A mobile workstation can provide more power than a regular business laptop. It combines a powerful processor with plenty of RAM and a professional GPU certified by independent software vendors (ISV). This certification allows you to use specialized applications like CGI rendering, engineering (CAD), computer-aided design, and CGI rendering.
It packs powerful workstation performance into a portable 14-inch Dell Precision 5470, starting at $1,929, and $3,378 in our test. Although it doesn't pack the same power as the best systems, the Dell Precision 5470 is the most powerful 14-inch workstation we have ever seen. It's also very portable, with a design that almost makes the machine an ultraportable.
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The Lightest Heavyweight
The $1,929 base model is technically not a workstation because it makes use of the integrated graphics of its Intel Core i5-12500H processor's instead of a discrete GPU. With a Core i7-12700H CPU, 16GB memory, a Core RTX A1000 graphics accelerator and a 256GB solid state drive, the most economical Precision 5470 qualifies for $2,272. It also includes a Core i7-12700H processor, a Core i7-12700H GPU, and a Core XXA1000 graphics accelerator.
Our $3,378 test unit raises the stakes with a Core i9-12900H processor (six Performance cores, eight Efficient cores, 20 threads), 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD as well as the RTX A1000 and a sharper 2,560-by-1,600-pixel touch screen. Memory can be expanded to 32GB (Dell says 64GB configurations are coming soon) and storage to 4TB, though the latter upgrade costs a painful $1,724.
It's not just one of the most compact workstations, the 5470 also has a surprising thinness and weight considering how much power it provides. It measures 0.74 inches by 12.2 inches by 8.3 inches and is 3.26lbs. This makes it a quarter-pound heavier than our standard for ultraportables, but still close to what we expect a workstation to be. It has a few 14-inch competitors—HP's ZBook Firefly G9 starts at 3.17 pounds—but compared to most mobile workstations, 15-inch desktop replacements that weigh four pounds or more, the Precision is a go-to model for anyone needing professional apps on the go.
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The Dell Family Reunion
From the overall design of the Precision 5470 laptop to its semitransparent and fiber-reinforced keyboard, the Precision 5470 has the same DNA as Dell's XPS premium consumer range. A glowing power button features a fingerprint reader that allows for secure logins. Speaker grilles are located around the full-size keyboard. To give it a bit more weight, the top-firing speakers pair with a pair on the Dell's bottom.
This display uses Dell's InfinityEdge microbezel design, which allows for a 14 inch panel to be placed in a small chassis. Its 16/10 aspect ratio allows for a little more vertical space than the 16:9 standard widescreen profile. The thin top bezel also makes it possible to fit a 1080p webcam equipped with IR face recognition for Windows Hello sign ons.
The lid of our review unit was brushed metal with a gray finish, but Dell also offers the Precision 5470 with a special blue finish to commemorate the company's 25th anniversary. The system has passed MIL-STD 810H torture tests for travel hazards such as shock, vibration, and temperature extremes, so it's tougher than the average laptop (though naturally no match for a truly rugged model).
The keyboard is set in carbon fiber deck. It has a standard layout and tiled keys. The keyboard provides a comfortable typing experience, good key travel, resistance and a backlight to improve legibility in dark rooms. Although there are some issues with the keyboard, I found it easy to use in practice.
The touchpad is similarly capable, with a generously wide design and smooth, comfortable surface for both pointing and gesture controls alike. The clickable pad proved accurate and error-free in all of my testing, though some users may prefer a design with discrete buttons instead of using the lower corners, or rely on CAD software that uses a middle mouse button.
If you have an adapter/dongle, the Precision has a good selection of ports. The left-hand side of the Precision laptop has two USB-C/Thunderbolt4 ports. There is also an audio jack and SmartCard reader. You'll also find two additional Thunderbolt 4 ports on the right (all with power delivery, DisplayPort functionality, and an audio jack), as well as a microSD slot and a security locking slot. You will need to purchase a desktop docking station for additional ports.
Wireless connectivity at the workstation is unrestricted. Wi-Fi 6E provides the most reliable and fastest Ethernet option and Bluetooth 5.2 allows seamless pairing of peripherals like speakers and headphones.
The Precision 5470 Portable Workstation Tested
While we've reviewed several mobile workstations in the past year, the 5470 is the only 14-inch example, so it enters our benchmark comparisons at a disadvantage against larger, more powerful models like the 15.6-inch Dell Precision 5560, HP ZBook Studio G8, and HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 and the 16-inch Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 4—all Editors' Choice award winners. Although the Core i9 processor from Dell should hold its own in most situations, its RTX A1000 graphics card is several levels below Nvidia.
Productivity tests
Our main performance benchmark is UL’s PCMark 10. This simulates a range of real-world productivity workflows and content-creation workflows in order to assess a system’s suitability for office-centric tasks like word processing, spreadsheeting and web browsing. PCMark 10's Full System Drive Test is also used to evaluate the boot drive's load and performance.
The CPU is then stressed with three multithreaded, processor-intensive tests. Maxon's CinebenchR23 runs Cinema 4D to render complex scenes over and over again in just 10 minutes. Primate Labs Geekbench Pro simulation simulates real-world applications like speech recognition and PDF rendering. HandBrake also allows us to convert a 12 minute video from 4K resolution to 1080p, to compare how fast systems can handle such a demanding media task.
Puget Systems' PugetBench Photoshop is our final productivity test. It uses Adobe Creative Cloud 22 to evaluate a computer's ability to create content and multi-media applications. This extension automates various tasks in Photoshop, including opening, rotating and resizing images, saving them, applying filters, gradient fills and masks.
The 12th Generation Intel Core i9 CPU was the clear winner in multi-core benchmarks like Cinebench or Geekbench. However, the Precision 5470 fell slightly in PCMark 10, but all five systems surpassed the 4,000 point mark that signifies excellent productivity for office applications. It took silver in the HandBrake video editing competition, right behind HP's ZBook Fury.
Graphics Testing
Two DirectX 12 simulations are used to test the graphics of Windows PCs. Night Raid is a more modest option for those with integrated graphics, while Time Spy, which requires more effort, can be used for gamers with discrete GPUs.
Two tests were also performed using the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5. This test focuses on both low-level tasks like texturing as well as high-level image rendering. To accommodate various display resolutions, the Aztec Ruins 1440p and Car Chase 1080p tests were rendered offscreen. They exercise graphics, compute shaders with OpenGL programming and hardware tessellation, respectively. More frames per second (fps) is better.
As we said, the 5470's Nvidia RTX A1000 isn't the fastest professional GPU—it offers graphics processing power roughly on par with Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3050—so while it's ISV-certified for professional apps, it doesn't challenge the other mobile workstations' more potent graphics silicon.
Specific Tests for Workstations
The Precision 5470 was also tested on our benchmarks that were only available at work. Blender is an open-source 3D software that allows for simulation, modeling, animation and compositing. The time taken by Blender's Cycles path tracer (which renders two realistic scenes of BMW cars using its CPU and the GPU) is recorded. We believe that shorter times are more accurate. Mike Pan, BMW's artist, said that he doesn’t find the scenes fast enough for testing but that they are a good benchmark.
SPECviewperf 2020 is our most significant workstation test. It renders and rotates wireframe and solid models and zooms in or out using popular ISV app viewsets. The 1080p resolution test is based on PTC’s CreoCAD platform, Autodesk’s Maya simulation and modeling software for TV and film; and Dassault Systemes SolidWorks 3D render package. You should watch more frames per second.
The Precision 5470 was hurt by its relatively small GPU. It was last in our Blender and SPECviewperf tests. This shows that the compact Dell is capable of doing what it needs, but takes more patience to do so. It's not the best mobile workstation for Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. However, it can handle large datasets and CGI rendering at Hollywood level. This device is more suitable for 2D work than 3D.
Testing of the Battery and Display
The battery life of laptops is tested by playing locally saved 720p video files (open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel)(Opens in new window)). Display brightness was set at 50%, and the audio volume at 100%. Before testing, we make sure that the battery has been fully charged. We also turn off Wi-Fi or keyboard backlighting. A Datacolor SpyderX Elite colorimeter is used to determine the coverage of the sRGB and Adobe RGB palettes. It also measures the brightness (in nits) per square meter.
In our video review, the Precision 5470's battery life is impressive. It lasted almost 15 hours. Although the 14 inch system has less space for bulky batteries, the 72WHr power packs showed twice as much endurance than the 80WHr or 94WHr batteries found in ZBook Fury 15 and ZBook P1 respectively. These systems have more powerful components.
Although the display from Dell is bright and vibrant, it doesn't cover as much of DCI-P3 as higher-end mobile workstations. Although it is not as good as HP's DreamColor panels at the top of their line, this display looks as great as any other 14-inch screen.
Verdict: When Mobility Matters
It's a portable workstation, the Dell Precision 5470. It's a slim, lightweight 14-inch workstation that is also MIL-STD-810H compliant. This makes it one of the most portable options for professional-grade performance both on the road and at the jobsite. It does have some limitations, however, so users who use graphic-intensive, demanding applications may need to transport something more heavy. The Dell is the best portable workstation that we have ever seen, thanks to its exceptional battery life.