Being a business laptop equipped with 8GB RAM and Core i7 processor meant that day-to-day activity on the Vostro 5471 is a cinch. I didn’t find any lag when running multiple Google Chrome tabs, with multiple other programmes running in the background such as music and video streaming like Netflix all opened at the same time.
Some reviews I’ve seen complained about the performance when playing games on this unit. However, it must be kept in mind that this isn’t what the device is built for. Having merely a base Intel 620 Graphics card isn’t quite going to cut it where high performance games are concerned.
So, if you’re a regular business user, you would find that the Vostro 5471 performs well in typical situations. I also found the startup time for the unit quite good and this is no surprise as there is a combination of SSD and hard drive in this unit.
A lot of laptops are beginning to offer this option simply because there is a trade-off between the quick performance of SSD and large storage space, which is much cheaper when delivered on a hard drive.
With 128GB of SSD for the regular working files and the option to shift large video files to the 1TB hard drive, you’re pretty much protected from running out of space. And if you need faster performance without adding weight, there is the SD expansion slot option.
Speaking about performance, the Vostro 5471 didn’t give out too much heat while running most apps. I only experienced a slight rise in temperature when streaming on YouTube as that is to be expected.
The one thing that irked me was the audio quality and volume. When streaming Netflix, I found the audio ‘thin’ and lacking in punch. It was also not as loud as I would have liked it. This is something you best check when considering the unit.
Also, battery life could have be slightly better. For the most part, I managed to squeeze about a working day out of it, but some days, it only went up to two-thirds of a day, depending on what you’re running in the background.
The thing about this is that if it’s a business laptop, this is kind of a let-down as you certainly don’t want to be caught off guard having to run around hunting for a plug point if you needed to give a presentation at the end of a business day.
As for the teleconference via the webcam via Skype, the tests I conducted were satisfactory; don’t expect 4K resolution but with a 720p camera over a stable broadband WiFi connection, it worked satisfactorily.
Meanwhile, trackpad usage was pretty good and given the generous space, it was quite easy to maneuver around. Finally, the only bundled software is the base Windows 10 and McAfee Security, both of which are fine to use.
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