The laptop market has gone through a radical transition in the last few months. What was once considered standard for a mid range laptop has gone to form part of the entry level line and what was once exclusive to the high end models is now popular amongst mid level models. Today we're going to talk about one particular laptop where this transition is more than clear.
We're talking about the Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV, a Full HD touchscreen laptop with 8 GB of RAM and a Skylake generation i5 processor that's currently priced just a pinch above the "entry level" price bracket. We're excited to get to know more about this signature edition laptop and that's why we're glad to invite you to read all about it in our review of the Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV.
Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV Review of a Full HD affordable touchscreen laptop
Display and build quality
As always, Dell's new laptop carries out Dell's signature quality build and we wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, it's made out of plastic but it's a sturdy plastic that doesn't feel cheap when handled. Despite being a pretty robust machine, we're happy to report that Dell's latest incursion to the mid range market weighs a moderate 5.36 pounds and measures a little bit under an inch (0.96 inches).
As far as the keyboard is concerned, we're also quite satisfied to see that it's a backlit chiclet keyboard, something not very usual within this price point.
The display is obviously one of the laptop's prime features; a 15.6 inch Full HD LED display with touchscreen capabilities and Dell's very own TrueLife technology which delivers pitch perfect blacks and even more vivid colours.
Couple said display with MaxxAudio technology and you're looking at an impressive multimedia laptop, perfect for watching high definition movies in the couch or editing high definition videos.
Let's talk key performance components
Sure, it's pretty and it has a nice screen but can it handle my workload? That's probably what you're thinking and unless you're working on a top secret NASA project or are a hardcore gamer that can't live without playing the latest and greatest titles (not judging) the answer would probably be: YES.
At its core the Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV is a perfect work laptop thanks to its Intel Core i5-6200U processor which clocks in at 2.3 GHz and can stretch its speed all the way to 2.8 GHz when pressed with more demanding tasks.
Add to that an 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM module working at 1600 MHz and an integrated graphics chip (Intel HD 520) and you've got yourself a laptop that's equipped to deal with pretty much any task you throw its way.
Whether you're searching for a laptop to do some basic computing or you're looking for a machine that can handle intensive multitasking while you're writing the next big hit in the app world and skyping with friends at the same time, you're covered. Overall, there's not that much the Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV actually can't do, unless of course you're a gamer in which case you should look elsewhere.
What games can I play?
As we mentioned previously, this is not a laptop designed for gaming. That said, its integrated graphics chip should deliver a decent performance (on low settings) when playing older titles to the tune of World of Warships, Rainbow Six Siege or even Dirt Rally.
However, more demanding games like The Witcher 3 and Mad Max aren't advisable since they will encourage you to throw the laptop against the wall.
1 TB of Storage and a decent battery life
It's pretty clear by now that Dell placed all its hopes on the display and core componentes (CPU and RAM). That's fine, it's what most of us really care about. That said, an SSD module would've been nice, especially now that the HP 15-ay013nr proved that you can do it while still maintaining both a competitive price and a balanced set of specs.
On to our review of the Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV, we're looking at a 1 TB hard drive working at a standard 5400 rpm. If you're more into the amount of storage than the speed of storage then it's just fine but if you'd rather have an even faster experience we would recommend switching up the hard drive for an SSD drive, especially considering how affordable they've become.
When it comes down to the Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV's battery life, things are a bit less impressive with a 4 cell battery which, according to consumer reviews, can last up to 5 hours with some light browsing but around 3-4 hours when streaming video.
Overall, it's within the spectrum we've come to expect on a mid range laptop but we can't deny that a small part of us was kind of hoping to see something in the 6-7 hour ballpark region.
The stuff that we usually look at last...
In wrapping this review we should take a quick glance over at the connectivity features. To this point we've got a single USB 3.0 port, two 2.0 models, HDMI output and an ethernet port (LAN 10/100).
There's also a super fast WiFi connection (ac/a/b/g/n) as well as Bluetooth 4.0, an SD card reader, optical drive and, of course, an Intel 3D Realsense webcam which can unlock the laptop just by using its facial recognition.
That's a wrap!
Should you buy this laptop? That's probably the question you were hoping to answer when you came upon this review of the Dell Inspiron i5559-4682SLV. The answer, as always, will depend upon your needs.
For a graphic designer or a gamer this laptop is paperweight, for the power user who doesn't use graphic intensive software beyond video and image editing once in a while then this laptop will fit the bill quite nicely and for those who just need a basic computer but can afford to spend a little more to ensure a future-proofed laptop then this is also an excellent choice. Overall, it's hard to go wrong when picking this model.