Dell Studio 15 review

Dell Studio 15 Review

Reviewed by: Dan Ackerman

Reviewed on: 27 June 2008

Performance
Intel's 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU is the current default for mainstream performance. Our review sample included this CPU and it's available for around £60 as an upgrade to the standard 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor, with price correct at the time of writing. With 2.1GHz onboard, the Dell Studio 15 easily outperformed Dell's 14- and 15-inch Inspirons with slower 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processors, as well as the most recent XPS M1530, which had an older 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500.

For most typical tasks, including Web surfing, working on Office documents and media playback, any of these CPUs would be more than adequate. We'd expect new CPUs from Intel's Centrino 2 refresh later in the summer.

Our review sample came with the 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD3400, although the Studio 15 actually retails with a HD3450 model; still, your performance results will be very similar. While neither card is at the top of the video card food chain, it'll provide for some basic gaming muscle. We got around 17 frames per second on Unreal Tournament III at 1,280x800 pixels. Tweaking the settings and turning down the detail level should get more playable frame rates in the mid-20s, but this system is targeted more at creative types, not hardcore gamers.

The Studio 15 ran for 2 hours 46 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included 6-cell battery. That's reasonable for a mid-size laptop and our battery drain test is especially grueling, so you can expect longer life from casual Web surfing and office use -- we got more than three hours out of it in anecdotal use.

Conclusion
While the Studio 15 offers a good mix of features for the price, we'd be tempted to save up a few extra pounds for a thinner, lighter XPS.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday