The Dell Vostro 1520 is a budget notebook aimed at businesses. The Vostro 1520 is slightly thinner and lighter than its previous version Vostro 1510. It also comes with a better processor and graphic options.
System Specifications of Review laptop
The Vostro 1520 is available in a wide variety of configurations. The laptop under review had the following components.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5870 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Graphics: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
HDD: 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Memory: 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz, 2 DIMM
Display: 15.4 inch WXGA Anti-Glare LED Display
Weight: 5.42lbs
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Basic
Build Quality, Keyboard and Touchpad
Build quality is excellent. Vostro 1520 has an extremely rigid case that shows no flex at all. The keyboard is also very sturdy. The full sized keyboard is good for a budget business notebook. The touch sensitive buttons for media control are very responsive. The touchpad is slightly smaller but it works well.
Ports and Slots
Port selection is OK. There are 4 USB ports, VGA, Ethernet, Modem, 8-in-1 card reader, 54mm ExpressCard slot, FireWire. Web camera and Fingerprint reader are optional. The options that could have been included are HDMI, DVI and S-Video.
Performance and Internal Components
As we said earlier Vostro is available in a variety of configurations. If your demands are modest you can opt for the basic configuration with Core 2 Duo processor. You can get up to 320 GB of HDD. If speed of the system is your concern, you may want to buy the 128GB SSD at an additional cost of $400. Alternatively you can opt for a $50 upgrade to a 7200 rpm to give performance a quick boost. You can play most games on Vostro 1520 but not certainly those high-end graphic games. If you aren’t particular about gaming or graphics performance, you can opt for the cheaper Intel Integrated graphics option.
Battery Life
The standard 6-cell battery will give up to 5 hours of up time. If you need more battery life, you can opt for the extended 9-cell battery which should give up to 8 hours of battery life.
Audio
Speaker quality is good for a business notebook. Volume levels are good and with touch sensitive volume controls, you can easily turn the volume up or down.
Conclusion
There is nothing fancy about Vostro 1520. It is a business class notebook that would meet almost all of your needs. It is neither too big nor too small; neither too powerful nor too week; neither too cheap nor too expensive. Vostro is a good choice for the budget-minded consumer. It is sturdy and should last you four or five years.
Pros:
Sturdy; good build quality
Good keyboard
Cons:
Tends to heat up
