Budget laptops are all about sacrifice, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for a big, clunky system with a bland design and limited features. The Dell Inspiron i3531-1200BK is the cheapest laptop we have reviewed so far and didn’t really expect from it in all honesty. But it does have some quite decent specs for budget buyers, especially students and casual users.
Apart from the fantastic support team at Dell, with the Dell i3531-1200BK you can expect good portability and solid build quality, and of course a spill-resistant keyboard with a 10-key numpad and a Truelife LED backlit display.
Design
The design and build in the Inspiron i3531-1200BK isn’t anything different from its high-end siblings. Although it is absolutely made out of plastics, it abstains from picking random fingerprints. It is set on a nice matte, with a well textured cover for a somehow great look.
At approximately 15 x 10.2 x 1 inches (HWD) and weighing just over 4.7 pounds, the machine is quite slim and portable enough to be carried in a backpack with ease. Also, looking at the price, this seems like a decent purchase with a nice and sturdy body. Many would expect that the Inspiron i3531 would feel cheap, that’s wrong, Dell didn’t give it a cheap finish but rather opted for a premium feel to it.
Connectivity
Dell didn’t include an optical drive on this model, neither did they integrate Ethernet connectivity and Bluetooth. However, they were generous enough to include features such as 802.11 bin wireless, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, 4-in-1 Media Card Reader that supports SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro formats and a security slot.
Performance
The Dell Inspiron i3531-1200BK is powered by Intel Celeron N2830 (1M Cache) processor at 2.16GHz that can clock at a maximum of 2.41GHz when needed, 4GB Single Channel DDR3 memory (1600MHz) for ample multitasking, 500GB hard drive storage for your media plus 20GB of free DropBox online storage for 12 months. It runs on Windows 8.1 operating system which is the latest in its range, as we look forward to Windows 10. The budget dual core Celeron N2830 is quite enough for day-to-day computing and is faster enough as compared to the N2850 budget processor.
The beautiful 15.6 inch LED backlit display with high contrast Truelife and HD resolution at a maximum of 1366 x 768 pixel resolution and Intel HD graphics with a base frequency of 313-750MHz are ideal for daily basic use. At this resolution and processor capacity, do not expect to play modern day games or use any complex multimedia editing apps or engineering programs. For internet surfing, word processing, spreadsheets, light games among other non-RAM-intensive apps it will pull through without glitches.
Battery Life
The Inspiron i3531-1200BK comes with a 4-cell lithium ion battery, which is enough to keep your machine running for around 6 to 6.5 hours on a single charge. To make data entry easier, it comes with a full-size keyboard with 10-key numpad that is spill resistant. Below the keyboard s touchpad that supports multiple gestures as well as integrated scrolling.
Verdict
The first thing that drew us to the Dell Inspiron i3531-1200BK was its price that as it is the cheapest computers we’ve reviewed so far. It is natural to wonder how dell can offer a fully functional computer at a good price. Well, we are awed by some of its interesting features such as spill-resistant keyboard, decent battery life, great quality WLED screen and generous amount of RAM and SATA HDD powered by intel Celeron processor.
It is capable of performing your basic daily tasks. Sure it doesn’t come with a DVD drive but when did you need one seriously. Bluetooth is absent and a USB dongle such as SoundBot Bluetooth 4.0 is available online for a few bucks-order one as you purchase your computer. If the size and the price interest you, it might not be the worst buy.
Recommended Configuration
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The Review
Dell Inspiron i3531-1200BK
The first thing that drew us to the Dell Inspiron i3531-1200BK was its price that as it is the cheapest computers we've reviewed so far. It is natural to wonder how dell can offer a fully functional computer at a good price.
PROS
- Affordable
- Useful connectivity
- Good performance for the price
CONS
- Middling battery life
Review Breakdown
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EDITORS RATING
