Dell Inspiron 3521: Workhorse for the Economical

The Dell Inspiron 3521 is a typical member of the Dell Inspiron line of budget notebooks, usually used for tasks that do not require high performance. What does the US company offer us for a very reasonable amount?

Appearance: strictly but stylishly

Initially focused on solving office tasks, all Dell Inspiron laptops are made in a restrained, simple style. The design of the Dell Inspiron 3521 is similar. However, the designers managed to surprise with the interesting design of the cover surface and non-working areas of the notebook: it is covered with small volumetric triangles, peculiar "pyramids", which gives originality to the design, highlighting the model among hundreds of faceless competitors.

Is this coating practical? And no, and yes.

No, because dust and dirt will always get stuck between the triangles, and the laptop will quickly lose its outer gloss (or you will have to make efforts to return the pristine beauty).

Yes, because a laptop with such a coating does not express from the hands, it is convenient to carry it from place to place.

In any case, disappointment certainly will not become the design of the Dell Inspiron 3521. Reviews of the owners of the model only confirm this.

On the size of a budget laptop, of course, not to catch up with the new ultra-ultrabook ultrabook models, but nevertheless, the parameters within the reasonable: a model weighing 2.2 kg and 2.5 cm in thickness with a screen size of 15.6 "will fit in most bags And backpacks, and traveling with her will be quite comfortable even if not physically powerful girl.

All you need to work: interfaces, keyboard, touchpad

Oh, there is something to be glad about. All the interfaces necessary for comfortable work are available, and in the arrangement the designers did not blunder.

The back side of the laptop is pristine and clean, and it's not bad: even a rarely used connector on the back edge is sometimes needed periodically, and getting there is not so easy, and it's annoying.

The left side is the most loaded, here are:

1. Jack for charging cable.
2. HDMI (an irreplaceable thing for presentations).
3. A set of USB ports: 1 port version 2.0 and 2 ports more modern version 3.0 (the speed of working with external HDD will be comfortable).
4. RJ-45, providing 100 mbps (still often found in offices or hotels).
5. Headphone connection.
6. Ventilation holes.

By the way, interesting is the fact that USB 3.0 have a special icon, but they are not marked with the traditional blue color - apparently, it was made to please the consistency of the general style.

In front of the Dell Inspiron 3521 are a number of indicators and a card reader that can work with memory cards of all common formats: MS, SD, SDHC, SDXC, which is very convenient for owners of digital cameras without wireless communication.

On the right panel there is a DVD-RW drive and one more USB 2.0 (the total amount of USB is 4 pieces).

As you can see, the most necessary things on the spot, there is no superfluous thing - we can say, Dell found the most balanced solution, which allows providing the user with everything necessary, without forcing to overpay for unnecessary technologies. Unless from a DVD-drive many would refuse, but, considering the pre-installed OS Linux on board, perhaps, and it will not be superfluous.

The installed touchpad pleases with excellent quality: it works quickly, glitches are not noticed, it's nice to touch. You can not take a mouse with you.

An ambiguous evaluation can be given to the keyboard of the Dell Inspiron 3521. The owners' reviews contain information about the insufficient key stroke, which reduces the comfort when typing large amounts of text, as well as a slight deflection in the center. But there is an additional digital panel, which makes it easier to work with numbers and calculations. There are no highlights, alas. In general, the keyboard deserves an average rating: you can adapt.

And what about entertainment? Screen and sound, performance

The Dell Inspiron 3521 laptop is basically designed for unproductive tasks, so you can forget about the latest games that are demanding of the resources - except that you can run at minimal settings. However, various casual toys laptop will pull, and immortal solitaire games too will not slow down.

What is offered as a filling in the Dell Inspiron 3521?

The characteristics leave quite a pleasant impression: Intel Core i3-3217U (2 physical cores, 1.8 GHz), HDD capacity 500 GB at 5400 rpm, 2, 4, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, and - depending on the configuration A specific model - either built-in graphics Intel HD, or a discrete graphics AMD Radeon HD 7670M with video memory of 1 GB. By the way, if you choose the latter option, then in the games of the past you can already play with a more or less decent picture and FPS.

The 40W battery is not particularly impressive, but the U-class processor with reduced power consumption (TDP 17 watts) still extends the battery life of the laptop to a more or less decent level - an average of about 3 hours. In the mode of reading books, it can last 4 hours, but it's unlikely that you will be able to play for longer than 1.5-2 hours. However, this is also a good result for a budget device.

The screen size of 15.6 "stars from the sky is not enough: resolution typical for the budget segment in 1366x768 pixels is quite enough for most tasks, the viewing angles are also modest, but the brightness is not bad - the picture will be visible even on a sunny day. Color rendition and contrast, too, should not be expected.However, with this you can accept - yet the price of the device allows you to close your eyes to many shortcomings.

The sound of the built-in speakers pleased with the excellent volume and the lack of wheezing: listening to music and watching movies will be comfortable, especially since thanks to the competent construction of the case, the sound goes to the user's side.

conclusions

So, what have we come to? Almost the same, with what they started: Dell Inspiron 3521 - a high-quality budget model for work, although you can see the film on the road or play something that is undemanding too.

From the competitors, the model is favorably distinguished by its pleasant design "with a twist", the presence of all necessary and well-placed interfaces, an excellent Intel Core i3-3217U processor with reduced power consumption, good sound, and a convenient touchpad.

Dell Inspiron 3521 - a balanced solution for work or study.