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MagyarIntel Core i7-1265U debut: Dell Latitude 13 7330 1 kg laptop review
Not to be confused with the Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged, the Latitude 7330 is your more traditional laptop for offices and businesses. It comes in both clamshell and convertible 2-in-1 options each with similar Intel 12th gen Core-U CPU options, ports, and overall chassis design but with different display and chassis material options to choose from. We recommend checking out the product page or the publicly available technical PDF for the Latitude 7330 as it offers more configurable options than most other laptops ranging from different webcams, battery sizes, WAN, and even MicroSD readers.
Our specific review unit is the Magnesium alloy Latitude 7330 clamshell targeting a weight of just 1 kg to be one of the lightest 13.3-inch business laptops in the market. A few other laptops have also promised similar super lightweight designs in the past such as the LG Gram series, Samsung Galaxy Book Pro series, HP Elite Dragonfly, or the Toshiba Portege Z series all of which serve as alternatives to the Latitude 7330. Our configuration as reviewed retails for approximately $2000 USD.
More Dell reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 % | 07/2022 | Dell Latitude 13 7330 i7-1265U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1 kg | 16.96 mm | 13.30" | 1920x1080 | |
| 87.9 % | 10/2020 | Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE i7-10510U, UHD Graphics 620 | 1.3 kg | 15.95 mm | 13.30" | 1920x1080 | |
| 85.1 % | 07/2022 | Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.3 kg | 15.85 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 | |
| 86.6 % | 12/2020 | Razer Book 13 FHD i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.4 kg | 15.15 mm | 13.40" | 1920x1200 | |
| 89.4 % | 07/2020 | Dell Latitude 7310 i7-10610U, UHD Graphics 620 | 1.2 kg | 18.3 mm | 13.30" | 1920x1080 | |
| 85.2 % | 05/2021 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 R5 4680U, Vega 7 | 1.3 kg | 14 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 |
Case — Three Different Options
13-inch laptops promising to be 1 kg or even lighter already exist, but they almost always come with some caveats. Most notably, such models typically show much more flexing for an overall weaker impression when it comes to durability. Spend just a minute with the LG Gram 13 compared to the heavier Dell XPS 13 9310 and the thinness differences in their skeletons become immediately noticeable. The Latitude 7330 has somehow avoided the trend by being more rigid than expected for a 1 kg build. The base, for example, doesn't twist or bend nearly as much as on the aforementioned LG. Overall rigidity lies somewhere in between the Gram 13 and XPS 13 which we consider to be a fair tradeoff if you value the superlight weight.
The very low weight of just 1 kg is the main selling point of the magnesium alloy option. Most subnotebooks in this size category are typically a few hundred grams heavier to be very noticeable when traveling or working on-the-go. Overall dimensions are just slightly smaller than with the Latitude 7310 which was already quite small.
Opting for the carbon fiber or aluminum options instead will entail a weight increase of about 160 g and 240 g, respectively, over our magnesium option.
Connectivity — Thunderbolt 4 Support
Port options are the same as they were on the Latitude 7310 but rearranged to improve convenience. The two USB-C ports, for example, are now each along the left and righthand edges of the chassis, respectively, compared to only the left edge on the older model. This change allows users to charge the laptop from either side.
Communication — Optional LTE
The Intel AX211 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. We experienced no major connectivity issues when paired to our 6 GHz network. The performance differences between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E will be minimal to most users.
Though our unit doesn't come configured with WAN, users have to option to configure with an eSIM-enabled Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE-A CAT 9 or CAT 16 module.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Razer Book 13 FHD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Razer Book 13 FHD | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Webcam
Users can configure between an HD (720p) or FHD (1080p) webcam with optional IR for Windows Hello support. We recommend upgrading to 1080p as the picture quality from our 720p configuration is blurry and brutally outdated.
A manual shutter slider is installed for privacy.
Maintenance
The bottom panel is easily removable with just a Philips screwdriver. There isn't much to service beyond the M.2 SSD and battery since the WLAN and RAM modules are soldered.
Note that there are no antenna included if configuring without WAN to discourage owners from installing their own WAN module. Additionally, note the empty space to the left of the 41 Wh battery to reduce weight; this space becomes occupied if configuring with the larger 58 Wh option.
Accessories and Warranty
There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. A three-year warranty comes standard as is customary for most Latitude models.
Input Devices — Same As Before
Keyboard
Dell has made no changes to the keyboard between the Latitude 7310 and Latitude 7330. In fact, many of the newer Latitude models share the same keyboard design and layout including the Latitude 7400 7410, 7310, and 7330. We find the firmer keys of the Latitude to be more comfortable for typing than on the lighter keys of the XPS 13. The keys on the LG Gram 14 or HP EliteBook series have crisper or sharper feedback.
Touchpad
Clickpad size has not changed from the older Latitude 7310 at around 10 x 6.1 cm. We do wish it was taller, however, as vertical cursor movement and multi-touch scrolling can feel a bit cramped. The integrated mouse keys are also softer than we would like and they become tiring to press after a short while.
Display — No OLED Or Fast Refresh Rate
There are four display options available as follows from worst to best:
- Non-touch, 250-nits, ~60% sRGB
- Touch, 300-nits, ~60% sRGB
- Non-touch, 400-nits, 100% sRGB, Low Blue Light, Low Power
- Non-touch, 400-nits, 100% sRGB, Low Blue Light, Low Power, Ultralight
All options are FHD, WVA/IPS, and matte only meaning no 2K, 4K, OLED, or glossy alternatives here. We recommend avoiding the first panel due to its dim backlight and very narrow color range. Our specific test unit comes equipped with the fourth option above.
Our independent measurements show a slightly smaller sRGB coverage of 93 percent but a slightly brighter average maximum brightness of 445 nits. It's still a quality display considering its high contrast ratio of over 1000:1, but we're hopeful that future SKUs will include OLED for faster black-white and gray-gray response times or at least higher refresh rate panels for a smoother UI.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Center on Battery: 460.1 cd/m²
Contrast: 1484:1 (Black: 0.31 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.42 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2, calibrated: 0.77
ΔE Greyscale 2.3 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
68.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
93.5% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
66.1% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.23
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 LG Philips 133WF9, IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30 | Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE N133HCG-GR3, IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30 | Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel BOE CQ NE135FBM-N41, IPS, 2256x1504, 13.50 | Razer Book 13 FHD Sharp LQ134N1JW48, IPS, 1920x1200, 13.40 | Dell Latitude 7310 AU Optronics B133HAN, IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 i7 LQ135P1JX51, IPS, 2256x1504, 13.50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 3% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 0% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 66.1 | 67.2 2% | 69.9 6% | 70.1 6% | 71.8 9% | 64.7 -2% |
| sRGB Coverage | 93.5 | 98.1 5% | 99.4 6% | 99.3 6% | 99.3 6% | 97.2 4% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 68.2 | 69 1% | 71.1 4% | 71.6 5% | 72.4 6% | 66.9 -2% |
| Response Times | -6% | 18% | -24% | 10% | -32% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 48.4 ? | 56 ? -16% | 34.7 ? 28% | 56.8 ? -17% | 40.8 ? 16% | 62.8 ? -30% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 29.6 ? | 28 ? 5% | 27.5 ? 7% | 38.8 ? -31% | 28.8 ? 3% | 39.8 ? -34% |
| PWM Frequency | 2475 ? | 21930 ? | ||||
| Screen | 2% | -25% | -9% | -9% | -11% | |
| Brightness middle | 460.1 | 401 -13% | 449.6 -2% | 545.3 19% | 332.7 -28% | 413 -10% |
| Brightness | 445 | 383 -14% | 431 -3% | 507 14% | 329 -26% | 400 -10% |
| Brightness Distribution | 89 | 91 2% | 90 1% | 88 -1% | 89 0% | 94 6% |
| Black Level * | 0.31 | 0.16 48% | 0.31 -0% | 0.31 -0% | 0.25 19% | 0.29 6% |
| Contrast | 1484 | 2506 69% | 1450 -2% | 1759 19% | 1331 -10% | 1424 -4% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.42 | 2.6 -7% | 2.76 -14% | 1.39 43% | 2.15 11% | 2.8 -16% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.97 | 4.2 -6% | 7.96 -101% | 2.61 34% | 3.89 2% | 7.2 -81% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.77 | 0.9 -17% | 0.58 25% | 2.72 -253% | 1.09 -42% | 0.8 -4% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.3 | 3.3 -43% | 5.2 -126% | 1.3 43% | 2.5 -9% | 1.9 17% |
| Gamma | 2.23 99% | 2.01 109% | 2.23 99% | 2.2 100% | 2.3 96% | 2.12 104% |
| CCT | 6262 104% | 6076 107% | 6475 100% | 6476 100% | 6347 102% | 6510 100% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 62.7 | 65.9 | 64.1 | 61.6 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 98.1 | 99.6 | 99.4 | 97.2 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -0% /
1% | -1% /
-12% | -9% /
-8% | 3% /
-3% | -14% /
-11% |
* ... smaller is better
The display is well-calibrated out of the box with average grayscale and deltaE values of just 2.3 and 2.42, respectively, as shown by our CalMAN results below. Calibrating it even further ourselves with an X-Rite colorimeter would improve average DeltaE values to less than 1.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 29.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 14.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 14.8 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 74 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (22.3 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 48.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 23.6 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 24.8 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 81 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (35.2 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18889 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Outdoor visibility is quite good if working under shade due to the relatively bright ~450-nit display and matte overlay to reduce glare. It's still not bright enough for comfortable viewing on sunny or bright and cloudy days, however.
Performance — Core i7-1265U Impresses
Testing Conditions
We set our unit to Performance mode and Ultra Performance mode vis Windows and the Dell Power Manager software, respectively, prior to running any benchmarks below. It's recommended that owners become familiar with the pre-installed Dell Power Manager, Optimizer, and Command applications as they serve as hubs for toggling model-specific updates and features.
Processor
After being disappointed with the Core i5-1235U, our hopes weren't very high for the Core i7-1265U. Fortunately, the i7-1265U is proving to be quite the speed demon despite it belonging to the U-series family. Raw single-thread and multi-thread performance is 20 percent and 60 percent higher than the average laptop in our database equipped with the last generation Core i7-1165G7. In fact, the CPU is only about 10 to 25 percent behind the more demanding Core i7-1260P. Some higher-end AMD CPUs like the Ryzen 7 5700U or 5800U can match or outperform the Core i7-1265U in multi-threaded workloads, but they still fall behind in single-threaded operations.
Performance sustainability is good, but it could definitely be better. Running CineBench R15 xT in a loop shows an initial score of 1379 points before steadily falling and stabilizing at around 1000 points representing a performance dip of about 27 percent. The limited cooling potential of the small cooling solution is likely preventing the CPU from running at higher clock rates for longer periods.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
System Performance
PCMark scores are higher than on many other business laptops running on last generation or older CPUs such as the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 or especially the Latitude 7310. The Razer Book 13 comes very close due to its faster SSD and integrated graphics performance.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1301 - 1615, n=7) | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1230 - 1586, n=7) | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1413 - 1706, n=7) | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1193 - 1521, n=7) | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5182 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1265U (74.6 - 112.4, n=10) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs on our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise perfect with just one dropped frame during our 60-seconds test video.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Razer Book 13 FHD | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices — One Internal Drive Only
Dell likes to ship many of its subnotebooks with shorter M.2 2230 SSDs compared to the longer 2280 drives on most other laptops. The 512 GB Kioxia PCIe3 x4 drive in our test unit would top out at 2400 MB/s for only a short period before throttling kicks in to reduce transfer rates to just 1200 MB/s as shown by our DiskSpd loop test results below. The drive is likely running into temperature limitations when stressed. In comparison, the HP EliteBook 845 G9 is able to sustain significantly faster transfer rates for longer periods with its included PCIe4 x4 drive when subjected to the same testing conditions.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | |
| Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
| Dell Latitude 7310 | |
| Razer Book 13 FHD | |
| Dell Latitude 13 7330 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13 Ryzen 5 | |
* ... smaller is better