Dell Inspiron 1420

As the laptop market gets more competitive, major manufacturers have started employing every trick in the book to assure visibility in an increasingly crowded market. This can be as subtle as bundling accessories to introducing skins/overlays for laptops – or as drastic as taking an existing range and rebuilding it with a fashionable touch.

The latter move is what Dell has recently opted for with its 14xxn and 15xxn ranges. These laptops have also been moved to the Centrino Duo platform, and offer significantly upgraded specifications including DX10 capable graphical chipsets.

How do these laptops perform? Let’s find out.

Dell products have never been a contender among the fashionable set. That particular tag has always been more associated with Sony’s Vaio and other brands such as Fujitsu/Asus. This has not changed even with the introduction of the new lines, including the laptop under review – the Dell Inspiron 1420. They do look significantly better, but lack the polish and finish of (say) HP’s DV range.

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However, when you compare these to previous Dell products they are vastly improved. For starters the frame and size of the laptops have shrunk. The lid area is significantly thinner and the monotonous use of black/silver or grey/silver has now been abandoned in favor of colored lids and a darker silver tone.

The finish too has improved, from looking rather tacky to a smoother appearance that is actually visually appealing. However the choice of lid colors leaves a lot to be desired. The color choices range from the very sober to some downright “OMGSTABMYEYESOUTRIGHTNOW!” hues. While a plethora of choice is a good thing, a more judicious color selection would have done wonders for this laptop.

Thankfully the exterior changes have not resulted in compromises in the construction of the laptop. The plastic used is quite sturdy and we didn’t hear any squeaks. The hinges are not super-reinforced (which seems to have become the norm), but they are quite sturdy and will weather quite well.

The laptop’s exterior is not the only thing that’s undergone changes. The keyboard is now a lot more responsive. Keys have better elevation and offer very good tactile feedback. The touchpad has been reduced in size and offers better traction for more precise control. This might cause problems for people with large hands, however, as the reduced size might feel a little cramped.

The LCD panel has also received an upgrade. Though the size remains the same (14.1 inches), the resolution has been raised to a widescreen 1440x900 (16:10) from the previous 1280x800. Apart from this, the LCD panel continues to offer the same level of sharpness and display that earlier Dell models offered. Text/image display is crisp, and watching movies on the larger resolution is quite enjoyable, keeping in mind that this is a media center laptop.

In terms of peripheral connectivity, nothing much has changed. The 1420 offers four USB ports, Firewire and a dual-layer DVD-RW. For further details, see the specifications table at the end of this review.
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One of the nicest things about Dell laptops is the sheer variety of customization they offer, and the 1420 is no exception. The choice of processors ranges from the T5250 to the topmost T7500, RAM is upgradeable to 4 GB, and there is even a choice of upgrading to an 802.11n chipset.

Our test piece came configured with the best possible configuration i.e. a Centrino Duo T7500 processor (clocked at 2.2 GHZ), 160 GB 7200 RPM drive, 2 GB of RAM, enhanced resolution of 1440x900, and a DX-10 compatible 8400M GS graphical chipset. Barring the graphical chipset, these are some rather heavy-duty specifications and offer a very good computing experience.

This was apparent in our PCMark test. The 1420 managed to get a consistent score of over 5000, topping out over 5042. I’m sure it could easily have managed 5800 to 6200, if Dell had offered an 8600GT chipset with this laptop.

The 3DMark06 for the 8400m GS was 1266. This score shows the relative weakness of the 8400M GS chipset. However, one should bear in mind that the 8400M GS supports DX10 and is Windows Vista Aero ready. It’s also quite good for watching movies as it supports the Purevideo 2 hardware decoding.

In our battery life test, the 1420 was able to achieve a credible score of 2 hours 25 minutes. Our normal battery test consists of a few rounds of file transfers, music listening and movie watching, along with routine work. This drains the battery rather quickly, so the fact that the Dell achieved this score shows good power management.

The Inspiron 1420 is a typical Dell product. It offers extremely powerful performance, great features, and much customization. Though a fully beefed-up laptop like ours would cost Rs 66,000 upwards and probably as much as Rs. 75,000 , a base model comes for only Rs 40,000. At any price point between the two, the 1420 offers segment-leading performance and incredible VFM.

We would unhesitatingly recommend this laptop to anyone who has a budget of Rs 60,000. You will not find a better deal.

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**Specification Table
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