Dell Vostro 14 5410 review: for managers and students

Screen

The laptop is equipped with a 14-inch Full HD anti-glare IPS LCD panel with a refresh rate of 60Hz. The user has 2 options to choose from:

• 14″ FHD (1920 x 1080), 60Hz, anti-glare, non-touch, 45% NTSC color gamut, 250 nits, wide viewing angle, LED-backlit, narrow bezel;
• 14″ FHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz anti-glare, non-touch, 100% sRGB, 300 nits, wide viewing angle, LED-backlit, narrow bezel, ComfortView Plus.

There is nothing to think about. It is worth buying the second option with a brightness of 300 nits. The first option will save some money, but the brightness of 250 nits means that the laptop will only be used indoors. In turn, the matte 300-nit panel will allow you to fearlessly sit by the window on a clear day and not peer at the screen.

I had a younger model on the test. The maximum brightness was 260 nits. Color accuracy is lame, so for photo editing or any work with color, a model with a younger screen is not worth buying.

Above the screen is a neat webcam with a shutter. The quality of the camera is standard. When closing the camera shutter, remember that it only blocks the image, not the sound.

Keyboard and touchpad

I couldn’t help noticing that on the promo video, where all three new models (13, 14 and 15 inches) are shown, a very large touchpad is drawn. In reality, it turned out to be smaller, 7 by 11.5 cm. In fairness, it should be noted that this is an enlarged touchpad, since the standard size is 6.5 by 10.5 cm. The touchpad is comfortable, supports gestures, its lower part is pressed through, imitating mouse buttons. However, the sensitivity of the touchpad is good, so I performed all the actions with taps.

The advertisement states that the keyboard is waterproof, but the list of technical specifications on the site does not say this. The keyboard has a slightly shorter travel, which makes the keys feel slightly stiffer. Since this is a 14-inch model, there are paired arrow keys, and Home, End and other service buttons are combined with function keys.

There are models without backlight, but in the test sample there was a standard 2-level backlight.

I won’t sing praises to the keyboard, but I won’t be able to scold it either. Before us is a standard keyboard, which is very appropriate in this laptop.

Performance

11th generation processors from Intel, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD storage, integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics.

I suppose you yourself understand that in front of you is a rather powerful, but office laptop. Intel Iris Xe graphics will allow you to play World of Tanks in Full HD at medium-high settings. Simple photo processing is possible, or you can glue the video together. But first of all, the laptop is designed for office applications and the Internet.

Before we move on to performance tests, let’s talk about configuration options.

There are 2 processors to choose from:

1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11300H Processor (8MB Cache, up to 4.40GHz)
2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11370H Processor (12MB Cache, up to 4.80GHz)

Which rely on three video cards (2 integrated and one discrete):

1. Intel® UHD Graphics
2. Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
3. NVIDIA GeForce MX450 2GB GDDR5

Combinations may vary. For example, I have a model with an i5 processor on the test, but Intel Iris Xe goes to it.

When choosing a processor, think about what tasks the PC faces. If you think that a fast processor will help you open your browser faster, then you are wrong. This requires fast RAM and storage. But to count complex Excel, in which calculations are carried out sequentially, and a more powerful processor will help to render video.

If you plan to play at least a little bit or edit video on a laptop, then you should not take the version on UHD Graphics. It is better to choose Iris or GeForce MX450 (about 10-20% more powerful than Iris). The latter, at the very least, will allow you to play modern AAA games in Full HD at medium-low settings. Intel Iris Xe is an intermediate option for those who play games that are comparable in terms of requirements to World of Tanks.

In terms of upgrade, everything is stable. The design of the laptop is simple, and Dell, as always, makes it easy to replace the RAM and storage with a screwdriver. And if something fails, then the laptop can be easily repaired by replacing the broken module.

The work of the engineers is top notch. The laptop is quiet and doesn’t get hot. All stress tests went well. Processor temperature – in the screenshot below.

Battery life

The laptop has a relatively small 54W battery. A nice bonus is that the power adapter is compact and lightweight (330 g including cable). And also the laptop can be charged using the Type-C port, a powerful adapter from a smartphone.

Battery life is standard. Doesn’t set any records. In office mode, the laptop is enough for 6-8 hours of work.

When watching 4K video at maximum brightness on YouTube, the laptop will last 5-5.5 hours. Under maximum load – 1.5 hours less.

I did not like that Dell removed the option to extend battery life, which allowed to limit the charge to a given percentage. For example, in Lenovo or ASUS, you can limit the charge level to 60% or 80%.

Features

It’s nice that the laptop comes with a minimum amount of pre-installed software. Maybe I got some fresh batch. There is also proprietary software from Dell. I recommend to study and adjust it. There are some useful solutions there.

Conclusion and competitors

Dell Vostro 14 5410 leaves a good impression. A good workhorse that you can rely on and that will last a long time. The laptop has passed certain endurance tests and is what is called business-rugged. That is, protected for life in difficult corporate conditions (shaking in a backpack and luggage, etc.) An additional plus is a simple repair and upgrade.

There is a $1,000 GeForce MX450 configuration on the market (according to e-catalog). The Intel Iris Xe version is cheaper. For the price, this laptop is amazing.

Finally, I want to note once again that Vostro is primarily a corporate laptop. It comes with Windows AutoPilot (that is, a solution for system administrators that allows you to configure Windows and immediately deploy the assembly on many laptops).

Such a laptop is also suitable for students to take with them to lectures. Well, at home you can connect an external monitor.

With competitors, everything is simple. First of all, you should pay attention to the noble Chinese a la Honor MagicBook 14. Almost identical characteristics. But Honor may have a slightly better screen (better to see both laptops live). On the side of Dell endurance (business-rugged) and ease of repair.

If you really try, then sometimes you can for $ 1,100 ASUS ZenBook 13 with an OLED screen from no less noble Taiwanese. Similar configuration, but ASUS has better battery life. The brand’s laptops are also business-rugged. The screen is 13 inches, but OLED. In addition to the ZenBook, ASUS also has the VivoBook. Also with an OLED screen, but it already weighs 1.7 kg. Other characteristics are similar (there are versions for Intel and AMD).

The direct competitor of the Vostro series is the ThinkBook from the American Chinese Lenovo (nothing personal, as the Chinese themselves call Lenovo). Similar features and capabilities. Both brands are aimed at the same target audience. Choose any and you will be satisfied.

By the way, Lenovo still has an IdeaPad, but these are home laptops not designed for corporate life. There are also Acer laptops, but these are products that are lower in class than Dell, Lenovo, ASUS.