Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5)

The Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) ($750 direct), a mainstream laptop has a boat-load of features, sports a thin, attractive chassis, and breezes through any task. The eight hours of battery life only adds to the allure. Aside from some minor annoyance?the stiff-clicking mouse and irksome port covers?it should be at the top of your list for laptops to consider. As such, it earns our Editors' Choice in the mainstream laptop category.

Design
Dell Inspirons are considered entry-level laptops, yet the days of cheap, bulky plastic enclosures seem to be behind them. Indeed, the Inspiron 14z (Core i5) is fitted with a brushed aluminum top, which makes that of its predecessor, the Inspiron 14z, look like a relic. Moreover, the chassis is a complete redesign. The protruding strip from the back?which we've previously seen on the Dell XPS 15z ($1,534 direct, 4 stars)?conceals the big 65WH battery, and it measures only an inch thick, despite its built-in optical drive. The Gateway ID47H02u, Samsung QX411-W01's ($899.99 list, 3.5 stars), and Asus U46E-BAL5 ($699.99 List, 4.5 stars) sport similar designs?metal tops and inch-thick frames?putting the Inspiron 14z (Core i5) in pretty good company.

It weighs 4.5 pounds, which is similar to the Gateway ID47H02u (4.4 pounds), and lighter than the Asus U46E-BAL5 (4.9 pounds) and Samsung QX411-W01 (5.1 pounds).

The 14-inch widescreen is as vivid as the one found in the Asus U46E-BAL5. The Samsung QX411-W01, on the other hand, uses a TV-like glass screen, which also produces vivid images but reflects more light. Like every other 14-inch laptop in its class, the 14z's screen resolution is limited to 1,366 by 768. Higher-resolution screens can be found on the Sony VAIO VPC-SA2FGX/BI ($1,199.99 list, 3.5 stars) (1,600-by-900) and Dell XPS 15z (1,920-by-1,080).

The typing experience is just lovely, because it uses the same chiclet-style, slightly scalloped keys as that of the Dell XPS line?a big improvement from the previous Inspiron 14z iteration. Underneath the keys are LED backlights, which make the keyboard even more invaluable lightless rooms. It's a feature you won't find in many mainstream laptops. My only pet peeve here is that the mouse buttons gave my thumb an extensive work-out; you really have to press into them to get a response.

Features
Like every other 14-inch laptop I've mentioned so far, the 14z (Core i5) integrates a DVD burner, yet kept its dimensions as svelte as that of the Asus U46E-BAL5 and Gateway ID47H02u. It's the only one that omitted a VGA port?a forward-thinking move?and instead opted to have both HDMI and mini-DisplayPort technologies. Both connectors can transmit digital audio and video to an external display. There is one USB 2.0 port; the other two ports are USB 3.0, which transfers data at 10 times the speed of USB 2.0. Port covers, which are a pet peeve of mine, have to be peeled off to access any of the ports. Concealing ports is done for aesthetic reasons, moreso than for protection, and having to remove a port cover to get to a USB port is annoying.

The 640GB 5,400rpm hard drive isn't the biggest one available (options go up to 750GB), but it is bigger than the 500GB one found in the Gateway ID47H02u. In addition to 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connections, the 14z (Core i5) is equipped with Wireless Display 2 (WiDi 2.0), which, like HDMI and DisplayPort, transmits video and audio, but without pesky wires. You will need the Netgear HD Push2TV receiver, though, a $49 add-on from Dell's website.

Performance
The Inspiron 14z (Core i5) is a lot speedier than the original Dell 14z in terms of CPU architecture, Gigahertz rating, and wattage. By wattage, I mean the 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M in the Inspiron 14z (Core i5) is a standard-voltage processor, as opposed to the low-voltage version one found in the Dell 14z. It's a monstrous leap in speed, and along with 6GB of memory, the 14z (Core i5) tackled Handbrake (1:58) and Cinebench R11.5 (2.56) as ferociously as the Asus U46E-BAL5 (1:53 on Handbrake; 2.59 on Cinebench) and Samsung QX411-W01 (1:59 on Handbrake; 2.56 on Cinebench). It earned top marks in PCMark 7 (2,308), an overall performance gauge, although the rest of the field wasn't too far behind. In terms of graphics horsepower, its Intel integrated graphics solution can play many games at medium quality settings. But mainstream laptops like the HP Envy 14 (Sandy Bridge) and Samsung QX411-W01 have discrete graphics chips that allow users to dial up the eye-candy.

All the speed in the world won't matter if a mainstream laptop can't hold a charge on the road. Thankfully, the 14z (Core i5) includes a large 65WH battery that lasted 8 hours 38 minutes on the MobileMark 2007 battery test. The score was in line with that of the Samsung QX411-W01 (8:48) and Gateway ID47H02u (8:23), and beat the Asus U46E-BAL5 (7:19) by over an hour. Unlike the batteries in the Samsung QX411-W01 and Gateway ID47H02u, the one in the 14z (Core i5) is removable, in case you want to carry around an additional battery.

When you look at the key components of a mainstream laptop, the Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) excels at every single one them, whether it is excellent battery life (over an hour more than the Asus U46E-BAL5), speed, or its feature set. All this earns this mainstream lapotp our Editors' Choice nod. Peeves like the stiff mouse buttons and port covers are small in the grand scheme of things.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) with several other laptops side by side.

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