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Dell Vostro V130 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £780
inc VAT

An excellent design and great build quality, but the disappointing battery life and average display let it down.

Specifications

13.3 in 1,366×768 display, 1.6kg, 1.33GHz Intel Core i5-470UM, 4.00GB RAM, 500GB disk, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

http://www.dell.co.uk

Dell’s Vostro laptops have always been strikingly thin and at less than 2cm thick, the new V130 is no exception. The aluminium design is striking and wouldn’t look out of place in the home or office.

The V130’s Intel Core i5-470UM processor has a Turbo Boost mode, which increases the clock speed from 1.33 to 1.86GHz when needed. This low-voltage model is slower than other Core i5 chips, but it consumes less power and runs at a lower temperature. Everyday applications will still run smoothly and 4GB of memory helps with multitasking.

Dell Vostro V130

The Intel HD graphics are now integrated with the processor, and have come a long way from previous generations of Intel graphics. They are now powerful enough for high definition video, but playing games still remains out of reach. As a low 7.1fps in Call of Duty 4 shows, only casual games and older titles will be playable.

Like a lot of business laptops, the 13.3in screen has a matt finish to diffuse reflections. Image quality is only average. The screen is bright and images are sharp, but colours aren’t especially vibrant. The 1,366×768 resolution is well suited to web browsing and large enough for 720p video playback. The screen doesn’t tilt much but has acceptable viewing angles. Sound from the two tiny speakers was poor, with no real volume and mediocre audio quality.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ***
Processor Intel Core i5-470UM
Processor clock speed 1.33GHz
Memory 4.00GB
Memory slots 1
Memory slots free 0
Maximum memory 4GB
Size 17x330x230mm
Weight 1.6kg
Sound Realtek High Definition Audio
Pointing device touchpad

Display

Viewable size 13.3 in
Native resolution 1,366×768
Graphics Processor Intel HD Graphics
Graphics/video ports VGA, HDMI
Graphics Memory 64MB

Storage

Total storage capacity 500GB
Optical drive type none

Ports and Expansion

USB ports 3
Bluetooth yes
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support 802.11b/g/n
PC Card slots none
Supported memory cards SD, SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick PRO
Other ports eSATA (shared with USB socket), minijack audio output, minijack microphone input

Miscellaneous

Carrying case No
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Operating system restore option backup and recovery software
Software included Microsoft Office 2010 Starter edition
Optional extras £90

Buying Information

Warranty one year collect and return
Price £780
Details www.dell.co.uk
Supplier http://www.dell.co.uk