回顾戴尔Inspiron15R-5521笔记本

For Dell, great emphasis is put on individuality. In order to address a large group of customers, the 15-inch Inspiron 15R-5521 is available in four different colors. Depending on the configuration the lid and keyboard shine in either “pink”, “red”, “silver” or “blue”. An upgrade from the silver base model to a different version costs 39 Euros (~$52).

Independent of that decision are the sides, which are made of plastic, and the silver-gray edge of the lid. The casing bottom however is black. Due to the extensive use of metal (lid + wrist rest) and the high-contrast material transition, the 15-inch notebook cuts a fancy and classic figure. Only the projecting battery cover and the extremely thick display frame at the lower part did not appeal to us. The round casing front reminiscent of the XPS 15 is also a matter of taste.

Even though the processing leaves a lot to be desired here and there (hinges, transition lid/display frame) and dirt might settle down in some gaps, the Inspiron 15R-5521 offers a decent impression of quality. In the price range below 1000 Euros (~$1344) small flaws have to be almost always taken into account. Most all-round notebooks shows a similar result in that category.

Let’s have a look at stability, which can be classified to be reasonable to good. Only the drive area steps out of line. Especially the number pad yields in case of strong pressure. Otherwise, the case is relatively pressure resistant. Since the hinges are very tight, two hands are required to open the lid. Still, the display shakes if the base is knocked.

The good mobility is a positive highlight. A maximum height of barely three centimeters (~1.18 inches) and a weight of 2.36 kg (~5.2 pounds) are surprisingly low for a 15-inch notebook. 

Concerning the software, Dell focuses on drivers and in-house tools. Apart from the Amazon Browser App, the Inspiron 15R-5521 is mostly bloatware free. To console the customer for the missing recovery DVD, the manufacturer installs a "Backup and Recovery” program. Optionally, the operating system can be restored with the Windows 8 function “Restore” (PC-Settings, General). 

Accessories

One should not expect a large accessory pack when buying the Inspiron 15R-5521. Two thin leaflets (Quick Start Guide + safety instructions), a 6-cell battery (330 g/~0.73 pounds) and a compact 90 Watt adapter (340 g/~0.75 pounds) is all there is. Dell could have at least included a driver DVD.  

Warranty

The standard warranty (collection and repair) extends to 12 months. The warranty can be extended at extra charge. A one-year on-the-spot service amounts to 75 Euros (~$101), two years to 115 Euros (~$155) and three years to 150 Euros (~$202). Additionally, Dell sells an accident insurance for 40-80 Euros (~$54-$108). 

In order to keep the power consumption to a minimum, Dell does not use an “ordinary” processor, but rather an energy-saving ULV model. The Core i5-3317U is a dual-core from Intel’s current Ivy Bridge generation which is formed in the 22nm process, which can handle four threads parallel due to the hyperthreading technology.

The automatic overclocking function “Turbo Boost” cannot be missed. When the cooling permits, the clock speed is clearly beyond the basic level. In the case of the i5-3317U, up to 2.6 GHz are possible instead of the 1.7 GHz. 

An absolute highlight is however the low TDP. The standard models can only dream of using only 17 Watts (35 Watts for the two cores) and the three MB L3-Cache resembles the large dual-core versions. But specifications aside: with the Core i5-3317U, Dell undertakes an exciting experiment. ULV processors are normally found in ultrabooks. Will the choice be an intelligent move or a fail?

The Radeon HD 8730M is based on the AMD's modern GCN architecture (Graphics Core Next) which is produced in the 28nm process. 384 unified shaders point to the middle class as well as the 900 million transistors and a memory interface of 128-bits.

The old Radeon HD 7670M (Terascale 2 architecture) has to make do with 716 million transistors and a 128-bit interface. Also the clock speed distinguishes the Radeon HD 8730M and the core works normally with 650 instead of 600 MHz. Since AMD HD-8000 series has an automatic overclocking, the DirectX 11.1 graphics card achieves even 700 MHz.

Dell utilizes the GPU model with 2048 MB DDR3-VRAM (900 MHz). Due to the integrated audio controller, HDMI surround-sound can be passed through to external devices.

The most interesting aspect though is the dynamic graphics switch, which AMD labels “Enduro”. Depending on the requirements, a program is either assigned to the processor chip or to the dedicated graphics chip. While games are accelerated by the Radeon HD 8730M, modest applications like the web browser or the video player work on Intel’s HD Graphics 4000 (clocks only with 350-1050 MHz for the ULV models).

At least in theory, because amongst other things, Enduro does not really know what to do with certain programs (“Not assigned”). If a game or a 3D-application performance is suspiciously low, the user should check in the driver menu “Switchable Graphics – Application Setting” (right-click on the desktop) whether the profile “Maximum Performance” is activated. 

The notebook has a 1,000 GB, 9.5 mm (~0.37 inches) high Western Digital SATA-II-HDD (Scorpio Blue WD10JPVT-75A1YT0). For a 5400 RPM model the performance is amazingly good.

Where smaller competitors only have a transfer rate of 60-80 MB/sec for HD Tune, the Western Digital levels out at just 90 MB/sec. The CrystalDiskMark judges the HDD slightly quicker: around 110 MB/sec in the sequential reading and writing test are a respectable result. The average seek time of 16.5 ms is rather unspectacular.

If you want to get the most out of the Inspiron 15R-5521, the hard disk should be exchanged with an SSD. With a Solid State Drive one can save some waiting time. Program installations profit from an SSD as well as charge, boot and transfer processes. 

The game speed strongly depends on the CPU requirements of the program. DirectX 9 titles that require less graphics performance, like Dishonored, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Darksiders II, Borderlands 2 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 allow gambling with high details and double edge smoothing.

For titles like Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Alan Wake, Guild Wars 2 or Far Cry 3, the user has to be content with average graphics options and deactivated anti-aliasing. In exceptional cases, the power is just enough for minimal details. Assassin's Creed III did not work in the test at all. AMD graphics cards in general have problems there.

Taking all the benchmarks together, a rather decent gaming performance results. With the Inspiron 15R-5521, Dell primarily addresses casual gamers. Although the relative weak CPU clock is noticeable, the negative effects are not grave. 

Under the item “Temperature”, the all-round notebook also gets a good grade. Let’s start with the components that do not reach a critical temperature even after a long stress phase. 85 °C (185 °F) at maximum for the processor and 72 °C (161.6 °F) for the graphics card are completely uncritical. According to the CPUID Hardware Monitor, the hard disk only warmed up to 30 °C (86 °F)

The casing heats especially on the left side. After an hour of use with the tools FurMark and Prime95, the notebook reached 43 °C (109.4 °F/top) and 49 °C (120.2 °F/bottom). On average, we could measure just acceptable 38 °C (100.4 °F). Under normal operations the Inspiron 15R-5521 remains noticeably cooler. Around 27 °C (80.6 °F) in the idle mode is no reason for complaint. 

The manufacturer relies on the 2.0 system which is hidden in the front of the casing bottom. With activated MaxxAudio-4 technology (ensures more power and higher volume), the sound is indeed useful, but one should not expect miracles. For a perfect sound, the speakers have to be more precise and less tinny.

Otherwise, the sound system is above the standard level. Despite missing a subwoofer one can hear a decent bass. The biggest advantage however is the good maximum volume which is enough for smaller and middle-sized rooms. Using the successful “Dell Audio” software, the sound can be adjusted to personal needs. The MaxxAudio technology offers several preset profiles (music, gaming, language, etc.)

If you do not have high requirements on the image quality, the Inspiron 15R-5521 is a good choice. Dell has designed a trendy multimedia notebook which performs “only” fair to good in most categories, but which does not allow striking flaws. 

If there is something to criticize, it is the second-class display. Brightness, black level, colors, contrast, resolution and angles do not knock anybody’s socks off. Also the poor interfaces (no VGA nor Gigabit LAN, only an audio-jack) are a disadvantage.

Otherwise, Dell does a great job. Most of the customers will not only be satisfied with the battery life and the temperature, but also with the input devices and the performance.

Intel’s Core i5-3317U and AMD’s Radeon HD 8730M form a harmonic duo. Despite the small detail deficiencies, the casing also appealed to us. Metallic surfaces are not standard in the price range below 700 Euros (~$941).

In short: for multi-purpose oriented users, the Inspiron 15R-5521 is worth considering.