Dell Inspiron 1564: Mobile i3/i5 for the Masses
by Dustin Sklavos on March 3, 2010 11:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Dell Inspiron 1564: A Lightweight "DTR"
Dell's targeting the consumer market with the Inspiron 15, and it certainly does have a lot to offer. The Intel Core i5-520M in our review unit may almost be a bit too much for a unit that otherwise seems fairly stripped down, but otherwise the overall build is well-rounded. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 isn't going to break any speed records, but it serves its purpose. The chassis is indeed quite light and attractive despite the glossy plastics, and though the fan can get noisy under heavy load, at least hot spots don't materialize under the palm rests or keyboard.
If we had to single out a bright spot for the Inspiron 15, it would be the general build quality and design. Physically it's very attractive and the keyboard has a smart layout that doesn't make too many sacrifices to fit the numeric keypad. The whole thing is sturdy and enjoyable to use. Dell's designers seem to understand the importance of user experience extending beyond simple metrics like system performance. Simply put, the Inspiron 15 is largely a joy to use. For the casual user who's interested in some light gaming, the optional Radeon HD 4330 is also going to be plenty adequate.
The essential problem with the Inspiron 15 is really how stripped-down it feels. While it's lovely, limitations start to creep to the surface as you continue to use it. Three USB ports is really a bare minimum at this point (ASUS tends to offer as many as five on their laptops), and without FireWire or eSATA, backing up data to an external hard disk is going to become aggravatingly slow in short order. These omissions would be forgivable if Dell at least included an ExpressCard slot, but that's nowhere to be found either. There's plenty of room on the 15.6" chassis for some additional ports, and we'd like to see Dell make use of it. The kind of processing power modern Intel processors offer makes them ideal for the home video editor, but the Inspiron 15 has no way of facilitating that. Likewise, the 10/100 Ethernet connectivity and 802.11g wireless networking are both painful omissions. The design is beautiful, but it seems they had to strip too much to get it where it is.
If you're looking for a notebook that's both large enough to be practical as a desktop replacement and light enough to be transported, the Inspiron 15 definitely has something to offer you. It's more than serviceable as a general computing machine, and though the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 isn't ideal for gaming, it's still up to the task. The battery life isn't stellar but it's nowhere near terrible, either. It's just a shame the unit isn't more expandable, because the omissions Dell made are the kinds of choices that keep it from being a slam dunk. If you're not interested in the multimedia aspects of computing, some of the omissions won't matter much, but in that case you very likely have no use for the i5-520M CPU. Stick with the base models of the Inspiron 15 with i3-330M and you'll get a lot more value for your dollar; otherwise, you might find the Dell Studio line to be more to your liking.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
37 Comments
View All Comments
Hrel - Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - link
Haven't even gotten past the first page yet, but a 768p screen paired with a 5400rpm hdd just makes me lose ALL interest! Especially for almost $1000, wtf!wolrah - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
The 100mbit Ethernet connection is where I lose interest. Gigabit is cheap as dirt. There is no reason at all for any computer shipping today to not have gigabit, period. 802.11n not being there I can sort of see at the low end, since good 802.11n APs are still hard to find, but gigabit is an unacceptable omission.donjuancarlos - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
It's the Core i5--new technology that's jacking the price (not even available at dell.com right now). If you get a core i3, you can get one for under $600. I've seen them under $500 on sale. That's just fine price-wise.And I agree with Anandtech- the i5 in this laptop is overkill. For better performance you're much better off to get the $500 version of this laptop and throw an SSD in it.
T2k - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
I disagree: it's a DTR, remember?And if you do video/fx/cg/3D/graphics/etc jobs faster CPU and more memory always help a lot.
strikeback03 - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
a 15" relatively thin laptop isn't necessarily a DTR.dagamer34 - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
Because people who worry about stuff like that, Dell would rather you purchase a Studio XPS than from the Inspiron line of laptops.Hrel - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
Only problem with that is that they START at like a thousand bucks.JarredWalton - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
So skip the Studio XPS and look at the regular http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop_st...">Dell Studio line. I find those to be a lot better in overall features, customization options, etc.1: Please don't respond to spam posts, or you risk having your comments deleted. The following two comments were from other readers.
jecs:
Its ugly, but when a big fight involving big capitals has been beautiful???. Do you expect poetry? And then what is the point in a patent if it can't "protect" you or your products. And yes, I don't like it. But is better to have order and laws than not having them at all, or a system that can be fooled everywhere.
Apple is a corporation and is no better in that sense than the rest. Don be fooled because there are no angels here and there, and don't be naive, this is the world we live in. But again, ¿Why does a corporation exist on a legal basis? It does not includes just this silly method Apple is fighting for. What's involved here is the main reason why we need a legal system, clear rules and what should be protected and from who.
T2k:
Screw Dell and its price gouging - http://www.jr.com/acer-computer/pe/ACE_AS5740G6979..." target="_blank">take a look at here!
Yes, that's the SAME CPU there, bigger HDD, better screen, everything included and graphics is the LATEST DX11 Mobility Radeon 5650 1GB instead of Dell's outdated chip - all this for $750 SHIPPED.
Last year Acer became the #2 PC maker and it's not an accident: it's killing Dell with its faster model refresh rate, better quality-control and lower prices.
JarredWalton - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
Technically, T2k, that's the same size screen, same resolution screen, and a cheaper CPU (the i5-520M has a lot price of $225; Intel doesn't list volume pricing on the i3 or i5-430M, but I'd expect it's at least $75 less). But otherwise, yes, the Acer you linked looks like a much better buy.lyeoh - Friday, March 5, 2010 - link
Acers tend to be crappier than Dells though.http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliabil...">http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/lapt...-survey-...
(feel free to ignore the projections)
Dell's aren't that great but they aren't that crap either. They're smack right in the middle which I think is where they are aiming for anyway.