Dell Inspiron 14 5425 in review: Ryzen 5 office laptop offers long battery life

With the Inspiron 14 5425, Dell has a mobile office laptop in its lineup that is targeted at both consumers and professional users. It’s powered by a Ryzen 5 5625U APU and has a 16:10 display on board. Competitors include devices like the HP Probook 445 G8 , the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ALC05 , and the Acer Swift 3 SF314-43 .

The Inspiron isn’t the lightest among 14-inch devices – at just under 1. 6 kg, it weighs a good 200 to 300 grams more than the competition. The matte silver-gray metal case offers a clean and sleek design.

A noticeable feature: A rubber strip on the lid’s bottom serves as a stand and as scratch protection when the device is opened. The laptop doesn’t show any manufacturing flaws, but the base unit should be more rigid overall. The battery (screwed, not glued) and the rest of the hardware are accessible after removing the bottom cover.

The Inspiron has two USB-A ports (USB 3. 2 Gen 1) and one USB-C port (USB 3. 2 Gen 2; Power Delivery, DisplayPort).

Two video outputs (1x DP, 1x HDMI) are available. The SD memory card reader (reference card: AV PRO SD 128 GB V60) is a slow model. Good: The webcam (2.

1 MP, max. 1,920×1,080 pixels) has a mechanical shutter. The Wi-Fi transfer rates determined under optimal conditions (no other Wi-Fi devices nearby, short distance between laptop and server PC) are good, but they don’t correspond entirely to the Wi-Fi chip’s capabilities (MediaTek MT7921; 802.

11 ax). The slightly roughened keys of the backlit chiclet keyboard have a short travel and a clear pressure point. The resistance provided by the keys is pleasing.

The keyboard yields a bit during typing. The illumination (two brightness levels) is controlled via a function key. Overall, Dell delivers a keyboard that is suitable for everyday use here.

A multitouch-capable ClickPad (approx. 11. 5 x 8 cm) serves as mouse replacement, and its smooth surface makes it easy for fingers to glide on it.

It also responds to inputs in the corners. The pad offers a short travel, and the pressure point could be a bit more precise. The brightness (278.

7 cd/m²) and contrast (859:1) of the matte 14-inch display (1,920×1,200 pixels) in the 16:10 format miss their respective targets – more is expected from a mobile 800-Euro (~$811) laptop here. We consider values beyond 300 cd/m² or 1,000:1, respectively, to be good. At least: PWM flickering was not detected.

Out of the box, the display shows a color deviation that is just about acceptable – but the target is missed. This isn’t really noticeable for the viewer. The display is unable to fully reproduce the AdobeRGB (41%), sRGB (57%) and DCI-P3 (39%) color spaces.

In other words, the panel wasn’t designed for application scenarios that require color accuracy. Dell offers an optional 2. 2K panel (2,240×1,400 pixels) for the Inspiron, and promises an sRGB coverage of 100%.

We were unable to find a correspondingly configured Inspiron model at the time of testing. The viewing-angle stable IPS panel is legible from any position. Reading the display content outdoors is definitely possible if the sun isn’t shining too brightly.

With the Inspiron 14 5425, Dell has a 14-inch laptop in its lineup that offers more than enough processing power for office and Internet applications. The My Dell app provides performance profiles that affect the laptop’s heat development and performance. The “Optimized” profile was used to perform the test.

We also checked some of the other profiles – the results can be found in the comparison tables. The performance differences between the profiles aren’t particularly large. The CPU part of the Ryzen 5 5625U APU (Barcelo) consists of a hexa-core processor that runs at a base clock speed of 2.

3 GHz. An increase up to 4. 35 GHz is possible via Turbo.

Simultaneous multithreading (two threads per core) is supported. The multithread test of the Cinebench R15 benchmark is processed at 3. 3 to 3.

5 GHz, and the single-thread test at 3. 5 to 4. 35 GHz.

The CPU runs at 3. 2 to 3. 3 GHz (multithread) and 2.

5 to 3. 5 GHz (single-thread), respectively, on battery power. We verify if the CPU Turbo is consistently used when plugged in by running the Cinebench R15 benchmark’s multithread test in a loop for at least 30 minutes.

Turbo is used to a medium extent. The “Ultra Performance” profile allows clock speeds to undergo a minimum increase. The fast and smooth system didn’t cause any issues.

There’s no lack of processing power for office and Internet applications, as well as gaming at low settings. This is accompanied by good PCMark results. The RAM’s transfer rates are normal for DDR4-3200 memory.

Our standardized latency monitor test (web browsing, 4K video playback, high-load Prime95) didn’t reveal any irregularities in the DPC latencies. The system seems to be suitable for real-time video and audio editing. Future software updates could lead to improvements or even to worse performance, though.

Dell uses a PCIe 3 SSD (M. 2-2230: M. 2 2280 models also fit) from SK Hynix that has a storage capacity of 512 GB.

The transfer rates are good, but it’s not one of the top SSDs. The Vega 7 is currently the second most powerful model within AMD’s Vega iGPU lineup. It can run at maximum clock rates (1,800 MHz) for a long time – our The Witcher 3 test shows that.

The graphics core can bring many games smoothly onto the screen, provided that the hardware requirements are not too high – at low resolutions and settings. The three performance profiles that we reviewed deliver performance on an identical level under short load. The “Quiet” profile leads to a drop in performance under prolonged load – not surprising.

In everyday use (office, Internet), the fan often stands still and silence prevails. During the stress test, the sound pressure level rises up to 43. 3 dB(A) – a relatively high rate.

The Inspiron doesn’t reach the excellent rates of the Probook 445 G8 . You can reduce noise development by using the performance profile “Quiet”. The case temperatures remain within the green zone in everyday use (office, Internet).

The laptop only heats up to a very small extent under load (stress test). The CPU temperatures are no cause for concern. The CPU and GPU start the stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least an hour) at 3.

7 GHz and 1,200 to 1,300 MHz, respectively. As the test progresses, the clock rates drop to 2. 4 GHz (CPU), and 700 to 750 MHz (GPU).

The stress test represents an extreme scenario. We use this test to check whether the system remains stable under full load. The stereo speakers produce a decent sound that lacks bass.

The maximum volume is relatively high. The laptop doesn’t show any irregularities in terms of energy consumption. The rates are normal for the hardware installed here.

Power consumption during the load tests (stress, The Witcher 3 ) drops a bit later on. The power adapter’s nominal output is 65 watts. The 14-incher achieves a runtime of 12:50 hours in our real-world Wi-Fi test.

A script is used to reproduce the load caused by accessing websites. A slim chassis, an acceptable weight (1. 6 kg) and a real-world battery life of almost 13 hours turn the Inspiron into a mobile companion.

Good: The battery can not only be charged using Dell’s proprietary power adapter, but also with a universal USB-C power adapter (min. 45 watts). Dell has a solid mobile work device in its lineup with the Inspiron 14 5425.

Office and Internet applications are handled by the built-in combination of Ryzen 5 5625U APU and 16 GB of RAM just as easily as modest computer games. Heat and noise development are generally okay, but the laptop should work a bit quieter under full load. The Dell laptop’s weak point is found in the display.

The brightness and contrast are too low, and the color-space coverage isn’t satisfactory, either. Arguments in favor of the 14-inch display are its matte surface, the viewing-angle stability and its aspect ratio: This is a 16:10 panel (1,920×1,200 pixels). An optionally available 2.

2K display (2,240×1,400 pixels) is supposed to deliver better sRGB coverage (100%) and a higher brightness. We were not (yet) able to find a suitably configured Inspiron model at the time of testing. An alternative to the Inspiron would be, for example, the HP Probook 445 G8 .

It offers less processing power overall and shorter battery life than the 5425, but it scores points with a very low operating noise under load. At the time of writing, you can find the Dell Inspiron 14 5425 (Ryzen 5 5625U, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD) on Amazon at a currently reduced price of just under $669. .