It’s easy to like and write enthusiastically about expensive and fast notebooks, but what if you cross paths with a cheaper model like Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK-PUS? Well, it can not be complimented as much, but at the same time the price will be much lower too. If you have been pondering about getting this Dell, read my thoughts below first!
General performance
There’s not bad processor in Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK-PUS. It is Intel Core i5-7200U, the company’s newest (7th generation Kaby Lake based) unit. The specifications that likely interest you are 2.5GHz base frequency, 3.1GHz turbo boost and dual-core setup. With the 4700 points it’s getting in CPU Mark tests, the i5-7200U is a mid-range processor. In another words, it’s suitable for most tasks people are doing on their computers.
This machine has 8GB DDR4 2400MHz memory. If I recall correctly it comes on a single stick, leaving another slot on the motherboard free. The manual of this laptop states the maximum memory is 16 gigabytes. So, you are free to add more memory if you want to!
The weakest link in terms of performance would be the notebook’s hard drive. The 1000GB 5400RPM drive is far from a snappy solid-state drive when it comes to transfer rates. But there is a bright side to everything: this drive also rocks for storage. You can store heaps and heaps of data there, much more than you could on an SSD. By the way, it will be possible to upgrade this drive; you need to remove the laptop bottom for that. Secondary drive can not be added as there are no extra 2.5″ or M.2 slots inside.
Few words about gaming
Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK-PUS was not designed for gamers in mind, and that of course makes the gaming performance questionable. This one only has an integrated graphics card which won’t run games with too smooth frame rates. The Intel HD 620 graphics chip will run something like GTA 5 on low settings and resolution at poorish 25-30 frames per second. That said, if you play Sims 4 – or another easy-on-the-system game – expect much much better performance!
Ports and interfaces
Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK-PUS is equipped with the bare minimum of ports to get a modern user going. For example, there is HDMI output – which is most useful for hooking up a bigger display to the machine. Indeed, people sometimes like to use their PC monitors with their notebooks which pretty much emulates a desktop environment.
There are also three USB ports to get your peripherals connected. One of those is USB 2.0 and two are USB 3.0. Needless to say, a laptop this affordable doesn’t have USB Type-C connector at hand.
To get this laptop connected to Internet you have the two usual options. First there is a dual-band 802.11ac WiFi adapter which will capture signal from long range. It also works with Bluetooth 4.1. There’s also 100Mbps RJ-45 port on this notebook if you want to use cable.
This computer has an optical drive, that is something you don’t often see in laptops anymore. The DVD burner also has a friend, the media card reader, which eats SD, SDHC and SDXC cards.
Miscellaneous things
Yeah, Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK-PUS is not a fancy notebook, this also shows in the display. You are getting a 15.6″ 720p screen, nothing special I think. That said, it still suffices for most kind of uses, including occasional movies. The quality is not brilliant but if you are not overly demanding there shouldn’t be an issue. This model is not touch sensitive one.
The laptop contains a battery worthy of 4 cells and 40Whr energy. The manufacturer’s representative said it only lasts two to three hours – I find this a bit of an understatement. You should get something like four hours I think. Too bad the battery is integrated so it will be a tough job to replace it (if you ever need to, that is).
This is a budget laptop so no backlit keyboard is provided.
Why should I buy it?
The price-performance ratio on Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK-PUS is pretty good. You can throw many programs and software to this laptop and the Dell will tackle all of those. Examples include, but are not limited to, Adobe Photoshop and virtualization software.
There are disadvantages of having a conventional hard drive, but the biggest advantage is the never-ending storage. With the one terabyte you will have all the storage in the world, which equals to some hundreds of thousands of images, for example.
Why shouldn’t I buy it?
The biggest obstacle with this laptop is the lack of real gaming performance. That is the unfortunate thing with all of these cheaper models – they are only equipped with an integrated graphics card. All hope is of course not lost as you can play many less-demanding games if you are careful with the settings.
Summary
Being a typical low cost laptop, Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK-PUS is most useful as a starter notebooks and/or for homes, students and perhaps for smaller businesses. It does not really shine in any department, but will do the trick as long as your requirements are not through the roof. Gaming might be tricky due to integrated graphics card. But this price is hard to beat – if you can do with such a no-frills notebook there’s nothing holding you back from getting the Dell!
