Dell Inspiron 15-5558
The Inspiron 5000 Series is the middle of three ranges of business laptops from Dell, with the 3000 Series representing the value models, and the 7000 Series as top Inspirons.
We tested the popular 15in size from the 5000 Series, the 5558 just updated by Dell. There are several configurations from which to choose, all based on the same tough casework. It weighs 2.4kg and feels heavier – in a good way, the stiff chassis suggesting that it could withstand wear, yet with thoughtful touches such as full-length rubber feet ridges on the underside for a stable platform.
A black tiled keyboard with clean action sits on a rubbery grey top deck. The buttonless trackpad was unusually precise, unlike its 5548 predecessor whose cursor could fly
off course when clicked. Also changed since the previous model, the 5558 model now includes a DVD writer on the right of the chassis.
A half-depth removable plate covers the underside, allowing access to key components: hard disk, memory and wireless adaptors. This model had 8GB on two cards, a Toshiba 1TB HDD, along with single-stream 11ac Wi-Fi.
There’s a choice of screens, all sensibly non-touch; low-resolution 1366x768 or FHD. The full-HD screen in our sample had the decent contrast and off-axis viewability of an IPS panel. Its colour gamut was only 61 percent sRGB but contrast ratio was up at 500:1.
Options for connectivity include just one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4a for full-rate video to 1440p, gigabit ethernet, and SDXC card slot. Our sample had Windows 10 Pro installed.
The Core i5 processor is clocked at 2.2GHz, rising up to 2.7GHz Turbo when required. The Inspiron will get a little noisy when stressed, a single fan spinning loudly to maintain cool.
Geekbench 3 scored the Dell with 2802 and 5539 points respectively for single- and multi-core operation. PCMark 8 turned in average results, 2291 points in normal Home test, which fell to 2263 points using the GPU to accelerate OpenCL tasks.
The main processor includes HD Graphics 5500 and some models include switchable graphics such as the nVidia GeForce 920M with 2GB DDR3 in our sample.
The discrete graphics capability means you can also play Windows games, with some care in settings to find a workable framerate. Batman refused to run but Tomb Raider managed 37fps set at 1080p resolution and Low detail; or 43fps at 1366x768 and High detail.
The 15-5558 could have better battery life – it lasted four hours 55 minutes in a wireless video test.
In use, the Inspiron 15 felt surprisingly fast and fluid. It was helped along by a high-quality trackpad and excellent screen, providing essential comfort in the human interface to the laptop.
Verdict
The 15-5558 straddles budget and mid-range laptop camps, asserting excellent build quality and decent performance.