He's BACK!!
He's BACK!!
So after a while of not buying/sellling laptops, I purchased another one last night. Dell Inspiron 7415. Not the greatest laptop in the world, and because the seller is here in Arizona I ended up having to pay sales tax (that hurt adding nearly $60 to what I expected the cost to be), but it has the Ryzen 5700U I've been looking for (Lucienne core, Zen2 basically a 4800U but faster Vega core and FAR more power management features), has 2 DIMMs for upgrading ram, and the price was right-ish. Going to dump the 7490 after 4 YEARS with that laptop.
Re: He's BACK!!
That is "slitheren" in your list of current systems? Looks like a nice rig. Is it fast:) I have no need of a laptop, but every time I hear someone has a new one I am jealous.
Re: He's BACK!!
It is the ratman (scarred lands D&D game, slitheren are a monster from that world, and I have a great love of them, my players however, have a hatred of them). Haven't gotten it in yet, but should be. Should be VERY similar in speed to the Thinkpad T14 (gen1). But better graphics (Vega 8 vs. Vega 7, and 200 MHz faster), and should be more energy efficient (since that's the MAJOR defining difference between Renoir and Lucienne is the energy efficiency features.
I really just wanted to play with a Lucienne to compare it to Renoir to see how the batteries do, but realized since it's BASICALLY a 4800U re-released it's significantly better than my 4650U (only without the "pro" features), and so I should probably keep it for at least a while. It's got a REALLY lousy LCD from what I've read, 300-nit max brightness. However, that's not THAT horrible, since that's ALSO what the L14g1 has. While granted it's impossible to use outdoors, indoors it works really just fine. Even the 250-nit that was stock on the T495 and L14g1 is TOLERABLE (although not pleasant) indoors.
I really just wanted to play with a Lucienne to compare it to Renoir to see how the batteries do, but realized since it's BASICALLY a 4800U re-released it's significantly better than my 4650U (only without the "pro" features), and so I should probably keep it for at least a while. It's got a REALLY lousy LCD from what I've read, 300-nit max brightness. However, that's not THAT horrible, since that's ALSO what the L14g1 has. While granted it's impossible to use outdoors, indoors it works really just fine. Even the 250-nit that was stock on the T495 and L14g1 is TOLERABLE (although not pleasant) indoors.
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crosscourt
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Re: He's BACK!!
Probably around $350-$400. When I sell it it'll have:
i5-8350U (v-pro unlike the 8250U)
Probably install Win10 and upgrade to Win11 since bare metal you can't use offline accounts that I can find
16GB DDR4 3200 (WAY faster than it can use, but that's what comes in the 7415)
512GB SSD (I'm pretty sure the 7415 comes with a 2230 drive, and this is the only 2280 NVMe I'm not currently using, wish I still had adapters, but got rid of my last one like almost 2 years ago)
Intel AX200 Wifi-6 + Bluetooth 5.0
FHD 14" LCD
OEM barrel connector plug
It's not a bad laptop even now, and given it's specs I could PROBABLY get a bit more than that from it, but not much. It's just undercutting the prices similar systems are listed on ebay for @$400. Of course, 1 thing that it does have going for it is it's in fantastic condition due to how well my laptops get treated. I don't let anyone abuse them!!
i5-8350U (v-pro unlike the 8250U)
Probably install Win10 and upgrade to Win11 since bare metal you can't use offline accounts that I can find
16GB DDR4 3200 (WAY faster than it can use, but that's what comes in the 7415)
512GB SSD (I'm pretty sure the 7415 comes with a 2230 drive, and this is the only 2280 NVMe I'm not currently using, wish I still had adapters, but got rid of my last one like almost 2 years ago)
Intel AX200 Wifi-6 + Bluetooth 5.0
FHD 14" LCD
OEM barrel connector plug
It's not a bad laptop even now, and given it's specs I could PROBABLY get a bit more than that from it, but not much. It's just undercutting the prices similar systems are listed on ebay for @$400. Of course, 1 thing that it does have going for it is it's in fantastic condition due to how well my laptops get treated. I don't let anyone abuse them!!
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crosscourt
- Posts: 11135
- Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:38 pm
- Location: Wash DC
- Contact:
Re: He's BACK!!
According to ebay tracking, I should have the laptop in on Wednesday. Course, given I could LITERALLY go there and pick it up (20-30 minute drive from my house), if he actually ships it before Tuesday, I'll probably have it the day after he ships.
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crosscourt
- Posts: 11135
- Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:38 pm
- Location: Wash DC
- Contact:
Re: He's BACK!!
It was finally dropped off at the post office today, and is officially expected to arrive tomorrow.
Re: He's BACK!!
So, prettier than I was expecting. Very heavy, one of the heaviest 14" 2-IN-1's I've ever felt. Still not horrible though. I think they must have used multiple LCD's, as I had been reading multiple reviews of near 300-nit brightness, and a couple reviews of barely over 200-nit brightness. This LCD is DEFINITELY closer to 300 than 200. Quite tolerable indoors. I don't expect anything with a glossy screen to actually be usable outdoors, and this does indeed not inspire any confidence of being able to read it outdoors.
People must hate tapping, as the touchpad on this seems really good to me. It tracks really well, feels good, easy to glide across. Tapping works perfectly. I haven't tried the pseudo-buttons, but they must be what everyone complains about.
The keyboard is a bit spongy. Not as bad as the Latitude 3379, but not really pleasant feeling to use. Works well, I can type quite quickly on it, there's just no enjoyment in it.
Initial performance was...less than amazing. In Geekbench benchmarks, it was hitting UNDER the T495 (Picasso, ak Zen+) in single core, and BARELY exceeding the L14gen1 (Renoir, AKA Zen 2) which only has 6 cores. Updated the BIOS from 1.4 to 1.6, and WOW...what a difference. Geekbench 4 multi-core went up 7,000 points. Geekbench 5 multicore went up NEARLY a full 1,000. The scores are now VERY similar to the T14 Gen1, in fact the multicore score in Geekbench 4 actually beat the Gen1 AND Gen2. And it's not just a "benchmark" difference. I can FEEL the difference in responsiveness. It's really night and day for using it. It felt downright sluggish when I was installing it, now it feels snappy and spry.
The build quality is exactly what I expected. Despite being heavy, it's pretty crappy fit and finish. But the FEEL is one of high quality. So I'm happy. Overall, definitely satisfied with what I got for the price.
People must hate tapping, as the touchpad on this seems really good to me. It tracks really well, feels good, easy to glide across. Tapping works perfectly. I haven't tried the pseudo-buttons, but they must be what everyone complains about.
The keyboard is a bit spongy. Not as bad as the Latitude 3379, but not really pleasant feeling to use. Works well, I can type quite quickly on it, there's just no enjoyment in it.
Initial performance was...less than amazing. In Geekbench benchmarks, it was hitting UNDER the T495 (Picasso, ak Zen+) in single core, and BARELY exceeding the L14gen1 (Renoir, AKA Zen 2) which only has 6 cores. Updated the BIOS from 1.4 to 1.6, and WOW...what a difference. Geekbench 4 multi-core went up 7,000 points. Geekbench 5 multicore went up NEARLY a full 1,000. The scores are now VERY similar to the T14 Gen1, in fact the multicore score in Geekbench 4 actually beat the Gen1 AND Gen2. And it's not just a "benchmark" difference. I can FEEL the difference in responsiveness. It's really night and day for using it. It felt downright sluggish when I was installing it, now it feels snappy and spry.
The build quality is exactly what I expected. Despite being heavy, it's pretty crappy fit and finish. But the FEEL is one of high quality. So I'm happy. Overall, definitely satisfied with what I got for the price.