Dell 15.6" 2K Carbon Black 2023 Review

The Dell 15 DC15250 is a budget 15-inch laptop for under $400. It handles basic web and document tasks but is held back by its dim screen and, crucially, only 8GB of RAM. It's an option only if your budget is extremely tight and your needs are minimal.

Looking for a basic, no-frills 15-inch laptop for under $400? The Dell 15 DC15250 is a common sight on store shelves, and it's built for one thing: everyday computing. It packs a 13th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD into a simple black chassis. With a 1080p touchscreen and a full keyboard with a number pad, it's aiming to be the workhorse for students or anyone who just needs a machine for web browsing, documents, and video calls. Just know that at this price, you're making some serious trade-offs.

The Intel Core i5 1334U is a 10-core chip, but it's a low-power 'U-series' processor designed for efficiency, not speed. In our database, its CPU performance lands in the 32nd percentile, which means it's fine for opening a dozen browser tabs and a Word doc, but it'll start to chug if you try to do much more. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics sit in the 43rd percentile, so gaming is basically off the table except for the simplest titles on low settings. The 8GB of RAM is a real bottleneck, ranking in the 6th percentile. You'll feel that limit quickly with modern web apps and multitasking.

At around $380, this Dell is undeniably cheap for a new laptop with these specs on paper. The value proposition hinges entirely on your tolerance for its weaknesses. You're paying for the basics: a screen, a keyboard, and just enough power to get online. If your budget is absolutely locked at $400, it's an option. But for most people, spending a little more on a used or refurbished business laptop, or even a Chromebook, will get you a much better overall experience.

This Dell sits in a tough spot. Compared to a base model Apple MacBook Pro or ASUS ProArt, it's not even in the same universe—those are professional machines costing over four times as much. A more relevant comparison is against other budget Windows laptops. Many in this price range also suffer from 8GB of RAM and mediocre screens, but some, like older Lenovo Ideapads, might offer better build quality. If you can stretch your budget to $500-$600, you'll find models with 16GB of RAM and much better displays that will feel faster and last longer. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go series, while more expensive, shows what a better-built budget machine looks like.

Skip this if you multitask heavily, care about screen quality, or want a laptop to last more than a couple of years. Students running research software, remote workers on video calls all day, or anyone who edits photos should look elsewhere. For a similar price, consider a renewed/refurbished business-class laptop from Lenovo or Dell's own outlet, which often have better specs and build. If your work lives in a browser, a Chromebook might also be a smarter buy.

Should you buy this? Only with very specific, low expectations. This is a laptop for someone who needs a simple, new Windows machine for the most basic tasks and cannot spend a single dollar more than $400. It's for filling out web forms, writing emails, and watching YouTube. If that's you, and you understand the RAM and screen limitations, it'll work. For literally anyone else—students needing to run multiple programs, families wanting a durable daily driver, or anyone who cares about screen quality—we strongly suggest looking at alternatives. This is a classic case of getting what you pay for, and at this price, that isn't much.