Intel Core i7-1255U debut: Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 convertible review

The Dell Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 directly replaces last year’s 16:9 Inspiron 14 7400 or 7415 2-in-1 by introducing both a brand new 16:10 chassis design and Intel 12th gen Alder Lake-U processor options. In fact, it’s one of the first consumer models to ship with such Intel CPUs. Unlike the more professional Latitude series or flagship XPS series, the Inspiron series targets students and more casual home or office users on tighter budgets.

Our test unit in review is a higher-end configuration with the Core i7-1255U CPU, integrated Iris Xe graphics, and 16 GB of DDR4 RAM for approximately $1050 USD retail. Other SKUs exist with the Core i3-1215U, i5-1235U, and even discrete GeForce MX550 graphics alongside the usual RAM and storage variations. All options otherwise come with the same 16:10 FHD+ touchscreen with no other panel choices.

Alternatives to the Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 include other budget to midrange 14-inch convertibles like the Acer Spin 3 , Dell Inspiron 14 5410 , Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 , Asus VivoBook Flip 14 , or the HP Pavilion x360 14 . Dell offers AMD versions of this same chassis design called the Inspiron 14 7425 2-in-1. More Dell reviews: Visually, the revamped chassis design is very distinct from the outgoing Inspiron 7400 series.

The rear ventilation grilles, for example, are now longer in size while the edges are more rectangular instead of round. The keyboard deck is flatter now as well for a cleaner look. New to the series this year is the sheet of smooth translucent mylar across the palm rests and clickpad that is more resistant to scuffs and other superficial damage than the otherwise standard plastic and aluminum surface.

Chassis rigidity is average for the base but strong for the lid. Attempting to twist the base or lid around their respective corners results in just minor warping with no creaking for good first impressions. Pressing down on the keyboard center or outer lid will warp their surfaces more so than on pricier models like the HP Spectre x360 14.

When compared to the outgoing Inspiron 14 7410, the 7420 is both wider and shorter due to the new 16:10 form factor. Meanwhile, weight and height have remained nearly the same between the two designs. Pricier alternatives like the latitude 9420 2-in-1, Zenbook Flip 14, and HP Spectre x360 14 are all smaller and lighter than our 7420.

Port options are good for a subnotebook convertible. We particularly appreciate the integrated HDMI port as many competitors are lacking the option. However, keep in mind that the two USB-C ports here support only data transfer, power delivery, and DisplayPort; there is no Thunderbolt available.

The HDMI port is version 1. 4 only meaning 4K video output at 60 FPS will only be possible via USB-C. Transfer rates from the SD reader are slow.

Moving 1 GB of pictures from our UHS-II test card takes 50 seconds compared to 6 or 7 seconds on the Dell XPS 15. The reader is not spring-loaded and so inserted cards still protrude by over half their length. The Intel AX211 comes standard for Intel Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

We experienced a stable connection when paired to our 6 GHz network, but transfer rates aren’t necessarily any faster than regular Wi-Fi 6. The camera is 1080p instead of 720p for a sharper picture than most other budget laptops. Colors are still relatively poor, however.

There is no IR camera and so Windows Hello is not supported. A physical camera shutter is built-in for additional privacy. The bottom panel is secured by 7 Philips screws for easy servicing.

The battery, 2x SODIMM slots, and M. 2 2280 slot are all accessible. There are no extras included in the retail box aside from the AC adapter and paperwork.

An optional PN5122W stylus pen is available for tablet mode users. The standard one-year limited warranty applies when purchased in the US with plenty of extension options if purchased directly from Dell. Keyboard layout remains identical to the keyboard on the Inspiron 14 7415 2-in-1 despite the chassis redesign.

The typing experience is satisfactory and with minimal clatter, but the somewhat soft feedback takes getting used to. The soft Space key in particular could have benefited from a firmer click for stronger feedback. The Precision clickpad is relatively large (~11.

5 x 8 cm) to be 14 percent larger than the clickpad on the previous generation model. The top edge is stylized to blend in with the surrounding palm rests unlike the clickpads on most other laptops. Traction is smooth at medium-to-high speeds while slower speeds tend to stick for more accurate clicking or drag and dropping.

It takes a lot of force to click on the clickpad which can make it tiring to use after a while. Feedback isn’t as strong as we would like and travel is shallow as well. You’ll want to use an external mouse for longer sessions.

The 16:10 14-inch BOE NV14N42 IPS panel on the Inspiron 14 7420 2-in-1 is the first to appear in our database as the last generation 16:9 Inspiron 14 7400 would ship with a Chi Mei panel instead. For better or worse, however, the BOE panel doesn’t seem to be offering much over the older Chi Mei panel aside from the larger 16:10 aspect ratio. Key attributes like contrast ratio, colors, brightness, and response times have unfortunately not improved between the Inspiron generations.

If such display features are important for your daily workloads, then you’ll still need to consider one of Dell’s higher-end options instead like the XPS 13 2-in-1 or Latitude 9420 2-in-1 . The display is not very well calibrated out of the box which is to be expected from a budget-midrange convertible with limited sRGB coverage. Average grayscale and color DeltaE values can improve through calibration to 3.

4 and 3. 1, respectively, but the narrow gamut puts a hard limit to how much further they can go. We typically expect convertible laptops to have brighter displays for more comfortable outdoor viewing, but the Inspiron display is unfortunately dimmer than most others in its size category.

You’ll have to spend more on a Latitude, Spectre, or Zenbook if you want something brighter. Our unit was set to Windows Performance mode and Dell Ultra Performance mode via the My Dell software prior to running any benchmarks below for the highest possible scores. It’s recommended to become familiar with My Dell as important battery and power features are toggled here.

It effectively replaces the Dell Power Manager software found on older generation models. CPU performance is excellent with multi-thread results that are between the 11th gen Core i7-1165G7 that was so popular on last year’s Ultrabooks and the newer 12th gen Core i7-1260P . Meanwhile, single-thread performance is essentially on par with the Core i7-1260P despite their differing TDP levels.

When compared to the 8-core Ryzen 7 5800U , the Core i7-1255U is both faster and slower in single-thread and multi-thread workloads, respectively. Performance sustainability is excellent with no major dips in clock rates when subjected to extreme processor stress for extended periods. PCMark results are neck-to-neck with many pricier high-end models powered by the 11th gen Core i7-1165G7 including the Latitude 9420 2-in-1 or HP Spectre x360 14 .

System navigation doesn’t feel any slower despite utilizing a U-series CPU instead of the faster P series. LatencyMon reveals DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs of our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise smooth with just a single dropped frame during our tests.

CPU and GPU utilization become stable at 9 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Our test unit ships with the WDC PC SN530 which is a midrange PCIe3 x4 NVMe SSD. Transfer rates can approach 2500 MB/s compared to 3000+ MB/s on higher-end models like the Samsung PM981a.

For a midrange model like an Inspiron, however, the WDC PC SN530 is sufficient. Our drive in the Inspiron exhibits issues maintaining maximum transfer rates for extended periods as shown by our DiskSpd loop graph below. Read rates would throttle between 1800 MB/s and 2500 MB/s due to poor heat dissipation properties.

Graphics performance is about 5 to 20 percent slower than the average Iris Xe 96 EUs in our database. Most notably, our GPU here can be 25 to 30 percent slower than on the Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 which comes with the same integrated GPU but a more powerful Core i7-1260P processor. Though not a gaming machine, the Inspiron is still good enough for common undemanding titles like DOTA 2 or Fortnite at lower graphics settings.

We recommend configuring with dual-channel RAM whenever possible or else GPU performance will be pared back even further. Fan noise remains quiet during most low to low-medium loads. When running the first benchmark scene of 3DMark 06, for example, fan noise would stabilize at around 27.

7 dB(A) compared to a silent background of 23 dB(A). This is much quieter than what we observed on alternative convertibles like the Yoga 9 14IAP7 or Spectre x360 14, but do keep in mind that fan noise will likely be louder if configuring with discrete GeForce MX550 graphics. When running more demanding loads like games, fan noise tends to cycle between 38 and 45 dB(A) instead of remaining steady at a fixed RPM.

Not only is this maximum louder than expected for a 14-inch convertible, but the cycling behavior makes the fans more noticeable and difficult to ignore. This isn’t generally an issue unless if you plan on running demanding loads frequently. The keyboard center and bottom plate can reach 38 C and 46 C, respectively, when subjected to demanding applications for over an hour.

Results are similar to what we observed on the Dell Inspiron 14 7415 while being cooler on average than on the competing Asus VivoBook Flip 14 . The palm rests and front quadrants of the chassis are thankfully never uncomfortably warm no matter the onscreen load. When stressed with Prime95, the CPU would boost to 3.

6 GHz for the first few seconds before hitting a core temperature of 92 C. Thereafter, clock rates would drop and stabilize at 2. 4 GHz in order to maintain a cooler core temperature of 68 C.

CPU package power would be as high as 39 W during the start of the test before stabilizing at 23 W due to thermal limitations. It’s rare for any subnotebook convertible to maintain high Turbo Boost clock rates for extended periods and the Inspiron is no different. Running this same test on the LG Gram 14T90P powered by the slower 11th gen Core i5-1135G7 would result in a slightly higher core temperature of 73 C but a lower CPU package power of 18 W.

The integrated GPU stabilizes at 1147 MHz and 69 C when running Witcher 3 which is close to what we observed on the Lenovo Yoga 9 14 or aforementioned LG Gram. Running on battery power limits both CPU and GPU performance. A Fire Strike test on batteries would return Physics and Graphics scores of 11614 and 3210 points, respectively, compared to 15185 and 3887 points when on mains.

Overall power consumption is very close to what we observed on last year’s Latitude 9420 2-in-1 even though our 12th gen CPU can offer faster processor performance but slightly slower graphics performance. The Yoga 9 14IAP7 and its faster Core i7-1260P would demand around 50 to 70 percent more power than our U-series-powered Inspiron when running demanding loads for slightly lower performance-per-watt. Running the system on the minimum brightness setting would save about 3 W when compared to the maximum brightness setting.

We’re able to record a temporary maximum draw of 62. 5 W from the small (~11. 1 x 5.

1 x 2. 7 cm) 65 W USB-C AC adapter when running Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously. Expect around 7.

5 hours of real-world WLAN use when on the Balanced power profile which is a few hours shorter than what we recorded on the Inspiron 14 7415 2-in-1 AMD version. At 54 Wh, Battery capacity is about average for a midrange convertible as higher-end models like the HP Spectre x360 14, Asus ZenBook Flip 14 , or Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 have larger battery packs. SKUs with a smaller 41 Wh battery are also planned.

Charging from empty to full capacity takes about one hour and 45 minutes. Users can charge with almost any USB-C AC adapter including the ones that ship with XPS models. Notable qualities of the Inspiron 7420 2-in-1 include the 16:10 aspect ratio, strong hinges, 12th gen Intel CPU with optional GeForce MX graphics, and easy serviceability.

Such features would typically cost hundreds of dollars more on higher-end alternatives from competing manufacturers. The value proposition is therefore relatively high for users looking to maximize bang for the buck. The Inspiron 14 9420 2-in-1 provides a lot of value for the price and a number of modern features including 16:10, Wi-Fi 6E, and Intel’s latest 12th gen CPUs.

The limited color space of the touchscreen will likely turn off most editors, however. Drawbacks to keep in mind are the lack of Thunderbolt support, average display brightness, poor SSD performance, and narrow sRGB coverage. Performance hunters in particular will find these setbacks more concerning than most home or office users.

If you intend to use the notebook frequently outdoors, then it may be worth considering brighter alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 13 or Dell Latitude 9420 2-in-1 . The Inspiron 7420 2-in-1 is not yet widely available via resellers like Amazon. Users can instead purchase directly from Dell starting at $850 or up to $1050 USD for our specific configuration.

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