Dell Latitude Dell Latitude 5400 Laptop FHD Touchscreen, Intel Review

Let's talk about the Dell Latitude 5400. This is a laptop that's trying to be a solid, no-nonsense workhorse for someone who needs a Windows machine with a specific set of features. It's got a touchscreen, a ton of RAM, and a full terabyte of storage, all wrapped up in a 1.45kg package. It's not trying to win any speed races, and it's definitely not a gaming machine. But for certain tasks, it might just be the right tool.

So who is this for? Our scoring says it's best for someone who values a compact, portable device. It lands in the 79th percentile for compactness, which is its highest score. The 32GB of RAM is a huge plus for students or business users who live in a browser with 50 tabs open, plus a dozen spreadsheets and a video call running. The touchscreen is a nice bonus for quick navigation or presentations. If your main needs are portability, multitasking, and basic productivity, this Latitude has you covered.

What makes it interesting is the configuration. You don't often see 32GB of RAM paired with a lower-power Intel 8365U CPU. It's a bit of an odd duck. The machine is clearly built to handle lots of applications at once, but the processor itself is in the 11th percentile for speed. That tells you everything: this is about handling many light tasks smoothly, not about crushing a single heavy one. It's a specific choice, and it defines what this laptop can and can't do.

Performance is where this laptop's personality really shows. That Intel Core i7-8365U is a 4-core chip from an older generation, and its 11th percentile ranking tells the story. In daily use, it'll feel perfectly fine for web browsing, office apps, and streaming. But ask it to compile code, edit large photos, or handle complex Excel models, and you'll feel it start to chug. It's not slow for basic stuff, but it has a clear ceiling.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics lands in the 42nd percentile, which aligns perfectly with the 15.2/100 gaming score. You can forget about modern gaming. You might get some very light indie titles or older games to run, but that's it. The real performance story is in the RAM and storage. With 32GB of DDR4, you can have an absurd number of programs and browser tabs open without a hiccup. And the 1TB SSD, while not the fastest on the market (65th percentile), provides plenty of quick space for all your files. This is a machine built for multitasking endurance, not sprint speed.

Here's the tricky part: value. The price swings from $346 to $469 depending on the vendor. That's a $123 spread, which is huge for a laptop in this category. At the $346 end, this configuration with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD starts to look like a interesting deal for a student or budget-conscious office worker who needs that specific spec combo. You're paying for the RAM and storage, not the CPU.

At the full $469, it's a much harder sell. You're entering the territory of newer laptops with much faster, more efficient processors, better screens, and WiFi 6. The value proposition really hinges on finding it at that lower price point. Always shop around. If you can snag it for close to $350, it's a niche pick. At $470, you should probably look elsewhere.

This Latitude faces stiff competition, and understanding the trade-offs is key. The ASUS Zenbook Duo, for example, offers a revolutionary dual-screen design for multitasking in a similar portable form. You'd give up some RAM but gain a far more versatile and modern machine, likely for a higher price. For the student or business user focused purely on tab-heavy work, the Latitude's 32GB RAM is a compelling argument against the Zenbook's innovation.

Then there's the elephant in the room: the Apple MacBook Pro. It's in a different league on performance, screen, and battery life, but also a different price universe. The more direct competitor is something like a Lenovo ThinkPad with a modern Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen chip. Those will offer significantly better CPU performance, better efficiency, and often better build quality for similar money. The Latitude's main advantage in that fight is its specific high-RAM, high-storage configuration at a potentially lower entry price. You're trading raw speed and modern features for sheer multitasking capacity on a budget.

If you need a portable Windows laptop specifically for light, multi-window productivity and you found this Dell Latitude 5400 for around $350, it's a justifiable purchase. The 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD are legitimately great for keeping countless apps and tabs open without slowdown. For a student writing papers with a mountain of research tabs, or an office worker juggling databases and communication apps, it does that one job well.

For almost anyone else, I'd recommend looking at alternatives. If you do any media consumption, the poor screen is a deal-breaker. If you need to run anything more demanding than basic apps, the weak CPU will frustrate you. And if you're paying anywhere near the $469 high end of its price range, you can absolutely find a more balanced, modern, and reliable laptop. This is a specialist tool, not a generalist. Buy it only if its very specific strengths perfectly match your very specific, lightweight needs.