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Entered CNET Catalog: 06/28/2008
SKU: dncwva1_6
Manufacturer: Dell, Inc.
Manufacturer description
Rich colors. A distinctive etched pattern. Whoever you are, and whatever your story, the new Dell Studio laptop invites you to complement your personal style with a choice of colors or a distinctive pattern. And in true Dell fashion, the personalization continues inside with a range of outstanding wireless solutions and a choice of graphics options. The HD, of course, is standard.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2
User Rating: 
10/10
Superior Desktop Replacement Notebook
Pros: 1.8 to 2.5Ghz Core2Duo CPU
2MP webcam & Mic
320GB hard drive
Bluetooth 2.0
lit media keys
backlit (Full) Keyboard
Dell media Direct 4.0
Fingerprint Reader
4 GB of 667Mhz Memory
HMDI out
1920x1200dpi backlit LED display
WiFi catcher
Cons: The Anti-Dell guy who reviewed this. Obviously
Dell India Desk Support, is nowhere as good as the Tech support that was in the USA. They hang-up on you, and are rude
5,400 RPM Hard drives, not 7,200 RPM
No 64 bit version of Vista available
Review:
Dell has scored another homerun, with the Studio 17
From the moment I powered it on, and saw the white LED's (which are the Media buttons) Flashing from left to right and back, again, I knew this notebook was special.
There are so many standard options
(Which I listed in the pro's) One that stands out is the
256MB ATI HD 3650 with Hypermemory
(uses up to 1768MB of system memory) to assist games, and 2D/3D applications, like 3dmax. Having all this extra memory available, to the GPU(video chip) makes it much more powerful, then the Nvidia 9600 M Series.
It is a high quality Media/Gaming Desktop replacement. While it won't run the newest 2008 games, on super high settings, it can still run them, all! Plus, make them look great.
I added 4GB of Memory, but I already had & prefer the 64 bit Vista (ultimate). It's still worth getting 4GB(on your own) as you'll get 3.5GB's working in Dual-channel, as opposed to 3Gb's running in single channel.
While they sell 320GB Hard drives, as the largest now, soon the 500GB mobile drives will be out, and you will be capable of carrying around 1TB of portable storage, with the install of
2 x 500GB (Scorpio black drives)
With the HDMI out, you can connect the Studio 17 to your Home Theater system, and watch HiDef Blu-ray DVD's
on your Wide-screen HDTV.
The screen Visuals are crisp in HD, coupled with HD audio,
making for the best portable Movie, Video email, and Audio
It works great outdoors thanks to the backlit LED's of the 1920 x 1200 dpi display(backlit LED's not on standard display)
The best I've seen in this class of notebook,
While It sells, with a smaller battery standard, if you have the extra cash, get the 8 cell battery. Not only does it boost the notebooks power to well over 3.45 hours
and also lends the Studio 17 a sleek look, with the battery case, functioning, as a rear lift, giving the notebook more clearance underneath to allow better cooling. Although I have two other family members, with the standard battery, which they like just fine!
The Software built into the Dell, for the webcam, allows you to
add contacts, of which you can talk to via Skype, Messenger, AIM, Yahoo, Live, and any other IM app out that uses audio & video!
There are 5 USB ports, to add plenty of other devices, .
Purchasing the Media remote(IRa), and you have a way to control all media, from a 6 foot distance away. Cyberlink sells a bluetooth Media remote, which allows for up to 30 feet of control.
Add a set of Bluetooth Dell headphones, then you have deep bass reflex, crisp high notes. and Audio up to 30 feet away, with no attached wiring!
The full backlit keyboard, is excellent, to have for work and play
The other day the power went out in my home, and I had no problem working, as I could see every key clearly lit. There is even a built-in application, that lets you set the brightness from normal, to dim, allows the backlit lights to go into standby after 1 minute of no use. This saves battery power, it even more, so when you're mobile at night.
There are round buttons with a white circular LED lights which trim the edges, of both buttons. The one on the right is the power button, on this beast. One look tells you whether the Studio 17 is powered on, in hybrid-sleep, or powered off.
You can tell even from a 20ft-30ft distance
(The light is either on, blinking every two seconds. or off)
The button on the left, starts the Wifi-Catcher when up in Vista. This brings up the Wifi-catcher Application, that shows you available wireless hotspots, you can connect to.
This even works when the system is powered off by blinking a select number of times, if hotsopts exist, and a different amount of blinking, (Both found in user manual) to let you know there are hotspots around, without having to power on, your Studio 17
There are dual Headphone jacks, good for two watching a movie on a flight, with headphones.
If you've bought Dell notebooks in the past, then you know there are many Fn Keys, which work a large amount of shortcuts.
If you purchase a Cellular Card, you will have the capability of
connecting to the internet, anywhere your Carrier is capable of providing Cell phone service, at up to 3G speeds.
Finally, Ask the Dell sales agent about purchasing the
$149 "My Tech Team" Support for 1 year with Noth American's who provide excellent support.
From the moment I powered it on, and saw the white LED's (which are the Media buttons) Flashing from left to right and back, again, I knew this notebook was special.
There are so many standard options
(Which I listed in the pro's) One that stands out is the
256MB ATI HD 3650 with Hypermemory
(uses up to 1768MB of system memory) to assist games, and 2D/3D applications, like 3dmax. Having all this extra memory available, to the GPU(video chip) makes it much more powerful, then the Nvidia 9600 M Series.
It is a high quality Media/Gaming Desktop replacement. While it won't run the newest 2008 games, on super high settings, it can still run them, all! Plus, make them look great.
I added 4GB of Memory, but I already had & prefer the 64 bit Vista (ultimate). It's still worth getting 4GB(on your own) as you'll get 3.5GB's working in Dual-channel, as opposed to 3Gb's running in single channel.
While they sell 320GB Hard drives, as the largest now, soon the 500GB mobile drives will be out, and you will be capable of carrying around 1TB of portable storage, with the install of
2 x 500GB (Scorpio black drives)
With the HDMI out, you can connect the Studio 17 to your Home Theater system, and watch HiDef Blu-ray DVD's
on your Wide-screen HDTV.
The screen Visuals are crisp in HD, coupled with HD audio,
making for the best portable Movie, Video email, and Audio
It works great outdoors thanks to the backlit LED's of the 1920 x 1200 dpi display(backlit LED's not on standard display)
The best I've seen in this class of notebook,
While It sells, with a smaller battery standard, if you have the extra cash, get the 8 cell battery. Not only does it boost the notebooks power to well over 3.45 hours
and also lends the Studio 17 a sleek look, with the battery case, functioning, as a rear lift, giving the notebook more clearance underneath to allow better cooling. Although I have two other family members, with the standard battery, which they like just fine!
The Software built into the Dell, for the webcam, allows you to
add contacts, of which you can talk to via Skype, Messenger, AIM, Yahoo, Live, and any other IM app out that uses audio & video!
There are 5 USB ports, to add plenty of other devices, .
Purchasing the Media remote(IRa), and you have a way to control all media, from a 6 foot distance away. Cyberlink sells a bluetooth Media remote, which allows for up to 30 feet of control.
Add a set of Bluetooth Dell headphones, then you have deep bass reflex, crisp high notes. and Audio up to 30 feet away, with no attached wiring!
The full backlit keyboard, is excellent, to have for work and play
The other day the power went out in my home, and I had no problem working, as I could see every key clearly lit. There is even a built-in application, that lets you set the brightness from normal, to dim, allows the backlit lights to go into standby after 1 minute of no use. This saves battery power, it even more, so when you're mobile at night.
There are round buttons with a white circular LED lights which trim the edges, of both buttons. The one on the right is the power button, on this beast. One look tells you whether the Studio 17 is powered on, in hybrid-sleep, or powered off.
You can tell even from a 20ft-30ft distance
(The light is either on, blinking every two seconds. or off)
The button on the left, starts the Wifi-Catcher when up in Vista. This brings up the Wifi-catcher Application, that shows you available wireless hotspots, you can connect to.
This even works when the system is powered off by blinking a select number of times, if hotsopts exist, and a different amount of blinking, (Both found in user manual) to let you know there are hotspots around, without having to power on, your Studio 17
There are dual Headphone jacks, good for two watching a movie on a flight, with headphones.
If you've bought Dell notebooks in the past, then you know there are many Fn Keys, which work a large amount of shortcuts.
If you purchase a Cellular Card, you will have the capability of
connecting to the internet, anywhere your Carrier is capable of providing Cell phone service, at up to 3G speeds.
Finally, Ask the Dell sales agent about purchasing the
$149 "My Tech Team" Support for 1 year with Noth American's who provide excellent support.
User Rating: 
1/10
do not buy this computer
Pros: nice color, nice backlit keyboard
Cons: it never worked properly and Dell's customer service is awful!
Review:
I purchased this computer with many upgrades, and received it in a timely manner. Turned it on, and got a black screen. It even made the little chime noise, but nothing on the screen. I turned it off and then back on, and was prompted to start in safe mode or normally. I selected normal mode, and continued to explore my new computer. Turned it off...next day turned it back on, and again, black screen...went through the whole process and finally got a screen in normal mode. Called Dell to tell them, and that was an awful experience! They could not tell me what was wrong, other than to say "it shouldn't be doing that". SIX HOURS LATER, after allowing remote access to Dell, talking to three techs and being disconnected several times, downloading new drivers, opening the back and moving the memory cards around, running every diagnostic problem and being told again "it shouldn't be doing that". I decided to return this computer. Dell offered to give me a new one. My comment was "well, this one was a new one". After thinking about it for a day, I decided to go on and get a new one. 10 days later and I have not yet received the new one.
