Pros: 6 GB of RAM, 7 hour battery life, 1 TB of storage, Windows 10, (see price here)
Cons: No SSD storage.
Dell isn't particularly known for manufacturing affordable laptops, on the contrary; the company's know for building quality products at a high end price. That's why when Dell decides to dip its toe into the "budget laptop" territory, people are going to pay attention. Dell laptops have a strong build, good quality components and overall have a longer lifespan than other laptops (Macbooks aside, of course).
That said, today we'd like to take a look at the Dell i5558-2147BLK, an affordable laptop that stands out thanks to its 6 GB of RAM, 5th generation Core i3 CPU and of course its integration of Windows 10 OS straight out of the box. Care to know more? Then read on for our in depth review of the Dell i5558-2147BLK.
What did customers think of this laptop? Read all customer reviews
Dell i5558-2147BLK In depth Review
Display and Design
We're going to kick things off talking about the screen, where we'll find a standard 15.6 inch LED display with a 1366 by 768 pixel resolution. Nothing to see here, pretty much a run of the mill screen that you'll find on 95% of all laptops below the $600 price point.
When it comes down to the keyboard, the new Dell i5558-2147BLK features a comfortable chiclet keyboard that's not backlit. However, it must be pointed out that the fully fledged keyboard also includes a dedicated numpad, ideal for those long nights "crunching numbers".
In regards to the weight and size of the laptop, the new Dell budget laptop comes in weighing just above 5 pounds (5.31 pounds) and measuring just below 1 inch in the thickness department. Not as portable as you'd hope but within the spectrum of what you'd expect for a budget 15 inch laptop.
Core i3 CPU, 6 GB of RAM and a good graphics card
Moving on to the more technical spectrum of our Dell i5558-2147BLK review it's time to talk key specs, starting with the CPU. Dell's new laptop features a 5th generation Core i3 processor that clocks in at 2.1 GHz. We're talking about a 64 bit CPU with 3 MB of caché that runs in perfect harmony alongside the 6 GB of DDR3L RAM. More than enough to run most programs however a bit short if you're going to use demanding software on an everyday basis such as photoshop or adobe after effects.
Speaking of graphical programs, the Dell i5558-2147BLK comes with a standard Intel HD 5500 graphics card which is essentially an integrated graphics card which will work well for watching Full HD videos or editing pictures and videos. However, if you do this on a regular basis then I would recommend you move on to a laptop that brought a dedicated graphics card instead of an integrated one.
Overall we're looking at a pretty solid set of specs for a student laptop, domestic laptop, or even a professional laptop. However, it should be noted that this is not a laptop geared towards gamers or people who are working with graphic intensive programs on a regular basis.
As far as battery life is concerned, this laptop is pretty impressive considering it's price range. Specifically, we're looking at a 4 cell battery that offers roughly 7 hours of battery life. Pretty good and a good notch above the standard 5 hour battery life you typically run into within this set of prices.
In regards to storage, we wish we could tell you that the Dell i5558-2147BLK sports a 128 GB SSD but that's far from the case. No, for this model Dell went in another direction; a 1 TB hard disk drive running at 5400 rpm.
In terms of connectivity, we've got the average set of specs which include 3 USB ports (1 USB 3.0), 1 HDMI port, 1 ethernet port, an SD card reader and, of course, a CD/DVD reader.
When it comes to wireless connectivity we've got WiFi b/g/n/ac connectivity as well as Bluetooth 4.0. The WiFi standard caught us by surprise since you don't typically find WiFi ac laptops below the $600 price point so we were pleased to see Dell include the latest standard.
We've arrived at the end of our Dell i5558-2147BLK review and we gotta say we're pretty happy with the overall product. Dell could've relaxed on the specs and thrown its weight around with it's name but the truth is, we're looking at a very balanced laptop.
The Core i3 CPU along with it's 6 GB of RAM and 7 hour battery life make this the ideal student laptop. Add to that the fact that it has a budget price and you're looking at a killer budget machine which is sure to top the bestsellers list any day now.
Is it worth your money? Well, that depends on what you're looking to do with it but as far as the balance between price and specs is concerned, it couldn't be any better than this.
Speaking of graphical programs, the Dell i5558-2147BLK comes with a standard Intel HD 5500 graphics card which is essentially an integrated graphics card which will work well for watching Full HD videos or editing pictures and videos. However, if you do this on a regular basis then I would recommend you move on to a laptop that brought a dedicated graphics card instead of an integrated one.
Overall we're looking at a pretty solid set of specs for a student laptop, domestic laptop, or even a professional laptop. However, it should be noted that this is not a laptop geared towards gamers or people who are working with graphic intensive programs on a regular basis.
Battery Life and Storage
As far as battery life is concerned, this laptop is pretty impressive considering it's price range. Specifically, we're looking at a 4 cell battery that offers roughly 7 hours of battery life. Pretty good and a good notch above the standard 5 hour battery life you typically run into within this set of prices.
In regards to storage, we wish we could tell you that the Dell i5558-2147BLK sports a 128 GB SSD but that's far from the case. No, for this model Dell went in another direction; a 1 TB hard disk drive running at 5400 rpm.
What can I plug in to this laptop? Does it have bluetooth?
In terms of connectivity, we've got the average set of specs which include 3 USB ports (1 USB 3.0), 1 HDMI port, 1 ethernet port, an SD card reader and, of course, a CD/DVD reader.
When it comes to wireless connectivity we've got WiFi b/g/n/ac connectivity as well as Bluetooth 4.0. The WiFi standard caught us by surprise since you don't typically find WiFi ac laptops below the $600 price point so we were pleased to see Dell include the latest standard.
Verdict: Is this laptop worth my money?
We've arrived at the end of our Dell i5558-2147BLK review and we gotta say we're pretty happy with the overall product. Dell could've relaxed on the specs and thrown its weight around with it's name but the truth is, we're looking at a very balanced laptop.
The Core i3 CPU along with it's 6 GB of RAM and 7 hour battery life make this the ideal student laptop. Add to that the fact that it has a budget price and you're looking at a killer budget machine which is sure to top the bestsellers list any day now.
Is it worth your money? Well, that depends on what you're looking to do with it but as far as the balance between price and specs is concerned, it couldn't be any better than this.