Buying decision: E7450, E7470, E5450, E5470, can't decide, opinions welcome!

I'm curious, why? As far as I can tell, it's the worst possible choice of the set -- no bigger processor option, and worse build quality than the 7000 series.

I haven't seen an E7470 in person, but I've seen and used the other three, and the E7450 is much nicer build quality than the 5-series. 7450/7470 will be lighter, too, all other things being equal.

The battery life should be roughly the same on all models with the same processor and number of watt-hours on the battery (although because of cell-type differences, you can't compare number of cells; look at the watt-hours.)

Given the processor-generation difference, all other things being equal price-wise I'd probably have gone for the 7470...
(My own usage really needs the quad core, and I've got the E5470. With a U-series processor, it would be kind of pointless, other than the cost difference.)

 

I got the E5450.

Thanks for the conversation.

I eliminated the xx70 models due to not being able to justify about $100-200 premium over similarly specced xx50 models. I'm aware of the limitations on the SSD options on the xx50 models, but they don't affect me.

I have access to some machines at work, one of them is the E7450.

Side by side, here's what I noticed:

E5450 vs E7450

E5450
- The lower panel is plastic on the E5450 while it's metal on the E7450. But it doesn't feel flimsy or inferior. Just different.
- That is actually a feature for me because it doesn't burn my lap, as opposed to the E7450.
- I actually prefer the palm rest on the E5450 which is smooth, not rubbery like the E7450. The rubbery palmrest catches dust and oil. (I'm used to something similar on the E6530, not a fan)
- The back panel is the same as far as I can tell (both FHD non-touch versions)
- It's heavier than E7450 but for someone like me, coming from a 6.5lbs workstation, either one is a treat. (E5450: 4.4lbs, E7450: 3.5lbs)
- Seemingly, I can actually install the E5470's 62 Whr battery in the E5450, so in effect, I can have a longer battery life than the E7450.
- I prefer the VGA port than the mini-displayport on the E7450.
- Discrete GPU (840M) in the E5450.
- Came with Dual Channel RAM (8GBx2), albeit only 1600Mhz, instead of the 8GBx1 on the E7450 for a comparable price. Wonder how it benchmarks against the xx70's 2133MHz.
- Fully loaded config for a cheaper price than a lower specced E7450 (faster processor, wigig card, 16GB RAM, 840M,
- I actually like the more solid feeling bottom on the E5450 as opposed to the battery on the E7450 when lifting etc. Although this is nit picking.

E7450
- The fan seems quieter than the E5450 but this seems like a non-issue since it doesn't kick in that often at all.
- The E7450 is noticeably lighter.
- The metal base does make it feel more premium than the E5450, but it gets REALLY hot on the top left corner.

Overall, I agree with you that the xx70's are "generationally" better but they don't justify the cost for me, and that the 7xxx are better than the 5xxx except the 7xxx's seem to heat up a lot more than the 5xxx's, especially given the metal bottom.

I won't lie, I do lust after the 7xxx's and perhaps that may be the next upgrade some day once the niggling issues are sorted out.

 

Which processors were you looking at for the E5450 vs E7450? I'd have expected the i5-5300U to be the sweet spot for both.

Given the criteria (and price difference) the E5450 makes sense, and the generational difference from Broadwell to Skylake isn't huge; if you ever need to, the E5450 will go to 32gb although the DDR3 RAM is a bit pricier and the difference will broaden over time.

Given that you said you're going to run Linux, I'll be curious how the switchable graphics works for you (using Bumblebee?)

 

The E5450 is the i7-5600U, while the E7450 is i5-5300U. The battery life on the E7450 does seem better but I don't know if that's because of the i5 processor, lack of dgpu, or the ssd.

I understand that the price difference we're talking is not that great if you normalize it over the next 2-3 years of use (probably more).

I doubt I'll need more than 16GB on this machine in the near future, but, never say never, especially about memory.

Here's the funny part. I did not know I was getting the dGPU. I didn't want it since I was going to run linux and/or dual boot with windows, but I have it and that's okay. How could I have missed it? Dell listed it as integrated graphics (but with a 90W adapter), that's a sign apparently. (Applies to E7450 as well from what I've read since.)

As far as working with linux and the discrete graphics card, I'll install nvidia's non free drivers. I have used/use multiple latitudes with discrete nvidia graphics in linux. They're pretty decent.

If I understand right, these newer machines don't let you disable Optimus, although I haven't had a chance to look through the BIOS on this one yet. I haven't looked at bumblebee in a while, might have to look into it.

 

Got it. When I briefly had a X1 Carbon with the i7-4600U (work machine I returned for being too slow) and E7440 with i5-4310U (my wife's) to play with around the same time, I didn't find the performance difference between the i7-4600U and i5-4310U worth paying extra for, but it can't hurt.

Never say never, and on Linux, being able to have a big tmpfs can sometimes be incredible handy.

I've had a good experience with them on desktops, and I had a good experience with them in the semi-distant past prior to Optimus. I've had nothing but trouble with switchable graphics on Linux, and none of the Dells I've had worked in the ways I'd expect if I disabled Optimus -- although none were quite as weird as the generation of Lenovos where you could go Nvidia-only OR Intel-only in the BIOS, but the VGA was connected to the Intel chip directly and the Displayport was connected to the Nvidia chip directly so no matter what you did there was always one dead external port under Linux.

I'm pretty sure the present generation ones are all ports connected to the iGPU and the Nvidia chip is for rendering into the Intel buffer only, but I could be wrong about that. The M3800 and M5510 definitely work like that.

IIRC, the last machines I had which let me disable optimus were of the Ivy Bridge generation (E6430 / Lenovo W530)

 

Experiment time. I borrowed an E7450 and have compared it side by side with the E5450.

The battery life on the E7450 is almost 50% better owing to the 5300U + mSata and lack of dGPU. I don't play games, but I tried out Lightroom and Sigma Photo Pro. The i7-5600U on the E5450 was a hair faster for smaller jobs and I'm sure it'll be tangibly, but still not that significantly faster for larger batch jobs.

I have to say, I'm getting swayed away from the E5450. It's a hell of a deal for the price, but the E7450's lightness is something I could get used to. If the E5450 didn't come with a dGPU, it would have been a no-brainer, but now I'm really tempted by the E7450. I hooked up a Live CD and in powertop, the E7450 is averaging about 6.5-7W with no load and no tuning, while the E5450 is doing about 10.5-12W. That's pretty significant.

I did not notice a difference between the two. This machine isn't meant for number crunching anyway.

Indeed.

After googling around the state of affairs related to this, I have to say I'm completely put off the dGPU with linux option, especially because I don't game.

Looks like I'm coming about a full 180 degrees. Dammit.

I must mention both the laptops report an AUO panel [See EDIT below], but the E7450 clearly has a heavy duty Antiglare coating and is a little cooler temperature wise, while the E5450 display looks brighter at the same brightness "notch" and is warmer. I wonder how far calibration will take me, but either one look great. Both screens have excellent viewing angles.

I noticed that the Antiglare coating on the E7450 results in very little light reflection on the keyboard/palmrest while the E5450 reflects quite a bit. This could be a pro or con depending on who you ask.

[EDIT]: Later confirmed that the E5450 came with an LG Panel. Dell component listing was wrong.

 

I'd have expected it to be better for the E7450, but that it's that much better is quite a surprise.

I do some light gaming, and despite it the cleanliness driver-wise of only having iGPU (and better battery life) sold me on avoiding one for this generation. The E5470 is the best behaved laptop I've had with Linux since the non-switchable NVidia graphics in my D630. I had been hoping that they'd introduce a Iris Pro version of the E5470, but no sign of one yet.

As an aside, if you were not budget constrained, I'd advise looking at the Iris Pro version of the E7470 -- those are shipping, and something of the best of both worlds (very light, very fast new no dGPU, but a great deal more GPU power than regular iGPU) but they are still quite pricy and I don't know if the Iris Pro configs will ever be common enough to find on Outlet.

 

I carried out side by side comparisons in both Windows and Linux live cd. The e5450 consistently used about 20-50% more. I thought I could attribute 2-6 watts for the spinning platter hdd (7200rpm), but when I disconnected it and booted into the live cd, idle power draw stayed the same.

That is indeed a great option. I'm sure they'll show up on the outlet sooner than later.

 

Did you discount the E5470 purely on price or were there other reasons?

I've a friend who wants a laptop and the requirements are around 13in, touch screen and backlit keyboard so I was looking at the 7440, 7450 and 7470 on the outlet as the Latitudes are usually pretty good serviceable machines and come with a three year on site warranty. However none of them seem to have touch screens (or specify them, the UK Outlet listings are often messy) so I've been looking at E5470's instead which I can get for a reasonable spec and price with a touch screen, reading this thread I get that the E5470 is a bit chunkier and less visually appealing (not an issue for the person wanting it) but on the plus side the fan noise is better, any other downsides to the E54xx series?

Edit - Just noticed the 18 page E5470 thread, I guess that's a good place to have a read

Thanks,
John

 

Yes, I chose the E5450 purely because I didn't feel like spending an extra $150 for similar specs. But, my use case is different (linux) and the surprise unexpected inclusion of the GT840M in the machine has kind of thrown uncertainty in my original plan.

Downsides to E5470 are, heavier than E74xx, plastic base (but of great quality), internal battery (debatable), the 1 year included warranty (instead of the 3 years on the 74xx) and that's kind of all I can think of right now. There are many upside though.