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Notebooks Dell Studio 1558

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by ed_456, 26 Feb 2010.

  1. ed_456

    ed_456 The Artful Bodger

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    Well my Inspiron 6000 is due to be upgraded after 4 long years, it just can't hack any game above San Andreas on low settings anymore. So I thought I'd upgrade to a new Studio 1558. Does anyone have one of these? Also is there any optional extras I should really get? Such as Bluetooth, 1080p screen and backlit keyboard?
     
  2. cybergenics

    cybergenics What's a Dremel?

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    The 1558 is the Core i5 version of what I have. I have the 1557 (same bar the cpu) with the i7 720, 4 cores with HT, 4gb ddr3 1333, 500gb 7200rpm Momentus. Didn't spec backlit keyboard but its probably worth it if you type in low light or in the dark. When I got mine it came as the 'base spec' 1557 with somethings they later on started to charge for like a 500gb disk at 7200rpm and Win 7 pro, when I checked again it was either a 5400rpm 500gb disk or a 7200rpm but 320gb disk and Win 7 HP. Spec and prices vary wildly.

    The coloured lids are worth it (I got Plum) as the normal lid scratches easy and the coloured lids are spongy. Would not go for the 1090 screen the text size is tiny and the GPU can't handle that high res anyway, I know as I connected mine to a 1920x1200 monitor, only Source and very old games run at resonable settings. The 4570 is 64bit interface and gets @1366x768 about 3800 3dmarks with the Quad Core, its not that powerful but it is better than the 9400M that is popular.

    Power wise the Quad gets about 1150 score on CPC benchmarks, the extra marks over the i7 720 notebooks Bit Tech tested I put down to the 1333 ram whereas they had 1066 I think. I am selling my 1557 anyway as I ordered an HP Envy, don't tend to keep laptops very long.

    If you want to play games and have more cash, either the Alienware M11x (only downside titchy screen) or Studio xps with a 4670 are better gaming machines.
     
  3. kenco_uk

    kenco_uk I unsuccessfully then tried again

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    The HP Envy is said to be quite noisy in the fan department.

    I am waiting on Acer's 5740g with HD5650 to arrive. It seems to be delay after delay atm.

    Fujitsu's Pi 3560 is quite good. They have a GT240M.
     
  4. ed_456

    ed_456 The Artful Bodger

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    Thanks guys.

    I wish I could, but the 1558 is right at the top end of my budget already. I'll probably get a base unit on your recommendation, might stretch for a coloured lid like you said as well. Do you think it's worth the upgrade to the 5470? I looked on notebookchecker and it's no help.
     
  5. cybergenics

    cybergenics What's a Dremel?

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    How much is the 1558 you want ? I paid 719 I think and a week later the larger and faster disk and 7 Pro would have added 60 quid to that. Unless you have good eyesight, and don't tend to zoom websites to read text, the 1920x1080 is a bad move IMHO.



    The main issue with these units is heat, the GPU on mine reaches 88 or so during a quick game of Portal, there was a Bios update which stopped them shutting down, raised the thermal cutoff as it was set too low. As long as you keep them well ventilated they are fine though.

    The 5470 looks to be similar in performance to the 4570, although 3dmark looks a bit less, but with new features like dx11 and the newer uvd and it uses ddr5 memory. Probably wouldn't help games much or be worth paying extra for.

    That said if you prefer a 1557 with a quad for less than a 1558 would be new, I will be sticking mine in the fore sale bit shortly, transferrable warranty till nov 30th too, that's when I got it. Turboboost lets cores clock to 2.8 when needed also and it also has hyperthreading.
     
    ed_456 likes this.
  6. ed_456

    ed_456 The Artful Bodger

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    Just the pretty standard one. I've got access to a couple of discount codes so I can use them, so probably a total of £550 all together with Bluetooth and Wireless N. Going to stick with a standard screen, and I'll probably stick with a 4570 as well. I can't justify the extra £70 for DX11 and DDR5 unless it gave me twice the performance, which I doubt.

    The i5 looks really good in these laptops with the turbo boost and hyperthreading. Hence why I've waited this long to upgrade. So glad I didn't get an old C2D laptop straight away.
     
  7. cybergenics

    cybergenics What's a Dremel?

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    The range of the standard wireless card is crap, so worth upgrading that. For example if I go into my conservatory, essentially behind the sitting room and two rooms away from the wireless, it loses signal, and my old HP Compaq worked right down the garden !

    Also be aware, if you havn't ordered from Dell before, they can take the piss with delivery times, pay with a Credit card if you can, and threaten to go to them to cancel if they muck you about. Also Dell customer service is nothing short of practically useless.

    They answer the phone immediately to take money for orders then ignore you once they have your money.

    (before anyone chimes in with Dell delivered immediately story, well for some they do, its a lottery.)
     
  8. ed_456

    ed_456 The Artful Bodger

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    I got my last Inspiron direct from them, they weren't too bad on delivery if I remember. It was over 4 years ago though. Glad to see that a wireless upgrade would be beneficial. I'll get round to ordering this as soon as the cheque clears. Anyone got any ideas when Dell shift round their offers or is it all random?
     
  9. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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    i personally don't like dell laptops bit many people here do but i do recomend that you go and check out laptop directs website and do a advance search they have a very good range of laptops http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/ the only dell i would buy is there small alein ware laptop as that looks preety cool and actually quite good
     
  10. ed_456

    ed_456 The Artful Bodger

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    Well the reason I am getting a Dell is because I bought a Dell Inspiron 6000 4 years ago and it has never let me down. I have upgraded the RAM to 2gb and even overclocked the processor to 2.13GHZ thanks to a bit of speaker wire. So I might as well go for another Dell. Don't like their desktops though. Well, I don't like any prebuilt desktops to be honest. Custom builds all the way.
     
  11. alexdcd

    alexdcd Laptop Specialist

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    Would Recommend

    After using a quad core dell XPS 420 Desktop, i had high expectations of Dell.

    After about 2 months of looking around and floating from laptop to laptop, I settled on the Dell Studio 1558.

    Specs:
    Core i5-430M
    4GB DDR3 Ram
    500gb 5400rpm HDD
    ATI 4570 512MB
    Glossy Chainlink Black

    I then added 120gb SSD(£190), Installed a backlit keyboard (£16) and internal Mobile Boradband Card (£26), as it already has slot for mobile broadband and antenna.

    I use the system for Solidworks/3D Product Design and it is very quick.

    For example, it even runs Crysis! Plays CODMW2 Very well too.

    If gaming then it seems to run a lot faster when plugged into power as everything becomes noticable more responsive.

    Dell did not disappoint and made a very sleek and good looking laptop.

    I purchased mine for £559.99 On Ebay with 12 Month Warranty BRAND NEW Including delivery (next day UPS).

    RRP is around £699.99

    The ebay seller is
    http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/eComp...iZ1QQ_sidZ78292339QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322
     
  12. kenco_uk

    kenco_uk I unsuccessfully then tried again

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    I recently bought a second-hand Vaio CW2 Z1E off ebay and I'm surprised that, on a 1366x768 screen I can play the Dirt2 demo with every option to high/ultra that I can set. Chuffed to bits with it, although the screen hasn't got too much of a viewing angle. Just hope it lasts at least as long as my previous Dell Vostro 1500.

    The GT330M is a gnats quicker than the previous GTS240M.
     
  13. ed_456

    ed_456 The Artful Bodger

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    Sorry guys, should have updated this.

    I did settle for a 1558, in fact it's sitting staring at me right now. It is a very good laptop for the price I got it for, which was £515 at the time. It's all stock apart from a wireless N card, I couldn't justify the 5470, or the next i5 up. It's a fantastic laptop, but it's not without its problems.

    For starters, the trackpad is crap. It would either stick, or jump around. It got so bad that I just bought a nice little wireless Microsoft mouse.

    Second, when I bought it the sound was poor. But I had a fiddle in the settings, and changed it to 24 bit studio quality, and it sounds a hell of a lot better. Why was this not standard at the factory?

    Third, the damn Quickset would take focus away from any window when I wanted to use the Caps Lock button. Very annoying, especially in BF2. Luckily, I found a solution. A simple registry edit.



    Other than that I'm very happy with this laptop, battery life is spot on and I've got some classic BF2 and Need for Speed Underground 2 on it. Highly recommended to anyone.
     
  14. radiorog

    radiorog What's a Dremel?

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    Fan issues?

    Hi Ed,

    I have just bought a 1558. I have found the fan is pretty much on all the time, and looking through various forums and reviews, this is the norm. Is your fan on pretty much all the time, and does it bother you like it does me, or am I just being to neurotic over this? lol...

    Many thanks... other than this, I think this laptop is amazing!

    Cheers. :)
     
  15. Redsnake77

    Redsnake77 Useless Idiot

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    Do you leave a DVD in the drive all the time? My misses does, it's constantly spooling up, way more audible than the fan. But they do seem to run a bit warm.
     
  16. Arj12

    Arj12 What's a Dremel?

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    Where did you buy the backlit keyboard from? I recently brought a dell studio 1558 with the standard keyboard from dell outlet and I am thinking about upgrading it myself.
     
  17. alexdcd

    alexdcd Laptop Specialist

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    I got it off ebay paid 16 GBP, But the only issue is that it is a US Version so NO Pound Sign,
    You can get a proper UK on for about 40GBP.

    The ebay item number is 160492989666

    My friend bought one and i installed it in his 1558 i7 laptop with ease.
     
  18. alexdcd

    alexdcd Laptop Specialist

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    I think that is quite normal depending on where and how you use it.
    I sometimes use a cooling pad to keep it cool when gaming, but the noise is far higher than the internal fan.

    I am a product designer and the main issue is the fact that the airflow isn't really adequate due to the placement of the screen bezel blocking the fan outlet. But there would be no where elese to have an outlet without sacrificing space for ports.
     

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