The Inspiron 14Z touted by Dell is especially thin and light, but also takes a lot of processing power. It belongs to the consumer Inspiron series, offering entry-level and mid-range notebooks with colorful designs. Dell describes a particularly thin letter "Z", as the thin XPS 15z. Although the latter is more expensive and has the computing power much more than the Inspiron. Price for the Dell online store now start at EUR 600.
Since the construction of the Inspiron 14Z has the most similarities with your V131, with whom he has the same keyboard, battery and AC adapter. Your V131 is an entry-level series of Dell's business, and slightly smaller at the same time raised up, the back of the battery.
Your V131, however, has only a 13.3-inch, and in this case, a feature that is not expressly advertised by clear Dell Inspiron 14Z on the screen frame has a relatively narrow, and can be classified as a 13-inch display Because of its size. Therefore, anyone looking for a subnotebook, it could also consider the Inspiron 14Z.
Specifications Dell Inspiron 14z (N411z) :
- Processor : Intel Core i5 2430M 2.4 GHz
- Mainboard : Intel HM67
- Memory : 8192 MB, DDR3 SDRAM
- Graphics adapter : Intel HD Graphics 3000, Core: 660 MHz, Memory: 660 MHz
- Display : 14.0 inch 16:9, 1366x768 pixel, AUO303C, glossy: yes
- Harddisk : WDC WD6400BPVT-75HXZT3, 640GB 5400rpm
- Soundcard : Intel Cougar Point PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
- Connections : 1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: Headphone/microphone combination, Card Reader: SD, MS, MMC,
- Networking : Atheros AR8152 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (10/100MBit), Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 (bgn), 3.0 Bluetooth
- Optical drive : HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GU40N
- Size : height x width x depth (in mm): 25-35 x 345 x 245
- Weight : 2.05 kg Power Supply: 0.35 kg
- Battery : 65 Wh Lithium-Ion
- Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
- Additional features : Webcam: 1MP
Dell Inspiron 14Z is a great design. Similarly, the new Dell laptop, the screen has been carried out, and a bulge behind, mainly including the battery. In contrast to the previous series of Dell's business, which was more pronounced edges, the Inspiron 14Z has more rounded edges and corners. The folds appear in the back of the base station, which engulfs the screen below. Front of the screen can be bigger and closes flush with the base station.
With a maximum thickness of 27 mm of the laptop is relatively thin, and is lifted upward by about an inch when the 6-cell battery is attached. When the 4-cell battery is attached to the laptop is flat and appeared much thinner.
There are two colors: "red light" and "Espresso Black". When it is the color of the unit checked by us. The cover display and the upper surface of the base unit are covered with dark brown painted aluminum. The bottom and the frame around the screen is made of matt black plastic.
Manufacturing quality is mediocre laptop. Although it may be relatively stable, and only slightly more than the weak optical drive, and in the middle of the keyboard, seams, and the differences in materials, not always perfectly flat. The base station and the display can be rotated and low power. Hinges of the screen is relatively stiff, and hardly a wobble at all. To do this, the basic unit must be kept low to open the screen though.
Connectivity
When it comes to the interface on 14z Inspiron, Dell has chosen an unusual feature: all ports except for the power behind plastic covers. How it is first necessary to lift a panel down or sideways to access the interface.
This practice is less common interfaces protects dirt and sharp objects. In addition, the laptop has the appearance of being constructed from a single element, like the pages of the book will not be disturbed by the gaps. That this protection would be a tangible benefit is still uncertain.
Looking at the selection of interfaces available, the surprise omission VGA port, which is replaced by a Mini DisplayPort. Also left behind is a HDMI and a USB 2.0 port, which is a load operation, when the notebook is off. Before the air intake has a card reader: SD, MS, and MMC cards. Back to contain the power connector and the Gigabit LAN port. The right side includes a DVD burner, behind which is connected to the audio port for headphones or a microphone, which is followed by two USB 3.0 ports.
Communications
Dell has integrated all the technology of communication customary in the handset. Among these are the Gigabit LAN, Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi b / g / n, which offers an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 form, which can also connect your laptop wirelessly with a compatible display Widi (Wireless Display).
Accessories
Inspiron 14z delivery includes only the battery and AC adapter, and waives any enhancement. Due to the omission of the VGA port, adding a Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter was favorable.
Software
Dell has equipped the Inspiron 14z with a large software package. This includes Microsoft Office Starter and Skype and Dell DataSafe, with which you can easily backup and recovery discs, and also to store up to 2 GB of data securely online for free for one year.
Similar features are provided by the SyncUp Nero is also included, allowing up to 2 GB of data to be synchronized and stored in the cloud. In addition, Dell has developed its own suite of media with the "stage" program, with which you can view and playback photos, videos and music as well as remote control software using a mobile phone Dell Android.
Warranty
The standard warranty covers a period of one year. This includes a collection of notebooks and return service, a period of ten days. The service can be up to three years to a maximum of 170 euros and includes a day of service in place. Also included with the telephone support service, available to common problems.
Input Devices
Keyboard
We are already familiar with the keyboard smaller than your models, like the V131, which is once again left us a good impression. Dell has used a chiclet design, for which it is separated keys, the keyboard on the polished floor. But that does not attract dust and other debris, which can be clearly seen, and it is difficult to clean between the keys.
The keys have a concave surface, and can be easily found and used without looking. With the relatively short travel keys and good comments, it is good to write, and is also suitable for longer writing assignments. Unfortunately, our revised unit does not include the backlit keyboard option. It can be added another 30 euros in the Dell online store.
The start button and three extra buttons at the top right of the keyboard also remember the Vostro V131. The left of these buttons opens the Windows Mobility Center, which offers an easy to use to configure various settings. The center button opens the Dell Support Centre, which offers warranty and the details of the service information. And the right button can be assigned to a specific user.
Touchpad
The built-in touchpad is a different model from that used in Vostro laptops. A step in the wrong direction, in this case, since the touchpad is not clearly separated, and the fingers may lack the sensitive area by accident. The touchpad is accurate and has good sliding properties. The buttons on the touchpad, however, are relatively rigid and can not be easily pushed to the center. The edges of the buttons do not react in response to pressure. In consideration of what led to several instances where we had to repeat clicks.
Display
Dell can not directly allude to this fact, but the 14-inch screen has built a very narrow. Thanks to a 14-inch screen that can be connected to the base of a base unit 13. "Therefore, the 14-inch Inspiron 14z has a size similar to a 13-inch laptop, such as the Vostro V131. The display made by AU Optronics, and a description of the AUO303C manufacturer. The resolution ranges from 1366 x 768 pixels and the screen is unfortunately a reflective surface.
The reflective display has an average brightness of 176.7 cd / m². Value as bad as it may be enough for indoor use, but is unlikely to be good enough for use in combination with strong reflections off the surface of the screen. The distribution of brightness of 85% is acceptable, even when the brightness decreases toward the bottom of the screen. The black level of 1.3 cd / m² is relatively low, and low light leads to a 141:1 contrast ratio, fine. Therefore, the main consequences is likely to be low spot color images.
As expected, the consumer is not able to display standard, or even almost touch the sRGB color space, or a wider AdobeRGB color space. This criterion is particularly important, however, only one photo editing and professional image.
The Inspiron 14z stand not just with good viewing angles: horizontal color can remain relatively stable, but the images become much darker, with wide viewing angle. Looking from the underside colors darken and investment very quickly. Surprisingly, the view from above is relatively good with other colors recognizable, although the brightness is also lower in this case.
Performance
Dell Inspiron 14z can be equipped with one of three different processors of the second generation of Intel Core series. These include low i3-2330M, 2410M and most powerful processors Core i5 and Core i5 2430M. The only graphics solution Intel HD Graphics 3000 is integrated into the CPU. Therefore, a dedicated GPU is not available.
RAM options include 4 GBS, GBS 6, or 8 GB of DDR3 RAM. For data storage that provides a 640 GB disk Dell 5400 rpm drive with a hard drive or 750 GB at 7200 rpm. There is also a DVD burner, and the standard 6-cell battery. Optionally it can be replaced by a 4-cell battery. Use less battery gives the laptop flat and gives a slimmer appearance.
Our revised model is equipped with this relatively unknown 2430M Intel Core i5. The clock speed of the processor core 2.4 GHz is slightly faster than the Intel Core i5 2410M popular operating at 2.3 GHz. In addition, our revised model is also equipped with 8 GB of RAM 1333 MHz dual-channel DDR3. The Western Digital hard drive, and WD6400BPVT manufacturer code. As the name suggests, it has a capacity of 640 GB and a rotational speed of 5400 rpm.
Using the Cinebench benchmark, the CPU is expected to render different. In this case, the Intel Core i5 2430M a little 'disappointing, because it is unlikely to be better than the popular 2410M Core i5. In some cases, the results are even lower than those achieved by a couple of notebooks 2410M presumably weaker.
With 9715 points in Cinebench 10 makes 64-bit, Inspiron reaches about 70 points lower than Lenovo ThinkPad E420s-edge NWD4NGE (Core i5-2410, ATI Radeon HD 6630M), but about 150 more than the same-equipped Dell V131 (Core i5 2410, HD Graphics 3000).
The cause of the disappointing results can be attributed to the CPU clock speed. Although the 2.8 GHz processor reaches may be temporarily reduced at times to 2.5 GHz Turbo and is about 2.6 to 2.7 GHz, on average. In this case, the most frequent cause of limitation of temperature due to the lack of refrigeration is not the culprit, since the CPU temperature reaches only 70 ° C.
The Futuremark PCMark benchmark determines a score for the entire system, and this by simulating normal use. The Inspiron is no different in this case, but it still works relatively well. With 6806 points in PCMark Vantage, which reaches 250 points more than the Lenovo ThinkPad E420 edge, but 930 points lower than the Dell Vostro V131 with similar i5 2410. This is mainly the result of the hard drive score of 3443 points relatively low.
Hard Drive from Western Digital has a capacity of 640 GB. And 'slower than the alternative, a 5400 rpm. That's why we do not expect anything exceptional data transfer. Taking into account the speed, hard drive still works quite well, achieving an average transfer of 68.5 MB / s HD Tune. When the seek time 19 ms, the HDD has an average performance in this regard. In light of these facts, the SSD would certainly improve the system performance significantly.
Graphics on the Inspiron 3000 is performed by the integrated processor Intel HD Graphics. With a good 3965 points in 3DMark 06, and score as correct in 1785 points in 3DMark Vantage, which is able to overcome almost all other phones with the same graphics solution. The results are even more valued by dedicated graphics cards such as Nvidia's GeForce GT 540M people, which often exceed at least double the points.
Verdict game
The Inspiron is not suitable for demanding games. Due to the omission of a dedicated graphics card, the graphics processing power of laptop is not enough to play games like DiRT3 the test without problems, even with minimal configuration selected. Battlefield Bad Company 2 can be played with an average of 38 fps, but it was enjoyable as the temporal frame rate dropped to 11 fps at times. Use the highest setting is more or less impossible with the two games.
Emissions
System noise
In sleep mode, the Inspiron is relatively quiet, and the term system noise 31 and 34 dB. Fan runs a constant rate, and is overshadowed by a little 'fastest hard disk 32 dB. DVD becomes evident with clearly audible 38 dB, and can be distracting during quiet scenes of the film. With a high processing load on the fan run a lot, and we measured up to 45 dB. Up to this level is still an acceptable value, however.
Temperature
When it comes to temperature, the Inspiron 14Z stands still non-negative. Although 37 ° C, the notebook can be pleasantly warm during the winter months to come, at 52 ° C during the summer when the bottom of the laptop in full use, it can be a source of concern as well as a laptop user .
In sleep mode the other hand, a laptop is relatively cool upper surface. With a maximum of 29 ° C, the notebook is only warm. In particular, the region above the DVD burner is cold. The bottom of the device is already warm enough to sleep, anyway.
In the middle of the back of a laptop reaches the temperature at 37 ° C, which calculates the 31 ° C towards the front. In the lower right optical drive, a laptop remains cool and only gets a 4 ° C warmer than the surrounding area. On the left under the cooling fan, laptop reaches a maximum of 31 ° C.
The laptop is very hot, with a processing load, resulting in temperatures of 52 ° C in the bottom of the base unit. Surface temperatures remain above certain limits, and only reach 37 ° C.
The stress test
During the stress test the processor and the graphics are in full use at least one hour. In this case, the cooling system is also tested, because the processor power is automatically reduced if the temperature of the components should be too.
The CPU temperature remains within acceptable limits during the benchmarks, and up to 85 ° C. Initially, the stress test of the Turbo Boost is still active, and the Core i5 to use up to 2.7 GHz clock available. However, shortly after the clock frequency ranges from 2.7 to 2.6 GHz, and about 15 minutes, the fund will rise to 2.4 GHz clock speed. Limitation feared, which is reflected in some of today's laptops Sandy Bridge, thankfully, has not been activated.
Speakers
The speakers in the 14-inch notebook is surprisingly good. High frequencies and midrange sound very good, even when the volume is increased, and only marginally distortion with loud noises. Bass is unfortunately absent in this book.
Watch a movie without an external sound system is possible because the internal speakers are loud enough. Users who have high standards in terms of sound quality will not move with a good pair of headphones or external speakers.
Battery Life
Power consumption is expected at a low level through the graphics solution in the processor. In this regard, the mechanism of energy conservation in the Intel Core i5, which stifles the clock speed to 800 MHz for the calculation of power requirements are low, plays an important role, since considerably less power is consumed as a result.
With minimum energy consumption in standby mode, the laptop very economical. The maximum no-load high processing was also measured as 10.8 watts also very good. It's even better than the corresponding set of Dell Vostro V131, although it has a low CPU Intel Core i5 2410M. With a high processing load of the laptop will be just as economical as the mean value of 42.8 watts, the same as Vostro V131, and is even close to three watts less than the maximum energy consumption.
Dell chose to use a very large battery Inspiron 14z. By default, a 6-cell battery with 65 Wh is included. This battery is distinguished on the back with about 10 mm down and lifts the notebook up. The same battery is already used in the Vostro V131, and AC adapter is also identical. You can choose a 4-cell battery with 44 Wh, not sticks are also available, so that the portable flat.
The large battery is paid well, and manages to keep the laptop on the legs for more than ten hours. The long battery life, however, is only possible in an inactive state, with all power saving features turned on and off WLAN. Time was determined by the Battery Eater Reader test, which simulates the reading of a text document with a low brightness setting.
Much more convenient, however, is the WLAN surfing, which measures the battery life when surfing the Internet via WLAN. In this case, the laptop managed to last nearly seven hours.
Impressive, the Inspiron 14Z can play DVDs for almost five hours. This may be sufficient for two or three DVDs in a row, depending on the length of the film. In this case, the screen brightness set to maximum and wireless off.
With the Battery Eater Classic test is a 3D file that while fully exploiting the processor. In this scenario, the laptop still managed to keep in a good 110 minutes.
Opinion
Dell has done many things right with Inspiron 14z, which is an attractive laptop design requires extraordinary appeals to your taste. The stability of the Inspiron is good and just the quality of production could be improved. Dell was generous when it comes to interfaces, since there are two USB 3.0 ports and a Mini DisplayPort. All interfaces are also located to the rear of the laptop, which is an added advantage.
The keyboard is very good for writing, and can also be illuminated as an optional extra. The touchpad is accurate and is large enough, even if it is not clearly separated from the surrounding area. The touchpad buttons are very difficult to use and does not react to the edges from time to time.
The display is, unfortunately, the quality of consumer panel, and a less than ideal low-light black level, contrast and low. Along with displays reflecting surface, these features make the handset is not suitable for outdoor use.
Integrated Intel CPU is powerful enough for most daily activities. Solutions integrated graphics processor, is relatively good compared to the baseline dedicated graphics cards, but the fighting than the average level graphics cards like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M. It is therefore not suitable to play the most demanding notebook.
The sound system is good to average, and should not be altered during normal use. The temperature on the other hand can reach relatively high levels. The maximum measured at 52 ° C is probably too hot for use in a lap, but when used in office should not be a problem. The speakers are surprisingly good and sound much better than the Vostro V131.
Thank you to the intensive energy saving features of Intel CPU, Alienware is able to score points when it comes to energy consumption and battery life. The longest measured the battery life lasted one ten impressive. This is mainly due to the large battery which stands in the bottom of the laptop, and raises the laptop on the back.
Despite its 14-inch screen, the laptop could easily pass for a 13 "unit, thanks to its compact dimensions. This makes it very portable, while the extended battery can be used for long periods without having to plug the power cable. Those looking for a laptop like this may well have found the ideal candidate.