Review Dell Vostro 3460 / Vostro 3450 Laptop, 8858X / RU485 / T54F3 computer batteries

Product ID:1002571 Battery Type:Li-ion Property:original computer batteries Battery Voltage:11.1 V Battery Capacity:60 Wh \ 5400 mAh Battery Color:Black

Battery Life

Buy new DELL Vostro 3460 Series Laptop Battery,11.1V 8700mAh 5400mAh computer batteries

The Vostro 3460 achieved a runtime of 5:44h while idling (DELL Vostro 3450: 3:52h; S430: 6:43h). We test the idle mode via BatteryEater Reader's test, where the screen is set to minimum brightness, the energy savings profile is enabled and the wireless modules (wifi, Bluetooth) are disabled. The Vostro 3460 managed a runtime of 1:15h during load (Vostro 3450: 1:00h; S430: 1:26h). BatteryEater's Classic test is used for the load test. Here, the screen is set to maximum brightness, the high-performance profile and wireless modules are enabled. (8858X computer batteries)

One battery charge lasted for 3:52h in the wifi test (Vostro 3450: 2:47h; S430: 3:51h). Websites are automatically opened every 40 seconds in this test via a script. The energy saving mode is enabled and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m2. The Vostro 3460 lasted for 3:22h in the DVD test (Vostro 3450: 2:38h; S430: 2:35 h). That is enough for two movies. The wireless modules (wifi, Bluetooth) are disabled and the screen is set to maximum brightness for the DVD test. We use the energy saving profile or a higher profile (should the DVD not be rendered smoothly) in this test.

Interestingly, the DELL Vostro 3460 exhibits much better run times than the Vostro 3450 although the batteries in both devices have the same capacity. The Vostro 3460 is thus much more energy-efficient although it consumes a lot more power at its peak than the Vostro 3450. The Thinkpad Edge S430's idle and load runtime are better than those of the DELL Vostro 3460. In return, the DELL Vostro 3460 has the lead in the practical wifi and DVD tests.

Case

The same feeling transmits its “look and feel outside.” With a chassis constructed entirely in lightweight plastic, immediately obvious that this is a team that is not prepared to withstand bumps, scratches and dirt, but that does not repeat is this your goal. Otherwise its design without being the ultimate, denotes a certain elegance that even escapes the excessive sobriety that tend to provide much of the equipment they have on their target audience SMEs.

Dell has not altered the case's basic design compared with the DELL Vostro 3450. The base unit's sides and the lid's back have the same color - copper brown in our case. Dell also has red and silver available. The base unit's top, front, back and the display bezel are gray. All surfaces on the laptop are matte - even the display bezel. The gap between the keys and the keyboard's silver rim however are the exception. The base unit's top and the display bezel feature a light rubber coating, which makes these areas largely resistant to fingerprints. Overall, the used materials have a high-end feel.

The Vostro 3460 is on a par with its precursor in terms of stability. The chassis hardly yields under pressure, not even above the optical drive. However, the Vostro 3460's keyboard yields a bit more to applied force, like in the Vostro 3450. The notebook hardly warps when it's lifted at opposite corners. The build is not quite as good as in the Vostro 3450. The gaps are not always completely even. The front right edge does not stand stably on the surface. This gets worse the further the display lid is opened. We cannot say whether this is a unique problem of our test device or whether it is a general problem of all Vostro 3460 laptops. (DELL P9TJ0 Battery)

The DELL Vostro 3460's lid warps easily. The hinges keep the lid firmly in position. Opening it with one hand is possible. However, the lid should be opened slowly because the laptop would otherwise lift from the surface.

As in many other midrange computers, the trackpad of this Dell Vostro 3460 is anything but smooth and precise. As with so many teams midrange appreciate hearing a mouse with which to direct our pointer. If instead we liked the size of your fingerprint. Escape all the attention you get at other teams and almost hidden, and that sensor is not unsightly but so little we like more of an accessory that we can dip into if we need it, without its presence is a problem.

Connectivity

Quite a few modifications have been made in the field of connectivity in contrast to the Vostro 3450. Both a VGA out and HDMI port are on the Vostro 3460's left. Moreover, you'll find two USB 3.0 ports and two audio jacks (headphone, microphone). The laptop's right provides a third and fourth USB 3.0 port. The Gigabit Ethernet socket is also here. The rear harbors the power socket and the slot for a Kensington lock. The card reader (SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro) is now on the front. An Express Card slot is no longer available, which is too bad because an expansion option is unnecessarily lost with that. (FUJITSU FPCBP316 Battery)

Communication

Dell's laptop builds up a cabled connection to the Internet via an Atheros AR8161/8165 Gigabit Ethernet chip. Intel's Centrino Wireless-N 2230 WLAN module connects to wireless networks. The module supports the 802.11 b/g/n standards, as well as Bluetooth standard 4.0. A webcam is also installed. As usual, the webcam is located in the display's bezel. Some Vostro 3460 models also sport a UMTS module, which our test device does not feature.

Keyboard

The keyboards in the Vostro 3450 and Vostro 3460 are virtually the identical. The Vostro 3460 features a chiclet keyboard. The main keys have a size of 14 x 14 mm and the gap between the keys is 4 mm. The key drop and stroke are on a par with the Vostro 3450. We are satisfied with both units. Overall, the Vostro 3460's keyboard enables pleasant typing. It also sports a key light, which is turned off automatically when not used for a short time. The light can be set to three levels: bright, dim and off. However, it does not feature automatic brightness control. According to Dell, the keyboard is spill-resistant.

Touchpad

The touchpad's size of 90 x 49 mm is bigger than in the DELL Vostro 3450 (84 x 41mm). Moreover, the Vostro 3460's metal rim is painted. Otherwise, both touchpads are similar. The Vostro 3460's roughened surface ensures good gliding traits and it is possible to easily navigate with the finger. We were disappointed about the poor click sensitivity. We had to tap the touchpad with a bit more force before the click was detected. The touchpad features multi-touch functions and thus allows gesture controls such as two-finger zoom. Both mouse keys are implemented below the touchpad and have a clearly palpable pressure point.

Display

As in the Vostro 3450, Dell again installs a matte 14 inch screen in the Vostro 3460. The screen features a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and an LED backlight. Regrettably, Dell uses a much darker screen in the Vostro 3460. We ascertained an average brightness of 149.8 cd/m2. The prior Vostro 3450 model achieved a rate of 224.1 cd/m2. Even the Thinkpad Edge S430 reached a better result with 215.9 cd/m2. The Vostro 3460's screen illumination of 89 percent is on a par with both the Vostro 3450 (87%) and Thinkpad Edge S430 (88%). Dell does not offer higher resolution displays for the Vostro 3460.

The Vostro 3460's black value of 0.97 cd/m2 is better than in the Vostro 3450 (1.6 cd/m2) and Thinkpad Edge S430 (1.33 cd/m2) and places it in the midfield. In addition to the average if not low black values, all three laptops do not supply breathtaking contrast rates either (Vostro 3460: 159:1; Vostro 3450: 147:1; LENOVO ThinkPad Edge S430: 169:1) and are not far apart. Thus, Dell's Vostro 3460 is not suitable for professional graphic design or image processing. The screen can neither reproduce the sRGB nor the Adobe RGB color space.

Despite the low brightness and poor contrast, the DELL Vostro 3460 makes a good impression in outdoor use. The screen's matte surface pays off here. Nevertheless, direct sunlight should be avoided because the screen cannot outshine the sun.

The Vostro 3460's viewing angle stability is on the expected level. The picture distorts quickly when the screen's vertical viewing angle is changed, unlike the horizontal viewing angle where the picture remains stable over the entire angle.

Speakers

The Vostro 3460's speakers are located on the laptop's bottom. There is an audible improvement compared with the Vostro 3450. The speakers produce a pleasant soundscape and even speech is intelligible. The speakers are more than sufficient considering that this is an office device. Should you not like its sound, it is always possible to connect external speakers or headphones to the laptop. (TOSHIBA PA3921U-1BRS Battery)

Verdict

Dell releases an office device that easily outdoes the Vostro 3450 precursor in terms of performance. It supplies more power and better battery run times. However, this takes its toll on noise and temperature development. The noise could actually be a make and break criterion for many buyers. The fan runs continuously and recurrently achieves annoying noise levels. If you are interested in this laptop you should compare it with a model devoid of an Nvidia GPU and / or weaker CPU. It is likely that laptops with this equipment will not produce as much noise. We also have to mention the fairly dark screen here. It can be strenuous to gaze on a dark screen over a longer period. If you can live with these drawbacks, the Vostro 3460 will be a solid office device for everyday use - like already the Vostro 3450.

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Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Notebook Review, 4YRJH / 8858X computer batteries

Property: original computer batteries Battery Type:Li-ion Battery Voltage:11.1V Battery Capacity:60Wh / 97Wh Battery Color:Black

DELL 8858X Battery Life

Dell ships the notebook with a 4YRJH 6-cell lithium-ion battery rated at 48 Wh.
To determine the maximum run time during idle, we deactivated the WLAN, turned the display brightness all the way down, and enabled the power-saver profile. Our Inspiron manged to run for 4 hours and 45 minutes.

To determine battery life using a more realistic scenario, we subjected the test candidate to our WLAN-surf-test. Surfing the internet using WLAN (via an automated script) with a display brightness of 150 cd/m², we measured a run time of 3 hours before having to plug in the adapter.

Those wanting to watch a movie better check the feature length first: a DVD shouldn't be longer than 1 hour and 41 minutes, a Blu-ray 1 hour and 25 minutes.

When we ran our load test using DELL 312-1242 Battery Eater Classic, which renders an animated 3D-scene and places a heavy load on the processor and the graphics card, we recorded a run time of 1 hour. Charging the battery takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Although the processor is able to supply full power while the laptop is on battery, 3DMark 06 showed a drop from 9615 to 5291 points, indicating that the graphics subsystem is running at reduced capacity.

Case

The design is completely new. The unusual placement of the hinges, a distinctive feature of older Inspiron and Vostro models, has been abandoned in favor of a new design. The hinges are now located at the far back of the base unit. Unfortunately, the display lid still can only be tilted back about 140°. The lid is made out of plastic which accepts the interchangeable aluminum covers as inserts. With the cover in place, the display is very resistant to any pressure applied. The hinges are strong and easily keep the display in the desired position.

The base of the unit, save for the palm rest, is made from plastic. The chassis is torsionally very rigid but the surface areas deform under pressure. Build quality could be improved: the top appears well constructed, on the sides we noticed uneven gaps. The locking mechanism for the battery is very solid and user friendly. (TOSHIBA PA3904U-1BRS batteries) 

Most of the surfaces are non-glossy. The interchangeable aluminum cover and the palmrest are made from black anodized aluminum and feature an embossed (but subtle) honeycomb pattern. The sides are made from silver plastic. The three quick access buttons and the keyboard panel are painted glossy.

With Switch, Dell is trying to separate the Inspiron notebooks from the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, the selection of covers leaves to be desired. At this time, only a pink, a red, and a blue cover are available for the standard Inspiron 15R. Additional aluminum covers are not offered. The process of changing the cover is easy and thoroughly explained.

Connectivity

Port selection is above average. The front houses a card reader (compatible with SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC(+), MS (PRO), and xD). The right side is home to a Blu-ray optical drive in the front and two USB 3.0 and the Gigabit LAN jack towards the back.

The notebook is not particularly well suited for left-handers wanting to use an external mouse: the headphone- and microphone-jack, a regular USB 3.0 and one USB 3.0 that is always powered, are on the left side towards the front, followed by a HDMI port. A VGA port and the power jack are located behind the cooling fan outlet. No ports are located on the back.

Keyboard

The keyboard is different from the predecessor's: while the design is similar, the numeric keypad is missing. The keyboard is now the same one found on some Vostro models. A backlit keyboard, the same one the Vostro V131 features, is available as an option (40 Euro) on the top-of-the line model. Typing is a pleasure: the key travel is not too short and the feedback is solid.

Aside from the fairly big and backlit power button, the Inspiron features three shortcut buttons on the top right. The first one opens Windows Mobility Center, which provides an overview of frequently used settings. The second one opens a small window that lets the user choose a profil for the sound card (game, music, movie,..). The third key can be customized as desired. (DELL PRRRF batteries) 

Touchpad 

The touchpad is adequately sized and allows for precise control. It features a definite (and easily felt) perimeter although the extreme borders don't respond that well. Multitouch is supported and works without issues. The driver properties allow for a plethora of configuration settings so the touchpad can be customized as desired. A key combination turns the touchpad off; a little orange light glows above the touchpad when it's deactivated.

The two mouse buttons are a pleasure to use. They offer clear tactile feedback and respond well even if not pushed dead-center. 

Screen

The screen measures 15.6 inches on the diagonal. If you've not been able to decide between the more portable 13-inch laptops or the desktop-friendly 17-inch beasts, 15 inches is an excellent compromise.

Better still, it packs a Full HD resolution making it well suited for media use. Most 15-inch laptops tend to offer a lesser 1,600x900-pixel display or even 1,366x768 pixels -- the resolution offered on the lower-end model -- so it's great to see Dell providing 1080p on a display of this size.

The HD screen means you're now perfectly equipped to enjoy the Blu-ray drive shoved in around the side. I loaded up my Blu-ray copy of of The Art of Flight and spent blissful minutes watching snowboarder Travis Rice descend mountains at terrifying speeds. The screen proved fairly bright and adequately bold although I have seen more vivid screens. (DELL XPS L321X batteries) 

It'll certainly do the job for watching a casual movie on the sofa or for looking at Maru's latest exploits on YouTube, but if you want a more cinematic experience then you'll need to hook up your massive TV and sound system using the HDMI port.

The screen has been given a matte coating that helps cut reflections to a minimum. That's particularly handy if you often find yourself working in bright sunlight or harsh office lighting. Reading the fine detail in massive Excel spreadsheets is considerably more comfortable when you're not avoiding staring back at your gawping face.

Speakers

Dell heavily promotes the speakers in the Inspiron 15R. They are sourced from the US company Skullcandy and controlled using Waves MaxxAudio 4. The sound quality is definitely above average. Maximum volume is very high and the speakers never sound distorted. Unfortunately, there is no subwoofer in the Inspiron, so bass is severely lacking. While we can't recommend the Dell for audiophiles for that reason, for movie night or a presentation the system is perfectly usable.

Verdict

The Inspiron 15R Special Edition is designed to appeal predominately to the performance-oriented crowd. Dell spruced up the chassis with aluminum components and installed more powerful hardware to differentiate the model from the standard edition.

The Inspiron-series was completely redesigned. The models now have generously rounded corners and sport a timeless grey-black chassis. Build quality of the base unit and the display lid is good, although we noticed uneven gaps on the sides of the notebook.

Features and port selection are above average. A Blu-ray optical drive, four USB 3.0 ports, and a card reader capable of reading almost all formats are all included. Networking components are up to date and include WLAN b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and Gigabit-LAN.

The input devices allow using the laptop for extended periods of time without any issues. The keyboard, which provides good feedback, is also used in the Vostro notebooks. The touchpad is adequately sized and has very decent mouse buttons. (TOSHIBA PA3928U-1BRS batteries) 

The FullHD-display is a differentiating feature of the Special Edition compared to the standard Inspirons. Since it is very bright and none-glare, it can be used in bright conditions. The generous viewing angles make using the laptop easier and allow several people to watch a Blu-ray movie. The contrast ratio is quite impressive.

The Intel quad-core processor and the middle-class graphics card supplied by AMD allow decent performance and satisfy most use-case scenarios. Most current games can be played successfully in medium or sometimes even high quality mode. We were quite impressed with the very quiet and fast 1 TB hard disc drive. The notebook remains mostly silent but gets quite warm under load.

Manufacturers seem to pay more and more attention to the sound quality of their notebooks. Skullcandy provides the speakers for the Inspiron. The sound is indeed very impressive, albeit lacking bass.

The Inspiron 15R Special Edition is a multimedia-notebook that manages to leave a very good impression in those areas where it really matters: a great display, well-designed input devices, and plenty of performance.

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