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
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User reviews7
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Syed Aun Ali 25 July 2011
Good: Most economical with max. specs
Bad: Gaming
Comment: Mine hadn't a single issue that all of u are talking about........
I found it simply Awesome!
except gaming
proteus 9 July 2010
Good: See review
Bad: Very poor quality.
Comment: I've owned my sudio 15 for a little over a year, and the DVD drive failed (see my earlier review here on CNET), and now, the screen has failed. I'm simply shocked at the lack of quality. Avoid.
proteus 11 June 2010
Good: Basic functions ok
Bad: Too many flaws for a machine in this category.
Comment: I have the 1537 Studio model. Given price category I expected better performance. First thing, the DVD player does not read discs. Having searched online, I've found that DVD problems are common to this model. The built-in speakers are simply abysmal, again confirmed by other users experiences, sounding tinny like an old transistor radio. The 'sound blaster' technology that was offered at the time I bought mine, isn't the sound driver at all, and otherwise has no purpose. I've tried to understand what purpose it serves on the machine, but have found none. I found the bluetooth impossible to use, even with the Dell bluetooth headphones I purchased. I finally gave up trying to synch them (an I am reasonably tech saavy). Nothing should ever be that hard. The glossy screen produces a lot of glare and means you can never use the laptop where bright light is present and absolutely not out of doors. There's a software application, "Dell Media Direct" which is a kind of hybrid music/photo/video platform, but is basically worthless, and most people will use iTunes and some other combination to access mulitmedia. Nevertheless, this worthless software is executed by a touch sensor right above the keyboard. Everytime you wipe the laptop dust, the program executes. I was told by Dell it cannot be disabled. Wipe the dust you will do, and often. I don't know why, but the plastic of this laptop is an absolute dust magnet. I'm not a clean freak, but it drives me crazy that it attracts so much of it. Doesn't Dell know anything about materials composition at this point in time?? Finally, the volume controls are touch sensor technology. They are small and being located above the keyboard are ergonomically not very usable (nor very visible). My Latitude laptop had mechanical buttons beneath the touchpad. That made sense. On the whole, I've been soured on Dell, who I used to admire. On a separate note, I'm simply tired of PC based products that are a hybrid of different manufacturers products (my unworking Samsung DVD player for example), and will probably buy Apple next go round. Besides, Windows, as we know, is rubbish.
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