The 15.6in Inspiron 15R is one of Dell's
first laptops to feature an Ivy Bridge CPU. It’s neither the slimmest nor the
lightest laptop here, but its rounded curves and dark-grey metal-effect finish
are likeable.
The keyboard is of a reasonable size, while
good spacing and a smooth action mean the keys are easy to type on. The
two-button trackpad includes multi-touch capabilities for scrolling and
zooming.
Given the Inspiron's $909 price, which
makes it the cheapest in our Ivy Bridge laptop round-up, we weren’t surprised
to find a plastic build. The chassis feels solid, but the screen is too bendy.
A dual-core i5-3210M chip powers the
laptop, running at 2.5GHz under normal conditions or 3.1GHz with Turbo Boost.
Combined with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB hard disk, the Dell was able to record
a very good 150-point score in World Bench 6.
An advertised advantage of Ivy Bridge is
improved integrated graphics, and in the Inspiron 15R we find the Intel HD
Graphics 4000 processor. Its performance was disappointing in our lowly Fear
gaming test, where we measured an average 20fps. Interestingly, the Dell fared
much better in intensive game Crysis, where it scored a playable 53fps (Low
detail, 1024x768, DirectX 9).
The Inspiron 15R is equipped with a 15.6in
twisted-nematic screen with a 1366x768-pixel resolution. The detail level is
average, but the screen's glossy finish results in too many reflections, and
viewing angles are severely restricted, making it impossible to clearly view
the Dell’s screen from the side.
Other hardware features include four USB
3.0 ports, HDMI and VGA video outputs, gigabit ethernet, an SD card reader, a
3.5mm line-in/out and 802.11n Wi-Fi. The Inspiron 15R also has a 1Mp webcam and
tray-load DVD±RW optical drive.
A 48Wh battery located at the back of the
laptop is easily removable, secured by two thumb catches. We squeezed out
nearly 6.5 hours of runtime, with the Dell able to endure 384 mins of the
Mobile Mark 2007 Productivity test.
Verdict:
Dell’s Inspiron 15R doesn't have the wow factor, but it's a well-rounded,
reasonably stylish laptop with impressive application speed. At $909, it offers
excellent value.
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Information
Price: $909
Contact: dell.co.uk
Read more: tinyurl.com/6v8cs84
Ratings
Build: 8/10
Features: 6/10
Performance: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
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