We've already reviewed the Dell Vostro 15 3530, and now it's time to test the AMD version of this laptop called the Dell Vostro 15 3535. The latter looks almost the same as the Intel iteration and the most noticeable difference between the two notebooks is the CPU platform used. Here, we have a bunch of refreshed Zen 2 and Zen 3 Ryzen 7000 processor options. These are the right choices when it comes to not-so-expensive devices. The mentioned chips are well-known for their efficiency and lower heat dissipation. So, when it comes to power, this laptop can be a snappy daily driver if you choose one of the top Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 CPU variants. Just like the Intel machine, a lot of the extras are optional. This includes the camera shutter, the metal body, the IPS panel, the backlit keyboard, and the fingerprint reader. So, pick your configuration carefully and pay attention to the specs before buying this device. Since the Dell Vostro 15 3535 can be ordered with processors that don't require significant cooling, there is a big chance the AMD version can perform better than the Intel model. Stay tuned, we are about to find out if it's true or not very soon. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-vostro-15-3535-ddr4/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/vostro-15-3535-laptop/drivers What's in the box? The package contains the mandatory paperwork, a Dell Vostro 15 3535 laptop, and a 65W power adapter. Design and construction The design is very similar to the Vostro 15 3530 which is actually good. The look of the laptop is modern and neutral enough even for office usage. Three color options are available - Titan Gray, Carbon Black, and Titan Gray Aluminum. We got the Carbon Black version that comes with a micro-pattern texture that is surprisingly grippy. Just like the Intel variant, this machine can be found with a metal version or with a plastic one. We got the latter and unfortunately, the lid and the base flex a lot. The plastic laptop has a thickness of 16.96 - 18.99 mm and it weighs 1.67 kg. The metal model is thinner - 15.52 - 17.50 mm and its weight is 1.68 kg. So, no matter the chassis material, the Dell Vostro 15 3535 is at least 220 grams lighter than the Vostro 15 3530. The lid can't be opened with a single hand which isn't good. The bezels around the panel are narrow which leads to a modern look. Above the panel is placed a 720p Web camera. The aluminum versions have a 1080p version with a privacy shutter. The spill-resistant keyboard is comfortable for typing because it has a long key travel and clicky feedback. Unfortunately, the base flexes a lot while typing which isn't optimal for long writing sessions. The NumPad section can be a handy feature for everyone, especially for accountants. Our unit has a backlight, which is an option. The Power button doubles as an optional fingerprint reader. By the way, this button is also a bit harder to press so probably Dell wants to differentiate it from the other keycaps. The touchpad isn't the biggest one out there (115 mm x 80 mm) but its smooth surface pairs very well with the fast refresh rate display. This machine makes good use of the "lift hinge". The lower side of the lid acts as a lever that lifts the back of the chassis when the lid is opened at almost 90 degrees. The slightly raised chassis leads to better comfort while writing something on the keyboard and it also increases the airflow to the laptop's internals. The bottom panel houses four small rubber feet, a ventilation grille, and two bottom-firing speakers. The heat is pushed through a vent positioned on the back of the notebook. Sadly, the hot air blows directly into the lower section of the display. Ports On the left of the notebook, we can spot a charging plug, an HDMI 1.4 connector, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port. On the right, there is a security lock slot, an Audio jack, a LAN port, a USB 2.0 port that has been a common feature since the Fred Flintstone era, and an SD 3.0 card reader. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound Dell Vostro 15 3535 is equipped with a Full HD IPS panel, model number BOE W3MRC-NV15N4U (BOE0A8A). It comes with a 120Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 15.6" (39.6 cm), and the resolution - 1920 x 1080p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 142 ppi, and their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 60 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are comfortable. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The maximum measured brightness is 247 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 235 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 10%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6810K (average). In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 67% Brightness (White level = 140 cd/m2, Black level = 0.16 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is decent – 870:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows Dell Vostro 15 3535's color gamut coverage. Its display covers 52% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976 and 41% of DCI-P3. Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile. Below you can compare the scores of the Dell Vostro 15 3535 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right). The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 15 ms. After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude. Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. Dell Vostro 15 3535's display does not flicker only at 100% brightness. Also, the flickers have a low frequency, so users with sensitive eyes for sure will definitely feel the negative impact (our Health-Guard profile fixes that). Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 49.9 GU). Sound Dell Vostro 15 3535's speakers produce a sound of pretty good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Dell Vostro 15 3535 configurations with 15.6" BOE W3MRC-NV15N4U (BOE0A8A) (1920 x 1080) IPS. *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests CPU options There are plenty of CPU options - AMD Athlon Gold 7220U (Zen 2), Ryzen 3 7320U (Zen 2), Ryzen 3 7330U (Zen 3), Ryzen 5 7520U (Zen 2), Ryzen 5 7530U (Zen 3), and Ryzen 7 7730U (Zen 3). We decided to buy a notebook with a Ryzen 7 because it's the most powerful chip in the series with its 8 cores and 16 threads. GPU options Depending on which CPU you choose, there are a lot of iGPU versions - AMD Radeon 610M, Radeon RX Vega 6 (R4000/5000, 15W), Radeon RX Vega 7 (R4000/5000, 15W), or Radeon RX Vega 8 (R4000/5000, 15W). If you need more graphics power, you can get the optional discrete NVIDIA GeForce MX550. Gaming tests CS:GO Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, MAX (Check settings) Average FPS 115 fps 74 fps 53 fps DOTA 2 Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Average FPS 113 fps 64 fps 37 fps The gaming benchmark results of the Radeon RX Vega 8 (R4000/5000, 15W) aren't the best ones that we've seen. For example, the Acer Aspire 5 (A515-48M) performs better in this section. [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop 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 core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp. AMD Ryzen 7 7730U (15W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min Dell Vostro 15 3535 2.70 GHz @ 71°C @ 29W 2.47 GHz @ 75°C @ 25W 2.39 GHz @ 84°C @ 23W Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (14″ AMD, Gen 8) 2.75 GHz @ 80°C @ 29W 2.56 GHz @ 87°C @ 25W 2.37 GHz @ 85°C @ 20W Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 (14" AMD, Gen 8) 2.56 GHz @ 56°C @ 28W 2.55 GHz @ 63°C @ 27W 2.49 GHz @ 67°C @ 24W Acer Aspire 5 (A515-48M) 3.17 GHz @ 63°C @ 44W 2.97 GHz @ 71°C @ 37W 3.02 GHz @ 82°C @ 37W The cooling system of this laptop looks weak but the frequencies of the 8-core Ryzen 7 7730U under load are okay. The CPU can maintain almost the same clocks as the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (14″ AMD, Gen 8) - which is a 14-incher with a basic cooling system as well. However, the Dell machine has the upper hand when it comes to lower CPU temperatures in short and medium loads. On the contrary, the other 15-inch machine in the table is the Acer Aspire 5 (A515-48M). This one can maintain much higher CPU clocks and power limits, alongside lower temperatures. Comfort during full load Even in "Ultra Performance" mode, the single fan isn't noisy in long periods of maximum CPU stress. If you want your device to be as quiet as possible, you can apply the Quiet preset but this will reduce the overall performance of the machine. During heavy loads, the central part of the keyboard is getting warm, but not as hot as the one in the Intel version (Dell Vostro 15 3530). The power presets aren't implemented in the BIOS, so it's important to install the My Dell application in order to max out the performance of the laptop. 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. Our laptop has the optional 54Wh battery option. The modest capacity is enough for 11 hours and 7 minutes of Web browsing or 9 hours and 5 minutes of video playback. The result is normal and better compared to the Vostro 15 3530 with the Team Blue processor. Storage performance The NVMe of this notebook is the SK Hynix BC901 512GB NVMe. The performance of this compact 2230 Gen. 4 SSD isn't spectacular. Aside from that, the maximum temperature of the drive reached just 33°C so it's well-cooled. Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance In order to remove the bottom panel, you have to unscrew 8 Phillips-head screws. The ones in the top two corners are captive and after undoing them, they will slightly raise the panel up so you can start popping the plate with a plastic tool. The battery of this notebook is an optional 54Wh unit. The default version is a 41Wh model. If you want to take out the battery, the first thing to do is to disconnect the battery connector from the motherboard. The next step is to undo the four Phillips-head screws that are keeping the battery in place. The capacity of the unit is enough for 11 hours and 7 minutes of Web browsing or 9 hours and 5 minutes of video playback. Memory-wise, there are two SODIMMs for up to 16GB of DDR4-3200MHz RAM. The devices with AMD Athlon Gold 7220U, AMD Ryzen3 7320U, and AMD Ryzen5 7520U come with 8 GB LPDDR5-5500 MHz memory. In terms of storage, there is a single M.2 slot compatible with 2230 or 2280 Gen 4 SSDs. Our laptop is configured with a shorter NVMe variant. The SSD is covered by a metal shroud that has a thin thermal pad on the inside. Alas, the M.2 slot is limited to Gen 3 speeds. The cooling solution is very basic. It has a single fan and just one heat pipe. We can also spot one heat sink and one heat spreader. Verdict Just like the Intel version, the Dell Vostro 15 3535 left us with mixed feelings. We got the plastic version of the laptop that has a grippy texture but the whole chassis is flexible. On the bright side, the device is light and the profile thickness is on the thinner side so portability looks good. The keyboard is nice - it has an optional backlight, it's spill-resistant, and it has a NumberPad section. The long key travel and the clicky feedback of the keycaps make the board comfortable for typing but sadly the chassis suffers from a lot of flex during typing. The touchpad is smooth and accurate. We are a bit amazed that the overall performance of the laptop is okay given the rater basic cooling solution. The CPU can maintain higher than the base clock frequencies and the same goes for the power limit. The temperatures under any kind of load are fine too. We have tested better-performing laptops with the same CPU but the results of this machine aren't bad considering that an 8-core Ryzen 7 7730U is tamed by a single fan and one heat pipe. Moreover, the machine isn't loud during heavy CPU stress and the keyboard is getting a bit warm, but not hot. All this makes the device a comfortable notebook for office and home tasks. Once again, this shows us that the Zen 3 CPUs are still a great choice for a device like the one in front of us because they are efficient and don't require significant cooling. The upgradability of this machine is decent. There are two SODIMM slots for up to 16GB of DDR4-3200MHz RAM. The laptops configured with the AMD Athlon Gold 7220U, AMD Ryzen3 7320U, and AMD Ryzen5 7520U rely on 8 GB LPDDR5-5500 MHz memory. For storage, there is just one M.2 slot compatible with Gen 4 SSDs but the slot is also limited to Gen 3 speeds which is standard platform limitation. The port selection is unpretentious - an HDMI 1.4 connector, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, an Audio jack, a LAN port, a USB 2.0 port, and an SD 3.0 card reader. The optional IPS panel (BOE W3MRC-NV15N4U (BOE0A8A)) has comfortable viewing angles and a high refresh rate of 120Hz. The sRGB color coverage is low which isn't that important for a laptop like this one. The cons of the display are the not-so-great contrast ratio and the PWM usage that is not present only if you set the panel to maximum brightness. Still, our Health-Guard profile fixes this issue. The sound that is coming from the bottom-firing speakers is of a good quality. Also, all the tones are clear of deviations. The battery life is longer compared to the Intel version and this is a result of the AMD platform that is more energy-efficient. At the end of the day, we can clearly say that the Dell Vostro 15 3535 is better than its Intel sibling - the Vostro 15 3530. The AMD machine is ahead when it comes to battery life, maintained CPU clock and thermals under load, and the AMD version is more comfortable during heavy stress. Nevertheless, the Acer Aspire 5 (A515-48M) is a serious threat to the Vostro 15 3535 because it offers better cooling and longer battery life. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-vostro-15-3535-ddr4/