Today, we are testing the latest 14-inch laptop of the Inspiron range proposed by Dell, the Inspiron 14 plus. It’s a compact laptop offering powerful components at a low price. We can compare it directly to the MSI Summit E14 Evo A12M that we tested recently.
The Dell Inspiron 14 plus is priced at $1149.99 in the GeForce RTX™ 3050 version. The model we are testing was purchased at €1080 shortly after its release (it was €1199.99 with an additional 10% discount in its RTX 3050 version). 
[nextpage title=”Unpacking and accessories”] We start with the unpacking of the device, this laptop comes in a normal box. When we open the box, we find the laptop, the charger and the instructions.
The charger is a power supply of 130W using a round connector for Dell laptop. It is also possible to charge in 130W via the Thunderbolt 4 port using a 180W Dell USB C station.
[nextpage title=”Specification “]
Technical characteristics
Now let’s go to the technical specifications, they are available on the Dell Inspiron 14 plus page. You will have to change the configuration to get the specifications corresponding to the model you want.
The Inspirion 14 plus is a 14 inch laptop, with a 2240x1400p IPS panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. We find as processor an Alder Lake i7-12700H from Intel and a GPU RTX 3050 from Nvidia, accompanied by 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, a 512 Gb NVMe SSD and powered by a 64 Wh battery.
Presentation
To begin with, the Inspiron 14 plus is made entirely of aluminum. This gives it a quality feel. The color of the latter is a dark blue-green, quite visually pleasing and easy to clean.
We begin the tour with the keyboard, rather pleasant to use. It is in ISO format and is therefore easy to handle. Its backlight fades quickly which can sometimes be annoying when playing video in the dark. At the top right of the keyboard, there is a key for the fingerprint reader which also serves as a key to turn on the PC.
We now move to the trackpad, the latter is not perfectly smooth. It is made of the same material as the wrist rest. The click is flexible only at the bottom of it. It would be good to see an equivalent of the Apple force touch on the PC.
Let’s move on to the audio part. Here we have two speakers embedded in the chassis on the back of the device. A bar above the keyboard completes the audio system. This last one without parameter setting is rather average, but the use of the MaxxAudio Pro software provided with allows to obtain a really striking sound.
Then we have the connectors, we are here on a very complete solution. With a Thunderbolt 4 port, an HDMI port, a micro SD reader and two USB type A ports. We have here a laptop with everything necessary for a professional use.
The camera itself has a cover to close the lens, something that is often seen on professional PCs. 
Dismantling the device
The disassembly of the device is done via seven cross-shaped screws on the bottom of the device. Among these seven screws, two are attached to the cover, so that the cover can be removed by unscrewing them, ingenious. Once the cover is removed, we can see that the SSD, the RAM and the WIFI card are easily accessible for replacement. The same goes for the cooling system, which can be easily serviced.
[nextpage title=”Screen measurement with probe”]
Measurements before calibration
We now move to the test of the panel and in order to know the colorimetric quality of this screen out of the box, we have made measurements of the screen. This one has been tested on DisplayCal following 51 color patches.
As we can see, the calibration is pretty good from the start, we have 7400K for 6500K expected, which is out of the specs. The delta E is contained to less than 1.31% average deviation and 2.31% at the maximum. As for brightness, it can go up to 350cd/m² with a contrast ratio around 1788:1. The gamut is :
- 99,3 % of sRGB
- 72.3 % of Adobe RGB
- 74.6% of DCI P3
Measurements after calibration
The calibration of a screen is important for the creation of content but also for the comfort of use. For the calibration of my screens, I use DisplayCal in 6500K, 200 cd/m2 and an extended test pattern. For the settings we have :
- Brightness: as is (approx. 200 cd/m²)
- Black Level: as is (approx. 0.19 cd/m²)
- White: as is
- profile: sRGB
- Test Pattern: Large test pattern – 778 patches
Here is what this screen looks like after calibration:
Calibration via DisplayCal software results in an extremely accurate profile with an average deltaE of less than 0.45% and maximum of less than 1.15%. With these settings, the screen becomes almost perfect. Ideal for photo editing. Regarding the reflectance of the screen, we have a matte slab, a good choice for use in bright environments. The grain is very low or even invisible, the sharpness is also very good for photography.
[nextpage title=”Protocol”]
All benchmarks will be done in the highest performance mode available (bios and Windows), to get an idea of what the machines are worth at their maximum. As for the drivers, we will mention and use the latest official versions available.
The basic definition will be 1920×1080, but other resolutions can be added depending on the laptop’s screen. We will put the highest graphic presets available on each game as well as the average presets.
In terms of synthetic tests:
- CPU
- Cinebench R23/R20, Geekbench 5, 3Dmark CPU Profile.
- GPU
- TimeSpy, TimeSpy Extreme, Fire Strike, Fire Strike Extreme.
- Memory
- AIDA64.
On the video game side with the games: we choose popular licenses, but especially have “in game benchmark” to allow a better representation and reproducibility of performance. This also allows you to compare your results with ours without difficulty.
- Anno 1800 (DX12)
- Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (DX12)
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare II (2022)
The RTX 3050 driver used is 526.86. [nextpage title=”Synthetic performances”]
Synthetic performance
The Dell Inspiron 14 plus is equipped with an Intel Alder Lake processor, the i7-12700H which is an H version, aimed at heavy applications. It requires however a better cooling and the autonomy can be impacted.
It has 6 performance cores boosting to 4.7 GHz and 8 efficiency cores at 3.5 GHz. The PL1 of the processor is 45W with a PL2 at 115W.
Cinebench R20 and R23
On cinebench R20, the 12700H scores 5026 points in multi-core and 663 points in single-core.
With the R23 version, we are on 13924 points in multi-core and 1748 points in single-core.
On both benchmarks, we are quite close to the performance of the i7-1280P on the MSI Stealth 17M. The 12700H and 1280P use the same core configuration but the 12700H has lower boots and a higher PL. So we also have a similar configuration to the Summit E14 also using a 1280P but showing lower performance.
Geekbench 5
In geekbench 5, the processor rises to 1713 points in single core and 11119 points in multi-core. Here too, we note a gap especially on the multi-core performance. This can also come from the ram configuration which is much faster on the Dell than on the MSI Summit.
3DMark CPU
On 3Dmark CPU, we are on 957 points in single core and 6680 in multi-core.
AIDA64
On the RAM and latency level, the DDR5-4800 in gear 2 goes up to more than 94 ns. The proposed speeds are about 64 GB/s for writing and 57 GB/s for reading and copying. These are lower throughputs but with better latency than the Summit E14. The processor shows very good performance despite the restrictions of the formfactor on cooling. The CPU will have no trouble performing all the tasks that are asked of it at low temperatures.
3DMark Fire Strike
On Fire Strike and Fire Strike Extreme, the RTX 3050 performs just under half as well as the RTX3060. This configuration will manage without difficulty to pull its weight for 3D tasks or video games.
3DMark Time Spy
Then, on Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme the gap remains the same with the RTX 3060 powering the Stealth 17M. Just like the CPU part, this Dell Inspiron 14 plus will be able to serve very well as a powerful back-up machine for heavy 3D tasks. [nextpage title=”Performance Gaming”]
Performance gaming
Now let’s talk about gaming performance with this RTX 3050 35W.
Shadow of the tomb raider
Shadow of the tomb raider integrated benchmark results. In medium and ultra quality, in 1080p and DX12.
As we can see it will be possible to play this title on our machine, it will however be advisable to go through the DLSS to gain a little performance.
Anno 1800
Results of the Anno1800 integrated benchmark. In medium and ultra quality, in 1080p and DX12.
For a game like Anno 1800, even at maximum it is possible to play the game but it will be better to lower the quality a bit.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 – 2022
Results of the integrated benchmark of MW2. In medium and ultra quality, in 1080p and DX12.
We can easily play MW2 on this Dell Inspiron 14 plus, the multiplayer runs in high 2240x1400p with DLSS balanced at 60-70 fps. Which is very good for a PC of this format. This is not its primary use but this Dell Inspiron 14 plus has everything to play games from the less demanding to the latest AAA. However, you will have to use headphones because the ventilation is quickly heard. [nextpage title=”Temperature and Power Consumption”]
Temperature and consumption
The temperatures measured during the tests were very high. On benchmarks like Cinebench R20 and R23 we reached 93 °C at the maximum. Once the fans were running the temperature dropped to 80 °C and then stagnated at 60 °C with the throttle. However, the PC remains quite cool at the chassis level. Both in idle and under load.
To cool the configuration, we have two fans on the back that suck in cool air and expel it in front of the screen and on the sides of the device.
Surface temperature in idle
The surface of the keyboard and trackpad stays under 30°C in idle, which is a good temperature.
Surface temperature under load
Under load this time, the surface of the keyboard and trackpad rises to almost 45°C in front of the screen and at the top right of the keyboard. Quite high temperatures, but the areas most in contact with the user remain around 30°C. To limit the heat, the Inspiron 14 plus has a swivel screen to raise the device. Skids are present to keep it stable and not to scratch it.
Consumption
As for the battery, we have a PC with a 64Wh battery. Concerning the consumption, we oscillate between 8W and 20W with an average of 11W. The battery lasts about 8 hours in mixed use Photoshop, Internet, Office. And recharges in a little less than an hour. [nextpage title=”Conclusion “]
Conclusion
The Dell inspiron is not really intended for a very mobile use because of its muscular configuration. Nevertheless, it is a good compact laptop with a battery life that can go up to 10 hours. Regarding its performance, it is up to our expectations and maybe even more on the video game part. This extra power in this compact format is well cooled thanks to an efficient cooling solution.
As a reminder, the Dell Inspiron is priced at $1149.99 in the GeForce RTX™ 3050 version. Prices that have increased, but it is important to keep in mind that the memory can be upgraded to 40 GB and that the SSD can also be changed.
We liked:
- The performance of the CPU
- The performance of the GPU
- The weight and the thinness of the chassis
- The quality of the camera
- The efficient cooling
- The quality of the panel for photo use
- The keyboard is pleasant to use
- The autonomy for its performance
We would have liked :
- A second USB C port
- A less polished operating system
The Dell Inspiron 14 plus is a new arrival in the Inspiron range from Dell. And for a first try, the result is more than successful. The performances are there with a good cooling in a compact format. Moreover, the configuration is upgradable on the RAM and the SSD. However, we regret the trackpad not very smooth and the finish of the plastic frame in front of the screen.