Lowest Price: $1,164.00
- Strong performance for the money
- Crisp, loud JBL speakers
- Relatively long battery life
- Reasonably priced
- Full HD display costs extra
- Bottom gets hot
- Keyboard has some flex
CPU: 1.6-GHz Intel Core i7-720QM
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
RAM/Expandable to: 4GB/8GB
Hard Drive Size/Speed: 320GB/7,200 rpm
Price as Reviewed: $1164.00
Bleeding-edge performance at a reasonable price. That’s what Dell delivers in the Studio 17, a $1,164, 17.3-inch multimedia laptop. For hundreds of dollars less than other quad-core systems, it offers comparable speed and even better battery life. The design of this machine doesn’t exactly wow, and you’ll need to pay more to get a full HD screen, but for those who crave power and a big screen, this notebook is a winner.
After we completed most of our testing on the Studio 17, our review sample failed to boot, prompting us to send the system back for repairs. Dell says our issue was likely an isolated incident, and we will update this review once we get in a second unit for evaluation. We reserve the right to change the rating.
Design
The Studio 17 doesn’t represent much of a departure from other Studio notebooks that have come before it, even the 14-inch, optical drive-lessDell Studio 14z. It has a satin lid (available in five colors; ours was Ruby Red) that feels soft to the touch and (mostly) masks fingerprints. Inside, the chassis mixes a glossy gray palm rest with a matte black keyboard and a piano black panel above the keyboard, complete with number pad. While it lacks some of the refinements of the high-end Studio XPS line, such as leather accents on the lid and flat keys, it borrows a few design elements, such as the glowing power button. The final product is handsome, but not as sophisticated as the 17-inch Apple MacBook Pro, Dell Studio XPS 16, or even the HP Envy 15.
As a desktop replacement, though, the Studio 17 adds a few multimedia flourishes that its smaller siblings lack, including touch-sensitive multimedia controls and twin JBL speakers, each of which sit in a corner of the palm rest. The speaker grilles’ chrome styling is a nice touch. The multimedia controls blink when you touch them, and they responded well to all of our taps.
Even for a 17-inch notebook, the Studio 17 is heavy. At 7.8 pounds, it weighs 0.8 pounds more than the Acer Aspire 7735Z and is 1.2 pounds heavier than the 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro. However, it’s sized similarly to other 17-inchers.
Heat
Like other Core i7 notebooks, the Studio 17 generates a good deal of heat. After playing an HD Hulu video (Legend of the Seeker) at full screen for 15 minutes, the front underside of the system measured 112 degrees Fahrenheit. (We consider anything above 100 degrees uncomfortable.) You likely won’t use the Studio 17 in your lap, but some may want to consider a cooling dock or pad for the notebook. The top stayed somewhat cooler: the touchpad registered a balmy 98 degrees, and the space between the G and H keys was 96 degrees. Like the Studio 17's boot issue, our heat test results may be an abnormality and we'll re-test the review unit that Dell is sending us. We'll update this review with our findings soon.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Despite the Studio 17’s large size, the keyboard panel felt surprisingly unstable. We noticed a lot of flex as we pounded out words, which caused us to slow down and type at a more leisurely pace. The keys produced a noticeable amount of noise, too, even though they have a fairly shallow pitch. Nevertheless, even when we felt we were typing gingerly, we still managed to complete the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test at a rate of 86 words per minute, which is just two words slower than our personal best. As for the touchpad, we enjoyed its large, 4.0 x 2.3-inch size, even though it does not support any touch gestures. The pad itself had very little friction, making it easy to navigate the desktop. The ample buttons were easy to press as well, although some might find them too mushy.
Display and Sound
While the 17.3-inch display on our Studio 17 wasn’t full HD, its 1600 x 900 resolution is pretty standard as an entry-level resolution. To get a 1080p screen, you’ll need to cough up an extra $175. Our display looked bright and crisp as we watched an episode of How I Met Your Motheron DVD, but the picture began to look washed out as we pushed the lid forward. However, we were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to watch the show from the sides, especially given the display’s glossy finish.
Although they’re small, the JBL speakers produced impressive sound. As soon as we fired up our DVD, we could hear and feel the sound vibrating from the speaker grilles. For one, it made our movie-watching experience more immersive, since the sound quality was far less tinny than what you’d normally get from a notebook. And when we listened to music, from funk by James Brown to guitar riffs by Frank Zappa, we were able to make out lots of instruments. As for the volume, it was loud enough for us to keep it at its median level, or even lower.
Ports and Webcam
In addition to three USB ports (one of which doubles as an eSATA port), the Studio 17 has all of the audio/video ports you could want: HDMI output for hooking it up to a high-def TV or monitor, as well as DisplayPort and standard-def VGA. It also has a microphone port and two headphone ports (smaller notebooks almost always offer just one, if not a combined port for mics and earphones). Rounding out the mix is a FireWire port, an 8-in-1 memory card reader, a 34mm ExpressCard slot, an Ethernet jack, and a slot-loading 8X DVD burner.
The 2.0-megapixel camera, whose resolution is higher than the typical 1.3-MP we’re used to seeing, took detailed still photos; we could even make out the shine in our hair and the wrinkles in our shirt. However, the lighting had a greenish tint. Even more than the image quality, what we like most about the webcam is the Dell Webcam Center, a console that features a generous amount of fun filters and avatars, as well as a sleek black-and-gold UI that’s easy to navigate.
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