Dell Studio 15 1558 Thread

[sidhu88]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I got my Dell Studio 1558 from the outlet for exactly 709 including tax. It arrived yesterday and while it appears to function great there are some issues:

First, it does not recognize the AC adapter. I tried a Targus universal adapter and the laptop doesn't run from that one either. The laptop is working fine on the battery power it has left (not much) but clearly there is some problem. I called Dell and since this was something right out of the box they are sending a tech to fix it rather than having me send it back to the depot.

2nd..I know this isn't a big thing but there are paint chips in the lid and this model wasn't a scratch and dent. I mean there are chips clear down to the plastic underneath at both corners. They're not huge but they are obvious. The person I spoke to at Dell says they will replace it--I hope so...it looks terrible...

3rd...the 720p screen looks clear but the viewing angles are terrible. I have to bend the screen back beyond 90 degrees to get a clear view. Is this normal?

Functionally the laptop is quite zippy and I did not experience any functional issues in the hour or so that I had it up and running on battery. It's very frustrating, however, to have these issues right out of the box.

I have bought from the Dell outlet many times before and most of the time I have received great items that virtually looked new. But once in a while I have gotten something that makes me wonder if the techs even check the laptops before sending them out.

Hopefully this one will be fine--I think they will need to replace the motherboard as something major is preventing the laptop to recognize AC.

I can't send it back because there will be a restocking fee....dang, why did I have to get a faulty one....

I can understand that! I got a studio 15 which seemed allright but the screen always had some white lines flickering on it which was tough to notice.. they responded promptly n changed my motherboard after which it got really bad n the whole screen had a red tint to it... I got a replacement n everythin has been fine.. maybe u could try getting one too.. its not a nice feeling to know that ur machine had problems right outta the box..

[compsavy]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I got my Dell Studio 1558 from the outlet for exactly 709 including tax. It arrived yesterday and while it appears to function great there are some issues:

First, it does not recognize the AC adapter. I tried a Targus universal adapter and the laptop doesn't run from that one either. The laptop is working fine on the battery power it has left (not much) but clearly there is some problem. I called Dell and since this was something right out of the box they are sending a tech to fix it rather than having me send it back to the depot.

2nd..I know this isn't a big thing but there are paint chips in the lid and this model wasn't a scratch and dent. I mean there are chips clear down to the plastic underneath at both corners. They're not huge but they are obvious. The person I spoke to at Dell says they will replace it--I hope so...it looks terrible...

3rd...the 720p screen looks clear but the viewing angles are terrible. I have to bend the screen back beyond 90 degrees to get a clear view. Is this normal?

Functionally the laptop is quite zippy and I did not experience any functional issues in the hour or so that I had it up and running on battery. It's very frustrating, however, to have these issues right out of the box.

I have bought from the Dell outlet many times before and most of the time I have received great items that virtually looked new. But once in a while I have gotten something that makes me wonder if the techs even check the laptops before sending them out.

Hopefully this one will be fine--I think they will need to replace the motherboard as something major is preventing the laptop to recognize AC.

I can't send it back because there will be a restocking fee....dang, why did I have to get a faulty one....

Actually if there is something wrong with the notebook and you called tech support, you can return it without a restocking fee. Just make sure the techs mark notate that there was something wrong. But since you agreed to the tech coming out, I am not sure if you can still return it.

[BatBoy]

Greetings folks... Popping in to take a look at your posts (haven't yet but will) since I am looking at picking up a 1558.

For mid-range use (typical office/surfing and of course multimedia playback on the go). Gaming is something my AW will handle - this would just be for normal day to day tasks...

Probably would go with the i5 450 or 520, 1080 display, base HDD/RAM/Wireless. EPP only shows the 5470 GPU so I guess I'm stuck with that.

Thoughts?

Also,

Any issues with the design I should be aware of?
Is the backlit keyboard decent or does it have issues?

Thanks all!

[kgh00007]

Greetings folks... Popping in to take a look at your posts (haven't yet but will) since I am looking at picking up a 1558.

For mid-range use (typical office/surfing and of course multimedia playback on the go). Gaming is something my AW will handle - this would just be for normal day to day tasks...

Probably would go with the i5 450 or 520, 1080 display, base HDD/RAM/Wireless. EPP only shows the 5470 GPU so I guess I'm stuck with that.

Thoughts?

Also,

Any issues with the design I should be aware of?
Is the backlit keyboard decent or does it have issues?

Thanks all!

Hey, the backlit keyboard and 1080p screen are both great. They are my favorite things about this laptop, really glad I got them both.

Once you get your machine update the BIOS to A06 and update to Catalyst 10.6, if they aren't already done, and you shouldn't have any problems.

If it were me, I'd upgrade to the intel wireless instead of the Dell standard one, good luck with your Studio.

[Hawk10]

I got the 1558 and LOVE it!! I have i7 and radeon 5470...had the cursor issue driver update seems to fix it. Great computer otherwise!! a little bulky but i don't care that much for the power!

[BatBoy]

Thanks for the replies and the info on the cursor. I am back and forth at the moment with this one and the Studio 17 with the touch display.

Thanks again for the info!

[Hawk10]

I thought about the Studio 17 too...decided to go with this...I really like it!! It's case seems to be great, hinges/screen very sturdy. Backlit keyboard is nice!! I upgraded to the Intel wireless card, only went with the 720 screen though as I don't watch that many things in HD...didn't get a blue ray as I didn't think it was worth it.

[BatBoy]

So no issues with heat? I recall reading some of the other threads on heat and throttling issues with the other Studio models.

[woofer00]

So no issues with heat? I recall reading some of the other threads on heat and throttling issues with the other Studio models.

Touchpad can get really hot, but I keep my machine throttled via power options to around 60-70% most of the time to keep some of the heat down. I rarely if ever even notice that it's throttled unless I'm doing something to really beat down my computer. Then again, I'm running a quad core, so a dual core might be different.

[BatBoy]

Interesting - thanks for that woofer. I figured with the i5 thermals would be a tad bit lower. Ahhh... decisions, decisions.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Now I just need to decide between this or the 17" touch. Thanks again.