Dell Studio 14 (1458) i7 review part 1

[AssashadowX]

I have the old Insipron same as yours and a STUDIO 1558 :D

[franzcatch]

You can alter the default behavior of the function keys (so you don't have to hold the function button). Check the Dell software.

[shane128jones]

i have the same laptop

[ashvista]

Great review, I also had Inspiron E1505 and now moving to Studio 1458. I love its design and its really power packed. Thanks a lot :)

[GnosisMan50]

THANKS FOR YOUR DETAILED REVIEW!

[bazartelugu]

Also can i upgrade the hard drive , and if i preinstall windows xp on the drive and can connect to this laptop by removing the original HDD

[tpthatsme]

@bazartelugu Yes, you can install Windows XP and/or upgrade the HDD. However, it is not advisable to install Windows XP on one computer and move that HDD to another computer.

[bazartelugu]

@tpthatsme

can you provide the required drivers and a steps to install xp . thanks a lot

[bazartelugu]

@tpthatsme

can you provide the required drivers and a steps to install xp . thanks a lot.

[bazartelugu]

Hi, i have dell studio 1458 studio, it comes with windows 7 home, can i install win xp

[mymoney596]

I thought it has a lock on the left!

[tpthatsme]

@mymoney596 It does have a Kensington lock on the left side of the lid. It's location on the lid is symmetrical to the power button.

[JacobsPhotoshop]

Wow want one

[eXopStudios]

what is the resolution of the webcam?

[Studio1458Gaming]

HEY IM GETTING THE STUDIO 1458 FOR GAMING SO IM GONNA HAVE ALOT OF GAMES FOR IT SOON SO WHEN I MAKE SOME VIDEOS WATCH EM MY SPECS ARE

4GB RAM

Radeon HD 54501gb video card

intel core i7 720qm cuad core (2.83GHZ)

500GB of Hard Drive

ITS GONNA BE AWESOME SO MAKE SURE YOU WAT EM

[tpthatsme]

@MrBrianTV It's true that my fingers will eventually wear off the paint on the keys, but it wont be as bad as most. Most laptop keyboards have the letters offset from the center to keep the painted letters from wearing off, but the lit keyboards are not painted. It is actual translucent material that works like a light-pipe and it will not wear off.

[mooriel82]

'Hey! what's the fix for the eject button?

I spent 2 hours with dell support and they came to the conclusion that I need to replace my DVD drive =S

Where can I find the drivers that will solve this? I already updated my bios, and DVD drive drivers... Thanks a lot,

I watched your video before I actually bought this laptop. So far so good, except for this little annoyance :)

[tpthatsme]

@mooriel82 I think the software for that is called Dell Quick Set. If you go to Dell's website and navigate to the Drivers and Downloads; look in the Applications section for Dell Quick Set.

[tpthatsme]

@mooriel82 Please report back for others. Did Dell's Quick Set software correct your problem?

[mooriel82]

@tpthatsme wow it took me a while to see this reply, sorry :S

and no it never worked, the eject button never worked after i swapped the settings for the media keys in the bios.

also, my dvd drive stopped working at some point with a dvd stuck inside and a dell specialist had to replace it with a new one...

[killaturo]

@tpthatsme I had the same problem reinstalling dell quickset fixes the eject button issue not working

[gautamelastic]

hey buddy ...i have same laptop i7 ..1458 ,,but with 9 cell battery ....but m getting just 3 hours back up ..is it something normal????

[tpthatsme]

@gautamelastic That's not too unusual. It really depends on the circumstances. Like I said before, I have the 6-cell and mine gets 2~3 hours. I would expect the 9-cell to get 50% more than the 6-cell which would be about 3~4.5 hours. Again, my time is based on the High Performance setting. If you have yours on Balanced, then I suspect that you do have a problem.

[simkeyur777]

hey i didnt got office with this!!! annoyin.....

[overthekhyber]

is there a firewire port?

[tpthatsme]

@overthekhyber There is not an Apple "FireWire" or IEEE1394 port (they are the same thing).

[overthekhyber]

@tpthatsme that is a little odd... thanks... :)

[kamudrikahkm]

that i sweet. i'm planning on getting one for my self but before i do that, tell me about the battery life...?

[tpthatsme]

@kamudrikahkm I have the 6-cell and I am not too sure on the battery life since I have it as a desktop replacement. I can get about 2~3 hours on a charge on "high performance" mode.

[kamudrikahkm]

@tpthatsme wow... i got to say that is pretty good for that kind of laptop. thanks for the info mate.

[wassup986]

Is this computer better for gaming and work than the Studio 15 i7? Because I was thinking about that, but I see that this one is 1.73 GHZ, and has an ATI RADEON 5450, unlike the Studio 15 i7, which has 1.63 GHZ, and has an ATI RADEON 5400. Other than that, I see that the two computer are identical, in which the video card and processor case, this laptop is clearly superior. Please reply as soon as possible.

[carefreedom]

Thanks for the review! Really helpful!

[GobBluth1]

forget Function+F5 to refresh being a problem, do you have to press Alt+Function+F4 to close programs?! or is it just Alt+F4? because that is used more commonly than F5 to refresh and thus would be more of a concern.

[morzilla84]

your voice makes me sleep ..!!!

[nishaan26]

Your the only person to put up an actual review of the design concept of the laptop. Heard alot of complaints about it being a bit flimsy and cheap. Although the hardware is impressive for its size and price. Still undecided on this or mbp 15

[eXopStudios]

Exellent Review.

thanks for this :D

[JsouLful]

doesnt changing out the harddrive to ssd void the warranty though?

[tpthatsme]

@JsouLful It shouldn't. On my last Dell (1505), I called about increasing my RAM. Dell said that on hardware that is designed to be changed by the consumer, it does not void the warranty, but (of course) the non-Dell hardware is not included in the warranty. However, if you want to be sure, just put the original HDD in the PC during a warranty claim.

[Zarinalucia]

I like the camara thing!, do this only works in Windows 7 professional?

[exfroda]

Excellent review!...

[zoeteapples]

is it a good laptop for a design student?

[jfizzay]

i love this review. you go through things that matter. people call us anal, but all the details are the most important. people just have low standards these days and just accept little flaws as "not a big deal" hell yea it's a big deal

[endlessmidnite]

does your keyboard get dirty?

not anything like the letters disappear, but more like fingerprints that stays..like feel of the material on the keyboard changes..?

it seems so on your space bar key, and some other keys..

is there a way to avoid this?

[jrdiniz]

Thank you so much for your review. I own a Dell Latitude 131L, that's pretty similar to your old Inspiron, and I'm planing to get a Studio 14. This review was very useful!

[jourelem]

so this is the i7? hows the battery life on this and how about the heating on this?

[ZeDeBetoBahia]

great review, nice detailing. like the ssd idea and warning on the corners. but no word on battery life or temperature. how long does it last? how hot does it get?

[taylormoore0292]

You can actually change the function key preferences in the boot menu if you dont want to hit the function button every time you need to refresh a page and whatnot. You can flip it so that the alternative commands require the FN key. Just so you know.

[tpthatsme]

@taylormoore0292 Thanks taylormoore0292!! The BIOS worked great! I have updated the video giving you credit for this information. Thanks again.

[minnonikki]

@taylormoore0292 Can you please tell me how to do this? I'm not an expert on computers... Yesterday I got a new laptop and I finally figured out how to change this setting under control panel somewhere.. But I had to return that laptop and get this one. And now I can't figure out how to do it.

Please, if anybody can help, that'd be great! Thanks!

[pete11888]

Great review I have been looking all over the place for a good review of the i7. I was wondering how the laptop holds up in gaming. Can it play a game such as call of duty modern warfare 2?

[tpthatsme]

@pete11888 I am not too sure. The requirements for MW2 is a minimum processor of P4 3.2Ghz. This is Quad Core 1.6Ghz, but I am not sure if MW2 will use all cores to meet the 3.2Ghz requirement. The Video requirement is easily achieved as it only requires a 256MB ATI Radeon 1600XT or better. This PC has a 1Gb ATI HD5450.

[stylinriv22]

@tpthatsme

Great review. Mine will be on the way shortly. I also opted for the i7 with the 1 gig video card.

[dunlrock]

@tpthatsme Most "system requirements" are often misleading. You can't compare two different CPUs of different architecture. P4s are notorious for running at very high clockspeeds but they have low efficiency. The newer CPUs like the i3, i5, and i7 are MUCH MORE efficient. In other words, newer processors like the i7 can do more work clock for clock. There are benchmarks where a core 2 duo 1.8GHz destroys a 3.2GHz P4.

[highcan1]

is this laptop quiet?

[tpthatsme]

@highcan1 It is quiet enough for me. iPhone SPL meter app measures the fan to be 69dB.