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Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (3530) review

Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (3530)

CHOICE Expert Rating

68%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  • Full-sized HDMI port
  • SD card slot
  • Can upgrade or replace some components (SSD, battery, RAM, Wi-Fi, plus add a 2.5in SATA drive)
Bad points

Bad Points

  • Poor storage write speed
  • Charger is not USB-C
  • Keyboard is not backlit
  • Noticeable rattle and movement when touchpad tapped

Type

Ultraportable
Ultrabook
Tablet mode
Operating system
Windows 11 Home

Recommended products

Recommended
Not recommended
Recommended for tablet use

Test results

CHOICE Expert Rating
68%
Performance score
57%
Tablet use score
N/A
Ease of use score
78%
Battery life score
61%
Display score
73%
Audio score
65%
Wi-Fi score
67%
Storage write-speed (MBps)
543
Storage read-speed (MBps)
3228
Wi-Fi speed (MBps)
57
Average battery life – heavy usage (hours)
4:37
Charging time to 80% full (h:min)
1:30
Expert tester comments
The Intel-based Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (3530) has a similar build quality to the AMD-based Inspiron 15 3000 (3535), but it has a higher price ($824 at the time of testing) and offers a bit more processing performance and better Wi-Fi for that extra money. However, the battery life wasn't great in our tests, averaging only 4hr 37min, and the storage suffered from the same inconsistent write speed issue we noticed in the Inspiron 3000 (3535). It's worth noting that this laptop has very good upgrade and repair potential, with the SSD, battery, RAM, and Wi-Fi module all replaceable, and there is even space to add an internal 2.5-inch SATA drive for extra storage.

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
C
Warranty (years)
1
Replaceable battery
Replace/upgrade RAM
Slots for additional RAM
Replace/upgrade storage
Slot for additional storage
Replace/upgrade Wi-Fi
Country of origin
China

Related products

Availability
Tested model

Cost

Price
$1,199.00

Specifications

Screen size (inches)
15.6
Native screen resolution (pixels)
1920 x 1080
Processor (CPU) type
Intel Core i5-1334U
CPU frequency (GHz)
1.3
RAM (GB)
16
Video graphics type
Intel Iris Xe
Storage capacity (GB)
512
Available user space (GB)
385
Storage type
SSD
Wi-Fi version
6
Weight of laptop (kg)
1.6
Weight of power supply (kg)
0.32
Size (mm, H x D x W)
22 x 235 x 358

Features

Screen finish
Matte
Touchscreen
USB-C
USB 2.0 ports
1
USB 3.0 ports
1
USB 4 as USB-C port
0
USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2, not Thunderbolt 3 or 4) ports
1
Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (as USB-C) ports
0
SD card slot (full-size)
SD card slot (micro)
HDMI port
Gigabit ethernet port
Rear camera
Backlit keyboard levels of brightness
0

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