Dell Studio 1557

2006 or '05 if you can

Thanks...

 

I think it'll be around 3.5k-4k 3dmark06.

Just a gut feel mind

 

Look, OneCool, absolutely no disrespect, but have you had a bad week??? You seem so grumpy! OK; maybe the 1557 is not all it's cracked up to be, but you've nit-picked at everything without providing a comprehensive analysis of any of the areas you don't like... just seems to me you spent a lot of money and were expecting miracles where there were none. Benchmarks are one thing, but an objective, real world critique would be bestest!

 

To be fair I've got a desktop i7 and was disappointed with the performance to begin with; so I can imagine with a slower i7 (1.6GHz vs my 2.6GHz) that an amount of disappointment could be expected.

However, with this machine I think it's the marrying together of that CPU with a low end GPU that is a little odd. That GPU will play games well enough, but it's not a gaming GPU and so you wont notice outstanding performance whilst playing games. Trust me, originally my desktop i7 came with a middle of the road GPU and I was disappointed. Thankfully it is easier to upgrade them, so now I have a 4890 and am seriously considering a 5870.

Also, whilst the CPU might be good, the real bottleneck on most systems in terms of non game related stuff is often the HDD. Fact is that if you can only read and write data at a certain speed, well then there is only so much you can achieve.

And then of course there is buyers remorse. If you buy a car and you notice that the cup holder is slightly too small for the cups of coffee from your favourite gas station then it will annoy you a little. Not likely enough to return the car, but you will be constantly reminded of it probably for the lifetime of ownership.

Fact is though that this notebook doesn't cost the Earth. Want something that does everything and then wakes you up in the morning having cooked you breakfast? Better double if not triple what you alreadys spent.

 

But how will it do on gaming?! That's what I bought it for, seemed a great price for a lappy that i thought could do some fairly heavy gaming i.e. TF2 COD4 BF2142?... Anyone? Fragile you got me worried now...

Plus I really would like to see the 3dmark scores and see how it ranks with other notebooks in the same price range....

 

It will play those just fine. COD4 you probably will have to drop the resolution if you have the 1080p display, or some of the settings to ensure fluid play.

What I was referring to was decent gaming such as Crysis, Prototype etc etc. Games of this caliber will need to have settings dropped a little to maintain framerates, or resolutions dropped, or both. In fact Prototype wont even play above certain resolutions unless you have a 1GB GPU, it will force you to use lower resolutions.

Hardcore gamers that need 40+FPS in the latest games would be disappointed. Games like TF2 will be fine, they can pretty much run on any notebook on sale at the moment. CoD4 is a little more picky, but it will run fine; just not with high settings.

And I'm still hedging my bets on a score of 3.5k-4k; probably closer to 3.5k.

 

Well as long as I get my TF2 on the go I'll be cool
Thanks! Also I got the 900p instead of the full 1080, so does that mean it will run smoother, due to the fact the video card isn't pushing the full 1080?... Thanks! I can't freaking wait to get this laptop!!!

 

Essentially yes, the lower res screen will be better for gaming on this machine. To be honest, my personal preference is 900p for a 15" machine anyway. However, I do think I need to get my eyes checked again..... ;o)

 

Ah Fragilexx, the voice of reason! You make some very good points. From my point of view, when I was chosing my new lappy, there was a choice between a high-end c2d and a new i7 QM laptop; soooo, I thought, seeing as I play ZERO games*, and, besides websurfing, office stuff, etc., I fully use Adobe CS4, it seemed an obvious choice to go for a multicore, hyperthread-capable processor, with a heap of RAM (6GB), and a half Gig ATI Radeon 4570 card (which assists some of CS4's tools); now this would be perrrrfecto. Yeah; maybe the vid card and the CPU are mismatched for gaming. But, for my purposes, I think they'll be a well-suited match, no?



p.s. like your point about buyer's remorse; it can be quite brutal!

*there's more to lappys than gaaaames, guys!

 

Oh yes, there is much more to a notebook than gaming, else there wouldn't be machines selling with integrated graphics. This machine will still play games, and play them a reasonable enough level if you are not used to playing on a desktop with a decent graphics card (read Ati 4600 + / Nvidia 9600 +)

I prefer notebooks all the way. So much so that I've got 4 of the things in active service. Nothing beats a desktop for gaming though.

Yes there are plenty of reasons to buy this notebook. In my opinion a core i7 is over the top for the vast majority of people that will end up buying it though. Only reason I'm looking at a core i7 notebook is due to the work I do on it (I had ordered the Envy 15, but after looking at it in store I cancelled the order). I think in your case Nifkin that you could get away with less, but I guess it depends on how much you do concurrently in CS4 - and therefore I would have probably opted for the i7 in your case too.

 

Ha ha. I think I could quite possibly have gone for a T9600 or T9900 CPU for the RAW & video processing I do.... but then the i7 QMs declared themselves, and, knowing a bit about the dynamic performance of i7s, I thought I may as well future-proof myself somewhat; it's not as if the i7 QMs are that much more expensive than later C2Ds...

So what was it that put you off the Envy???

 

The keyboard and trackpad mostly. All the keys are the same size and the keyboard layout is rather different than standard - i.e. where the \ key is etc, and function keys in the wrong place for my liking. Meh, not like I really need a new notebook - but I just wanted a new one. If I don't buy some form of computer every 6 months or so I start to feel jittery

 

My 1557 comes with Vista Home Premium. Will Dell send me a 7 Home Premium 32 or a 64 bits version?

I guess 64 bits are a must-have for Core i7, right?

I think I will install Professional 64 bits, the only thing is Ultimate includes "compatibility with Windows XP programas" according to Dell and Professional doesn't, sounds weird. Is it really like that??

 

I think DELL is giving 64-bit with DELL Studio 1557 You can check the property of the system by right clicking the My Computer and Selecting Properties from the popup menu.

 

Yea mine is coming from the factory with - Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit

 

Thanks psathishcs. I receive it on monday that's why I asked, I still don't have it.

As for Windows 7 Home Premium features, it doesn't bring the "compatibility with XP programs". Is that feature available as an update (I guess it is the XP mode)? Or do you need to install Windows 7 Professional to have it?

 

I got my 1557 a few days ago - standard build/1080p/4G Ram.

I don't like Vista, and so my initial feelings of slower and disappointing are tempered by that. On installing a few of my standard apps, like CS4 it seems to be running slightly quicker than my current machine - M1530/2Gig Ram/5400 hd/t7700.

I haven't any software to do comparisons, other than using wPrime v1.58. The M1530 T7700 ran the 32M in 42.109secs (showing 2 threads). The 1557 ran the 32M in 15.773secs in winxp sp3 compatability mode (showing 8 threads). I rand the 1024 test and on the 1557 it ran in 502secs - I ran out of patience on the M1530 as it was at 45% in roughly that time. Also running Xilisoft Video converter to convert an AVI to DVD the conversion of the same avi took just under half the time.

I don't play games so can't help there I'm afraid.

Subjective comments - the laptop doesn't feel as substantial as the M1530, particularly the base around the vents. It doesn't feel cheap - just not as substantial. Keyboard feels nice (I got the illuminated one) and there is good feedback with no missed depressions. The trackpad and keys feel quite good, with no movement when typing. The optical drive DVDRW not bluray is noisy but not as noisy as the M1530 or M2010 I have. The screen is nice and clear with no fall out if two are looking on - slight fallout for the two bookends if three. I'm glad to see the continuing trend of two headphone sockets, but annoyed at the lack of indicator lights. I find them useful. One thing I have found is that the laptop runs hotter than my M1530 and its a bit like a car. If you switch off the laptop while it's still warm, the fan continues and it won't switch off until cool. A good feature but maybe indicative of possible heat dissipation issues. Saying that - I don't know if any of you had/have a D600 with the hard drive and hand cooking issues - it doesn't seem to get THAT hot! I'm reserving judgement until I get Win7 on - or get the drivers so I can put XP on. It seems to be an evolution rather than revolution but I'm quietly optimistic.

 

I dont think that Windows 7 Home Premium as XP Mode it is available only in Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate. But some Windows XP program do run well in Windows 7.

 

That is correct, XP Mode is only available in Windows 7 Professional and upwards. It's not actually included with the operating system, you need to download additional software (that is free); but this software does not run under Windows 7 Home Premium.

 

Hi SadFatMan, Could u pls tell more detail on the Laptop getting hotter
if the laptop run hotter in the normal use then it would be difficult to overclock the system using Turbo Boost.

 

Can you please confirm if your laptop has a eSATA port or not?

 

Hi Nisjoker,

the laptop came with esata port enabled in the bios and works no problem with one of my external drives - but not the other. I suspect it's more likely to be down to the external box. Far faster than the USB2 connection, irrespective of what the theoretical transfer rates are. Same box has both esata and USB2 output. Tried transferring a 577M avi from the backup drive - took 90 secs on esata; over 3 minutes on USB2. Don't know anything about 'tuning' the transfers or even if possible.

Hi psathishcs,

the laptop gets slightly warm only around the vents in normal use (top left of the laptop). Normal use being watching films, using standard office apps and not doing anything challenging in CS4 Photoshop. It's running on a desk rather than on my lap. The fan doesn't kick in any more than my 1530, nor is it any noisier. Only got 'hot' when running wPrime or when converting video. For some reason the fan kicks in more frequently when surfing. Don't know why. Even when 'hot' though still doesn't get as hot as my much older D600 with the (in)famous palm rest issues.

Normally the laptop closes down quite quickly - including the fan, but I've just had it stay on for about 25 seconds after watching a long film (in this case the fan ran quietly until the last 5 or 10 seconds, ramped up then went off). The closedown of Vista, then the fan staying on, then ramping up for the last few seconds before switching off is the process it has done a few times now. It isn't intrusive (noise wise). Obviously, I don't know how 'normal' this behaviour is. I'm glad I got the 3 year at home warranty though!

If there's anything else I can answer, let me know.

Regards

sfm

 

Thanks sfm, appreciate your views. Please keep us informed of any quirks that come to light.

Would it not be just as easy to ask Dell tech support if this is simply the standard cooling config for the machine (as opposed to signalling a potential problem)?

Niffy

 

Mine did the same fan thing under Vista but now that it's runnig W7 (64-bit) I don't get that at all!

I might hasten to add that now it's running W7 the battery expectancy on high performance has jumped up to over 3hrs once it's unplugged!! Previously under Vista it said around 2hrs 40mins once unplugged.

Also I tried that little pcpitstop site (not sure how accurate it is but its a comparison at least) and the score has now changed, my laptop now ranks in the top 6% and this includes a disappointing Top 25% rating for the broadband.

This laptop was definately made to work under W7, guys you need to upgrade ASAP!! Everything works a treat (bluetooth, WLAN, hot keys, memory card reader etc etc etc)

 

Glad mines coming from the factory with W7 installed.
Had anyone had a chance to run a 3d mark score yet?

 

1337brian,

I have run 3dMark06 and recieved a pretty low score of 2800~ and with my one trial run of 3dMark Vantage I received a Entry level mark of E4787.

I could easily bump these up using Ati Tray Tools but I can't seem to get it to work. Freezes everything when ATT starts up using DSEO from ngohq.com.

I have installed Fallout 3 and I get an average of 30fps on high settings with no AA on full 1920x1080. I could probably get it running pretty smooth on 1280x720 but I just really like the high resolution

Also note that when I assigned the core affinity to the Fallout3.exe to only 2 cores the turbo mode kicked in and the 1.6 i7 clocked up to 2.8 immediatly! This gave me a small jump in fps.

I am still working on tweaking my Windows 7 install I will have more thoughts later on.

Oh, and a hint to get better sound make sure and enable the SRS Surround with the IDT Audio Control Panel found in your Control Panel. You will have to show small icons to find it in Windows 7. If you set that to 5.1 speakers you will start to hear you sub-woofer kicking in.

 

@Kirii, thanks! Great advice... I thought the 3dmark would have been a bit higher though.

 

Thanks JayAce81ju27781 - that's good to hear. Unfortunately I've only just managed to register for my Win7 upgrade so will have to wait (hopefully not too long!)

And also thanks to you Kirii for the helpful 'sound' advice!

Looking on the up then once Win7 drops through my letterbox!

 

@ Kirii: yes it is disappointing about those scores, but I guess 3D performance is only as good as your GPU allows, and the 1557 isn't specifically marketed as a gaming machine.

Being a bit of a novice, can anybody recommend any good benchmark test for general performance?

 

Dell still haven't confirmed my order 5 days after I placed it. crazy. I can't understand how it can take that long. Everytime I ring up they say it won't be much longer.

 

@demon: and still no sign of any money leaving your account? That is odd. Maybe next time you speak to them you should say that you want to cancel your order and see how they react; Dell's customer services team are more Sales-oriented than most, so it may get them to pull their finger out

 

no money out or emails but my order status on the dell site has changed to Estimated Delivery Date is on or before: 04/11/2009

woo!

 

AUO 1080p looks nice, still doing SP2 updates etc though

 

it is taking forever to update all the drivers etc. as always with a new computer, but the computer is plesantly snappy and runs faster than my 2 year old desktop (even the hard disk tests slightly faster which is always nice to have in a laptop)

 

Hello Everybody,

I have been following the thread closely because I also have ordered the Studio 1557.
I have ordered it mainly because i do alot of architectual renderings, that mainly just need alot of processors and not at big gpu.

At first run I wasn't impressed the operating system (Vista) isn't much quicker than my old Windows XP, but when i got my render software installed at did my first render I was totally blow away - it was extremely fast!!!

Just my few cents to the discussion - hope you all get happy with your laptop.

-Thorbjørn

 

am currrently on the bus with my new 1557 using the internet wirelessly through my telephone via bluetooth,.. running very snappy. indicates 3 hours battery life at the moment on my 9 cell battery

edit:

still surfing, and doing webadmin work via bluethooth on the train and with 74% battery life it suggests over 3 hours remaining.

 

I got my 1557 on monday and so far I'm pleased.
It comes with Vista Home Premium 64 and I made a new partition to test W7 Professional (I don't need Bitlocker or languages). I find it simple but stylish, very fast (especially on W7!). You always have to underline the bad things to let others know:

- The black plastic surrounding the keyboard gets easily scratched. Just rub it with some cloth and tadda!. Little scratch.

- I can't find the Pause key, so no more win key+P to access system properties. Where is it? Still don't know.

- It's cool the usb port at the right is close to the back side so you can have more room for an external mouse or simply move your hands comfortably. But it's too close to the plug and a big pendrive will touch a dvd's surface when ejected.

- I ordered the 1080 full hd screen and I can tell you it's quite unhealthy for your sight. Characters are too small. You can always increase the font size in Windows but it's not very well done since some windows (installing programs for example) still show small sized text and some others disproportioned text or not centered. I'm looking to solve this.

- I thought there was a bag coming with it. None arrived. Not so serious I have some Targus bags at home.

- I installed W7 and so I had to change drive reading order in the BIOS. To change a parameter you have to press + or - and none worked... the + sign was in some other key (I guess it's something to do with the kb layout). In addition in Windows when I'm browsing a folder I used to extend fields by pressing CTRL + and it's not working now.

Maybe some of you have found solutions to these or have some feedback?

 

Just a quick note.... I had problems with W7 not recognising my eSATA drive hotswapping. To solve this issue I rebooted with drive connected, entered BIOS, Save & Exit and voila it worked!

God knows why how where or when but that solved it, even though I made no changes :-S

As a bit of a downer though it took nearly 5hrs to encrypt the drive using BitLocker :-(

 

Mine's just arrived! Yippee! Only eight days from order confirmation to delivery, nice one Dell UK! OK; have only just got it out of it's box, plugged it in, and am about to switch in it on, so don't expect any sense out of me for a few hours, but I'll be back with my opinions for you guys later!!

 

Gratz Nifkin, I still can't believe I have ordered mine all the way back on Sept 24 and still haven't gotten mine while everyone else has

Either way let us know your impressions!

 

I can feel that I miss the dual screens of my desktop, but so far I could not really be happier with the performance of my 1557

 

OK, have just been uninstalling the bloatware, and installing stuff I want; fortunately there wasn't much of the former, but plenty of the latter. Haven't done any benchmark stuff yet, but:

• Quite like the build quality, seems a lot sturdier than previous Inspirons I've had.
• Keyboard feels good; got the backlit one coz I new it come in handy and it looks trick.
• Impressed with the speed for everyday stuff and installing software so far.

However...

• Got the default "black chainlink" lid; am disappointed that it's a piano key gloss finish, which'll get scratched to f**k even by just looking at it; a friend has a 1555 with a blue lid, which is in that matte rubberised finish which stays looking good; would've liked a black version of that...
• Bass subwoofer? What subwoofer? I understand it's mounted on the underside, but there's no sound coming from there! Did try ticking the bass boost option in Control Panel, but it made no difference at all.. the sound is loud enough but quite tinny; is anybody else having the same problem? Have I the wrong driver installed (IDT)?
• And why when I plug the laptop into a new Hitachi 1080p 42inch LCD TV via the HDMI out, and view some HD video, do the images on the TV look far less than hi def? Is there some output settings on the lappy I need to tweak?

Besides that, am quite impressed so far.. will let you know how it handles a load of rendering tasks in CS4 shortly...

Nifkinny-Wifkinny

 

Did you try Kirii's advice?

 

Well spotted Brian; I knew I'd seen it mentioned before, but it didn't come up when I did a keyword search!

@kirii: I've gone into the SRS IDT control panel, and changed the speaker set up from stereo to 5.1 whilst playing a track, and it hasn't made any difference.. is there something that I'm doing wrong?

Thanks guys

 

Grrrr, Not what I was hoping to hear!

Not sure, I'll see when i get mine what is happening but i'm sure somone will figure it out by then...

 

Nifkin,

Under the Speakers/Headphones section on the left side of the IDT HD sound control panel there is a SRS Premium > Click the Enabled/Disabled button under the logo and see if that helps.

You can also change the SRS TruBass Speaker size. I find that the S size sounds the best for me, the larger sizes I tend to get popping.

Also, under the left panel settings > there is a Bass Management where you can Optimize Bass Routing. I have it set at 6.0dB.

You also might want to try playing your media on a couple different media players. When I watched a Bluray on PowerDVD the sound was horrible but when I used Media Player Classic with AC3Filter it sounded a lot better!

 

EDIT duplicate post

 

Thanks Kirri. Hmmm after doing all that, it still doesn't appear to be working. B*l***ks. I really hate the idea of having to send the thing back just for them to twiddle with the woofer a bit. Just to be sure; itis meant to located on the underside to the front right? If it is, then mine aint working!

Cheers guys

 

hi guys, I've read all the topic and I am going crazy! I've ordered my dell studio 2 weeks ago. Yesterday the maximum day of delivery was 5/11/09 and today is 15/11/09. How is it possible? Have I to wait 1 month? Omg...


I called the callcenter and they told me that they don't know why is delayed...


ps: i come from italy.

 

Ciao friend! Don't worry about the delay, if it makes you feel any better I ordered mine all the way back on Sept. 24 and I am not expected to recieve mine until Nov. 9.... My delay was due to the 720p screens not being in stock, so i called customer service and after a whole lot of switching between reps, I finally got somebody to give me a free upgrade to a better monitor and free shipping...