Dell Studio 14z: Thin and Light Done Right
by Jarred Walton on October 20, 2009 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Dell Studio 14z Overview
There's plenty to like about the design and appearance of the Studio 14z, although we are unfortunately treated to yet another laptop with a glossy plastic chassis. If you were hoping the Studio 14z would match the MacBook in that area, you'll be sorely disappointed. In order to get MacBook aesthetics, no need to spring for the much more expensive Dell Adamo, but then you're competing with MacBook Air rather than the standard MacBook. The short story is that in terms of aesthetics, the Studio 14z can't match up to Apple, but (depending on configuration) it can save you some money.
Given the limited real estate on a 14" chassis, Dell still manages to cram in quite a few features. One of the better features is dual digital outputs: one HDMI and one DisplayPort connector are available. If you don't have a DisplayPort LCD, you'll need an adapter, but you can always buy such an LCD from Dell. You also get Gigabit Ethernet, three USB ports -- one does double duty as an eSATA port -- and mini FireWire. Dell doesn't include a flash reader by default, but you can purchase a flash reader accessory that plugs into the ExpressCard/34 slot.
When you compare the Studio 14z with your typical netbook, it's easy to understand Dell's frustration with netbooks. The Studio 14z has a better keyboard, it's tons faster than any Intel Atom system, it can play games, and it still delivers reasonable battery life. By comparison, netbooks feel small and have difficult to use displays (1024x600, we're talking about you). We're not particularly pleased with the default 1366x768 LCD, but we're happy that Dell offers a $50 upgrade to a 1600x900 display. Given the choice, we would take the Studio 14z over any netbook in a heartbeat. The catch is that netbooks can still offer twice the battery life in a lighter package, for less than half the price. We definitely wouldn't recommend using a netbook as your only computer, but the 14z can fill that role for most people.
The 14z keyboard has a good layout, with all of the important keys easily accessible. Dell hasn't changed their typical layout in some time, but it's obvious that effort went into designing a good keyboard. We wish we could say the same about other manufacturers, but far too often we find strange decisions in terms of which keys to provide in which to relegate to special Fn+key combinations. Our impression is that Dell has done usability studies and come up with a good layout, and we have no complaints. As an added bonus, an extra $25 gets you LED backlighting on your keyboard -- great for when you need to use the laptop in low lighting conditions.
There are a couple areas where the 14z could still be improved. Of course there is the aforementioned glossy plastic chassis; obviously that's a cost cutting measure, but we would be very pleased to see a return of matte plastic at the very least -- along with matte LCDs. We don't know what the upgraded LCD is like, but we can also say that the default LCD leaves a lot of room for improvement. It's plenty bright, but like many other inexpensive laptops it has very poor contrast ratios. We wouldn't even qualify the Studio 14z as an "inexpensive" laptop, considering many users will spend over $1000 once they add a few desirable upgrades, so it would have been nice if Dell would have sprung for a better display. We also wish Dell could have figured out a way to include a second SO-DIMM slot; 3GB RAM should be sufficient, but 4GB would be better in the option to upgrade to 8GB in the future would be great. Finally, access to the hard drive requires a lot more work than most laptops, making end-user upgrades more difficult than necessary. Some people will definitely want to upgrade to an SSD, and there's potential to break some of the plastic chassis elements if you're not careful.
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JimmyJimmington - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - link
I've owned this since this summer and it's a fantastic little laptop.I was considering going with an atom or ion netbook until I saw this thing. I upgraded to P8600, 8 cell battery, higher res screen, backlit keyboard, 7200 rpm hd, and a bunch of other bells and whistles. Total came out to ~$960 after student discount. (Take that Apple!)
Lack of optical drive doesn't bother me since I haven't used an optical drive in several years. Even if I did, I have my desktop at home. I take this baby to class.
Weight is the best advantage at 4.6 lbs. with the upgraded battery. The adapter is very light as well (didn't bother weighing it, sorry) which helps for carrying it with textbooks.
I don't understand the complaints about aesthetics, I just got black because it was cheaper. Sorry I'm doing work, not staring at the thing.
It's fairly thin, which is nice. What a lot of reviewers fail to mention is that there's a big trade off between thinness and heat. My girl friends MacBook Pro (not the new unibody, haven't tried those) sends all of the heat downwards. You wouldn't want to put that laptop on your lap. The bottom of the 14z never gets more than warm. CPU is at ~40 degrees as I type.
I never really understood the appeal of "ultrathin" laptops. Light weight is the only thing that matters to me.
I don't know about the low-res screen, but the high-res screen is fantastic. Even better than my very expensive desktop LG lcd when I compared side by side.
Track pad was a little funky until I upgraded to Windows 7 and got the new drivers from Dell's website. I will also say that some computers have problems with inexplicably slow network transfer rates on Windows 7, that doesn't happen on the 14z.
Linux was usable, but didn't like it very much if anyone is interested in that kind of thing.
I never got CoreAVC Pro working, but that doesn't really matter to me. I just used the default HD video decoder in MPC-HC. I suspect it had something to do with the fact that only the video drivers available from Dell worked, the one's on Nvidia's website didn't work. On a related note, I was having some trouble getting dxva working at all in the 64-bit windows 7, telling me direct x run time wouldn't start and it couldn't be installed. Had to reinstall with 32-bit and it went away.
I have aspirations of upgrading to a SSD at some point in the future, so it was a little disappointing to read that hd replacement might be difficult. Not a huge deal since the 7200 rpm is perfectly adequate.
Overall, if you don't care about an optical drive, this is the laptop to get. I would gladly sacrifice that for the weight, and thinness advantages.
Hxx - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - link
Why don't they include the optical drive? Is it because of its weight, cost, or what? I find this ridiculous since an optical drive is just as necessary as a keyboard. Since I was thinkin about gettin one for school, not everything i need comes on a flashdrive. I find the lack of optical a deal breaker for me.andrewaggb - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - link
Really? I almost never use an optical drive, I have a usb dvd burner that I use to backup my dvd's, and then I never use the optical formats. I find them too prone to damage, too annoying to swap in and out, they take up too much space, and optical drives are noisy....But that's me. Obviously everybody uses their computer differently. Still if you only occasionally need an optical drive, you could get an external usb drive that you can leave at home.
Hxx - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - link
I completely agree with you about optical drives being inferior to usbs but they are still very much in use. Once they are ditched out of mainstream use then we're talkin. Gettin an external optical drive would defeat the purpose of buyin a laptop with one in the first place. Blah, maybe i'll just go with the new macbook even though i hate the idea of gettin featureless windows with overpriced hardware, i'll get used to it ... eventually.mindless1 - Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - link
Well they are inferior, but I can accept software is far more often distributed on optical media than USB flash.The real question is, how often do you REALLY need to real an optical disk in a mobile environment, right then instead of later?
I would much rather have the notebook price lowered, save on weight and size, and have a USB optical drive at home or the desk at work.
To most people it does not defeat any purpose, the purpose of a laptop being it's mobility and let's face it, optical media is not tailored to mobility at all.
However, I like having more battery capacity/runtime than many people seem to, so I have a compromise proposal similar to how many laptops used to be made. I propose a slot that can take either an optical drive, 2nd hard drive, or a 2nd battery, that slot having an included cover plate if the user wants none of these in the slot.
Even cooler would be if the slot had more purposes, for example to fit a bluetooth mouse of reasonable proportions, or if the AC-DC adapter fit in the slot so the only thing external you needed for basic use was a power cord with a plug on the end that plugs into that AC-DC adapter in the slot, or perhaps it had a retractable cord so you had nothing at all external to carry with you.
I would easily accept a slightly larger notebook if it meant less loose separate items to take with it, it's just that of all possible separate items, the optical drive is the least likely to be needed.
gstrickler - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - link
...a Windows laptop that is competitive with the MacBook. It's not a MB, but it's close, and it's not from Apple, and a lot of people will consider that an advantage. However, those same people generally aren't big fans of Dell or HP either, so.......a Windows laptop with a decent combination of performance, battery life, and weight. As noted, no where near the 6.5 hours Dell claims, but perhaps with the low end CPU (lower clock speed and slower FSB), no backlit keyboard, and Windows 7, it might hit that at idle. Still, it got 3+ hours in all your tests, and that's where I set the minimum baseline for a machine that is intended to be mobile. 9400M G, C2D, and under 5 pounds with the 8 cell battery.
...a laptop with decent gaming performance that can run for 2+ hours when gaming. Resolution and detail may have to be stepped down, but those frame rates and resolutions are definitely playable.
Regarding the display. I haven't seen it, but based upon your review, looks like it's got two main issues: It's glossy, some consider that an advantage, I don't. The black level is pretty high (resulting in a poor contrast ratio). That's really only an issue when using it in low light situations, so it's an issue, but probably not a killer one. Max brightness, gamut, color accuracy, etc. are all good.
The single SO-DIMM slot and difficult HD access are tolerable, but definitely limitations. 3GB is enough for most users, 5GB covers almost everyone, but it would be nice to have 8GB as an option.
With the P8600, 5GB RAM, an SSD, 1600x900 display, and the backlit keyboard, it sounds like a nice machine. But, at that point, you're getting really close the price of a MacBook Pro.
The0ne - Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - link
Anything beyond 4Gig on laptop will cost and arm and leg. Let me rephrase that. It will cost an arm and leg if you are purchasing 4GB dimms :D I would love to have 8Gig on my laptop but I cannot justify the hundreds of dollars for an extra 4gig that will benefit me little.gstrickler - Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - link
But prices on 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMMs are coming down, and will continue to do so, it would be nice to have the option when prices aren't outrageous.Guntherman - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - link
I ordered mine with the 1600x900 and couldn't be happier with the screen. I do think it is a higher quality than the "720p" one.Also, I changed my color from black to blue. The blue has a matte finish which, is very nice. I believe it was a $40 upgrade but, well worth it.
Overall, I am very pleased with this notebook and I have Windows 7 Pro on it and it runs great! It's also nice to watch Hulu and other HD content via HDMI on my HDTV.
fokka - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - link
im very interested in this laptop and cant wait till it arives in europe. dell is always a little slow with that.imho the most attractive features of this laptop are the cheap keyboard backlight (25$), the hdmi-out in compination with the 9400m and the 1600x900 screen. also the speakers should be quite good in comparison to the competition and for those who need a cardreader, there is an expresscard-option for 25$, too iirc.
after reading your article, the biggest turn-offs are the battery life, which i think is poor for a 70+wh battery and the poor contrast ratio.
also i would like to see some metal-cases from dell, but i think in the budget-sector this will remain a dream.
i now own a dell vostro 1310 and the resolution, grafics, hdmi and speakers would be a welcome upgrade for me, but with only 4 hours of runtime i dont think the 14z will cut it for me. also im dieing for higher contrast and better colours and looking at your measurements i doubt this one will deliver.
i think the best option for me is the 13" macbook pro, although it still is very expensive.
however, keep up the good work!
thanks!