DELL Inspiron Q15R Core i3 Switchable Lid Laptop Review

DELL Inspiron Q15R Core i3 Switchable Lid Laptop Review

Product Ratings

Design:
Features:
Battery Life:
Size and weight:
Value for money:
Overall:

The DELL Inspiron Q15R Core i3 is a powerful laptop which has an improved design and even offers switchable lids for the design savvy buyers. The switchable lid may not be the best feature of this machine but let’s now get into the more specific details of Q15R to find out why they think the hefty price tag of over £425 is justified. We know that many other laptops with Core i3 are being sold well below the £400 Mark, so what makes DELL charge more for this machine.
Straightaway you will notice that the build quality of this laptop is much better than the many other cheap laptops on offer with Core i3. The black plastic gloss on the inside and the outer shell appear much more refined and smooth.
Apart from the visual appeal when you compare this to the standard DELL Inspiron Q15R laptop there isn’t much of a difference apart from the processor as the standard ones are equipped with Dual Core processors (Pentium® B940 – 2.0GHz – 3MB cache size) whereas this laptop has an i3 processor (- 2.10 GHz – DMI – 3.0 MB Cache). Then there are other alternatives such as the Samsung S3520 with i3, or the HP G6-1014sa with Quad Core which are also getting tons of positive customer reviews.

We have done some performance tests on both the processors by running various programs and 3D games. The results prove that the i3 has a slight edge when it comes to running applications that support hyper threading. What this means in simple terms is that there isn’t much of a difference for an average user but if you are truly a geek then you would know that the i3 is based on a superior architecture.

Laptop Specification

Processor: Intel Core i3-2310M – 2.10 GHz – DMI – 3.0 MB Cache
Cache memory: 3 MB
Operating System: Windows® 7 Home Premium
RAM: DDR3
Graphics card: Integrated Media Accelerator HD
Screen type: WLED
Screen resolution: 1366 x 768
Screen size: 15.6″
Screen features: Widescreen, HD Screen
Hard drive: 500GB SATA 5400rpm
Optical disk drive: DVD+/-RW
Memory card reader: 8 in 1 SD card
USB: 3 USB connections
Bluetooth: Wireless & BT Combo
Video interface: HDMI
TV output: HDMI & VGA
Webcam: 1.0MP Camera
Battery: 6 cell, up to 4hrs 2 Mins
Size: F – 32.2 / B – 35.3 x 376 x 260.2mm
Weight: 2.65kg