Dell Studio 1555, *Part 2*

A09 BIOS is out.

 

Hey, anyone noticing some hangs and that the fan is acting very weird since A09?

 

Hmmm, for 2 weeks .

I with Terbo discuses this ONE PAGE BACK!

 

I noticed the hangs, I was forced to restart twice now. I'll have to go back to A08.

 

What hangs? I have A09 is definitely OK for me. FAN control i think is better then A08. ( Its all my opinion )

 

The fan keeps on hamming on and off, i have everest installed so i can see it's RPM, Used to be 0 all the time besides when the GPU was having a hard time, now it's consistently at 1000+ (and the temps is fine without it )...

something is bad with this bios, damn

 

It seems to be only when I left it on for a long period of time and the screen was turned off automatically to save power(while plugged in). Setting the screen to never turn off but still dim fixed it.



I have no fan problems, if anything it seems to manage the fan better.

 

i also successfully flash A08 bios to A09 bios, and i haven't seen any difference
btw, i just bought Coolermaster Notepal U2 for this laptop, it is quite good for cooling in most case but won't help so much during gaming.....

 

Hi guys,

I have a question about the 1080P display. I'd like a resolution higher than the standard 1378 * 768 resolution, but 1080P will be to much for me.

Is it possible to select a lower resolution, when i buy the 1080P screen? Something like 1600*900 or 1680* 1050 would be great. Will that work nicely on the 1080P screen, or isn't that going to look nice?

(For example, alsof the few games that I play won't like 1080P resolution)

 

Hmm.. You have two options. First you can lower relolution , but it will be interpolated. So quite blurry ( not pixelized ). Or you can stay at full resolution and change DPI size.

Buf for my opinion , if you can read 1080P on 22 LCD monitor, this is almost the same cause on notebook is viewing distance smaller. Im havent any problem with 1080P so i leave default DPI size. And some games played on native resolution and when GPU power is low - i play on 1280x720 ( for games OK, but if you try this on windows desktop, its quite blurry....

 

well installing A09 on my 1555 just bricked it, I wish i had read about this before i tried to update, lots of problems with this update so now i hope dell is going to fix this one or im going to have a very expensive paper weight.

 

I'd really like to know what the issue is here. I haven't updated yet, but I'd love to know what the common denominator is.

If I didn't rely on my computer so much for school I'd have updated it by now just to see what happens.

But then again, if there's something wrong with my laptop and the BIOS update only reveals it, I'd love to have it fixed.

 

Dell are picking mine up tomorrow and replacing the motherboard under warranty

 

mine works fine with A09

 

Mine too if that helps any...

 

well they failed to pick it up, but i did get a call today and they will apparantly pick it up tomorrow. Its strange as ive done bios updates on it before but not when using Windows 7 64bit

 

Im flashed my studio three times on W7 X64, so i dont think that OS is problem. Rather some other SW installed can hang some operations in flashing progress. But anyway, if DELL pick it up, ask them for reason of flash problem. It can be benefical to all.

 

I notice that the A08 BIOS is back with no mention of A09 removal.

I am already running A09, is it okay to simply install A08 now?

 

Noticed it as well,
As far as I'm concerned, I had no problem with it, and would advice you to just stay with it, as the flushing process is a bit risky after all.

 

Ah! so the issue you had with A08 is not existing with A09?

 

has anyone undervolted the s15 with the p8700 cpu? rmclock doesnt recognize half multipliers ... do u think its worth it to underclock abit for a few degrees difference?

 

Yep, with CPUgenie. But on W7 x64 is quite buggy and eating CPU time (ver 1.4), maybe later in 1.5 or some beta will be fixed. Anyway i was able to undervolt highest Pstate to only 0.965V ( from 1.075?) temperature drop on load was arround 10-15 degrees of celsius. But sadly, as i said, it quite buggy tool.

 

Hi froxic, i'd like to try CPUgenie, can you tell me if you have reached the minumum voltage (0.965V in your case) testing manually all the voltages or if you have selected the "Automatic Voltage Testing"?

I'm going to try this software this afternoon.

 

Automatized voltage testing show about 1 day to completion, so i test it on my own. Almos all Pstates can do at it lowest way (0.875V), other must be rised a little, this is the fastest way to try minimum voltage if BSOD then rise , 30 minutes and youre done

 

Does anyone know how or where I can get the dell background themes? I forgot to save them before I carried out the re-installation.

Thank you

 

Thanks for help, I tried to play a little with CPUgenie but i had a lot of freezes also testing "high" voltages", (something like 1.000V for the 3th and 4th Pstate) so i think i'll wait some more compatible version...
PS:i'm new to undervolting so probabily i made some mistakes, but i tried out of curiosity.

 

Hello everyone,

How are you doing? I'm waiting for my Studio 15 to arrive and I was wondering if anyone has used one with the Intel graphics option instead of the ATI one.

I mostly write and do some simple photoshop work so I don't really need a heavy duty graphic card, which is why I just went with the default option. I did get the backlit keyboard though because I do a lot of my writing late at night and this way I can turn off the lights and not disturb others.

However, I do play the occassional game (Need for Speed most wanted, underground, Prince of Persia(the old ones) and Myst being some of my favourite relaxers). All the reviews I can find are of Studio 15s with the discrete ATI option so I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with the integrated Intel GMA.

Cheers,
David K

 

Does anyone know where I can get the drivers for the bluetooth and the webcam? I've tried searching or using the drivers disc but it wasn't on there.

Thanks

 

Hi,

I ordered a Dell Studio 1555, Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P7450 (2.13Ghz, 3MB, 1066MHz) Memory 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard Video Card 512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570 Hard Drive 500GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit on wednesday, but I have a query for you wise people.

I have read somewhere that because I will get DDR2 memory, I will not be able to upgrade my memory in the future as, according to some random on the internet, the max DDR2 can support is 4 gig of RAM? Is that true? I was hoping to upgrade to either 6 or 8 in the future, and this DDR2 limiting factor would be a massive spanner in the works.

Also after I ordered my dell on wednesday (20th Jan), according to Dell, my estimated delivery date is the 16th of February. Does that seem to anyone else longer than normal?

Thanks everyone.

 

The 4GB memory limit is not caused by DDR2 memory. The limit is only applicable if you are getting a 32-bit version of Windows, but you're getting 64-bit so you will be able to upgrade with no problem.

 

thanks!

could anyone give me their opinion on my delivery date?

 

The restriction on the amount of RAM is not due to the type of RAM but limitations with regards to your chipset and physical limitations on the motherboard. The maximum you can have is 8GB on that particular machine, but this is achieved with 2x 4GB modules. I noticed you are in the UK, these modules are excessively priced, and with the recent crop of notebooks and desktops utilising DDR3, DDR2 prices are only going to rise.

A quick search yielded prices at around the £120-£140 price point, and that is per module, so it would be around £240 - £280 for 8GB.

You wont be able to use DDR3 with the computer, so even if you found some cheap DDR3 4GB sticks, you'd need to go with the DDR2.

With regards to the shipping date; it does seem a little lengthy considering the notebook has been available for some time now. Alas, sometimes these things just happen and it takes time. The same is true of anything that is custom built. Dell normally delivers before their estimated shipping date, but you cannot bank on that.

 

Thanks for your response. I have a few follow-up questions if you don't mind.

So do you believe that the price of DDR2 RAM sticks are instead going to increase in the future? Would buying the DDR2 RAM now be cheaper than buying the upgrades in the future? Considering that RAM prices are cheaper elsewhere, would buying DDR2 RAM from the U.S. be a smart idea?

Thanks

 

DDR2 SODIMMs may drop a little in price by I doubt it. Due to the fact that most new machines support DDR3 instead, the amount of DDR2 that will be manufactured going forward is going to decrease. The more scarce a product gets, typically the more expensive it gets.

Here is a comparison of RAM prices to show what I mean:

1GB Kingston ValueRAM 1066MHz DDR3 SODIMM Memory Stick £17.30

1GB Kingston ValueRAM 800MHz DDR2 SODIMM Memory Stick 18.89

1GB Kingston ValueRAM 400MHz DDR SODIMM Memory Stick 38.26

Now these are not exactly the same, but they are roughly comparable. Notice how the DDR is more than twice the price of DDR2. The price difference between the DDR2 and DDR3 is not so great at the moment, and that actually the larger modules (i.e. 4GB) are cheaper still for DDR2. This is simply because the price of them has been excessive historically and now there are excess stocks, so the price will drop (already has dropped) briefly, but then rise dramatically.

Just keep an eye on prices maybe once or twice a week, and when you see them start to rise, they've probably hit rock bottom and will only continue to rise and rise and rise. Buy quickly, or don't buy at all at that point. I shouldn't imagine they will drop much lower than they are right now though, so I would seriously consider buying them earlier rather than later.

As for buying outside the UK, well yes this is an option. You will still have to pay duty on the item, so be aware of that. Often it works out a little cheaper, but on such a small value we're not talking much, and the cost of shipping could actually push it over the price you would pay for buying it in the UK. Shopping overseas pays off, but typically the item price needs to be relatively high to compensate for the additional shipping costs that are incurred. There would also be these additional shipping costs to return the item if you needed to; so my honest opinion would be not to bother about all of that for a purchase like this.

Finally, I would question whether you really need 8GB of RAM. I use my notebook as a SQL server development machine, and coupled with some of the data analysis programs that I run at the same time, 4GB can easily be used up. However I am not most people; 4GB is plenty for the vast majority of people.

Let me put it to you in a different light. You spend £600 on a new computer (I don't know how much yours specifically cost, but I'm going to guess it was around this price-ish), and then you go and spend more than 1/3 of it's original price on an upgrade. That's like spending £9,000 on a cheap car and then spending £3,000 on a nitro installation. Sure it will make it faster for some of the time, but most of the time it wont be used.

Would it not be better to put that money into a savings account for your next notebook computer?

 

Some interesting points there. I have seen 8 gigs of DDR2 800MHz 1555-compatible RAM on sale for a total price of £150. I also use a considerable amount of audio-editing software (specifically Cubase) as I'm contantly recording things. I think the best course of action for me to take at the moment is to wait until my new 1555 arrives, imitate a typical heavy-use scenario, and see how much of my 4gig I am using.

 

Honestly? That's a very good price, you certainly wont be able to import it from the US for cheaper. Where is that from?

I get a feeling though that price is not for the correct modules. They need to be DDR2 SODIMMs (200 pin), maximum of 4GB per module and 2 modules.

 

Well, after frustration with Dell's part availability with the Studio 17 and questioning whether I needed a bigger laptop, I opted to get a Studio 15 from the Dell outlet.

I think I got a pretty solid deal. P8700, 4 GB ram, 320 GB HDD, 512 ATI, 1080p screen, 9cell battery, backlit keyboard for $690 out the door after their 15% coupon.

Anything I should know about the machine? Performance tweaks etc? I'll be formatting it immediately to put on my already-owned copy of Windows 7 Pro.

 

m having hard tym with my DVD drive...its troubling me alot...it gets hampered very frequently...got it replaced 2 mnths bak and again its not reading dvds (even on boot)..I called up dell and they are cmg again to get it replaced at my home on tuesday...
what will happend if my warranty is ovr? will this continue 4ever?
I think this slot load technology is not a success...

anyone else facing this kind of issue?

 

I have two 65W ac adapters that I use with my Inspiron E1505. Are these compatible with the Studio 1555 or will I have to order a second AC adapter to have an extra on hand?

EDIT: Looks like they sell the adapter that I have two of under the Studio 1555 accessories page. So, maybe?

 

I'm sorry for the laaaate reply...
I tried to follow the procedure (i found a detailed one on the I8kfanGUI forum) and i've been able to install the software.
The only problem that i have now is that i need to leave ON the "test mode", and it means that i have the watermark on the desktop.
If I disable the "test mode" and i open I8kfanGUI i receive an error...

Is there a way to overcome this "problem" ?

 

Yep, i have test mode enabled and fixed that by watermark patch. If you disable test mode , MS unsigned files doesnt load.

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/...es-only-evaluation-copy-test-mode-on-desktop/

 

Uh, so i can remove the watermark also leaving enabled the "test Mode".
Gonna try but...does this "Test Mode" has some differences with the OS with the Test Mode Disabled??

Thank you for your trick

 

Thanks for the info, the offer was from a friend I know who owns a PC store.

By the way, my laptop is due to come with a Core 2 Duo Processor P7450 (2.13Ghz, 3MB, 1066MHz), however I have seen a Core 2 Duo T9600 2.80GHZ 6MB 1066MHZ on sale for £150.

Would I notice a significant difference between the T9600 and the P7450?

Thanks again, a very helpful forum!

 

If that's the case about the RAM, then I strongly suggest you buy it before your friend changes their mind - that's the best price I should imagine you will get in a long long time.

Would you notice a significant difference is a tough one to call, as it depends on what you are using your computer for. Of course, any instances where the CPU is being fully utilised you will notice a difference; enough to warrant £150 - well I guess it depends on how much you will use the notebook.

The L2 cache being doubled will make a marginal difference most of the time, but some programs will see a big boost from this. However, 3MB of L2 cache is plenty, so I doubt you'd see a massive improvement.

I know all of that sounds a little wishy washy, but it really is difficult to say. What I would do is create a report on processor usage and use the laptop as you normally would for about a week (well wait a few days first as your computer will be using idle time to perform indexing to start with).

In fact, you can record your CPU usage easier using this tool:
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/CPU-Usage-Logger-Download-147909.html

Once running, hit the browse button to create a log file, then ensure both of the tick boxes are filled like in the screenshot below.



Every 5 seconds it writes an entry to the file that looks like this:

Code:

24/01/2010 16:22:38 17.045 71.875 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 4 6 80

Leave it running as you go about your tasks, then open it in Excel and you'll get something that looks like this:



Sort the data by the fourth column (this is the moving average processor usage, and if it's above 90% for a lot of the time, then it might be advantageous to obtain a better processor. Otherwise, I'd leave it as it is.

EDIT: Alternatively, you could just look at the program itself. The bottom part of the screen shows a percentage of time that the processor has been at the different percentages, so from my screenshot above you can see that my processor had been at 0-10% usage (the very bottom line) for 85% of the time since the program had been started. If the top line said more than 80-90%, then I'd maybe consider the upgrade.

Also, if you decide to open the file in Excel, make sure you close the logger application first, as otherwise it throws up an error as it tries to write to a file that Excel automatically locks.

The same could be accomplished using the performance monitor reports, but as the default ones are setup to run for only 60 seconds, you'd need to create a data collector set manually, and that is a little too much to go into on these forums, although it would provide a lot more information and could even show you whether you would be better off with the larger sticks of RAM. Worth looking into I would say, but more than I can really go into here.

Here is a link to an old post of mine with reference to what impact the level 2 cache can have; although keep in mind that there are diminishing returns with increases from caches of a decent size to begin with:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5117765&postcount=28

It was written with gaming in mind, but it should be of some use anyway.

Hope that helps.

 

Ah Fragilexx you complete legend. Thanks for all that information!

 

No problem. Just remember that unless your processor is being completely thrashed, there really is no point in upgrading it. Personally I'd put the money in the bank and buy a new computer in a couple of years time - in fact that is exactly what I do. It's more economical to buy something middle of the road at a decent price in a year or two years time, than spend lots on it now for a small performance improvement. Unless of course you need it now.

It is always true that some people will buy the best regardless; and there is nothing wrong with that if you have money sat doing nothing. With a mortgage and all associated housing bills, I can not afford to be so flamboyant with my money nowadays - even though I earn a fair salary. In my younger days I was certainly not so budget conscious though

Make sure you read my edit to the post before, as it details an easier way of checking the processor usage.

All the best.

 

Can anyone possible help with this? http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5769323&postcount=2317

 

sorry for taking so long, but today i tried to upgrade to 10.1 drivers using the package with the CCC. well ati control centre installed fine but the drivers failed, no idea why. anyway i ran 3dmark06 before and after ccc was isntalled using the same 9.12 drivers. before ccc was installed i got 4212 points at 1280x768 and after i got 4187, so not a big difference.

so i wanna ask did anyone manage to install 10.1 drivers and is 4200 average points on the s1555?

 

Finally getting my 1555 next week!

Are there any tips/tweaks any current-1555-users can recommend I make straight-away in order to make my new swish laptop run even more agreeably?

It'll have Windows 7 fyi.

thanks

 

hey, i just noticed tat new ATI 4330/4570 driver is available for dell inspiron 1564 & studio 1558 in support.dell.com
it is weird, studio 1558 has same graphic card with 1555 but the ATI driver in 1555 download page still the old driver
anyone here tried install this new ATI driver?