Dell Latitude 15 3540 Review – Not for Designers but Here’s How to Make It an Office MVP
Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power
| Intel Core i7-1355U (15W TDP) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Latitude 15 3540 | 3.28 GHz @ 2.53 GHz @ 88°C @ 37W | 2.77 GHz @ 2.14 GHz @ 90°C @ 27W | 2.37 GHz @ 1.71 GHz @ 69°C @ 20W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 (Intel) | 3.22 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 85°C @ 33W | 3.00 GHz @ 2.26 GHz @ 89°C @ 28W | 2.01 GHz @ 1.46 GHz @ 70°C @ 16W |
| Dell Latitude 14 5440 | 4.03 GHz @ 3.03 GHz @ 71°C @ 50W | 3.91 GHz @ 2.97 GHz @ 93°C @ 47W | 2.65 GHz @ 1.99 GHz @ 70°C @ 22W |
| Dell Latitude 14 7440 | 3.65 GHz @ 2.67 GHz @ 83°C @ 44W | 3.26 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 94°C @ 36W | 2.63 GHz @ 1.87 GHz @ 76°C @ 25W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 4 (Intel) | 3.59 GHz @ 2.66 GHz @ 80°C @ 39W | 3.52 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 94°C @ 39W | 2.50 GHz @ 1.84 GHz @ 77°C @ 20W |
| HP Pavilion 15 (15-eg3000) | 3.67 GHz @ 2.80 GHz @ 76°C @ 45W | 2.67 GHz @ 2.06 GHz @ 73°C @ 25W | 2.22 GHz @ 1.73 GHz @ 69°C @ 18W |
| HP ZBook Firefly 14 G10 | 3.83 GHz @ 2.88 GHz @ 74°C @ 49W | 3.74 GHz @ 2.90 GHz @ 86°C @ 49W | 2.69 GHz @ 1.96 GHz @ 75°C @ 23W |
| HP ZBook Firefly 16 G10 | 3.85 GHz @ 2.89 GHz @ 67°C @ 50W | 3.32 GHz @ 2.48 GHz @ 75°C @ 37W | 2.14 GHz @ 1.44 GHz @ 66°C @ 17W |
| HP EliteBook 860 G10 | 3.90 GHz @ 2.95 GHz @ 77°C @ 50W | 3.35 GHz @ 2.12 GHz @ 86°C @ 36W | 2.48 GHz @ 1.77 GHz @ 65°C @ 20W |
| Acer TravelMate P2 (TMP216-51) | 3.90 GHz @ 2.93 GHz @ 89°C @ 55W | 2.73 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 86°C @ 37W | 2.93 GHz @ 2.08 GHz @ 77°C @ 28W |
| Acer TravelMate P6 (TMP614-53) | 3.52 GHz @ 2.59 GHz @ 67°C @ 45W | 3.22 GHz @ 2.40 GHz @ 73°C @ 40W | 2.63 GHz @ 1.90 GHz @ 72°C @ 28W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 | 3.76 GHz @ 2.88 GHz @ 85°C @ 50W | 3.46 GHz @ 2.67 GHz @ 97°C @ 44W | 2.02 GHz @ 1.55 GHz @ 69°C @ 18W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 | 3.66 GHz @ 2.80 GHz @ 94°C @ 49W | 3.23 GHz @ 2.50 GHz @ 97°C @ 38W | 2.00 GHz @ 1.55 GHz @ 72°C @ 19W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 | 3.67 GHz @ 2.81 GHz @ 82°C @ 49W | 3.32 GHz @ 2.53 GHz @ 94°C @ 39W | 2.17 GHz @ 1.64 GHz @ 76°C @ 20W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 | 3.49 GHz @ 2.65 GHz @ 69°C @ 42W | 3.28 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 82°C @ 38W | 2.20 GHz @ 1.62 GHz @ 77°C @ 23W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15 Gen 4 (Intel) | 3.34 GHz @ 2.54 GHz @ 86°C @ 39W | 3.16 GHz @ 2.45 GHz @ 93°C @ 35W | 2.38 GHz @ 1.77 GHz @ 77°C @ 20W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 4 | 3.78 GHz @ 2.93 GHz @ 82°C @ 48W | 3.45 GHz @ 2.71 GHz @ 90°C @ 41W | 2.52 GHz @ 1.87 GHz @ 78°C @ 22W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 | 3.83 GHz @ 2.89 GHz @ 78°C @ 51W | 3.7 GHz @ 2.82 GHz @ 93°C @ 49W | 2.38 GHz @ 1.75 GHz @ 64°C @ 21W |
| Acer Aspire 5 (A514-56M) | 3.82 GHz @ 2.82 GHz @ 64°C @ 55W | 2.18 GHz @ 2.26 GHz @ 65°C @ 37W | 1.43 GHz @ 1.98 GHz @ 60°C @ 28W |
| Dell Vostro 15 3530 | 2.06 GHz @ 2.70 GHz @ 94°C @ 40W | 1.56 GHz @ 2.22 GHz @ 96°C @ 26W | 2.06 GHz @ 2.25 GHz @ 95°C @ 26W |
| Lenovo Yoga Book 9 (13IRU8) | 2.23 GHz @ 2.58 GHz @ 76°C @ 40W | 2.13 GHz @ 2.42 GHz @ 85°C @ 35W | 1.64 GHz @ 2.03 GHz @ 77°C @ 24W |
| ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304) | 3.46 GHz @ 2.47 GHz @ 80°C @ 41W | 3.06 GHz @ 2.24 GHz @ 91°C @ 31W | 2.36 GHz @ 1.68 GHz @ 75°C @ 21W |
The optional Core i7-1355U inside this Dell machine can sustain decently high clocks in short and long loads. In the long run, the CPU temperatures are low but the same doesn’t apply to the medium loads where the processor hits 90°C.
Comfort during full load
The four power presets can be found in the BIOS. During full loads in “Ultra Performance” mode, the fan noise is average. In this case, the keyboard doesn’t feel too hot for normal work which is good news.
Battery
Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. The 54Wh battery pack lasts for 9 hours and 5 minutes of Web browsing, or 8 hours and 20 minutes of video playback. To achieve that, you have to apply the “Balanced” preset in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and select the “Optimized” power plan in the BIOS.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.
Author: Nikolay Palaozov
Author: eng. Kroum NikolovHead of Engineering at LaptopMedia.com, inventor and innovator with 40+ years of experience in electronics and high technology.
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I have used a 3540 with a Intel 1335u and 16Gb RAM for about a year now. Its not disappointing in any way, but it does not excel at anything either. Its a basic business laptop that has the basic down pretty good. It looks bland and cheap like a Inspiron does at the base models. Decent selection of ports, battery life good but not great, could have used a bigger capacity battery. Performance is good but it produces more heat then I would expect for a low powered CPU. Fan ramps up pretty good with multiple apps running. With… Read more »