Dell Inspiron 15 Review 2022: How to Make a Decision!
The Dell Inspiron 15 is a laptop that can do everything from gaming to everyday tasks. It has a good build quality and a variety of ports.
The most important thing is that it can be upgraded in memory and storage.
Do you need a cheap laptop? If so, read on. It might be exactly what you are looking for!
I will tell you about the Dell Inspiron 15 Notebook. I will talk about how the laptop looks, the processor, memory, graphics, storage, and battery life.
I am going to tell you about the laptop. It is good in some ways and not so good in other ways.
I will tell you my rating for each part of the laptop. And then at the end, you can decide if it is a good thing to buy or not.
Dell Inspiron 15: Specs
- Processor: AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
- Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz
- RAM: 4 GB
- Boot Drive Type: SSD
- Boot Drive Capacity: 128 GB
- Screen Size: 15.6 inches
- Native Display Resolution: 1366 by 768
- Graphics Processor: AMD Radeon Graphics
- Wireless Networking: 802.11ac, Bluetooth
- Dimensions (HWD): 0.78 by 14.3 by 9.8 inches
- Weight: 3.9 lbs
- Operating System: Windows 10 S
- Tested Battery Life: 10:52 Hour
PROS
- Core i7 processor
- Dedicated AMD graphics
- Smart exterior design
- Decent build quality
CONS
- Low screen resolution and quality
- Middling battery life
- Mediocre keyboard
Initial Thoughts
The Inspiron series is a group of laptops that have been on the market for a long time. Laptops from this series are mostly known for their boring looks.
But recently, they have been updated and improved.
Dell Inspiron 15 laptop is a part of the Inspiron family. It is also good for web surfing, productivity activities, and light gaming.
This laptop is a good one. It has a reasonable price and provides acceptable performance.
As of now, you can buy the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop for $622.97, so let’s take a look at what you can expect from it.
Design
The Dell logo on the front is shiny and it has a confident look. It also looks good on the sides and base because there is more metal added to make it shinier.
The build quality is good. The wrist rest barely moves, the screen feels strong, and the bottom has a little give. All of the parts in it are protected well.
A 13-inch laptop should not be super thin or light. The bottom of the computer is made from metal, and it is visible.
The keyboard, wrist rest, and screen bezel are all made from plastic which can break easily if you drop your laptop.
The lid on the laptop is hard to open. You need two hands. When you open it, there is a screen and there are no borders around it.
The bottom of the laptop has a lot of buttons and parts. Some are shown in the picture.
The power button is also a fingerprint sensor – it can scan your fingerprints instead of asking you to type in a password.
This laptop’s fingerprint sensor works well, so it is easier to log into Windows than to type passwords sometimes.
The keyboard is on the bottom of the laptop, and it has black keys that are backlit. The keyboard is full-sized and includes a Numpad and directional arrow keys.
The keys make typing easy. The travel distance is good and the force of the key is around 80g.
When you press it, it gives a feeling back when you type which makes keyboarding easier.
The touchpad, which is on the left of your keyboard, can be difficult to get used to. It’s made of plastic and has a matte finish like the keyboard.
The touchpad also has Windows Precision Drivers. This means that you can swipe and tap on the touchpad.
However, the clicking mechanism needs a lot of pressure to work.
The USB ports on the laptop are wonderful. Dell provides a lot of options for these ports, including a USB Type-A 2.0 and an SD card reader on the right side.
This laptop has three USB connections, an HDMI output, and Gigabit Ethernet. It also includes an SD card reader.
The base panel is detachable!
You can see the memory, hard drive, battery, processor, and wireless card in this photo. This is great news for people who want to repair or upgrade their laptops!
This laptop is not thin like an Ultrabook or a convertible computer. It’s thicker than other laptops.
This one measures 0.9 inches (0.23 meters) thick, which is a little bit thicker than the Lenovo ThinkPad X250 and the Asus Transformer Book TP300LA (both 0.78 inches/20 centimeters).
This computer weighs 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms), which is almost 2 pounds heavier than the Lenovo ThinkPad X250 and just under half a pound more than the Asus Transformer Book Flip TP300LA.
Dimension & Weight
The laptop is the same height as the number 363. It is 249 mm wide, which is the same as twice that number. The laptop weighs 2050 grams, which is more than three times that number.
The laptop is heavier than the Lenovo Thinkpad X250. The Lenovo Thinkpad X250 measures 306 x 209 x 20 mm and weighs 1360g.
I think that this laptop is very good because it has a high-quality design and it is also very strong. That’s why I will give it an excellent ranking.
Screen and Speakers
The screen on the other hand is not as good. It has a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. This is roughly what the Asus computer has, but it lags behind Lenovo’s full HD display.
The screen can’t show videos in 1080p either, so you have to watch them on something else. It also can’t work with many windows at once, which makes working difficult.
There is a good chance that the display won’t impress people. It has a brightness level of 189cd/m2, but it will not do well outside or in dark areas.
It also doesn’t have a black level of 0.73cd/m2, so there isn’t enough difference between bright and dark tones to make things look good.
The colors are inaccurate, with a color temperature of 7,761K which is far too cold.
The end product is a screen that is not good for work. It is not good because the quality and resolution are low, there are display inaccuracies, and the colors are bad.
You can use it to surf the web or watch movies but you cannot do anything else on it.
The sound kit provides good volume and sounds for vocals. The sound is okay, but it does not have enough bass. This means that music, movies, and games do not have enough power.
Processor (CPU) Performance Review
The Dell Inspiron 15 laptop is powered by a new Intel Icelake processor. There are three choices of processors, which we will talk about later.
Before we start, you should know that Icelake processors are only available on premium laptops like the Dell XPS 13. Dell has recently begun including Icelake CPUs in their mid-range laptops, to say the least.
The computer comes with a 2 Core Intel Core i3-1005G1 CPU. This means the computer has 4 MB of cache memory, a base clock speed of 1.20 GHz, and a boost clock speed of 3.40 GHz.
The Intel Core i5-1035G1 has four cores and a clock speed of 2.70 GHz. The cache memory is 6MB, the base frequency is 1.00 GHz, and the boost frequency is 3.40GHz for the Intel Core i5 processor.
Finally, the laptop is available with a 4 Core Intel Core i7-1065G7 CPU. Furthermore, the Core i7 processor has an 8MB cache memory, a base frequency of 1.00 GHz, and a boost speed of 3.60 GHz.
The Core i5 processor was included with the machine I tested. I did a CineBench 20 test to see how fast it is.
The test revealed that the Dell Inspiron 15 scored 1401 points.
A Lenovo Ideapad S540 15 laptop has a score of 1485 points on this test. It has an Intel Core i5-8265U CPU and got 1485 points in my evaluation.
When we looked at the Lenovo Ideapad S540 and the Dell Inspiron 15, we found out that it was surprising. We found out that when compared to each other, the 8th Gen CPU in the Lenovo Ideapad S540 outperformed the 10th Gen CPU in the Dell Inspiron 15.
Memory (RAM) Performance
The Dell Inspiron 15 has two RAM slots that can hold up to 16 GB of memory. The model that I tested came with 8 GB on one slot and the other slot is empty.
Dell has done a good job by making it easy to add more memory. If you need more memory, just put an 8 GB stick in the second slot and you will have 16 GB of RAM.
However, the 8GB RAM in my unit was a good multitasker. As a result, I was able to open more than 20 Chrome browser tabs and move between them freely without experiencing lags.
To assess the laptop’s memory performance, I carried out a PCMark 10 test. The computer scored 4060 points based on the result of the test.
In contrast, the HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng took first place with a score of 4100 points.
Finally, the laptop’s 8GB RAM is adequate. In contrast, though, it falls short of its competitors.
Storage Options & Performance
Let’s look at the storage options on the Dell Inspiron 15 Notebook. It has a slot for HDDs and a slot for SSDs. That means you have different options to choose from when storing things.
Laptops with hard drive storage range from 500 GB to 2 TB in capacity. You can also get a laptop with solid-state drives that start at 128 GB and finish at 1 TB.
The model I tested had a 512 GB SSD. It should be enough for most people’s photos, music, videos, and games.
Solid State Drives (SSDs) can store information in different ways than Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). They are more expensive, but there is no difference in how they work. Some people put an SSD in their gaming system.
You can also increase the storage of your SSD by adding more memory to it.
An HDD may be added to the SATA 3 slot with an adapter card if you need more storage space. I ran an AS SSD benchmark test to measure the transfer rate of the SSD.
The laptop achieved a sequential read speed of 1114.77 MBps and a sequential write speed of 840.99 Mbps, according to the benchmark runner’s report.
Furthermore, this laptop includes an SD card reader. It is like on other Dell laptops. The integrated card reader is bad and does not work well.
I took my SD card and put it on my computer. I copied 1 GB of photos to my desktop in 44 seconds, but only 7 seconds on the Dell XPS 15.
In conclusion, the SSD and SD card reader’s transfer rates are slower than those on more expensive laptops.
Graphics Card Performance
Although the Dell Inspiron is not a gaming laptop, it can play some games. You need to lower the detail and resolution of these games.
Depending on your CPU selection, you may choose between the Intel UHD Graphics or Iris Plus graphics. These two graphics systems are built into the laptop and don’t have their VRAM.
The Nvidia GeForce MX250 is a good graphics card. You can play games at 1080P and higher.
If you want something more powerful, consider the Nvidia GeForce MX230 which has 2GB DDR5 dedicated VRAM.
The Nvidia GeForce MX230 graphics card and Intel Iris Plus Graphics are combined in the model I tested.
If someone wants to do something graphical, they can use both of them at the same time. This is called a dual graphics setup.
Furthermore, the laptop has NVIDIA Optimus technology. When it comes to NVIDIA Optimus technology, it automatically switches between two graphics solutions as needed.
The MX230 is activated when Optimus performs graphics processing that is too demanding for the Iris Plus GPU.
The laptop’s graphics performance was tested using 3DMark. The Dell Inspiron 15 laptop obtained 2452 points in the test.
The Lenovo Ideapad L340 15 scored 2728 points in our hands-on testing. It has the same graphics card as the Dell Inspiron 15, but it lags.
Battery life & Performance
The Dell Inspiron 15 has a 42Whr battery. This isn’t a particularly large battery for a 15.6-inch laptop, especially considering the screen size.
To see how the battery performs, I ran a test. I set the display brightness to 120 nits and closed down all other applications except for a browser that visited 70 different websites.
The Dell Inspiron 15 laptop was tested for 5 hours and 15 minutes. As a result, the laptop fell short of the Lenovo Ideapad L340 15 in terms of performance.
Surprisingly, the IdeapS L340 15 with a 3-cell 36Whr battery lasted for six hours and 25 minutes. That is as much as the Dell Inspiron 15’s battery, so it gets a seven out of ten.
Overall Performance
The Core i7-5500U is one of the best parts of Dell’s computer. It has a 6th generation Intel Core i5 CPU. This new chip from Intel’s newest range of processors, Broadwell, offers better performance and it also makes your battery last longer.
Inside the Pixel C, there is a chip that is the same as the Asus Transformer. The chip in the Pixel C is faster than a slower Broadwell part by a few hundred Megahertz.
In our comparisons, the Dell did well. It had a PCMark 8 Home score of 3,658 and it surpassed Lenovo’s ThinkPad X250 which had 2,238 points.
But the Asus Transformer Book Flip TP300LA was better because it had 2,521 points. The Dell did higher in some tests but not all of them.
The Dell Inspiron 15 has a powerful AMD Radeon R7 M265 graphics core. It is better than other computers with Intel’s integrated graphics. The AMD Radeon R7 M265 is in the middle range and it has 384 stream processors.
That makes it good for playing video games like Minecraft or Roblox. It also does well on 3DMark’s demanding Fire Strike test, with 1,211 points!
This computer is better than its competitors. It lasts a long time before it dies. But in testing, it did not last as long as the Lenovo or the Asus when we tested it with a website and PCMark 8’s Home test.
When we lowered the screen to 25%, it still did not do well though -it only lasted about two hours longer than at 50%.
You will see this machine running when you push it. It tests the processor and graphics chip for a long time.
Even after we stopped benchmarking, the fans in our test machine ran fast, making noise. If you are bothered by noise, use headphones.
Despite that, the Dell Inspiron 15 has a well-balanced specification. The Core i7 CPU has enough power for demanding job applications, and the Radeon graphics core is capable of playing games at low settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does a Dell Inspiron 15 Go For?
The cheapest configuration of the Dell Inspiron 15 is $622.94, according to our research (November 2021). The cost varies depending on the combination you pick.
Is the Dell Inspiron 15 a Good Purchase?
The Dell Inspiron 15 is a great budget laptop. It is good for doing things like word processing, surfing the internet, and video chatting. The only thing it cannot do is play games.
But it can play most games at low settings and resolution.
Is it possible to upgrade the Dell Inspiron 15?
Yes, Dell Inspiron 15 is a good upgrade path for your laptop. You can also expand the storage on your laptop.
There are two kinds of storage: SSD and HDD. The SSD storage capacity can be increased up to 1TB, whereas the HDD storage capacity is limited to 2TB.
You can also upgrade your RAM on your laptop with an additional 8GB (for a total of 16GB) by inserting more RAM into any one of the two available slots.
What we liked
The Dell is a nice laptop. It has good design and builds quality, as well as enough power to do work and play games.
The Core i7 CPU has enough power for both work and play. And the AMD graphics card will allow you to play games that are made now.
The Dell Inspiron 15 5000 is also helpful for stuff that isn’t games.
For example, if you buy the $968 (about £620, AU$1,255) model, you can get it down to $510 (about £329) if you want a CPU with lower specifications and less storage and RAM.
What we disliked
The computer is not very good. The keyboard is not as good or mobile as more expensive computers, and the screen has a low resolution, contrast, and color fidelity for serious typing.
The battery life is not good, and its competitors are still a good choice.
Lenovo has business features for a similar price, and it has a 1080p display. The Asus is a convertible with better battery life.
Final Thoughts
The Dell Inspiron 15 is a laptop that is good value for the money. It is a low-cost laptop and can handle some easy computer tasks, like light gaming.
The laptop feels very well-made and is light. It has a lot of connections and can be upgraded in the future.
I would recommend this laptop for someone who needs to do some light browsing and office tasks.
Dell Inspiron 15
You can Buy any specification from "15.6" HD Display, Intel N4020 Dual-Core Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Webcam, HDMI, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Black, Windows 10" to "15.6 FHD LED-Backlit Touch Display, AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 2TB PCIe SSD, HDMI, Webcam, Backlit Keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth, FP Reader, Win10 HomePrice Range: $499.00 - $1,319.00
Product Brand: Dell
Product Currency: USD
Product Price: $499.00
Product In-Stock: InStock
4.48
