Dell Inspiron 14 5000 Series review: An attractive middle-of-the-road 14-inch laptop

Elegant and affordable are two words that describe Dell’s Inspiron 14 5000 series. The brushed aluminum and black minimalist styling Dell has treated this laptop with give it an air of class you don’t often see in a mid-range, all-purpose laptop. It looks more expensive than its $750 price tag, which ironically, makes every imperfection seem that much greater. Hence, less-than-spectacular and slightly frustrating are also valid descriptions.

The Inspiron 5447's brushed-aluminum lid makes this mid-range laptop look more expensive than it is.

The Inspiron 14 5000 series sport 14-inch (duh), glossy, relatively low-res 1366x768 touchscreen displays that are prone to glare and have narrow viewing angles. If you buy one, I suggest sitting directly in front of it, adjusting the screen angle, and watching better movies. Trust me on this. If the movie is good enough, you won’t be worrying about pixels. This is one of those instances when the Inspiron 14 5000’s good looks make you think it deserves better. Or at least a non-touch option to lower its price.

The Inspiron 14 5000 series starts at $600 for an Intel Core i3-4030U, 4GB of DDR3L/1600 memory, and a 500GB hard drive; ramps up to $749 for the model 5447 reviewed here (with a Core i5-4210U, 8GB of memory, and a 1TB, 5,400 rpm Western Digital WD10JPVX-75JC3T0 hard drive); and tops out at $850 with a Core-i5-4510U model with the same memory and hard drive. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be an SSD option.

Our model weighed in at 4.65 pounds sans AC adapter; 5.4 pounds with it. It measures 13.5-inches wide, 9.75-inches deep, and 0.8-inches thick—that’s not thin-and-light territory, but it’s not so bulky that your friends will be amused at your purchase.

The Inspiron 5000 series is only 0.8 inches thick, but it weighs 4.7 pounds.

The 5447 has two USB 3.0 ports, a full-sized HDMI port, a headset jack, and a 10/100 ethernet port on its right-hand side; and a USB 2.0 port, media card reader, and AC jack on its left. There’s nothing in back and nothing in front apart from two speaker ports.

Use headphones with this laptop; its speakers sound weak and tinny.

The lack of gigabit ethernet is disappointing, but I’m happy to report the presence of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, plus Bluetooth 4.0 and WiDi (for wireless video streaming to displays that support Intel’s technology). There’s also a 720p webcam with dual-array mics.

Flat, slick, short-throw keys make for a less-than-pleasant typing experience for our reviewer.

The Inspiron 14 5447 scooted to a respectable 54 on PCWorld’s Laptop WorldBench 9 benchmark suite, and it managed to wring 4 hours and 50 minutes out of its internally mounted 43-watt hour battery. Hands on, I could tell it had a rather slow hard drive, especially on a cold boot. But after Windows cached what it needed to, the overall experience was more than acceptable.

No surprise here: This middle-of-the-road laptop produced a middle-of-the-road score on our WorldBench 9 benchmark suite. 

High bit-rate 1080p movies played super smoothly, but sound through the speakers was poor. There’s enough volume, but there’s no bass and the overall timbre is gratingly tinny. Whatever Dell did to make its Venue Pro 11 tablet so aurally pleasing should be shared with the Inspiron design team. Gaming is doable in Intel HD 4400 graphics terms, meaning you’re pretty much stuck at 1024x768 if you want anything close to 30 frames per second (the Inspiron 5447 delivered BioShock Infinite at 29 fps at that resolution, with image quality set to low).

Your entertainment options will be limited to movies, YouTube, and casual games. The Inspiron 5447 is not cut out for hardcore gaming.

You may have noticed the reference to an internal battery. You must remove two screws and the pressure-fit bottom panel to get at the 5447’s. These days, however, I don’t know a lot of people who carry extra batteries to swap; most folks prefer to seek an AC outlet at the appointed hour. The 5447’s run time isn’t fantastic, but it’s long enough for most scenarios.

Note that removing said bottom panel also provides easy access to the hard drive, Wi-Fi card, and memory slots. You might want to upgrade the hard drive to an SSD at some point, but 8GB is plenty of memory for most tasks.

Our battery run-down test is harsh. You'll probably get enough battery life for a full day, assuming you're not pounding the keyboard the full eight hours.

The Inspiron 14 5000’s keyboard isn’t one of my favorites. The keys lack the long travel and snap that’s my preference. But establishing a typing rhythm was easy enough, and the perq is that you can bang away in a quiet environment without unduly disturbing your neighbors. I also found the one-piece touchpad smoothly responsive and easy to click. I do have one complaint: The touchpad isn’t clearly tactilely or visually delineated from the rest of the keyboard deck. When not paying close attention, I missed it several times.

The PCMark 8: Office benchmark evaluates performance with Microsoft Office apps. Laptops without SSDs, like this one, don't fare as well as models that do. 

The Inspiron 14 5447 is a generally capable all-purpose laptop with top-shelf styling at an affordable price. But there’s a distinct lack of options to make it faster (SSD and gigabit ethernet, for starters) or even less expensive (via a non-touch display), so its good looks wind up being a bit of a tease.

Perhaps I’m being too being picky. This is good laptop that’s worthy of perusal if you’re shopping the middle of the road.

Editor's note: This article was updated on August 12 to report the correct Laptop WorldBench score of 54 (the chart was accurate, but the body text reported a score of 58).

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Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Series review: This 15-inch notebook disappoints

Dell’s Inspiron 15 5000 series is the bigger-screened cousin to its Inspiron 14 5000 series. The former is outfitted with a spacious 15.6-inch display while the latter has a 14-incher. I’ll review the Inspiron 15 model 5547 here, and you can read my colleague Jon L. Jacobi’s review of the Inspiron 14 model 5447 on this page.

The Inspiron 15 5547 is a slim notebook with a fast Intel Core i7-4510U processor, an ample 16GB of DDR3/1600 memory, and an IPS display with native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. With those specs, you might also expect to find a speedy SSD inside its chassis, but Dell cheaped out by providing a capacious but annoyingly slow 1TB, 5400 rpm mechanical drive. And that’s not the only thing I didn’t like about this machine.

Michael Homnick

The 15-inch IPS display is just about the only impressive feature of Dell's Inspiron 5547. 

No matter how fast, sexy, inexpensive, or well-supported a notebook is, you won’t want it as a travel companion if you’re worried about damaging it in transit or if you find it a hassle to use. I’m a frequent flyer, and I just can’t see dragging a Inspiron 5547 with me. I really like its crisp vivid IPS screen, but a host of other drawbacks render this notebook less than roadworthy.

Some of the issues are endemic to big-screen models. This machine is 0.8 inches thick and it weighs 5.37 pounds (just over 6 pounds when you add its power brick). You’ll want to carry it in a well-reinforced bag with plenty of padding for your shoulder. But that bulk doesn’t equate to a rugged, well-constructed device. When I gripped the 5547’s diagonal corners and twisted, the body warped and made ominous creaking noises.

Michael Homnick

See that Ethernet port? Its top speed is 100Mbps (in other words, it's not the gigabit Ethernet we've come to expect in laptops at almost every price point).

Like its smaller cousin, the Inspiron 5547 is easy to open up for upgrades. Just two screws fasten its bottom panel; removing it grants access to its dual SODIMM slots (for memory), its 802.11ac Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo card, and its 43-watt-hour battery.

While inside the computer, I noticed it had very little metal framing. In fact, you see remarkably little metal anywhere in there. Nearly all of the construction is plastic. That might help explain why its chassis flexes so readily.

I expected to find plenty of I/O ports on a machine of this size, but the Inspiron 5547 has a surprisingly modest collection. You get just three USB ports, only two of which are the faster USB 3.0 variety; a memory-card reader; HDMI; a headset; and—what’s this?—a 10/100 ethernet jack? It’s been years since I’ve seen any hardwired ethernet jack delivering speed of less than a gigabit (barring exceptionally thin-and-light notebooks that expect you to rely on Wi-Fi or a USB adapter). Speaking of Wi-Fi, this machine’s dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter is Intel’s 1x1 Wireless AC 3160 that supports maximum throughput of only 433Mbps (Intel’s 2x2 Wireless AC 7260 delivers 867Mbps).

The Inspiron 5547’s keyboard is cursed with nearly every annoying feature I’ve ever suffered, and it tosses in a few new ones. It clatters when I type on it. My fingers slip on its slick, flat-topped keys. It sometimes misses keystrokes, especially the “e” key. The Insert function would mysteriously switch to “Overwrite” mode. Two new things: First, the function keys (F1 through F12) didn’t behave as I expected (a 45-minute call to Dell’s tech support finally resolved that issue—more on that later.) Second, the arrow keys would intermittently stop working after I pressed firmly on the keyboard deck to the left of the trackpad.

Michael Homnick

Our reviewer expressed a rather intense dislike for the Inspiron 5547's keyboard and trackpad.

Speaking of the trackpad: Moody might be the best way to describe it. It tracks a single finger well and at the right speed, but it’s clunky to use for multi-finger gestures like pinch-zoom. And tapping on it to execute commands was a hit-or-miss affair. It worked fine sometimes; other times, I had to thump on it to get any response at all. Still other times, it became so sensitive that it interpreted single taps as double taps, highlighting the whole body of text I was working in when it should have selected just one word.

Despite having a faster CPU and twice as much memory, the Inspiron 5547’s Laptop WorldBench 9 score was just four points higher than the Inspiron 5447's. This could be because the larger model’s display has native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, where the smaller one’s panel is limited to 1366x768. Looking at the benchmark chart, you’ll see that the Core i5-equipped Samsung ATIV Book 9 delivered a WorldBench score six points higher than the 5547. How’d it manage that, despite having a lesser CPU? The Samsung comes with an SSD. It’s a small one, but it’s fast.

The small-but-fast in Samsung's ATIV Book 9 enabled that machine to beat up on Dell's Inspiron 5547 even though the Dell has a much faster CPU. 

The Samsung and both the Dell Inspiron 5547 and Inspiron 5447 rely on integrated graphics, so we didn’t expect killer gaming. And we didn’t get it. Our reference machine—Dell’s XPS 15—has an older Nvidia GPU, and Lenovo’s Y50 gaming laptop has a newer one. Both those machines’ performances with BioShock Infinite reveal what discrete GPUs can do. The three machines without discrete GPUs had a tough time delivering acceptable frame rates, even with resolution dialed down to 1024x768.

Don't buy a laptop with integrated graphics if you intend to play games on it. (The Lenovo Y50 and Dell XPS 15 both have discrete graphics processors.)

Short battery life is another reason to leave the Inspiron 5547 at home. The faster processor and higher-resolution screen drained its battery more than an hour sooner than the Inspiron 5447's, and a full two hours earlier the Samsung's. Dell’s XPS 15, meanwhile, has a higher-capacity battery, while the Lenovo just has a discrete GPU. Some notebooks recharge quickly, but this one needed two hours to top off its tank.

The Inspiron 5547 has the same battery as the Inspiron 5447, but the former died an hour sooner than the latter because of its faster processor and larger, higher-resolution display.

Dell’s support was once the best in the business, but it’s only marginally better than average now. Input the Express Service Code you’ll find pasted on your Dell PC into the company’s support page, and it will instantly provide details on the specific system configuration and the state of its warranty. I wish more manufacturers had something as useful, even if Dell’s missed a few details (such as this machine’s ethernet and Wi-Fi setup).

I called tech support twice. My first call got off to a slow start, but I eventually got excellent help. Reps bounced me between India and the Philippines, but a very friendly man in Delhi finally solved the F-key mapping problem I mentioned earlier (he had me search for Windows Mobility Center, go to the Fn Key Behavior box, and switch “Multimedia key” to “Function key”). He also gave me his phone extension, so I could contact him directly if I needed to follow up.

The Inspiron 5547's PCMark 8: Office score was as disappointing as the rest of its benchmark results.

The second call was an unmitigated disaster. I asked two basic test questions: “What is the wired ethernet speed in megabits per second?” And “Is the 802.11ac client adapter a 1x1 or a 2x2 device?”

I spent an hour with two reps who hemmed and hawed before getting testy and demanding to know why I wanted this information. They put me on hold frequently, including one time for 20 minutes. Finally, one transferred me to the “Wireless Department” where I was informed I would have to pay them to tell me this information. That person later hung up on me. Needless to say, the experience was acutely frustrating and a colossal waste of time.

The Inspiron 5547 is very inexpensive for a laptop with a Core i7 processor and a 15.6-inch display, but it just doesn’t measure up to Dell’s usual quality standards. Its fit and finish are suspect, and it should have more USB ports, a faster Wi-Fi adapter, and gigabit ethernet—even at this price.

If you’re considering Dell because you expecting quality tech support, don’t count on it (my second call destroyed any goodwill the company earned from the first one). If you need a laptop with a 15.6-inch display, it looks as though Lenovo’s Y50 delivers a better price-to-performance ratio. That machine isn’t perfect either, and it costs more ($1299 vs. $1049 for the Inspiron 5547), but you’ll get a lot more hardware and performance for your money (just be sure to read what the reviewer had to say about its display).

Bryan has been writing about technology since the days of $6,000 desktop PCs and 4-function calculators the size of 8-track tapes. It's been a long strange trip in the land of Moore's law.
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Dell Inspiron 14 (Model 7437) review: Slim and stylish, but surprisingly sluggish

Dell’s Inspiron 14 7000-series laptops are sexy-looking beasts boasting forged-aluminum, beveled-edge chasses; 14-inch Gorilla Glass touchscreens; and backlit keyboards. But the absence of an SSD (as a cache or otherwise) has a significant impact on their performance.

These machines look like Ultrabooks, but they're not being marketed as such. Intel controls that standard and while it doesn’t explicitly state that a notebook must be equipped with an SSD to carry the Ultrabook moniker, the Ultrabook definition requires a notebook to operate in standby for at least seven days, and awake from standby with fresh data in less than three seconds. The Inspiron 14 7000 series (I reviewed the Model 7437) can’t do that with a mechanical hard drive, and it can’t be configured with one at time of purchase.

ROBERT CARDIN

Dell's Inspiron 14 7000 series cuts a super-thin profile despite its reliance on a mechanical hard drive. 

Apart from the absence of an SSD, this $850 laptop has a number of good components under the hood, including a fourth-generation Intel Core i5-4200U processor and 6GB of DDR3/1600 memory. But its 500GB mechanical hard drive spins its platters at only 5400 rpm, and its Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 Wi-Fi adapter can connect only to 802.11n networks at a maximum physical link rate of 300 mbps. You’ll need a USB adapter if you want to network at 802.11ac speeds.

The Inspiron 14 produced a generally unimpressive Worldbench 8.1 score of 132. That renders Dell’s machine 32 percent faster than the Asus VivoBook S550CA that we’ve been using as a reference point, but leaves it far behind the consumer-oriented Lenovo Flex 14 (which has an SSD) and slightly behind the business-oriented Toshiba Tecra Z40 (which has a 7200 rpm mechanical drive).

There's no escaping the benchmark hit that a mechanical hard drive causes.

Looking at gaming performance—specifically, BioShock Infinite at resolution of 1024 by 768 with low visual quality—the Inspiron 14 slightly outperformed the Lenovo and the Toshiba, even though all three machines rely on the same integrated graphics processor (Intel HD Graphics 4400). It’s no gaming powerhouse, but it’s fine for less-demanding games like World of Warcraft.

The Inspiron’s 14-inch touchscreen is bright, beautiful, and clear, with excellent color accuracy, deep blacks, and crisp text and images. HD video looks very good on the Inspiron’s display, too. I noticed just a few artifacts in high-motion scenes. The touchscreen is smoothly responsive to multi-touch gestures, and the edge-to-edge glass allows for Windows 8 gestures to be performed quickly and easily.

The Inspiron 14 doesn’t have the most powerful speakers, but they sound better than most laptop speakers. They’re mounted on either side of the chassis, and they deliver just the right mix of bass and treble.

Gaming performance is fairly typical for a laptop with a fourth-generation Intel Core processor and integrated graphics. 

I did notice some anomalies in the Inspiron 14’s otherwise excellent industrial design. The chassis is much wider than necessary to accommodate a 14-inch display, with an unusually wide bezel at the sides and bottom of the display and more than an inch of dead space on the left and right sides of the keyboard. The island-style keyboard sits dead center in the chassis, a placement that renders the wrist rest cramped and uncomfortable. And why are the top row of function keys so tiny—they’re less than 0.25 inches tall—when there’s two inches of unoccupied space right above them?

The keyboard deck itself is flimsy—aggressive keystrokes cause the whole thing to sink slightly—and the flat keys provide very little tactile feedback. The aforementioned backlight provides very uneven illumination, giving the keyboard a marbled look. The touchpad, on the other hand, is quite good, providing swift, accurate movements and mostly smooth multi-touch gestures.

The Inspiron 14's battery life is slightly shorter than Lenovo's Flex 14 or Toshiba's Tecra Z40, but those machines have lower-resolution displays. It crushes our reference laptop, which has a third-gen Intel Core processor. 

I’m a sucker for thin, pretty laptops that deliver great battery life, and the Dell Inspiron 14 7000 Series certainly fits that bill (although it’s not particularly light, weighing in at 4.4 pounds). Since my computer life revolves around word processing, browsing the web, and watching the occasional online video, this model’s mediocre benchmark performance isn’t a showstopper.

You’ll need to decide for yourself if that—or its $850 price tag—are showstoppers for you. Lenovo’s Flex 14 costs $100 less, but it has a lower-resolution display and isn’t nearly as pretty. Toshiba’s Tecra Z40 costs considerably more, but its CPU has Intel’s vPro management feature set and it’s more than a full pound lighter.

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
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Dell Inspiron 14R-5437 review: It's no barn burner, but it runs a good long while

Dell Inspiron 14R-5437 $650.00 The Dell Inspiron 14R-5437 is a solid, utilitarian, all-purpose laptop that favors function over looks. It's not overly swift but it runs for a whopping 9 hours on a single charge.

If you haven't considered a Dell laptop for your next purchase, the Inspiron 14R is a compelling reason to do so. Its calmly handsome looks, top-notch fit-and-finish, and first-rate input ergonomics make it an appealing all-purpose laptop.

The performance of our $649 Core i3 test configuration was so-so in its numbers, but subjectively it felt decently responsive, and it has a Core i5 option if you need the boost.

The 14R-5437 that Dell sent us was styled in slate gray and matte silver, but less dour colors such as blue and red are also available. The high gloss of the 14-inch, 1366 by 768 touchscreen sets off the otherwise all-matte finish nicely. The corners of the 14R are more severely rounded than those of most laptops, which gives the unit a slightly old-school vibe. It also helps the unit slide easily into bags and is generally less likely to snag or injure.

ROBERT CARDIN

Dell's Inspiron 14R-5437 is a chunky little devil. 

The 14R's island-style keyboard has a very nice feel. It's short-throw, but mounted on a very stiff surface, so it's easy to set up a typing rhythm. It has no numeric keypad, but the cursor and editing keys are full-size and nicely placed. The touchpad is just that, not the flimsy integrated button clickpad that's currently in vogue. Swiping response is excellent, though the buttons feel a little soft. The touchscreen is also nicely responsive.

At 5 pounds the 14R-5437 is a tad hefty for a 14-inch laptop, but it's also ruggedly built. Our test configuration sported a 1.7GHz Intel Core i3-4010U, 4GB of DDR3/1600 memory, and a 500GB, 5400-rpm hard drive (a Western Digital WD5000LPVX-75V0TT0). If that component lineup doesn't sound scintillating, neither will the 110 score it posted on PCWorld's WorldBench 8.1 test suite. However, in my hands-on, the unit felt fine—I never became frustrated with the speed. Microsoft's recent operating systems, especially the Windows 8 that was on board, have excellent caching techniques, and after the first run, I found little to complain about when opening windows and applications.

ROBERT CARDIN

Our review unit came in slate gray and matte silver, but you can order one in blue or red, too.

While not the swiftest laptop around, the Inspiron 14R-5437 has the best battery life we've seen in quite a while: 9 hours and 8 minutes is the better part of a trans-Pacific flight. That battery life is due partly to the Intel Haswell components and partly to a 65 watt-hour battery. The battery extends slightly below the rest of the unit, creating a slight forward rake and a better typing angle.

The Inspiron 14R also comes with an optical drive, something increasingly rare in all-purpose laptops. In this case, it's a Matsushita (Panasonic) UJ8DB DVD+/-RW burner. Upgrading to an SSD (for that, you’re on your own, since it can’t be configured with one at purchase) or adding more memory requires only removing the bottom panel, which is held in place by a single screw.

The port selection on the 14R-5437 is the usual modern mix: two USB 3.0 ports on the left, one USB 2.0 port on the right, an ethernet jack, HDMI out, an SD card slot, a headset jack, and a Kensington lock port.

Listening to the 14R-5437's speakers was a dull experience. You get plenty of volume with the speaker grills located at the very front of the unit on the bottom, but the sound lacks high-frequency definition and bass response. High-bit-rate 1080p video, on the other hand, played as smoothly as you could wish.

ROBERT CARDIN

The 14-inch display is a touchscreen, but it the resolution it delivers is only 1366 by 768 pixels.

Dell bundles Cyberlink's Media Suite to handle disc burning, creative video and photo needs, and McAfee Internet Security. Also included: Dell's backup utility and a utility for creating a Wi-Fi hotpsot using the 14R-5437. As for junkware, I spotted only shortcuts to eBay and Amazon.

Exciting, it's not, but if you're looking for an affordable, well-engineered laptop that sticks with the tried-and-true basics and gets your work done, the 14R is about as solid a product as you'll find. It's also the laptop to own if you're regularly separated from AC for long periods of time.

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Deals of the Day: Dell U2413 UltraSharp Monitor, $399 Dell Inspiron 17 Core i3 Laptop and More

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Dell Inspiron One 20 Touch review: An attractive budget all-in-one with unsatisfying peripherals and sound

Dell Inspiron One 20 Touch $699.00 The Dell Inspiron One is a sturdy, non-nonsense all-in-one. But Dell's ho-hum component choices deliver equally ho-hum benchmark performance.

I’m a big fan of Dell’s Inspiron One lineup of all-in-one PCs. These computers manage to be gorgeous, sturdy, and versatile while remaining relatively budget friendly. The Inspiron One 20 reviewed here has a smaller display than the Toshiba, but it costs more than $300 cheaper ($699 as of 8/29/13). It’s equipped with an Intel Core i3-3240T processor; 4GB of DDR3/1600 memory; and a 1TB, 7200rpm hard drive. It also has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi adapters, and a 20-inch capacitive touchscreen.

Design-wise, the Inspiron One 20 Touch is tough to beat, though the Toshiba PX35t-A2210 has a slightly more premium look. This all-black AIO features an edge-to-edge glass screen, which gives it a bezel-less appearance and also makes for easy swiping when performing common Windows 8 gestures (such as swiping from the side to pull up the charms bar). The minimalist bezel sports a small, mirrored Dell logo at the bottom and a built-in webcam at the top. The system’s speakers are just below the screen. There are no buttons or ports on the front of the One 20 Touch, these are all relegated to the system’s sides and back.

Dell's Inspiron One 20 Touch boasts a great design, but its performance leaves a bit to be desired.

The One 20 Touch’s great-looking design is slightly marred by its below-average peripherals. The system comes with a wired mouse and keyboard, both of which are utterly basic (though mostly comfortable to use). The keyboard offers very light tactile feedback, which can make accurate typing difficult. The mouse is large but comfortable, and offers an average input experience.

As for performance, the Inspiron One 20 Touch is good, but not great. It will get you through schoolwork and basic entertainment, such as streaming HD movies and playing music, but it won’t handle PC games or media-editing software very well. This Inspiron scores a very average 109 on WorldBench 8.1, which means it’s just nine percent faster than our Acer baseline model . Compared with the other AIOs in this roundup, the One 20 Touch is solidly in the middle – it comes in fourth, but it’s just one point below our third-ranked HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 (110).

PCWorld's Desktop Worldbench 8.1 benchmark suite measures performance with a number of productivity, creation, and entertainment programs.

In our graphics tests, the One 20 Touch performed as expected: It managed a playable, if far from excellent, 30.7 frames per second on our Dirt Showdown test, and but only 14.8 fps with the more demanding BioShock Infinite (with both games, resolution was set to 1024 by 768 pixels, and image quality was set to Low). In other words, it can handle low-end PC games at an acceptable frame rate, but it’s about as far from a gaming powerhouse as a Commodore 64. HD video looks just okay—there’s quite a bit of artifacting and foreign objects in scenes with a medium amount of motion—and skin tones have a tendency to look burnt and oversaturated. Audio is also somewhat disappointing: The speakers aren’t very loud, and music lacks depth, even when all the software enhancements are turned on.

This chart indicates how well each all-in-one PC performed with a variety of media editing and encoding tasks. If this is an important consideration for your,the PCs with the shorter bars are your best choices. 

The Dell Inspiron One 20 Touch is a nice starter machine for those who like the Inspiron One look and feel. The touchscreen remains one of the better touchscreens that I’ve used, with smooth, accurate touch and a nice glidey feel to the glossy display. I especially like the adjustable stand, the minimalist design, and the overall sturdiness of the chassis. But it has its issues, including cheap, basic peripherals; mediocre performance; and weak speakers.

Editor's note: This all-in-one was reviewed as part of a roundup for back-to-school season. You can read that story, along with reviews of the five all-in-ones we compared it to, here.

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Deal of the Day: Save $160 on Dell Inspiron 17r

A big-screen multimedia laptop is difficult to find for under a grand, but Dell’s Inspiron 17r has done it. Normally less than $1,000 at $710, the laptop is $160 off today plus free shipping, making the Dell Inspiron 17r $550, through a deal with LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the laptop, we liked its vibrant display, good gaming performance, switchable lids, impressive battery life, above-average speakers and Blu-ray drive. We weren’t impressed with its fingerprint-magnet lid and long boot time, but the laptop still earned four out of five stars in our rating.

Base specs: 6GB RAM, Core i5-2450M 2.5-GHz dual-core CPU, 500GB hard drive, 1-year warranty, DVD burner, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Dell Inspiron 17r 17.3? Core i5 Laptop for $550 through LogicBUY

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Deal of the Day: Save $83 on Dell Inspiron 14R

Looking for a good back to school laptop for school in the fall with decent graphics at an affordable price? Dell’s Inspiron 14r may be your pick. The sleek-looking laptop is $83 off today. Normally $539, the Dell Inspiron 14r is $456 today plus free shipping through a deal with LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the unit, we praised its sturdy, attractive design, comfortable keyboard and touchpad, speedy performance and discrete graphics. We weren’t as thrilled with its short battery life, fingerprint-prone lid and below-average Wi-Fi throughput, but it still received three and a half stars out of five in our rating.

Base Specs: Core i3-2330M 2.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Intel HD 3000 graphics, webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DVD+/-RW optical drive

Dell Inspiron 14r 14? Core i3 laptop for $456 through LogicBUY

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Deal of the Day: Save $290 on Dell Inspiron 14z

Looking for a laptop with stellar battery life and a sleek design that makes it look a lot more expensive than it is? Dell’s Inspiron 14z is a great bet, and today it’s even more discounted at $290 off. Normally $770, the Dell Inspiron 14z is $480 today plus free shipping and an Adobe Elements 9.0 Photoshop and Premiere bundle through LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the laptop, we liked its sleek design, good battery life and affordability, but weren’t impressed by its annoying port covers, below-average performance and hard-to-execute multitouch gestures. But it still received four out of five stars in our rating.

Base specs: Core i3-2330M processor, 6GB RAM, 750GB 7200RPM hard drive, Microsoft 7 Home Premium (640bit), Adobe Elements 9.0 Photoshop and Premiere Bundle

Dell Inspiron 14z 14? Core i3 Thin-and-Light Aluminum Laptop + Adobe Elements 9 Bundle for $480 through LogicBUY

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Deal of the Day: Save $160 on Dell Inspiron 17r

A big-screen multimedia laptop is difficult to find for under a grand, but Dell’s Inspiron 17r has done it. Normally less than $1,000 at $710, the laptop is $160 off today plus free shipping, making the Dell Inspiron 17r $550, through a deal with LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the laptop, we liked its vibrant display, good gaming performance, switchable lids, impressive battery life, above-average speakers and Blu-ray drive. We weren’t impressed with its fingerprint-magnet lid and long boot time, but the laptop still earned four out of five stars in our rating.

Base specs: 6GB RAM, Core i5-2450M 2.5-GHz dual-core CPU, 500GB hard drive, 1-year warranty, DVD burner, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Dell Inspiron 17r 17.3? Core i5 Laptop for $550 through LogicBUY

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Deal of the Day: Save $260 on Dell Inspiron 14z

Looking for a sleek, portable laptop with a low price tag? Dell’s Inspiron 14z is all that and more, and is $260 off today. Normally $840, the Dell Inspiron 14z is being offered today for $580 plus free shipping and an Adobe Elements 9.0 Photoshop and Premiere Bundle through a deal with LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the laptop, we praised it for its sleek design, good battery life and affordability (which is even more enhanced through today’s deal!). We weren’t impressed with its annoying port covers, though, or its below-average performance and hard-to-execute multitouch gestures.

Base specs: Core i5 processor, 6GB RAM, 750GB 7200RPM hard drive, Adobe Elements 9.0 Photoshop and Premiere bundle

Dell Inspiron 14z thin 14? Core i5 Aluminum Laptop + Adobe Elements 9 Bundle for $580 through LogicBUY

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Deal of the Day: 14-Inch Dell Inspiron 14z Just $529

If you’re on a tight budget, today’s deal of the day will be music to your ears. For less than $550, you can get a 14-inch Dell Inspiron 14z with a 2.2-GHz Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics and 500GB hard drive. The Dell Inspiron 14z is available for just $529 plus free shipping through a deal at LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the Inspiron 14z, we praised it for its sleek design, good battery life and affordability. For just a little bit more than the price of a netbook, the Inspiron 14z delivers a larger screen and plenty of oomph for basic computing. With a 2.2-GHz Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics and 500GB hard drive, the Inspiron 14z delivers boasts quite a bit of processing power for a sub-$550 notebook. Hop on this deal while you still can.

Base specs: 2.2-GHz Intel Core i3-2330M CPU, 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD, Webcam, DVD burner, Intel WiDi, Bluetooth, Wireless-N, 15-months McAfee SecurityCenter subscription

Dell Inspiron 14z Laptop with a 2.2-GHz Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD for $529 through LogicBUY.

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Deal of the Day: Inspiron 15 Core i3 Laptop and $25 Gift Card for $399

If you’re on a tight budget, today’s deal of the day will be music to your ears. For less than $400, you can get a 15.6-inch Dell Inspiron 15 (in Obsidian Black) with a 2.66-GHz Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics and 500GB hard drive, plus a $25 Dell gift card. The Dell Inspiron 15 N5040 is available for just $399 plus free shipping through a deal at LogicBUY.

When we reviewed another configuration of the Inspiron 15, the M5030, we loved its comfy keyboard, relatively fast speeds, cool temperature and — most of all — inexpensive price. For about the same price as a netbook, the Inspiron 15 delivers a larger screen and plenty of oomph for basic computing. With a 2.66-GHz Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics and 500GB hard drive, the Inspiron 15 delivers boasts quite a bit of processing power for a sub-$400 notebook. Hop on this deal while you still can.

Base specs: 2.66-GHz Intel Core i3-390M Dual-core CPU; 4GB of RAM; Intel HD Graphics; 500GB HDD; 8X DVD+/-RW, 802.11n WiFi, VGA Webcam, 6-cell battery, 3-in-1 card reader, Intel HD Graphics, MS Office 2010 Starter Edition and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Dell Inspiron 15 N5040 Laptop with a 2.66-GHz Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD for $399 through LogicBUY.

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Deal of the Day: Save $149 on Dell Inspiron 15-R

If you’re in the market for a reasonably priced laptop with decent performance, check out Dell’s Inspiron 15R. Normally $699, the Dell Inspiron 15R is going for $550 today plus free shipping through a deal with LogicBUY. On top of saving $149, Dell is throwing in a $25 eGift card with your purchase.

For a moderately-priced system, the laptop touts an attractive design and great battery life. Although graphics aren’t first rate and it doesn’t have the quickest boot time, the Inspiron 15R comes equipped with two USB 3.0 ports, 6GB RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit).

Base specs: 6GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, DVD+/- RW, 802.11n, Bluetooth, HD webcam, 1-year service plan, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI port, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Dell Inspiron 15R-2nd Gen Core i5 2.5-GHz dual-core laptop + $25 gift card for $550 through LogicBUY

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Deal of the Day: Save $120 on Dell Inspiron 15

Those in the market for a budget notebook with above-average performance should consider Dell’s Inspiron 15. Although the laptop doesn’t accommodate features for the multitasking user, it’s a sensible choice if you’re looking for a basic, sub-$500 device. Retailing usually for $520, the Dell Inspiron 15 is being offered today for $400 plus free shipping through a deal with LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the laptop, it earned three-and-a-half stars for its bright display, comfortable keyboard touchpad, loud speakers and backup software. While we weren’t impressed by its lack of webcam and HDMI port, we still considered it a solid pick for an all-purpose notebook for those using it for basic tasks.

Base specs: Core i3-390M 2.66-GHz dual-core CPU, 4GB DDR3 memory, 500GB hard drive, 8X DVD+/-RW, 802.11n Wi-Fi, VGA webcam, 6-cell bnattery, 3-in-1 card reader, Intel HD graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Dell Inspiron 15 Core i3 2.66-GHz Dual-core 15.6-inch Laptop for $400 through LogicBUY

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Deal of the day: Save $50 on Dell Inspiron 14z Laptop

Looking for a budget laptop with a decent battery life? The Dell Inspiron 14z, normally $550, is on sale for $500 today with a deal through LogicBUY. Although this isn’t the best savings, the price tag is already pretty low, and LogicBUY throws in free shipping and a free 6-month trial of the Blockbuster Total Access 1-disc plan.

The laptop, which was originally marketed at $829 before its budget model was released, boasted a stylish design and fast performance. When we reviewed the Dell Inspiron 14z, we were impressed by its battery life, which lasted even longer than the more expensive model, but weren’t pleased with its not-great processor, only 4GB of RAM and absence of a backlit keyboard.

Base specs: Core 13-2350M 2.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, Adobe Elements 9 Bundle, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), 1366 x 768 resolution, DVD SuperMultiDrive, Intel HD 3000 graphics card, 4-1 card reader

Dell Inspiron 14z Intel 2nd Gen Core i3 2.3GHz aluminum-body laptop + Elements 9 Bundle through LogicBUY

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Deal of the Day: Save $209 on Core i3 Dell Inspiron 14z

Looking for a thin-and-light notebook with plenty of power? Today’s deal of the day should be right up your alley. The 14-inch Dell Inspiron 14z, which manages to squeeze a 2.3-GHz Intel 2nd Gen Core i3 processor, 6GB of RAM and 750GB hard drive into a less-than-one-inch-thick frame, packs plenty of power. And at only 4.6 pounds, it’s light enough to carry around in a backpack or messenger bag without straining your back. The Dell Inspiron 14z is available now for $649 through a deal at LogicBUY.

 In our review of the Inspiron 14z, we praised its sleek and stylish design, backlit keyboard, snappy performance, and long battery life. Although the touchpad had a few issues with multitouch gestures, the Inspiron 14z’s light weight, strong performance, nearly all-day battery life and sleek Fire Red chassis make the notebook an excellent choice for on-the-go users. 

Base specs: 2.3-GHz Intel 2nd Gen Core i3-2350M Dual-core processor, 6GB of RAM, 750GB 7200-rpm HDD, 14-inch Intel Wireless Display, Wireless-N, DVD Burner, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Dell Inspiron 14z Laptop with a 2.3-GHz Core i3 CPU, 6GB of RAM, and 750GB HDD for $649 through LogicBUY.

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Deal of the Day: Inspiron 15R, Canon ELPH, Adobe Elements 9 Only $699

Today’s deal of the day is perfect for the aspiring photographer. For less than $700, you get the powerful 15.6-inch Dell Inspiron 15R, a Canon ELPH 100 HS, and Adobe Elements 9 Photoshop and Premiere — all the tools you’ll need to start taking and editing your own photos. The Dell Inspiron 15R, Canon ELPH 100 HS camera, and Adobe Elements 9 bundle is available now for $699 through a deal at LogicBUY.

The Inspiron 15R features a 2.4-GHz Core i5-2430M Dual-core processor, 6GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. The machine comes loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and boasts a 1-year warranty. In addition to the Grey Canon ELPH 100 HS camera and Adobe Elements 9 Photoshop and Premiere, today’s deal of the day also features a 36-month subscription to McAfee SecurityCenter.

Base specs: 2.4-GHz Core i5-2430M Dual-core processor, 6GB of RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6-inch display, Wireless-N, DVD Burner, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, 1-year warranty

Dell Inspiron 15R Laptop with a 2.4-GHz Core i5 CPU, Canon ELPH, and Adobe Elements 9 for $699 through LogicBUY.

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Deal of the Day: Core i3 Dell Inspiron 15 Only $449

Budget shoppers take heed — with today’s deal of the day, you can walk away with a 15.6-inch Dell Inspiron 15 for less than $500. Featuring a 2.53-GHz Intel Core i3 processor and 3GB of RAM, the Inspiron 15 is no slouch when it comes to processing power, and a 320GB hard drive doesn’t hurt either. The Dell Inspiron 15 (N5040) is available now for $449 through a deal at LogicBUY.

Perfect for students, the Inspiron 15 features a built-in VGA webcam (ideal for making video calls to parents back home), an 8x DVD read/write drive, and a 6-cell battery. The laptop ships with Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Base specs: 2.53-GHz Intel Core i3-380M processor, 3GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics, 320GB HDD, 17.3-inch Display, USB 3.0 ports, Fingerprint reader, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Dell Inspiron 15 N5040 with a 2.53-GHz Intel Core i3 processor and 320GB HDD for $449 through LogicBUY.

From Laptopmagazine. Visit Amazon Computer and Notebook Center Here