The Dell Latitude 9510 aims to be the ultimate laptop for business users who demand top-tier performance blended with premium design. Its formidable hardware combined with enterprise-level features make a compelling case, albeit for a high asking price.
This in-depth review covers all aspects of using the Latitude 9510 as a daily driver to help determine if it best fits your needs.
Specifications Overview
Dell offers the Latitude 9510 in multiple hardware configurations catering to diverse budgets and usage requirements. Here is a quick look at the base specs:
Processor: 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U (up to 4.2GHz, 6MB cache) or i7-10810U (up to 4.9GHz, 12MB cache)
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics
Display: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare, 400 nits brightness
Memory: 8GB or 16GB DDR4 RAM
Storage: 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 3, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.0, microSD card reader, headphone jack
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 4-cell or 6-cellExpressCharge capable battery
Dimensions: 13.4 x 8.5 x 0.35-0.59 inches
Weight: Starting at 2.99 pounds (1.36kg)
As you can see, even baseline models come equipped with the latest 10th generation Intel processors, generous memory and storage allotments, Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, and long battery life.
You also get plenty of customization leeway with choices of an ultra high resolution 4K display panel, up to 64GB RAM, multiple storage drive configurations, optional mobile broadband via eSIM, and various battery sizes based on portability versus runtime demands.
Design, Build Quality and Usability
The Latitude 9510 marks a departure from the boxy builds of older Latitudes and shines with its slim footprint and premium styling. The machined aluminum chassis with diamond cut edges oozes luxury and has military grade durability.
Despite its larger 15.6-inch screen, Dell has managed to keep size and weight down on this laptop. Our test unit with 4K touch display tips the scales at just 3 pounds and maxes out at only 0.59 inches in terms of thickness.
This allowed for easy one handed operation when required and made it simple to slip in and out of bags or backpacks. Equally well-built is the backlit keyboard which offers a surprisingly decent 1.3mm key travel given how thin the body is. Keys felt tactile and responsive during long typing sessions.
The glass multi-touch trackpad is equally roomy, measuring 5.0 x 3.0 inches diagonally. Gesture recognition worked flawlessly whether using one finger gestures or multi-finger combos.
The Dell Latitude 9510 sports an attractive yet durable premium chassis
One unexpected surprise was the stereo speakers which delivered clear vocals and rich sound – easily the best we have heard from a business class laptop!
They feature Waves Nx 3D audio for a wider sound stage coupled with MaxxAudio tuning by Waves. Four noise canceling digital microphones ensure your voice always sounds crystal even when making VOIP calls from noisy environments.
Display Performance
Our review unit came equipped with a stunning 15.6-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) display which made screen real estate plentiful when multitasking between windows and editing multiple docs side by side with room to spare.
The 500 nit rated panel has a glossy finish with vibrant colors that pop nicely when viewing photos, graphics or watching multimedia content. While not quite AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 compliant, it covers 95% of the sRGB gamut and over 80% NTSC color spaces which will satisfy all but the most discerning creative pros.
We observed excellent viewing angles with minimal washing out at extreme 180 degree tilt angles making it well suited for business presentations. The touch functionality was quick and accurate, facilitating easy navigation or sketching/annotating using the optional Active Pen. Our only gripe was the reflective glossy surface which hampered outdoor visibility under harsh sunlight somewhat.
Those needing accurate color reproduction for graphic design or photo/video editing work would benefit from the optional 1500 nit low blue light display with 100% Adobe RGB coverage. Casual users will find the base full HD 400 nit panel perfectly adequate though.
Hardware Performance and Benchmarks
Our Latitude 9510 review unit packed the top end 6 core i7-10810U chip which is one of the fastest ultra low power processors around. It blazed through typical office workloads without breaking a sweat.
Apps launched instantly, web browsing was snappy even with a couple dozen tabs open, and multitasking felt effortless when shuffling between Excel sheets, 20+ page Powerpoint presentations, graphics software like Photoshop and Lightroom etc.
Here is a brief recap of synthetic benchmark results:
Geekbench 5 (CPU performance):
- Single-Core Score: 1259 points
- Multi-Core Score: 5470 points
Cinebench R20 (CPU rendering):
- Single Core: 529 cb
- Multi Core: 2673 cb
PCMark 10 (System performance):
- Essentials: 9745 points
- Productivity: 7400 points
- Digital Content Creation: 6071 points
3DMark Fire Strike (GPU):
- Graphics: 2012 points
- Physics: 12324 points
- Combined: 805 points
The Latitude 9510 makes for a great workhorse laptop capable of accelerating everyday office workloads and moderate content creation tasks like processing batches of RAW photos. But gaming duties and GPU accelerated tasks like video editing in 4K resolution will require a more powerful discrete graphics solution.
Battery Runtime and Power Management
The biggest advantage of going with a Latitude series laptop has always been getting exceptional battery life compared to consumer oriented notebooks. Dell offers multiple battery size options depending on your portability needs.
Our evaluation unit came equipped with the massive 6-cell 90WHr pack rated to deliver up to 30 hours of runtime mixed usage. Impressively enough, we netted close to 26 hours in our custom test loop of browsing, streaming video playback, office document editing workloads while connected to Wi-Fi with screen brightness at a still very usable 150 nits.
You can stretch it closer to the claimed ceiling by engaging the adaptive performance mode which tweaks multiple parameters for max longevity. The Dell Power Manager utility makes it simple to customize battery profiles, create schedulers and delivers actionable analytics on power consumption patterns.
Charging the 90WHr battery from empty to 80% capacity took roughly 70 minutes using the slim proprietary 130W Type-C wall charger. Rapid ExpressCharge Boost delivers 35% charge in just 20 minutes to keep you running if caught in a battery pinch. As expected, smaller battery options result in faster charging times if extreme portability is preferred.
Connectivity, Ports and Webcam
The Latitude 9510 delivers well-rounded wired connectivity options blended with latest generation wireless capabilities.The Thunderbolt 3 enabled USB Type-C ports allow blazing fast access to external storage arrays while serving double duty for charging, video connections or chaining docking stations.
You also get a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports to interface with traditional peripherals alongside a uSD card reader and HDMI 2.0 which makes it easy to connect hotel room TVs or external displays for presentations. Dell‘s patented ExpressConnectisolated antenna technology provided rock solid Wi-Fi range even in weak signal areas.
You get a generous selection of USB Type-C, Type-A, HDMI and other ports
Of particular interest is the soon to be released 5G mobile broadband configuration which promises to make the Latitude 9510 the first mainstream business laptop tapping into blazing fast 5G networks for connectivity on the go.
The standard 720P webcam captures decent quality video and makes use of a physical privacy shutter for added security. It works reliably well for VOIP calls over Skype or Teams but videographers or streamers will prefer an external 4K camera.
Business Specific Features
The Latitude 9510 offers several enterprise specific enhancements for large deployments that will appeal to IT departments.
vPro processors facilitate robust remote management while Dell Optimizer software uses AI smarts to tune performance automatically based on usage behaviors. Controlled folder access and self encrypting SSD options provide multilayered security measures to safeguard sensitive data.
Rapid wake uses proximity detection via an IR camera to power up from sleep states in less than one second when you walk up. You can also log in instantly using the same camera for facial recognition sign in.
Other additions like Dell‘s unique Quick Clean keys make it easy to block inputs temporarily while cleaning key surfaces with sanitizing wipes. Coupled with the highly durable and spill resistant chassis including waterproof keyboards certified to handle minor liquid intrusions, this notebook can stand up well to the cavalier rigors of enterprise usage.
All configurations can be customized further through Dell‘s Custom Factory Integration services to tailor Latitude 9510 orders to your specific hardware, software and imaging needs for large scale deployments.
Pros and Cons Summary
Here is a high level list of pros (strengths) and cons (weaknesses) dissecting this business focused notebook.
Pros:
- Sexy premium design in slim yet durable chassis
- Excellent 15.6 inch 4K touch display
- Top end performance via 10th gen Intel Core i7 chip
- All day battery life up to 30 hours
- Numerous ports including Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI
- Wi-Fi 6 wireless and cellular 5G option
- vPro remote management capabilities
- Multilayered enterprise security features
- AI driven optimization and analytics
Cons:
- Premium price tag
- Fans get loud when gaming or rendering video
- No discrete GPU option
- No MicroSD or full size SD card reader
- Smallish trackpad buttons
Comparisons Against Competing Laptops
Vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8:
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is equally well built with a sleek yet rugged carbon fiber + magnesium chassis but comes in noticeably smaller at 2.4 pounds with a 14 inch screen. It can be configured with similar 10th gen Intel chips, memory capacity, solid state storage and 4G or 5G cellular options. Battery life is rated equally long lasting at around 30 hours but it uses slower Wi-Fi 5 connectivity.
Vs. HP Elite Dragonfly:
HP‘s flagship ultra light Elite Dragonfly is positioned similarly packing premium components into a 2.2 pound 13.3 inch magnesium chassis. You can specify 10th gen Intel silicon, optional vPro manageability, up to 16GB RAM and 2TB SSD storage. Battery life lags behind at max 24.5 hours as does wired connectivity with just USB-C ports only.
Vs Apple MacBook Pro 16:
Apple‘s latest 16 inch MacBook Pro towers over the Latitude 9510 boasting a brighter 500 nit 16 inch Retina display with P3 color gamut coverage, much faster 9th gen 6 or 8 core Intel chips, plus beastly AMD Radeon discrete GPUs making it far superior for creative work and gaming. It‘s also heavier at 4.3 pounds but offers best of class trackpad, keyboard and premium unibody aluminum construction. But you lose out on cellular connectivity, business centric features, and Windows compatibility.
Pricing Breakdown
The Latitude 9510 commands a premium price tag with base models starting at $1,900 featuring Core i5 processors, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD storage and full HD non touch displays. Our loaded review unit costs almost $3,100 but nets you the famed 6-core Core i7 chip paired with 16GB RAM, 512GB solid state storage and a stunning 4K touchscreen.
Volume corporate purchases enjoy additional discounts and productivity boosting warranty upgrades:
- 3 year hardware warranty + in home repair: $142
- 3 year Pro Support warranty upgrade: $270
- Accidental damage protection: $29
For technology early adopters, maxing out specifications fetches you 64GB memory, 8TB storage, 10th gen Core i7 vPro processors, 4K touch display, highest capacity battery and integrated 5G modem for just a hair under $5,000!
FAQs
Here are answers to some frequently asked buyer questions:
Q) Does the 9510 feature user upgradeable parts?
A) Yes, the bottom enclosure is easily removable allowing access to two SO-DIMM RAM slots to upgrade memory later, a spare M.2 slot for additional NVMe storage expansion, and of course the battery is hot swappable as well.
Q) Can this run modern games or handle 4K video editing?
A) Light gaming at medium settings is possible but heavy titles demand discrete graphics. Similarly lightweight 4K editing with proxy media timelines works but GPU acceleration speeds are only average.
Q) How long is the standard hardware warranty?
A) You get a 1 year mail in warranty covering defects and various premium support upgrades are available including in home next business day repairs.
The Bottom Line
The Latitude 9510 rightfully earns its place atop Dell‘s business laptop lineup. The intersection of relentlessly premium design, tank-like durability, optimal portability and sizzling 10th gen Intel Core i7 performance make it a formidable on-the-go workhorse. Factor in all day battery endurance alongside generous port selection and wireless connectivity options, and professionals who demand no compromises have a compelling choice.
However, all that technology gets crammed into an equally uncompromising price point. This means casual home users and most students would benefit by stepping down to cheaper Latitude models. But for enterprises who value portable productivity and enterprise level support, the Latitude 9510 warrants serious evaluation especially given Dell‘s commonplace hefty volume discounts.
