Dell Inspiron 13 7375 2-in-1 R5 2500U 8GB 256GB
Last edited: 04/12/2018
Summary:
The Ryzen Dell Inspiron 13 7375 2-in-1 I recently purchased is turning out to be quite good so far. It's not perfect, but I'd say it's now one of the best mobile Ryzen options.
Ryzen 3, 5 and 7
Core Performance Boost enabled (aka mXFR)
Dual channel dual sodimm slots (OC-able)
SSD standard (albeit SATA)
Strong wireless connectivity
USB type-C (power, data, display, Ethernet)
FHD IPS touch display (Windows Hello)
Good backlit keyboard
Aluminium exterior
Easy maintenance, easy to get inside
Battery life not sure yet, 5+ hours
Relatively thin and light
Photos
Exterior photos:
Dell Inspiron 13 7375 2-in-1 Ryzen 5 2500U 8GB 256GB https://imgur.com/gallery/oWWxH
USB type-C, HDMI, UBS 3.1 https://imgur.com/gallery/W1YMV
Dell Inspiron 13 7375 - No stylus pen support https://imgur.com/gallery/FKYLl
Interior photos:
Dell Inspiron 13 7375 2-in-1 Ryzen 5 2500U 8GB 256GB internals https://imgur.com/gallery/bNHRG
BIOS photos:
Dell Inspiron 13 7375 - BIOS 1.0.3 01/12/2018 CPU RAM GFX https://imgur.com/gallery/VXYlO
Dell Inspiron 13 7375 - Fan https://imgur.com/gallery/OrRjz
Dell Inspiron 13 7375 12W-45W Plan Of Record Configuration https://imgur.com/gallery/4ALQi
Dell Inspiron 13 7375 - BIOS Auto-Recovery and BIOS Recovery from Hard Drive https://imgur.com/gallery/5UKiO
YouTube videos
Dell Inspiron 13 7368 (late 2016 Intel equivalent)
My take, read on!
Introduction:
I just got a chance to play around with the 2500U version of this Dell Inspiron 13 7375 2-in-1 and I gotta say it's pretty good and probably one of the best Ryzen mobile laptops thus far because of it's compact size and features. One of my local Best Buy has it on display and here's my first impressions.
Display:
Dell P/N: 6NKDX NV13FHM ID: BOE6A7 WUXGA It's got a decent IPS FHD touch display but it lacks Windows Ink. Viewing angles are good, brightness seems better than the HP x360 and overall it's a good thing that it isn't a TN display, IPS or go home! I'm sure it's a low end IPS display so don't expect 100% sRGB color reproduction for you Photoshop heads out there. Keep your expectations in check. Hinges seem sturdy. This display does not support freesync.
Case:
Its a little heavy for it's screen size, but shouldn't hurt your back. The top of the lid and the bottom cover feel like aluminium based on feel and coolness. The top of the lid has a plastic strip for the WiFi antennas. The bottom lid has an LED indicator light. The inside surfaces seem to be plastic but I think it might be aluminium too. The ports are not perfectly aligned with the case and you can tell there's a bit of a build quality issue going on. It's not a deal breaker but it's noticable and for the price it should have tighter tolerances. I don't expect any problems but then again this is based on the lower end 5000 series chassis. Either way, after taxes this thing's creeping up to almost $1,000 so I'd expect something a little better. Maybe it's just this particular display unit but it's a ashame regardless.
Keyboard:
It's backlit, it has a two stage brightness setting, and it has a short key travel/stroke. It's going to take some time to get use to it but it isn't terrible. I guess for something this thin, it's kinda expected. I like it and I think I'd enjoy typing on it once I got used to it.
Touchpad:
Ok so here's where I'm going to complain. The touchpad at first felt a little too sensitive and a little too finicky. As soon as I put my index finger on it, it just felt too sensitive and gritty. The touch pad surface feels rough and gritty. That's the best I can describe it. A mouse will will definitely be needed but after adjusting the touch pad settings it became a little easier to use. It doesn't feel like it's a very good one but in a pinch it will suffice. It's also a Precision Touchpad.
Ports:
There's a decent amount of ports and the USB type-C port is DisplayPort capable so hooking up two external displays shouldn't be a problem. I wish they could've added an Ethernet port, even a proprietary mini port, but I suppose a USB type-C hub or adapter would suffice. I'll let it slip because I'm usually on wireless anyways. I do like that there's a proprietary Dell charging port so it frees up the USB type-C port for a secondary or third display. I didn't have a way to test if the USB type-C port can charge, transfer data, and drive an external display via a hub. That would be really nice when docking at home or in the office. There's a full size HDMI port, USB 3.1 type-A, and a USB 2.0 port on deck as well as a flush SD card slot.
Camera:
The camera is 720p but it is clear enough for Skype calls and it seems to support Windows Hello. I like that.
Windows Hello:
I setup and have been using the Windows Hello feature to login to my account. I've never used face recognition cameras before these seem to work well. I really like it, and it seems to even work in a dark or poorly lit room. I suppose it's because it's infrared light dependent.
Audio:
They are downward facing and sometimes they sound loud and sometimes they don't sound loud. This is all on a hard surface so you can imagine what it would be like on a soft or textured surface. Again, keep you expectations in check. An external sound system or headphones would give the best audio experience. Realtek chip,
Memory:
DDR4 2400 MHz, 364MB hardware reserved in task manager, 2x4=8GB, dual channel, two sodimm slots, upgradable and overclockable! I'm sure it'll take 32GB.
Storage:
The Micron 1100 SATA 6GB/s M.2 2280 256GB SSD isn't that bad, it feels snappy overall and at least it comes with an SSD standard. Again, probably plenty fast for most people. It seems like Dell went with SATA for cost purpose and this is may be a PCIe capable M.2 NVMe port. I don't have a NVMe M.2 SSD to test damn it! Maybe someone out there can confirm this?
BIOS:
This is where it gets crazy! This has got to be one of the most adjustable, most configurable BIOS I have ever seen on a consumer laptop. Dell really out did itself here and us AMD fans will be happy to have such control over so many things. The memory appears tonbe overclockable such as the timings, the SSD can be configured to PCIe or SATA Express, there's settings for dual storage support, eMMC, SD card to name a few and the APU TDP can be adjusted to 12W, 15W, 25W, 35W and 45W from my first impression. I was stunned to see this option even available. I don't expect it to run at 45W with the 45W AC adapter but it's just crazy how much can be adjusted and changed in the BIOS. I'm not lying there's a lot of BIOS settings we can change. It's insane! It's definitely something to tinkering with.
Wireless Connectivity:
Bluetooth QCA9377 4.1 on board and wifi Qualcomm QCA9377 802.11ac seem to have a strong signal. I'd like to test this more but it seems fine for now. More testing required.
Battery:
I don't have enough to say about this but will update it once I can write a good response. All I can say is when I unplugged the AC adapter, Windows battery meter read ~5 hours.
Bloatware:
The only thing I'm removing is the McAfee trial antivirus. Everything else is Dell related or programs that don't get in my way.
Fan noise:
The fan noise can get pretty noticeable if the APU is pushed hard. It isn't high pitched or whinny but it definitely moves some hot air. However, most of the times the fan only comes on ever so often and it's pretty unobtrusive. At times it doesn't even turn on and the computer is completely silent. I propped up the back of the laptop where the fan exhausts hot air and it actually made a difference in a couple benchmarks. Just something to keep in mind when pushing these thin and lights.
Benchmarks:
It seems to bench similarly to the HP Envy x360.
Cinebench R15.0
OpenGL: 34.28 fps
Ref. Match: 98%
CPU multi: 625 cb
CPU single: 140 cb
MP ratio: 4.59 x
Geekbench 4.2.2 x64
Single: 3841
Multi: 10466
Stylus pen support:
No active stylus pen support.
Video:
YouTube video play back resulted in some weird video anomalies, artifacts and green pixelated blocks to occur. Seems like a video driver issue which would have to be resolved with the help of AMD Radeon group. 4k video play back ran well. I want to try AMD's Adrenaline 18 video drivers. The Dell AMD video drivers are version 17. AMD still doesn't have updated drivers for mobile Ryzen and Vega. What a damn shame!
Linux:
Ubuntu install and ran successfully. However somethings might need some work. For example, the suspend function (sleep) seems whacky. Also, the brightness control does not work. Battery life reports back just over 2 hours which is terrible.
244 comments · 97% upvoted · other discussions
Could you try running some game with a standard benchmark (like Middle Earth:Shadow of War; or ROTR), and run it multiple times (for laptop to properly heat up, like in real gaming sessions- so we know where the real limit for cooling is) at 15W, 25W, 35W, 45W TDP? And then post the fps result, so we can compare fps in said benchmark to fps in Acer Swift 3/ HP x360 tests done by Tech Epiphany. That would be very useful info.
lowkeyhipster [OP] 1 points · Apr 2018
I've seen Tech Epiphany's videos and he does a great job. I'm not even sure I can do that. My home internet is really slow so it would take me a long time to get those games and I'm not sure what app he uses to capture the fps. It would be useful in comparison to all the testing he's already done. I'm willing to try.
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