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Dell Notebook. Disk Dell WR202KD128G E70245F5. Efi Dell EFI v2.50. Keyboard AT Translated Set 2 keyboard. Processor Advanced Micro Devices AMD A9-9420e RADEON R5, 5 COMPUTE CORES 2C+3G. System Dell Inspiron 3180. Touchpad DELL087F:00 04F3:3082 Touchpad.
BestDell Laptops Under $500Windows Central2019
Dell makes some of the very best Windows laptops money can buy. From the Alienware gaming machines to the incredible XPS 13 and XPS 15 and beyond, there's a lot to choose from. But laptops like these are also very pricey. Not wanting to spend thousands shouldn't exclude you from having a great laptop, and in the case of Dell, you can get something good for under $500 like the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1.
In keeping the cost of a laptop low, there are always compromises to be made. But in the case of the latest Inspiron 14 2-in-1 those compromises are minimal. For one, you're getting an 8th Gen Intel Core i3 and up to 8GB of RAM for under $500. It's only a dual-core i3, but it does have four threads at least.
What's also astonishing about this affordable laptop is that Dell has NVMe SSD storage in all configurations, even the cheapest. Superfast storage is definitely a huge bonus since there are still plenty of low-cost laptops out there using a slow HDD or eMMC for their storage choices.
As it's a 2-in-1, you also get a touch display, albeit only a HD resolution one, and it folds all the way around so you can use it like a tablet, or just prop it up when you want to watch a movie. It's incredibly versatile, and while it's a shame you can't get one with a Core i5 for under $500, it's still the best of the bunch.
Pros:
- Superfast NVMe SSD storage
- Convertible touch display
- Great looking design
- Convertible
Best Overall
Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 5481
Well made and well equipped
It's crazy you can get NVMe SSD storage for under $500, as well as a convertible touchscreen and four-thread CPU.
The Inspiron 15 3585 is incredibly well equipped for a sub-$500 laptop. Part of that is down to what's inside it, with this variant going with an AMD APU over an Intel chip or NVIDIA graphics. With either a Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 inside, you get a lot of performance without a high asking price.
The one to go for is definitely the version with the Ryzen 5 2500U inside, though you'll have to spec it with only 4GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive to keep it under budget. That's not a problem though, as Dell left it easily upgradeable, so you can add an SSD and some more RAM if what comes included isn't enough for you.
The Ryzen 5 2500U is a superb laptop processor, though. Pound for pound it still falls a little behind an Intel Core i5 in single and multi-core operations, but not a huge amount, and its party piece is the Radeon Vega 8 graphics with 1GB of dedicated VRAM. This isn't a gaming laptop, but you can definitely play a bunch of games on it, something you wouldn't be getting from a sub-$500 Intel powered laptop. As an all-rounder, this is a really great package.
Pros:
- Powerful integrated Vega graphics
- Quad-core processor with eight threads
- Solid build quality
Runner-up
Dell Inspiron 15 3585
Great performance for an amazing price
![Specs Specs](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125356597/894752421.jpg)
The one to get is the Ryzen 5 2500U powered version with Vega 8 graphics, since it's got really good performance, even capable of gaming for under $500.
Best Budget Convertible - Dell Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1
This little 2-in-1 is a highly-portable laptop with an 11-inch 1366x768 resolution display that folds around to be used either as a tablet or to be propped up when you want to watch a movie. The entry-level model comes with 32GB of eMMC storage and 4GB of RAM, but you can spend a little more and get 128GB of storage.
eMMC and not SSD is a little disappointing, but it's a credit to Dell that you can even get a decent convertible laptop for this kind of money. It uses AMD hardware inside, though here you'll find the AMD A9-9420e dual-core APU with Radeon R5 graphics. It's not as good as Ryzen, but in a small laptop like this and for everyday computing it's fine, and since it's passively cooled it's also quiet.
And even though it's small, it's still well equipped with ports. You get a full-sized HDMI output, microSD card slot, even USB 3.1. That's fantastic to see on a really cheap laptop.
Pros:
- Great price
- Convertible with touch display
- Quiet operation
Best Budget Convertible
Dell Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1
Small touch-friendly PC on a budget
It's not without its flaws but that you can get a decent convertible for this price is a remarkable achievement in itself.
The Inspiron 11 3180 is a good choice if you're hunting for a laptop for the little ones in your life. It's compact, affordable and most of all, durable. Because you know it'll get banged and dropped and need to feel confident it'll survive.
You get excellent battery life, a decent 11-inch 1366x768 resolution display and a robust build quality that can take the kind of abuse kids deal out. And at 11 inches, it'll fit in their bag just great for the trips to and from school.
The latest versions have all switched to AMD APUs, specifically the 7th generation A6 or A9, with 32GB or 128GB of eMMC storage and 4GB of RAM. Sadly, the storage is a little slow, but at the price you can buy one for it's not much of a complaint.
Pros:
- Great price
- Durable construction
- Small enough for a school bag
Best for Kids
Dell Inspiron 11 3180
A good laptop for the little ones
A compact, durable laptop that looks pretty good, has decent hardware and a brilliantly low price perfect for the little ones' school work.
Conclusion
Dell's expensive XPS and gaming laptops might make the most noise, but it's certainly not the case that you have to spend mega bucks to get a good laptop from the company. The Inspiron 14 2-in-1 is proof of that. Sure, the display resolution is a compromise, but everything else about it is top quality, especially seeing the super fast NVMe storage in a sub-$500 laptop.
And while unflattering, perhaps, that's why it's the best choice. It's the least compromising in areas that actually make a significant difference to user experience. We'd all love to gaze at a gorgeous high-resolution display all day, but it's simply not going to happen under $500. By knocking a little bit off and taking it down to 768p, it still looks decent at 14-inches, but allows Dell to invest more in areas that will really matter.
Fast storage, a good processor and a good amount of RAM means the actual business of using this laptop will be far better than the others on this list. With the added bonus that it's still got a touch screen.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Richard Devine Richard Devine is an Editor at Windows Central. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently you'll find him covering all manner of PC hardware and gaming.
Daniel Rubino is executive editor of Windows Central. He has been covering Microsoft since 2009 back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Surface, HoloLens, Xbox, and future computing visions. Follow him on Twitter: @daniel_rubino.
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Buyers GuideAll our picks for the very best laptops with USB-C ports
Looking for a new laptop that has USB-C ports? Perhaps you need Thunderbolt 3, or maybe Thunderbolt 3 isn't a requirement for you. Either way, we've rounded up what we think are the best USB-C laptops available to buy today.
Educators often like to use Chromebooks in the classroom, because laptops with Google's operating system are easy to use and hard to infect with malware. To meet students' needs, a number of laptop makers have built durable, low-cost Chromebooks that can take a beating and handle elementary school curricula without breaking the bank. Starting at $229 ($259 as tested), Dell's 11-inch Chromebook 3180 is a solid but unremarkable choice for schools, combining all-day battery life, a tough design and a set of LED lights on the back of the lid that students can use to virtually raise their hands in class.
Specs
Design
The Dell Chromebook 3180's design is very basic. The outside is a muted black with the Dell logo in the center of the cover and a Chrome logo in one corner. Another corner has a narrow white bar, which is actually a three-color light (red, yellow and green) that can be used in a classroom to notify the teacher that child has a question or needs help (like raising a hand). The corners are rounded, and the surface of this Chromebook feels slightly rough. There is a rubber-like ring around the outside of the bottom of the computer to help absorb shocks.
Inside, there is an 11.6-inch wide-screen display with the Dell logo below and a webcam above. The keyboard is island-style, and the deck has the same look and feel as the outside of the computer.
Dell placed most of the Chromebook 3180's ports and slots along its left side. There, you'll find two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, a mini-SD card reader and the AC power jack. On the right are a combination headphone/microphone jack, a Noble Wedge Lock slot and a charging-status light.
At 11.9 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches and 2.8 pounds, the Chromebook 3180 is just slightly thinner and wider than some other student Chromebooks, such as the Asus Chromebook C202(11.5 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches, 2.6 pounds) and the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 C731T(11.7 x 8.3 x 0.9 inches, 2.8 pounds). It is very close in size to the Lenovo N22 Touch Chromebook (11.8 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches, 2.6 pounds).
Durability
You wouldn't want to hand a fifth-grader a laptop that can't survive a few bumps and bruises. Dell says the Chromebook 3180 has passed 15 different MIL-STD tests, including those for shocks, extreme temperatures and drops from 30 inches. Asus' Chromebook C202 is even tougher, surviving 4-foot drops onto concrete. The 3180's keyboard is sealed and spill-resistant, while the screen is made from scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Chromebook 3180's keyboard has snappy keys with solid feedback, good placement and none of the flex we find on many low-cost laptops. After using the computer for about 6 hours, I typed 75 words per minute on 10fastfingers.com, with a 2 percent error rate, which is very similar to my typical 77 wpm and 1 percent error rate. However, this is an 11-inch laptop, so adults with large hands or long fingernails may have to be more deliberate; my typing definitely improved after I cut my nails.
The buttonless touchpad had the right amount of sensitivity while I performed two-finger scrolling and three-finger swiping. I didn't have to tap very hard to get a response, and I didn't have any false clicks.
Display
Considering its relatively low resolution, the Chromebook 3180's 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 display shows a lot of detail. However, it isn't very colorful or bright. When I watched Avatar on YouTube at 720p, the picture looked crisp, but the colors were muted in what should have been a vibrant landscape.
The Chromebook 3180 reproduced a modest 72.8 percent of the sRGB color gamut, which is far below the ultraportable-laptop category average of 99.4 percent, but similar to the scores from the Chromebook N7 (72 percent) and the N22 Touch Chromebook (71 percent). The Asus Chromebook C202 was significantly less vibrant.
The laptop's Delta-E color accuracy score of 0.3 is excellent (0 is ideal), and better than the category average of 2.3. It is also better than the scores for the Chromebook N7 (1.5), Chromebook C202 (2.8) and N22 Touch Chromebook (1.3).
While it's bright enough for most uses, we definitely wouldn't use the Chromebook 3180's screen outdoors or near a window on a sunny day. The display had a brightness of just 210 nits, compared to 235 nits for the Chromebook N7, 250 nits for the Chromebook C202 and 254 nits for the N22 Touch Chromebook. All of these results are well below the category average of 303.5.
Viewing angles were decent for individual use, but forget about gathering a group around the screen. Colors started to fade as we moved more than 45 degrees to the left or right.
Audio
Kids can watch educational videos, or even movies, on the Chromebook 3180, but don't even think about using it as a stereo. When I listened to 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' the highs were tinny, and the vocals became distorted at only 75 percent volume. Even at full volume, the sound wasn't loud enough to fill a room.
Performance
Equipped with an Intel Celeron N3060 processor and 4GB of RAM, our configuration of the Dell Chromebook 3180 was good enough for web browsing and light video viewing but not intense multitasking. When I streamed Netflix in HD in one tab and scrolled through Facebook in another, I didn't notice any issues. Running Netflix in HD and having four other tabs open gave me some lag in typing or scrolling, but all of the tabs were still usable.
The Chromebook 3180 scored 49.9 on the JetStream benchmark test, which measures JavaScript performance (the higher the score, the better). That number was in line with those of its closest competitors (each of which has the same CPU) and came within a point of them, but it was far below the category average of 166.06.
On the WebGL Aquarium graphics test, which measures 3D graphics prowess by showing a tank with 2,000 fish swimming, the 3180 achieved a rate of 26 frames per second, which was similar to the frame rates from the Chromebook 11 N7 (25 fps) and the Chromebook C202 (27 fps) but noticeably ahead of the N22 Touch Chromebook (15 fps). The category average (239.4) was much higher, but the group includes more powerful laptops.
Chrome OS and Software
If you're familiar with Chrome OS, the Chromebook 3180's interface won't look any different from what you're used to. The operating system revolves primarily around the Chrome browser, and most of the apps in the menu are actually just web tools that open in the browser window. As on Windows, there's a taskbar at the bottom of the screen that shows your open applications, along with a system tray that displays the time, battery and Wi-Fi status.
Most of the apps require you to be online, but you can use Gmail Offline, the camera, the photo editor, and some other apps when you're not connected to Wi-Fi. Schools will have to guide students to the appropriate education sites and web apps, because there aren't any preloaded shortcuts that point to academic resources.
Chrome OS is slowly getting the ability to run Android apps, but because it lacks a touch screen, Dell's laptop isn't a good choice if you want to use programs from Google's mobile OS.
Battery Life
The Dell Chromebook 3180 has just enough power to get a student through the school day and an extracurricular activity. When we ran our battery test (continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi), the 3180 lasted 8 hours and 55 minutes. That's better than the 8:10 average and the Chromebook C202's runtime of 8:23. However, the N22 Touch Chromebook and the N7 Chromebook lasted much longer, at 10:26 and 10:38, respectively.
Heat
The Chromebook 3180 stayed pleasantly cool throughout our tests. After we streamed video for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured 78 degrees Fahrenheit, while the keyboard and underside hit just 88 and 94 degrees, respectively. All of those temperatures are below our 95-degree comfort threshold.
Webcam
I wouldn't recommend using the Chromebook 3180's 720p webcam for videoconferencing. My selfie was very grainy and dark, even though I was in a bright room. Colors were accurate, but detail was not there. However, students might enjoy the different built-in filters. For example, there are filters involving color, such as sepia and grayscale; filters that make different parts of your face bulge; and one that leaves image trails when you move, for a ghostly effect.
Configurations and Warranty
I reviewed the Chromebook 3180 in its $259 top-of-the-line configuration: an Intel Celeron N3060 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC memory. The $219 base model is $40 cheaper and halves the RAM and memory.
The 3180 has a one-year limited warranty. See how Dell did on our Best & Worst Brands report and Tech Support Showdown.
Bottom Line
Schools and parents who are looking for a durable Chromebook with solid performance, strong battery life and a comfortable keyboard will find a lot to like in the Dell Chromebook 3180.
On the other hand, for under $200, you can get an Asus Chromebook C202, which has an even better keyboard, a more attractive design and the ability to survive 4-foot drops. If a touch panel is important to you, you should take a look at the Lenovo N22 Touch Chromebook, which has not only a touch screen and similar performance to the 3180's, but also longer battery life and a slightly cheaper price of $230.
However, if you want a rugged Chromebook that can last through a full school day, the Dell Chromebook 3180 is a strong choice.
Image Credit: Laptop Mag
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Pros /
Simple, highly durable design; Solid battery life; Snappy keyboardCons /
Muted display colors; Tinny audioVerdict /
Dell's Chromebook 3180 offers all-day battery life in a durable, student-friendly package.
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