Dell Inspiron 14 Review: The Ideal Laptop For Office Use Without Breaking The Bank

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The Dell Inspiron 14 5430 offers good performance for a budget case.

The Dell Inspiron 14’s case is platinum gray and the cover is decorated with the brand logo. The whole thing is mostly made of plastic, but the workmanship is rather pleasant and the look is rather flattering.

Opening the cover reveals a keyboard with gray keys that are backlit. The shot is pleasant and well marked. A fingerprint reader is located in the power button at the top right of the keyboard.

The keyboard is backlit, a welcome detail for the asking price.

The touchpad, centered on the palm rest, is a comfortable width and all Windows gestures are executed perfectly. In contrast to laptops in this price range, the left and right clicks hidden under the touch surface do not intervene too deeply.

Close-up of the fingerprint reader and SD reader.

The port consists of an HDMI port, a USB-A port and a USB-C port in the left part of the case, while the right part houses the socket, an SD reader and a second USB-A port.

Wireless connectivity is provided by an Intel AX211 chip that supports Wi-Fi 6E with its 6 GHz band and Bluetooth 5.4. The webcam has a 1080p sensor and the display is acceptable, although the white tones are overexposed.

The webcam display tends to burn out the whites.

The Dell Inspiron 14 5430 cooling system consists of a fan and a cooler connected to a single heat pipe. The assembly should be enough to dissipate the calories consumed by the Core i5 U-series (15 watts) soldered to the motherboard. And the Inspiron 14 actually remains completely cool under our thermal imaging camera after around twenty minutes of intensive use. The keyboard doesn’t reach more than 34 °C, while the hotspot is just over 37 °C at the hot air outlet on the screen.
The noise level is also relatively low: the fan can be heard at 36 dB, but it doesn’t bother the office neighbors by any means.

The heating is controlled on this Dell Inspiron 14 5430.

The components are accessed by removing 8 Phillips screws, and the bottom cover can be removed just as easily. Inside, the 2230 format SSD can be replaced with a more common and cheaper 2280 model. The WiFi card and battery are also removable. Big disadvantage: The 8 GB of RAM is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be expanded. Dell reports a repairability index of 7.9/10.

Unfortunately the RAM is soldered.

Audio

Like Apple’s MacBooks, the two speakers are located on both sides of the keyboard. On the other hand, do not rely on the perforations, as the opening through which the speakers can unfold is no larger than the Ctrl key.

The speakers are well aimed at the user, but the opening is significantly smaller than the perforations around the keyboard.

When listening, the Dell Inspiron 14’s sound seems to come directly from a speaker housed in a cardboard box, and the whole thing is noticeably lacking in bass with slightly nasal highs. To enjoy music or the soundtrack of a movie, you need headphones. And that’s a good thing, because the jack output of the Inspiron 14 offers quite acceptable characteristics.

The output level of 245 mVRMS is therefore able to perfectly drive high-impedance headphones. The measured distortion is imperceptible at 0.011% and the dynamic range is sufficiently large. Although the crosstalk is not exceptional, it allows you to enjoy stereo and a slight spatiality in films.

	Dell Inspiron 14 5430	Average of the tested PCs
Output volume	245mVRMS	166mVRMS
Distortion + noise	0.011%	0.016%
Dynamic range	89dB	99dB
Crosstalk	-59dB	-63dB

Mobility/autonomy

The Dell Inspiron 14 5430 measures 31 x 22 cm, which is 1.5 cm wider and higher than an A4 sheet. Its thickness at the highest point is 1.85 cm. With its closed format, it easily fits into a backpack or even a large bag. Especially since its weight of 1.5 kg does not hinder movement. The 65-watt charger, on the other hand, remained true to its proprietary connection in 2020 – despite its compact format.

The charger doesn’t seem to have passed the 2020 milestone yet; a USB-C port would have been desirable.

The Inspiron 14 5430 lasted 6 hours and 15 minutes of video playback (Netflix on Chrome, 200 cd/m² screen), a rather mixed result, especially with a 54 Wh battery. Luckily, the USB-C port is Power Delivery compatible, allowing for backup charging if you need to leave during the day.

Despite having a 52 Wh battery, the Dell Inspiron 14’s autonomy is no more than 6 hours and 15 minutes.