Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review

The Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme is more of a professional portable tool than a regular high-performance laptop, but that doesn't stop it from being the king of its class. If your job requires a laptop to use outdoors in terrible conditions, this will prove to be very attractive.

In addition to lifestyle laptops, Dell also makes machines that can withstand harsh conditions. The brand has announced a new line of Latitude Rugged laptops, ideal for those who need to survive extreme temperatures, constant vibration or high levels of dust and humidity. With the introduction of the Latitude 5430 Rugged and Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme, the company hopes to satisfy those who work in environments that go beyond the boundaries of a traditional desktop laptop. The Latitude 5430 Rugged is a 14-inch laptop with semi-rugged durability. It has been tested from a height of 3 meters and has an IP53 7 rating for high protection against dust, dirt and water.

It weighs 1.97 kg and can be equipped with an optional professional discrete graphics card. The other one called Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme is a 13-inch fully ruggedized 13-inch laptop. In addition to an optional 1400-nit display that can be viewed in direct sunlight and operated multi-touch with gloves, it has been drop-tested up to 6 metres high and has an IP-65 9 rating for maximum protection against dust, dirt and water ingress. As such, it is suitable for those looking for extreme protection measures for their laptops.

Design

Each corner of this durable laptop has an additional rubber bumper that helps protect the device from drops and protects it from scratches on uneven surfaces. We found this incredibly convenient because we never had to worry about the surfaces we were resting the device on. Dell claims the device has an IP65 rating, can withstand drops from a height of 1.8 meters, and can withstand temperatures from -29°C to 63°C. We have never taken this laptop to these extremes, but knowing that it can withstand extreme temperatures, we are confident of its capabilities in extreme outdoor activities.

The bottom of this laptop shows a handful of screws that can be used to open the computer for repairs or upgrades. The back also shows two hot-swappable batteries and an easily accessible door for the M.2 SSD slot. All ports on this laptop are sealed behind lockable doors as part of the IP65 rating. Each door has a toggle switch to unlock and open the sealed door.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Compared to the Getac B360 series keyboard, Dell’s keyboard is slightly softer and quieter, but not necessarily less comfortable to type on. Users may prefer quieter keys, depending on the usage scenario. However, we prefer the B360’s red backlighting, as it is slightly more pleasing to the eyes than Dell’s white backlighting.

The trackpad is quite large at 10 x 5 cm, compared to the Getac B360’s 9.3 x 5.3 cm. Although operation is smooth, cursor control is jerky because the trackpad is designed to recognize glove input as well. We recommend pressing the trackpad more firmly to reduce jumping.

Display

The Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme uses the same 1080p Sharp LQ133M1 IPS panel found in the 2016 XPS 13 9350 or Latitude 13 7370. Although it sounds bad, this particular panel is better than the average panel in most other rugged laptops. The Panasonic Toughbook FZ-55 MK2, Durabook S14I or Getac B360, for example, use panels with a significantly narrower color gamut and thus significantly less intense colors. This is one of the few rugged models with a 1400-nit display, deep contrast of over 1500:1 and full sRGB coverage all in one. We also appreciate the absence of PWM, unlike many other rugged devices.

The main drawback of this panel is the very slow response time in black and white and gray-gray, which means ghosting is very noticeable. Fortunately, this isn’t a problem for slower-moving applications such as browsers or photo editors. The board is already well calibrated out of the box and so end-user calibration isn’t as necessary. Calibrating the panel yourself would further reduce the average grayscale and color delta values from 2.8 and 1.99 to just 1.0 and 0.72, respectively.

Audio

The sound quality is disappointing. The Latitude’s speakers are weak and muddy. Dialogue can be heard clearly, so video conferencing is pleasant, but music is jarring and distant. The Latitude 7330 Ultralight comes with Waves MaxxAudio Pro software that adjusts the audio presentation when headphones are connected. We turned it off, but every time we plugged in headphones it was prompted again. This is an annoying bloatware that is best removed.

Performance

Although expensive, the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight configuration I reviewed had mid-range specifications. Most importantly was the Intel Core i7-1265U processor. This has a total of ten cores, but only two of them are performance cores. PCMark 10, a generic performance benchmark, places the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight behind the competition with a score of just 5,100. This is an adequate score, but compared to other modern laptops of similar price, the Latitude clearly lags behind. While the performance doesn’t quite match the performance of the consumer laptops in the chart above, it should be noted that the Latitude has those critical vPro security features.

These features make the cost much higher. But it’s a fair trade-off because it makes running a business much more secure. The Cinebench R15 multi-threaded benchmarking brings the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight to a slight disadvantage. Not only the Intel Core i7-1260P, but also AMD’s older Ryzen 7 5800U lags behind.

This may seem odd, given that the Core i7-1265U seems to rank higher in Intel’s product stack. The key is in the characters. The i7-1265U is part of a line of processors that tends towards lower power consumption, while the i7-1260P tends towards performance. Don’t misunderstand this: the i7-1265U is an excellent processor for most tasks. Even light photo or video editing shouldn’t be a problem. However, the Core i7-1260P is better if you need consistent performance in heavy multithreaded workloads.

Battery Life

The Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight model we tested had a small 41-watt-hour battery. This is below average for a 13-inch laptop and has consequences. In PC World’s standard test, we recorded eight hours and 56 minutes of battery life with a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel. This is far less time than alternatives such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and Samsung’s Galaxy Book Pro models, including the new Book Pro2 360.

Dell is offering an upgrade to a 58 watt-hour battery. That’s a capacity increase of about 40 percent that theoretically brings the Latitude 7330 Ultralight on par with competitors. This upgrade is affordable, as it currently costs just over $20, and increases the weight of the laptop to about two and a half pounds.

Conclusion

The Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme is purposefully designed for a specific group of people who need rugged power they can rely on. It has more computing power than the average laptop and can withstand tough working conditions. The incredibly bright screen, for example, makes it easy to use in direct sunlight, while the rugged design, built-in handle, reinforced corners and covered ports make it usable without worry in any environment. Although the trackpad is mediocre at best, the keyboard is comfortable to type on and we were impressed with the useful additional features, such as biometric authentication.

Lucas Simonds
Lucas Simonds
Lucas Simonds is a skilled content editor at Bollyinside, specializing in "How to" and "Tips & Tricks" articles focused on Gaming, Software, and Apps. With a genuine passion for video games, he not only writes about them but also actively engages in gaming. His commitment to providing insightful and approachable content has earned him a trusted reputation within the online community.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related Articles

Hubspot Service Hub review 2024: a comprehensive platform

When it comes to customer support operations, HubSpot Service Hub is an all-encompassing customer service platform that is meant to...
Read more
When players on Windows 11 or 10 try to log in to Steam, they may get the error code E87....
Users of Windows 11 or 10 may find it frustrating to deal with the error number 147-0 in Microsoft Office....
The Microsoft Store is an important part of the Windows operating system because it gives users a single place to...
It can be hard to find the right balance between usefulness, durability, and cost when it comes to kitchen storage....
Both AirDroid and Vysor are well-known tools that help Android users control their devices and mirror them. One of the...
The Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme is specially designed for a specific group of people who need rugged power they can rely on. It has more computing power than the average laptop and can withstand tough working conditions.Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme review