Dell Inspiron 15z-5523

As touch-enabled Windows 8 ultrabooks continue popping up with ever-increasing frequency, the Dell Inspiron 15z-5523 ($1,093.99 list, $899 direct) faces some pretty stiff competition. But itt still manages to stand out, thanks to its solid performance and a feature set that includes a built-in optical drive, a handsomely designed chassis, and a spill-resistant keyboard. All said, it's worthy of consideration for users looking to get work done while dabbling with moderate media creation on the side.

Design and Features
As far as looks go, the Inspiron 15z-5523 is a handsomely designed system. Its brushed aluminum chassis is decked out in an attractive Moon Silver finish, which contrasts nicely with the silver lining that wraps around the system's rounded edges.

Measuring 9.84 by 15.04 by 0.91 inches (HWD), the 15z-5523 is slightly thicker than an average ultrabook, but that can be attributed to its touch screen; Intel allows touch-enabled ultrabooks to be thicker and heavier in order to accommodate the thicker touch panel. Accordingly, its weight of 5.19 pounds is the bulkier side of the ultrabook spectrum alongside its touch-enabled brethren like the HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4t-1100 (4.77 pounds); by contrast, non-touch ultrabooks generally weigh less than four pounds, as seen in the Toshiba Satellite U845W-S430 (3.64 pounds). At any rate, carrying the 15z-5523 isn't terribly difficult, and its curved edges allow it to easily be slipped it into a laptop bag without being a burden.

The Inspiron 15z-5523's black chiclet-style keyboard is equally easy on the eyes and, despite some flexing, is fairly comfortable to type on since it avoids the shallow key travel that's typical of ultrabooks. Moreover, it's also backlit as well as spill-resistant, so users who prefer working in darker environments or who like to keep a drink handy won't be left in the cold. Three dashboard buttons above the keyboard provide quick access to tools that manage the system's settings ("Windows Mobility Center"), audio options ("Dell Audio"), and configure designated programs or links to launch with the touch of a button ("Dell Instant Launch"). The multitouch touchpad is responsive, so pinch-zooming and two-finger scrolling can be executed smoothly. Moreover, it features full Windows 8 gesture support, so users have the option of pulling up the Charms menu or cycling through open apps without having to reach across their desks to swipe at the touch display.

The 15z-5523's 15.6-inch touch display is just as handsome as the rest of the system. Although it's ringed by a bezel, its edge-to-edge glass finish creates a bezel-free look. The display dishes out plenty of eye candy as bright colors and crisp text splash across the screen. Its maximum resolution of 1,366 by 768 is good enough for 720p videos, which comes in handy since the system has a slot-loading DVD burner, a rarity in the ultrabook universe. Moreover, the display's capacitive touch technology supports the same gestures as the multitouch-touchpad, and its combination of durable Gorilla Glass construction and a wobble-free design make for a very user-friendly way to navigate Windows 8's tiled interface.

A pair of Skullcandy speakers at the front of the system belt out sounds at a reasonable volume that's loud enough to fill a medium-sized room. While the bass levels aren't as robust as those of the Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4t-1100's integrated subwoofer, the speakers are still pretty satisfying and provide clear audio without sounding tinny.

The selection of I/O ports on the 15z-5523 is on par with that of most ultrabooks. The left side of the system sports a pair of USB 3.0 ports, an 8-in-1 media card reader, and the built-in optical drive. The left side houses an additional pair of USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, a combined mic/headphone jack, and a full-size HDMI port. The latter is a great touch, since it allows for a direct connection to a larger display without requiring any adapters. Even better, the 15z-5523 features Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) technology, so wires can be eliminated altogether when users beam audio and video directly to a larger display outfitted with an aftermarket adapter like the Netgear Push2TV ($99 list).

The Inspiron 15z-5523 sports a 500GB 5,400rpm HDD and a 32GB SSD. The latter operates behind the curtain to speed up boot times and the loading of frequently opened apps. The HDD, meanwhile, comes with a fair amount of preloaded software. As is often the case, some of this software is useful (Microsoft Office 2010 Starter, CyberLink Media Suite Essentials, a generous 15-month subscription to McAfee Security Center), while the rest can be classified as bloatware (Windows Live Essentials, shortcuts to eBay and Skype) and proprietary software (Dell Backup and Recovery, Dell Digital Delivery, and so on). The 15z-5523 is covered by a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

Performance
Armed with a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U CPU and 6GB RAM, the 15z-5523 performed admirably on our benchmark tests. Its PCMark 7 score of 4,418 points led the pack, with both the Toshiba U845W-S430 (4,237 points) and HP 4t-1100 (4,093 points) trailing behind by varying degrees. The Inspiron 15z-5523's Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.28 points, meanwhile, pulled ahead of the Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4t-1100 (1.93 points) but lagged behind that of the Asus VivoBook S400CA-UH51 (2.40 points) and, to a greater extent, the Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 (3.58 points). Overall, although its raw processing power doesn't land at the top of the heap, the 15z-5523 is nonetheless capable reading data quickly and running multiple programs simultaneously, so the system won't slow to a crawl whenever users multitask.

The 15z-5523 also displayed enough agility for moderate multimedia creation. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in 1 minute 29 seconds, falling a second short of the class-leading Toshiba U845W-S430 (1:28) while outpacing the HP 4t-1100 (1:37) and Asus UX32VD-DB71 (1:43). Moreover, it breezed past the rest of the pack in our Photoshop CS6 benchmark test (5:33), leaving both the VivoBook S400CA-UH51 and Satellite U845W-S430 (6:28 each) choking in the dust.

The 15z-5523 performed similarly well in our 3DMark 11 benchmark tests (1,143 points in Entry-level settings; 211 points in Extreme-level settings), chugging past the Asus S400CA-UH51 (1,101 points and 187 points, respectively) while only falling slightly short of the top-performing Toshiba U845W-S430 (1,196 points and 213 points, respectively). At the end of the day, the 15z-5523 is capable of handling a fair amount of content creation, but enthusiasts would be better suited with a system featuring a discrete GPU like the Asus UX32VD-DB71.

Like the rest of the systems in its class, the Inspiron 15z-5523 wasn't designed with high-end gaming in mind. Accordingly, it came as no surprise that its integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU failed to breach the critical 30 frames per second (fps) playability barrier when it came to 3D games that required quick movement and high levels of detail. As such, its performance in our Aliens vs. Predator benchmark tests (13fps with medium-quality settings in 1,366-by-768 resolution; 7fps with maximum-quality in 1,366-by-768 resolution) was roughly on par with the Toshiba U845W-S430 (12fps and 6fps, respectively). Likewise, its performance on our Heaven benchmark tests (12fps with medium-quality settings in 1,366-by-768 resolution; 5fps with maximum-quality in 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) was similar to that of the Asus S400CA-Uh51 (10fps and 5fps, respectively) and on equal footing with the Toshiba U845W-S430 (12fps and 5fps, respectively).

The 15z-5523's non-removable 44WHr battery was an average performer person our battery tests. It clocked in at 5 hours 7 minutes, which fell in between the Asus S400CA-UH51 (4:18) and Toshiba U845W-S430 (5:50). Consequently, you'll be able to get a fair amount of work done without being tethered to a power outlet, but don't expect to work for an entire day on a single charge.

The Dell Inspiron 15z-5523 boasts solid performance and a feature set that helps deliver a smooth and intuitive Windows 8 experience. While it's not quite as powerful as our current Editors' Choice for ultrabooks, the Asus Zenbook UX32VD-DB71, it nonetheless gives plenty of bang for the buck, making it worthy of consideration for anyone on the market for a system capable of delivering equal doses of productivity and entertainment.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
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