It’s best to go back a decade or two in time when thinking about the Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme. This laptop is made tough and proud of it; its designers didn’t obsess over thin bezels and millimeters of thickness down to two decimal places. Instead, they used concepts that have long since lost favor with laptops, like hot-swappable batteries and the capacity for customers to replace some parts themselves. Of course, this laptop’s toughness is the first thing that one notices. It should be dust-tight and capable of withstanding low-pressure water jets because it is IP65 rated. Dell asserts that its products have “the maximum protection against dust, dirt, and water ingress,” but the IP Code actually has five higher water protection levels. The laptop can withstand drops from 6 feet, or 1.8 meters, and temperatures from “-20°F to 145°F,” which to the rest of the world translates to nearly -29°C to a mere 63°C. also you will learn our article on Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review.
Design
This sturdy laptop has an extra rubber bumper on each corner to help with drop protection and prevent scratches on uneven surfaces. As we never had to be concerned about the surfaces we set this device on, we found this to be really handy. According to Dell, this device can withstand drops from 6 feet (1.8 meters), -20°F to 145°F (-29°C to 63°C), and temperatures as high as 63°F. It also has an IP65 rating. Although we haven’t actually used this laptop in those conditions, the knowledge that it can withstand them gives us confidence in its suitability for demanding outdoor jobs. This laptop’s underside reveals a few screws that enable the device to be opened for maintenance or upgrades. Two hot-swappable batteries and an accessible hatch containing the M.2 SSD bay are also located on the back. As part of the IP65 designation, this laptop’s ports are all concealed behind locking doors. There is a toggle switch on each bay of ports that unlocks and unlocks the sealed door. While testing, we loved being able to take this laptop wherever our day took us because we didn’t have to worry about dents or drops. This laptop’s aesthetics are definitely not minimalist, and for this type of laptop, we really like it. We are reminded that this laptop can handle a day outside of the office by the bulky finishes.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard on the Dell is slightly softer and quieter but not necessarily less comfortable to type on when compared to the keyboard on the Getac B360 series. Depending on the usage environment, users could choose quieter keys. However, we do prefer the red backlight on the B360 over the white backlight on the Dell because it is a little bit easier on the eyes. The Getac B360’s trackpad is smaller than this one, measuring 9.3 x 5.3 cm instead of 10 x 5 cm. Despite having smooth traction, the trackpad’s cursor control is jerky because it can also recognise input from gloves. To lessen the jumping, we advise pressing harder on the trackpad’s surface.
Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review: Display
The Full HD screen has a maximum brightness of 1400 nits, making it possible to use it comfortably in direct sunlight. On the Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme, a bright, functional Windows desktop will always be visible. Multimedia displays seem beautiful because of the bright screen since colours remain vibrant and contrast is preserved. While there may be some stepping in colour gradient transitions, it is not distracting. Gradients in dark areas, however, can easily become a blocky mess. If you intended to use it for gaming, keep in mind that the screen’s pixel response time is extremely slow, making fast-paced shooters difficult to play on it. The speakers can output a lot of sound while maintaining accuracy from top to bottom. Even the bass response is respectable. We assume that this is done to make it possible to listen to online conferences and multimedia in clamorous outdoor settings. Access must be quick and secure for use in the field. Utilizing Windows Hello, Microsoft’s biometric authentication service, is the quickest way to unlock this device. Additional choices include entering a passcode or using the add-on SmartCard reader. There are contact and contactless options with the SmartCard reader.
Audio
The sound is of poor quality. The Latitude has poor, dirty speakers. Video conferencing is enjoyable because the dialogue can be heard clearly, but the music is jarring and far away. When headphones are connected, the Waves MaxxAudio Pro software on the Latitude 7330 Ultralight modifies the audio presentation. When we plugged in headphones, even after we turned it off, the prompt reappeared. Remove this obtrusive bloatware as soon as possible. you can read our article on Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review.
Graphic and gaming
Two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark, Night Raid (more subdued, ideal for laptops with integrated graphics) and Time Spy, are used to assess the visual performance of Windows PCs (more demanding, suitable for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs). Additionally, we run two tests from the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, which puts a lot of strain on both high-level, game-like image rendering and low-level tasks like texturing. The 1080p Car Chase and 1440p Aztec Ruins tests put graphics and compute shaders to the test using hardware tessellation and OpenGL, respectively. These tests are rendered offscreen to support different display resolutions. The better, the higher the frames per second (fps).
Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review: Performance
A quad-core, eight-thread, 1.2-4.8GHz Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor, 32GB RAM, and a 1TB hard drive are all found inside the Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme. In our general PC Mark 10 test, it received a score of 5321, which is below average by the standards of most modern laptops but acceptable for an ultraportable device. It performed poorly in the rendering tests conducted by Cinebench R15 and R23, scoring 929 and 5026, respectively. The integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU on the Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme fills the gap left by the absence of discrete graphics. This only averaged 10 frames per second and achieved a challenging 3DMark Time Spy score of 1840. It also performed poorly on the Port Royal ray tracing test, scoring only 2457 (11 frames per second) in Fire Strike Extreme. With a score of 17,747 on the less demanding 3DMark Night Raid test and an average frame rate of 110, it can play both competitive and recreational games.
Battery life
Let’s examine the battery situation and predicted battery life right now. In fully rugged laptops, the competition has historically set the bar for battery life quite high, typically with enormous (and heavy) battery packs. Recently, new generations of fully-rugged laptops have emerged, including the Getac B360 and this Dell 7330, in an effort to provide thinner, lighter rugged laptops with the best performance AND an acceptable amount of battery life. Despite significant advancements in battery technology, strong batteries still tend to be bulky and heavy. An additional 97 watt-hour battery was available as an option for the original Dell Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme. With only one battery, the follow-up Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme used the increasingly common dual battery design that enables hot-swapping and reduces “starting weight.” With the new 7330, Dell also adopted that strategy. You can get an impressive 107 watt-hours from either one or two of the included 53.5 watt-hour batteries. It’s a lot, that.
Heat
Additionally impressive is the thermal design. It uses the exact same fan as the 5430 and a few copper heat pipes, and it has a very similar appearance. The main distinction is that the 5430 is not a sealed unit, but the 7330 is. Although the front and back of the 5530 are snugly fitted together, there is no seal between the two halves, and liquid can enter the interior of the 5430 through the fan intake. The 7330 is an enclosed device. The back of the 7330 housing has a groove with a black silicone seal all the way around it.
Configuration options
With Windows 10 Pro, the base model of this laptop costs just under $3,700 (£3638.76). The most expensive version available through Dell’s website is $7,860.03 (£7218.26), which includes every upgradeable feature. You will check our article on Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review.
Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review: Conclusion
The Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme is one of the best options available for those who need a fully-rugged device that can withstand a harsh environment and a potential beating, especially given that its performance can compete with many other mid-to-high end workstation laptops like the Dell XPS 15 or the LG Gram 17. However, it is obvious from its design that this isn’t going to be the best laptop for everyone. With 11th-generation Intel processors, integrated Xe graphics, and ample RAM and storage to handle daily work, it is very configurable. Additionally, its HD display is remarkably brilliant for a laptop that appears to have jumped out of the early 1990s. Look no farther than the Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme if you need the most durable laptop money can buy because it will withstand much more abuse than something like a Dell XPS 17.
