1545 vs 1555

Hi all,

I was all set to order my 1555 but something/one prompted me to take a look at the 1545 again (in fact the 'someone' was my bank manager lol)...

With a few specs downgrade, I could save £200!($335)

Which one would you choose?

1545 in matt black with
P8600
4G RAM
256MB HD 4330
900p screen
500GB hard drive
6 cell
5100 wifi
1.3MP webcam
no backlit keyboard
4 yr warranty
dvd drive

£634 ~ $1060

with Bluray £707 ~ $1184
wit bluetooth £666 ~ $1115

1555 in glossy chainlink black with
P8600
4G RAM
512MB HD 4570
1080p screen
500GB hard drive
6 cell
5100 wifi
2.0MP webcam
backlit keyboard
4 yr warranty
bluray drive

£832 ~ $1390

with dvd drive and 320GB harddrive instead £797 ~$1330

The thing is, they both fit into my budget and what's extra with the 1555, they're probably nice to have rather than need to have.

Despite a lot of reassurance from a few people, I'm still a bit 'scared' to go for the 1080p. Don't know what I'm worrying about, I could always return it if I really didn't like it.

I wish I could be a bit more decisive.

 

Personally I think 900p on a 15.6" is enough, going for full 1080p is a bit of a strain; but then my eyes are beginning to fail me anyway

I might also suggest that the 512MB 4570 could be downgraded to 256MB instead (if that option is still available). You'll notice next to no difference between the 256 & 512MB versions for this GPU.

The differences between the Inspiron and the Studio though are as follows:

Sound quality = better on Studio due to built in sub
Better connectivity on Studio, you get eSATA, HDMI, firewire, none of which is on the Inspiron

For me, none of this matters, which is why I went for the Inspiron. I only tend to keep a computer for a year to a year and a half, but as you are looking to keep it for 4 years then it might be worthwhile getting the Studio, considering that allows you better connectivity for other devices you may buy in the future.

 

Yeh forgot to mention the connectivity. Not having the hdmi would be a BIG minus. I'll either use a set of earphones or external speakers with it anyway so the built-in speakers are not important to me. There's never any mention about sound cards anywhere, do they pretty much the same or will I be able tell the difference if there was any with my headphones/speakers? And btw, what are eSATA and Firewire for?

Like I said before, if they offered 900p on the Studio, I'd definitely go for it. I wonder if they'd have that option in the near future.

 

One more thing... My plasma is a 720p one, will I get better picture quality connecting it with the hdmi on the 1555 or the vga on the 1545 or are they pretty much the same? Will the hdmi detect my plasma's 720p screen and adjust the output automatically?

 

better quality with the HDMI on the 1555.

Firewire is used typically for digital cameras & video cams, it's a connection like USB but faster. eSATA is the same sort of thing, but even faster than both. There will be more and more eSATA compatible devices in the future.

Both have the same sound device I believe.

 

go with the 1555. having that resolution is like having two monitors. and scaling in vista is fine.

also u get a gfx card thats a bit of an upgrade.

 

Scaling in Vista is not fine, not for everything. Have you ever tried playing with the DPI settings and then using different programs? I believe the DPI settings in Vista don't fully work with things like Photoshop, and they don't even work with all of the standard Windows tools / apps.

I've not found as many problems in Windows 7 as there were in Vista with scaling, but for example here are two examples:

Toolbar from mobile broadband application


Bottom of the display in the Windows Disk Management Tools


It certainly doesn't seem to be as big a problem as before, but no doubt there are many more places where the issue still remains, this was just me having a quick 5 minute play about.

 

Are these examples from Windows 7 or Vista? What dpi have you changed it to to get these offsets?

 

Examples from Windows 7, I changed it to 150%.

There will no doubt be a lot more examples, and it also depends on how old your software is and how well programmed it was.

 

I appreciate what you're saying but I think, judging from what I've seen - screenshots posted by others; Although as you point out, there are still a lot more to iron out, realistically, increasing the dpi to 120 is already plenty. Beyond that, again, based on my limited experience, the main problem is the lack of compatibility. E.g. as you mentioned, Photoshop; which is bad coz it's actually a photo editing software itself.

If you limit the dpi change upto 120dpi, do most things then look ok? i.e. No more offsets?

 

You still get offsets, but for most things it is fine. Like I said, in Windows 7 it does not appear as bad as it was in Vista

 

BTW, I'll be ordering my very own 1555 tomorrow... Can't wait!!!!

 

Remember patience is a virtue, and that is definitely true when it comes to ordering a computer from Dell - it can sometimes take 3 weeks or more to arrive. Be strong!

I dare you not to check your order status every single day

 

LOL... You got me sussed! Nevermind everyday, I'll checking every hour I don't think my F5 key know what's coming lol.

Really? 3 weeks, I thought it takes 10 days? Any idea where they're made/assembled?

 

Malaysia most likely, then they get shipped to Limerick (Ireland), from there into the mainland and it then depends which carrier, but most likely Walsh Western, which I think their main hub is in Coventry. After than it normally goes to a local hub for the next carrier - mine I think was business post last time.

Here is an interesting video of how it all happens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEhNkzdKyrw

 

Interesting video! But what's up with all the negative comments?
This is my first Dell and honestly I'm a bit worried now. What's your experience?

 

Don't worry, be excited!!! Mine took 8 days. The Estimated Delivery Date was 31st July & it arrived 23rd July. You will get an automated phone call the day before delivery to confirm.

Also mine has Made in China written underneath, so I'm guessing that's where it came from.

 

Wow! 8 days? That's pretty fast! And how are liking yours so far? Have you had to speak to any Dell rep yet? What's your experience?

The more I google, the more people I found unhappy with Dell's service.

 

Mine arrived about 2 weeks before the estimated delivery date. I was really happy about it, and I was one of those who checked the status every day
When it said shipped, I was like..O.O!!!!!!!

But at this time of year, with all these back to school orders, I would say it can and probably will take the full 3 weeks, might even be extended a bit.

Try googling the other brands, like HP. I'm sure you'll find the same result. You can never know the real bad versus good ratio.
For example, if you bought a new laptop and everything worked great and had no problems, would you go write about it on a blog/thread/review? Most likely not. Why? Because thats what you expected.
On the other hand, if you bought a laptop and had numerous issues with it or bad experience, you'll probably write to complain about it to let others know or seek others who have the simliar experience, seeking help.

 

Yes sometimes they are fast and sometimes they are not. Bad comments are from people who simply have no patience or understanding for the work that has to go into the process. If you consider that the laptop is assembled half way round the world to your exact specifications then 3 weeks is not bad. Del started a fast track system recently where popular models would be built up front and therefore could be shipped quicker, so you might get it early.

 

I'm very pleased with my Studio 1555. I spent a couple of weeks here reading the forums before deciding. Some peoples bad experiences can be off putting. But I had no problems whatsoever. I like the way that the Dell website lets u tailor pick the different components. It's all very good.

This is my first laptop so still gettting to grips with it. And to Vista 64. (Well it's prettier than XP & more secure?!)

One thing I'm not so keen on is the volume controls on the function keys. I suppose this is standard for laptops. Changing volume in a game switched me back to the desktop. Maybe because it was an old game "Black & White" - I don't know.
Everything else is great. I'm sure yours will be too.

 

Thanks Huckleberry. I've placed my order this afternoon. Can't wait!

 

I've noticed this too. It seems like it alt-tabs the game and then the display for volume shows up. I assume its the dell software for the display. When using a microsoft headset to control the volumes, it doesn't do that, even though its controlling the same speaker setting on the task bar. It just doesn't show the speaker display like using the keyboard function, so that leads me to believe its dell's software that is causing it.