Dell Vostro 16 5630 review – modern-looking device with PWM-free display and basic cooling solution

LaptopMedia.com Reviews and Analysis Dell Vostro 16 5630 review - modern-looking device with PWM-free display and basic cooling solution Page 10

From: Nikolay Palaozov 18 July 2023 / 18:09 | 0

10. Verdict

9. Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance Previous page Next page

Verdict

It seems that the Dell Vostro 16 5630 is a good office machine with some flaws (like most laptops). Let’s start with the positives. The device looks and feels modern, the design is up to date, and the build quality is good, except for some bends on the chassis here and there. The keyboard is a nice surprise – the key travel is long enough for comfortable typing and the feedback is clicky. Also, the backlight and the NumPad make this device suitable for office and home usage. We like the touchpad too – it has a smooth surface and it’s an accurate unit.

The bezels around the display are thin and the top one houses a 1080p Web camera with a privacy shutter. Speaking of the display, the 1200p IPS panel has good viewing angles and the 16:10 aspect ratio adds more vertical usable space which is helpful for working with MS Office documents, tables, or Web browsing.

The battery life is decent for a machine with a Raptor Lake P CPU. Sure, there are better-performing machines with the same battery capacity, but on the other hand, 9 hours of Web browsing or videos is enough for a whole working day away from the charger. The thermals under load are under control – yes, the hotspot is under the WASD zone but you will not sense too much heat under your fingers even during 100% CPU stress. In this scenario, you can hear the fan but the noise is not too loud. Or you can just use the “Silent” preset and the noise should not be a problem at all. The integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU) is powerful enough for light gaming on Low or Medium details. Games like CS:GO and Dota 2 are playable on the already-mentioned visual details.

The notebook is thin and with a weight of 1.90 kg, the portability is good for a 16-incher. Thanks to the round edges, the device should fit with easy in most suitcases or backpacks. The optional fingerprint reader is a good extra if you need it and the port selection is decent. There is an SD card reader, two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports, and a Thunderbolt 4 – that’s okay for an office device.

On the other hand, the upgrade options are a bit of a letdown. Sure, the maximum amount of RAM is 32GB LPDDR5 which should be enough for most people but the memory is soldered so there are no SODIMMs here. For storage, you can rely on a single M.2 slot which isn’t optimal for today’s standards. The cooling solution is basic – it has just one heat pipe and one fan. That’s why the clocks and the temperatures of the Core i5-1340P are unimpressive during any kind of load. Aside from that, the laptop is feeling fast under (almost) any kind of stress during our testing – this means that most people should not see the negative effects of the lower CPU frequencies in normal home and office usage.

The comfort under load is more than adequate which is essential for an office laptop. Even when the CPU is at 100% load, the WASD section isn’t scorching hot and it’s comfortable for typing and the palm rest area is also cool enough for normal daily routine or office tasks. The noise levels are under control – when the processor is working hard, the single fan isn’t too loud and you can also activate the “Silent mode” for better comfort.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-vostro-16-5630/