Dell Inspiron 1564: Mobile i3/i5 for the Masses
by Dustin Sklavos on March 3, 2010 11:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Dell Inspiron 15 Application Performance
Given the 4GB of memory and powerful quad-threaded Intel Core i5-520M processor, it's reasonable to expect our Inspiron 15 review unit will tear through most processor-related tasks with relative ease. To refresh, here's how our Inspiron 15 is configured:
| Dell Inspiron 1564 Testbed | |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 520M (2x2.4GHz, 32nm, 3MB L3, Turbo to 2.83GHz, 35W) |
| Memory | 2x2GB DDR3-1066 (Max 2x4GB) |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 512MB GDDR3 (80 SPs, 450/1.2GHz Core/RAM clocks) |
| Display | 15.6" LED Glossy 16:9 768p (1366x768) |
| Hard Drive(s) | 320GB 5400RPM HDD |
| Optical Drive | 8x DVDR SuperMulti |
| Battery | 6-Cell, 12V, 48Wh battery "Up to 4 Hours" |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Pricing | $979 as configured |
For basic performance we've tested the Inspiron 15 in PCMark05 and PCMark Vantage, and in both programs you'll see it simply excels, blowing past the Intel Core 2 powered competition. We've also included results for video encoding, 3D rendering, and web browser performance.
Intel made some very big strides with the Arrandale-based Intel Core i5 processors, and the i5-520M's performance here is proof of that, showing leads of 20% to 65% in the various benchmarks compared to the next-fastest notebook (Dell Studio 14z/P8600). Suffice it to say, it's very fast and more than up to any processor-related task you want to throw at it. The only way you'll get more performance in a laptop is to move to a quad-core CPU, and even then it will only be in tasks that can leverage multi-threading effectively.
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fett327 - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
I am assuming that since these are the new H55 based chipsets, hopefully the HDMI port will be about to output a 5.1 track? Or possibly also a DTS-HD or TrueHd track that comes off a bluray?It would be a shame if the HDMI ould output stereo. Can anyone confirm or deny?
warezme - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
I wouldn't buy any of these if I were serious about decent gaming. How sad.PyroHoltz - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
Where are all the Ultra Mobiles built on the arrandale chips?JarredWalton - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
Rumor is that Arrandale ULV has experienced delays and will show up some time in the next ~3 months.cjcoats - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
I recently had that experience buying a 2-socket Nehalem workstation from Dell. We're even having to do hardware installation for ourselves ("We'll sell you a SSD but we won't install it"). It was so bad that if it had been up to me instead of the bean-counters, I'd have said "to H--- with this" and purchased from a different vendor (at least two of which were quite willing to deliver exactly the requested configuration).FWIW
crydee - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
I've been following laptop progression for awhile now. I'm picking out a new one in summer for Grad school. Every article I read I still want whatever Asus UL will be out around then. These Dell's just don't stack up and for the $ when Asus offers free accidental coverage for a year as well.therealnickdanger - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
I know I've said this before and perhaps others have as well, but it would be nice if AT could add a "classic" gaming suite to its benchmarks. If a 'puter can muster over 60fps in games like FC2, obviously it can run older games just fine, but once you enter this mainstream and lower-end market, gaming performance is suspect.We're looking at this laptop that does 20-89fps, depending on the game. IMO, the biggest reason to use a gaming laptop is for LAN parties and mobile multiplayer: WoW, CS:S, UT3, L4D, Halo. If I'm in the minority and my request is unreasonable, so be it, but I believe there is a large gap in AT's gaming benchmarks when it comes to mid-to-low systems. I don't care how well the Core i3 IGP plays Crysis at 1080p, but its performance in the above games at 720p would interest many people.
We can assume a lot, but concrete numbers are nice to have.
LtGoonRush - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
Another laptop that continues the trend of taking a decent platform and pairing it with a dedicated GPU too slow to be useful. Have the major OEMs lost all ability to build a balanced system? For comparison, the Acer Aspire AS5740G-6979 for $799 at Newegg has a slightly lower-clocked CPU, larger HDD, and a Mobility Radeon HD 5650 1GB.strikeback03 - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
I hate everyone trying for a "balanced system", it means pretty much everything with a fast CPU has a GPU that I don't need.JarredWalton - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
Or there's the http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671930-REG/A...">ASUS N61J for ~$1050 with 5730 and an i7-720QM... though battery life is going to suck on that, I'd wager. The Inspiron 15 is decent as a lower cost model, but the i5-520M is overpowered for what you get.