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There are some beautiful and powerful laptops out there, especially if you have an unlimited budget. Trying to keep things more reasonable—under $1,200 for example—it can be pretty tough to get both performance and looks in one package. The Dell Inspiron 7000 Series 15.6-inch touchscreen laptop is one of those rare PC notebooks that offers both specs and looks, without breaking the bank.

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Problem: Sluggish Performance

One of the first signs that your laptop isn’t up to the demands you place on it is sluggish performance. You open Word and everything’s okay. But open up Firefox as well with a few windows (one for your e-mail, the other to watch a YouTube clip) and things start slowing to a crawl.  

Dell touchscreen.jpgThe new Dell Inspiron 7000 Series laptop has a Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a standalone AMD Radeon graphics card with 4GB of dedicated video RAM. This gives you the muscle to run demanding applications like video editing software and you can fill the screen with open windows without chugging. This laptop also has 802.11ac (Gigabit) Wi-Fi for ultra fast connectivity and a big, 1TB hard drive so you never run out of storage space.

Problem: Poking the Screen Does Nothing

A lot of people have grown to love the option of tablet-inspired touch control introduced in Windows 8. Too bad so many PC notebooks lack touch support. Poking the screen does nothing but smudge it.

The 15.6-inch, Full HD display on the Dell Inspiron 7000 Series laptop isn’t just brighter and sharper than previous generations, it’s also a 10-point capacitative touchscreen. That means a laptop display that’s big, beautiful and supports all of those Windows touch gestures. It’s also protected by Gorilla Glass for extra durability.

Problem: Boat Anchor Syndrome

Many affordable or high performance laptops suffer from what’s often referred to as “boat anchor” syndrome. In other words, they are big and heavy. Not the kind of thing anyone enjoys lugging around. To get something really slim and trim often means either giving up on capabilities (like going with a tiny 11-inch display), or spending a lot of money.

Dell open.jpgOnce again, the Dell Inspiron 7000 Series laptop surprises.

Despite the modest price, the big display and the aggressive performance, this is a slim and trip notebook. Thanks to a forged aluminum body, when closed it measures just 2.0 cm at its thickest point. And it tips the scales at just 2.0 kg, battery included. 

Problem: Laptop Envy

Typically there is line drawn between affordable notebook PCs and the showpiece models that draw envious looks.

To get the really cool stuff—like the aluminum body, for example—you usually have to shell out for flagship gear.

And that’s one of the best things about the Dell Inspiron 7000 Series laptop. This portable PC has all the showpiece features like the Full HD display, touchscreen capability, thin profile and aluminum body, plus premium touches like a backlit keyboard.

It’s also packed with powerful components, offering everything most users could ever want when it comes to specs.

So it doesn’t matter whether performance is your thing, or attractive design, or an affordable price tag. The Dell Inspiron 7000 Series 15.6-inch touchscreen laptop is that rare portable PC that checks all the boxes.

Brad Moon
Editor Computing solutions
I’m a long-time electronics and gadget geek who’s been fortunate enough to enjoy a career that lets me indulge this interest. I have been writing about technology for several decades for a wide range of outlets including Wired, Gizmodo, Lifehacker, MSN, About.com, Kiplinger, and GeekDad. I’m in my 10th year as a senior contributor for Forbes with a focus on reviewing music-related tech, Apple gear, battery power stations and other consumer electronics. My day job is with the Malware Research Center at AI-native cybersecurity pioneer CrowdStrike.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Going to have to chime in here and point out that the aforementioned i7 cpu in this laptop is a dual-core ULV processor. It’ll suffice for day to day stuff but not really that great for video editing to say the least. Would’ve been better if they at least included a hybrid drive for boot times.

  2. True, I wouldn’t be doing pro level 4K editing on it, but for the average person editing their smartphone-shot family movies, it should suffice. Hybrid would be nice, too (you can always upgrade a hard drive and throw in a hybrid or a pure SSD), but it’s pretty decently specced for the price. Cheers, Brad.

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