The Dell Studio 14z is a 14-inch screen portable laptop designed by Dell specifically for students.  The Dell Studio 14z packs a lot of power into a small package by dropping a built-in optical drive to decrease size and then including an Nvidia 9400m graphics card and Intel Core 2 Duo processor as the brains of the system.  This Dell Studio 14z review will cover the pros and cons for the Studio 14z when used as a student notebook.

The Studio 14z can be configured and purchased at Dell.com starting at a price of $649 or you can buy a set configuration from BestBuy for $749.  I purchased the Studio 14z at BestBuy, the store clerk indicated the model was selling well and this seemed to be true as the unit I bought was the last in stock.  The BestBuy Studio 14z is marketed as the Dell Studio S1440-022B and the specs are as follows:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
• Graphics: Nvidia 9400m
• Hard Drive Storage: 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Memory: 3GB DDR3 (1GB soldered to the motherboard + 2GB upgradeable stick)
• Screen: 14-inch WXGA Anti-Glare LED Display (720p)
• Battery: 8-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
• Wireless: Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-n
• Ports: 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB/e-SATA combo port, Ethernet, FireWire (1394) port, 34mm Express Card slot, HDMI port, Display Port, 2 headphone ports, microphone port, AC adapter port
• Weight: 4.54 pounds without adapter, 5.4lbs with adapter
• Dimensions:
  • Width: 13.23″ (336.0mm)
  • Height: 0.79″ (20.0mm) front / 1.22″ (30.9mm) back
  • Depth: 9.02″ (229.0mm)
• OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

One important thing to note is that the Studio 14z does not come with an optical drive (DVD or Blu-RAY drive).  The only option is to have an external optical drive, you can get a DVD burner that connects to the e-SATA port via Dell.com for $120 or external Blu-Ray drive for $280.  Also note that there’s no modem or VGA monitor out ports, while these ports are certainly legacy, there are some people who might like to have them.

Dell Studio 14z Design

The Studio 14z definitely tries to set itself apart in terms of design.  This is no cookie cutter budget looking laptop.  The barrel hinge and sloped design give the Studio 14z a sports car like look.  You also have a choice of various lid colors and the option of a backlit keyboard as an extra design flair.  When you configure the Studio 14z on Dell.com your lid color options include the following:

• Black Chainlink (glossy finish)
• Ruby Red
• Midnight Blue
• Spring Green
• Plum Purple
• Promise Pink

The BestBuy configuration comes with a Ruby Red textured finish lid, the red is certainly attractive and gives a sporty and fresh look to the Studio 14z.  If you’re configuring on Dell.com I’d recommend going with the colored lid upgrade because the default lid is a glossy Chainlink Black, which is a real fingerprint magnet.  The textured colored lids do not show fingerprints, a major plus.

Dell Studio 14z Construction

The Studio 14z has a rigid chassis that consists of both magnesium and some plastics.  The entire case is made of a rigid plastic which is strong enough to resist any type of flex.  The keyboard has a very firm feel to it with no sinking when you press down keys whatsoever.  The only real complaint I have with construction quality is the battery has a bit of wiggle to it.  When the Studio 14z is in my lap I can feel the battery move about whenever I shift.

The Studio 14z with the larger 8-cell battery weighs in at 4.54lbs, with the power adapter included the travel weight totals 5.36lbs.  This is definitely a portable weight for putting in your backpack and carrying around campus.

Dell Studio 14z Keyboard

The Studio 14z keyboard is full sized and what you’d be used to with a desktop keyboard. The keys on the Studio 14z have a textured feel which is really great as it prevents any slipping and provides a pleasant feel.  The keys provide a nice tactile feedback and are certainly springy feeling, the key travel is a bit shallow but it is still adequate.  Overall I really love this keyboard and the feel is really solid, I’m very picky with keyboards and rate this as one of the better feeling laptop keyboards I have used in some time.

One of the more interesting features of the keyboard is that F1 – F12 keys in the top row function first and foremost as media buttons, just like they do with an Apple computer.  For instance, you hit F11 key for Play, F8 key for volume down, F9 key for volume up, F4 key for screen brightness down and F5 key for screen brightness up.   While this is convenient, it has the problematic side effect of forcing keyboard junkies to hold down the “Fn” key plus desired Function button to perform that buttons typical “normal” operation.  So for those PC users who like to use keyboard shortcuts such as F5 to refresh a browser (a very popular keyboard shortcut) they are forced to hold down the “Fn” key plus “F5”, and that’s almost impossible to do without removing your hands from the typing position.  Depending on who you are you may or may not like this, and if you’ve ever used a Mac before you are probably already familiar with this keyboard functionality.

One neat option for the Studio 14z is to get a backlit keyboard.  The BestBuy Studio 14z does not have this built-in, but if I were configuring a Studio 14z on Dell I would go for this.  I have used a Dell Latitude that has a backlit keyboard and found it to be a huge asset when in dimly lit or dark rooms.  Sometimes you just need to look at a keyboard to find the key you’re looking for, and when it’s a dark room that’s a real challenge.  Furthermore a backlit keyboard just adds a bit of a design flair.

Dell Studio 14z Touchpad and Mouse Buttons

The touchpad and buttons on the Studio 14z are middling.  The touchpad is mediocre in terms of responsiveness and I’ve often experienced issues when trying to use the vertical scrolling feature on the right side of the touchpad, it simply doesn’t respond sometimes.  The mouse buttons are quite small and mushy feeling, while the rest of the laptop feels high quality the mouse buttons feel downright cheap.  Investing in a wireless mouse to use in place of the touchpad and mouse buttons is a wise investment.

Dell Studio 14z Ports

The port selection the Studio 14z is quite interesting and certainly geared towards the latest media.  There is no legacy VGA monitor out port, but instead both an HDMI port and Display Port that provide better digital throughput and are more common in today’s LCD monitors, TVs and projectors.  Of course, if you have an older projector or monitor, as many schools do, this can be a problem as you won’t be able to connect to it without an HDMI/Display Port to VGA adapter.

Also missing is a modem port, I personally have not used a modem in several years and I doubt too many college students will be going to a school that doesn’t provide wireless or LAN connectivity in the dorms and on campus, so I really can’t see much use for a modem for students.

Another thing missing is a built-in SD card media slot.  There is the option to pay an extra $20 to have an 8-in-1 media card reader placed in the 34mm Express Card slot, but I believe Dell should have at least put an SD card reader in without requiring an accessory upgrade.  So many students use digital cameras and phones that have SD cards that the convenience factor of having a slot built into their computer to easily move files to and from these devices would be justified.

Major kudos to Dell for including a combined USB/eSata port.  The eSata port gives fast connectivity to things such as external hard drive and optical drives.  Overall the port selection is decent, the 3 USB ports is good and then FireWire, eSata, HDMI and Display Port are all newer technology ports that those with cutting edge accessories will appreciate and media buffs will love.

Dell Studio 14z Screen

When you purchase the Studio 14z via Dell.com you get the choice of a 14-inch 720p LED backlit screen or higher resolution 900p LED backlit screen, notice now that we’ve reached a wide 16:9 aspect ratio screen on laptops (to the dismay of some) Dell is now quoting screen resolutions in terms of what we’re familiar with on LCD TVs.  The actual screen resolution of 720p equates to 1280 x 720 while the 900p is 1440 x 900 resolution.  With the high resolution screen you have the benefit of getting crisper images and fitting more on your display at once, but if you have poor eyesight then the smaller text and icons that are inherent to 900p might deter you.  The fact the 900p resolution screen is a $50 upgrade might also make some people just go with the base 720p configuration.  The BestBuy model comes with a 720p screen, I do wish it had the 900p screen since I much prefer a higher resolution.  Nonetheless, the 720p screen is nice.  The LED backlit screen is thin and gets very bright at the highest setting.  My screen is manufactured by LG and on the very lowest brightness setting there’s an issue in which there’s a bit of screen flicker, but anything above the level one brightness the screen flicker goes away.  Since level one brightness is almost too low to be usable except in a dark room, I don’t consider this a big issue.  Overall the screen is great and if you can afford it go with the 900p upgrade as most report that screen to be superior.

Dell Studio 14z Speakers

One of the very positive surprises of the Studio 14z was the quality of the speakers.  The speakers are 4-watt 2.0 SRS audio discrete tweeters located on the top left and top right of the keyboard.  The sound that comes out of the speakers is very good, far superior to your average laptop.  The sound is crisp and clear even at higher volumes.  There is no subwoofer of course so bass is a bit lacking, but using one of the two headphone ports and a good set of headphones can fill in if you want even better audio.

Dell Studio 14z Performance

One of the main reasons to buy the Studio 14z is the fact it has a dedicated Nvidia 9400m graphics card and the option of getting a high-end Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor.  Having a dedicated graphics card means you’ll have no problem playing high-def video (such as YouTube HD).  With the dedicated Nvidia 9400 graphics at work YouTube HD videos were fluid and seamless, it’s a far superior viewing experience to the integrated graphics most laptops come with.  In addition to providing a better media experience, the 9400m will allow you to do gaming with more recent games on low to medium settings.

The BestBuy configuration of the Studio 14z comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 2.10Ghz processor.  This processor is definitely adequate for most people, especially if you’re a student just looking to do your school work.  If you for some reason have the need for as much processor power as possible Dell does allow you configure the Studio 14z with up to a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo.  If you want to save money online, you can configure it with an Intel Pentium dual core processor, but it would make sense to upgrade to the better performing and more efficient Core 2 Duo processor.

For those into benchmark results here are a few benchmark results from popular benchmarking tools:

• PC Wizard System Score: 3520
• 3DMark06: 2,081 3DMarks
• PCMark Vantage: 1,937 PCMarks
• Windows Experience Index: 4.8

Dell Studio 14z Heat

Under normal usage such as working on reports, surfing the internet and listening to music the Studio 14z stayed very cool and comfortable to use on your lap.  However, when running benchmarks or playing HD video for an extended time the laptop started to warm up in certain areas.  The right side palm rest got very warm and left side heat vent at the back started pumping out heat.  If you’re performing tasks that push the processor and graphics card it’d be best to use a desk or table to ensure optimal cooling and keep heat away from your body.

Dell Studio 14z Battery Life

The BestBuy version of the Studio 14z comes with the larger 8-cell battery option, online at Dell.com you have the option of getting a 6-cell or 8-cell battery.  The 8-cell costs $40 more online.  It will give you about 25% extra battery life and the great thing is that it does not stick out from the back of the laptop like many other extended life batteries do.  Using the 8-cell battery I was able to get 5 hours and 25 minutes of battery life out of the Studio 14z when screen brightness was on the 4th level, wireless was on and just letting the laptop idle (no work was done, screen was just left on).  Under normal working conditions the Studio 14z usually gave me around 4 hours of battery life.  Battery life will of course vary based on usage, but in my experience the Studio 14z has given better battery life than I’d expect and better than many other 14” laptops.

Dell Studio 14z Optical Drive (or lack thereof)

One of the more interesting decisions in the design of the Studio 14z is the fact Dell left out an integrated optical drive such as a CD/DVD or Blu-Ray drive.  Instead there is an option for an external drive.  There are many tech savvy people that know how to get around using an optical drive and download all of their content and the lack of an optical drive won’t bother them.  However, it is still very common to get software via a DVD (such as the Windows 7 upgrade Dell now promotes for the Studio 14z) and many schools distribute discounted student software available from the student technology center on disks, so eventually a student is going to find a need to have an optical drive at some point during their 4-years in school.  Basically what this means is you’ll have to buy an external optical drive that plugs into the laptops USB/eSATA port and the cost for that is $120 via Dell.com when configuring.  Personally I would prefer to see an optical drive in a 14-inch size laptop, it’s not as if the Studio 14z is so incredibly thin it could not have fit, there are thinner laptops out there than include a built-in optical drive.

Dell Studio 14z Recommendation and Conclusion

The Dell Studio 14z offers a nice price and a lot of power in a small and sporty looking design.  If you’re a media maven it has all of the latest digital out ports for connecting to a monitor, TV or projector.  The FireWire and eSata ports ensure that you’ll have fast connectivity to any external storage devices as well.  The screen options on the Studio 14z are great and the 900p resolution screen will be a must for those who love high resolution quality screens.  With the excellent built-in speakers and nice screen, the Studio 14z will also serve as a great portable entertainment device.  Speaking of entertainment, with the Nvidia 9400m graphics you’ll have no problems watching high-definition video without stuttering or frame skips and you can even do some gaming with more recent games.

Some disappointments with the Studio 14z include lack of a built-in media card reader (you have to pay $20 to have a media card reader put in the Express Card 34 slot if you want that), the touchpad and buttons are so-so, the battery wiggles, there’s no VGA monitor out port and no built-in optical drive.  Granted, some of those cons will not be a big deal to some, but many 14-inch laptops offer those missing features of the Studio 14z so it is something to consider.

Bottom line is that the Studio 14z is a solidly built laptop that’s nice and light and can serve perfectly as a student laptop, it has many features that young buyers will be looking for.  I have no doubt that the 14z can stand the test of 4-years of school and the cutting edge performance it offers today means that it will still be able to perform well during your years of school as software becomes more demanding.

Studio 14z Purchase Information

You can buy the Dell Studio 14z direct from Dell.com for the starting price of $649 with various configuration options.  You can also buy the Studio 14z reviewed here at at BestBuy for $749.99.