For example, it bested the pricier Sony VAIO SB, which has the same processor, along with 4GB of RAM and a 5,400 RPM hard drive. Armed with those components, it landed a PCMark Vantage score of 6,177, which is higher than what we've seen from other systems with similar specs. Our $730 unit came loaded with a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M CPU, Intel integrated graphics, 6GB of RAM and a 640GB 5,400RPM hard drive. We'd say any of HP's Beats-enabled laptops has the advantage here. If the lid happened to be dipped too far back or if we watched from the side while a friend took the prime seat, the picture invariably looked darker.Īs for sound, the 14z isn't notably terrible, but the audio is predictably tinny. We had to adjust the screen angle very carefully before leaning back on the couch to watch Walter White lie and growl his way through season two.
The problem is, there's not much flexibility in the viewing angles.
#DELL INSPIRON 14Z INTEL CORE I5 2450M FULL#
Yours truly also streamed a good half dozen episodes of Breaking Bad, and the image quality was suitably crisp even at full screen. The screen's adequate enough for looking at documents and movies head-on, and it's also bright enough that you should be able to work comfortably in a well-lit, fluorescent room. Like almost every system offered at this price, the Inspiron 14z's resolution is fixed at 1366 x 768. Fortunately, that's one thing you'll get if you have the cash (and aesthetic sensibility) to step up to the XPS 14z. Using touch buttons should be an unconscious experience. Pressing the buttons required quite a bit more thumb pressure than we would have liked, and throughout our testing we had moments where we found ourselves keenly aware of the effort we were putting in. The thing about the touchpad is that as well-behaved as it is with everyday scrolling, it's coupled with two tiny, rather stiff buttons.
Even then, we the often felt like we had no control of where we ended up on the page. Two-fingered scrolling is frustrating in a different way: you have to hold two fingers on the pad and wait for a scroll symbol to appear onscreen before you start. It's a shame, because if not for the fact that your fingers bump against the edges, the trackpad actually pulls off pinch to zoom quite well. Once you start attempting multitouch gestures, though, its cramped quarters become a con. As a pared-down navigation device, it's perfectly adequate: it offers a low-friction surface that makes dragging the cursor across the screen painless. Lastly, the back edge is home to the AC port and an Ethernet jack, the latter of which is also covered.Īnd the trackpad? Not our favorite, but hardly the most maddening either. Moving along to the right side, there's a tray-loading optical drive and door number two, behind which you'll find two USB 3.0 ports and a combined headphone / mic port.
Tucked into the bezel is a 1.0 megapixel webcam. The front edge doesn't contain anything, though lift the laptop slightly and you'll see stereo speakers, along with four LED lights that glow white to match the backlit keyboard and power button. Starting with the left side, you'll find door number one, housing DisplayPort, HDMI and USB 2.0 sockets, with a vent and an SD / MMC / MS card reader nearby. The bad news: many of them are hidden beneath flimsy doors. The good news is that the 14z comes well stocked with ports. We'd be exaggerating if we said this was our least favorite design in the history of laptops, but we're not sure Dell's exactly turned over a new leaf either. To boot, the bottom side of the laptop is made of plastic and has an awkward bulge where the six-cell battery is. That color-blocking makes for a mismatched effect, with the keyboard looking chintzy against the smooth metal deck. Under the lid, that aluminum material extends across the palm rest and above the keyboard, but for whatever reason the area in between the keys is black. Although the lid has a matte finish and isn't made of glossy plastic, it still picks up fingerprints - stubborn little smudges than can be a beast to remove. Even with a pared-down metal lid, the 14z still manages to feel cheap. Still, it's obvious Dell had to cut some corners to hit that $600 price point.