warm nest

Good-looking does not always mean good-performing. VGP-BPS8B Though the Dell Inspiron 14R-1181MRB ($679.98 list, at Staples) is an attractive 14-inch laptop, it has trouble keeping pace with competing models from other manufacturers.VGP-BPS8 The laptop's roomy hard drive and solid user experience help compensate for its VGP-BPL9 speed limitations, but a bit more power would go a lot further to proving that the Inspiron 14R-1181MRB is more than just a pretty face.

DesignVGP-BPS10

Sedate but elegant in appearance, the VGP-BPS21 1.2-by-13.5-by-9.69-inch (HWD) 14R-1181MRB is designed to look like it's built from bushed metal: black on its lid (where the only other feature is a shiny Dell logo),VGP-BPS21A and aluminum surrounding the keyboard inside. The keys are not in the now-trendy Chiclet configuration,VGP-BPS21A/B but rather of the traditional, square and flat variety, and they provide a decently firm typing experience. The keys are black in color, which provides a Akku ProBook 4410s nice visual contrast to the dark gray touch pad (which supports multitouch gestures) and the brushed-aluminum buttons that adorn it.

Like just about every other laptop with a 14-inch widescreen display,Akku ProBook the native resolution on the 14R-1181MRB is 1,366 by 768. The display is connected to the body using Dell's new Akku ProBook 4415s hinge-forward design, which creates a small "lip" at the back of the body. Weighing about 4.9 pounds,Akku ProBook 4416s the 14R-1181MRB is heavier than other laptops of this class, but hardly too much so to carry.

FeaturesAkku ProBook 4510s

The 14R-1181MRB comes with a Akku ProBook 4515s dual-core 2.53-GHz Intel Core i3-M380 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory (though it can hold as much as 8GB), and a roomy 500GB, 5,400-rpm hard drive. The ports on the 14R-1181MRB are Akku ProBook 4520s sensibly laid out. On the back you'll find you'll find the power jack, the external VGA monitor connection, and a single USB 2.0 port. The left edge of the body is where you'll locate the Ethernet and HDMI ports, 7-in-1 card reader,Akku ProBook 4710s and a combo USB 2.0–eSATA jack for hooking up an external hard drive or other kinds of devices. On the right edge, you'll find one more USB 2.0 port,Akku ProBook 4720s in addition to headphone and microphone jacks and a DVD burner. A 1.3-megapixel webcam located in Akku ProBook 4210s the typical position, in the center of the top bezel. The 14R-1181MRB comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi and built-in Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth.

The laptop's operating system is the Akku dell Latitude D820 64-bit version of Windows Home Premium, and it comes loaded with trials of McAfee Security Center and Microsoft Office 2010, in addition to Roxio Burn for simplifying the process of burning data to blank optical discs.

Customers who buy this system from Staples can avail themselves Akku dell Latitude D830 of several services the retailer offers. This includes setting the new system up, data transfer from Akku dell Latitude D620 your old PC to your new one, software installation, and tech support and protection that range in price from $14.99 to $169.99 Akku dell Latitude D630.

Performance

Though the 14R-1181MRB will suffice for everyday tasks like Web browsing, word processing, and video watching, we found it lacking in almost all other performance areas. Of six comparable laptops we've recently looked at, the 14R-1181MRB came in dead last in all our tests. In the PCMark Vantage full-system test, it scored 5,374, lower than the notebook akku Editors' Choice Asus U41JF-A1 ($857 street, 4.5 stars) (5,560). In Handbrake, the 14R-1181MRB needed 2 minutes 59 seconds to transcode a video clip, more than the previous slowest finisher, the Samsung QX410-J01 ($829.99 street, 4 stars) (2 minutes 54 seconds). The 14R-1181MRB scored 2.1 points in the Cinebench R11.5 rendering test, again lower than the Samsung QX410-J01. In Photoshop CS5, when we tasked the laptop with Notebook Akku processing a large image using 12 different filters and effects, it needed 5 minutes 36 seconds—a full ten Apple Notebook Akku seconds longer than the HP Pavilion dm24-1253cl (3.5 stars, $799 list).

Nor is the 14R-1181MRB well suited for 3D gaming, due in no small part to its use of integrated Intel HD Graphics. It scored only 1,894 in our 3DMark06 test running at 1,024 by 768; the next-lowest finisher, the HP dm4-1253cl, earned 2,043. (At its native resolution, the system hardly did better—1,608, compared with the HP dm4-1253cl's 1,823.) We also weren't able to get either our Lost Planet 2 or Crysis benchmark tests to run on the laptop. Casual games, like those from PopCap, should be fine,asus Notebook Akku but anything more demanding will not be the 14R-1181MRB's forte.

In terms of battery life, the 14R-1181MRB leaves something to be desired. Though the laptop's 6-cell battery is touted as having up to 5 hours 15 minutes of battery life, we were only able to eke out 3 hours 45 minutes in our MobileMark 2007 battery test. The Sony Notebook Akku Satellite E205-S1980 (3.5 stars) managed 5:29, and the Asus U41JF-A1 finished in 8:19.

Stylish though the Dell Inspiron 14R-1181MRB may be, it has a lot of trouble living up to its appearance. It's outclassed by every other similarly priced laptop we've looked recently at in terms of performance, right on down from the Editors' Choice Asus U41JF-A1. Laptops like the Akku U41JF-A1 and the Samsung QX410-J01 have slightly higher prices, respectively, but unless your needs really don't go beyond the basics, they will give you a lot more capabilities for your coin.