

Doesn't explain why things will be available in Canada but not the US or vice-versa though. It's not like they have separate manufacturing facilities.

I have noticed that configs change like the wind at Dell. Usually all the options are available, but how you arrive at the end configuration you want can vary wildly from day to day. I can't claim to understand any of it, but know enough that if I want Configuration XYZ I need to customize low, middle and high end configs to see which one gives me what I want at the best price.

 

Also true. Their marketing department needs to figure that out as well. I wonder if they'll hire me...

 

your right the light doesn't come on when running windows 7. i cant seem to get mine out of sleep mode in windows 7 either. Can anyone who is running windoes 7 wake the 14z from sleep mode?

 

stiix,

At least I'm not the only one. As for sleep, mine will come out of sleep but I have to hit the power button. Unlike the Vista image that caused it to work more like a MacBook where you just open the lid and it powers on. Now with 7 installed it works more like other PC laptops I have used where pushing the power button brings them out of sleep/hibernation. It must be something we are missing in regard to drivers/software.

 

Mines doesn't come out of sleep even by hitting the power button. I installed all the drivers and it still won't come out of sleep mode however it's not a hardware issue because it comes out of sleep in vista.

 

Mine comes out of sleep as soon as I open the lid. The little indicator near the power port is also lit. When the lid is closed, the power button is glowing. I'm on Windows 7 RC (7100) 64-bit. From custom drivers (from Dell's site) I only installed audio, video and touchpad drivers and the recommended power settings. I did not install the chipset, AHCI, bluetooth, ethernet, wireless or any other drivers. Hope that helps.

 

Just got off the phone with Dell regarding purchasing a backlit keyboard...just under $60 Shipped...a little more then I was expecting but I'm very picky and I had to have it, so oh well!

I have Windows 7 RC and my charge light works, mine also works perfectly when waking from sleep by just opening the screen...hmm

 

I've had my 14z/P8600 for about a week now and love it for the most part. It's light, fast and hasn't let me down yet performance-wise.

Like some others though, my trackpad seems to have a mind of its own sometimes, which is often enough to be frustrating. When it works, it's great.. when it doesn't work, I can only wait until it decides to obey again. Coming from a Inspiron with a synaptics, as well as a Powerbook, I hadn't realized how important a good trackpad is to me and just took quality for granted.

Unlike most others, I'm not a big fan of the backlit keyboard. The light bleeding just looks crappy and since there is a gap between the number row and the function row, it creates a bar of light that I find very distracting. It works ok if are hunched over it, but sitting on my coffee table at normal working angles, it's like mini flashlights aimed at my eyes. I think it could/should have been constructed much better for the price. It's off unless I have a reason it turn it on, like for taking a picture of it.

 

That's pricey! I was expecting it to be closer to $25 (the price when you configure it). I guess I won't be installing a back-lit keyboard anytime soon..

 

there is definitely a way to do it. I can't remember how, but I changed it. Somewhere in the control panel (obviously)

 

You are better of getting a DisplayPort to VGA converter. For example there is one available from Startech for $43 USD.
http://www.startech.com/item/DP2VGA-DisplayPort-to-VGA-Video-Adapter-Converter.aspx
This adapter is not a simple dongle like those passive DVI-I to VGA dongles you get when you buy a video card. Inside that adapter there is actually a DisplayPort receiver and a DAC (digital to analog converter) that converts the digital DisplayPort signals to analog VGA signals. The reason is looks like a simple dongle is because that adapter is powered off the 3.3 V DisplayPort connector supply (similar to how you can power USB memory sticks off the 5V USB connector). With these adapters due the VGA DAC's limitation you will get a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 (WUXGA).

That cable you are looking is probably passive cable which doesn't have any electronics inside it to convert the digital HDMI signal to the analog VGA signal. If you were to buy the cable and connect it to your monitor you will not see anything on the screen.

 

Yep I seem to have that problem too. It seems to only happen when I'm plugged into AC power. On battery it doesn't happen.

 

I reinstalled the nvidia display drivers and it seemed to work? (for now at least)

 

Power settings. Go to advanced settings. It's in there.

As for Windows 7, my charge light does come on.

Oh wow, I thought I cracked my Studio 14z case with a slight bump on the computer chair but it was actually just a slightly off construction of the case. Closely look at the front side bottom of the corners. You will see a small line and mine is not constructed evenly on both sides so one side looked like it cracked...but it's not.

The flicker I mentioned was when you run a program, it will flash on/off for a second, then show the permission box whether you will allow the program to run or not. I was told that it was an LG screen problem, not related to the drivers so you could be having a different flicker that I do not know of...

 

Finally ordered today!!

Midnight blue/T6500/320go HD/3go RAM/Wireless N/720P/8cellbattery

Came in at 909$ CDN - 1026$ with tax

 

I have the 900P screen and get that exact same flicker when running a program. I also get a random but much shorter flicker every 5-10 minutes which at first I thought was hardware issue but now think is a driver issue. I've been getting the flicker regardless of the application I'm using except that last night I watched a 2 hour movie using VLC and didn't get a single flicker. It's a bit maddening, but I've just been chalking it up to the fact that I'm running an RC OS for which not all of the drivers are necessarily updated or fully compatible.

Similarly, I noticed that the FastAccess facial recognition causes some other weird issues. While the actual facial recognition was working great, it was causing the spinning circle cursor to come up constantly. I only discovered that it was the FastAccess causing the problem because after I uninstalled it the problem went away, and then I reinstalled it and it came back (after I which I uinstalled it for good).

 

Finally got mine today.. took a ton of pictures of the unboxing which i will post up later. so far my initial impression is wow. very sleek looking laptop, i got it in green and the color is really nice, what i didn't realize was that are glossy sections inside the laptop, like the top of the battery, around the screen and keyboard, that are fingerprint magnets, but usually you aren't touching those places to much anyway. keyboard is really nice, the key spacing i find is just right, the touch pad took a little getting used to but so far im not having to much trouble.

the screen. i got the 900p screen and it is amazing, crystal clear, no flicker, no dead pixels. really much nicer then my old 1280x800 screen. the lights on the power button and cord are nice looking without being overbearing and overall the laptop feels very 'sturdy'. Weird thing is theres no HD activity indicator on it, which i find kind of weird but i can live with it. ive been moving all my files over via eSATA, eSata works flawlessly, no trouble at all like ive had with previous laptops. internet connection is good, it found more networks then my old e1505. there is some light leakage around the edges of the keys, but for me its hardly noticable at all. laptop feels very snappy and responds well. of course i had to spend an hour updating and de-crapwaring it, but it was a relatively painless setup.

so far so good =)

 

Could anyone comment on real battery life with this notebook? I've scanned through this thread without success looking for owner experiences with unplugged runtime.

 

Yesterday was the first time I fully charged the battery and used it completely, it took exactly 3 hours 50 minutes. During that time I watched several YouTube videos, started watching a movie (about 30 minutes), but then switched to chatting with friends and web browsing. It's an 8-cell battery. Windows 7 RC 64-bit. Wireless on, bluetooth off, backlit keyboard off, screen brightness on lowest (900p screen), a 5400rpm HDD. When the first battery warning came up at 10%, it was showing remaining 30 minutes. However, at the second critical warning at 7%, I think it showed around 20 minutes, but I started recharging it at that time, so I never fully ran it down. So, there, I hope that helps.

 

I get around 6 hours when doing light tasks like web browsing and word processing. Other people have reported around 3 hours when playing games... So real world usage would probably be 4-5 hours.

 

I believe it depends on the screen's native resolution (720 vs 900).

 

I havent ran it down really, but when undervolted, I get a projected 4.5-5.5hrs.

900P on half brightness, 5400rpm, 8cell, wireless N on, bluetooth off, Windows 7 RC, p8600 undervolted, backlit keyboard off

 

I will undervolt tomorrow and post new results.

 

I can't say for sure how much more it gave me because I haven't ran it down. It does seem to help with the projections though. The projections are all over the place, but I'd guess I'm getting anywhere from 5-6hrs.

 

Maybe that's the fan that is constantly ON, that is draining my battery faster than it should. Hm...

 

yeah i set mine to run that way also.

 

Huh? You set yours to run with the fan constantly ON? I wanna do just the opposite -- find a way to turn it off