Dell Latitude 14" 5420 2021, Core i5-1135G7, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Silver

The Dell Latitude 5420 is a refurbished 14-inch business laptop with a Core i5-1135G7, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It's lightweight, has excellent ports including Thunderbolt 4 and Ethernet, and runs Windows 11 Pro. The dim 250-nit display and Wi-Fi 5 are the main drawbacks, but at under $520 it's a solid budget work machine.

The Core i5-1135G7 is a 4-core, 8-thread chip from Intel's Tiger Lake generation. In our database, it lands in the 25th percentile for CPU performance among all laptops, which means it's slower than most modern machines but still fine for office work. The 16GB of RAM helps with multitasking, though that amount sits in the 37th percentile, so it's not exactly generous by today's standards. The 512GB SSD is also middle-of-the-road at the 37th percentile, but it'll boot Windows 11 Pro quickly and load apps without drama.

The integrated Iris Xe Graphics with 80 execution units sits right at the 50th percentile for GPU performance. That's average, which is actually decent for integrated graphics. You won't be gaming on this thing, our gaming score for it is a rough 12.1 out of 100, but it'll handle video playback, light photo editing, and driving an external monitor without breaking a sweat.

Where this laptop really shines is portability. The compact score hits the 86th percentile, which puts it among the best in its class for a 14-inch machine. At 1.33kg, it's easy to toss in a bag and carry around all day.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Air M4, the Latitude 5420 looks like it's from a different decade. The MacBook Air has a vastly better display, faster performance, and longer battery life, but it also costs significantly more and runs macOS. If you're locked into Windows and need Ethernet or Thunderbolt without dongles, the Dell has a practical edge.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X9-14 Gen 1 is probably the closest competitor in spirit. Both are business-focused 14-inch laptops, but the ThinkPad has a newer processor, better screen, and Wi-Fi 6E. The ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA also beats the Dell on display quality and portability, though it typically costs more. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition and HP OmniBook X Flip 14 are both ARM-based machines with excellent battery life, but they can have compatibility quirks with older business software. For pure value in the sub-$550 range, the Latitude 5420 holds its own, but you're trading modern niceties for that lower price.

At $495 to $519 USD, the Latitude 5420 is competing against newer budget laptops and other refurbished business machines. For that money you're getting a solid chassis, good port selection, and enough RAM and storage to avoid immediate upgrades. But the dim screen and older Wi-Fi standard are real compromises. If you can find a Lenovo ThinkPad X9-14 Gen 1 or an ASUS Zenbook on sale, you'll get a much better display and newer connectivity for not a whole lot more. That said, if you need a cheap Windows 11 Pro machine with Thunderbolt and Ethernet, this is one of the few options in this price bracket that delivers both.

The Dell Latitude 5420 is a 14-inch business laptop that's been around the block a few times, now showing up mostly as a refurbished unit in the $495 to $519 range. It's built around an Intel Core i5-1135G7, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. That's a pretty standard office workhorse spec sheet from a couple years back, and it still holds up for everyday tasks like email, spreadsheets, and video calls.

People searching for a cheap Windows 11 Pro laptop for work will find this one checks a lot of boxes. The port selection is genuinely good for a 14-inch machine, with Thunderbolt 4, USB-A, HDMI, and even Ethernet. But the display is a 250-nit panel that sits near the bottom of our database, and the Wi-Fi 5 radio feels dated next to newer laptops shipping with Wi-Fi 6E or 7.

We don't have any customer ratings for this specific listing, so we're leaning entirely on specs and our benchmark database. And honestly, the numbers tell a clear story: this is a solid compact business laptop with a few compromises you'll feel every day.

Skip the Latitude 5420 if you work outdoors or in bright rooms, the 250-nit screen will have you squinting. Creative professionals who need accurate colors should look elsewhere too, this panel isn't built for photo or video work. If you rely on fast wireless connections, the Wi-Fi 5 radio is a dealbreaker, so consider the Lenovo ThinkPad X9-14 Gen 1 or ASUS Zenbook instead. And if you want to do any gaming beyond solitaire, this integrated GPU won't cut it. For those needs, you'd be better off with a laptop that has a dedicated graphics card or at least a much newer integrated GPU.

Should you buy the Dell Latitude 5420? If you need a cheap, lightweight Windows 11 Pro laptop for office work, email, and web browsing, and you value ports over pretty screens, then yes. The Thunderbolt 4 and Ethernet combo is rare at this price, and the 16GB of RAM means it won't choke on a dozen browser tabs.

But if you care about display quality, this is not the laptop for you. The 250-nit panel is one of the dimmest we've seen in this category, and you'll notice it the moment you work near a window. And the Wi-Fi 5 limitation means slower speeds on modern networks. For the right buyer, it's a practical workhorse. For everyone else, there are better screens and newer radios waiting just a bit higher up the price ladder.