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    Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Review Discussion

    Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by Jerry Jackson, May 17, 2010.

  1. Jerry Jackson

    Jerry Jackson Administrator NBR Reviewer

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    When you need to strike the balance between a desktop-replacement notebook and a laptop for frequent travel you will probably end up shopping for a 14-inch notebook. The Dell Inspiron 14 is one of the most popular laptops in this class and comes packed with the latest Intel processors and a nice range of options at an affordable price. Is this the best 14-inch consumer laptop? Keep reading to find out.



    Read the full content of this Article: Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Review

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    Last edited by a moderator: May 7, 2015
  2. Ahbeyvuhgehduh

    Ahbeyvuhgehduh Lost in contemplation....

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    Not too shabby ... but am curious why the reviewer thinks 1600x900 should be the default screen size for 14" machines?

    Not arguing, mind you, just kinda curious.
     
  3. lowlymarine

    lowlymarine Notebook Deity

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    I have a question that applies more to reviews in general, but what version of wPrime do you use for comparison? There's a pretty substantial (10-15%) differential across the various versions available.
     
  4. Jerry Jackson

    Jerry Jackson Administrator NBR Reviewer

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    1600x900 is the next step up from 1366x768. Now that much smaller screens come in 1366x768 it makes 14-inch displays look almost low-res when they don't have a higher resolution.

    Similarly, there are some low-cost 15-inch laptops with 1366x768 screens ... and they really need to have a higher resolution as well.

    As for the question about wPrime, we decided to standardize our wPrime tests some time ago with version 1.58. We know there are newer versions, but if we switch to a newer version it won't be an "apples to apples" comparison when we publish wPrime scores from new notebooks and compare them to old notebooks.
     
  5. Ahbeyvuhgehduh

    Ahbeyvuhgehduh Lost in contemplation....

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    Okay ... think I see where you are coming from. :)
     
  6. Judicator

    Judicator Judged and found wanting.

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    Quick suggestion; you might want to correct the minor typos in the "Keyboard and Touchpad" section of "gentile" to "gentle". I'm not sure how many of us are Jewish, but they shouldn't be excluded.:wink:
     
  7. booboo12

    booboo12 Notebook Prophet

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    Great review. :) it's a shame about the build quality, as the brushed metal look on the palmrest of one I looked at in Best Buy looked snazzy.

    To be fair though, the Inspiron 14z and the "Old" Inspiron 14 (1440) don't share the same chassis as this "Core i" powered series and thus aren't basically the same laptop. They don't have brushed metal look accents and even the hinges attach differently. You also as of right now cannot order a 1464 from Dell.com new anymore, only the old 1440 is available. :( :confused:

    I found it odd that Dell's preparing a total redesign (the "R" line of Inspirons) so quickly after this new model's physical design debut in January of this year. Perhaps it will address concerns about quality, as I'd never own a laptop that feels as flimsy as this one.
     
  8. User Retired 2

    User Retired 2 Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    Dell's 14" C2D offerings:

    - Studio 14z had no optical drive, MCP79 chipset with Nvidia 9400M.
    1600x900 LCD option, expresscard slot, e-sata, but has 1GB onboard + 1 free RAM slot. So 3GB setup is OK, 5GB is pricey.
    - Inspiron 1440 has up facing speakers and a expresscard slot, but no capslock/HDD LEDs. No e-sata. "cheap" keyboard.

    Dell's 14" I-core offerings:
    - Inspiron 1464 has no expresscard, e-sata port or WWAN slot.
    - Dell Studio 1458 has the expresscard slot but no HDD LED. Appears has WWAN slot, HD4350 and HD5450 option.

    Any chance of a Studio 1458 review? Dell should provide a 1600x900 option. E6410 has 1440x900 option.
     
  9. Jerry Jackson

    Jerry Jackson Administrator NBR Reviewer

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    Fixed. :eek: ;)
     
  10. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    I find 1440 x 900 (which, fortunately, Dell is continuing to offer on its Latitude series) to be the limit that my eyes can handle on a 14" screen. While can fiddle with font scaling to make text bigger, not all software is clever enough to realise when one pixel thick lines need thickening so that they remain visible. At the same time, I agree that 1366 x 768 at 15" is a waste of space.

    John
     
  11. JellyGeo

    JellyGeo Notebook Evangelist

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    Another interesting review Jerry ... :) I have a similar Dell from last year - model 1470. It has an SU7300 and a 6-cell battery. I inherited it from my daughter when she upgraded to a 2nd Gen MacBook Pro 13-inch. I really like the battery life (just shy of 6-hours in power saver mode) and how light and thin it is for a 14-inch.

    It is the only laptop I have dropped in the last five years or so - I dropped it (more than four feet) onto a thinly-carpeted concrete floor while it was running. It hit so hard it bounced - but it was still running. It didn't have any visible damage but it would not reboot once shut down. Swapping the HDD was a real pain but it runs like a charm now.

    I'm going to replace it with a Dell - but I think I'll wait for the new 301z (not sure about the model number) mentioned on Engadget yesterday.

    Any new Dell reviews coming up Jerry??
     
  12. Jerry Jackson

    Jerry Jackson Administrator NBR Reviewer

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    Always. ;)

    Unfortunately, we can't talk about upcoming reviews of products that haven't officially been announced by the manufacturer.