Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Dell Studio 14z Notebook: A Real Contender
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 07:30 AM
[It should say REVIEW and not UNBOXING in the video; it's a total failure on my part to not change that. Whoops! Since the source files are deleted, so I can't fix it.]
Here it is, the "mega review" of this laptop, a follow-up from my unboxing video. This video is quite long because I go into a lot of detail about battery tests, performance benchmarks, and the pros and cons of this notebook. I hope everyone enjoys the level of detail!
This notebook, shown here in ruby red, is a little different that most notebooks in that it lacks a CD/DVD drive - but it's no netbook! It has a 14 inch, 16:9 aspect ratio screen running at 1600 x 900 resolution, which is Dell's 900p resolution option (an upgrade). The standard resolution is 720p, which is 1280 x 720.
Powering it all is an Intel Core 2 Duo: the P8600, running at 2.4 Ghz, with 3 MB of L2 cache. 3 GB of DDR3 RAM at 1066mhz provides the memory, and storage is handled by a 320 GB, 7200 RPM hard drive. The graphics processor is an NVIDIA GeForce 9400G-M, and the on-board 802.11 b/g/n WiFI is an Intel 1515 card. It also has Bluetooth 2.1, and an optional ExpressCard 8-in-1 memory card adaptor that arrived damaged as you'll see in the video. The keyboard is back-lit, which is an add-on option, and it's running Windows Vista 64-bit. Powering it all is a 6-cell, 54 WHr battery.
I paid $1306 CAD for this configuration from Dell Canada as of May 2009, but Dell's prices change daily to always check their Web site for the most accurate pricing information.
Got questions? Ask away and I'll do my best to answer them.
Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys photography, mobile devices, blogging, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He's still searching for the ultimate netbook.
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