NotebookCHECK - Notebook Forum

Hello, comprehensive review you have there.

Just wondering if the laptop was configured with touch screen?

Because on the dell official website it states the starting weight is 1.26KG, compared with the 1.5KG stated in this review.

A heavy and slow dual-core laptop gets 90% rating? Nonsense!

Stop rewarding manufacturers for giving zero care about their users to the extend that they don't bother finding a decent component supplier to avoid coil whining.

I've been waiting for this and it's perfect!

Easy Maintenance - check
Dual DDR4 (not soldered) -  check
WWAN - check
NVME support - check
Acceptable weight range - check (unlike 7470)


This is perfect for travelling, can't wait to get one!

@Anton

This is an awesome business class ultrabook, what did you expect it to have?

Care about users? huh?

@YS:
I would expect to have 4-core for that weight, or 2-core with 1kg weight.

Also power-efficient LPDDR3/4 memory in a portable machine. WWAN slot with antennas is available in most business laptops, ask your IT guys to fill it is not a problem. Buy a desired config and you won't need maintenance. Lots of ports is its only business advantage, but how many did you actually use in the last month?

My main objection is while very few laptops ever received 90+ rating on Anandtech, it's sad to see 90% on such an off-the-shelf basic Intel ULV laptop. And I don't like saving 50 cents on inductors that result in side noises in an expensive business laptop.

Important to note that from my experience with the Dell 7480, only the i7 version with vPro has thunderbolt 3 in the usb-c port, the i5 version does not have thunderbolt.

Quote from: Trevesco on April 07, 2017, 05:08:20
Hello, comprehensive review you have there.

Just wondering if the laptop was configured with touch screen?

Because on the dell official website it states the starting weight is 1.26KG, compared with the 1.5KG stated in this review.

Hi Trevesco,

The version that weights less has a 40 Wh battery instead of 60 Wh...

Thanks,

Bernie

Quote from: iznak on April 07, 2017, 16:39:53
Important to note that from my experience with the Dell 7480, only the i7 version with vPro has thunderbolt 3 in the usb-c port, the i5 version does not have thunderbolt.

Hi iynak,

When I checked the various configurations initially, I did find the Thunderbolt-3-option for both i7 and i5...although these are of course subject to change at any moment When I started writing the review, for example, I'm sure I saw an option for the Tri-Band wireless card needed for WiGig...alas, right now it's not offered....

Thanks,

Bernie

In Belgium the 42Wh battery is not available :/ (42Wh is available on dell.com).
With 12h stamina for the 60Wh I would be happy with a 40Wh !

Thunderbolt appears only on i7 configurations.

This would have been a perfect machine if they had kept the power connector on the back. Now the ring light from the power connector is going to be right there in your face and the cable's going to be in the way when kept on a lap while charging.

The loss of multiple status indicator lights is a downgrade IMHO.

Full sized SD card removal is really bad.

Otherwise this would have been a perfect machine.

Wrong aspect ration in the specs, it's 16:9 not 16:10  ;)

Dear NBC, please review the 15" Latitude 5580 as well. It comes with a 92 Whr battery configuration and optional dual and quad core processors. It's a potential competitor to the Lenovo Thinkpad T570.

Quote from: Paolo on April 11, 2017, 07:58:50
Wrong aspect ration in the specs, it's 16:9 not 16:10  ;)

Thanks for pointing that out Paolo - I corrected it :-)

Bernie

Hello,

I try to figure out the soft finish of the case. Bernie says "black soft-touch paint finish". I own a 5450, whose back is made of a soft finish, sort of rubber.

The palm rest of this 5450 is made of plastic, a hard and matte one, but not the kind I'd call "soft".

Is the palm rest of the 7480 made of the same "rubberized" finish as the lid of the 5450 ? I'd like to avoid a soft palm rest as the XPS 13 has. I don't really like the feel of it (and it's always dirty ;-)). I like easy-to-clean surfaces, even if they don't look premium.

Thank you for any advice !

I've used this model (same config as reviewed-except I have the PCIe NVM disk) for about a month now and can confirm pretty much everything in the review with a few exceptions.

I have not experienced any of the "coil whine" mentioned with my unit. Fan comes up to barely audible only during sustained max-load conditions. So I consider it to be silent for practical purposes.

The "black soft-touch paint finish" feels great and looks great (when clean)... However, if fingerprints really, really bother you, this is probably not the machine for you!   As stated, it is a fingerprint magnet.   They bug me, but I'm learning to live with it as I otherwise love nearly everything else about it.  A wipedown as part of my daily routine has gone a long way to keep it tolerable.    The same problem exists with higher end Lenovos with the similar finish. 

Speaking of fingerprints, ironically the only significant issue I've had is that the fingerprint sensor (for login) only worked intermittently.  Dell dispatched an on-site tech with a replacement part, but he said he corrected a sensor cable issue.  But it is still not working right, so I guess I'll have them back out and ask them to replace the sensor this time.   Despite not being initially successful, I've otherwise been impressed with the courtesy and speed of the Dell service process.  The phone dispatcher took my issue seriously and made arrangements without any of the scripted or condescending type of treatment you sometimes get from tech companies.   

They even gave me the option to replace the part myself... which I certainly would have in most cases... but I had declined and opted for the included-in-warranty on-site service because of all the parts, the fingerprint sensor is the most difficult to replace as _everything_ else needs to come out of the unit.  Otherwise, I did take the back cover off and see that all the main parts you'd want to replace or upgrade like RAM, SSD were readily accessible.

Other than these caveats, I've been extremely satisfied.  All day battery life (with rapid charging), 16GB of RAM lets me keep lots of apps open, the PCIe NVM disk is plenty fast, keyboard and screen are excellent.   Enough horsepower for software development work while docked at my desk, but plenty portable for the other half of my job where I'm going between rooms and buildings to meet with people.

Would choose again.

Thanks wojtow for your review.

Coil whine : maybe this noise comes with M2 sata drives ? (as you have the NVMe).

Soft finish : Is it the same than the one from the lid ? It's very difficult to figure out the finish, even with high res pictures).

Looking to purchase Dell 7480.  If I purchase one with "128GB Solid State Drive M2 2280 SATA3" can I upgrade at a later date to  a "PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive"?

They are both M2 form factor but can the same M2 slot accept both SATA and PCI Express interface types?

Thanks
Gareth

@Spindrift:
Dell's webpage for the 7480 claims that it does support PCIe.
However, what Dell fails to mention is that M2 PCIe is limited on some dual-core systems. And this happens to be one of those unfortunate cases, where PCIe is only wired by X2 lanes on the motherboard, instead of X4. This means that sequential operation speeds will be halved, rendering an NVMe SSD very much useless.

Additionally, in case you want to use an external NVMe SSD with TB3, or just use TB3 for data operations, you should know that the TB3's PCIe lanes aren't limited on the Latitude 7480. The reason I'm noting this fact is because on a number of laptops with TB3, their PCIe capacity is often limited to X2 lanes as well.

ODMs should be more honest regarding their products if they don't want to lose the customers.

References:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/19992358/20971857
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/5ufjk9/dell_thunderbolt_number_of_pcie_lanes/

I have found three pages that discuss possible solutions to the coil whine. The first is specifically about Dell Latitudes, and the others are about other Dell laptops:

http://www.wadewegner.com/2007/03/how-to-stop-the-high-pitched-noise-emitted-by-dell-latitudes-updated/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/4csxfz/how_to_fix_coil_whine_on_your_xps_9550_really/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/4cq4hm/dell_customer_service_acknowledges_coil_whine/

Have the Notebookcheck reviewers or has anyone else tried these methods? Did they solve the problem?

(I am considering buying a Latitude 7480.)

You listed the IR camera not working for windows hello in the pro section

I did buy a Latitude 7480 with PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive. I do not hear anything I would call coil whine. Tasks such as virus scan and whole disk encryption are incredibly fast. I am very pleased with the computer and have no complaints.

I have a Xiaomi Power Adapter - USB type C with PD2.0 and QC3 45W.
Can I use this adapter to charging for dell 7480 by USB type C connector?
Is it possible?

I've purchased several of these for business use. 
1. Dislike that power adapter, NIC, and HDMI ports where moved from rear of chassis.
2. I hate the thunderbolt docking stations.  As a space savings they are good, but the plug is prone to stress from users plugging in, etc.  Also, I've had significant display issues with TB docking stations.
3. The wifi card / drivers in these (same issue with 7470's) doesn't like reconnecting after sleep events.
4. I've now had 3 of these out of the box with bad keyboards (keys stick or flat out don't work) and they are a real pain to replace.
Much prefer the older 7450 and 7470 models.

Hi. The laptop keyboard looks nice, but I am somewhat disappointed that it was not tested with a fast typist. When you go post 100 words a minute or just type char1-char2-char1-char2 (like koko) in fast succession, letters are dropped, misplaced or delayed.

This repeats all the way down to UEFI setup and so far Dell has not issued a fix.

Does the keys are really stick?
What flat out does it mean? (I'm french).
thanks

I don't see the issue about key-presses being dropped.

I do think that the non-touch BOE 1920x1080 matte panel seems to suffer from PWM flickering on this machine.

I've been using one of these machines for about a week now.  While I agree with most of your review, I do have to disagree with the following:

"...the new single-hinge design forced Dell to relocate the ports to the side, which does improve ergonomics to a certain degree in our opinion."

For you to have that opinion, you either have to be at least one of the following:
--right handed
--never use a mouse
--never use the computer when either docked, or power cabled, or connected to HDMI.

For us lefties, the area to the left of the keyboard is our mouse territory--and now, I always have either a docking cable, and/or a power cable, and/or an HDMI cable, in the way.  And sometimes, a USB cable/device as well (since there's only one of those on the right side).  They're ALWAYS in the way.

I've talked to my employer's IT department, and will be switching to a 5480 soon, for just this reason.  10% of the population is left-handed, and this design is ergonomically awful for that group.

I have both 7470 and 7480.
The display of 7480 is yellowish. Color temperature is some what 5000K or lower. the white areas are not exact white.
7470 is much better, white areas are exact white.
The reviewer is expected to report this.
I have both a 7480 and aI am disappointed.

Cannot possibly agree regarding the keyboard.  This laptop has a terrible keyboard.  The keys jam against the frame.  If you type too quickly the keys don't register.  The bottom left of the keyboard requires considerable pressure for the keys to register.  The keyboard makes the laptop unbearable.  I expect it's keyboards like this which lead to RSI.  I don't know how this keyboard made it beyond the prototype phase.