Dell Vostro 15 3500 vs Dell Vostro 15 3520 Comparison

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Dell Vostro 15 3500

15.6 inches | December 2020

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Dell Vostro 15 3520

15.6 inches | January 2022

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Dell Vostro 15 3500 vs Dell Vostro 15 3520 Comparison Overview

Dell Vostro 15 3500

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Dell Vostro 15 3520

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Dell Vostro 15 3500

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Dell Vostro 15 3520

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In this review, we will be comparing Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520, two laptops by Dell. Dell Vostro 15 3500 was introduced to market in December 2020 and Dell Vostro 15 3520 was launched in January 2022. There is 13 months difference between Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 so it would still give an advantage to younger Vostro 15 3520.

Click for Available Configurations of the Laptops

Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 are members of Dell's Vostro series of laptops. Below you can find the latest models from this series.

Dell Vostro Series History

	Release Date	Screen Size	Dimensions	Weight
Dell Vostro 14 3430	April 2023	14.0"	323.67 x 219.76 x 17.52-18.48 mm	1.44 kg (3.18 lbs)
Dell Vostro 5630	January 2023	16.0"	356.78 x 251.9 x 15.67-17.95 mm	1.9 kg (4.19 lbs)
Dell Vostro 15 3530	January 2023	15.6"	358.5 x 235.56 x 15.52-17.5 mm	1.63 kg (3.59 lbs)
Dell Vostro 7620	July 2022	16.0"	356.78 x 251.9 x 16.95-18.99 mm	1.96 kg (4.32 lbs)
Dell Vostro 5620	January 2022	16.0"	356.78 x 251.9 x 15.67-18.3 mm	1.91 kg (4.21 lbs)
Dell Vostro 5625	January 2022	16.0"	356.78 x 251.9 x 15.67-18.3 mm	1.97 kg (4.34 lbs)
Dell Vostro 15 3520	January 2022	15.6"	358.5 x 235.56 x 16.96-22.47 mm	1.66 kg (3.66 lbs)
Dell Vostro 15 7510	July 2021	15.6"	356 x 228.9 x 16.7-18.9 mm	1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)

Here is a brief look at the main features of Dell Vostro 15 3500 and Dell Vostro 15 3520 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Dell Vostro 15 3500 Key Specs

Launched in December 2020
15.6" IPS LCD, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Pentium Gold 7505
GPU: GeForce MX330 2GB
8GB Ram
363.9 x 249 x 18-19 mm (14.33 x 9.8 x 0.71-0.75 inches)
Weight: 1.78 kg (3.92 lbs)

Dell Vostro 15 3520 Key Specs

Launched in January 2022
15.6" TN LCD, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Pentium Gold 7505
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4
8GB Ram
358.5 x 235.56 x 16.96-22.47 mm (14.11 x 9.27 x 0.67-0.88 inches)
Weight: 1.66 kg (3.66 lbs)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 compares and decide which one is better for you.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose Dell Vostro 15 3500 over Dell Vostro 15 3520

Screen PPI	141 ppi vs 100 ppi	More pixels per inch
Screen Resolution	1920 x 1080 pixels vs 1366 x 768 pixels	Higher pixel count screen
GPU FLOPS	1.22 TFLOPS vs 0.84 TFLOPS	Dedicated GPU unit
GPU Type	Dedicated vs Integrated	Higher RAM potential
Max Total RAM	32 GB vs 16 GB	Better Sound capture
Number of Microphones	2 vs 1

Reasons to choose Dell Vostro 15 3520 over Dell Vostro 15 3500

Weight	1.66 kg vs 1.78 kg	0.12 kg lighter
Screen-to-Body Ratio	~79.5% vs ~74.1%	Larger screen area ratio
Side Bezel Thickness	6.6 mm vs 9.3 mm	2.7 mm thinner bezels
Screen Opening Angle	180° vs 135°	More flexible screen
Response Time	20 ms vs 35 ms	Faster Response screen
GPU Fabrication Process	10 nm vs 14 nm	Newer Generation GPU
RAM BUS	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	Faster RAM
WiFi Standard	v6 vs v5	More advanced Wi-fi connectivity
Bluetooth	v5.2 vs v5	More advanced Bluetooth connectivity
Keyboard Backlight	Yes vs No	Easily see the keys under low light
Touchpad Size	11.5 x 8.0 cm vs 10.4 x 7.9 cm	Larger Touchpad Area

Common Strengths of Dell Vostro 15 3520 and Dell Vostro 15 3500

Screen Coating	Matte vs Matte	Less reflections on the screen
Fast Charging Support	Yes vs Yes	Charge the battery in a shorter time
Upgradable RAM	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the RAM size
RAM Type	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	Fast RAM type
Upgradable Storage	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the Storage size
SSD Type	NVMe vs NVMe	Faster Data Transfers
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes vs Yes	Easy Login with Fingerprint Sensor
HDMI Output	1x HDMI 1.4 vs 1x HDMI 1.4	Connect to External Displays via HDMI cable
VGA Output	No vs No	Connect to External Displays via VGA cable
Ethernet RJ45 Port	Yes vs Yes	Fast connection to Network via ethernet cable
Built-in SD Card Reader	Yes vs Yes	Read & Write SD Cards
Numeric Pad	Yes vs Yes	Fast way to input numbers

Common Weaknesses of Dell Vostro 15 3520 and Dell Vostro 15 3500

Touchscreen Capability	No vs No	No Touchscreen Capability
HDR Support	No vs No	No HDR Support

Dell Vostro 15 3500 vs Dell Vostro 15 3520: Physical Specs Comparison

In this section, we will be comparing the physical specifications and body features of the Dell Vostro 15 3500 and the Dell Vostro 15 3520.

Physical Specs
Weight	1.78 kg (3.92 lbs)	1.66 kg (3.66 lbs)
Surface Area	906 cm2 (140.4 inches2)	844 cm2 (130.8 inches2)
Screen to Surface Ratio	~74.1%	~79.5%
Side Bezel Thickness	~9.3 mm	~6.6 mm
Weight per Inch of Screen	0.11 kg/inch	0.11 kg/inch
	0.242 lbs/inch	0.242 lbs/inch
Colors	Black	Black
Cover Opening Angle	135Â°	180Â°

Comparison of the Dell Vostro 15 3500 and the Dell Vostro 15 3520 External Dimensions

Weight

Vostro 15 3500 weighs 1.78 kg (3.92 lbs), whereas the Vostro 15 3520 weighs 1.66 kg (3.66 lbs). There is a notable difference in weight between these two laptops. The weight difference between the two laptops is not significant.

Weight Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

Dell Vostro 15 3500 1.78 kg

Dell Vostro 15 3520 1.66 kg

Min 0.99 kg

Average 1.95 kg

Max 3.32 kg

Thickness Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

Dell Vostro 15 3500 18.00 mm

Dell Vostro 15 3520 17.00 mm

Min 7.70 mm

Average 20.17 mm

Max 29.00 mm

Another value that we use for comparing the weights of the laptops is the Weight per Inch of Screen, which is calculated by dividing the total weight of the model with its usable diagonal screen size. This value for the Dell Vostro 15 3500 is 0.11 kg/inch.In comparison, this value for the Dell Vostro 15 3520 is 0.11 kg/inch.Here are some of the best performing laptops in this area:

Microsoft Surface Go 4: 0.05 kg/inch
LG Gram SuperSlim 15.6 2023: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus ProArt PZ13 HT5306: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus Zenbook A14 UX3407: 0.06 kg/inch
Dell Latitude 7330: 0.07 kg/inch
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2022: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2-in-1 2022: 0.07 kg/inch

Dell Vostro 15 3500 vs Dell Vostro 15 3520: Internals (CPU, GPU, RAM, Battery, SSD, etc.) Comparison

CPU Comparison

CPU Model	Intel Pentium Gold 7505 Intel Core i3 1115G4 Intel Core i5 1135G7 Intel Core i7 1165G7	Intel Pentium Gold 7505 Intel Core i3 1215U Intel Core i5 1235U Intel Core i7 1255U
Base Frequency	2.0 GHz	2.0 GHz
Turbo Frequency	3.5 GHz	3.5 GHz
Number of Cores	2	2
Number of Threads	4	4
L3 Cache	4 MB	4 MB
Integrated GPU	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48 EUs	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48 EUs
CPU Fabrication Process	10 nm	10 nm
Geekbench 5 (Single)	992	992
Geekbench 5 (Multi)	2270	2270

Above you can see the CPU options and the CineBench and GeekBench test scores for both laptops, which gives an idea about what kind of performance difference you may experience between the Dell Vostro 15 3500 and Dell Vostro 15 3520.

You may also read reviews of latest laptops with the same CPU ( Intel Pentium Gold 7505 ) and compare them:

GPU Comparison

GPU Model	GeForce MX330 2GB	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4
Base Clock Frequency	1531 MHz	300 MHz
Boost CLock Frequency	1594 MHz	1100 MHz
TGP (Total Graphics Power)	25 W	15 W
Type	Dedicated	Integrated
FLOPS	1.22 TFLOPS	844.8 GFLOPS
Memory Size	2 GB	System Shared
Memory Type	GDDR5	System Shared
Memory Bus	64 bit	System Shared
Memory Speed	~7 Gbps	System Shared
Shading Units Cores	384	384
TMUs	24	24
ROPs	16	12

GPU is as critical as the CPU for graphic heavy applications and the table above gives a picture of how the two GPU compares. FLOPS is a measure of a GPU's performance based on the number of floating-point arithmetic calculations that the processor can perform within a second. Dell Vostro 15 3500 has a FLOPS value of 1.22 TFLOPS whereas the Dell Vostro 15 3520 ' has a FLOPS value of 0.84 TFLOPS. If graphical performance of the laptop is important for your use type, the Dell Vostro 15 3500 may be the better choice between these two setups.

RAM Comparison

RAM	8GB 16GB 32GB	8GB 16GB
Memory Bus	1x8 GB	1x8 GB
RAM Clock	3200 MHz	3200 MHz
RAM Type	DDR4	DDR4
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Max RAM Size	32 GB	16 GB
Total Slots	2	2
Memory Bus	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)

Both laptops, the Vostro 15 3500 and the Vostro 15 3520, come with similar RAM capacities of 8 GB, providing comparable performance in memory-intensive tasks.

In addition to RAM capacity, the type of RAM can significantly impact performance, with newer RAM types often offering higher speeds compared to others. Therefore, selecting RAM types with the latest DDR number can be a suitable choice based on your requirements.

BATTERY

BATTERY	42 Wh	41 Wh 54 Wh
Battery Type	Li-Po	Li-Po
Replaceable	No	No
Fast Charging	Yes	Yes
USB Power Delivery	No	No
Charging Port Position	Left	Left
Charge Power	45 / 65 W	65 W
Voltage	11.4 V	11.2 V
Full Charging Time	4:00 hr

Moreover, the Vostro 15 3500 boasts a larger battery capacity of 42 Wh, offering extended usage time compared to the Vostro 15 3520's41 Wh.

Battery Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

Dell Vostro 15 3500 42 Wh

Dell Vostro 15 3520 41 Wh

Min 36.00 Wh

Average 62.1 Wh

Max 100.00 Wh

STORAGE
The Vostro 15 3520 offers a larger max storage capacity of 2 TB, providing more room for storing files and data compared to the Vostro 15 3500's storage capacity of 512 GB.

Storage Options	256 GB, 512 GB	256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Total Slots	1	1
Storage type	SSD (M2)	SSD (M2)
NVMe	Yes	Yes

If your budget allows, we recommend opting for the largest possible disk size, considering the potential increase in storage capacity needs in the future. However, please keep in mind the question 'What will the laptop be used for?' when making this decision. Of course, you can later upgrade the hard disk capacity by getting a larger disk. However, if your laptop has only one disk slot, it may not be as straightforward as a RAM upgrade, where you simply add or replace a module, as moving or cloning files to a new disk may be necessary.

Dell Vostro 15 3500 vs Dell Vostro 15 3520: Display Comparison

The display is an essential aspect to consider when comparing the Dell Vostro 15 3500 and Dell Vostro 15 3520 since its is the component that you interact the most and significantly impact the experience.

Screen Area and Dimensions

Now let's look at the comparison of the actual display areas of both laptops below, keeping the bezels around the screens out of the equation. Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 screens have the same size of 15.6".The total usable screen area of the Vostro 15 3500 is 670cm² / 104inch² whereas the Vostro 15 3520's total usable screen area is 670cm² / 104inch².

PPI (Pixels per Inch)
Additionally, the Vostro 15 3500 features a higher pixel density with 141 pixels per inch (PPI), ensuring sharper image details.

Screen PPI (Pixels Per Inch) Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

Dell Vostro 15 3500 141 ppi

Dell Vostro 15 3520 100 ppi

Min 100 PPI

Average 144 PPI

Max 294.00 PPI

Refresh Rate
Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 offer the same refresh rate of 60 Hz.

Furthermore, the Vostro 15 3520 boasts a faster response time of 20.0 ms, reducing motion blur for fast-paced content.

Brightness
Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 offer the same maximum brightness of 220 nits (cd/m²).

Brightness Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

Dell Vostro 15 3500 220 nits

Dell Vostro 15 3520 220 nits

Min

60 nits

Average 319 nits

Max 1000.00 nits

Dell Vostro 15 3500 vs Dell Vostro 15 3520 Connectivity Comparison

In terms of connectivity,

Wifi
Vostro 15 3520 features a more advanced Wi-Fi standard v6, providing faster and more reliable wireless connections compared to Vostro 15 3500 (v5).

Below, you'll find a Wi-Fi Versions Table, along with their release dates and speeds, to provide a brief overview of its development.

Wi-Fi Versions and Speeds

Standard	Speed	Release Date	Network	Frequency Bands (GHz)
Wi-Fi 7	up to 40 Gbps (5 GB/s)	2023	802.11be	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6E	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2020	802.11ax	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2019	802.11ax	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 5	up to 6.93 Gbps (866.25 MB/s)	2014	802.11ac	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 4	up to 600 Mbps (75 MB/s)	2009	802.11n	2.4, 5

* Please note that the provided transfer rates are maximum theoretical values, and real-life performance may vary based on environmental factors.

USB
Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 feature 3x USB 3.2 USB-A ports.
Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 feature 1x USB 3.2 USB Type-C ports.

Below, you'll find a table of USB ports, along with their release dates and speeds.
To mitigate the confusion caused by generation names, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) suggests using marketing names like USB 5Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and so forth, based on their respective transfer rates.

USB Type and Speeds

USB Type	Version	Speed	Date	Other Features/Explanations
USB4	Gen 4 (2.0)	80 Gbps	2022	Also known as USB 80Gbps
USB4	Gen 3×2	40 Gbps	2019	Also known as USB 40Gbps
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2x2	20 Gbps	2019	Double the data transfer rates of Gen 2
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.1
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.0
USB 3.1	3.1 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2013	Faster data transfer rates
USB 3.0	3.1 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2010	SuperSpeed USB, improved data transfer rates
USB 2.0	2.0	480 Mbps	2000	High-speed data transfer
USB 1.0	1.0	1.5 Mbps	1996	Original USB standard

Thunderbolt
Neither Vostro 15 3500 nor Vostro 15 3520 has Thunderbolt port.

HDMI
Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 feature an HDMI port (1x HDMI 1.4) for connecting to external monitors.

Below, you'll find a comparison table detailing different HDMI versions, including their bandwidth, color depth, maximum resolution, and release dates. This information can be helpful in understanding the capabilities of each HDMI version and choosing the most suitable one for your needs.

HDMI Comparison Table

HDMI Version	Maximum Resolution	Bandwidth (Gbps)	Color Depth (bits)	Release Date
HDMI 2.1-2.1b	7680 x 4320 *(8K)* @ 60p 3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 120p	48.0	48	2017
HDMI 2.0-2.0b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 60p	18.0	48	2013
HDMI 1.4-1.4b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 30p	10.2	48	2009
HDMI 1.3-1.3a	2560 x 1440 @ 60p	10.2	48	2006
HDMI 1.0-1.2a	1920 x 1200 @ 60p	4.95	24	2002

* Please note that the provided resolution values represent the maximum supported resolution, and actual display quality may depend on other factors such as source content and connected devices.

SD Card Reader
Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 come with an SD Card Reader for easy access to memory cards.

Audio Jack
Both Vostro 15 3500 and Vostro 15 3520 are equipped with a 3.5mm Audio Jack, providing seamless connection to headphones and speakers.

To summarize the connectivity and ports details, please refer to the table below to see them listed.

Connectivity and Ports
WiFi Standard (latest: v7)	v5	v6
Bluetooth (latest: v5.4)	v5	v5.2
USB-A (latest: 3.2)	3x USB 3.2	3x USB 3.2
USB Type-C (latest: USB4 2.0)	1x USB 3.2	1x USB 3.2
Thunderbolt (latest: 4)	No	No
HDMI (latest: 2.1)	1x HDMI 1.4	1x HDMI 1.4
Display Port (latest: v2.0)	No	No
VGA	No	No
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes	Yes
Optical Drive	No	No
Audio Jack 3.5mm	Yes	Yes
Ethernet RJ45	Yes	Yes
SD CardReader	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Charging Port	Yes	Yes