Dell Studio 1557

[Lucho87]

Great, Thank you!

[Digit100100]

Any joy with getting a replacement LCD panel from Dell UK so that you can go with the 5530?

I got my 1557 a month ago, but only now have sat down to install my 5530 card and have discovered the issue with the antenna. I'm hoping you are going to tell me it's all OK and they replaced the LCD no problem. I know I am being a little optimistic here...I'm also on the cheapest support option, so I imagine that will count against me!

Would appreciate any input you can give me on the antenna!

Cheers,

Digit100100

This is not frustrating in the slightest!....trying to explain to Dell right now the issue with the antenna.

That has so far taken 45 minutes...including me having to tell them directly to not transfer me through to the software department as it wasn't a software issue. That was a particularly special moment on the call.

Now they have given me the same story regarding the LCD screen, and told me to shove it. I was polite up to the last 2 minutes...but then the politeness ended. Next stop is customer care, when I have the time.

I still still have no problem with this laptop, I just have an issue with their service (so far) and their inability to explain why it's not their problem.

[Riemen]

Even though I'm repeating myself, I don't know what people where thinking if they purchased this machine primarily for gaming; for all other multimedia apps it runs fine, coz the rather meager graphics card doesn't get unduly stressed (like when I'm using CS4, which does utilise the GPU more than earlier editions, but is still more CPU-intensive).

I do a lot graphics editing with Photoshop, Lightroom and similar tools. For these tasks I wanted a relatively light laptop with a fast Processor (like the i7).
But I also like to play a little bit in my leisure time. I don't need to play the latest Games in Full HD and the real gaming machines are really big, heavy and most of them look really ugly. Because of this I serched for a machine with a dedicated mid class GPU.
With the Studio 15, I thought I had found the perfect machine. I knew the older Core2 version and was willing to pay more for the CPU-Upgrade to better fit my needs.

Advertised as a gaming machine or not, it has a Ati 4570. I know this graphics card and I know, what it can do if it is cooled decently.
Dell sells this machine as a multimedia machine with this graphics card. Not as a machine with a not full usable graphics card because of overheating issues. You would not buy a car with a top speed of 200 Km/h on which the motor melts away because of a incorrect cooling, if you drive faster than 120, would you? No matter if is advertised as a sports car or not.

For me this was a no go. I called Dell today and my Studio will go back to them...

[Nifkin]

That's all fair enough, Riemen; not being a gamer at all, I clearly haven't experienced the issues that a lot of people have had around here, which are more related to the GPU overheating than the CPU. However....

I knew the older Core2 version and was willing to pay more for the CPU-Upgrade to better fit my needs.

The Core2Duo versions of this laptop also came with the Ati 4570, and I don't believe there's much difference in the way the 1555 and the 1557 are cooled; if you look around there are plenty of murmurs about the 1555 running hot too. A friend of mine has the original 2008 version, the 1535 I believe, and that runs so hot at idle that you could fry eggs on it.

Not having had mine shut down on me, or anything like that, I'm going to persevere for a while with it; if I find temperatures getting too toasty once we hit the summer months I'll stick a Zalman NC2000 under it

But, to be frank, having read through the entire thread, the temperature issues are still a moot point; it is far from unusual for a high-performance notebook CPU to be running at 50c to 55c whilst idling, and 80c when stressed, as has been borne out by screenshots posted here and my own tests. Yes the GPU gets hot, with some people having an issue with this (thanks for your truly sensational posts, DCx!! ) and others not, but we aren't talking laboratory conditions here. On the somewhat contradictory evidence here, I still think the jury is out on the heat issue.

[Lucho87]

My 1557 have just arrived... and it runs hot as hell... well, i`ll be updating drivers for the next hour or so, and then benchmark, so, we`ll se what happens

so far, woofer sounds good, lcd is ok, camera ok, all ports running... the fan almost never stops! and i`m just writing this on chrome! it isn`t loud although

[DCx]

lol@nifkin: NP, Ill put a screen shot up in a week or so. Since the hardware was running so poorly, I consider it broken and I won't be paying a restocking fee to dell - as soon as that's resolved, I'll post my screenshots. Until then, I don't want to give dell ANY opportunity to claim that the screenshots are not mine.

[techifan1]

To you guys that have taken your laptops apart, could you please give me some advice. Looking at the service manual most steps look ok but.
1. Removing the center control cover. The manual states “Pry out the center control cover with a plastic scribe starting from the battery bay location at the back of the computer.” How difficult is this, what tool did you use? I obviously do not want to mark or worse still break the plastic.
2. Removing the Palm Rest. The manual has the following warning. “Do not use force to separate the palm rest from the computer. If you encounter resistance, gently flex or apply pressure to the palm rest, or move along the edge, working away from the area of resistance, until the palm rest is free.” Again How difficult is this, what method did you use?

[OneCool]

To you guys that have taken your laptops apart, could you please give me some advice. Looking at the service manual most steps look ok but.
1. Removing the center control cover. The manual states “Pry out the center control cover with a plastic scribe starting from the battery bay location at the back of the computer.” How difficult is this, what tool did you use? I obviously do not want to mark or worse still break the plastic.
2. Removing the Palm Rest. The manual has the following warning. “Do not use force to separate the palm rest from the computer. If you encounter resistance, gently flex or apply pressure to the palm rest, or move along the edge, working away from the area of resistance, until the palm rest is free.” Again How difficult is this, what method did you use?

To start unplug cord and remove the battery.In the battery compartment there is one screw remove that and the rest of the screws in the bottom of the laptop.Remove the memory compartment door and theres 2 (I think) screws in there aswell.In the battery compartment you will see the silverish colored area (theres vertical plastic ribs there)start applying pressure there,from the bottom up.This is how the trim around the keyboard comes off.

[techifan1]

Thanks for the super quick response.

To start unplug cord and remove the battery.In the battery compartment there is one screw remove that and the rest of the screws in the bottom of the laptop.Remove the memory compartment door and theres 2 (I think) screws in there aswell.

Also according to the manual there are two underneath the HD, yes?

In the battery compartment you will see the silverish colored area (theres vertical plastic ribs there)start applying pressure there,from the bottom up.

You mean next to the slot where the sim card goes?
This looks like a small metal casting and appears solid to me?

This is how the trim around the keyboard comes off.

[OneCool]

Thanks for the super quick response.

There could be 2 under the HD.You can take the HD out your going to have to anyway.

The trim ring around the key board and the speaker cover (grill) is all one piece.

The only screw that holds it on is the on under the battery.

The ribs (there plastic and silver in color) I speak about have an arrow pointing to them.That is your pressure point.