Review Dell Inspiron 15z (5523) Ultrabook

The Inspiron 15z looks like a proper ultrabook with its gray brushed aluminum display lid and palm rest. The well-rounded edges are a matter of taste. Although the metal surfaces are not as dirt prone as is high-gloss plastic, some fingerprints are still clearly visible. The same is true about dust on the glossy display, which is not an issue on matte screens. Thus, a cleaning cloth is a must-have accessory.

The fancy metal surfaces are protected by plastic around the edges and on the bottom cover, both of which feel quite solid. In addition, all the gaps are uniform and the Inspiron 15z can be awarded a good workmanship mark.

A 15-inch notebook, which at 23 mm is also very thin, will mostly have the disadvantage of a wobbly display. The Inspiron 15z is not an exception. When opening the 5 mm thin display lid, it feels like no teetering should be expected. But small vibrations prove the opposite. Still, the hinges hold the lid firmly in place and it can be comfortably opened with one hand. The maximum opening angle is only about 120 degrees.

As we already mentioned, the ultrabook has no less equipment than a multimedia notebook. The 15z features a DVD burner and a LAN port, which needed an adapter on most ultrabooks of the first generation. In addition, the notebook has a total of four USB ports - two on each side. The HDMI, Kensington Lock and the SD card reader were also not forgotten. We are only missing a VGA port, because external monitors and projectors do not always have an HDMI input. All of the interfaces are located on both sides and are not too close to each other. At the front the status LEDs glow discreetly in white.

Like most notebooks, the 15z also has a webcam above the display. It is nothing special with a resolution of 1.3 megapixels. Our test shows some noise in the picture despite the sufficient light. The quality is enough for Skype video calls, but nothing more. A small LED right next to the camera indicates operation. Thanks to the integrated microphone, you can easily "Skype" without any external accessories.

The screen has a diagonal of 15.6-inches and has a resolution of 1366x768 pixels in the 16:9 format. A higher resolution can often be found only in a device above the 1000 Euros (~$1346) mark. This is a glossy display, which hinders outdoor use. The values of the screen we measured prove that the image quality cannot compensate for this shortcoming. The maximum brightness of 212 cd/m² forces compromises in brightly lit places. The contrast ratio of 650:1 is surprisingly good for the moderate brightness values.

While the viewing angles of the Inspiron 14z were abysmal, those of the 15z can be considered as acceptable. Horizontally, the image remains relatively stable up to 45 degrees. Vertically, we see a fading and color inversion even at a small angle. This is typical for notebooks with a TN panel. The rarely used IPS panels offer significantly better viewing angles, as the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist Convertible shows.

Compared to other notebooks with the same processor, the Inspiron 15z shows a rather poor performance in the CPU benchmark Cinebench. The smaller Inspiron 14z or even the cheaper Asus Aspire V5-571G are about 50% quicker in the Single Rendering test. We saw the same results in both the 32 and 64 bit Multi Core tests.

According to the specifications, a single core should be able to reach 2.6 GHz and both cores - 2.4 GHz. But under continuous load, which the benchmark simulated, neither cores exceed the base clock. This is the reason for the relatively low scores. This also leads to performance loss in demanding applications. Some consolation comes from the fact that the frequency is not lower on battery power - the benchmarks showed the same results as when plugged in.

Our test model comes with a Solid State Drive (SSD) made by Liteon (LCT-128M3S). The manufacturer promises maximum read and write speeds of over 500 MB/s. The sequential read rate we measured was 493 MB/s and the write one was only 187 MB/s. The first value is rather good for a flash drive. While the write rate was far from the advertised one, it should not matter that much to the overall performance.

As we already mentioned, the hybrid solution of a 500 GB hard drive and an ExpressCache costs 100 Euros (~$134) less. The small Inspiron 14z we tested came with a Solid State Drive made by Samsung that had similar read rates and slightly better write rates.

If we have a dedicated graphics card on board, we should be able to play some games on the ultrabook. Although, at this price, some compromises are to be expected. With the help of some older and some modern games, we test the gaming capabilities of the Inspiron 15z. First is Starcraft 2, which we played without significant frame rate drops. The game runs at 1024x768 pixels and low details with more than 100 fps. But even at native resolution and medium details it is still playable at 50 fps. Only at a higher setting would the game stutter in some demanding battles.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a 2011 role playing game that is graphically more demanding. Yet it is playable at lower details and native resolution – even though the counter never exceeded 30 fps. Under load, as when playing Skyrim, the limitation of the CPU clock is the ultrabook's bottleneck for games.

Assassin's Creed 3 is a brand new title. It is playable on the Inspiron 15z at native resolution and medium details. You can find various gaming benchmarks on the GeForce GT 630M page, which should indicate basic gaming capabilities with some restrictions. Those who intend to play older or not so demanding games will find a good price-performance compromise with this card. But an ultrabook is generally the wrong choice for higher gaming demands.

As you can see on the diagram, the only hot spot is on the bottom, round the AC jack, and it gets warm only when the notebook is under load. The keyboard and palm rest remain pleasantly cool, mainly because of the aluminum surface. We measured values not exceeding 30 °C. Higher temperatures were observed only on the bottom side. The smaller Inspiron 14z with the same processor gets a bit warmer under load.

During the stress test, we put the system under constant load with FurMark and Prime95. The CPU frequency limitation of the processor is justified here. In order to protect the hardware from overheating, the CPU is not allowed to exceed its base clock frequency. Even after one hour, the reported maximum temperature of the CPU was 80 °C – even 10 °C higher would not have been critical. If you run only Prime95 or FurMark, the processor reaches just 70 °C. Thus the fan does not have a lot of work, as in notebooks without such frequency limitation, and keeps the ultrabook constantly cool. The benchmarks we ran again right after the stress test showed results without significant deviation.

Dell has successfully integrated the ultrabook into the multimedia Inspiron family. The 15z bridges the gap between the two notebook classes without sacrificing too much on either side.

First off is the stylish appearance that deserves the title ultrabook. The brushed aluminum not only looks good, but also emphasizes the high quality of the case. It is remarkably thin for a 15-inch notebook and is also well built. The hardware components are also on an ultrabook level: the Intel Core i5-3317U is a processor with a good price-performance ratio, supported by the Nvidia GeForce GT 630M. Occasional gaming is also possible on the Inspiron 15z. The Solid State Drive in combination with Windows 8 makes working rather quick - the system boots in seconds and so do the other programs.

The display is less convincing. Due to its glossy surface and relatively low brightness, it is less than suitable for outdoor use. The performance of the notebook suffers from a CPU that is limited to its base clock, thus remaining below its potential. However, this ensures that the ultrabook is always cool and quiet. Also unsatisfactory is the pre-installed software. Under Windows 8 not all of the multi-touch gestures shown in the Touchpad Tool work, even after activation. This leaves just a couple of the standard ones. There is also no separate deactivation of the Bluetooth and WLAN. The Fn key switches both of them on or off. This is not user-friendly or practical. We are hoping for an update here.

The hybrids between ultrabooks and multimedia notebooks are increasing in number. On the one hand they are chic, slim, lightweight and offer long battery life. On the other hand, they are also suitable for gaming, listening to music and watching movies. At over 2 kg and with a 15-inch screen, the 15z is not exactly the most delicate ultrabook. Also, other notebooks of the same class have a longer battery life, but without the dedicated graphics card. These are the requirements that multimedia notebooks must meet - although they are bigger and heavier, they often have better graphics cards, a wider range of interfaces and better sound.

The Dell Inspiron 15z is a type of compromise, which should please a large number of customers without major or specific demands. A big advantage of Dell is the individual configuration of the notebooks, thus allowing the ultrabook to meet most requirements.