Dell Studio 15 1558 Thread

While this is not an endorsement, I did find a handy utility to show me drive activity and even read/write speeds.
It is here and is simply called hddled.
I didn't like not seeing drive activity. We'll see how it works!

 

Before I wiped out the system, I had a DVD viewing program. It does not appear to be on any of the included discs. Anyone know?? I guess I could just go with VLC.

 

Yes, I do. Here is what I have:
2 F073F Dual In-Line Memory Module, 2GB1333MHZ, 256X64, 8K, 200

 

For the 1558 ...

Is there a way to turn the laptop on without opening the screen?

I have my laptop connected to an external monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse; hence, it is essentially a desktop replacement.

However, I can only seem to turn it on if I flip the screen up.

Is there a way to do it with it down?

 

On the power options you may have to disbale what closing the screen does? If you make it do nothing then maybe you can make it turn on. downside is you cannot make it go to sleep when you close the lid

 

What did you use to check them?
somehow I remember them listed as 1067Mhz and made by Hyundia on Sept 09.

 

hi guys

i been planing to buy the studio 15 laptop

but i am waiting for a great deal to come around

here is the configuration i like to have :

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Black Chainlink
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-520M 2.40GHz (2.93Ghz Turbo Mode, 3M cache)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
500GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Internal Mobile Broadband not included
1 Year Basic Service Plan
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470, 1GB
15.6” Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6200
Back-lit Keyboard
85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
High Definition Audio 2.2
My Accessories
Microsoft Works 9 DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Also Includes
Studio 15 Laptop
No Touch Software
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Multiple Languages
Important Product and Service Details

For 1189$ plus tax

i like to know how much you guys payed for yours with the same or similar configuration?

There was a signature event but i missed it so should i wait or just buy it ?

maybe i could save a few hundreds if i wait for the next even

Thanks

John

 

I remember Signature Event wasn't that cheap. I bought mine (look at my signature ↓ for $1039 including NY tax and free NBD shipping through phone EPP sales. Since you're going to buy only 1 year basic warranty, EPP would be a lot cheaper. You'll get to choose the color for free also.
http://app.subscription.dell.com/enroll/epp/signup.cfm?m=PS25391669
Subscribe here and take the additional $50 off. Also, tell the sales rep that you'd want to take 2% off for buying through EPP. Only difference of yours and mine is hard drive size. You should be able to purchase your system under $1100, including tax and shipping.

Hope this helps.

 

thank you for that !!

i did sing up and they sent me the coupon code , than i tryd to shop there but it was asking for the member ID , i guess i just have to call them and order it on the phone so i can negotiate!

 

anyone know if the aati 5470 uses gddr5 or gddr3 and whats 3dmark06 is expected from it

 

Isn't there a link below member id box that says "if you don't have a member id, just click here" or something like that? It's easier for you to order via phone, simultaneously looking at the website, because they will ask "what configuration (from which page) are you looking at?" Then you start haggling to take the price down.

I don't know what your occupation is, but if they ask you which organization you're affiliated with, you can just say your school name or company name (if large corporation). Do a little bit of research before ordering and see my past posts. I posted a link where someone explained extensively how to haggle while ordering over the phone.

Also, tell them it is very important for you to get this by "XX/XX/XXXX" date because it's a gift for someone. Then Dell would easily upgrade your shipping to NBD, free of charge (around $70 value I believe).

I ordered mine on 4/19 and it's been in the boxing stage already since 4/22. I should get this thing by early next week!

Good luck!

 

Nothing actually... When I go to Dell and put in my Express Service Code and go to "My Configuration", that is what it shows as my build out.
I should pop open the bottom and see myself though. I really do hope it is 1333 as it states.

BTW- Am I right that the 512MB ATI 4570 is really shared video? I guess it is OK as the memory is DDR3 at least, but I was thinking anything beyond the Intel video was discrete or is this some kind of new discrete video??

Also, this 1080P screen is REALLY nice! I can't get over the brightness (I don't even run it on full), and the colors and the clarity. Man... if anyone has any doubts, get the 1080 screen!

 

Yes it should be. I checked using PCWizard and it gives very detailed info. even the week of mfr. see screen shot.
No ATI has dedicated 512MB but it also shares RAM (not sure why) see my attachment.
Yes 1080p is amazing, very bright, I keep it at 1/4 at night and 1/2 during the day.

 

I have the i-5 520 n ati 4570. I always use mine on high performance. N i've never seen temperatures of 35 C n such!

On idle the graphic card is around 50 C. But that probably makes sense since that part of the laptop is always glue to the surface ur using it on.

I hv the 6 cell battery so I've been using it for the past few days on the desk n i've propped up the back of my laptop so that the air circulation improves. Idle temps are now around 40-45. thats pretty decent i guess. Thats a huge difference for less than an inch of elevation!

N ya the first core is usually higher in temp than the second one.

 

Thanks for the info! I loaded up the Catalyst Control Center and it shows the following (just for further info):
BIOS date 2009/11/12
Bus PCI Express 2.0 x16
Memory size 2234MB
Memory type HyperMemory
Core Clock 680MHz
Memory Clock 800MHz

 

I have had mine for a bit over a day now and am very very satisfied.


+The screen us absolutely amazing. I was a bit concerned about the high resolution for a smaller screen but it's perfect.
+Back-lit keyboard. This is almost worth the price of admission alone.
+Build quality, overall very solid.
+Speakers. By far the best I have ever seen on a notebook.
+Thermal capabilities.

-Bloatware. It isn't bad but I want W7 with the nessessary drivers and that's it.
-Power cord is a bit short.
-Keyboard flex. There isn't a lot and you can't feel it when typing, just looking at it. It is still disappointing though.
Thats all the negatives I have come up with so far.

One of my biggest complaints of my old system was how hot it ran. When watching high res videos it would heat up and the fans would scream. On this machine I can watch them all day long and this thing doesn't make a peep. Oh the glories of integrated video! I haven't had a chance to test out the battery life yet.

I have the 9 cell battery and it doesn't incease the size as much as I had feared. It really is just kind of a built in stand to get some cooling down there. It isn't to the point of making typing uncomfortable. It is about the same as flipping out the stands on a regular desktop keyboard. I wanted a 6 cell but the configuration I wanted actually made it cheaper to get the 6 cell. I'll be keeping my eye out for a cheap 6 cell.

Now I am off to find the maintenance manual so I can get my SSD transfered over.

 

I have the 5470 ... I updated the ATI drivers from Dell. I can not open the Catalyst Control Center. I click on it, but nothing happens.

Any ideas?

 

Sure it's not opening in your tray?

 

Mine came with Samsung M471B5673FH0-CH9 DDR3-1333 Week 9 / 2010.

 

Yes, go to ATI and download the 10.3 drivers here. That is the Windows 7 64-bit downloader. Get it, and run it. It will download the rest to your system. Don't go the classic route of the ATI drivers home page drill-down as it will just refer you to Dell. These are dated 3/24/2010.
Here is the series they cover, pretty much all:
The following notebook graphics products are supported in this release:

* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5700 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5600 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5400 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5100 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4800 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon 4100 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3600 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon 3100 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2700 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 Series
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 Series
* ATI PowerXpress enabled notebooks using AMD chipsets

 

But you have core i7 right?

Anyways Hyundai Electronics is the old name for Hynix Semiconductors which is world's #2 producer behind Samsung.

 

when did you buy your laptop, when did it arrive?
Just curious how JIT dell is ...

I ordered refrub and it came 4 days ago so that is why memory is about 4 months old.

 

You need to register your system with Dell here:
https://smartsource.dell.com/Web/Welcome.aspx?ReturnUrl=/web/UserForms/RegisterSystem.aspx

They allow 3 downloads. I downloaded everything and burned it to a DVD.

The CyberLink PowerDVD 8 is is there as well.

 

I did a little impromtu battery test and got a touch over 3.5hrs. Screen brightness close to maximum using wifi, BT on, keyboard backlite on. It was a mix of general wireless suffing and a good bit of youtube. By turning off BT and the KB light and turning down the backlight I don't have any doubt 4hrs of surfing is doable.

 

i just ordered a studio 15 with the i5 520 chip is the throtthing thing has been solved?

i know there was a bios update and giveing away adapters.

What power adapter is this comeing with ? with the new bigger one or the old slim one 90W?

Thanks for the info

 

i5-520 to my understanding does not need the 130W adaptor. I have 90W and it seems ok. Although it does get quite hot.

I have i5-520 and I have not noticed any throttling as I have used a number of programs to load the CPU to 100% to check temp rise. I have A04 bios.

 

No, I ended up with an i5-520.

 

Wait, I got an i5-520 too and my memory chips are 317-3931 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz.. You got 1333mhz?

 

My hero... Thanks for the info!!!

 

Does anyone know if it's hard to change a keyboard on the studio 1558? Meaning, is it hard for someone who *never* opens her laptop herself and finds the thought a bit nerve-wracking. I watched a tutorial online and it looked easy enough. I would like to order a U.S. backlit keyboard and put it in a new UK machine (presumably this will work if the original keyboard wasn't backlit?). Will that void my warranty on the laptop, though? And if so, couldn't I just switch the keyboard back if I needed warranty work done?

The issue is I want to order a laptop, and the deals online with coupon codes and cashback sites are much better than what the sales rep can give me on the phone -- but I have to call in if I want the U.S. keyboard put in, that can't be done online. I really just want it to come ready to use and would much rather not bother with switching it out myself, but don't know that it's worth paying something like £160 extra to order by phone so that dell can do the otherwise free switcheroo of putting in the keyboard I want.

 

Guys, i realized that the 1558 is now available with blu-ray burner for £200. do u think dell would let me upgrade my dvd player even thou i bough my laptop about a month ago??

 

When I bought my last laptop in 2005 (in the States), I wanted to upgrade the hard drive as soon as I switched it on because I hadn't realized that 12 of the 40gb were taken up already. And they wouldn't let me do it. It never hurts to ask just on an off chance they'd do it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they said no.

 

It us pretty easy, I've done it 4-5 times. The only thing you need to know is if a laptop ordered without a backlit keyboard has the extra connector for the backlit keyboard. I would imagine it would because it would be kinda dumb to have separate parts, but I wouldn't put it past Dell to do something like that.

 

The are 1333 chips although they run at 1066 as a result of the i5.

 

Right, I ordered a Dell 5530 WWAN card from the bay. It should be arriving in the next day or so. I got sick of having to cart the dongle around with me.

As usual jumped in feet first, and not entirely sure how to fit it!

 

Yes, I forgot about this.
Still, this thing is pretty fast!

Now, I know I've brought this up before, but not sure of the answer...
Why, with the ATI 512MB 4570 am I still missing some RAM. Of 4GB, I have 3.86GB free. Like 256MB is gone somewhere... I presume it is for video for some reason? Is that a caveat of having the i5 or is it a caveat of the ATI?

 

So first post here but I like this thread

Looking at the Studio 15 (1558) and this is the deal I have

i5-520m, 4gb ddr3, 5470 1GB, 1080p screen, backlit keys, 500 gb (7200) w/ 9 cell and bluetooth.

there is no mention of wireless n so kinda curious on that (if it comes standard)

and finally the total comes to 1183 with a 2 year accidental warranty.

Decent deal right now? And realistically what is the battery life?

thanks in advance and awesome forum!

edit: now I don't know if I'm looking at the 1558 or the 1555 on the build page of dell >_<

 

I don’t think 1558 has wwan internal aerials as standard so you will have to fit them some ware inside. They are normally under the lcd panel but for some reason dell decided to do 1558 without them.

 

Hi guys, I just received my Studio 1558 and I did a clean install and installed a separate W7 Professional (instead of W7 Home premium that came with the unit).

I've got two questions

First:

I'm trying to register my computer for My Dell Downloads. On the website I accept the User License agreement and then the "register my computer" button shows up. I click it and then it loads for about a minute and then nothing happens. I tried different browsers and the same thing still happened.

What leads me to asking you guys is I see this text that lets me know "something" should happen when I click register:

Second question:

I've been reinstalling drivers and such. I installed the Catalyst for my ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics card, but when I go to look at my device manager I see "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500/5100 Series" under Display Adapters.

Shouldn't I see "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570"?

Thanks!

 

I did the same thing with Windows 7 Pro. Make sure you use IE instead of Firefox or Chrome to get to the Dell downloads. I had the same problem until I switched to IE and then the proper buttons showed up.
As for the video. That is OK. The driver is offered up as a 4500/5100 series. Mine says that too. Did you get the drivers from ATI or Dell? A page or two back I posted the ATI 10.3 drivers for this laptop.

 

IMO it looks like a decent deal right now....

As far as battery life goes, your probably looking at between 3-4 hours with the 9 Cell (of normal use). This is due to the Graphics card. While the new graphics card uses less power, it is still a drain on the system. I saw some earlier reports of the times I mentioned which is where I took that from.

Usually in the pre-configured systems you do get a wireless card, but you will need to verify that in the options as it is not guaranteed.

 

I believe its due to the On Board Graphics of the i5....I could be wrong though. You can check in your BIOS and see where the memory is allocated to. BTW I have the same reading (4GB with 3.8 available for use), but I am only using the Integrated solution.

 

yea i missed that part, it does come with the intel wireless n. Now im trying to ffigure out if it is the 1558, or the 1555

 

Yep IE did the trick. Thanks!

I got the drivers from that link of yours--and I was hoping it'd resolve that issue but if you get the same thing then I guess its not an issue!

 

oh Dang!!!

 

I believe any of the new i3, i5, or i7 processors will be the 1558. I could be wrong though. If you are from the US there is no way to tell as the 1558 is ordered via the 1555 links.....You will see 1558 in your final itemized order form.

 

Found a neat little gadget to get some benchmarks from. It's 32-bit and you can make it 64-bit using a serial number.

It's called Geekbench.


It also lets you compare your system with other similar systems. I think i have the fastest 1558 atm

 

where can you get geekbench? what about the serial # so you can check at 64-bit???

 

Where?: Primate Labs Geekbench
Serial?: Buy it. Check your inbox for details...

 

I received a 1558 a couple of days ago from the outlet and noticed two issues:

- the LCD bezel to the right of the web came isn't on properly (large gap between it and LCD)
- the left touchpad button is lower than the right one by a noticeable amount

Anyone else run into this? Wondering if I'll have to ship it back for the LCD bezel (and if so, then I'll ask them about the button).

I'm liking it so far. The larger base makes typing odd when sitting in weird positions on the couch and I can't get the touchpad sensitive enough. But the HD+ / 1080p screen is great! Liking it so far -- not quite up to the ThinkPads issued by a prior workplace for years (last was a T61p w/ 1920x1200 LCD) but it is close enough for me.