Buying Dell Studio. Need Opinions

Hey Guys,
I am buying the Dell Studio within a few days. I have customized it. I have some questions. I wud really appreciate if u can answer them:
1. I have a friend in Dell. Is it possible that he can buy 4 me? If he buys 4 me, will I have any problems in claiming the warranty and all later because technically the laptop will b sold 2 him.

2. Shud I go for 320 GB 7200 rpm hdd or 320 GB 5400 rpm is sufficient?

3. Will getting a 512 MB ATI HD 4570 graphics card increase performance in games or 256 MB ATI card is sufficient?

4. What is this Creative Sound Blaster Audio solution? Does it increase the audio quality from speakers?

Please give ur opinions. I really need em'. I am buying soon.

 

1. Ask your friend.
2. Save your money and get the 320GB 5400 RPM hard drive. For the money you spend on the upgrade, you can almost buy a whole other 320GB 7200RPM hard drive yourself (i.e. You can have both a 5400RPM and a 7200RPM drive if you upgrade independently from Dell).
3. Define "sufficient"
4. Useless. Don't get it.

 

Thanks for ur reply. I think u r right. The 7200 rpm hdd will cost me more.
1. Will I be able 2 play all the high end games with 256 MB ATI card or should I get the 512 MB ATI card?

2. One more thing- Will upgrading 2 4GB RAM from 3GB make any substantial increase in performance?

 

If you have the money, I don't see why you shouldn't get the 512MB HD4570. I'm not sure how much more the 512Mb option would cost, so maybe someone else can chime in here and answer the question for you. If it's more than $100 USD, I would say forget it.

EDIT: Actually, I would say don't upgrade. The card itself will likely bottleneck the system before vRAM.

2. Upgrade the RAM yourself. RAM is cheap, Dell over-charges.

It's a good general rule to upgrade things yourself rather than have Dell upgrade it for you, since they tend to charge more. Obviously, for some things that can't be upgraded, like the graphics, this is impossible.

 

Get the minimum amount of RAM for the system from Dell, but keep it around when you upgrade incase you have to send it in for warranty work.

Having your friend buy it for you will not cause problems. Should be able to transfer ownership online. The warranty is transferrable.

If you want to do games "decent" I guess it's up to you. If you want to run games, go with the better card if you can afford it.

The hard drive ... you probably won't notice the slower hard drive except maybe on bootup where the computer is accessing the hard drive for a minute or two straight.

 

The graphics card upgrade costs around Rs. 1600 in India. That comes 2 arnd $32. So I guess its worth the upgrade.

And should I also upgrade the wifi half mini card from 5100 to 5300? Will it give me more range to access internet through my wifi modem?

 

Doesn't really matter between the 5100 and 5300 - wireless A/B/G is still standard, not wireless N. The only difference between the two cards AFAIK is max (theoretical) bandwidth: 450Mbps with the 5300 vs 300Mbps for the 5100.

If you don't mind paying that extra little bit, go for the vRAM upgrade. However, personally I think a 9-cell battery would be more useful, if you didn't configure it so already. And if you don't mind the battery sticking out a bit. I think it cost something like $50, and holds over 50% more charge than the 6-cell, which should give you 4+ hrs of battery life.

 

Even I was thinking of getting the 9 cell battery but don't u think so that the laptop will become difficult 2 carry around due 2 the extra weight of the 9 cell battery. The laptop will become less portable.

 

Sorry to jump in here .. I had also same doubts about Studio 1555 .. Most of them are now cleared ... thanks to you expets ;-)

However, I have one more query ... Can I upgrade RAM to 1066 MHz .. currently DELL is offering 800 MHz RAM .. Does upgrade to 1066 MHz makes any sense ?

In addition to above, if I buy another 320 SATA HDD, how can I add it in laptop, like we do in Desktop, Dual HDD ?

 

I'm pretty certain the Studio 1555 only supports up to 800MHz RAM. You could buy 1066 if you like, but it would just underclock to 800 anyway.

The 15" Studio models can only have one hard drive at a time. The Studio 17, however, does allow dual hard drives.

 

Isn't the P8600 help to use RAM upto 1066 MHz ? It's available with Studio 1555
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz/ 1066 FSB/ 3MB Cache)

Interesting !! I didn't know this .... but it's quite costly

 

That's the front side bus speed. That can be higher than the maximum RAM speed. For instance, my T9500 processor has a FSB speed of 800MHz, but since I have a Studio 1535 (PM965 chipset), my maximum supported RAM frequency is 667MHz.

Yeah, it's a bit more than the 15" series, but then again, what you're paying for is extra performance and features, like the ability to have 2 hard drives (not to mention that extra 2" of screen real estate ).

 

Should I get the 9 Cell battery or not? Will it add up to the laptop's weight and make it less portable?

 

Having own both Intel WiFi Link cards (well... I own 3 different types of WiFi Link cards actually), I would suggest to stay away form 5100 if you would like to have a stable > 130Mbps wireless N connection. Get 5300 instead!

Intel WiFi Link 5100 has a tendency to connect at 270-300Mbps only for the first few seconds, then it drops down to 130-150Mbps and stay there most of the time. While WiFi Link 5300 could have more stable connection at 270-300Mbps.

 

Yes, it will add more weight and make it less portable. However, it will increase your battery life by ~50%, which also makes it more "mobile" since you're not as dependent on power outlets.

If you have a ton of power outlets to rely on (i.e. you're mainly going to be using this laptop at home/library), go for the 6-cell. You will still get ~3hrs of battery life.

If you're unsure, go for the 6-cell.

 

It does not add significantly more weight, although if you leave it in when traveling, it does add a bit of bulk from the way it sticks out. On the plus side, if you use your notebook on a desk a lot, the protruding part of the 9-cell battery raises the whole back edge of the notebook about half an inch, which gives you a nice inclined surface to type on, which is very comfortable.

As far as battery life, in Power Saver mode, I tend to get just around 3 hours on a full charge from the 6-cell, and about 4 hours 20 minutes from my 9-cell.

Here are a couple of pictures for reference. The first shows them both from their connectors, where you can clearly see the protrusion on the 9-cell model. The other shot shows them from a side view, so you can see how far the protrusion sticks out from the 9-cell compared to the completely flat 6-cell:

 

slightly off topic but why does Dell have different prices for the same upgrade across different laptops ? I mean after the OP asked if it was worth it to upgrade to the 320gb 7200 rpm HDD, i checked the studio 15 configuration thingy on Dell India's site and they are asking for an additional Rs. 2250 (i guess approximately US $45) for going from 320gb @ 5400 rpm to 320gb @ 7200 rpm, but when i bought my laptop (in sig) i only had to pay Rs.800 (approx. US $16) extra for the exact same upgrade ?

 

^^^ the price was increased this monday only ...Earlier it was only 900 INR

 

The price of 900 INR for HDD was 2 weeks ago. It was increased 2 2250 INR last week. I do regret not ordering at that time. Even the base price has gone again up from 47900 INR to 48900 INR this week.

Finally ordered. Can't wait more.

Can anyone please tell me how much time actually will the lappy take in delivery? I have been told 7-10 days.

 

I've never heard of that before. You pay as much as you are billed for, and the bill/invoice you recieve should be exactly equal to the amount you paid. If I get you right, you are saying that your friend is telling you that you will, for example, recieve an invoice for Rs. 50,000 but you will actually pay a slightly higher amount like 51,000 or 52,000 ? That just doesn't sound right to me. In your case your friend is paying directly to dell and then you are paying to him, right ? Can you check exactly what is the payment made by you friend to dell ? And generally you get discounts on the price listed on the website, if you buy through a sales rep. For example, i got a discount equal to all the tax and VAT and stuff on my lappy plus free laptop sleeve and creative ep-630 earphones plus a bit more off for using a credit card. So really, the price you finally pay is a bit less than what it may initially appear on the website, not more. How much of a difference are you getting from the actual price by ordering through your friend ?

 

Oh and I forgot to add, the delivery time is generally overstated by Dell. I was also told 7-10 days but received in 5 days flat. It happened that way for a couple of other friends too. There can be exceptions however, as an acquaintance who ordered at a studio 15 recieved it only after a fortnight. However, Dell compensated him by giving him a free bluetooth mouse for the inconvenience caused by the delay.