Dell Studio 14z Has GeForce, Reasonably Priced

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It has the GeForce 9400M, and that can't be bad.

Intel’s roadmap for mobile chips indicate that this summer we’ll be seeing a boom in the ultraportable thin and light notebook segments. While Intel’s CULV chips aren’t officially here yet, Dell’s getting an early start by today unveiling the Studio 14z notebook.

As the name suggests, the Studio 14z features a 14-inch 16:9 screen with a standard resolution of 1366 x 768 and an option to upgrade to 1600 x 900 for $50.

Like the other Studio notebooks, the 14z features a wedge shape. At its thinnest it’s 0.79-inches and at its thickest it measures 1.2-inches. It also has a starting weight of 4.3 lbs.

The price starts at a very attractive $649, but that’s with a 2 GHz Pentium Dual Core T4200. The upgrade to a 2 GHz Core 2 Duo T6400 will be $50 well spent.

Dell also boasts that the Studio 14z is the industry's first consumer laptop available with FailSafe theft prevention: With Failsafe engaged, owners can track network information and the ISP location of the laptop when it connects to the Internet, and get help to remotely erase selected files and render the laptop unusable until the rightful owner unlocks it.

The best feature of all, however, is that it’s powered by the Nvidia GeForce 9400M.

The only thing that takes away from this otherwise pleasant mix is the lack of any integrated optical drive.

Other tidbits:

  • Digital Video/Audio via HDMI and DisplayPort
  • Standard 1.3MP webcam with dual digital array mics
  • Standard FastAccess Facial Recognition Software to help prevent unauthorized access to your computer
  • 4W, SRS, 2.0 Audio w/ discrete tweeters and dual headphone jacks
  • Up to 500 GB HDD capacity
  • Optional 8:1 Media Card Reader via 34mm Express Card slot
  • Six-cell battery standard, optional slim design 8-cell battery for up to 6:46 hours of battery life with WLED display option
  • Standard Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth and mobile broadband to connect anywhere
  • eSATA connectivity for high speed data transfer rate (up to 6X USB 2.0)
  • PowerShare - Charge your USB-connected cell phone and other mobile devices via the USB 2.0/eSATA combo port even when you're unplugged from a power outlet
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
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21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Hatecrime69
    all that starting at $649? Screw nettops i suppose :)
    Reply
  • ricardok
    I don't know why companies are ditching the DVD drive.. Of course, we don't use it as much as we used to use it, let's say, 3 years ago. Now everything is faster moved with a pendrive. Still, DVDs are useful for backups that are essential, to create your recovery disks, to recover your machine. I can't see why those companies are trying to kill the format.
    Reply
  • matt87_50
    isn't the 9400 the same as whats in ion? id happily ditch the slightly faster cpu for an ion powered netbook. assuming the netbook was lighter and smaller.
    Reply
  • rags_20
    Advantage is you get a portable optical drive. You can use it with any other computer.
    Reply
  • gcolefla
    I have been researching the 9400m and it seems like a great chipset for all mobile computers. It is much more powerful than on board intel graphics yet also much cheaper and efficient than dedicated cards. If you just want great hd functionality, productivitiy, nvidia cuda, and the ability to run photoshop and other professional programs this looks like a great choice. Its not really meant for gaming though, but it can actually run some games.

    Also I have seen portable drives are around 50 bucks, and I think a thinner and lighter laptop is better than the thicker one I had in which I used the drive 6 times in a year
    Reply
  • liemfukliang
    The good thing is it has CUDA. The worst thing is it has time bomb. Many Mobile Nvidia VGA has defect. I thought DELL has learn, but?
    Reply
  • Luscious
    I don't see what's the big deal with Dell here - the HP dv3t has a newer G105M and a 13" screen with a built-in optical drive. That's been out for over a month now. HP has plans to introduce the T9900 with this model as well.
    Reply
  • JustinHD81
    Why is this a 14in laptop? This should be a 12 incher or smaller, especially since there's no built in dvd drive....

    What's with the 9400m, isn't not having the dvd drive internal allowing for better airflow and therefore able to stick something decent in there? basically this is an oversized netbook.
    Reply
  • jay236
    liemfukliangThe good thing is it has CUDA. The worst thing is it has time bomb. Many Mobile Nvidia VGA has defect. I thought DELL has learn, but?

    I thought the nVidia VGA defect lied in the G84/G86 based chipsets, and not the new 9400's. Why would manufacturers such as large laptop companies such as Apple and Dell place defective video chips in their newest products? (Mac Book lineup and Dell Studio XPS 13)
    Reply
  • jay236
    Ignore grammatical errors lol.
    Reply