Dell Studio 15 1558 Thread

I configured it now and it came down to $1139 USD !!!

 

I had 5.1 on my old PC which used all 3 jacks and a RealTek app. I can't quite get right with the studio 15, although I think i might have just cracked either 4.1 or a weak 5.1.

Using the IDT Audio Controller app you have to put the green jack in first in the nearest headphone port to the front, then black or pink in the middle port, and leave the remaining jack (black or pink) unplugged. Plugging in the third jack actually lowers the overall sound output and cuts out a my two rear surround speakers and centre speaker. The IDT is tedius to get right. After unplugging the IDT i often have to reopen the control panel and disable the SRS to get the speakers to work.

Also, my 5.1 seems to work only when the IDT is set to the Headphone (2 channel) setting. If i set it to 5.1 it just outputs from the left and right speaker and not the Rear-L, Rear-R, or Centre speaker.

Its gay, but less is more in this case. Try two jacks instead of the usual 3. Let me know how that goes.

 

After moving my laptop to a slightly better location I've managed to max my CPU for around 5 minutes and haven't gone over 80c degrees. Could ya'll post some pics of stress-testing your 1558's?

 

any ideas?
zagg has yet to answer

 

!!!!

My laptop shipped today!

!!!!

Orignal EDD was May 4th. Ordered on Apr 2.

With next day shipping I will have it tomorrow!

A pleasant surprise!

 

My refurb had EDD 4/23. Mine too shipped and will have it tomorrow, 4/21. Ordered Friday morning, 4/19. The weekend slowed it down. Free 7 day ground. It comes from Nashville and so St. Louis isn't very far.

 

You outlet guys have been really lucky ... I have been reading your reports ... in envy

 

Thats great, wonder why mine hasn't shipped yet . I ordered mine Apr 1 and EDD was may 4th too. Might have to give them a call maybe they will try harder to push mine forward.

Specs are about the same as yours too

EDIT: got the email. shadyyyyyy

 

I'm a girl.

But here's an update: Outlet sales rep was kind of crazy and talked faster than me. He kept trying to sell me an extended warranty which I interpreted as 2 or 3 year warranty. After looking around some, I realized what he was referring to was in-home support. $130 for a year with in-home next business day when placing the order. After the order $170.

Long story short, I just got off the phone and got 1 year in-home next business warranty for $121.83 and will be receiving a $75 Dell gift card in 1-3 weeks. I invested quite a bit of time but it was worth it.

Normally I do not buy any warranty (except my HDTV) but after reading about so many of the issues with the 1558 I decided to get it. Still have to deal with tech support if there is an issue, but I feel better now.

 

Sneaky Dell. I bought the extra warranty at purchase for $50. It was nice of them to give you a gift card though.

 

Well, maybe I should have balked. But being quoted $130 originally and then being told it would be $170 I was happy...until I read your post!

How did you manage that? With the $75 gift card it sort of evens out.

 

finally was able to snag one for the wife... after 3 hours for $650 inc. taxes, cant click any longer on the outlet, way to much of a pc for her anyway

Studio 15 - 1558 Laptop
Shipping
No WWAN Option
Service Software CD
Service Software
64BIT Operating System CD
Processor: Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.4GHz, 4 Threads,3M cache, turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz)
Back-lit Keyboard
Label
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Software
Dell Support 2.0 Software
64BIT Operating System DVD
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
Scratch & Dent
Power DVD Software
Software
125V Power Cord
9 Cell Primary Battery
McAfee Security Center, 30 Day
Resource DVD
Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Web Camera
Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Microsoft Works 9.0
Dell WebCam Central
90W AC Adapter
Labels
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Label
15.6 inch Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
Palmrest
Windows Live
Roxio Software CD
Black Chainlink
Dell Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card
Image Restore Software
Dell Support Center 64 Bit 2.0
Shipping Material

 

I do not have everest but I have this nice little program called BurninTest and I ran it for 10 mins where the CPU were at 100% as seen on speed fan. the temp went to 49C from 22C within 30 secs and stayed there till the whole 10 mins. After the test it went to 22C in about 20secs.

Let me know where I can get a free copy so I can run the Everest.
I have an i5-520 with 4570

 

what a great deal!! 8gb too

 

MoInSTL, reckon you made the right choice. I also went for extended warranty. It only cost me an extra £30 pounds for 2 years (evenings & Saturdays cover) so it was a bit of a no brainer.

I don't trust the Dell kit so decided to at least have a policy in place should it conk out on me after 12 months.

 

Well I just got an awesome birthday present. As you may know I placed my order of 4/4 with a delivery date of 5/7. Well I just checked my email and it shipped at 12:47, which happens to be 47 minutes into my birthday! It has a delivery date of Friday and I happen to have this weekend off so I'll get a chance to try it out. I am also going out of town next week for work so it is nice to have it as a travel partner rather than the 17" monster I have now. Man I am excited.

 

finally got my laptop delivered yesterday!! its such a pleasure to work on..and it took only a week to get mine

 

OK I was able to get hold of Everest and run the test. Below are the result ran the test for 10mins and the CPUs went all the way 68C max but hovered between 60-68C range. Not sure if this is calibrated correctly as after the test was done they went to about 40C. When I ran the test with another software at idle the CPUs would be around 22C.
I have i5-520 with 5470 card. I noticed a multiplier of 20@ 2.66GHz stable running of the CPU. It is supposed to go to 2.9GHZ @ full load.

 

22c is ridiculously low, whats your ambient temp?

 

I got mine from the Outlet, and I feel like I got a great deal all around. I was looking for a core i laptop with high resolution (but not a 16 or 17 incher) and a fast hdd. There are very few with higher than 1366x768 res that are affordable. On my wish list was discrete graphics and a 9-cell battery. Well, on the outlet I found one with i3-330M, 1080p, ATI HD 4570, and 9-cell (the rest was typical - 320gb/7200rpm, wireless N, 4gb, sadly no backlit kb or bluetooth, standard 1 yr warranty). With a 15% off coupon it came to USD 560.15 (with tax and free shipping it came to $599.33). Ordered it last Tuesday and had it in my hands on Friday. Looks completely brand new even though it's a refurb; no difference I've noticed. I was very pleased, and I feel lucky. It's a bit bigger/heavier than my ideal, but the beautiful higher resolution screen is worth it to me, and with a 9-cell I don't really need to carry the power cord.

 

I like using Everest when working on systems I know nothing about as it as it's pretty accurate at detecting hardware. But for stress testing I use Prime95. It has been around for a very long time. It's referenced in several threads here too.

"Prime95 is a program which searches for very large prime numbers. It has also gained a reputation for getting errors on computers which are even slightly unstable. If there is any problem with your CPU, your RAM, or the parts of your motherboard which are the interface between your CPU and RAM, then Prime95 has a tendency to fail. This is a very useful characteristic if your computer is flakey and you're not sure which component is causing the problem. If your computer can run Prime95 for 24 hours without any errors, then you can usually assume that your CPU and the parts of the motherboard which interface with the CPU and RAM, are stable and working well".

The above is referring to desktops, but back in the day when I was using it to burn in, I ran it only a few hours. I would think an hour or two is sufficient on a notebook. Mine is on the truck for delivery so I am not sure about the vent location, but when running Prime95, make sure it is well ventilated.

32 bit: http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=103
64 bit: http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205

EDIT: Mine arrived 15 minutes ago! More later...

Does anyone else hear a clicking sound from the DVD player when rebooting? I checked the BIOS boot order and HD is listed first.

Another edit: I have several slight cosmetic scratches on the lid (black show everything). Called Customer Care who offered 10% off ($40). I said that wasn't really sufficient and he upped it to $45. It's not a huge deal and it would take up to 15 days to get a replacement. I have been configuring this & installing software since I got it this morning and everything seems fine otherwise except for the annoying DVD clicking sound on starting/reboot.

That drops the price down to $370 before taxes.

 

OK I will search for Prime95 but Everest seemed to have really stressed the laptop (all cores were showing 100%), it did not freeze or shutdown and ran like a champ although temp went quite high. ran almost 4 trillion calculations(??) in that time.

yes I noticed that noise too when start the laptop (not sure everytime but I did notice it. It seems to come from the DVD slot area closer to the USB port, so cannot be the HD.
Fan is kind of annoying, not how it cycles for you? Is your laptop new? sicen you are getting credit for marks on it?

Also I ran Speedfan to notice CPU usage and temps. the laptop foze 2 times out of 5-6 times I started the Speedfan program. I aassume this is an issue with the program but pls try to use the program and see for yourself.

 

The click noise is standard on many modern day laptops irrespective of the boot order. Even Macs do it.. Anyone got programmes to monitor the ATi 5470 gpu? Everest doesn't seem to detect it on the sensor section.

 

Mm, I posted this in the MSI thread but I'll take a bit of your time here too.

I am comparing two notebooks now, the MSI GX640 (1) and a new, cheap Dell Studio 15 (2).

(1):
Intel® Core™ i5-430M
15.4" TFT-LCD Widescreen Display (1680x1050) - is it LED or CCFL?
ATI Radeon™ HD5850 3D graphics card with GDDR5 1GB VRAM
500GB SATA Hard Drive 7200RPM
Intel Centrino 5100 wireless? (can someone confirm this?)

vs (2):
Intel® Core™ i5-520M
15.6” Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470, 1GB
320GB SATA Hard Drive 7200RPM
Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6200


Both laptops have 9-cell batteries, internal bluetooth, 4gb RAM. Both will end up costing me ~$1100. The Dell only has a 320gb hard drive, but like the MSI it is 7200rpm and that's all I really care about. The Dell has the faster CPU, but the MSI clearly has the better GPU. While I do consider myself a PC gamer, I would prefer the faster CPU as I plan to do many non-gaming activities such as programming/compiling, occasional x264 / other video encoding, and Adobe/Autodesk applications for school/work. I assume the Dell would last much longer than 3 hours on a full charge. I am also concerned about build quality - I've read that the Studio 1555 has issues with the touchpad getting hot, and I've also scanned most of the pages in this thread and read of potential GX640 problems too.

Any strong reason you guys can give me to choose one or the other?

 

So I've searched a little on Google, but I'm assuming you guys will know more. I've heard this talk about "switchable graphics" and I was wondering if that's available on the i5-430m? I scored an outlet 1558 with that 20% off deal 2 days ago, but it only came with the Intel GMA HD onboard graphics. This will probably be enough for me, but would it even be possible to upgrade this?

 

Most likely not as the discrete cards are soldered to the motherboard and you will have to get a new motherboard.

the sitchable graphics applies to laptops with i core CPUs plus discrete GC. I think Sony is offering an option to switch between integrated and dedicated GC. The idea is to use integrated graphics (saving power) during lite stuff and use dedicated GC when you play videos or gaming.

 

I agree, my room temp was 70 deg F which comes to about 21 deg C.
HD did show 26C
but after the test for cycling 100% for 15 mins the CPU settled back at 40C.
I think the bug is in the Speedfan which was shoing 22C
It also froze the laptop twice when I was starting the program and I had to hardboot.

 

That's you pay for the "slickness" of a slot-loading drive. There is nothing wrong, it's just the way the drives work. Personally I would rather have a plain ol' tray any day. The run quieter and are more reliable.

 

Thanks. My Mini 9 has none and it was some years ago when I had my Sony Vaio. It seems loud. It sounds like it is trying to grab a DVD. More than a click. It sounds more like it's engaging. I don't have anything to compare it to so I guess it's okay.

 

At idle my 1558 (i5-520m / ATI 5470) hovers around 40-41 although something called PCH (Platform Controller Hub?) hits 55 - 60. Is this normal? Also, anyone with a i5, do you find your 1558 gets warm to touch under the trackbad / bottom of the laptop?

 

Okay ... so I litterally have only had 10 minutes with my new laptop ...

Tried playing a BluRay - Star Trek ... unforutnately it had the odd skip. So I was not impressed with that.

This is all I really had a chance to do ... I basically just let it sit on my network such that it could sync up and get all of its updates. I have been prompted to reboot the laptop about 3 or 4 times now ...

Once I get all the updates and verified I have the latest drivers I will try the BluRay again ...

It does get kind of warm under the touch pad. I believe that is where the hard drive sits ...

 

I just got my 1558 2 days ago and I am trying to take it through the paces to make sure I want to keep it. It is i5-520m w4570, 500GB, BT, 1080p etc.

Normal operating temp for me is 40-45C with light surfing.
Yes the area just right of the trackpad and area directly bottom of it gets quite warm, seems like 50C or so even when runs as it cannot get the heat out fast enough.

I have used a number of CPU stress programs (BurninTest, Everest etc.)they stress the CPU to 100% and I have seen CPU core temp go all the way to 70C but as soon the program stops they come back to ~45C.
Another I noticed is with fully stressed the i5 only goes to 2790 Mhz(21x). I used the Intel turboboost monitor gadget. Kind of dissappointed as it should go to max of 2933(22x). Have you checked how far up your i5-520 can go?

I have also been able to now freeze the laptop 3 times all using a program called Speedfan(freeware) which monitors temps. It frezzes 50% of the time when you start this program. Can you check it out here, can you see if your laptop does that too? You will have to reboot as none of the keys will work.
http://download.cnet.com/SpeedFan/3000-2094_4-10067444.html?tag=mncol

Please post if you have any other findings

 

Ordered on 4/19 and it moved to Boxing Stage today (4/22). So nice of them moving that fast... With NBD, will I get this next week??

 

I can confirm that Speedfan does freeze it. Happened to mine too. I was able to get the CPU up to 2933 though, using RealTemp and OCCT to stress it out.

 

Have had speedfan completely lock my laptop up too. Wouldn't worry about it.

 

What do you all think of the 9 cell battery? Is the typing position comfortable when using it? Can you fit it into your laptop case without removing the battery?

 

Just got mine moments ago!
The screen is very nice for one thing!

I have the 4570 video (512MB). Looks like it is some kind of shared video? System is reporting only 3.86 of 4GB is usable. This is Win 7 HP 64-bit too, so it isn't that. Anyone confirm? It's OK if so, but just a bummer as I thought it was discrete video.

 

has anyone changed the thermal paste on their gpu? i want to do it over the summer now my exams have ended, wondering how hard it is =/

 

Yes I had to go check it using a number of programs because at one time it was showing less than 3GB. Yes it seems it draws quite a bit of ram for other stuff and much less than 4GB is available usually.
Under you can confirm though that you have 2x2GB sticks

 

not really in fact if on a table it provides room for air to circulate,
In lap does not make much of a difference though.

 

I will be up for it if it does not involve taking the everything apart(LED, keyboard etc.)

 

thanks, will check with above progs if I can get it to go all the way to 2933.

 

I havent had any issues with the 9 cell battery and typing, I actually prefer it a little elevated rather than have it flat. As far as fitting it into a case, I dont have a case specifically meant for a 15.6 laptop, so I cant give you an honest opinion on that.


Have to say I ams till very happy with the laptop, I have used it without encountering any issues so far. I am not stress testing it though, as I really dont see a need to unless you are going to be stressing the laptop resources regularly.

I recently loaded Civ 4 and Medieval 2 on the 1558, both play pretty well IMO. Medieval 2 plays a little slow, but thats only with massive amounts of troops on the field and very close viewing. I have left all settings to "default" for both games and it hasnt heated up the laptop at all even after playing for a few hours.

 

I am running the Balanced power plan. The display brightness button on the keyboard slider doesn't go below 90%. It's stuck there. I can toggle it a bit brighter but not lower. So I am wondering if the power plan is not letting me reduce the brightness or if it's a problem.

Still trying to figure this new notebook out...

Thanks in advance!

 

I have to put my laptop in my bag upside down so the 9-cell battery sits at the top and has more room. Although I am currently using my old MacBook Pro 17" bag made by Brenthaven. The extra size on the battery does pose a bit of a problem for easily sliding in and out of some bags. Maybe a bag that opens a flap instead of one that slides in would be OK...

I wiped mine and reclaimed the drive space lost to the Dell partitons. I have it all back and running except the Dell dock that was at the top of the screen. Haven't located that yet. So far, very happy! Just the shared ATI 4570 video thing is a bummer.

 

On mine i've seen that there is big diff on keeping it on the bed and keeping it on the lap. While playing Assassins Creed 2 the core temp was around 98 C and 85 C respectively.

I usually surf or stream on firefox n it does get a bit irritating coz the temps keep fluctuating from 45 c to around 70 c . the fan keeps coming in n out!

 

that is a big fluctuation? what CPU, GPU do you have?
Mine stays between 40-45C light surfing on the table with 9cell batter(good air circulation). surprsingly the 3570 was around 54C at the same time.
With burnin test that jack the CPU to 20x multiplier 2.79Ghz the max temp I have been able to get to is about 74C.
these may be higher in the lap i assume. when i let the laptopn sit idle the cores cool down to 35-37C range in about 5 mins of idling.

Anyone noitced that core 0 is usually 2-3C higher than core 1?

 

I have the exact specs as yours excet mine is black.
So how easy is the fresh install? Do you have a choice to leave dell partition? Also do you get choice like Vista to have multiple drives (one for data and one for OS) when doing the fresh install.

I plan to use the drivers from that came on the CB but any particular ones I should get from the dell download section?

 

Just got it. Have to say the Battery sticking out is a lot worse than I thought. I figured it would be a fairly slight lift but this is not so. It adds serious lift and makes the laptop look huge. Don't know if I like that.

I haven't done much playing around. The keyboard seems great, all the keys hit great as far as I have noticed. The screen is awesome.

Don't know if I will wipe the HD clean, or just do uninstall.

 

I put the DVD in and rebooted, hit F12 and chose to boot from DVD.
Then you get an option to repair or install, I chose install.
Then you get an option for "Advanced" or "Advanced Options" or something. Choose that and you are presented with options for formatting, deleting, creating partition(s).
I deleted all, including the primary which left me with one partition. I did not choose "New" or "Format" after that since it was wiped by that point anyway and just hit "Next".
The drivers DVD that shipped with the system was actually very up to date. Jan 2010 is the date on the disc. The same disc works for 1557 and 1558.
So, you can keep the original structure if you like, or wipe it all clean like I did. You can even change and create partitions to go multi-os.

As for the 9-cell battery. I really like it but it does make the laptop set higher in the back (which is part of what I like), and the laptop is still pretty lightweight. I prefer the extended runtime to the light weight. I can always pick up another, smaller, battery on the cheap on eBay. 9-cell makes carry case choices tougher though.