Dell Vostro 3700 review

Dell’s Vostro range is aimed squarely at fulfilling the needs of the small-business crowd. Its marketing mantra revolves around providing security, service and reliability with minimal outlay.

This, the Dell Vostro 3700, is the hulking giant of the range, and hopes to appeal to those looking for a powerful, semi-portable workstation. The Vostro 3700 clearly wants to reign supreme as the most affordable 17.3in laptop on the market, and, as ever, Dell allows prospective purchasers to tailor the Vostro to suit the tightest of budgets.

The base model, available for £429 exc VAT, harbours a 2.13GHz Core i3 processor, 2GB of memory, a 250GB hard disk, Intel’s integrated HD graphics and bog-standard 802.11bg wireless networking.

Squeeze that modest IT budget as hard as you can, and £645 will see the 3700 upgraded with a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-520M, 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk, dedicated Nvidia GT 330M graphics and both Bluetooth and 802.11n wireless. Whichever you choose, though, the 17.3in display shares the same matte finish, 1,600 x 900 resolution and solid, dependable image quality.

Haul all 3kg of the Vostro 3700 onto the desk, and you’re faced with a smart, businesslike notebook of daunting proportions. And, while its size might not appeal to some, there’s no question that this redesign is the most successful the Vostro range has yet seen.

Reminiscent of the pricier Latitude range, the Vostro still has a clear identity of its own; clean lines and soft, rounded edges form a double act with acres of brushed aluminium framed by matte-black and glossy accents. It’s only once you get up close and personal that the Vostro gives any clues as to its budget beginnings.

It’s hardly surprising, but it’s never going to give the extraordinarily sturdy Dell Precision M6500 a run for its money in the build quality stakes. Grapple heavy-handedly with the base and the odd creak and bit of flex make it clear that Dell has had to scrimp and save to hit such a low price point.

That flexibility is far from chronic, but it does leave the keyboard bereft of a sturdy foundation to build on. So although each key boasts plenty of travel and a positive action, its bouncy feel means it isn’t the most comfortable keyboard upon which to type.

It’s probably a little much to expect perfection at this price, though, and Dell has clearly worked hard to make the Vostro appeal to its target market.

Take a good long, hard look at the Vostro 3700, and there are plenty of plus points. The metal lid, for example, elicits far more confidence than the base beneath, and valiantly resisted our best efforts to prod and poke it hard enough to foul the TFT panel inside.

The array of sensible design features doesn’t end there, either. Our favourite, and one that’s liable to be highly popular with users and small IT departments, is the single panel on the underside that gives access to the Vostro’s core components. All it takes is a couple of seconds to undo the two screws, and you have access to the CPU, hard disk, RAM and mini-PCI slot. It makes a refreshing change from many of the business laptops currently on the market.

There’s also no faulting the connectivity on offer. DisplayPort is a notable absentee, but the provision of D-SUB, HDMI, four USB ports, ExpressCard/34, and an SD/MMC and Memory Stick card reader go some way towards making amends. There’s even an eSATA port that doubles as a fifth USB port.

And, crucially for small businesses, there’s a wide range of options when it comes to warranties and support. A basic one year of collect-and-return warranty comes as standard, and this can be extended to three years for an extra £40, while upgrading to one or three years of Dell’s ProSupport costs £10 and £60 exc VAT respectively.

For businesses with small or non-existent IT teams, the ability to tailor ProSupport to their needs is a big attraction. Firms can opt for warranty models that support individual users or IT staff as they see fit, and next-day engineer visits are guaranteed for issues that can’t be solved over the phone.

Performance is trickier to assess: unfortunately, Dell supplied our review unit with a specification which, at the time of writing, was unavailable on its website. Regardless, the combination of the previous 45nm generation Core i7-720QM processor and 4GB of memory scored a fine 1.57 in our benchmarks, and managed to cling on for 2hrs 40mins during our light-use battery life tests.

The 2.4GHz Core i5-520M – currently the top of the range option on the Vostro 3700 – should prove a much better bet. With a 10W lower TDP than the 45W Core i7 and equally impressive reserves of power, we’d expect broadly similar performance in our application benchmarks and a little extra battery life to boot.

Businesses blessed with cavernous IT budgets will probably discount the Vostro in favour of Dell’s pricier Latitude and Precision ranges, but smaller outfits will find much to love. There are inevitably compromises along the way – a glimpse of average build quality and an unimpressive keyboard – but Dell has done a good job of keeping them to an absolute minimum.

In the final reckoning, the Vostro 3700 manages to blend quality, performance and comprehensive support into a package that will appeal to small businesses everywhere.

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