Dell Precision 3520 - Review 2022

The Dell Precision 3520 (starts at $999, $2,208 as tested) is a business laptop that straddles both the old and new eras of mobile computing. From the exterior, information technology's a rectangular black box that looks much the same as desktop replacement notebooks have for more than 15 years, and information technology comes with the robust concern-friendly and IT features that Precision-brand workstations are known for.

Just one time y'all open the lid, you lot're treated to a full Hd glossy display with brilliant colors that nicely complements the laptop's other forrad-looking features, including PCI NVM.e hard drive options and support for Thunderbolt three and USB-C. Maybe the best characteristic for budget-witting companies interested in time to come-proofing their investments is that different the Editors' Choice Dell Precision 15 5000, the Precision 3520 is hands upgradeable later purchase.

Deadening Black Plastic

The Precision 3520 has the staid looks you'd expect from a rather large concern desktop, with enveloping black plastic on the palm rests and lid cover that is really pleasingly soft to the touch. It'due south certainly not an ultraportable, but neither is it every bit heavy as you might initially expect, weighing 4.79 pounds and measuring 0.97 by xiv.half-dozen by ix.94 inches (HWD). This puts it in the middle of a pack of competing 15-inch business laptops. The HP ZBook Studio G3 is a tad lighter at four.62 pounds. The Precision fifteen 5000, meanwhile, is heavier at 4.97 pounds, and several Lenovo models top v pounds, including the Z50-75. With no optical bulldoze, all the same, we wish Dell had pushed the weight down in an attempt to match the fifteen-inch Apple MacBook Pro's iv.02 pounds.

Unlike the chassis and the hat, the 15.6-inch display is anything but staid, boasting a total Hard disk resolution of ane,920 by 1,080, and in-plane switching (IPS) for exceptionally wide viewing angles. The glossy cease makes the already-excellent-looking colors pop fifty-fifty more, but at the expense of glare protection. The glare will exist a trouble if y'all typically work in fluorescent-lit office environments, although it's no worse than other glossy displays we've tested recently. A further note about the colors: Dell says the Precision 3520'southward screen on our review unit can display 72 pct of the color gamut, while the non-touch, 1,366 past 768 display on the base Precision 3520 can only display 42 per centum. When y'all translate that into what the naked eye experiences, the Precision's colors aren't quite as bright as those that the MacBook Pro can brandish, with its support for a wider DCI-P3 gamut. Nevertheless, if you're a photographer, you'll appreciate that Dell is sticking with the more widely supported Adobe RGB gamut.

The port selection is adequate for a mobile workstation in 2022, and it includes a USB-C connector with Thunderbolt 3 support. Unfortunately, there's only one, which is half the complement yous'll find on the HP ZBook Studio and just a quarter of the iv USB-C Thunderbolt connectors on the MacBook Pro. USB-C and Thunderbolt peripherals are all the same few and far between, but it would take been nice for Dell to account for the future by adding at least one more. The remainder of the ports amounts to iii USB iii.0 Type-A connectors, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, an SD menu reader, a headphone jack, and a SIM card slot.

Crack That Case

Companies with especially stringent Information technology security requirements volition capeesh the choice to add a fingerprint reader (the superior bear upon diverseness, not the one that requires you lot to swipe your finger) and a contactless carte reader, both of which are installed on our test unit. They're both located to the right of the touchpad, which means that using the touchpad itself is a scrap awkward if you're expecting information technology to be smack dab in the eye of the laptop. I found myself unwittingly pawing the contactless card reader area several times before realizing my mistake and moving over to the touchpad expanse. The keyboard helps somewhat with this problem, since the inclusion of the numpad relegates the letter keys to the left side of the chassis, centered above the touchpad. Number crunchers volition welcome the x-key numpad, and people who type all 24-hour interval long will observe the keyboard reasonably sturdy with adequate travel for a laptop, though it's not quite as comfortable every bit the i on the Lenovo ThinkPad T470. Like the ThinkPad, the Precision 3720 too includes a pointing stick, which will be useful to some but will seem anachronistic to many others, specially given the authentic multi-touch on touchpad.

Our review unit has 16GB of retentiveness and a 512GB SSD, which is perfectly adequate fifty-fifty for frequent multitaskers and those who tin can't comport to wait more than a second or two for programs to launch. Storage and memory options are eminently customizable if that'south not enough. You tin can order a Precision 3250 with upwards to 32GB of EEC memory, a nice choice for running critical business applications that require additional retention mistake correction. Those same apps might too crave ISV certification, which the Precision 3520 supports. You can select from among several sizes of solid state drives and spinning deejay drives, including PCIe NVMe or SATA models, which max out at 1TB. Just perchance the all-time function of the Precision 3520's specifications isn't even on the spec list: Thanks to user-attainable components, you tin can swap out memory and storage after on by removing the six screws on the laptop'due south bottom comprehend. That'south an increasingly rare luxury amongst high-cease concern laptops, one that's missing from both the MacBook Pro and the Precision 15 5000.

The HD webcam on our evaluation unit is an optional actress, and it delivered fantabulous quality for video conferencing just made for not-so-precipitous still images in testing. It supports Windows Hello so you can log in via face recognition, bold your company's IT security requirements allow it. Speakers are too fine for video conferencing, but they're surprisingly anemic for a laptop of this size when it comes to listening to music or watching a movie at total volume. They struggled to reach to the end of 1 of the rows of benches in PC Labs, and then they'll likely accept a problem filling even medium-size rooms. This is due to their placement on the laptop's underside, as opposed to the upward-facing speakers y'all'll observe on the MacBook Pro.

Dell covers the Precision 3520 with a 1-twelvemonth warranty, though as well offers its business-focused ProSupport service plans equally optional add-ons.

CPU Compromises

Choosing a processor for a mobile workstation is a game of give and have. Going with a traditional Intel Xeon CPU means gaining admission to higher core counts, larger caches, and support for ECC retention, merely giving up the power savings associated with an integrated graphics card. Our review unit instead has an Intel Core i7-7820HQ processor running at 2.9Ghz. Information technology'south not the all-time choice for business concern-critical applications that crave EEC, but its onboard Intel HD Graphics 630 means pregnant ability savings over a comparable Intel Xeon processor coupled with a discrete GPU. The best part is that the Precision 3520 likewise has a discrete GPU—a Nvidia Quadro M620—and comes with software that can automatically switch graphics processing tasks between the two for optimal performance and energy savings. (You can as well configure the system to only use the Quadro or the HD graphics for all tasks). The result is very impressive battery life for a mobile workstation, with the Precision 3520 clocking in at xiii hours and 56 minutes on our battery rundown test. That puts it in contention with the longest-lasting ultrabooks, like the 15-inch MacBook Pro (15:09), and significantly ahead of other mobile workstations, such every bit the HP ZBook Studio G3 (6:04).

Graphics operation is good for a Quadro-powered laptop, simply by no ways best-in-course. The laptop performed slightly better than the comparable Quadro-powered HP ZBook Studio G3 on the 3DMark gaming benchmark (16,349), and delivered slightly fewer frames per second on our Sky (53 fps) and Valley (58) game simulations at medium quality settings. On the other hand, it performed significantly worse than the Dell XPS 15 Touch, which comes with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050.

Dell Precision 3520 Graphics Performance Chart

Every bit a general-purpose business laptop, the Precision 3520 is an excellent performer, recording a class-leading score of 3,539 on our all-encompassing PCMark 8 productivity test, which simulates everything from videoconferencing to spreadsheet editing. It's likewise good at video encoding, matching the Xeon-powered HP Zbook Studio'due south time of ane minute and four seconds on our Handbrake video encoding test. But its Intel Core processor is significantly slower than the HP when information technology comes to manipulating images in Photoshop: Information technology took three minutes and 47 seconds to complete the same tasks that the HP finished in 3:02.

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Striking a Solid Balance

The Dell Precision 3520 successfully combines portability, performance, and upgradeability, which will please It departments and terminate users alike. Its lengthy battery life means it's also an fantabulous choice for road warriors who are constantly away from their desks. However, many businesses will opt for the 4K screen and Xeon processor of the HP ZBook Studio G3, which is just as capable when it comes to performance, merely suffers from a rapidly depleting battery. Others will gravitate toward the pattern of the Precision 15, which looks far less stodgy than the Precision 3520, but comes with a sealed chassis that makes upgrades impossible. If Dell had included a few more USB-C ports and an option for a 4K display, the Precision 3520 would easily steal the Editors' Choice award from the Precision 15 5000 Series. As it stands, though, companies will mostly chose the 3520 for its upgradeability, with the 5000 Serial remaining the best overall choice for mobile workstations.