Dell Vostro 15 5515 review – Dell really surprised us with this one

The Vostro 15 5515 has one simple goal – to help you take care of your business. And even though Dell was really fond of sticking with Intel a couple of years back, AMD’s push into the laptop world has reaped its rewards. Now, one of the biggest notebook manufacturers looks to be proud of their work with the Red company. They even go as far as promising performance you can rely on.

Indeed reliability, stability, and security are key ingredients in the success of every business-related device. This is why the Vostro 15 5515 features a TPM 2.0 chip, a privacy shutter, and an optional fingerprint reader.

Now, let’s take this notebook out of its packaging, and evaluate its design and construction. Given its specs and images, we have a good feeling about this. However, visuals can be deceiving, can’t they?

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-vostro-15-5515/

Contents


Specs Sheet

Dell Vostro 15 5515 - Espec

  • Innolux CNC9J-156HCA (CMN152E)
  • Precisión del color  5.5  3.6
  • HDD/SSD
  • hasta 2000GB SSD
  • Ranura M.2
  • 1x 2280 M.2 NVMe slot + 1x 2230 M.2 NVMe slot 
  • RAM
  • up to 32GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Home
  • Batería
  • 54Wh, 4-cell, 41Wh, 3-cell
  • Material del cuerpo
  • Aluminum
  • Dimensiones
  • 356.06 x 228.90 x 14.60 ~ 17.99 mm (14.02" x 9.01" x 0.57")
  • Peso
  • 1.63 kg (3.6 lbs)
  • Puertos y conectividad
  • 2x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • HDMI
  • 1.4
  • Lector de tarjetas
  • SD, SDHC, SDXC
  • Ethernet LAN
  • 10, 100, 1000 Mbit/s
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.1
  • Conector de audio
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Lector de huellas dactilares
  • optional
  • Cámara web
  • HD
  • Teclado retroiluminado
  • optional
  • Micrófono
  • Dual Array Microphones
  • Altavoces
  • 2x 2W, Stereo Speakers
  • Unidad óptica
  • Ranura de bloqueo de seguridad
  • Wedge Lock Slot

Todo Dell Vostro 15 5515 configuraciones

#CommissionsEarned

What’s in the box?

Inside the package, we saw only essentials – the mandatory paperwork, a 65W power brick, and the Vostro 15 5515.


Design and construction

Today’s device looks classy and has a very portable aluminum shell. It’s 14.6mm in its thinnest point and 18mm in its thickest. Also, its weight starts at 1.63 kg and goes all the way up to 1.77 kg, depending on the configuration. Despite the metal body, there is some flex when you twist it. This, however, is not the case with the lid.

Although it is resilient to bends and twists, it can’t be opened with a single hand. On the other side, once you open it, it’s going to lift the backside of the base by a couple of millimeters, which will allow for better ventilation. Also, the bezels around the matte display look very thin. Above the display, respectively, you will find an HD Web camera with a privacy shutter.

After that, let’s talk about the keyboard. Thankfully, it is spill-resistant and has a backlight. Also, it offers decent key travel, and somewhat clicky feedback, which adds up for a satisfying typing experience. Furthermore, you can count on the NumberPad section as well. What we didn’t like, but definitely got our attention, is the deck flex during typing.

Further down below, there is the touchpad. It has a surprisingly big area and offers accurate tracking to its users. The clicking mechanism, though, happens to have a slight dead zone.

As we said, the base is slightly lifted from the ground, which gives it more clearance, thus more breathing space. This is further enhanced by the dual grill on the bottom panel. In addition to that, there are two speaker cutouts there too. And the hot air escapes the machine from some vents in between the lid and the base.

Ports

On the left side, the power plug, an HDMI 1.4 connector, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port. Then, on the right, there is a lock slot, an audio jack, an RJ-45 connector, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and an SD card reader.


Disassembly, upgrade options and maintenance

To take this device apart, you first need to undo all 9 Phillips-head screws. Then, just pop the bottom panel open with a plastic tool.

When it comes to the battery, we see a 54Wh unit.

Thankfully, the notebook is well-populated in terms of upgrade options. There are two SODIMM slots for memory expansion. They fit up to 64GB in total and work in dual-channel mode. As for the storage, there are two M.2 slots. One of them fits 30mm drives only, while the other can also hold 80mm ones.

Cooling-wise, there are two heat pipes and a fan of medium size.


Display quality

Dell Vostro 15 5515 has a Full HD IPS panel, with a model number Innolux CNC9J-156HCA (CMN152E). Its diagonal is 15.6″ (39.62 cm), and the resolution – 1920 х 1080. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 142 ppi, their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 60 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels).

Viewing angles are excellent. We provide images at different angles.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

The maximum measured brightness is 275 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 254 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 14%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6530K (average) – practically matching the 6500K optimum for sRGB.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 51% Brightness (White level = 143 cd/m2, Black level = 0.09 cd/m2).
Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is very good – 1600:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows Dell Vostro 15 5515’s color gamut coverage.

Sadly, its display covers just 54% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of Dell Vostro 15 5515 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 20 ms.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


Health impact – PWM / Blue Light

PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

Dell Vostro 15 5515’s display uses PWM to adjust its brightness until 70 nits. Moreover, the pulsations have a very high frequency, which makes the panel comfortable for long working periods.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Dell Vostro 15 5515 configurations with 15.6″ Innolux CNC9J-156HCA (CMN152E) (FHD, 1920 × 1080) IPS.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

Además de recibir perfiles eficientes y respetuosos con la salud, al comprar los productos de LaptopMedia también apoyas el desarrollo de nuestros laboratorios, donde probamos los dispositivos para elaborar las reseñas más objetivas posibles.

Trabajo de oficina

El perfil Trabajo de Oficina debería ser utilizado sobre todo por usuarios que pasan la mayor parte del tiempo mirando trozos de texto, tablas o simplemente navegando. Este perfil pretende ofrecer una mayor nitidez y claridad manteniendo una curva de gamma plana (2,20), una temperatura de color nativa y colores perceptualmente precisos.

Diseño y juego

Este perfil está dirigido a los diseñadores que trabajan con los colores de forma profesional, y también para juegos y películas. Design and Gaming lleva a los paneles de visualización a sus límites, haciéndolos tan precisos como sea posible en el estándar sRGB IEC61966-2-1 para Web y HDTV, en el punto blanco D65.

Salud-Guardia

Salud-Guardia elimina la perjudicial Modulación de Ancho de Pulso (PWM) y reduce la luz azul negativa que afecta a nuestros ojos y a nuestro cuerpo. Al estar adaptado a cada panel, consigue mantener los colores perceptivamente precisos. Salud-Guardia simula el papel, por lo que la presión sobre los ojos se reduce considerablemente.

Consigue los 3 perfiles con un 33% de descuento


Sound

Dell Vostro 15 5515’s speakers produce a sound of very good quality and decent maximum volume. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.


Drivers

All of the drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-uk/product-support/product/vostro-15-5515-laptop/drivers

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This laptop’s 54Wh battery pack lasts for 10 hours and 45 minutes of Web browsing, and 11 hours and 11 minutes of video playback.

Para simular las condiciones de la vida real, utilizamos nuestro propio script de navegación automática por más de 70 sitios web.


CPU options

This notebook is sold with either the Ryzen 3 5300U, Ryzen 5 5500U, or the Ryzen 7 5700U.


GPU options

No dedicated graphics options are currently present on this build, so you get only the integrated Vega Graphics.


Gaming tests

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
Average FPS79 fps51 fps34 fps

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS89 fps48 fps28 fps

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (15W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
Dell Vostro 15 55152.88 GHz (B+60%) @ 71°C2.72 GHz (B+51%) @ 78°C2.32 GHz (B+29%) @ 67°C
ASUS VivoBook S14 M4333.03 GHz (B+74%) @ 75°C2.94 GHz (B+63%) @ 93°C2.75 GHz (B+53%) @ 95°C

Obviously, Dell has chosen a more lenient cooling policy and decided to give the Ryzen 7 5700U some breathing space. That’s why we see that much of a difference between the Vostro 15 5515 and the VivoBook S14 M433.

Comfort during full load

Perhaps due to the thin profile of the device, the heat of the internals is transferred to the keyboard. There we measured a hotspot of about 44°C.


Verdict

Every once in a while Dell happens to produce a decent laptop. The day has come for the night watch to change the guard. After evaluation of every single aspect of the device, we believe that it can deliver what is expected from it. We were especially happy to see that you can upgrade both the RAM and the storage, with the former playing a key role in performance. Be sure to combine two identical sticks of RAM to increase the potential of your integrated graphics. In our case, the unit came with only one stick of memory, which is reflected in the GPU scores.

Additionally, the external port selection seems to be good as well. Among other things, you get a full-sized SD card reader, which is a rarity these days.

Dell Vostro 15 5515’s IPS panel (Innolux CNC9J-156HCA (CMN152E)) has a Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, and a very good contrast ratio. Ultimately, it doesn’t use aggressive PWM for brightness adjustment, which is good. Unfortunately, though, the color coverage is pretty limited with 54% of the sRGB gamut.

In addition to that, in the disadvantages, we should list the deck flex on the keyboard, as well as the minor dead zone on the touchpad. However, this is pretty much nitpicking.

Other than that, as we mentioned earlier, you can take advantage of a fingerprint reader, a privacy shutter, and a TPM 2.0 chip. With the amount of potential in its hardware, you just can’t go wrong with the Vostro 15 5515.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-vostro-15-5515/

Pros

  • Generous I/O
  • Supports 2 M.2 PCIe x4 drives and up to 64GB of dual-channel memory
  • It is equipped with an SD card reader
  • No aggressive PWM (CNC9J-156HCA)
  • Good battery life
  • Privacy shutter, fingerprint reader, and TPM 2.0 chip
  • Potentially powerful and efficient hardware


Cons

  • Flexy deck
  • Covers only 54% of the sRGB gamut (CNC9J-156HCA)

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