One month with the Dell Precision 3520

Working on the Dell Precision 3520 laptop is a real joy, even in 2020

A month with the Dell Precision 3520 mobile work station

It has been a month since we started working on the mobile workstation Dell Precision 3520 and it is time for our short-term consumer feedback about this laptop in 2020.

To begin this review we have to point out that it would be mostly positive impressions but all of our feedback is real consumer opinion and not a paid one.

Dell Precision 3520 - Performance

During this month we used the Precision 3520 for various tasks, from such that are quite heavy and hardware demanding to everyday activities like Internet browsing, social media and watching YouTube videos.

Processing power by the Intel Core i7 processor in the Precision 3520 laptop

For the light tasks the laptop's performance was always more than adequate and processing those tasks was really fast, without any hesitation or a feel for lack of processing power or RAM. Really nothing to complain in regards of the day to day activities, exceptional performance by the Intel Core i7 processor and the 16 GB of RAM combined with the fast 256 GB NVMe solid state drive (I wish it was 512 GB).

Watching high definition videos in all resolutions, including 4k is a real joy on the IPS display or on external monitor/TV (like the 40-inch TV we use hooked up through cheap HDMI cable).

For most of the tasks in this category the laptop remained cool and silent for most of the time which is a big plus when giving feedback for mobile workstations.

In regards to the heavy-duty tasks like video rendering in Adobe Premiere Pro the Precision 3520 also performed on a good level working with medium-sized HD and Full HD video. We still haven't tested it on the edge with some longer 4k videos but I am pretty sure the NVIDIA Quadro M620 video cart combined with the Intel HD Graphics 630 will handle the task in a good manner and speed.

For the more demanding jobs the Precision 3520 almost always used the higher rev modes of its cooling system but the bottom of the workstation never went too hot, just a bit warm. To be hones the fan got quite loud sometimes but that is quite normal for the heavy and demanding tasks.

Plenty of vents for cooling on the bottom of the Dell Precision 3520 work station

Dell Precision 3520 - battery life

As discussed in our initial review of the Precision 3520 the battery life is average and you can expect about 3-4 hours of active work on this laptop on one battery charge. With power-saving mode you can top the battery performance to 5-6 hours.

Battery performance on the Dell Precision 3520

That is quite expected when having such powerful hardware components and dedicated video card in addition to the built-in Intel HD Graphics accelerator.

Recharging the battery is pretty fast, under 2 hours.

Dell Precision 3520 keyboard

We did a full test of the Precision 3520 keyboard so please refer to this Precision 3520 keyboard article for more info. To say the least, the keyboard is just fine, silent and comfortable, we just wish the keys were a bit bigger.

Our initial Dell Precision 3520 2020 video review

Dell Precision 3520 display
We still haven't calibrated the display at its best so it still looks kind of yellowish. But what a display that is... this 15-inch IPS screen is one of the best we have tested on a laptop - great viewing angles, great RGB coverage and a proper for this size Full HD resolution.

Well, this is our consumer feedback after a month with the Dell Precision 3520 workstation and we are pretty satisfied so far.

Stay tuned for more info and check the rest of our Dell product reviews!