Original PIXEL 20% off 21 Selected Stores on eBay Deal Post
(And don't forget CashRewards, which just had their rate increased to 2% until end of 7th Sep) (finished)
ShopBack AU's 4 hour only 3.9% cashback rate for eBay AU, ends 10th Sep
TL;DR
- Another Ryzen Mobile APU laptop deal.
- For best value regardless of screen size: go for the Thinkpad E485 in this deal posted by Dogsrule, but caveat: today is last day for the Thinkpad deal the Thinkpad deal has ended.
- For 15.6" users, this is a pretty fair deal (considering the AUD is quite low at the moment against USD), but not for those who can't tolerate TN-panels. The Thinkpad E585 (also mentioned in the above deal) gives an IPS panel at similar spec but slight lesser processor and graphics at similar price (caveat: today is last day for the Thinkpad deal) the Thinkpad deal has ended.
Key spec:
(Spec is also available on the eBay listing page, otherwise Dell's product page for this model, and Dell's support page full spec)
- AMD Ryzen™ 5 2700U Quad-Core (4 Cores 8 Threads, 2.2 GHz base frequency, 3.8 GHz boost)
- Integrated AMD Radeon™ Vega 10 Graphics (10 Graphics Core: 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units and 8 ROPs)
- 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display 60Hz TN (Twisted Nematic) panel
- 8GB DDR4 2400MHz Memory
- 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
- English Backlit Keyboard
- Available internal 2.5" bay for storage expansion
- WiFi 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.1, Dual Band 2.4 & 5 GHz, 1x1 (The product manual actually notes the module supports BT 4.2 but Windows 10 only supports up to 4.1)
- 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI 1.4b, Ethernet (RJ45), 1x SD Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC), Combo audio/mic jack, Noble Security Lock
- Liquorice Black
- 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
- 42WHr, 3-Cell Battery (Integrated)
- Dimensions (W x D x H) 14.96" (380.0mm) x 10.15" (258.0mm) x 0.78" (19.9mm)
- Starting at 2.032kg
Longer thoughts:
Another Ryzen Mobile APU Laptop deal. Although until the end of today, the $755.10 base config Thinkpad E485 from this deal posted by Dogsrule with a DIY upgrade of 250GB NVMe SSD is actually better value than this Dell. Although the Thinkpad has a lesser processor, performance is acceptably similar while overall package cheaper at $855.10 (or slightly cheaper if you DIY the storage upgrade), the Thinkpad has an IPS panel while this Inspiron is only TN. Caveat is different screen size, 14" (Thinkpad) vs 15.6" (Dell). Base config Thinkpad E585 gives similar price ($954.10) if storage is upgraded to 256GB, but you'll get the lesser 2500U instead. Again, the Thinkpad deal expires at the end of today (day of posting), until next time. Aside from the this, this Inspiron's price is actually pretty good/fair for the spec, especially considering the low AUD/USD.
The "AMD10" Thinkpad deal has ended for now. Although the Thinkpad E585 is still available for $949.00 with same 8GB DDR4, 256GB NVMe SSD, but with 2500U in exchange for a IPS panel display.
Performance wise, I cannot find from the manual what TDP the laptop is set to. If set to 15W power envelop, then the 2700U will perform very similar to a 2500U, but if set to 25W due to standard form factor at 15.6", then the 2700U should have noticeable performance upper-hand to 2500U.
A brief comparison to intel options, CPU performance wise, the Ryzen 7 APUs are on par with (or in between) intel's i5 and i7 U-series mobile quad-cores, depending on the type of and which applications tested. While graphics wise the integrated Vega 10's performance is lesser than the discrete nVidia MX150, but on par/better than MX130/940MX, depending on benchmark/tests, and definitely way ahead of intel's integrated graphics.
For those that want technical reviews of the APU (different machines used), here is one from AnandTech: https://www.anandtech.com/show/12709/the-acer-swift-3-sf3154…. There aren't many reviews on 2700U, but it is expected to be better than the lesser 2500U, or the very least, similar performance. So some 2500U reviews: https://www.techspot.com/review/1545-amd-ryzen-5-2500u/page8…, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwObtlHEwbs
Mate, I bought the lenovo as I wanted a 14"…. But if I could upvote you again, I would.
You have put a tonne of quality info in here and done a fair comparison between the two laptops.
Good deal, great post.