Dell Studio 17 (1747) Review

Hey Kevin, send mi a PM plis , i need to ask you about a laptop but i cant send you a PM! hit me ASAP PLIS!

thx!

 

You need a certain amount of legitimate posts to send or receive PM's; I think it's 15 or 20.

 

what temperature should be known as normal ?

 

I've learned that it's 10 and a privileges server update.

 

Hi to all

I'm from Europe and I've been browsing this forum to find some info on any cases of dead i7s as it is the case in Europe. Check this site up:

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19310587.aspx

Yesterday there were a few posts reporting the failure of i7s, a day after it closing to 50!

Apparently, there is something going on with insufficient power adapter or motherboard glitch. Interestingly enough, many cases of dead cores have been reported after switching 1747 into sleep mode out of which it seems hardly ever to get up.

There is also another problem of drastically lowering the core's power while using the graphics card heavily.

Something is going on since Dell in France and Germany stopped selling 1747s and is expected to issue a statement concerning the glitch and possible solution.

I am wondering if you guys have similar problems? Any info appreciated.


Sorry for any language mistakes.

 

The review was very accurate. The only thing I have to say about the review that people should know is some options were left out. First about the sound, it comes with a very good sound system supplied by JBL but the laptop comes standard with intel intergrated audio and dell high def 2.2 audio drivers, thats like buying a corvette and having a 75 year old man drive it. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, dell offers a Creative sound blaster X-FI MB true high def audio card for I think $25-$50 more, I dont know if the test dell had this card but the review said the sub offered some bass, the sound blaster audio card gives plenty of bass and makes the JBL's output splendid crisp, loud, NON TINNY sounds, in most cases it even restores lost audio from movies due to compression. It also enables either 5.1 surround sound, or SRS from the 2 JBL's that still sounds great. Another thing is the review says it falls behind in the gamming department, this is true but 2 things. 1. The graphics fall behind because the alienware and asus have better videocards, also these computers are made for gamming, the studio 17 is made for multimedia and data processing with gamming capibilities. This does not mean it is a gamming computer. 2. The studio i7 out preforms the core 2 quadcore that comes standard on the asus. My friend has an asus and my studio 17's sound blows his out of the water. This computer is made for streaming HD movies and HD playback with the ability to run complex applications at the same time. Dell raised the bar to a new level with this model. This is a mid end computer between the low end inspiron and the high end ( Gamming) XPS. It has the high end parts of the XPS with the low end costs. This computer is for everyday use with the capibilities to let you be free to do just about anything. The 9 cell battery does stick out but it actually helps in the dark, it tilts the laptop to that certian angle that makes viewing eaiser on the eyes. Like the HP entertainment pc's have ( which are nowhere near being able to touch this computer) the touch sensitive multimedia controls, so does this dell that the asus and alienware lack, these are more of a sexy look for the computer. They just look good and work very well, they eliminate the need to use the function keys. The video card is well above the class standards of 512 MB dedicated, or even in some cases 512 MB shared, this model doubles the standard at 1 GB dedicated. The computer comes stock with 4 GB of ram which is pretty standard for its's class but it is still a step above because the standard is 4 GB at 800-1066 MHz, this dell's standard is 4 GB at 1333 MHz, they once again raised the standard. The ram is upgradeable to 8 GB which is above the standard of 6 GB. I dont know how old this review is but now the standard HD is 500 GB at 7200 rpm, which is still above the class standard of 320 GB at 7200 rpm. One downfall is the networking standard for this model is wireless G, when other companies standardized their laptops at wireless N, the laptop is upgradable to N with a Dell 5100 wireless N card, now the Intell wifilink ultimate is better which is not available on this model (studio 15 and studio 14z are the only models that the intel card is availabel on). The studio 17 also comes with a remote control like the HP entertainment pc's which fits in your pci card slot. Now there were conflicts between the i7 and the biso, Dell assures me that they fixed that problem, symtoms consisted of computer not loading, screen doesnt come on, ect. The studio also comes with a optional fingerprint scanner for added security. This model has a 8x dvd burner, it is a sexy sideload drive (like the WII, there is no tray) and this model has a optional blu ray drive for a extra $150, but Dell is on back order till 3/2010, so they are not avalible. In my opinion this laptop is in a pretty standard class, but not alienware or asus class I dont know why in the review they compared it to them. This computer is in entertainment pc class with gamming capibility. What I mean by a pretty standard class it these class pc's are the most owned in America because of the price range and capibilities. This model stands out from the HP's and the Gateways that are in this class. More feature come standard on this model that you have to pay alot of money for with other companies or the features are not avalable. WARNING, this is a very powerful machine. Mine costed $1,524. It was not cheap, if you are just looking for a pc to playback dvd's or download music I would look into the studio 15, if you want the 17" screen I would look at the intel i3, or core 2 duo. That will save you about $350, and downgrade the videocard from the ATI to the intel intergrated, that will save you $150, or you could even go to HP (which I highly advise against, they are very unstable) and they have pc's meant just for entertainment. But if you are going to be doing complex applications, big file downloads, HD streaming, and gamming and you have a budget, this machine is just right for you. Thank you for reading my post please relpy or email me if you have any questions.

 

The amount of RAM on a GPU doesn't mean much by itself. And WHAT Asus? Asus makes trillions of systems. Obviously this will outperform them, but right now Asus makes a lot of stuff that's better for similar prices to a lot of Dell systems.

 

I mean the asus they compared this dell to in the review. Sorry I should have been more spicific. What I was saying was the asus they compared this dell to is a gamming pc, it's a hgher class then the dell studio 17, the XPS is dells gamming seris. The studio 17 has gamming capibilities, but is not designed for gamming. My Monte Carlo SS can get up to 140 mph, but it doesn't make it a racecar, you understand where Im comming from? And your right about the RAM but the higher MHZ the faster and more responsive the I/O will be.

 

Just to add to my post, the studio does offer a 1080p screen but not with the i7, only i5 and lower. As for the screen issues they mentioned in the review this only happens with the mulit-touch screen. The non touch screen does not have this problem (or at least it hasn't happened to mine yet, and from what I researched it looks like it is isolated to the touch screen.) But there were problems reported in a Dell.com fourm that upon turning the pc on for the first time the screen flickers rapidly and does not stop until windows is fully loaded and you are logged in. Dell also assures me that this problem is resolved and it was isolated to the first round of studio 17's that had the i7 in it, Dell said it was a signal problem that the bios kept refreshing the screen and as soon as the windows driver took over it stopped. The resolution was the Bios fix for the i7 that was released in late 12/09. Just keep your eye out if you own one now because Iv'e noticed my screen does a slight flicker every now and then upon loading. It could lead to further issues.

 

Now there were conflicts between the i7 and the biso, Typo, the word is BIOS. Sorry about that.

 

Strange. I just tried to configure a Studio 17 on Dell's site and it gave no i7 options. i5 only.

Edit: Followed a different link on their site and got the i7 option. Weird.

 

Resolution sucks, I want at least 1200 pixels vertically. Boooo dell, boooooooooooooooooo....

 

Well, I got the 1080p screen and while yes, I wish that 1900x1200 res was available, 1080p is ok on 17" laptop. Plus the 1080p screen is really nice. Consumer laptops don't have options for 1900x1200 anymore, only smattering of business laptops still offer that.

The bigger issue is that even 1080p screen is no longer available (at least for now).

 

Wait, if Vostro stopped working after 2nd month, can't you just get it repaired on warranty?

 

Thats why I'm booing ....
They could have 2133x1200 ...do they make such screens ? 16:9 but 1200 vertical pixels ?

 

Alienware is the last one standing in a world of vertically challenged screens

 

What about the M6500 ????

 

Technically we have their rgb led screen...

but yes that one to... I forgot

 

I would be totally fine with 2133x1200 18.4" (or more ?) laptops (provided the physical vertical dimension is the same as 1920x1200). Heck I would prefer it over 1920x1200.

 

Ok I have a few questions I would like to get answered, I just bought a Dell S1747-3209CBK from best buy.
What I want to know is...

1. How can I get the 1920x1080 (RGB-LED) does dell make it for this laptop, and what do I ask dell to find that? Also how much does it cost, and is that the best one to get, or is there a better one, also is it also an LED screen, I'm currently assuming the one that comes standard with mine that has the 16:9 resolution is an LED screen.

2. I was kind of under the impression that the graphics card was not soldered to the motherboard, am I wrong? Or Can the card be upgraded from the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 or is that completely impossible?

3. How many memory card slots does this have, currently I believe the laptop comes with two, 2 gb memory cards to equal the 4 gb. Are there still 2 slots left or will I have to junk the memory that is in there and get two, 4 gb cards to equal the 8gb that I want. (Also if anyone has upgraded memory to 8gb and has suggestions on what works well for them, please let me know)

Thanks in advance for the answers to these questions.

 

Your unit isn't spec'd for the 17.3" B+RG LED which is what is used fin the 1747 or the 1080p panel with 90% gamut versus the RGBLED used with a 112% gamut. The 1600x900 panel you have now is also LED. Dell isn't going to just sell you the upgrade if the unit wasn't originally spec'e with it. In addition, they view retail/BB units differently than CTOs ordered via their website. You could always call Customer Care and ask, but expect to hear a resounding no.

The GPU is soldered on the MB (Integrated) with the 1747 and not in MXM format via an actual removable video card that could potentially be upgraded. To step up to the 5XXX series would require an entire system board swap.

The system has two SODIMM DDR3 memory slots, so you would have to remove the old memory to take it to 8GB.

 

I bought the studio 1747 1 month ago and i have so many problems with it.
Just do a google search and you will see that so many people experience the same problems: it freezes randomly, can't read 1080p HD video without crashing, freezes after standby, throttling issues...
For the moment Dell is not able to fix these issues...
I don't understand how people can give such a good review for this computer. If you know how to make it work please give your solution to all the forum opened on the web by people who try to make their studio 1747 work.

 

That sounds like a driver problem, I would post in the Dell section for support.

 

I know it shouldn't come to this, but if you:

Install the latest BIOS

Remove the system board and apply some MX-3 or similar compound competently to the CPU and GPU

Obtain a 130W/150W Dell PSU

Reinstall Win7 with the newest drivers (newest defined as from the original OEM when applicable (IE: ATI, Intel, etc..))

You will find you have a very sweet running system.

I just finished revamping a 1747 w/ B+RG screen with the above for my boy, installed a 920XM and it is running like a champ. He's in WoW heaven but more importantly he isn't in my ear whining about his subpar 1737.

I did nearly the same thing for the 1645 in my .sig and it runs insanely well.

Now *should* you have to do all that? Absolutely not and Dell deserves all the criticism is receives, but at a certain point you spend more time on the phone complaining, days waiting for a tech hoping they fix your system competently, having to send it back and suffering versus just fixing as much of the problems as you can yourself.

 

Dude thank you so much for your post, you woke me up. I'm in the process of buying the Studio 17. For the last hour I've been doing the unthinkable: I was actually considering buying it from Best Buy for 1 grand. I never buy gear from Best Buy no matter how low the price but this time I guess my brain derailed. So I made a few calls to Best Buy and the service personnel I talked to were out and out pea-brains. Your post is a wake up call because BB has one of the worst return policies imaginable in that it's only good for 14 days and 14 days is cool I guess if you're a zillionaire with plenty of time to spend fooling around hanging out at strip clubs but not if you're a nine to fiver which is one of several reasons why BB sucks. 14 days? ?Screw that! With the multitude of problems this unit has a history of displaying I'll pay the $1200 and buy it from a store that not only has a 90 day return policy but will take it back and refund your money IN FULL a year or two after the purchase date if you can prove the thing was a problematic P.O.S. all you gotta do is argue your case like a good attorney and they'll refund your money something Best Buy would never think of doing. Thanks again!

 

Any excuse that Dell gives for not allowing a buyer to customize the Studio 17 with a solid state hard drive when their netbooks, XPS 16 and Alienware come optional with solid state hard drives is a pathetic excuse! Some of us CAN'T LIVE with a 16" screen yet we want a solid state hard drive so I guess we have to look at other computer manufacturers or settle on the Studio 17. The XPS 16's monitor is not a true 16" it's actually smaller than 16 inches something like 15.3 or something anyway when you compare the XPS 16 and the Studio 17 side by side the XPS looks really small.

 

Sony gave me a full refund about 10 months after purchase because of 4 or 5 repairs in 3 months.

I'm still mad at Sony for having to get it repaired...but them giving me my money back gives me a lot of respect for them.

 

To call me a dissatisfied Dell customer is an understatement.

Over the past 16 months or so, I've had about 6 computers from Dell (I've actually lost count at this point, but I think this is my 6th). The first five were Dell Studio XPS 16. Every one of them was almost unusable because of the heat they generate. The heat coming from the bottom of the machines, and especially the touchpad, not to mention the power adapters (I've had both the 90w and the 130w with the same problem) is OBSCENE.

I have had mother boards replaced, heat synchs replaced, fans replaced, power adapters replaced, keyboards replaced, speakers replaced, Blueray drives replaced, batteries replaced, and a screen swap. I’ve lost count at how many times Dell technicians have been over to my house for repairs/replacements (I think it's about 10). Between the time I’ve spent on the phone with Dell support, having Dell come to my home to replace/repair parts, reloading software, and backing up/transferring data, I would bet that I’ve now spent 300+ hours trying to get a computer that I could use.

I'm posting in this forum because the replacement computer they just sent me is a Studio 17. They assured me that the Studio 17 did not have the overheating problems. However, the touchpad is burning to the touch and I can't leave my wrist on the left side of the palm rest for more than a few second without my wrist hurting from the heat. (Although the computer is always hot, it is especially hot when I'm running a program called Second Life which I use for my work. However, no matter what I'm doing, the fan is constantly on.) As you can see from the attached image, the i7 core is running about 150-160 degrees Fahrenheit. As water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, just imagine what touching the touchpad feels like, especially when your palms are resting there and typing for extended periods of time.

As with all of the other computers from Dell, I have to use an external mouse because the touchpad is just too hot to use. However, the bluetooth for the computer keeps going in and out, as it has with many of the XPS 16s that I've had. (The Dell technician who has come out to my house so many times tells me he thinks the bluetooth is having problems because of the heat generated.)

I just spent the last 3 days rebuilding the drive and transferring all of my data to the new Studio 17, only to find that this laptop has all of the same heat problems that the XPS 16 has. (It comes with the 90w power pack which is also burning to the touch.) I got this computer by sending an email to Dell's corporate offices. The person who arranged for the return and spent an hour troubleshooting with me today claims she is from the corporate offices, but I'm not sure that's true.

When we took the bottom off today to troubleshoot, I learned that it appears to be either the memory chips or the wireless card that is generating all of this heat. (The heat appears to be coming primarily from the front, left-hand side.) She offered me two options: either send the computer to their service center for their technicians to look at it or send a service technician out to replace parts. As the 10 or so times that the Dell service technicians have been out replacing parts has not solved the problem, that really leaves me only with the option to send it in to them. However, I use my computer for work and can't be without it for a day, much less 5-7 days. I asked her to send me a loaner Studio 17 so that I could swap the hard drives and then they could take as long as they wanted to fix it. She said she couldn't do that.

Dell XPS 16s and Studio 17s both have significant heat and quality problems. It has got to be a design problem. I would like to speak with one of the executives at Dell (e.g., customer service, engineering, technical support) to try to figure out what is causing this problem. If the brands of memory or wireless cards are causing this problem, then swapping them for a completely different manufacturer might help. I refuse to spend anymore time sending computers back or having Dell technicians replace parts as it is clearly not solving the problem. Does anyone have an email or phone number to a Dell executive? If you do a search on Dell laptops overheating, you'll find thousands of hits across the web. I want to find a solution to this. Please let me know. Thanx.

- B.

 

Unfortunately, you're pretty much boned. This is the same way Dell screwed me into a corner with three defective Studio 15's in a row, and the reason I will no longer do business with them.

The best you can really do is file a complaint with the BBB, for all the good that will do.

 

I'm not clear from your post-are you actually having problems with the system? Are those temperatures at idle or under load?

At least the XPS 16 I had 18 months ago I thought was poorly designed for cooling, since the main exhaust was blocked by opening the screen, and temps did indeed rise...but I didn't actually have issues with that during the brief time I had it, it was just a possible concern. My Asus I bought to replace it did run cooler out of the box with similar hardware.

Regarding fans, they don't ever shut down, though on some systems might be close to dead silent (not my current notebook though).

I'm just not clear from your post if there's an actual problem or not, since aside from Bluetooth (which is just flaky in general) you didn't mention any issues.

 

I think "can't leave my wrist on the left side of the palm rest for more than a few second without my wrist hurting from the heat" qualifies as an issue. And given my experience with Dell Studio notebooks, those temperatures are idle; under full load you can easily expect to be in the 80's to 90's C.

 

dells laptops are so boring to look at,,,the case design on lots of em , just not modern and have ya say- i want that case....but that is the case for a lot of notebooks today...the design is not there.....apples look nice, some of hps are okay.....be dell, not sure if its because they don,t want to spend the $ on a nice case

 

You realize that Alienwares and their flashy cases are Dells now, right?

 

Sorry it took so long to reply.

I'm not sure what you mean by the temperatures being at idle or under load. I did another HWMonitor and these were the conditions at the time:

CPU 13% usage
physical memory 37%
108 processes running​

Would you consider that idle or under load?

My computer typically sits on a half-inch wooden tray, and when I feel the bottom of the wooden tray, it is extremely warm. That's how much heat is coming out of the bottom - it's completely heating up the wood.

Regarding problems with the system, yes - the enormous heat on the palm rest of this machine - primarily on the left-side, makes it terribly difficult to type (I do a large amount of typing in my work). To not be able to type on a laptop for more than a few seconds without it irritating your wrists is most certainly a problem.

The bluetooth constantly going in-and-out is also a real pain, but I have never seen this with any other brand of machine but Dell's Studio series. Again, the Dell tech who continues to come out to replace parts says he's sure the reason the bluetooth keeps going in-and-out is because of the heat.

I'd certainly appreciate any help you all have to solve these problems, especially a direct contact with an executive at Dell. Thanx.

- B.

 

Did you have any success filing a complaint with the BBB? They keep sending me new computers and replacing parts, so I'm somewhat hesitant to take it to that level. After all, they are doing something. The problem is that they are doing the same things over and over again, which means that the entire Studio series either has a major design flaw or one of the individual components they are using (e.g., the wireless card, the memory) has a design flaw. If the components that are causing the heat were toward the back of the machine, at least you'd be able to type for more than a few seconds without it causing pain.

I'd prefer to work with Dell to actually fix the problem than filing a complaint. (Though, I must say, I'm somewhat surprised that there aren't class action attorneys who haven't jumped on this.)

If you did move to a different machine, which one did you choose that's comparable in stats and price to the Studio series?

- B.

 

I have had the same sort of bad luck with Dell... to sum it up:

1. Ordered Studio 1537 in 2009.
2. Had it serviced no less than 6 times within a year all for various hardware failures and fixes to their own screw-ups.
3. Finally had enough and fired off an e-mail to Dell's board of directors.
4. After sending the system in for repair twice (first repair didn't fix the issue, second repair didn't fix it either), I demanded a replacement system.
5. Dell sends me a Studio 1555 with no Bluetooth, a smaller hard drive, and a (IMO) worse wireless adapter.
6. Studio 1555 overheats and throttles when under load like you wouldn't believe, Dell technical support claims it's "normal".

So now, because of their design flaws and poor service, it boils down to this: I'll never purchase or recommend a Dell computer to anyone again, and want this Studio 1555 to just dissapear...

 

Can you please share the contact information for the board of directors? I haven't been having much luck getting in touch with any executives, so perhaps that's a different angle I could pursue. Thanx.

- B.