Inspiron vs latiude laptop for primary school

[steveritus]

Need to buy a bank for laptops for my primary school

 

Will Dell inspiron be ok or should I go for the latiude?

 

Thanks

[atcoates]

I'd say Lattitude all the way. They are manufactured to a higher standard with metal hinges etc. You also get much longer driver support.

[mavhc]

The Dell Latitude's I bought 9 years ago were so bad I switched to HP, have they got better since? TPM failed, AC data pin failed

[Frodo_Baggins]

We've got a mix latitude 3510/20/40 and all have been rock solid so far, any issues that crop up are easily dealt with via Dell Tech Direct.

Wouldn't use Inspiron unless for students and on a tight budget if they were a lot cheaper.

[DavR]

Latitude all the way, they're designed for education and are more robust. Inspiron are designed for light home use.

 

There have been some real horror show Latitudes in recent years, but recently seem much better. We last bought the Latitude 3380 and out of a batch of 15, I think the worst I've had is a few damaged keyboards.

[jmak]

I still recommend Latitudes. I prefer the 5000 series to the 3000 but we have got a set of the 3000s as a group set for students. Internals are much the same, but the cases on the 5's feel more resilient.

 

Both are designed to be repairable/upgradeable. I couldn't claim they've been entirely trouble free, but we do have a lot and their support is second to none. Dealing with phone support can be slightly frustrating because you have to prove you've done the basic troubleshooting, but the technician always comes next day and has the parts.

 

We also get a very good deal on 5 year next day onsite support - ask your reseller and check out framework agreements.

 

I have bought two Inspirons for family members in the last year and have been impressed with build quality - metal case, nicely finished - as they needed 360° hinges. But for everyone else, work or personal, it's Latitudes all the way.

Edited September 6, 2023 by jmak

[Norphy]

Latitudes are business machines. They come with more business orientated features like the Dell Command Suite, and frequently come with more ports like ethernet and USB-A. I have two Latitudes sitting on my desk right now, a 5420 and a 5430 and both have two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, an ethernet port, an HDMI port and a headphone jack. They're both compatible with a wide range of docks and other accessories. You can download driver packages for them to integrate into your endpoint management system. They're more robust, come with better warranties and Dell used to guarantee spare part availability and interoperability for a certain amount of years. I don't know if they still do.

 

Inspirons are OK home machines and will function for you in an education setting but if you're managing a lot of computers, you're best going with business lines like Latitude, Thinkpads, Elitebooks or whatever.

[MatthewL]

Latitude, had thousands of the things over the last 17 years and they get hammer and last.

[HTCPCP]

back when I was in edu, I took over a school which had 2 banks of inspirons, and it was a right pain. Constant failures of the charging pin (also had the same issue with HPs with the small barrel adapter too), as well as hinge issues, power button issues etc, as they just aren't designed for that kind of use.

 

Latitudes are generally better built, although I've still had issues with ones with the small barrel port failing (likewise Probooks and Elitebooks with the HP equivalent port that have the same issue too), so finding one with USB C charging seems to be far more reliable.