Gizmo Ground

The new your - the third generation. Dell will surprise you with the hard-Core-i, the new aluminum case of your as well as for the 13.3-inch screen. To find out how does this compare to other laptops in its class, you must not do isread our detailed review.

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Dell aims primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises with a notebook of your family. Anyone looking for reasonably priced office systems that are also equipped with upgraded hardware, will surely find interesting the other two models already reviewed, on your 3500 15.6-inch and your 3700 17.3-inch and of course that 13.3-inch model.

The test laptop is configured with a processor Core i5 450m, with GMA graphics chip HD , three gigabytes of DDR3 RAM and a fast hard drive with 320 GB 7200 RPM. As expected from Dell, including your 3300 can be configured in detail. The options will be explained later. Sections such as performance, emissions and battery life will depend heavily hardware chosen and will not be obviously equal patterns in different configurations.

More information and pictures of your notebook can be found in our 3300 Short Review .

-> Go directly to the overall results of the review

Homes

Apart from the interface configuration and size, the homes of your 3300 is virtually identical to the larger your 3500 . Depending on the States, there are three different colors of cover and angles to choose from. In Dell's online store for Austria and Germany, the laptop is only offered in silver (Silver Aberdeen), ie like the one we used. In contrast, the U.S. is also available in copper (Brisbane Bronze) or red (Red Lucerne). The case is made of aluminum with plastic inserts and is meticulously constructed.

Although the stability of the aluminum cover is not the best, in general there is not much to criticize. Opening the cover of the screen with one hand from a corner, but inevitably bends the test pressure applied on the surface is exceeded without any problem and in fact you do not see changes on the screen. Similarly, you will be satisfied by the resistance of the base. Only the area around the optical drive tends to give a little but under the weight of high pressure. The workspace is matt black plastic and the surface has a comfortable feel.

The hinges are attached to the edges of the screen, and this limits the opening angle of about 130 degrees, which is somewhat limiting. In particular work environments such as during a train journey, the screen vibrates considerably. The hinges allow the opening and control with one hand. If we add to this the fact that there is a locking mechanism of the cover in the closed position, we pay particular attention to transport your notebook in order to prevent accidental openings that could allow foreign objects inserted between the keyboard and the screen with the damage that may arise.

The dimensions are equal to 325 mm wide, 229 mm in height that increases from 20.1 mm to 28.1 mm on the front of the back and then not much different from what occurs with other 13.3-inch notebook. The laptop weighs 1.93 kg with battery. To these are added the weight of 0.35 kg of the power. So the total weight is very low.

Connectivity

Because the compact chassis, the Vostro 3300 has fewer connections than the 15 inches . First of all, we note the absence of the digital video port . Also, as usual for the 13-inch, even your 3300 only has 3 USB 2.0 ports. One of them implements a combination eSATA USB-to allow the connection of peripherals such as external hard drives with transfer rates than USB.

Because of the opening mechanism and the positioning of the battery, the back is unused. In contrast, the front has a card reader 5-in-1, the switch for the wireless and audio ports.

If you want more features, you can increase them by using the ExpressCard/34 slot of your 3300. In any case, there is no dedicated docking port, which is almost always present in most notebook office. To overcome this shortcoming, there are USB docking solutions, such as the Kensington SD100 USB Port Replicator for about 60 Euro or Kensington Universal Dock for about 140 Euro (in Germany). They make it easy to connect your laptop to an existing network and extend their connectivity. The last also has a digital video connection in the form of a DVI-D.

The arrangement of interfaces allows for considerations of right-handed and left-handed use of space. In any case, the placement of the eSATA / USB in the middle of the right side is not quite optimal for right-handers.

Left side: alimentaziome, USB 2.0, RJ45 (LAN), opt. LW, ExpressCard/34

Right Side: USB 2.0, USB / eSATA, VGA, fan, Kensington Security Slot

Regarding on the communications equipment and accessories, your 3300 does not differ from your 3500 .

How to find a wired LAN connection RTL8168D/8111D Realtek Family PCI-E GBE NIC (10/100/1000MBit). With Wireless-N Dell Wireless 1520 Half Mini Card instead you get access to WLAN networks. It also supports 802.11n. In some places the options we also find the Dell Wireless HSPA 2.0 Minicard. The slot for the SIM card in that case is in the battery compartment. With 2-megapixel webcam video conferencing over the Internet is not a problem. Finally there is also an option thanks to the bluetooth module card Dell Wireless 365.

The test model has 32-Bi Professional Windows 7 pre-installed. In the configuration can also click on the 64-Bit of course paying the difference. E 'can also downgrade to Windows XP Professional, for which Dell will charge 35 Euro. Although Dell plans to offer this option only until September 23, 2010. A 32-bit operating system is sufficient for the 3 gigabytes of RAM installed at the factory. But wanting a larger quantity of memory is recommended that the 64-bit version.

In addition to Kensington slot, which is used as an antitheft device, your 3300 also features a fingerprint reader. So instead of a password manually, you can simply scan your finger.

In the case of the laptop are the operating system, as well as the DVD with drivers and utilities system. Beyond that, you can create them individually using a special program ..

Input Devices

The input devices are not very different from those of your 3500 . The impressions are then in line with them.

Keyboard

We have a standard keyboard layout without the special groups of keys and with good mechanical properties, we have a well defined pressure point and a length of the key long enough. However, the sub-structure tends to give a little typing vigorously. The sound is kept within acceptable limits. Fortunately, the keys have a comfortable size and are also completely flat.

The keyboard has protection against splash water which avoids the damage of this type. In the model we also test the LED light on the keys which allows the use in the dark or in poor lighting.

Above the keyboard there are touch-sensitive zones for controlling multimedia functions. To show their activity, white LEDs are used. Similarly, white LEDs are also located on the left to show the status of the system. They have a light visible.

Touchpad

The touchpad supports multi-touch gestures. Although, for scrolling, you can decide whether to use the classic vertical and horizontal scroll bars. Scrolling on the touchpad is excellent and the pointer control is precise. If the touchpad is not used, disable it with Fn + F6. Even the buttons or the touch of medium length - which responds evenly over the surface of the touchpad does not deserve criticism.

Keyboard

Touchpad

Screen

Dell has opted for a backlit LED 13.3-inch for your 3300. Specifically it is a AUO112C manufactured by AU Optronics. As is typical for a portable office, the surface is coated with an anti-glare cover. The maximum resolution supported by the display is 1366x768 pixels in 16:9 cinema format. Considering the size of the laptop, we certainly can not criticize this resolution.
184
cd / m² 176
cd / m² 177
cd / m²
198
cd / m² 196.5
cd / m² 184.6
cd / m²
186.9
cd / m² 179.1
cd / m² 167.2
cd / m²

Informations
Maximum: 198 cd / m²
Average: 183.3 cd / m²
Lighting: 84%
Black: 1.15 cd / m²
Contrast: 171:1
Brightness with battery: 177.6 cd / m²

Distribution of brightness

Proceed to the measurement of parameters of the screen. They tend to be somewhat worse than those of your 3500 , but should be sufficient for use indoors or in the shade. The maximum brightness is 198 cd / m² measured in the middle segment of the image. On average there are about 183.3 cd / m², with a minimum around 167.2 cd / m². With that, the car gets a good test and relatively equal brightness ratio of 84%. Do not you notice the darker areas on the screen with the naked eye.

Because of 'high black level of 1.15 cd / m² brightness for white in the mid to 196.5 cd / m², the display offers a 171:1 contrast reasonable. Essentially, the colors are fine for office use.

As is the case for your 3500 , your 3300 also allows you to work outdoors. In any event must be limited to areas in the shade because direct sunlight we would only want to have a brightness level higher. With bright light coming from behind, there will be reflections on the angle spread. Nevertheless, they do not disturb too much and are not even comparable to those observed with glossy screens.

Shaded

In the sun

We have an excellent viewing angle to the horizontal plane. Typically, the vertical plane it is more stress. Even small adjustments lead to decreases in the intensity of colors, or alternatively to the bleaching of the image. Even the most acute angles you will notice color changes.

Viewing angles of the Dell Vostro 3300 (Core i5 450M, HD GMA)

Performance

Just as your 3500, your 3300 is the smallest based on the Intel HM57 (Ibex Peak). Similarly, Dell offers buyers a choice between Core and Core i5 i3. The cheapest model has a Core i3 350M .

The test model was equipped with a Core i5 450m. It is a dual-core processor, which cores can be overclocked thanks to the Turbo Boost. Thanks all'Hyperthreading the processor can handle four threads simultaneously. Compared to Core i5 more expensive, as the i5 Core-520M , AES functions are disabled and the clock frequencies are somewhat lower in the Core i5-450M .

The graphic chip Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD is integrated into the Core Arrandale. Essentially, it is the only graphics solution in the test model. The performance of the GMA graphics chip HD operations are configured to use for office and light multimedia (video). However, it does very well in terms of energy savings and provides hardware acceleration for decoding HD video. MPEG-2, VC-1 and AVC are supported in full detail.

Information System of the Dell Vostro 3300 (Core i5 450M, HD GMA)

More expensive models offer hybrid configurations with dedicated graphics card GeForce 310M . In any case, the HD GMA graphics chip is sufficient for surfing the internet and use office. However, the benefits offered by GeForce 310M are, of course, although significantly higher than recent games, however, would not be playable in detail over the minimum and at low resolutions. For this reason we do not recommend this option for gamers vocation. Details regarding the performance of the individual graphics can be found in our " Games on graphics cards on laptops . "

DPC Latency Checker in the green zone

Fn-combinations create some small negative impact

Dell offers the 3300 with your configurations from 2 GB to 6 GB of RAM, while the chipset supports it HM57 up to 8 GB.

The test model has three GB of RAM. If they were not enough, the upgrade can be easily done through the maintenance of cover under the laptop. As we noted earlier, increasing more than three GB RAM is recommended to install an operating system 64-Bit.

The DPC latency remain concerns in the area all the time. There is a single record in the red zone obtained with the pressure of numerous combinations Fn , In particular about the lighting of the keyboard. Overall, this is not a problem, because they are frequently used combinations. The normal type has no negative impact on latency.
Rendering Single 32Bit 2960 points

Rendering Multi 32Bit 6850 points

32Bit OpenGL 1854 points

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... in comparison
PCMark Vantage 5416 points

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... in comparison
4.3
7 Windows Experience Index
Processor
Calculations per second
6.5
Memory (RAM)
Memory operations per second
5.5
Graphics
Desktop performance for Windows Aero
4.3
Gaming graphics
3D business and gaming graphics
5.2
Primary hard disk
Disk data transfer rate
5.9

Since the processor clock the Core 430M in your 3500 is slightly lower than that in the review of your 3300, it has slightly higher performance. However, the difference is about 1% in PCMarkVantage, which is precisely to evaluate the performance in applications.

Comparing the model tests with other 13-inch business notebook, like the Fujitsu Lifebook S760 ( GMA HD , Core i7 620M ) offering a score of 14% in general higher in PCMarkVantage. Looking at the results in Cinebench R10, we have a +18% in the single-rendering but just a 3% increase in multi-rendering. On the contrary, ' Asus PL30JT-RO030X ( GeForce 310M , Core i5 520UM ) performs 19% less than your 3300 with an overall score that is separated by 19% in PCMarkVantage. The Core i5 450M (your 3300) provides significantly better results when compared with the efficient Core i5 520UM ( Asus PL30JT ), in extensive testing in terms of CPU usage. For example, in Cinebench R10 has a +16% in the single-rendering and a +39% in the multi-rendering.

The graphics performance of your 3300 are in line with our expectations in respect of a device with an integrated graphics GMA HD . It gets a score of 2955 points in 3DMark05 and is exceeded by 14% by Fujitsu Lifebook S760 , which has the same graphics card but also a processor Core i7 620M which is more powerful. 3DMark05 shows a +23% in favor of the Lifebook and +8% in Cinebench always in favor of the Lifebook.

Despite the 310M graphics card, the ' Asus PL30JT-RO030X with Core i5 520UM behaves worse in all test plots. This may be because Asus has reduced the clock the video card.

On your 3500 already tested, which is equipped with a dedicated card GeForce 310M behaves as expected, significantly more extensive testing in terms of graphics.

We have not carried out practical tests with video games as we gathered enough data regarding the performance offered by the GMA chip HD. And also because your 3300 is designed for use in office and surfing the internet. 3DMark 2001 8502 points

3DMark 03 4067 points

3DMark 05 2955 points

3DMark 06
1280x1024 1535 points

3DMark Vantage 276 points

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... in comparison
HDTune: Seagate ST9320423AS Benchmark
Transfer Rate Minimum: 47 MB / sec

Transfer Rate Maximum: 96.5 MB / sec

Average Transfer Rate: 77 MB / sec

Access Time: 17 ms

Burst Rate: 61.2 MB / sec

CPU Usage: 4.8%

We have also chosen in the machine's storage compartment. We 7200rpm SATA hard drive up to 500 GB or 250 GB hard disk encryption 7200 rpm. The Free-Fall-Sensor and the "Strike Zone" (system of shock absorption) allows a data protection against impact.

The test model has a Seagate ST9320423AS with a gross capacity of 320GB. The performance recorded by the tool HDTune are in line with other hard drive 7200 rpm.

As we have a CD burner optical drive HT-DT-ST DVD +-RW GU40N.

Emissions

Noise

Your 3300 we tested is quiet at low load with a noise maximum of 35.2 dB (A). The fan still spins around a low value of 32.3 dB (A). However, when the load increases, of course, also goes the noise. During our extensive tests, we measured a maximum of 46.2 dB (A). Value that is felt, but because of the low frequency noise, it is relatively easy to cover it. We have not found any anomalies to the fan controller during our tests.

Noise

Idle 32 / 32.3 / 35.2 dB

HDD 33.1 dB

DVD 38.6 / dB

Under load 40.9 / 46.2 dB

30 dB
silent 40 dB
audible 50 dB
noisy
Min: , Med: , Max: (15 cm distance)

High temperatures of the Core

Throttling during the Stress Test

Temperature

Under a low load, when using office applications, it reaches the maximum temperature of 42.8 degrees Celsius. From the middle to the right and back the barrier of 40 degrees is exceeded, then keep the laptop above the knees, even with light application, it may not be very pleasant. At least the upper part remains on values in the green zone.

As for the temperatures under load. After a long test we measured a maximum temperature of 55.4 degrees Celsius and 47.2 degrees Celsius on the basis on top. In this case the area of the palm rest area to the right and the right of the keypad becomes clearly hot.

The core of the CPU occasionally exceeds the limit of 95 degrees Celsius. After several hours, the tool shows a TMonitor throttling of the first permanent core CPU. However, a 3DMark06 run immediately after the stresstest does not show any difference whatsoever in comparison to cold testing.
Load
Idle
29.2 ° C 38.1 ° C 47.2 ° C
30.6 ° C 39.8 ° C 39.4 ° C
28.3 ° C 36.1 ° C 38.4 ° C

34.9 ° C 55.4 ° C 53.6 ° C
31.5 ° C 51.6 ° C 50.6 ° C
31.3 ° C 39.2 ° C 42.7 ° C

Max: 47.2 ° C
Average: 36.3 ° C Max: 55.4 ° C
Average: 43.4 ° C

Power 53.9 ° C | 22 ° C Room Temperature

Speakers

A good sound does not really matter when it comes to office notebooks. Your 3300 has a single speaker positioned in front of the base. Of course, the stereo sound is not possible. As you would expect, the sound spectrum completely lacks bass but the mids and highs seem pretty balanced. At any volume, such as background music during slide shows, sound is sufficient. It remains clear and undistorted even at maximum volume, which is enough for use in a medium sized room.

Classic Test

Your test in 3300 is equipped with a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of only 40 Wh. The test BatteryEater Reader shows a maximum of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Achieved with the minimum brightness, wireless off and the profile of energy saving on. Surfing the internet via WLAN to an end after about two and a half hours with screen brightness at maximum and the profile of energy saving on. In our test DVD-profile high-performance, high brightness, we were able to watch a film for about an hour and a half. The test simulates a load BatteryEater Classic . At maximum brightness, high performance profile with WiFi enabled, you get 55 minutes of battery life.

Overall, the ' Asus PL30JT-RO030X has significantly greater autonomy, most likely due to the 84 Wh battery, which has a capacity more than double. The Fujitsu Lifebook S760 ( GMA HD , Core i7 620M ) has a 62.64 Wh battery. Since it requires more energy in practice, autonomy in relation to battery capacity is lower than your 3300.

If you prefer, you can purchase an 8-cell battery for about $ 99 in USA. According to the manufacturer, it increases the thickness of the base of 1,905 cm.

Battery life

Idle (without WLAN, min brightness) 3h 47min
Surfing with WLAN 2h 27min
DVD 1hr 33min
Sotto carico (max luminosità) 0h 55min

Power consumption in class comparison, green?

Consumo di corrente

Off / Standby 0.1 / 0.2 Watt
Idle 11.6 / 13.8 / 17.3 Watt

Under load 48.7 / 62.3 Watt

Legend: Min: , Med: , Max: