Dell Latitude E5410 review

Performance naturally depends on the components you choose. Even the basic model, with a Core i3-350M and 2GB of DDR3 RAM, will be perfectly powerful enough for the “holy trinity” of Word, Excel and PowerPoint – we’d expect it to score around 1.20 in our benchmarks. Our review model was souped up with a Core i7-620M and 4GB of RAM, putting it nominally on a par with the Lenovo ThinkPad T510. In practice, though, where the Lenovo managed a storming benchmark score of 1.91, the Latitude E5410 came in slightly lower with a score of 1.79.

That may be partly down to the E5410’s more densely packed frame causing the Core i7 processor to run hotter and hence make more conservative use of Turbo Boost. But another factor is probably the GPU: while the Lenovo sports an ISV-certified Nvidia NVS 3100M GPU, the Dell is limited to Intel’s integrated HD Graphics. Thus, although our test system could be described as a workstation-class performer, it’s unsuitable for CAD work or heavy 3D visualisation. It’s also worth noting that the E5410 is supplied with only 32-bit Windows, so if you want to push the RAM beyond 4GB you’ll need to find and install your own 64-bit OS.

Battery performance is another movable feast: you can save money with a 3,300mAh battery, or splash out an extra £65 exc VAT for a huge 7,700mAh unit. We tested the middle option, a six-cell 5,000m-Ah battery, which gave us 4hrs 14mins of light use.

But perhaps what makes Dell’s business offering stand out more than anything is the range of ancillary services you can add on. Dell will optionally move data and applications from your old PC, place asset tags and anti-theft tracking devices on the new system, and undertake any subsequent data recovery and certified data destruction for you.

The basic one-year carriage and return warranty can be upgraded all the way to a three-year, next-business-day on-site contract with insurance against accidental damage. Dell’s ProManage service even offers remote system monitoring and maintenance. It’s not cheap, of course: sign up for every service going and you’ll add more than £750 exc VAT to the cost of the system. But when you consider the cost of IT staff – and of lost productivity should disaster strike – it could still be an excellent deal for a small business.

The Latitude E5410 won’t suit everyone in the office, but as a general-purpose business laptop, it’s hard to fault. Tough, functional and endlessly configurable, you could fill three-quarters of a business with various E5410 notebooks – ranging from the £629 exc VAT base system right up to the high-end model seen here – and hear no complaint.

Author: Darien Graham-Smith