Dell Latitude 14 E7450 Ultrabook Review

It is a matter of taste whether you think the matte black chassis is dull and boring or simple and elegant, but one thing is certain: Far more important than the design, are the qualities of a professional notebook. Dell has done quite a good job in this regard and designed a chassis made of magnesium and other metals. The device was even tested according to military standards (MIL-STD-810G), but the E7450 is still quite light at 1.64 kilograms (~3.6 lb) and even beats the rivals from Lenovo (1.7 kg; ~3.7 lb) and HP (1.78 kg; ~3.9 lb). Combined with compact dimensions, the device is certainly a good mobile companion for your next business trip.

However, the rather slim construction does not only have advantages: Critical users might not be happy with the slight flexibility of the base unit, but we do not want to overstate this. There are no creaking or clattering sounds even under a lot of pressure, this is not a matter of course even in this price range. We also want to praise the above-average stability of the display, including the precise hinges that had already left a great impression in the review of its similarly constructed predecessor model.

Unlike the so-called unibody cases, the chassis of the Latitude consists of multiple individual parts. The manufacturer has assembled them very well, and we can hardly find any uneven gaps, which is an example of the high build quality of the device in all areas. We also like the haptics of the Ultrabook with its soft-touch surfaces, even though they collect dirt quite quickly.

In parallel with the introduction of the first Broadwell models, Intel has also launched a new WLAN module, Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265. Like the predecessor, Wireless-AC 7260, it supports the WLAN standards 802.11a/b/g/n/ac in 2.4 and 5 GHz networks as well as Bluetooth 4.0. Even though the nominal performance specifications have not changed (2x2 dual-stream, up to 876 Mbps), Intel still promises improved transfer rates combined with reduced power consumption – we obviously verified this immediately.

The results are actually quite good: We managed to transfer files with an impressive transfer rate of 43 MB/s in combination with a TP-Link Archer C7 router. This is a small increase compared to earlier reviews with the Wireless-AC 7260. These speeds are obviously only possible in good conditions (802.11ac dual-stream, short distance, no walls), but the performance of the wireless module was also impressive at a longer distance, and we always had a stable and fast connection. You can use the optional WWAN module (Qualcomm Gobi 4G/LTE, extra 69 Euros, ~$79) if there is no wireless network nearby. 

Unfortunately, the picture quality of the webcam, which still has a maximum resolution of 0.9 Megapixels, is not a revelation: Washed-out colors, lack of details and visible picture noise make it only usable for chat applications like Skype at most. We liked the great array microphones with the excellent voice quality much better.

Security 

Business customers that want certain security features should pay close attention when they select the model. Many features like a fingerprint reader, SmartCard reader, NFC or Computrace support are not standard for all configurations – only a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is always included. Detailed explanations about the individual functions are available in our FAQ.

Accessories

In addition to the power adaptor and some brochures, the Latitude comes with an 8 GB USB stick that can be used as a recovery drive for the preloaded Windows 8.1 Pro. Other manufacturers usually only include a DVD that requires an additional external optical drive – it is nice that Dell thought about this.

The software installations on the system are clean, and there are no annoying trial versions. There are some preloaded tools from the manufacturer, but they are primarily designed to maintain the device, for example, to create a recovery or manage wireless networks. Dell trusts Microsoft's Windows Defender for protection against viruses and other malware. This application – unlike many third party apps – uses pleasantly few resources and is not obtrusive.

Maintenance

After the removal of the battery, you just have to loosen two screws before you can remove the large bottom cover of the notebook. After that you have access to the two DDR3 memory slots (one occupied), a 2.5-inch tray for storage drives (occupied), the WLAN module as well as a free spot for a WWAN card (M.2). Exemplary: Dell has already integrated the necessary antenna cables. It is just as easy to clean the fan.

Warranty

Like Lenovo or HP, Dell also offers a three-year warranty for its expensive business models, so the high retail price is at least somewhat compensated. As usual, you can extend the service pack at a price – even a 24/7 phone support for up to 5 years is possible if you can afford it (around 280 Euros; ~$321).

The technical specifications of the display are similar to the IPS panel of the Lenovo T440s (AUO B140HAN). The rich black value (0.3 cd/m²) results in an excellent contrast ratio of 933:1 – TN panels usually only manage values between 200 and 500:1. This means the user gets a very rich and vivid picture, so the Latitude can also be used for multimedia purposes.

You get quite an accurate display ex-works. Colors and grayscale are close to their ideal values with DeltaE deviations of around 3.5, and our additional calibration can lower the results by another 1.5 points (DeltaE colors: 2.1; grayscale: 1.8). At the same time it adjusts the color temperature, which is a little too cool in the factory settings. Only professional graphics artists or photographers will criticize the limited color space, even though 92% sRGB (Correction 20.5.2015 due to a wrong sRGB-reference-profile) and 60% AdobeRGB are more than acceptable for this type of notebook.

One reason for the popularity of IPS displays is the high picture quality when you look at the display from the side. The AUO panel of our review unit manages to display a picture almost without distortions even with angles of around 45 degrees. A lower contrast and color accuracy are only an issue when you exceed this value, from an angle above in particular. Compared to cheap TN panels, you do not have to adjust the opening angle of the display with each head movement.

We managed to get an impression of Intel's new 14-nm architecture "Broadwell Core-M platform, after it was launched last autumn. It is now also available in several LV (low voltage) and ULV (ultra low voltage) models for more powerful Ultrabooks. Dell has equipped the Latitude E7450 with the Core i5-5300U from the comprehensive list of available models. It is a fast upper-mainstream dual-core processor with a TDP of 15 Watts. One noticeable difference compared to the predecessor is the much higher nominal clock of 2.3 GHz, whereas the individual Turbo limits – 2.7 GHz for two cores, 2.9 GHz for one core – were barely raised.

The integrated graphics unit is new as well, in the case of the Core i5-5300U, the HD Graphics 5500. This medium version is referred to as "GT2" configuration and has 24 Execution Units that are clocked with 300 - 900 MHz. Compared to the previous HD Graphics 4400 (20 EUs), the HD 5500 is not only supposed to be significantly faster, but it also comes with new features such as full support for DirectX 11.2.

The memory module of our review unit is quite generous with 8 GB DDR3L-1600 of RAM, but the manufacturer has integrated only one module. As a result, the memory controller only works in the slower single-channel mode, which can affect the 3D performance significantly. But it also makes it easier to upgrade the memory since there is a second empty slot. We think the 128 GB SSD is rather small, but there are other configurations with larger drives (currently up to 256 GB) to choose from.

We have already mentioned that Broadwell does not have much higher clocks than comparable Haswell models, at least when we look at the Turbo Boost. But the new generation does have two big advantages: First, thanks to the 14-nm manufacturing process, the power consumption has been reduced, so the TDP does not limit the clock so often. Intel has also been able to increase the per-MHz performance by another 5% – not a huge improvement, but still respectable when you consider the high level of the predecessor.

As expected, the Core i5-5300U can maintain the full 2.7 GHz even under continuous load for both cores, and it can even exceed a Core i7-4600U or i7-4650U in longer benchmarks. The advantage over the Core i5-4300U is between 5 to 10%, depending on the scenario and test device. The Broadwell chip runs with 2.9 GHz in single-thread benchmarks and is roughly between the Core i5 and Core i7 chips from the Haswell generation.

Dell does not restrict the clocks artificially on battery power, so you can use the full performance of the processor on the road.

It is interesting that the Latitude E7450 uses a compact mSATA-SSD that is mounted in the 2.5-inch tray of the notebook with an adaptor. This does not result in technical limitations: mSATA uses the same SATA 6Gb/s protocol as a conventional SATA port, so there should not be any performance restrictions. 

The integrated SSD Samsung PM851 confirms this with an excellent read performance of around 467 MB/s as well as high transfer rates with small 4K files. On the other hand, the low sequential write performance is disappointing: It seems that the smallest SSD of the series does not use all the channels from the flash controller, which would explain the comparatively bad result in this discipline. Still, large sequential write transfers are quite rare in practice.

Despite the generally very restrained cooling system, the Latitude does not get unduly warm. Only one spot on the case surface exceeds the 40 degrees (~104 °F) mark after extreme load for one hour with the tools Prime95 and FurMark, the rest of the chassis only becomes lukewarm. This means there are no limitations when you want to use the E7450 on your lap, especially since the large grid structure at the bottom ensures an unrestricted supply of fresh air.

14-nm manufacturing or not: The Core i5-5300U has to throttle its clocks under maximum load to stay within its TDP limit of 15 Watts. The CPU clock quickly dropped to 1.5 GHz in our stress test, while the GPU ran with 800 MHz, which is quite close to the Turbo Boost limit of 900 MHz. It seems that Intel (just like AMD) still prefers the graphics unit over the processor with a combined load, instead of letting both components run with medium clocks. The core temperature of the chip is beyond criticism: We could not create more than 70 to 80 °C (~158 to 176 °F), even with synthetic tools.

You do not have to reinvent the wheel every time – it makes sense to improve a proven product in small but steady steps. Dell follows this philosophy and does not change the Latitude E7450 completely, but was able to improve many small aspects compared to the predecessor E7440.

Many optimizations are only noticeable when you compare both devices side by side. The chassis is now slightly slimmer than before, and has a slightly larger battery despite the identical weight. The noise development under load was further reduced at the same time and both the processor as well as the graphics performance have been improved thanks to the new Broadwell chips. Familiar, high-quality input devices and a very decent Full HD display complete the overall impression and justify our final rating of 88% – very good.

That the ThinkPad T440s gets two points more despite the older hardware is mainly due to small things like the optional 96-Wh battery or the even lower noise emissions. But this also shows that Haswell notebooks are anything but outdated in 2015. The successor is obviously preferable for the same price, but many discontinued models like the Latitude E7440 should be available for very attractive prices in the coming weeks. This is also one of our points of criticism for the E7450: Almost 1600 Euros (~$1833) as of the end of January is rather bold for a notebook with Core i5 CPU and 128 GB SSD. Still, you should expect similar prices for the upcoming ThinkPad T450s or EliteBook 840 G2 – both should be available soon – because of the weak exchange rate for the Euro right now.