Dell Inspiron 16" I564 2024, Ryzen 7 8840U, 64GB, 2TB SSD, Ice Blue

The Dell Inspiron 16 5640 packs a ridiculous 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD into a mid-range laptop. The CPU is solid, but the dim 250-nit display and integrated graphics hold it back. At $1,569, it's only worth it if you specifically need massive memory for development or virtualization work.

The Ryzen 7 8840U is a solid chip. Eight cores, sixteen threads, boost up to 5.0GHz. It sits in the 76th percentile for CPUs in our database, which means it's well above average for everyday work. The 64GB of RAM is the real story here, landing in the 97th percentile. That's more memory than most gaming rigs. The 2TB SSD is also a standout at the 94th percentile. But the integrated Radeon Graphics are just okay, around the 73rd percentile. Fine for spreadsheets and code, not for games. The display is the bottleneck. 250 nits and 45% NTSC color coverage puts it dead center of the pack, which is a polite way of saying it's mediocre.

Stacked against the competition, this Inspiron feels out of its league. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and HP OMEN Transcend 14 both offer dedicated GPUs and better displays for similar money, though with less RAM. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i and MSI Raider are in a completely different performance class. The MacBook Pro M4 Max is a different beast entirely, with a screen that makes this 250-nit panel look like a calculator display. The Inspiron's only real edge is that 64GB of RAM, which none of those competitors offer at this price. But RAM alone doesn't make a laptop great.

At $1,569 USD, this is a tough sell. You're paying a premium for the 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD upgrades, but the rest of the machine doesn't match that price tag. The display is budget-tier, the port selection is average, and the reliability score sits in the 33rd percentile. That's concerning. For this money, you could get a laptop with a much better screen and dedicated graphics, just with less RAM. The question is whether you actually need 64GB. Most people don't.

The Dell Inspiron 16 5640 is a weird mix. You get a Ryzen 7 8840U, 64GB of DDR5, and a 2TB SSD, which is a frankly absurd amount of memory and storage for a mid-range consumer laptop. But then Dell pairs all that with a dim 250-nit display and integrated graphics. It's like putting racing tires on a minivan.

Skip this if you care about screen quality, gaming, or portability. The 250-nit display is a dealbreaker for anyone who watches movies or edits photos. Gamers should look at the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or HP OMEN Transcend 14 instead. And at 4.12 pounds with a 54Wh battery, this isn't a great travel companion either.

This is a niche machine. If you're a developer running multiple VMs, Docker containers, or heavy data workloads, the 64GB of RAM and 2TB SSD are genuinely useful. The Ryzen 7 8840U won't hold you back. But if you're buying this for general use, entertainment, or anything involving graphics, you're paying for specs you don't need while getting a display that disappoints.