Power supply, battery and battery life

    2 years ago 0

    The build quality is excellent. The plastic is pleasant to the touch. Minimalistic design. Complete set.

    2 years ago 0

    Nice case, assembled with high quality. Very nice appearance (I have a red one) Two memory slots (and not one like many others). Decent touchpad.

    2 years ago 0

    good performance

    2 years ago 0

    My Inspiron 5558-7092 is the only one in the lineup with a beautiful matte FullHD screen of 1920 x 1080 and a slightly more advanced i5-5250u processor with an underclocked frequency. We were very surprised by the simultaneous operation of two different video processors - built-in Intel and external NVIDIA. For everyday work, the best is not needed: the battery charge holds more than 5 hours, is absolutely silent and always cold. In a multitasking environment or games, it raises the frequency to 2.8 Ghz ... without noticeable consequences. Very lightweight. Typical use is on your lap and without being connected to a power supply.

    2 years ago 0

    appearance (glossy cover), screen, lightweight, keyboard (the manufacturer claims that it is waterproof, but testing this function is dumb, so we take our word for it), build quality (compared to asus and lenovo of the same price category, well, just a premium class, all the buttons are in their places, the gaps are the same, everything is smooth and pleasant for fingers, it is convenient to type with 10 finger-blind methods), performance (modification of Dell Inspiron 5558, 5558-7108, 15.6 "(1366x768), 8192, 1000, Intel Core i7-5500U, DVD ± RW DL, 4096MB NVIDIA GeForce 920M, LAN, WiFi, Bluetooth, Win8.1, black, black), someone writes that it slows down HD, I don't know, it doesn't slow down for me ..... maybe you just need to set everything up well ...

    2 years ago 0

    1. Powerful processor and an external video card for a low price. 2. Capacious removable battery, which is enough for 5-6 hours of office work. 3. Good camera. 4. Slim body.

    2 years ago 0

    I came across a matte one, and I will say the screen is very good, the keyboard is all at its best. There was no noise at all. so quiet, subtle pleasant.

    2 years ago 0

    Not yet revealed.

    2 years ago 0

    SCREEN! It is just awful, indistinct, faded. The viewing angles are very poor. With a price of 28,000 (I took it at the end of 2015), this is simply an unaffordable quality!
    Eyes start to hurt after 30 minutes of work.
    The second is the keyboard. The keys are very small and because of the large distance between them, it is very inconvenient to type (who would have thought that this would be so!).

    2 years ago 0

    heats up, discharges quickly

    2 years ago 0

    Flimsy top bezel and keyboard panel. The assembly of the system unit creaky with noticeable backlash. This is the only thing that distinguishes modern budget laptops from their plastic ancestors 10 years ago. To what extent this may be a problem - I don't know yet. But it is obvious that many completely metal gadgets today suffer from the same ailment.

    2 years ago 0

    the sound is not very loud, I have a soiled glossy lid (but it looks like fire), it is not clear how to switch touchpad modes

    2 years ago 0

    1. The main and main drawback that crosses out all the advantages is a terrible glossy TN screen with disgusting viewing angles, poor color rendering and sharpness, from which eyes literally flow out after a couple of hours of work.
    2. Cheap flimsy plastic.
    3. Unnecessary DVD drive which only adds 100g to the mass of the device.
    4. 5400 rpm screw and 4 GB memory included.

    2 years ago 0

    the disadvantage is that the dell manufacturer can change the filling without warning, so even in the store the employees did not know about it.

Behind the loud announcements of thin ultrabooks, you sometimes forget what a normal home or work laptop looks like. 15.6 inches and weighs 2.3 kg, a discrete graphics card and an old-school optical drive - all this is still relevant for a modern laptop, - the creators of the Dell Inspiron 5558 believe. And you can't argue with them.

Video review

Characteristics:

  • Processor: Intel Core i5-5200U, 2.2-2.7 GHz, 2 cores
  • Display: 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768, TN + film, glossy
  • RAM: 4GB DDR3L
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500 + GeForce 920M
  • Storage: 500 GB HDD
  • Wireless modules: Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.0
  • Optical Drive: DVD-RW Super Multi
  • Interfaces: 1 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, HDMI, Audio, SD card reader, RJ-45
  • Dimensions: 34.5 x 24.3 x 2.3 cm
  • Weight: 2.3KG
  • OS: Linux Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

The official one took place just recently. Among them was the Dell Inspiron 5558, which is relatively inexpensive laptop focused on working at home or in the office.

Design and ergonomics

As a rule, inexpensive laptops are not flashy, if not dull. But the Dell Inspiron 5558 is a welcome exception. The lid's glossy finish sets it apart from the usual workhorses. The lid is white and is a great neutral option. Plus, it's also practical - no fingerprints on the lid are visible, no matter what angle you look at.

The laptop weighs 2.3 kg, which can be considered the standard for 15-inch models. Do not forget that this is not an ultrabook. For frequent travel, such a model will not be very convenient, but mobility within the home or office is quite sufficient.

The case is quite plump - about 23 mm in thickness. This made it possible to implement an optical drive in a laptop (yes, someone else uses it) and not skimp on connectors. The Inspiron 5558 has an Ethernet port, HDMI, three USB port(1xUSB 3.0 and 2xUSB 2.0), card reader and combined audio output.

It features a full-size island-style keyboard with a numeric keypad. Ergonomics and key travel are standard for Windows notebooks in this price range. The keyboard unit flexes a little when pressed hard, but in moderation. You will not find monolithic stiffness here, as in Macbooks or top-end Windows laptops. The keyboard is claimed to be well protected from moisture. But I didn't dare to spill a cup of coffee on her. What is really missing is the backlight. Working in the dark is not very comfortable.

A large touchpad is a good thing. But personally, I often hit him while typing or playing games. I think it's out of habit, but you get used to good things quickly. Alas, the manufacturer did not provide a key that would allow you to quickly disable the touchpad.

Display

Dell Inspiron 5558 received a 15.6-inch display based on TN-matrix with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Not a lot, but as a basic option it will do. The surface of the screen is glossy but has an anti-reflective coating. At least that's what the manufacturer says.

There are no pronounced problems and complaints here, but it seemed to me that the color rendition was slightly skewed towards cold shades. Such a screen is not very suitable for serious work with graphics, but in most standard tasks it is not bad.

Hardware and OS

In the tested configuration, the Dell inspiron 5558 uses the latest Broadwell Intel Core i5-5200U processor. It operates at a base frequency of 2.2 GHz and features lower power consumption.

An integrated solution HD Graphics 5500 from Intel, as well as a discrete NVIDIA graphics card GT930M. This configuration allows you not only to work, but also to enjoy quite modern games, albeit not at maximum speed. Especially if you double the volume random access memory available initially. Upon purchase, the user is provided with 4 GB. Whether it is a lot or a little is up to you.

The peculiarity of the novelty is that the operating room is installed in the laptop. Linux system Ubuntu 14.04. In principle, it is quite functional right out of the box. So do not rush to install Windows right away - you will always have time. If the laptop was originally sold with Windows, it would have cost more, so there are no complaints about the manufacturer here.

A few words about heating. In resource-intensive tasks, the cooling system turns on. So if you load the laptop at full capacity, the heat and the sound of the fans will be noticeable. But when working with documents and browsing, the laptop is very quiet.

Autonomy

Despite using an energy efficient platform, don't expect record battery life from the Inspiron 5558. They are on a good average here. In reading mode, working with documents and browsing the web, the laptop lasted about 5 hours. But in World of Tanks I was able to play without charger half as much. This is not a drawback when you consider that, in general, such laptops are rarely used in the field.

conclusions

There are no pronounced drawbacks, on the contrary, balanced characteristics, a strong brand, the price is within 600 dollars. In general, if you do not demand the prohibitive from him, then you will not be disappointed in the purchase.

There is usually nothing to write about inexpensive laptops (which is why you rarely see their reviews here). About a year ago, manufacturers decided to clothe them in, though plastic, but colored cases. It is not known who was the first here, but everything was copied. I am happy, I love bright colors. Some other features are not inherent in this class, you should not even go here for them. With each new generation of processors, the performance of state employees and "middlings" slightly increases and autonomy is slightly more noticeable. But unlike the smartphone segment, this does not bring the same stormy joy and relief here, because the segment is old, developed, and everything is not so bad on it. And the user is even less picky: he does not chase brands, but the price is all too often, he is indifferent to most of the additional tricks. Nevertheless, from time to time, some inexpensive new items still leak into the editorial office for various reasons. For example, show off the new generation of processors. Or something else that can hook a soulless customer. The Dell Inspiron 5558 also has a waterproof keyboard, bright cases and a manufacturer's promise that it will last powerfully and for a long time. Well, let's see.

What's this?

A laptop from the recently introduced Inspiron 5000 line in Ukraine. It includes 15 and 17-inch models in multi-colored cases (blue, red, white, silver and black), equipped with Intel 5th generation processors from Celeron to Core i7 (to we, I suspect, will not be lucky with an older Core i5), screens of different quality (from a TN matrix with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels to luxurious IPS displays with FullHD and a touch layer), hard drives from 500 GB to 1 TB, with or without a discrete graphics card , under Ubuntu or Windows 8.1. Yes, and the new Inspiron's new line can be equipped with 4th generation processors and cost less than more modern counterparts. Now imagine how many different configurations there are! The simplest one on Intel Core 5th generation (on Celeron, with TN-screen , HDD 500 GB, with Ubuntu) will cost about 12 thousand UAH or 32 thousand rubles. On Intel Core 4th generation - much cheaper, at the level of what competitors offer for the same money. New items are positioned as stylish and powerful laptops in thin cases, with a wide range of features and decent autonomy.Such positioning suits differently well from model to model, although with the “wasp waist”, in my opinion, everyone did not work out.

What do we have?

We had an average hardware configuration Dell Inspiron 5558 in our hands. Out of the box the model ran on Ubuntu, was equipped with a mid-range processor of the previous generation i3-4005U (1.7 GHz), discrete graphics NVIDIA GeForce 920M (2GB DDR3L) , 4 GB of RAM and a 15.6-inch display with a TN-matrix with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. I am sincerely sorry that the tests did not have a device with the latest specifications, and we never saw the miracles of autonomy in the latest incarnation of Intel Core, it should have amazed the imagination by the standards of a 15-inch low-cost model. Nevertheless, even in our configuration, characteristics such as autonomy, performance, noise and heat are at an appetizing level.

Other characteristics of the model are similar to those of its neighbors in the line: it has a waterproof keyboard, an HD camera, and for some reason a floppy drive (inherited from traditional 15.6-inch laptops?), An assortment of connectors (2xUSB 2.0, one USB 3.0, HDMI 1.4a and whole RJ-45). The Inspiron 5558 with this configuration is designed for unpretentious users who want movies and the Internet, work with documents and photographs, and if games are needed, they are not very resource-intensive, and will do just fine at minimum settings. My pre-installed Ubuntu on my laptop was quickly replaced by the usual "Windows", which was usually "loaded" by a standard workflow (documents, instant messengers, the Internet through monstrous Chrome) and watching movies in luxurious quality. With such a format of activity, the laptop has no problems.

In the Windows performance index, the weak point was the graphics, while the processor, memory and HDD(normal HDD) performed well, and by a large margin in points.

Dell Inspiron 5558 Specifications
Display 15 inches, 1366x768 pixels, TN
Pre-installed operating system Ubuntu Linux 14.04 SP1
CPU dual-core Intel Core i3-4005U (1.7 GHz)
RAM 4 GB DDR3L 1600 MHz
Graphic arts discrete NVIDIA GeForce 920M (2GB DDR3L)
Storage device HDD 5400 rpm
Communications Wi-FI 802.11b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.0
Connectors HDMI 1.4a, USB 3.0 (1), USB 2.0 (2), RJ-45, audio combo jack, 8x DVD +/- RW 9.5, card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)
Battery 4-cell Li-ion polymer battery (40 Wh)
Dimensions (edit) 380x260x23 mm
Weight 2.3 kg

And how long does he work?

A modern laptop, in comparison with models of 3-4 years ago, has been working for so long, quietly and pleasantly that any improvements in these indicators are not so striking that one can say their enthusiastic "wow!", They are taken for granted, and hardly noticeable ... However, if you change laptops not at the same speed with which Intel demonstrates Moore's Law in action, but half as often, then the progress is striking. In work under Windows 8.1 with practically no video, and almost all the time in Chrome, the battery lasted four hours. At maximum load in the benchmark - three. In reading mode with dimmed to the middle of the screen backlight, there are almost five. It must be understood that by the standards of current processors this is not a record, but for fourth generation Is a typical indicator. If you need more, then the same Inspiron 5558 (or its competitors with a similar filling) with a Core i3-5005u will give you more, for example, although we cannot give exact numbers, there was no way to check.

Full charge time for the model is 2 hours and 20 minutes.

How cute is he?

Experiments on the design of inexpensive laptops have shifted to the area of ​​bright colors and different textures. The advantages of the new generation of processors (for which, as we know, Intel once again had to throw out its old factory and build a new one) did not affect the device case. It is voluminous (23 mm thick) and weighty (2 kg). Dell can do much more compact things, but in the case of a 15-inch (or even more, 17-inch) model, a couple of millimeters or hundreds of grams do not matter to the user. This is originally a "tabletop" model, which will rarely be taken out of the house. It is more important for her to have a nice lid that is stable in front of tea and a comfortable keyboard, a comfortable coating in the area with which the palms regularly touch, and a set of interfaces that no one will complain about. And all this is in place with the Dell Inspiron 5558.

The photo below shows the location of the connectors.

Left end, from left to right: power connector, RJ-45, cooling grille, HDMI, USB 3.0, card reader

Right side, from left to right: combined audio output, two USB 2.0, floppy drive, Kensington lock

I "made friends" with the keyboards of Dell laptops for a long time, I lack only the Break key for complete happiness, which is configured by default in Punto Switcher to force switch layouts. But this function can be assigned to any other key, if not lazy, so this is not a problem at all. I have no other complaints about this comfortable keyboard. Pay attention, even the digital block fit into it.

The power key, as usual, is especially tight and stands apart. Children and cats cannot cope with it.

The touchpad here is also comfortable and large. Supports gestures under Windows 8.1.

The opening angle is neither small nor large. By the way, it is impossible to open the laptop with one hand.

A webcam is traditionally located above the screen. The sound is excellent, the image too. Resolution - HD.

The screen is so-so, that's why it is TN. In other devices for the same money it will be exactly the same. With weak vertical viewing angles, but decent horizontally.

Thus, we have before us another inexpensive laptop in a fairly convenient case. Which, in principle, is expected from a manufacturer with vast experience in the market. He does not look more expensive or cheaper than his price tag, he is cute and neat, especially for girls, especially in bright colors.

What are the alternatives?

On the this moment in Ukraine, at least several more models with similar characteristics are presented, which is a common phenomenon for our unified world. The devices are the same not only in the filling, but also in the price (plus or minus the same in different stores). One and the same result should be expected in the work. Therefore, we advise you to choose from them in this way: look at the price, at where you find the keyboard more comfortable and the lid is painted. Well, you can pay attention to the brand if you are one of those people who need the correct nameplate on the lid. When making a choice, decide whether you need a discrete video card or an integrated one will be enough, there are models with both such and such, the difference in price between them is small, but still. Also pay attention to the OS: most models in this segment will require it to be installed. The Inspiron 5558 we reviewed is worth Ubuntu, but for other money, the manufacturer offers other options, with Windows 8.1, for example. And finally, let me remind you that the Inspiron 5558 has a spill-resistant keyboard.

When looking at online retailers in the low-cost 15-inch laptop segment, you will most likely notice that there are also several models on the market with similar specifications, but with a 5th generation Intel Core processor. They will cost about a couple of thousand hryvnia or 5 thousand rubles more, but you can expect a little more performance from them (although your needs end in office applications, browser, player and Klondike solitaire, you don't need it) and a couple of extra hours autonomous work at medium and minimum load. Therefore, we advise you to make a decision based on this knowledge as well.

In the dry residue

If you are one of those people who are even ready to choose a budget laptop not according to the advice of the seller in the store, but according to prices and reviews on the Internet, then our main advice is to go to the store, touch it with your own hands. I liked the Dell Inspiron 5558 for the design, the pleasant coating of the case around the keyboard, the familiar ergonomics and a fairly comfortable keyboard, as well as the fact that you can pour mineral water on it as much as you like (I haven't tried it, but the manufacturer swears it can!). But to each his own - someone is accustomed to the ergonomics of laptop cases from other manufacturers, someone needs / does not need a discrete video card, someone is ready to sacrifice autonomy for the sake of economy, or vice versa, add a little money for a couple of extra hours without a power supply. Someone needs Windows to show off right away - all this pulls into an excuse to look at alternatives. But I have no complaints specifically about this model for its money.

3 reasons to buy the Dell Inspiron 5558:

  • good value for money, plenty of room to choose from;
  • cute body colors and excellent ergonomics;
  • waterproof keyboard;

2 reasons not to buy the Dell Inspiron 5558:

  • you need a lighter and more compact model;
  • you're willing to pay extra to get the laptop with the best battery life.

With a fairly wide audience, the products of the American company Dell are firmly associated with high quality, wide functionality and balanced price, which allowed the manufacturer to gain one of the leading positions in the industry.

In this article it will be about work laptop DellInspiron 15 5558 , which, due to its stylish design and modern hardware platform, can become good choice for any casual user. But before we start our acquaintance with this laptop, let's dwell in more detail on its technical characteristics.

Specification

Manufacturer and model

DellInspiron 15 5558

CPU

Intel Core i5-5200U (2 x 2.2-2.7 GHz)

Intel Wildcat Point-LP (Intel Broadwell)

RAM

4 GB DDR3L-1600 MHz

AU Optronics B156XTN (Dell W64C6): TN + film, 15.6 ", 1366 x 768 (100 ppi),

LED backlight, glossy

Graphics adapter

Intel HD Graphics 5500 (300 - 900 MHz); the amount of video memory is 1 GB (allocated from the RAM)

Discrete graphics card

NVIDIA GeForce 920M (2GB GDDR3)

Storage device

WD Blue WDC WD5000LPVX-75V0TT0 (500 GB, 8 MB buffer, 5400 rpm, SATA 6 Gb / s)

Optical drive

LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GU90N

Card reader

Interfaces

1 x combo audio jack

1 x power connector

Multimedia

Acoustics

Sound processing

Microphone

Webcam

1.3 MP, CMOS-module (720p @ 30 fps)

Communication capabilities

Realtek RTL8139 / 810x Fast Ethernet Adapter

802.11b / g / n (Atheros AR9565)

4.0 (Atheros AR9565)

Safety

Kensington Lock Slot, BIOS Boot Password

Battery

Li-Ion, 4-cell, removable: 14.8 V, 2630 mAh, 40 Wh

Power Supply

Output parameters: 19.5 Vdc e.g. 3.34 A, 65 W

Input parameters: 100 ~ 240 VAC ex. at 50/60 Hz

380 x 260 x 24 mm

Operating system

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

Official guarantee

Up to 4 years (limited)

Products webpage

Delivery and equipment

The Dell Inspiron 15 5558 laptop is packaged in a standard box made of medium density recycled cardboard with a minimal design (information sticker and a couple of logos). It is medium in size and relatively light in weight, but it is equipped with a handle for ease of transport.

The delivery set of the laptop consists of a compact power supply, a network cable and user documentation. In addition to the device, you can purchase a number of useful accessories, for example, a branded case or a battery with increased capacity.

Appearance, arrangement of elements

Like the previously reviewed model, the reviewed laptop belongs to the popular Dell Inspiron 5000 series, which has an interesting design and good ergonomics. Pleasant colors combined with slim body give the laptop elegance and a certain high cost, while the overall dimensions of the device (380 x 260 x 24 mm) and low weight (2.24 kg) have a positive effect on its mobility.

The body is made of high quality plastic. It provides a good level of stiffness as well as pleasant tactile properties. There is only one drawback - glossy parts are easily scratched and covered with dust. Fortunately, with due care, this can be avoided, as can actively collecting fingerprints.

The top of the Dell Inspiron 15 5558 is a glossy white finish that blends in perfectly with the dark matte chassis base. It is decorated with the manufacturer's corporate logo, located exactly in the center of the lid.

The maximum opening angle of the display unit is about 135 °, which is quite enough for almost all tasks. The frames around the screen have standard dimensions and are equipped with rubber inserts along the contour for the stop.

The block itself is held by two plastic hinges, which are characterized by a tight move. On the one hand, this provides a clear fixation of the display in any position, and on the other hand, it does not allow the laptop to be opened with one hand without the support of the base.

The entire working panel of the laptop is covered with a solid plate made of matte plastic. It has a pleasant-to-touch texture that feels like a soft-touch.

The Dell Inspiron 15 5558 laptop has a completely standard and well thought out arrangement of functional elements, which allows you to connect all the necessary external peripherals to it.

The left side houses the charger jack, RJ45 network jack, cooling grille, HDMI port, one USB 3.0 port and card reader hole, while the right side is occupied by the combo audio jack, two USB 2.0 ports, DVD optical drive door and a Kensington lock.

On the front side of the laptop there is one power LED, while the back side is completely devoid of any connectors and ports.

The bottom of the Dell Inspiron 15 5558 is made of dark gray plastic, which has good durability. Three rubber feet, one of which stretches the entire length of the body, provide a good grip on any surface. For ease of maintenance, a removable panel is provided here (fixed with two screws and a series of latches). Removing it reveals two RAM slots, one PCIe slot for a network module, and a drive bay.

The build quality of the laptop does not raise any complaints. All structural elements fit tightly, without visible backlashes and gaps. The rigidity of the case is also pleasantly pleasing, because even under increased pressure nothing creaks or sags.

Input Devices

The laptop is equipped with a full-size (342 x 103 mm) island-style keyboard, which has a full-fledged number pad and a number of function keys. Its matte black base with a pleasant to the touch texture is slightly recessed into the work surface. The keyboard unit is fixed well, with the required level of rigidity and a margin of safety.

The buttons are equipped with a classic scissor-membrane mechanism, which has a short and fairly quiet stroke, with a comfortable tactile response. They use flat caps and quite standard sizes: basic - 15 x 15 mm, digital - 15 x 13 mm, functional - 13 x 9 mm, arrows - 17 x 8 mm.

Outside the keyboard block, there is only the power button, which is located in the upper right corner working panel... There is no LED backlight in this model.

The application of symbolic elements is carried out by means of the printing method. It is distinguished by good quality and good wear resistance, but it is characterized by a single color scheme for main and function keys.

The touchpad of the laptop is represented by a one-piece touch panel of large dimensions - 105 x 80 mm. It is also slightly recessed into the base and has a good emphasis. The panel has a matte finish with pleasant tactile properties. It offers easy glide and high sensitivity. As in other devices in this category, there is full support for multi-touch gestures in the Windows environment.

Display, sound, webcam

The Dell Inspiron 15 5558 laptop is equipped with a proprietary 15.6-inch display AU Optronics B156XTN (Dell W64C6) with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and a pixel density of 100 ppi. There is a slight pixelation of the image, which, however, does not particularly interfere with performing everyday tasks or working with text.

The screen is based on a standard TN + film matrix with good response time, high contrast and good color reproduction with a slight shift towards cold shades. The viewing angles are traditionally low, which is especially noticeable against a dark background with vertical deflection. The screen covering is glossy. The backlight brightness has a good margin and range of adjustments. Working with a laptop is quite comfortable both during the day and at night.

The sound subsystem of the laptop is represented by two stereo speakers, which are located on the bevels of the front of the base. They are loud enough and can provide good sound quality over the entire available range (both high and mid frequencies are present).

A 1.3-megapixel module with 720p resolution acts as a webcam. It is located above the laptop screen, surrounded by one activity indicator and two microphones. Its capabilities are sufficient to host web conferencing or make Internet calls.

Hardware platform and performance

At the heart of the Dell Inspiron 15 5558 is an Intel Core i5-5200U dual-core processor with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, which can handle up to four data streams simultaneously. The crystal is built on the basis of the Intel Broadwell microarchitecture in accordance with the 14nm process technology. With Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, the Intel Core i5-5200U can dynamically increase the clock speed from 2200 MHz to 2700 MHz. At the same time, the processor is equipped with a cache memory (Smart Cache) of the 3rd level of 3 MB and differs in a modest thermal package - only 15 W.

Supplements the CPU with the integrated Intel HD Graphics 5500, which contains 24 Compute Units (EU). There is support for API DirectX 11.2, OpenCL 2.0, OpenGL 4.3 and ShaderModel 5.0. The base clock frequency of the video accelerator is 300 MHz. It can be dynamically boosted up to 900 MHz. The amount of video memory is allocated from the RAM of the laptop and is 1 GB.

In addition to the integrated video adapter, the laptop has a full-fledged discrete NVIDIA GeForce 920M graphics card, which increases its gaming potential. It is built on the basis of GPU NVIDIA GK208 (Kepler) and has 384 CUDA cores, 16 texture units and 8 raster units. The built-in GDDR3 memory of the video card is 2 GB, and its effective frequency is at 1800 MHz. In addition, NVIDIA GeForce 920M supports almost all popular technologies and APIs: DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Shader Model 5.0, and NVIDIA PhysX.

The CPU memory controller supports LPDDR3 and DDR3L-1333/1600 MHz modules in 2-channel mode with a maximum capacity of 16 GB. In our case, there is one 4 GB DDR3L-1600 MHz memory stick. If necessary, the user can expand the amount of RAM at the expense of a free slot.

The laptop's wireless communication works through the Atheros AR9565 combined network controller. He is responsible for the work of the 802.11b / g / n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 standards. The wired connection is made using a Realtek RTL8139 / 810x adapter.

The disk subsystem is represented by a WD Blue WDC WD5000LPVX-75V0TT0 drive with a SATA 6 Gb / s interface and a capacity of 500 GB. The volume of its data exchange is 8 MB, and the spindle speed is declared at 5400 rpm.

The device also provides an optical drive LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GU90N, which can work with almost all existing types of CD and DVD discs, and boasts a good read and write speed.

By default, the reviewed laptop has Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, which is distributed under a free license. It is equipped with a basic package of the most necessary programs (office, multimedia, games), so it is well suited for the needs of the casual user. Additionally, Windows 10 was installed on a solid-state drive, through which the testing was carried out.

As you can see from the results obtained, the overall performance of the Dell Inspiron 15 5558 is at a decent level to easily cope with any daily tasks, including the simultaneous launch of several office and multimedia applications, as well as handle demanding graphics programs. In addition, the presence of a discrete video card will allow you to play most modern games at medium or minimum graphics settings in the native display resolution.

Cooling system, noise level and temperature conditions

The cooling system of the laptop is represented by a small aluminum radiator combined with a cooler and several heat pipes, to which are attached heat distribution plates above the processor and discrete graphics card. Its effectiveness was tested at an air temperature of 26 ° C using the AIDA64 test in three popular modes: "Normal", "Gaming" and "Stress".

During the usual everyday use the temperature of the internal components of the laptop did not rise above 46 ° C, and the CO itself remained practically silent due to the low fan speed - up to 2200 rpm.

When launching gaming applications (several sessions in the game World of Tanks), the temperature indicator rose to 61 ° C, and the cooler's operation became more noticeable, although it still did not cause any serious irritation.

And finally, in the stress mode, the in-system components of the laptop heated up to 81 ° C, and the fan speed rose to 4600 rpm. At the same time, the noise became quite loud and was already beginning to affect the acoustic comfort.

During a visual inspection of the operating system, we did not register any problems with the heating of the case. The laptop remained cool and pleasant to the touch, with the exception of a small area near the CO vents and the base above the CPU.

Power supply, battery and battery life

The reviewed model is equipped with a removable 4-cell lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 2630 mAh (40 Wh, 14.8 V), which provides a good battery life. If necessary, you can purchase an additional 58 Wh battery, which will slightly increase this figure.

On average, from one charge in maximum load mode, the Dell Inspiron 15 5558 is able to work for about 2 hours, and when watching Full HD-video - 4 hours 30 minutes. In idle mode, its battery will discharge in 7 hours and 33 minutes - more than a decent result in this class of portable devices.

To service the battery and operate from the network, the laptop uses a complete 65 W power supply (19.5 V @ 3.34 A). It can fully charge the battery in just 2 hours 24 minutes. The operating temperature of the power supply is about 50-55 ° C, which is an acceptable indicator and does not create discomfort.

Outcomes

Notebook DellInspiron 15 5558 left a pleasant impression. We got acquainted with a modern, well-balanced work tool that allows you to easily solve any day-to-day tasks. Its advantages include a stylish design and convenient ergonomics, a fairly efficient hardware platform, a good set of interface ports and wireless modules, as well as a decent level of autonomy. To the above, you can add a full-size keyboard with a full-fledged digital block and a fairly loud audio subsystem, represented by two high-quality stereo speakers.

Of course, the reviewed laptop is not devoid of some shortcomings and, perhaps, not entirely binding decisions, but they cannot seriously affect the overall positive picture. And if Dell continues to pricing policy in the promotion of their goods, then this laptop will definitely find its loyal buyer.

Advantages:

  • stylish design;
  • good build quality;
  • high body rigidity;
  • full-size island-style keyboard with separate numeric keypad;
  • loud and pleasant enough sounding of the audio subsystem;
  • good performance level;
  • efficient cooling system;
  • a good set of interface connectors;
  • decent level of autonomy.

Peculiarities:

  • pre-installed operating system OS Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Flaws:

  • mediocre viewing angles of the display;
  • the presence of sufficiently easily soiled body parts.

We express our gratitude to the Ukrainian representative office of the companyDell for the laptop provided for testing.

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Laptops are replacing home computers today - instead of large monitors and bulky system units, users choose laptops with 15- and 17-inch displays. On the one hand, a laptop is a convenient home device that allows you to change location in an apartment or in a country house, on the other, you can even take it to work. The Dell Inspiron 15 is exactly such a device: it is not super thin or super light, but this modern laptop fully meets the needs of the user, replacing the desktop.

Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) review: just what you need!

Appearance

Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) looks familiar to laptops. Of course, this is not a small portable friend, but a rather large device by modern standards, the dimensions of which are determined, first of all, by a 15-inch display.

Dimensions are 380x260.4x24.05 mm, and the weight of the device is 2.24 kg. With such dimensions, the laptop can easily fit into a backpack and can be taken with you, it is also convenient to carry it around the house and work in different areas (in the kitchen, in the living room, in the bedroom).

The device is made of black plastic. The lid is covered with glossy plastic on the outside, and the manufacturer's logo is in the center. On the left sidewall there are USB ports 3.0, HDMI, card reader, Ethernet and power jacks.

On the right side there is a combined DVD +/- RW drive, Kensington Lock, two USB ports and a 3.5 mm headset jack.

We can say that the laptop is a little angular, but this gives a strict appearance.

When you open the lid, the display with a diagonal of 15.6 inches lights up, which takes up almost the entire surface: the frames around the screen are small. Below is another Dell logo.

It is important to note that the Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) has a standard full-size keyboard with a separate numeric keypad. Some keys have two symbols. They can be used to perform additional functions, for this the user needs to press them in combination with the Fn button - such a bundle is present in most laptops on the market.

There is a distance between the keys, so if you get used to the keyboard layout, you can type quickly and comfortably.

Below is a 105 x 80 mm touch panel. The touchpad understands left and right mouse clicks and clicks nicely.

Laptop performance

The version of Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) that arrived for the test is the average in the line of modifications, which has more than ten different assembly options. In our case, inside the laptop is a quad-core Intel Core i5-5200U processor with a clock frequency of 2.2 GHz, made using a 14-nanometer technological process. Interestingly, in addition to the built-in graphics card Intel HD Graphics 5500 is equipped with graphics from NVIDIA - GeForce 920M.

This makes the laptop ready not only for everyday office tasks and surfing the Internet, but also for online games and other entertainment that requires more serious graphics capabilities.

The test version of the Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) is equipped with 4 gigabytes of DDR3L RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. There are also versions on the market with Intel Core i3, i5 and i7. As for memory, the choice is simple: four gigabytes, as in our case, or eight. Disk space can be twice as large: up to 1 terabyte.

A laptop with a pre-installed operating system came to our test Windows system 8, but the Inspiron 15 (5558) is now on sale with Windows 10 on board. Plus, the device immediately offered to update the current version of the operating system, because, as a reminder, the update is free, so the user will always be with the current version of the OS.

Your device comes preinstalled with Amazon software, the CyberLink family of products, as well as Microsoft OneNote and OneDrive cloud storage.

As noted above, the Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) is a multifunctional laptop that will find a place both in the office and at home: it has enough power for solving everyday tasks, as well as for entertainment. It is powerful enough and at the same time not very large (for its diagonal) - one might say, a balanced laptop that can become your "fighting" companion.

In addition to work tasks, you can add listening to music, watching movies, TV shows and videos on YouTube and even playing games. This is an absolutely universal solution for a wide audience.

Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) is equipped with a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels.

Screen - glossy, with LED backlight, good color rendering and a huge margin of brightness, the picture is juicy. It's also important to note the wide viewing angles.

The device starts up quickly enough: in a matter of seconds, the screen lights up, exiting sleep mode, and the device is ready to work.

The full-size keyboard is fine here, but it takes a couple of days to get used to the keys. Short distance between the keys is beneficial for typing, since your fingers accurately hit the buttons and you cannot press two keys at the same time. Unfortunately, in the test version, the keyboard of the device is not backlit, but the white letters on the black plastic are clearly visible, so there are practically no problems.

The touchpad, which sits under the keyboard, is also comfortable. There are both left and right mouse buttons here. It is very responsive to clicks and supports gesture controls such as scrolling and zooming with Pinch Zoom, intuitive movements familiar from smartphones and tablets.

Note that the Inspiron 15 (5558) is equipped with a 0.92 megapixel webcam, which captures video in HD 720p, and a microphone. You can also listen to music and watch movies on your laptop. The Realtek ALC3234 controller with Waves MaxxAudio technology is responsible for the sound, and output power built-in speakers is 2.2 W. The device does not sound very loud, but it is of sufficient quality.

Specifications of the tested Dell Inspiron 15 (5558)

CPU Intel Core i5-5200U, 2.2 GHz
RAM 4GB DDR3L, 1.6GHz
Storage device 500 GB HDD
Optical disc DVD +/- RW
Video card

Intel HD Graphics 5500,

discrete NVIDIA GeForce 920M

Screen

15.6 inches,

non-touch HD,

resolution 1366x768 pixels

Wireless connection

Dell Wireless 1707 802.11 b / g / n (2.4 GHz),

Bluetooth 4.0 LE

Ports

1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, HDMI port,

SD card reader, RJ45 network connector,

headset jack,

security lock

Sound

controller Realtek ALC3234 with Waves MaxxAudio technology,

2 speakers with a total output power of 2.2 W

Battery Built-in battery (40 Wh)
Dimensions (edit) 380x260.4x24.05 mm
Weight 2.24 kg

Source: ZOOM.CNews

A nice bonus - you can play modern games on the Dell Inspiron 15 (5558)! For example, the most popular online projects, which, on the one hand, are moderately demanding on hardware, on the other hand, they provide the user with excellent game process: dynamic, vibrant and interesting.

War Thunder (low settings)


Source: ZOOM.CNews

The computer game War Thunder is running great - before launching it displays a number of

World of Tanks looks and plays well as well. As in the case of the competing game, the graphics in the tanks are at a good level, and frame drops are either imperceptible or do not affect the gameplay in any way. The number of frames does not drop below 30, but on average keeps at 40 FPS with medium graphics settings.

PCMark 8
Score 2242

Source: ZOOM.CNews

Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) is equipped with all the main modules for communication: here is the Dell Wireless 1707 module, which supports the 802.11 b / g / n protocol at 2.4 GHz, as well as the Bluetooth 4.0 LE module. Also in the 5558 modification there is a connector for Ethernet networks RJ45, which allows you to connect your laptop to the Internet via a wired connection. The latter can be especially important in online games where connection speed and ping are important.

3DMark Fire Strike 1.1 Sky Diver 1.0 Cloud Gate 1.1 Ice Storm 1.2
Score 1045 3939 5496 51536
Graphic arts 1157 3948 7338 61644
Physics 368 3739 2926 32745

Source: ZOOM.CNews

As for the autonomy, then, according to the manufacturer, Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) in the test version can work on a single battery charge up to 7 hours. There is a four-cell "smart" lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 40 W * h. If the computer is turned off, it will fully charge in about 4 hours.

If you play games, the battery life drops quite dramatically. On the other hand, in "working" mode (office programs, surfing the Internet, work mail and everyday tasks), you can count on 5-6 hours of battery life. An important parameter is the display backlight. Since the margin is very large, it is enough to only slightly unscrew the brightness.

Note that in any case, the battery will not be enough for a whole working day, so you will have to take the power supply to the device with you and rely on about half a kilogram of excess weight in your bag or backpack.

Conclusion

Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) is a classic laptop that has enough power and is really easy to use. It can be compared to a "multitool" - a universal tool that is always at hand and allows you to perform a huge number of different tasks.

Creating spreadsheets, working with e-mail, surfing the web, listening to music, playing games, watching videos, editing photos and videos are all within the power of the Dell Inspiron 15 (5558).

We did not say a word about the DVD +/- RW drive of the device, because modern realities call for almost completely abandoning disk format in favor of flash drives and cloud storage. An optical drive can be safely called a vestige of time, which could be easily discarded and inserted into this laptop, for example, another hard drive.

You can also notice that the screen resolution is not very high - 1366 by 768 pixels. On the other hand, pixelation is almost imperceptible unless peering at very close range.

Dell Inspiron 15 (5558) is a very simple and ordinary looking laptop that is absolutely universal in use. Adequate power for most tasks, including entertainment and games, a high-quality 15.6-inch screen with a large margin of brightness, the presence of all modern interfaces and communication modules - all this makes the Inspiron 15 one of the most interesting offerings in its class on the market. A large number of modifications and a nice price tag (the test version costs about 35 thousand rubles) will hardly allow you to pass by a device that you can take with you on a trip, go to work with it or move around different zones in the apartment, while continuing to work, have fun or play. Convenient, comfortable and simple!

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