Dell Precision 5470 Workstation

4/ 5 Very good

pros and cons

Pros

• Sturdy, slim and lightweight design
• Strong performance
• Bright, colourful screen
• 4x Thunderbolt/USB-C ports

Cons

• Expensive
• Modest battery life
• FHD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution
• 720p webcam

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Dell's Precision mobile workstations include a number of high-end 17-inch laptops that provide impressive performance, but their size, weight and limited battery life mean that they're less than ideal for working on the move.  

In contrast, the 14-inch Precision 5470 aims to provide a more portable option, with Dell claiming that it's "the world's thinnest and lightest 14-inch workstation". In fact, at 1.48kg, the Precision 5470 is only slightly heavier than Apple's recently upgraded 13-inch MacBook Pro (1.4kg), but it outguns the M2 MacBook Pro in terms of raw performance. That lightweight design comes with a heavyweight price, though, especially for the Core i7-based model reviewed here, and Dell also makes a few cost-cutting decisions that are disappointing for a laptop in this price range.

Dell Precision 5470: 14-inch 16:10 display (FHD+ or QHD+), 12-generation Intel Core processors (Core i5, i7 or i9), up to 64GB of RAM and up to 4TB of SSD storage. All in a MIL-STD-810H-tested chassis weighing 1.48kg (3.26lb).

Image: Cliff Joseph /

Design & features 

The build quality of the Precision 5470 is impeccable. The laptop measures 19mm along the rear edge, tapering to 11mm at the front, 310mm wide and 210mm deep. Its aluminium casing is both light and sturdy (MIL-STD-810H tested), and well suited to life on the road. The keyboard and trackpad feel firm and responsive, and the keys travel well when typing at speed, and there's a soft carbon-fibre palm rest on the front section of the keyboard panel. 

The backlit keyboard, flanked by speaker grilles, delivers a comfortable typing experience.

Image: Cliff Joseph /

There are signs of compromise, though. The FHD+ (1920 x 1200) display (161.7dpi) delivers a 16:10 aspect ratio and the slimline bezels give it a smart, compact appearance with a 91% screen-to-body ratio. The display also provides 500 nits brightness, and produces a bold, colourful image with close to 180-degree viewing angles.  

However, that resolution is quite modest for a laptop costing over$2,500, and it's disappointing that you have to pay an additional$200 in order to upgrade to QHD+ (2560 x 1600) resolution. The display only supports the sRGB colour standard too, which should be fine for basic graphics and photo-editing work, but will disappoint creative users who need a more precisely calibrated display for graphics or video work.  

And while the stereo speaker system -- with two woofers and two tweeters -- sounds quite full bodied, the 720p webcam is a disappointment, even though it has IR support for Windows Hello face authentication. The webcam performs quite well in dim light, but the slightly grainy image reveals the low resolution so it won't be ideal for video calls or remote working. 

Left side (top): 3.5mm audio in/out, 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB-C (1x Power Delivery), optional SmartCard reader. Right side (above): MicroSD card reader, 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB-C (1x Power Delivery), lock slot.

Image: Cliff Joseph /

The Precision 5470 is well connected, though, featuring Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax at 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz) and Bluetooth 5.2, along with four Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports with DisplayPort support. There's also a combination 3.5mm jack for audio input and output, and a MicroSD card slot. There are no HDMI or USB-A ports, though, so you'll need to provide your own adapters for older displays or peripherals that use those connectors. 

Prices & options 

Dell's website currently offers a number of pre-built configurations for the Precision 5470, all equipped with the same 14-inch display with FHD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution. Dell's prices fluctuate quite a bit from day to day, but at the time of writing prices in the US start at$1,659 for the entry-level configuration with a 12th-generation Core i5-12500H processor and integrated Iris Xe Graphics, along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage. Oddly, the UK pricing for that model is considerably higher at