Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series, we've tested it

It is called Dell Inspiron 15 , it belongs to the 5000 series (specifically, the 5547 model ) and it comes with a screen of a size set at  15.6 inches . We are talking about a laptop available in three different versions ( Intel Core i5 , Intel Core i5 touchscreen and Intel Core i7 ) with features that include a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels , a memory RAM type DDR3L with two slots DIMM for 8 GigaBytes (two drives of 4 GigaBytes each), one hard diskSATA of 1 terabyte with 5,400 rpm speed and operating system Windows 8.1 , among other features.

We have had the opportunity to carry out a thorough test of this laptop, specifically we have tested one of the highest-end units of this series (the one that incorporates an Intel Core i7 processor ). This unit is available in stores for an approximate price of 750 euros , and in this test of the Dell Inspiron 15 5547 with Intel Core i7 processor we are going to analyze all its characteristics one by one.

screen

The Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series ( hereafter Inspiron 15 ) is a laptop that is featured with a 15.6-inch screen . The version we had the chance to test incorporates technology LED backlight with TrueLife and reaches a set resolution at 1,366 x 768 pixels . In addition, the brightness of this screen is set at 200 nits , while the contrast is 500: 1 . Within this same range of laptops there is also a version with a 15.6-inch touch screen with 1,366 x 768 pixels resolution .

In the case of the unit that we have been able to test, the resolution of the screen is sharp enough to offer multimedia content with an image quality that we found to be more than correct. The contrast of the screen is especially remarkable , since it offers good sharpness in the images, and complemented with the brightness of the screen it guarantees that we can use the Inspiron 15 even in spaces directly exposed to sunlight.

Design and connectivities

The design of the Inspiron 15 is that of a notebook that appears to be practically high-end, at least when it comes to its exterior design. The display lid is covered with a metallic finish (specifically an aluminum finish ) on which the Dell logo is printed with a black fill. The metal lid of this laptop has a very smooth finish, and its visual appearance is really interesting. In addition, we have been able to verify that this cover presents an important difference compared to conventional plastic covers: dirt does not adhere so easily , and to clean it, simply wipe the outside of the laptop with a damp cloth.

Already inside the Inspiron 15 what we find are only and exclusively plastic materials . The power button is located at the top right of the laptop base, and the mouse touch control is slightly offset to the left. This touch control does not incorporate any physical key (it is completely tactile, including the two clicks of the mouse -left button and right button-), which means that there is a possibility that we will need a few hours to adapt to the mouse control of the Inspiron 15 (especially if we come from a laptop with a mouse panel that includes physical buttons).

The keyboard is made up of keys that convey a quality finish , and the keystrokes when using this keyboard are as smooth and fluid as we could expect from a laptop with these characteristics. At the top of the Inspiron 15 keyboard are also the quick configuration options (volume up or down, song advance, brightness up or down, etc.), all of which are accessible via the " Fn " key.

As far as physical connectivity is concerned, on the left side of the Inspiron 15 we have a security slot , a power inlet , a USB 2.0 port and an external memory card reader ( SD , SDHC , SD 3.0 , MS and MS Pro ); on the right side we find an Ethernet input , an HDMI output , two USB 3.0 ports and a 3.5 millimeter minijack output ( to connect headphones and speakers). And the speakers? There are two speakers (with technologyWaves MaxxAudio ), and are located at the bottom of the laptop, specifically in the part that is in front of the user when using the keyboard.

Measures the  Inspiron 15 from  Dell reach a height of  21.8 mm , a width of  380 mm and a depth of  259 mm , and a weight set at  2.38 kilograms .

Memory, power and operating system

The Inspiron 15 is available in a multitude of variants, specifically three different versions (at least as far as Spain is concerned ). A variant ( CN54804 ) includes a processor Intel Core i5 (5200U) fifth generation with a clock speed of up to 2.7 GHz and a graphics card  AMD Radeon HD R7 M265 with DDR3 of 2 gigabytes , another variant ( CN54808 ) includes touch screen , a 5th generation Intel Core i5 (5200U) processor with a clock speed of up to 2.7 GHzand an Intel HD 5500 graphics card , while the third and last variant ( CN54806 ) includes a fifth-generation Intel Core i7 (5500U) processor that is capable of clocked at up to 3 GHz , a hard drive with a cache of 8 gigabytes and a graphics card AMD Radeon R7 M270 memory DDR3 of 4 gigabytes .

Otherwise, the three versions of the Inspiron 15 5000 series share practically the same technical specifications. This includes features such as a memory RAM DDR3L with two DIMM slots reaching  8 gigabytes (two of 4 gigabytes ) operating at 1600 MHz , a disk drive SATA of 1 terabyte running at 5,400 rpm , wireless connections WiFi ( Wireless-AC 3160 to 5 GHz ) and Bluetooth 4.0 and a front camera webcam that reaches 720 pixels resolution when recording videos.

The sensations that the Inspiron 15 has given us is that we are talking about a laptop that does not have major difficulties to cope with everyday use . We have tried playing videos in high definition, surfing the net and uploading / downloading files through external programs, and the result we have obtained is as expected in a laptop with these characteristics. In summary, the performance of the Inspiron 15 has seemed optimal , and at no point have we detected problems with the laptop when it comes to demanding a quick response in actions.

But just as the performance seemed to us optimal, we should also note that during tests  based on the Inspiron 15 has come to reach temperatures above something to which we would like at times . Without becoming a real problem of overheating, the base of the laptop has reached at some moments -especially when we demanded more performance from the laptop- a temperature somewhat higher than the average.

The Inspiron 15 comes standard with the Windows operating system in the Windows 8.1 version ( 64-bit , although it is also available in the Windows 8.1 Pro version ). There is little we can say about this operating system beyond the fact that, in the case of the Inspiron 15 , it operates fluently both in its conventional desktop version (the version with the taskbar and the conventional Windows desktop ) and in its version of modern desktop (the version that incorporates the tile design that slightly resembles the Windows Phone operating system ).

Autonomy

The Inspiron 15 is powered by a lithium battery three cells of 43 W / h . The autonomy of a device with these characteristics depends largely on the use that is going to be given to the laptop (and the battery configurations used, including -for example- the brightness level of the screen), but in our test We have been able to verify that, for conventional use, this laptop is capable of offering between five and six hours of autonomy without major problems.

Price, availability and conclusions

The Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series , as regards its availability in Europe , is available for purchase through the official Dell website in three different versions: a version with an Intel Core i5 processor for 630 euros , a version with processor Intel Core i5 with touch screen for 650 euros and a version with processor Intel Core i7 for 750 euros .

The conclusions that we draw after having tested this laptop translate into that we are talking about a device with a quality design and optimal performance for practically any type of use , including also situations in which we may need to make video or image edits (at a semi-professional level). If we had to highlight any negative feature of the Inspiron 15 , would mention the improved screen resolution (and not because the resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels offers any image problem, but because it is what we want from a notebook of this price range ) and the absence of an SSD-type hard drive .

Display and keyboard

Power and graphics

Memory

Design

Sound

software

Connections

Autonomy

+ info

Price: from 630 to 750 euros