Product Face-Offs
Dell Studio 17
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| Processeur | Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 | ||
| Chipset graphique | ATI Radeon HD3650 | ||
| Mémoire | 4 GB | ||
| Ecran | 17 inch (1440 x 900 pixels) | ||
| Disque dur | 320 GB | ||
 See all specifications | |||
| Lecteur optique | DVD writer |
| Dimensions | 392 x 43 x 288 mm |
| Weight | 3.57 kg |
 Hide specifications | |
Screen
OK, so although the 1440x900 pixel 17'' screen is glossy, it's not as bad as similar screens we've seen elsewhere. It's not matte, certainly, but the reflections are a lot more under control than they often are, which was pleasing.
Afterglow is low enough to allow for advanced gameplay, although the other components aren't necessarily up to satisfying the most demanding gamers.
The screen has a good viewing angle from side to side, but as with most laptops, the image soon darkens when viewed from above or below.
We measured the screen's maximum brightness at 330 cd/m², which is great if you plan to be using it outside, but, inside, we got better results turning it down six notches to 200 cd/m². The blacks are better than on most laptops, getting down to 0.24 cd/m² with a white at 161 cd/m². This gives a contrast score of 670:1.
Afterglow is low enough to allow for advanced gameplay, although the other components aren't necessarily up to satisfying the most demanding gamers.
The screen has a good viewing angle from side to side, but as with most laptops, the image soon darkens when viewed from above or below.
We measured the screen's maximum brightness at 330 cd/m², which is great if you plan to be using it outside, but, inside, we got better results turning it down six notches to 200 cd/m². The blacks are better than on most laptops, getting down to 0.24 cd/m² with a white at 161 cd/m². This gives a contrast score of 670:1.
Florent Alzieu
Test date: September 18, 2008
Test date: September 18, 2008
First announced at the beginning of the summer, the Dell Studio 17 is a laptop that you can personalize right down to the keyboard.
The base price is reasonable, but adding options quickly cranks up the price.
The version that Dell sent us to test is retailing for about 1000 euros [1425 USD / 790 USD] at the moment.
The options that you can choose from don't choose include what's inside--you can also choose the color of the case as well.
It seems that Dell are trying to inject a little bit of fun into what has been the black and grey world of laptop design.
Handling
The case is weighty and feels solid. There is a full keyboard, including a numeric section on the right hand side, and all of the other keys are where you'd expect them on a regular keyboard: nothing has been moved to accommodate the laptop form factor, unusually.
The funky backlit multimedia keys which control simple functions like play/pause and volume settings are now in between the keyboard and the speakers, just below the screen.
Compared to the rest of the computer, the touchpad seems quite small, but is clearly marked out by being the only patch of matt against the glossy case. The mouse buttons are both very quiet.
One of the many options that Dell allows you to include is a digital fingerprint reader to control access to your laptop, and this is just below the keyboard on the right hand side if you decide to add it.
The ports included around the edges of the laptop are many and varied and this is definitely a machine that offers great connectivity. Included are 5 USB ports, mini FireWire, RJ45, HDMI, VGA and 3 mini jack ports.
The built-in microphone is great, as is the webcam, but the speakers are a little disappointing.
Scores
The Windows Experience Index for the Dell Studio 17'' is 5.0 out of a possible 5.9.
Its subscores are 5.3 for the CPU, 5.1 for RAM, 5.8 for Aero graphics, 5.0 for gaming graphics and 5.2 for the hard disk.
Comparing this computer to our current references in its class, it produces results which range from average to very good.
This strong performance means that it can easily be used for a whole range of functions.
This computer should have no problem with office applications, watching and editing video or using photo retouching tools.
Even HD videos are fine, although they're better once the ATI hardware acceleration is activated, meaning that processor usage is very low (only 5-20%), allowing for good energy efficiency.
One disappointment is that the card reader is not very fast.
Gaming
The graphics card and screen resolution are identical to those found on the Asus M51VA.
Although the Asus model has a smaller screen at 15'' than this Dell's 17'' offering, the same high resolution is available on both: 1440 x 900 pixels.
Playing the most recent games is definitely possible on this larger screen, but you'll need to be careful to configure the graphics card correctly.
Portability and Battery Life
Including a 17'' screen obviously brings its downsides: this is a laptop that weighs in at 3.5 kg including batteries and is fairly bulky too.
The battery life of just over two hours (we managed to watch a film for 124 minutes before the laptop switched itself to standby) is acceptable but hardly impressive.
Having said that, given how heavy it is, you're probably going to think twice before carting it around with you anyway.
The base price is reasonable, but adding options quickly cranks up the price.
The version that Dell sent us to test is retailing for about 1000 euros [1425 USD / 790 USD] at the moment.
The options that you can choose from don't choose include what's inside--you can also choose the color of the case as well.
It seems that Dell are trying to inject a little bit of fun into what has been the black and grey world of laptop design.
Handling
The case is weighty and feels solid. There is a full keyboard, including a numeric section on the right hand side, and all of the other keys are where you'd expect them on a regular keyboard: nothing has been moved to accommodate the laptop form factor, unusually.The funky backlit multimedia keys which control simple functions like play/pause and volume settings are now in between the keyboard and the speakers, just below the screen.
Compared to the rest of the computer, the touchpad seems quite small, but is clearly marked out by being the only patch of matt against the glossy case. The mouse buttons are both very quiet.
One of the many options that Dell allows you to include is a digital fingerprint reader to control access to your laptop, and this is just below the keyboard on the right hand side if you decide to add it.
The ports included around the edges of the laptop are many and varied and this is definitely a machine that offers great connectivity. Included are 5 USB ports, mini FireWire, RJ45, HDMI, VGA and 3 mini jack ports.
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| 3 of the 5 USBs and RJ45 |
VGA, HDMI |
 |
.jpg) |
| Optional digital fingerprint reader |
3 mini jacks |
The built-in microphone is great, as is the webcam, but the speakers are a little disappointing.
Scores
The Windows Experience Index for the Dell Studio 17'' is 5.0 out of a possible 5.9. Its subscores are 5.3 for the CPU, 5.1 for RAM, 5.8 for Aero graphics, 5.0 for gaming graphics and 5.2 for the hard disk.
Comparing this computer to our current references in its class, it produces results which range from average to very good.
This strong performance means that it can easily be used for a whole range of functions.
This computer should have no problem with office applications, watching and editing video or using photo retouching tools.
Even HD videos are fine, although they're better once the ATI hardware acceleration is activated, meaning that processor usage is very low (only 5-20%), allowing for good energy efficiency.
One disappointment is that the card reader is not very fast.
Gaming
The graphics card and screen resolution are identical to those found on the Asus M51VA. Although the Asus model has a smaller screen at 15'' than this Dell's 17'' offering, the same high resolution is available on both: 1440 x 900 pixels.
Playing the most recent games is definitely possible on this larger screen, but you'll need to be careful to configure the graphics card correctly.
Portability and Battery Life
Including a 17'' screen obviously brings its downsides: this is a laptop that weighs in at 3.5 kg including batteries and is fairly bulky too. The battery life of just over two hours (we managed to watch a film for 124 minutes before the laptop switched itself to standby) is acceptable but hardly impressive.
Having said that, given how heavy it is, you're probably going to think twice before carting it around with you anyway.
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Very customizable
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Color options
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Battery life of 2 hours, 4 minutes is acceptable
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HDMI + VGA + 5 USB
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Full keyboard including numeric keypad
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No e-SATA
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Heavy
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Battery life of 2 hours, 4 minutes could be improved
The advantage of the Studio 17 - and, in fact, of Dell's computers in general - is that they are highly customizable, avoiding features you don't need and adding the ones you do. The model we tested was great, with a plethora of ports and was certainly speedy enough to satisfy the majority of users.
