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Dell Inspiron 3542

Specifications

Dell Inspiron 3542
Dell Inspiron 3542
Processor
Intel Core i5-4210U 2 x 1.7 - 2.7 GHz, Haswell
Graphics adapter
Memory
4 GB 
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixel, glossy: yes
Weight
2.3 kg ( = 81.13 oz / 5.07 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)

 

Pricecompare

Average Score: 79% - good
Average of 2 scores (from 6 reviews)
price: 80%, performance: 78%, features: 85%, display: 70% mobility: 90%, workmanship: 80%, ergonomy: - %, emissions: 90%

Reviews for the Dell Inspiron 3542

77% Dell Inspiron 15 – 3542 Review
Source: T Break English Archive.org version
The Inspiron 3542 is a decent notebook for mundane office and home usage. It has reasonably well build quality combined with above average configuration. Its touch-screen display is beautifully integrated and works well in all sorts of applications. In terms of performance also it fairs well minus the battery life which I feel is under par. The notebook retails at a starting price of $379.99 and with full customization can easily go over $700 mark. The variant featured here carries an approximate price tag of $544.99, which considering its features is a good value for money.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 11/18/2014
Rating: Total score: 77% price: 80% performance: 75% features: 85% workmanship: 70%

Foreign Reviews

Dell Inspiron 15 (3542) – аскет по натуре
Source: Notebook-Center.ru RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Decent performance; austere design; very comfortable keyboard; nice price. Negative: Weak resolution, TN-matrix, poor brightness, lack of contrast and color reproduction of the display.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 10/28/2014
Обзор ноутбука Dell Inspiron 15 3542: тестируем Core i5-4210U из обновлённой линейки Haswell Refresh
Source: 3DNews.ru RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Good keyboard; decent output sound quality; decent performance. Negative: Cheap display; poor speakers.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/22/2014
Dell Inspiron 15 három változatban
Source: Prohardver.hu HU→EN Archive.org version
Comparison, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/08/2014
81% Dell Inspiron 3542 teszt – nVIDIA 820M és Intel Core i5-4210U
Source: Laptopkalauz HU→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/26/2014
Rating: Total score: 81% performance: 80% display: 70% mobility: 90% workmanship: 90% emissions: 90%
Dell Inspiron 3542 – незабавно готов за работа, но без Windows.
Source: PC Store BU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Durable and comfortable keyboard; touchpad with gesture support; bright, vivid and saturated colors of the display; good performance.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 07/29/2014

Comment

Model:

The Dell Inspiron series has always been a popular choice for home users due to its very affordable prices and decent specs. In the past, this series may have not been the best looking notebooks around due to their thickness and cheap looking build quality. However, things have changed. The Inspiron series these days are far slimmer and for a low price, they do give a premium look. The Dell Inspiron 15 3542 is a perfect example with its elegant square-shaped design, matte black surfaces and chiclet-style keyboard. Even with a built-in DVD burner, it is only 1" thick, giving it an ultrabook like look.

Its 15.6" screen has a resolution of 1366x768 pixels which is quite low for today's standards and its brightness is slightly below average. The Inspiron 3542 can be configured with up to Intel Core i5 4210U, 4GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 820M graphics card, which is sufficient enough for casual gamers. All hardware suggest that this model aims at average users who do a little bit of everything such as students. Other specifications include all the basic ports; 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB 3.0 port and an HDMI output.

All in all, the Dell Inspiron 15 3542 is a very well equipped notebook for its selling price. It looks good and is equipped with the hardware to match its looks. On the downside, it comes with what looks like yesterday's screen and like all low price Dells, it has a rather weak sound system.

NVIDIA GeForce 820M:

Entry level 28nm Fermi GPU from the GeForce 800M series based on the GT 620M and 710M.

Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.


4210U: Haswell-based ULV dual-core processor clocked at 1.7 GHz with Turbo Boost support up to 2.7 GHz. Offers an integrated HD Graphics 4400 and a dual-channel DDR3 memory controller.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.


15.60":

15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.

The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.

» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.


Dell: Dell is a U.S. manufacturer (based in Texas) of computer hardware founded in 1984 and is one of the largest international manufacturers in terms of both market share and notebook models. Its product line includes desktops, notebooks, storage systems, monitors, servers, printers, consumer electronics and peripherals. Dell offers laptops that are suitable for various applications, such as business laptops, gaming laptops, ultra portables and workstations. Dell's business laptops from the Latitude and Precision series are an option for professional users and businesses.

In 2023, Dell had an approximate 17% market share of global PC sales, ranking #3 after Lenovo and HP.

For gaming enthusiasts, Dell's Alienware brand is for gaming notebooks.


79%: This rating is not earth-shattering. This rating must actually be seen as average, since there are about as many devices with worse ratings as better ones. A purchase recommendation can only be seen with a lot of goodwill, unless it is about websites that generally rate strictly.


» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

 

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Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU

Asus ASUSPRO P550LDV-XO1303G
GeForce 820M, Core i3 4030U
HP 15-L0Z35EA
GeForce 820M, Core i5 5200U
Acer Extensa 2510G
GeForce 820M, Core i3 4030U

Devices with Same Screen Size and/or Weight

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Dell Inspiron 15 3530
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Dell Inspiron 15 3520
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Alder Lake-M i5-1235U, 15.60", 1.9 kg
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Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Alder Lake-M i5-1235U, 15.60", 1.67 kg
Dell Latitude 5431, i7-1270P
Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Alder Lake-P i7-1270P, 14.00", 1.49 kg
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Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620, iGPU
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Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Alder Lake-M i5-1235U, 14.00", 1.55 kg
Dell Vostro 16 5620, i5-1240P
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Dell Vostro 14 3405, R5 3500U
Vega 8, Picasso (Ryzen 3000 APU) R5 3500U, 14.00", 1.7 kg
Dell Latitude 14 9430, i7-1265U
Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Alder Lake-M i7-1265U, 14.00", 1.27 kg
Dell Inspiron 15 3525, Ryzen 5 5625U
Vega 7, Cezanne (Zen 3, Ryzen 5000) R5 5625U, 15.60", 1.66 kg
Current Prices
Stefan Hinum, 2014-07- 9 (Update: 2014-07- 9)