Are you looking for a cheap laptop that can handle your everyday chores effectively? If so, you should read this review of the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop because it might be the one for you!
I’ll go over the features and specifications of the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop to familiarize you with it. I’ll focus on the design, CPU, memory, graphics, storage, and battery performance of the device.
In addition, I’ll give the laptop a grade after each portion of this evaluation so you can see how it did in each category. You would finally be able to make a wise purchase after reading this review.
my first impressions
A mid-tier class of laptops with a long history is the Dell Inspiron series. The series’ laptops are primarily renowned for their uninteresting looks.
The Dell Inspiron 15 laptop is undoubtedly a member of the Inspiron family. Furthermore, it is a multifunctional laptop for web browsing, office work, and light gaming.
This laptop has a mid-range pricing and a respectable performance. The Dell Inspiron 15 laptop starts at a price of $622.97 as of the time this article was published.
Let’s move on to an in-depth study of the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop’s features and specifications now that we’ve given a hint as to what to anticipate from it.
Design, size, and weight of the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop are reviewed.
Aluminum alloy and plastic were combined in the chassis construction of the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. Although you won’t get an all-metal chassis for the laptop’s price range, its brushed metallic surface gives it a more expensive appearance.
The silver metallic finish on the lid that Dell used during design gives the laptop a more expensive-looking appearance than it actually is. The Dell logo is located in the middle of the lid in a silver tone that precisely matches the rest of the lid.
The laptop’s strong hinges mean that opening the lid requires two hands. Yet when you open it, you’ll notice that the screen is enclosed in a thin bezel.
Once you turn your attention to the base, you will first notice the power button, which also functions as a fingerprint reader. Because the fingerprint sensor is responsive, using it to log into Windows is simpler than typing a password.
Next, you’ll find the chiclet-styled keyboard, which is a row of black, illuminated keys, on the laptop’s base. The full-sized keyboard also has a Numpad and directional arrow keys.
The keys have a good travel distance, actuation force of roughly 80g, and are responsive. Also, when pressed, the keys provide pleasant tactile sensation, which streamlines typing.
The touchpad is located below the keyboard, although it was oddly positioned to the left of the keyboard rather than in the center. Like the keyboard, the touchpad has a matte appearance and is composed of plastic.
Also, because the touchpad makes use of Windows Precision Drivers, the laptop allows swipes, taps, and gestures. The touchpad’s clicking mechanism, however, needs to be activated with a lot of pressure.
Compared to the Lenovo Thinkpad X250, which measures 306 x 209 x 20 mm and weighs 1360g, the laptop is heavier.
Fortunately, in my opinion, the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop has a stylish appearance and a sturdy construction. I will give it a nine in this category.
Trackpad and keyboard
The keyboard on this Dell Inspiron model is rather good. It provides decent feedback, is lighted, and the keys are correctly spaced away. Considering the thickness of the laptop, the trip is about average.
It was really not difficult for me to type. I generally write this part of the review last, and I can say with certainty that I adjusted to it quite easily.
The only color used for the key lighting is white, and there are three brightness levels that may be selected by pressing Fn-F5. I like how the illumination is subdued. You won’t even notice it during the day, but in a dimly lit space, it functions as it should.
The majority of the time, the keyboard layout is very standard. Along the top, there is a complete array of multimedia keys that provide virtually all the controls you would require. In truth, Dell left the f9 field empty because they were at a loss for what to put there.
Since it is a full keyboard layout, the Numpad is also present. Windows calculator lovers can rejoice since they have found the right keyboard! There are genuine specific buttons to start the calculator, clear, and —I’ve never seen this before. Perfect if you use the 10-key all day, but not my thing.
The power button, which is unlabeled and located in the upper right corner, is the last intriguing detail. Its dual function as a fingerprint reader accounts for its blankness. I have no issues because everything functions well.
Screen
Many prospective consumers’ decision to purchase will probably be made based on the screen. It’s a bland fact, though. It has an FHD panel, runs at 60 Hz, and is a little less bright than typical. Its touch capability and matte finish are its only redeeming qualities.
Yet, the colors on the screen are its weakest feature. The calibration clearly reflects how muted the colors are.
At least the touch functionality is smooth. The inclusion of such a function in a matte panel is quite cool. In all honesty, the glare is the main reason I avoid touch displays on computers. Yet, this panel effectively blocks glare; it’s just a shame it isn’t a little brighter.
There is nothing to worry about with this one in terms of viewing angles. Moving 30 degrees in either direction causes a minor light change, but it is not distracting and the visuals are still clear.
Hardware and functionality
This computer contains a Ryzen 7 5700U CPU, which has 8 cores and 16 threads and can run at a maximum speed of 4.3 GHz. It is combined with 16GB of Memory, which is more than enough for anyone to likely require in a laptop of this kind.
You can only use AMD Radeon graphics on this model because it lacks a dedicated GPU. It is possible to game, but you will be severely constrained to lower graphical settings on any contemporary titles. Soon, I’ll say more about that.
Hynix produced the 512GB PCIe SSD. It has some fairly good benchmarks, but take aware that when the laptop is powered up, these substantially rise. It’s not slow on batteries, though, because even those outcomes are perfectly acceptable. For specific figures, please refer to my benchmarks.
speakers, heat, connectivity, and other factors
As previously mentioned, this laptop only has one cooling fan and a few heatpipes to cool the CPU. The fan draws cold air from the laptop’s bottom and exhausts it completely into the screen’s bottom corner. It’s by no means my preferred cooling method, but this is what we have.
The CPU generally maintains a good level of cooling. Dell may have some pretty low CPU temperature thresholds, which may be the cause of the power loss I experienced during my prolonged CPU tests. CPU temperatures averaged only 70C during my Cinebench cycle, which is quite acceptable.
With typical use, the chassis temperature remains extremely low. The chassis keeps cool as well because the CPU hardly has a chance to become warm.
This alters as the temperatures on the underside actually rise during gaming or under higher loads. Once Witcher 3 has been running for a half-hour, take note of the 52C hotspot.
battery power
Pretty bad for only using a 54 Whr battery. The AMD CPU undoubtedly aids. Just adding a larger battery to the device would be the only option to further increase battery life.
The 65W power brick is fairly portable. As I noted previously, it’s probably not producing 65W because my benchmarks performed better with 61W from the GaN charger I was using.
Conclusion of the review of the Dell Inspiron 15 5515
So, I believe that this laptop is suitable for regular day-to-day users, barring the screen. It should easily last a few years, and depending on how well you maintain your devices, it might even survive longer.
Update: In the interim, I’ve also made my assessment of the upgraded Dell Inspiron 16 available.
For the money you pay, the design and build quality are excellent. The trackpad and keyboard are also quite decent. Also, I believe that the amount of IO is suitable for the laptop’s intended user base.
You’ll only need to tolerate this purchase if you can get past the screen, though. Simply said, the lack of color volume makes the display appear lifeless and dreary. Its matte touchscreen finish is its one redeeming grace, which makes it a special feature worth highlighting.
The poor webcam is the sole additional concern. The fingerprint reader compensates for the lack of Windows Hello support. Yet, the pixelated image cannot be compensated for. Hence, if you frequently attend web conferences, you might want to look elsewhere.
Yet, I believe that the majority of individuals would love using this laptop as their primary device if the screen and webcam weren’t that crucial to you. I believe the value is there, and when combined with Dell’s support for products still covered by warranties, I believe the risk is quite minimal.
