2023-10-26 10:00:00
Construction
For a budget chassis, the Dell Inspiron 14 5430 presents well.
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The chassis of the Dell Inspiron 14 sports a platinum gray color and the cover is decorated with the brand’s logo. The whole thing is mainly made of plastic, but the finish is rather pleasant and the look rather flattering.
Opening the cover reveals a keyboard with gray keys equipped with backlighting. The strike is pleasant and well marked. A fingerprint reader takes place in the power button located at the top right of the keyboard.
The keyboard is backlit, a welcome detail for the asking price.
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The touchpad centered on the palm rest is a comfortable width and all Windows gestures are executed perfectly. The left and right clicks hidden under the touch surface do not dig in deeply unlike laptops in this price range.
Close-up of the fingerprint reader and the SD reader.
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The connection consists of an HDMI port, a USB-A port and a USB-C port on the left part of the chassis, while the right part accommodates the jack, an SD reader and a second USB-A port .
Wireless connectivity is provided by an Intel AX211 chip supporting Wi-Fi 6E with its 6 GHz band and Bluetooth 5.4. The webcam has a 1080p sensor, the rendering is acceptable although the whites are overexposed.
The rendering of the webcam tends to burn out the whites.
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The cooling system of the Dell Inspiron 14 5430 is made up of a fan and a radiator connected to a single heat pipe. The assembly should be sufficient to evacuate the calories dissipated by the Core i5 U series (15 Watts) soldered to the motherboard. And indeed, under our thermal camera following around twenty minutes of heavy use, the Inspiron 14 remains perfectly cool. The keyboard does not exceed 34°C while the hot spot is located at the hot air exhaust on the screen with a little over 37°C.
Noise pollution is also relatively low: the fan is heard at 36 dB, but it is far from disturbing office neighbors.
Heating is controlled on this Dell Inspiron 14 5430.
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Access to the components is via the removal of 8 Phillips screws, the lower cover unclips just as easily. Inside, the 2230 format SSD can be replaced with a more common and less expensive 2280 model. The Wi-Fi card and battery are also removable. Big downside, the 8 GB of RAM are soldered to the motherboard and impossible to expand. Dell declares a repairability index of 7.9/10.
The RAM is unfortunately soldered.
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Audio
The two speakers are located on either side of the keyboard like Apple’s MacBooks. On the other hand, don’t rely on the perforations since the opening to let the speakers express themselves is not larger than the Ctrl key.
The speakers are well aimed at the user, however the opening is much smaller than the perforations around the keyboard.
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When listening, the sound of the Dell Inspiron 14 seems to come straight from a speaker enclosed in a cardboard box and the whole thing is singularly lacking in bass with slightly nasal treble. To enjoy music or the soundtrack of a film, you will need to use headphones. And that’s good since the jack output of the Inspiron 14 offers completely acceptable characteristics.
Thus, the output level of 245 mVRMS will be able to perfectly drive high impedance headphones. The distortion measured at 0.011% is imperceptible and the dynamic range sufficiently wide. The crosstalk, without being exceptional, allows you to enjoy stereo and slight spatialization in films.
Dell Inspiron 14 5430 Average of tested PCs Output level 245 mVRMS 166 mVRMS Distortion+Noise 0.011% 0.016% Dynamic range 89 dB 99 dB Crosstalk -59 dB -63 dB
Mobility / Autonomy
The Dell Inspiron 14 5430 measures 31 x 22 cm, or 1.5 cm wider and higher than an A4 sheet. Its thickness at its highest point is 1.85 cm. With its contained format, it can easily find its place in a backpack or even a large bag. Especially since its weight of 1.5 kg does not hinder movement. On the other hand, the 65 Watt charger – despite its compact format – remained stuck in 2020 with its proprietary connector.
The charger seems not to have passed the 2020 milestone, a USB-C connector would have been preferable.
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The Inspiron 14 5430 lasted 6 hours and 15 minutes of video playback (Netflix under Chrome, 200 cd/m² screen), a rather mixed result, especially with a 54 Wh battery. Fortunately, the USB-C port is Power Delivery compatible and will allow for backup charging if you need to leave for the day.
Despite a 52 Wh battery, the autonomy of the Dell Inspiron 14 does not exceed 6 hours 15 minutes.
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