Dell Inspiron 1545 vs Dell Studio 15

What is the real difference between these two laptops?

Im after a mid spec'd laptop with dedicated graphics for around the £420 mark. Both of these laptops meet the budget (with discounts etc applied) but im not sure which one to go for. They are both very evenly matched, with the Studio having more RAM, slightly worse graphics card, slightly smaller screen but a better resolution, however it does cost an extra £20-£30.

The Inspiron has a better graphics card, 1 gb less RAM, a slightly bigger screen (<1/2 inch smaller) yet it is maarginally cheapoer.


What would you go for/recommend?


Dell Studio 15; &#163;499
Intel&#174; Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache)
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA WLED (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife™
256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3450
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software


Dell Inspiron 1545; - &#163;479
Intel&#174; Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache)
15.6" Widescreen WXGA WLED (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330
3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024]
320GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)

thanks guys :)

edit; I should add, the latop will be used for films etc, some light gaming (team fortress 2, left 4 dead etc) and quite a bit of multi tasking.

Basically nothing. The 1545 has the differnt aspect ratio which may suit movies and games better anyway. It has a smaller footprint and is a bit lighter too. Both keyboards are good and the screens, both WLED as you point out, are of equal measure.

The studio may recieve a very slightly enhanced warranty, I can't remember. If you can deal with the XPS warranty people it's a big plus when buying from dell.

I had my heart set on the Inspiron, especially as it is cheaper with a better graphics card, but ever since i saw the backlit (&#163;20 option) keyboard of the Studio i couldnt take my eyes off it. i was uncertain about the screen & aspect ratio though.

Having never owned a laptop myself, do you think it would be possible to install a backlit keyboard on the Inspiron if i wanted to?

thanks :)

It's feasible, dell use a lot of similar keyboards (in size at least). tbh though I wouldn't think too much about the back lit keyboards on laptops.. you've got a screen shining down on it afterall :)

I saw the inspiron in tescos today and didnt like the shiny plastic, it seemed very cheap & tacky. As a result i am back leaning towards the studio. How much difference will the aspct ratio make, to a typical .avi movie. (x264 or HD). Im guessing the black bars at the top of the screen will be slightly thicker?

Yeah it's just 16:10 rather than 16:9. Better for surfing.. different but no better or worse for games..

If it was my money I'd be getting the Studio but wouldn't sniff at the Inspiron.

Yeh, the Inspiron looks closer to what im after, but overall i dont like the surface finish of it at all. It seems far too tacky and reminds me of a dog awfull PC case i had a few years ago! I also imagine it will show up scatches and smudges etc very badly. The power button & lack of media keys im not a fan of either.

Im still a sucker for that backlit keyboard of the studio aswell, a gimmic maybe but i cant help myself! :D. Also, what difference does the WLED screen make? Will it be noticably brighter/clearer?

thanks for the help mate! :)

Well I can only compare my two M1330's one with WLED and one CCFL.

The weight is instantly noticable on this laptop but it is smaller and lighter.

Brightness isn't even comparable tbh the WLED wins everytime. Also on this laptop there is far less backlight bleed.

Battery.. I don't find there too be any real improvement tbh but they are very different specs

The colour reproduction of the WLED is perhaps a little bit manafactured looking (true of most gloss screens) but a lot more vidid.

The viewing angles are brilliant on mine as well.

Wins everytime for me as there are no real disadvantages other than perhaps feeling a bit flimsy.

Thanks for all your help Mike, iv settled on my choice of the Studio 15 and just hope the graphics card doesnt kick up too much of a fuss with left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2! Now i just need to hope Dell's Special offers that run out tonight (i dont have the money till the weekend) get replaced with something equally as tempting!

Hoping the 10% voucher and 6% quidco also play nice together, i quite like the idea of it only costing me £425ish. :)

All Studio models feature a vent on the backend of the laptop, but when the screen is pulled open, the back of the screen enclosure blocks the exhaust air coming out of that vent. For me, when that kind of blatantly obvious flaw is allowed to pass from engineering to production, I lose all faith in the rest of the product.

Never heard of that before, but no reviews really complain about heat and noise. Gaming wise I always put mine on a notebook cooler for extended gaming, keeps things much coolers and quieter than without.

Does anyone have any opinions on the Studio 17? Its not going to be carried around much & when it is its going to be driven there, so weight isnt an issue, but the graphics card like? and the overall quality of it?