Dell Latitude 14 E5470 6440HQ Notebook Review

Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 is fully designed  for a long service life. The user will notice this as soon as the device is picked up: the used materials are made of a carbon-fiber reinforced plastic that has a pleasant feel. The matte surfaces on the lid and base feature a soft-touch finish look. Consequently, fingerprints will unfortunately soon become a problem, but can be quickly and easily removed with a cleaning cloth. The base's stability is really good as it can hardly be warped. Quite some force is needed for twisting it. The same is true of the unobtrusive, elegant display lid. Although it is much easier to warp than the base, the lid of Dell's Latitude 14 E5740 presents a higher stability than some other devices. The lid also looks impressive in our pressure test as no wave formations can be produced on the screen. On the other hand, the base yields slightly in the keyboard's center, but this is still within an acceptable range and cannot be deemed negative.

We liked the rubber trimming that encloses the display. This prevents dirt from entering when the laptop is closed. Overall, the build of our review sample is exemplary. Nothing wobbles or clatters, all gaps are regular, and the hinges keep the display lid firmly in place and rocking is minimal and only very short. It is not possible to open the device with one hand as the initial resistance is too high for this. On the other hand, the display can be completely opened toward the back since Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 is equipped with two 180-degree hinges.

LAN, Wi-Fi and, mobile data are present for network communication. The LAN port is on the rear and achieves a maximum transmission rate of 1000 Mbit/s. A frequently used Wi-Fi module from Intel that supports Bluetooth 4.2 is installed. Intel's Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260 is found in many devices and is very reliable. The theoretical gross transmission rate using 802.11ac 2x2 is 867 Mbit/s. Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 achieves a good rate of 618 Mbit/s in receive in the test scenario under ideal conditions, and it places itself at the top. Dell's device lags behind slightly with 241 Mbit/s in transmit and falls back to the third place.

Business users who are often on the go can access networks via the installed LTE module. When a SIM card is inserted into the corresponding slot, the Sierra Wireless AirPrime EM7455 module can set up a mobile data connection of up to 300 Mbit/s.

No significant problems occurred in network connections (LAN and Wi-Fi) during the test period. All data transmitted quickly and reliably.

Security features are crucial in business devices. The manufacturer is very generous with these in Dell's Latitude 14 E5470. For example, we find a fingerprint scanner that allows very fast identification via a touch sensor after opening the lid. Furthermore, our review sample is equipped with a SmartCard reader and NFC module (FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified Dell ControlVault 2). The laptop can be secured against theft via a Kensington lock. And finally, we should not forget the Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM).

Dell also offers some optional security software packages, Computrace, and DDP products (Dell Data Protection).

Although the underside does not have a maintenance hatch, maintenance is not a problem, thanks to the easy to remove base plate. After releasing the screws, the base unit can be removed. Note: the screws cannot be taken out completely and thus they will not be lost. The user can access the hardware components after removing the base plate. The small fan can also be cleaned.

Our review sample of Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 is equipped with a 14-inch IPS panel. It has a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, which results in a pixel density of 157 PPI. This device is also available with an HD screen or Full HD touchscreen. Panels with an HD+ resolution are available as intermediate options. Overall, we cannot complain about the screen in Dell's Latitude 14 E5470. The average brightness of 316 cd/m² is very good and outshines the entire competition. Some achieve only 200 cd/m² with effort. However, our review sample shows a deficiency in the black level. 0.57 cd/m² is far from enough for reaching the top ranks. Acer's TravelMate P648, with a rate of 0.19 cd/m², can boast here. The illumination of just 79% is also below average and should be significantly better in devices of over 1000 Euros (~$1064). As the screenshot illustrates, backlight bleeding is insignificant. Our review sample is the only device in the comparison that does not use pulse-width modulation (PWM) for controlling the screen's brightness.

The storage device in our review sample is an SSD in the M.2 2280 form factor. The Micron 1100 SSD operates with SATA speeds and achieves a good sequential read rate of 489 MB/s in the AS SSD test. We still record a speed of 272 MB/s in sequential write. A solid outcome that is absolutely sufficient for office routine. The 4K read rate of almost 24 MB/s is also decent. This rate is significant when loading small files as well as when booting the system. Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 is ready to go within a few seconds.

If the performance is still too low, the SSD is easy to replace. The M.2 interface also supports M.2 PCIe/NVMe solid-state drives.

System Noise

Noise development is an important aspect in everyday work. Consequently, office devices should be as quiet as possible. A look at the comparison chart shows that all devices - with the exception of Acer's TravelMate P648 - run silently while idling. Nevertheless, Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 sometimes produces an electronic whistling noise that is quite audible in an absolutely silent work environment. The fan starts up in medium load and produces a noise level of 31.6 dB(A). This is the best result in the comparison field. Although the device gets audible at a noise level of 35 dB(A) during full load, it is not distracting. By comparison, Acer's TravelMate P648 produces only 32.4 dB(A). In the overall comparison, none of the devices deviate that much and thus all devices are roughly on par.

The temperatures measured at the base are very acceptable, even during full load. We measured a maximum of 43 °C (~109 °F) in the area of the vents on the left. The temperatures on the other areas increased only slightly and rarely reached 30 °C (~86 °F). However, regardless of how good the results of Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 are, the comparison chart shows that all other devices are even cooler.

Although the base does not heat up excessively, it looks different inside. The core temperatures increased significantly in our stress test that pushes the device to its limits for one hour. We measured a peak rate of 100 °C (~212 °F) when both the graphics unit and processor were loaded, which is definitely too hot. The consequence is thermal throttling on almost all processing cores. Thus, the CPU's clock rate recurrently fluctuated between 2.8 and 3.0 GHz. GPUZ displayed 84 °C (~183 °F) for Intel's HD Graphics 530, which is also quite high. The clock rate did not vary and remained stable at 900 MHz here.

We reran 3DMark 11 directly after the stress test to see whether permanent load leads to performance losses in the 3D performance. The result was identical to that of a cold start, and thus the very high Core temperatures do not result in a measurable disadvantage in the 3D performance.

Overall, we would have hoped for a more efficient cooling system that reliably dissipates the maximum TDP of 45 watts of Intel's Core i5-6440HQ. This stress test is an exception that will rarely occur in practice. The inner temperatures during normal use should remain within an acceptable range.

Both small stereo speakers are on the front under the wrist rest. The openings are slightly slanted so that the sound can still escape without being impaired. The speakers' quality is good and is particularly suitable for videoconferencing. Speech is loud and clear without distortions. As with almost all compact devices, the trebles and mids prevail due to the limited capacity. Although hints of bass are audible, we would recommend using external playback solutions for an ideal sound experience. The little 14-inch laptop achieves a high maximum volume without getting unpleasant. The audio software offers various options for adapting the sound to personal preferences.

Power Consumption

Putting the performance in ratio to the determined power consumption shows that Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 does quite a good job, even if the comparison chart suggests differently at first. In fact, the average idle consumption rates of 8.1 watts are much higher than in HP's ProBook 440 G4, but Dell has not installed an energy-saving processor. The quad-core has a maximum TDP of 45 watts compared to the rivalling processors with a TDP of just 15 watts. Our review sample is satisfied with 33.5 watts with occasional peaks of 49 watts. The comparison proves that HP's ProBook 440 G4 has a higher load consumption than all others. This is due to its dedicated GPU.

The compact 90-watt power supply is sufficiently sized. Thus, there are still enough reserves to recharge the big battery even during load. The narrow ring around the power supply's plug lights up as soon as it is connected to an outlet.

Thanks to the big 62-Wh battery, the runtime is not bad. As mentioned in the power consumption section, our review sample is not an energy-saving marvel. This takes its toll on battery life. However, 15 hours of runtime is possible before the battery has to be recharged. The CPU's energy requirement during load depletes the battery after just 85 minutes. The comparison device with Intel's Core i5-6300U lasts twice as long. The Wi-Fi test is considerably more significant in routine use since it comes closest to real-world load. The test script that we use for this opens different websites every 30 seconds. The "Balanced" energy profile is enabled and the screen's brightness is set to 150 cd/m² for this scenario. This equates to dimming the screen brightness by five levels in our review sample. A fully charged battery lasts 7:12 hours under these conditions. The in-house rival even managed 11:07 hours with its energy-saving processor. Nevertheless, one charged battery should last a whole workday of moderate use.

The comparison with the almost identically built comparison device based on the more energy efficient Intel Core i5-6300U is interesting: It clearly shows the difference to the higher-performance Intel Core i5-644HQ. However, every user has to decide what is more important for them.

We also performed 3DMark 11 in battery mode and achieved a much worse result than in AC mode.

Dell presents a superbly built business laptop with decent computing power. Although a somewhat older Skylake processor still clocks inside Dell's Latitude 14 E5470, the newer Kaby Lake processors are sometimes outclassed. Four physical cores are simply more efficient when the applications are capable of Multithreading.  The combination of the strong processor, 8 GB of working memory and a 256 GB SSD ensure a smooth-running system.

Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 convinced us with its good system performance in the test. The input devices, the solid and stylish casing and a high-quality build are made for a long service life. Various security features and the useful accessories can facilitate future office routine.

Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 does not give much reason for complaint, but we would have wished for at least one USB Type-C Gen.2 port in terms of future proofing. The approach with the screen that largely presents good rates is a step in the right direction. However, it could be a somewhat higher-contrast panel in this price range.

But we can ultimately say that Dell's Latitude 14 E5470 is a good office device for the hard business workday. The various security features add plus points and could be the decisive factor for purchase.