Dell Inspiron 7386 Review: Premium Convertible at Affordable Price

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Dell Inspiron 7386: At First Glance

Dell’s Inspiron series has always been a dependable budget choice but hasn’t always been the most stylish. With the Inspiron 13 7000, that could change.

The Dell Inspiron 13 7386 like other models in the Dell Inspiron series has an affordable price. When I wrote this article, in February 2022, this laptop had a starting price of $668.00.

Are you wondering if the Dell Inspiron 7386 has good packages like its other siblings? Read on to find out.

Dell Inspiron 7386: Design, Dimensions, and Weight

For a laptop under $1,000, the Dell Inspiron 7386 has a premium inspiring design. For build material, it comes in brushed aluminum with a platinum silver finish that repels fingerprints nicely.

The silver aluminum finish of this laptop makes it look like a MacBook on the outside. There is a silver Dell logo on the lid which adds to its business-like appearance.

For hinges, the lid of this laptop is held to the base by hinges that are sturdy. Since this is a convertible notebook, the hinges can be bent to convert the notebook to tablet, tent, and stand modes.

Unfortunately, the downside of transitioning between these modes is that the hinges are somewhat stiff.

The stiff hinges also create an inconvenience when opening the lid on the Dell Inspiron 7386. Hence, opening the lid requires using both hands.

Flipping the lid open reveals a 13.3-inch display that is surrounded by very thin plastic bezels. The bezels are exceptionally thin, they measure just 1.83mm on all four sides.

This makes the Inspiron 7386’s screen look modern unlike the premium Dell XPS 13 which has 4mm bezels. Despite the bezels being so thin, Dell still situates the webcam conventionally on the center of the top bezel.

However, the webcam on the Inspiron 7386 is a miniaturized HD webcam. That implies that the webcam has a 4-element lens that uses Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR) technology.

This technology increases picture quality in low light, which makes images brighter and more lifelike. However, despite the TNR technology of this camera, its picture quality is still unimpressive.

This can be attributed to the camera’s poor HD resolution. Moreover, the webcam also does not support facial recognition.

Proceeding to the display resolution, the Dell Inspiron 7386 is available in two display resolution options. These resolutions include an FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution and a 4K UHD (3480 x 2160) resolution.

In this article, I will be talking about the Dell Inspiron 7386 model with a Full HD resolution.

With this screen resolution, the Inspiron 7386 display will produce colorful content with good quality. However, do not expect an exceptional quality as you would get from the 4K resolution display option.

Having talked about the resolution of the display, you should also be aware that it uses an In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology. An IPS display delivers wide viewing angles.

Hence, display contents will remain intact when you view the screen from different angles.

Another impressive feature of the Inspiron 7386 is that it is touch-enabled. It supports 10-point multitouch and registers inputs quickly even at the corners of the display.

The touchscreen Inspiron 7386’s display supports Dell active pen however, it does not come with a one. Hence, you will have to buy that at an additional cost if you need it.

For display brightness, the Inspiron 7386 does not offer much as it only has a peak brightness of 220 nits. Hence, using it in very bright environments or under direct sunlight might not be so pleasant.

Proceeding to the audio, the Inspiron 7386 uses two speakers which are located at the bottom of the laptop. In terms of performance, the speakers are okay by laptop standards.

Specifically, the speakers are decent enough for watching videos, listening to music, or playing games without having to use headphones.

Having discussed the Inspiron 7386’s display and its features let’s proceed to the keyboard area. As expected of any convertible, the Inspiron 7386 has a comfortable keyboard.

The keyboard deck is sturdy too. Hence, it should not flex or depress when you use the Inspiron 7386 as a conventional laptop.

The keys might be a bit rough on the top, but they still sink quietly into the chassis with less effort. Additionally, the keys are also nicely spaced out and they are boldly labeled.

Impressively, Dell has included a two-stage keyboard backlighting too, this makes the keys easy to spot in the dark. Considering that this convertible notebook is intended for productivity, the quality of the keyboard is quite applaudable. 

Now, let’s talk about the Inspiron 7386’s trackpad that’s located below the keyboard. The trackpad is decently large and has integrated mouse buttons.

The trackpad also has a rough surface that is easy to use and offers accurate response even at the edges. Not only that but fast sliding movements are delivered promptly too.

The keyboard area also houses a fingerprint reader at the top right corner of the base. This fingerprint reader has a very effective sensor that makes it exceptionally fast.

Hence, with the fingerprint reader, you will be able to log in to Windows by scanning your fingerprint. This will also help to secure your laptop from unauthorized access.

Proceeding to connectivity, as with other compact laptops, the Inspiron 7386 has only a few ports. On the left, you will find an HDMI 2.0, a power connector, and a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port.

Meanwhile, on the right side, there is a headphone jack, a microSD card, and one USB 3.1 Gen 1 port.

For the weight and dimension of the Dell Inspiron 7386, it has weight of 1460 g. It also has measurements of 307.6 x 212.4 x 13.6 – 16.1 mm (W x D x H).

With this weight and dimension, the Inspiron 7386 makes the list of lightest and slimmest laptops. Comparatively, it is more compact and portable than the famous lightweight and portable 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro.

To be more specific, the Apple MacBook Pro weighs 2040 g and has a measurement of 358.9 x 247.1 x 18 mm (W x D x H).

In conclusion, the Dell Inspiron 7386 has a pretty stylish design that’s suitable for its price tag. However, as a result of its lightweight and portable size, this laptop could only accommodate a few ports.

Therefore, I will be rating the Dell Inspiron 7386 an eight out of ten in this design review section.

Dell Inspiron 7386: Processor (CPU) Performance

Coming to its processor, the Dell Inspiron 7386 employs an Intel Core i7-8565U processor. This processor is a 4-core processor with a base frequency of 1.80 GHz and a maximum frequency of 4.60 GHz.

In addition to its reasonably high frequencies, this processor also has a substantial cache memory of 8 MB.

Considering performance, this processor is one of the best performing processors by intel. In fact, with the Intel Core i7-8565U processor, the Dell Inspiron 7386 should comfortably handle any task thrown at it.

Basically, this laptop’s processing power allows powerful apps like Corel Draw to run with ease. Also, with this Intel Core i7-8565U processor, the Dell Inspiron 7386 will remain cool even under severe workloads.

To verify the performance of the Dell Inspiron 7386 with this processor, I will now share its result in a Cinebench R15 benchmark. Briefly, Cinebench is an app-based benchmark used to measure the overall processing power of a computer.

Furthermore, Cinebench R15 offers two results – the single and the multi-core test results. The single-core test discloses the processing power of a single processor core.

Meanwhile, the multi-core test shows the processing capability of all four processor cores. You should also be aware that a high score in this benchmark test indicates better performance.

Therefore, based on the Cinebench test result, the Dell Inspiron 7386 scored 167 points in the single-core test. On the other hand, the laptop scored 555 points in the Cinebench R15 multi-core test.

Although the performance of this laptop is impressive in the benchmark test, its single-core score is below the 173 points category average. Also, its multi-core score is below the 612 points category average.

However, when compared to the Lenovo Yoga 530 which uses an Intel Core i5-8250U processor, unsurprisingly, the Inspiron 7386 did better. To be more specific, in the single-core Cinebench R15 benchmark test, the Lenovo Yoga 530 scored 144 points.

Also, in the multi-core test, the Lenovo Yoga 530 scored 535 points.

Finally, the Dell Inspiron 7386 performed below its category average on the benchmark test. Yet, it is still sufficient to carry out intensive computing tasks.

Hence, I will rate the laptop an eight out of ten in this review section.

Dell Inspiron 7386: Memory (RAM) Performance

The Dell Inspiron 7386 is available in either 8 GB or 16 GB memory on its single DDR4 2400 MHz slot. Sadly, the single RAM is soldered to the motherboard which means that you can not upgrade an 8 GB model to 16GB by yourself.

Hence, to get 16GB of RAM on this laptop, you have to buy it pre-installed.

Meanwhile, the upgrade limitation on this laptop is not surprising because the laptop is an inexpensive one. However, even with the least memory capacity offered by this laptop – 8GB – you will be able to carry out a decent level of multitasks.

Apparently, the 16 GB RAM model of the Dell Inspiron 7386 will give you better performance. For the purpose of this article, I will emphasize the memory performance of the 16GB model of the Dell Inspiron 7386.

Thankfully, with 16GB of RAM, the laptop should comfortably open 30 Chrome tabs and also stream videos from Netflix without lagging. Not only that, but the laptop should also smoothly switch between these opened tabs without slowdowns.

To further confirm the performance of this laptop’s 16 GB memory, let’s discuss its performance in a PCMark 8 test. For clarity, PCMark sums up the general productivity of a computer.

To accomplish this, PCMark 8 uses test modules that simulate diverse tasks like application startup, video conferencing, and web browsing. From this test and every other one used in this review, a higher score means better performance.

Therefore, according to the PCMark 8 test result, the Dell Inspiron 7386 scored 3,692 points. In comparison with the Lenovo Yoga 530, the Dell Inspiron 7386 performed slightly better.

Specifically, in the same PCMark 8 test, the Lenovo Yoga 530 scored 3515 points,

In conclusion, the Dell Inspiron 7386 offers a reliable memory capacity with an impressive performance. However, it does not offer an option for upgradability.

Hence, I will be rating the Dell Inspiron 7386 seven out of ten in this section of this review.

Dell Inspiron 7386: Storage Options and Performance

When it comes to storage, the Dell Inspiron 7386 comes with an M.2 PCIe NVMe 3.0 SSD. It is impressive to see that Dell employs an SSD storage type on the Inspiron 7386 despite its price category.

This is because SSDs are usually faster and more expensive than HDDs. Hence, we are expecting a speedy performance from the Dell Inspiron 7386.

In addition to that, the SSD storage supports a maximum storage capacity of 512 GB. To spice things up a little bit more, Dell provides one micro-SD slot for storage expansion.

Well, to discover the ability of the Dell Inspiron 7386 with its 512 GB SSD, I will discuss its CrystalDiskMark benchmark test result. CrystalDiskMark benchmark test measures the total performance of a computer’s storage.

In fact, the benchmark defines how slow or fast a computer’s storage is by calculating the sequential write and read speed. For clarity, sequential read means how fast files are opened on a computer while write speed means how fast files are saved.

Like the previous benchmarks we have consulted in this review, a higher score in the CrystalDiskMark benchmark also signifies better performance.

Therefore, in the test, the Dell Inspiron 7386 had a sequential read speed of 1222.44 MBps. To add to that, it had a sequential write speed of 619.9 MBps.

In comparison, the Dell Inspiron 7386’s read and write speed comes behind that of the Lenovo Yoga 530. Lenovo Yoga 530 had a read and write speed of 2070.93 MBps and 720.7 MBs respectively.

In summary, the Dell Inspiron 7386 offers a decent storage capacity. So, I will rate it a seven out of ten in this storage review section.

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Dell Inspiron 7386: Graphics Card Performance

For its graphics functionalities, the Dell Inspiron 7386 comes packed with an Intel HD Graphics 620 graphics card. This GPU has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a maximum frequency of 1150 MHz.

Additionally, this graphics card is integrated, so there is no dedicated VRAM. This is because the Dell Inspiron 7386 isn’t specifically designed for high-end graphic tasks.

Hence, this GPU only handles simple computing tasks with ease. It does not have sufficient power for modern and demanding 3D games. 

Speaking of games, the GPU delivered about 23 fps when playing a light game like Rocket League at high settings.

Having talked about its gaming performance, let me proceed to share the GPUs performance in a 3D Mark benchmark test.

Notably, 3DMark 11 is a benchmark tool that measures how a computer renders graphics in 3D. Once again, a higher score in this benchmark indicates better performance.

Based on the test results, the Dell Inspiron 7386 scored 1,877 points. Impressively, it exceeded the category average score of 1,742 points.

Comparatively, it also outperformed the Lenovo Yoga 530 which had 1,663 points.

In conclusion, the Dell Inspiron 7386 offered a decent GPU performance in the benchmark despite not being built for intense graphics tasks. Therefore, I will rate it seven out of ten in this graphics review section.

Dell Inspiron 7386: Battery Life and Performance

The Dell Inspiron 7386 is powered by a 3-cell, 38 Whrs Li-Polymer battery. However, Dell did not tell how long the battery life can last.

Hence to find that out, we will consider a battery test performed by notebookcheck.com. This test involved looping a 1080p resolution trailer till the battery goes off.

From the test, the Dell Inspiron 7386 lasted eight hours twelve minutes before the laptop shut down. Unfortunately, the battery performance isn’t so impressive as many convertibles now have the capacity to last for nine hours and more.

In fact, the Lenovo Yoga 530 lasted for 10 hours 27 minutes in the same test. Hence, the result of this test shows that although the Dell Inspiron 7386 it’s a powerful laptop, it won’t last through an entire workday.

This implies that you will always have to keep your charger close by. In conclusion, I think the Dell Inspiron 7386 deserves a rating of seven in this battery life review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Dell Inspiron 13 7386 2-in-1 is a good-looking laptop with a sturdy build. It is also equipped with a powerful processor, a large SSD, and sufficient RAM capacity.

Additionally, it supports a 4K resolution that some of its competitors do not.

Unfortunately, it does not have long-enough battery life. Also, its GPU is only powerful enough to handle light graphics tasks.

Nevertheless, if gaming is not a point of interest to you and you can also afford to carry your charger around, then the Dell Inspiron 7386 might be for you.

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