Dell Latitude 12 5000 Series Review
by Brett Howse on January 19, 2015 10:30 AM ESTSystem Performance
Our Latitude 12 5000 model uses the Haswell based Core i5-4310U, which is a dual-core, quad-thread processor with Turbo Boost. Base clocks are 2.0 GHz, and the boost frequency is 3.0 GHz under a 15 watt TDP. Integrated graphics are provided by the Intel HD 4400 GPU, with a 200 MHz base frequency and 1.1 GHz boost frequency. The Haswell-U range is well-known in our benchmarks at this time, so we do not expect any surprises. The sample we received does have 8 GB of memory, but it is single channel only, so performance could be better if Dell instead offered 2x4 GB. Dell does offer their Power Vault software, so you can tune whether you want the system to target quiet, balanced, or performance depending on your needs. With all of our benchmarks, we run at maximum performance to reduce the chance of throttling.
Performance Graphs
For general performance, PCMark 8 from from FutureMark covers a large range of scenarios including Home, Creative, and Work. TouchXPRT runs tests based on five usage scenarios in the Modern environment. As a comparison, most of these laptops are U series CPUs, but I have included the Retina Macbook Pro and HP Stream 11 to bracket the scores with a higher wattage quad-core part and a low wattage Atom part. You can compare the E5250 with any other device we have tested with our online database, Bench.
For normal tasks, the i5-4310U does a good job. For those that need more performance, the Core i7 models will be of interest. As Broadwell is an option now, it would be great to get the identical device but with the 5th gen Core part as a comparison.
Storage Performance
The model we received has the Samsung PM851 based 128 GB SSD. This is a very popular OEM SSD from Samsung based on the TLC 840 EVO. The smaller capacity might have led to the slightly lower score in PCMark 8’s Storage benchmark, although the difference is negligible.
This device is offered with spinning disk options, which I would not recommend for anyone concerned about performance. For those that require encryption, Dell offers several models with SSD encryption as well.
GPU Performance
This is a business laptop, so I won’t bother with our normal game benchmarks, mostly because we have tested them on the Yoga 2 Pro and found that all of our games were unplayable with the built in graphics. We can still run the synthetics though to get a feel for where this device fits in.
The Intel HD4400 GPU is no powerhouse. Gaming on this device will be restricted to games with low graphics demand, or Windows Store, Flash or basic Unity games.
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dsraa - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
I agree, the performance is ehh, or right in the middle, and styling is really basic and boring looking. I wouldn't buy this over HP or Acer's S7 which above this dell in almost every respect.cwolf78 - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
Agree fully on this. The company I work for is going to the E7440's as their default laptop. We used the E6400, E6410, E6420, then E6430 before going to these. A dramatic leap forward in every aspect except performance (compared to the E6420/30). But the increased battery life, quite operation, and lighter weight are a good trade-off. The E7440 does have all around decent performance, but does tend to bog down with a lot of stuff open (especially CPU intensive tabs in Chrome). We're using the i5-4310U, 8 GB of RAM, and 14" 1080p IPS multi-touch screen.cwolf78 - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
Ugh, wrong post >_<angrypatm - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
Why the concern about styling, it is a machine/tool for the workplace, not a fashion statement. If it 's not the thinnest or shiniest, will you be looked at any differently by coworkers.ZeDestructor - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
Yeah, but how are thermals on the HP> From what I've seen in recent years, HP machines across the range have had chronic, repeated issues with cooling, and either throttling or hitting TjMax and hard shutting down. To me, that makes the laptop design a complete failure.Seriously, make the laptops work well, reliably and cool before you style it up.
Secondly, this is Dell's mid-range business line. If you want style, get an XPS13 instead. I for one much prefer having something that looks ugly and isn't prone to being stolen or even glanced at twice instead, plus, docking port, that works with the 2009 docks is a nice touch (Looking at you Lenovo, HP).
ABR - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
I sure wish PC manufacturers would start to put more emphasis on SSDs. As here, they aren't there by default, and the available options tend to be small and expensive. It feels like it's still five years ago. This is one area where I wish Apple's example were followed more widely.nerd1 - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
Please stop drinking apple kool-aid. Every company now provide factory-installed SSD options and unlike apple they are standard size so you can put your 500GB SSD which was as low as $150 during last BF.SuperVeloce - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
I agree if design allows for 16:10, they should use it. What I don't understand is why would you compare those dualcore HT laptops with mac retina quad in benchmarks...Brett Howse - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
" I have included the Retina Macbook Pro and HP Stream 11 to bracket the scores with a higher wattage quad-core part and a low wattage Atom part"Just to give a performance example of something that is actually a quad-core part. I also included the Stream as a comparison of Haswell-U vs Atom.
nerd1 - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
It doesn't make any sense as rMBP 15" is totally different size, price and OS league. There are enough 13" laptops with qm CPU, or $800 laptop with qm cpu, or both.