Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Review

Dell Inspiron 14

Review Summary:

A simple 14-inch laptop with a range of customization options at a fair price.

Pros

• Good performance
• Optional charitable donation
• Attractive price

Cons

• Average battery life
• Cheap "fake metal" plastics
• No backlit keyboard

Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Full Review

 

When you need to strike the balance between a desktop-replacement notebook and a laptop for frequent travel you will probably end up shopping for a 14-inch notebook. The Dell Inspiron 14 is one of the most popular laptops in this class and comes packed with the latest Intel processors and a nice range of options at an affordable price. Is this the best 14-inch consumer laptop? Keep reading to find out.

Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core i3 330M (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB)
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Memory: 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz 
• Storage: 500GB 5400rpm HDD
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD
• Display: 14.0” HD (1366x768) LED Display and webcam
• Optical Drive: 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD/-RW/R) with Dual-Layer 
• Wireless: Intel Wireless 5100n 
• Battery: 6-cell Lithium Ion battery (48 WHr)
• Dimensions: 13.39 x 9.55 x 1.27 inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 4.8 lbs
• Retail Price as configured: $799.99 (currently available for less than $740 in retail stores)
  

Build and DesignThe design of the Inspiron 14 hasn't changed much in the last year since Dell released the Inspiron 14, Inspiron 14z and Studio 14z laptops. As mentioned in the specifications above, our review unit comes with the newer Intel Core i3 330M dual core processor. We're calling this laptop the "Inspiron 14" in our review, but it's worth mentioning that Dell markets this system as the "Inspiron 14" as well as the "Inspiron 1464." You can also find this system selling on the Dell website under the older configuration name "Inspiron 1440" with older Intel processors. Of course, there's also the Inspiron 14z (also called the Inspiron 1470) that uses the Intel CULV processors for extended battery life. Are you confused yet? We sure are.

Moving beyond the superfluous model names for essentially the same laptop, the Inspiron 14 looks like an average budget notebook with a 14-inch display. The plastic construction, average screen resolution, and lack of a backlit keyboard certainly don't give this laptop the same premium look and feel as the Dell Studio 14z. You might think that the palmrests and area surrounding the keyboard are made of metal at first glance, but upon closer examination you'll find that it's just plastic with a fancy metallic finish.

The Inspiron 14 feels reasonably durable despite the fact that the notebook chassis is constructed from relatively thin plastics. The touchpad and palmrests suffer from flexible plastics as does the keyboard itself. The working surface of the laptop essentially bends under heavy pressure, so durability wasn't the main focus for the designers. The screen lid also suffers from thin plastics and if you press on the lid with your fingers while the laptop is on you will create screen distortions.

When closed the Inspiron 14 looks relatively thin compared to budget laptops from several years ago, but the weight of the 6-cell battery makes this system a bit too heavy to qualify for the "thin and light" category today. The "Promise Pink" screen lid gives the Inspiron a nice candy-covered look, but Dell charges a $40 premium for the privilege of selecting pink instead of black. On a more positive note, Dell donates $5 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every pink Inspiron 14 that they sell. Sure, $40 is a little excessive for just sticking a chuck of colored plastic on a notebook, but it's nice to know that your purchase is helping a good cause.

The bottom of the notebook features the battery and single access plate for the RAM and wireless card. Removing the hard drive requires more in depth disassembly. There isn't much to talk about here other than to briefly mention the location of the two speakers on the bottom of the front edge (more on that later). The bottom of the Inspiron 14 likewise suffers from the same flexible plastics mentioned previously in the review. You won't notice it if you aren't squeezing the laptop, but if you're running to a class or a business meeting with the laptop in your hands you might feel it "bending" under the pressure from your fingers.

In short, the Dell Inspiron 14 looks cool and is probably durable enough for desktop replacement work, but the heavy use of thin plastics certainly doesn't help the laptop feel as durable as it could be.

Screen and Speakers
The 14-inch high-definition (1366 x 768) panel on the Dell Inspiron 14 isn't quite as nice as the vibrant 1600 x 900 screen used on our review unit of the Studio 14z. The colors on this screen are generally good but contrast wasn't as impressive. The LED backlighting in our review unit is pretty even and offers a range of brightness settings. Honestly, since all 11-inch notebooks/netbooks come with 1366 x 768 resolution displays we feel it's time to make 1600 x 900 the "minimum" resolution of 14-inch notebooks. Horizontal viewing angles are extremely good, so you won't have any trouble sharing a movie with the person sitting next to you on a plane. Vertical viewing angles are average or below average with colors quickly washing out when viewed from above and colors begining to distort and invert as you move the screen back. 

Once again, the stereo speakers on the Inspiron 14 class of notebooks failed to impress me. The stereo speakers produce average sound quality and are located beneath the front edge of the notebook palmrests firing downward at your lap. I usually call this type of audio "crotch speakers" because the speakers aren't pointed up toward the user. If you're using the Inspiron 14 on a desk then the audio from the speakers "bounces" off the hard desk surface and it sounds okay, but if you're using this PC as a "laptop" then the sound is going to be muffled.

Bottom line, the speakers aren't horrible ... but the location isn't helping matters. You'll probably want to use a good set of headphones with this notebook, and the headphone jack produces clear, distortion-free sound.

Keyboard and TouchpadThe keyboard on our review unit has full-sized keys with acceptable key spacing and an excellent depth to the key throw. Each key has a textured black finish and a relatively flat surface. The keyboard isn't as firm as it could be, so if you type with a lot of force you might have to worry about keyboard flexing or lightly bouncing while you type. My only minor aggravation is that the keyboard isn't available with optional backlighting ... making it harder to type in a dark classroom or dorm room. I felt a little cheated since the Dell Alienware M11x comes with a LED-backlit keyboard and sells for the same price as this Inspiron 14.

Still, as long as you type with gentle fingers and don't work in dark rooms then you should find the keyboard on the Inspiron 14 to be perfectly fine.

The multi-touch, gesture-based touchpad is pretty average for a 14-inch notebook and the dual touchpad buttons have deep feedback with quiet clicks. The touchpad itself is an ALPS model that uses Dell proprietary touchpad drivers. The touchpad was reasonably responsive with good sensitivity and very little lag. Touchpad accuracy was a bit off at times, but that may be correctable by tweaking the drivers. My biggest problem with the touchpad is the flexible plastics. There is a gap of about 1/8 inch or more beneath the touchpad surface, and if you use the "tap to click" feature then you will feel the touchpad "bounce" when you press down on the touchpad to tap. Again, if you use a gentle tap then this probably won't bother you. We just don't like to see flexible plastics on a laptop in this price range.

Ports and Features
The port selection on the Inspiron 14 is pretty average for a budget 14-inch notebook with one or two exceptions. Dell included three USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI video out ports, Ethernet, and a multi-format memory card reader. Unlike the Studio 14z, which sacrifices an optical drive for the sake of portability, the Inspiron 14z includes a standard 8x CD/DVD burner with dual-layer support. The Inspiron 14 lacks an ExpressCard slot, FireWire, and eSATA, so if those ports are important to you then you'll need to look elsewhere.

Front: Status light and no ports.

Rear: Screen hinges and battery

Left: Kensington Lock slot, power jack, heat vent, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI, and USB 2.0.

Right: Audio jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, memory card reader, and optical drive.

Performance
The performance of the Inspiron 14 with an Intel Core i3 330M (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB) processor and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD integrated graphics is good enough for typical daily activities (browsing the web, watching streaming video, typing documents in Microsoft Office, or making simple edits to your digital photos or videos) but this laptop isn't designed for extreme multimedia performance.

As previously mentioned, the Inspiron 14 comes in a variety of configurations, but the 1464 features Intel's Core i3 processors. Although the dual-core 2.13GHz processor in our review unit provides plenty of performance for daily tasks it also throttles down in order to extend battery life when you aren't actively using the laptop. This gives the Inspiron 14 the advantage of better battery life if you occassionaly walk away from your computer or close the lid to let it go into sleep or hybernate mode. Of course, if you plan to use the laptop non-stop on an international flight then the powerful Core i3 processor might devour your battery sooner than you expect (more on that later in the review).

For the retail price of $799 as configured the Inspiron 14 performs quite well compared to the more expensive 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro. More importantly, the new Inspiron 1464 crushes the older Inspiron 14z and HP Pavilion dm3t with ultra-low-voltage processors. 

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures video and gaming performance (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance results:

Battery
The 6-cell 48WHr battery does a pretty good job overall. With the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and the Windows 7 power profile set to "Balanced" the Inspiron 14 stayed on for 3 hours and 34 minutes. For use in the classroom or on your lap in front of the TV this amount of battery life was fine, but it isn't quite as impressive as the "4 hours of battery life" Dell claims in the marketing material. That said, it's worth mentioning that the default "balanced" power profile under Windows 7 will automatically dim the screen after a short period of inactivity ... which will extend the battery life even more compared to keeping the screen set to 70% brightness.

Heat and Noise
The cooling system does a reasonably impressive job keeping the external temperatures down. After extended periods of use the keyboard and touchpad areas get warm, but temperatures remain well below 100 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. The temperature readings below were taken after stressing the system with performance benchmarks and web browsing for 60 minutes.

Noise levels are fairly quiet when running on battery as the fan produces a constant weak "hum" as hot air is pushed out. The fan gets louder when the laptop is stressed running benchmarks and plugged into the AC adapter, but the fan should only be noticeable by others in a very quiet room.

ConclusionThe Dell Inspiron 14 is an affordable 14-inch notebook that delivers good performance and acceptable battery life at the expense of durability. If your child or your family is looking for a convenient laptop for general use then the Inspiron 14 can handle daily multitasking with ease. That said, if you're willing to put up with a smaller screen I'd have a hard time recommending the Inspiron 14 compared to the Alienware M11x at the same price.

The fact that the Inspiron 14 includes an optical drive and a Core i3 processor helps make this laptop an attractive purchase. However, the abundance of flexible plastics and lack of special features like backlit keyboard or more advanced ports make the Inspiron 14 far more average than exceptional.

Pros:

• Good performance
• Optional charitable donation
• Attractive price

Cons:

• Average battery life
• Cheap "fake metal" plastics
• No backlit keyboard

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support 
Upgrade Capabilities 
Usability 
Design 
Performance 
Features 
Price/Value Rating 

* Ratings averaged to produce final score