Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV 6144BLK
via Amazon
Modern and sleek Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV 6144BLK is a cool addition to Dell's budget laptops that doesn't look or perform like a 'budget' laptop. It is designed to be a powerful and fast computer with an i3 processor to manage your daily tasks easily. The touch screen is great for the pre-installed Windows 8 and both contribute to its user friendliness. Great value for money overall.
Ivy Bridge i3 at 1.9GHz works really fast and performs very well on most tasks we tried. 4GB RAM is plenty of memory to run a few things at the same time (multitasking) and 500GB hard drive is quite a bit for most people, the system is easily upgradable so you can replace both with more RAM (8GB or 16GB) and larger hard drive if you wish to. Both are adequate the way they are though!
15.6 inch HD Touchscreen with Truelife at 1366x768 pixel resolution offers good picture quality. Responsive and intuitive touchscreen is something we weren't expecting to see on a laptop at this price range, it works great with the Windows 8 operating system. The modest Intel 4000 integrated graphics is quite capable of handling most tasks except for the latest demanding games. Sound quality is sufficient with Waves Maxx Audio 4.0 and built-in speakers.
Touchpad underneath the keyboard has a textured but smooth feel, both keyboard and touchpad feel comfortable. 10 key number pad makes calculations easy. Touchscreen is also very user friendly with the customizable tiles of Windows 8. It feels more like a tablet with a nice keyboard and touch pad. Dell Inspiron i15RV is an energy efficient computer so its 6-cell ion battery gives you roughly 5.5 hours in average use of web browsing, word processing etc. and if you play videos and listen to music, battery life goes down to 3.5 hours. So it is pretty good.
In terms of connectivity, it has a solid webcam, 8-in-1 Media Card Reader, 8X CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive), HDMI port, Bluetooth tied to wireless card and a USB 3.0 port. It feels durable and solid despite its plastic cover. It is not a problem to take around as it weighs about 5 lbs and the laptop case is thin. Textured lid and palm rest makes it look contemporary, modern and stylish.
Pros: Powerful and fast Ivy Bridge i3 processor - DVD Drive - Easily upgradeable - Bright touch screen - Decent battery life - Solid build.
Cons: Windows 8 but it is a laptop with a touchscreen.
Conclusion: Dell Inspiron i15RV 6144BLK is great for your daily computing needs: Word processing, preparing uni assignments, checking emails, playing songs and videos even playing less demanding games (not for 3D games) and some multimedia editing. We quite like the touchscreen and it is nice to use it on Windows 8's customizable tiles. If you plan to use the laptop for very demanding tasks or 3D games, you will need to pay hundreds more. Otherwise this Inspiron is great for its price and can be easily upgraded (RAM and hard drive or even an SSD) for better performance.
Click here for a closer look and customer review