Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Studio 15 vs. Studio XPS 16

Oct 30, 2009 6:23AM PDT

I'm looking for a laptop in the 15-16" with the i7 processor and all the latest performance features as well as a 1080 HD display. It seems as though Dell is hard to beat, but I'm torn between the Studio 15 and the Studio XPS 16. The XPS has a better LED screen, graphics card and a DisplayPort port, but aside from that they can be configured very similarly. I'd like some opinions from you guys about which to pick, assuming both are as equally configured as possible. Thanks in advance!

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Sorry.
Nov 4, 2009 10:58PM PST

But is there any 16 inch 1080p laptop today? Maybe you can get by with what you see on such and play the 1080 on some external display?

- Collapse -
As a studio 15 owner
Nov 18, 2009 9:23PM PST

I got my Studio 1555 2-ish months ago and I LOVE it. I cant speak for the screen on the S-XPS 16, but the LED backlit screen on the Studio 15 has fantastic colour accuracy, response times, and pretty decent viewing angles. Unless the hyper-accurate RGB-LED display is necessary to you (ie you do graphic work, or the like) then I wouldn't say the difference will be enough to warrent the higher price of the S-XPS. If it IS important to you though, then the Studio XPS has THE best display on a notebook computer, according to Anandtech.

I had the same decision to make as you when I bought mine, ultimately price was the deciding factor.

- Collapse -
pro co
Nov 24, 2009 9:46PM PST

can someone mention any pro or cons ?
or any experience?!

- Collapse -
I wrote a review
Nov 24, 2009 9:53PM PST

On Dell's website:

Review:I've had this notebook for about a month now, and I've pretty much learned its ins and outs. After looking around a bit, i found the Studio 1555 offered better bang for your buck than competitors while still being fairly attractive.

The keyboard is a dream to type on, the keys are sort of beveled upwards so it feels like an isolated keyboard but with the looks of a regular one. They have just the right ammount of bounce to make typing exeptionaly smooth and quick.

The performance is great, this laptop will fly through everything (provided you maintain it properly) you can throw at it. My Vista Expirience Index scores are 5.0, 5.1, 5.1, 5.3, and 5.6 with a Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1GHz) // 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz // 720p LGD7001 LED Display // 256MB ATI 4570 // 250GB WDC 5400RPM Hard Drive // Intel 5100 Wifi Link // 56 Whr/6 cell Battery // Spring Green (google a picture of the expirience index if you dont know what each number is). Its by no means a gaming laptop, but if you opt for the 512mb card it will be able to handle modern games at medium quality settings.

Now for the nit-picks. I have a love-hate affair with the screen. Its colours and brightness are great (even plugged in i rarely find uses for more than 60% brightness!) BUT when the backlight is lowered (starting with about 35% and downwards) i can see noticeable flickering which is driving me up the wall. It didnt take long on google to find that many others have this same issue. Some got their screens replaced, I'll have to see to that soon.

Another thing is the build quality. Its mostly very impressive (Dell has made HUGE strides forward in build quality in the last two years) but there are still some minor things that could be improved. For one, the bezel around the screen can be pulled out easily with your finger nail by a few centimeters. Second, where the hinges for the screen attach to the notebook itself, the fit could be tighter. Minor things, but things that Dell could have easily fixed.

Overall I'm very pleased with my purchase, i spent a bit over 1200 dollars for my laptop and the three year warranty. The screen flicker issue is my only major concern right now, hopefully Dell will honour my warrenty and fix it for me.

P.s, I'm dual-booting Ubuntu 9.04 with this laptop right now and it runs great, after a few manual tweaks. Hope you enjoyed my review.

- Collapse -
to tipoo_
Nov 24, 2009 10:00PM PST

you also recommend the Studio 1555.

has the keyboard a soft assault?

The performance sounds really awesome.
but the graphic card wird 256MB is to leittle for my claims Wink
is it possible to exchange the graphic card in a better one.
of course with payment?