Large but not in charge
Despite its polished design and modern CPU, the Dell Inspiron 27 All-in-One is better suited for part-time use as an entertainment PC than as your primary computer.
Dell's latest update to its 27-inch all-in-one desktop delivers 12th Generation Intel Core processing and a 1080p webcam inside a modern enclosure. You'll need to carve out some space for the Inspiron 27 All-in-One (starts at $879.99; $1,249.99 as tested), however, and not just because of the expansive display. The system has triangular legs at each end, so it can be a challenge to keep both ends on your desk. And while the screen is spacious, its full HD resolution is merely adequate for its size—we'd like to see a 3K or 4K panel for a sharper picture. We'd also argue for 16GB of standard memory in any system that costs more than $1,000 (the Dell comes with 12GB). Still, the Inspiron 27 offers a handsome design and nearly the same level of fit and finish as Apple's discontinued 27-inch iMac for hundreds less than you would have paid for that all-in-one.
Dell offers a number of configuration options for the Inspiron 27 All-in-One, starting with an $879.99 base model equipped with a Core i5-1235U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB solid-state drive, and a 1,920-by-1,080-pixel, non-touch display. Intel's Iris Xe integrated graphics stand in for a dedicated GPU. Our test unit was upgraded with a Core i7-1255U processor (two Performance cores, eight Efficient cores, 12 threads) and 12GB of memory (you can opt for 16GB or 32GB), as well as a touch screen. It costs $1,249.99 but is regularly discounted to $1,119.99.
With its understated look and clean lines, the Inspiron gives off iMac vibes. From the front, all you see is the huge display and fabric-covered speaker bar below. The gently rounded back is pearly white and adorned with only a Dell logo near the top and a small strip of ports toward the bottom. The screen rests on a pair of triangular legs. The overall look along with the fit and finish are clearly superior to that of the last 27-inch all-in-one we reviewed, the Acer Aspire C27.
The legs are similar to the bipod stand we saw on last year's Dell Inspiron 24 5000 AIO, which I found offered stable support but limited where you could position the PC. The same is true with the Inspiron 27, but even more so because it's bigger and wider. You can't, for example, place the system diagonally in the corner of your desk because the legs are at either end rather than a center stand. You can't even angle the machine toward the side of your desk because one of the legs will jut off the edge. Further restricting the position of the display is its lack of height and swivel adjustment; the only adjustability is a small degree of screen tilt. The takeaway is to make sure you have a sufficiently large desk or table for the Inspiron 27 All-in-One.
That said, the Dell is actually fairly compact for a 27-inch all-in-one. With narrow borders on three sides and a trim speaker bar along the bottom, the Inspiron measures 24.2 inches wide by 17.9 high. The triangular legs each span 7.9 inches from front to back. The Acer Aspire C27 has the same width and is slightly shorter at 17.7 inches because it lacks a speaker bar. I'd happily accept the added height for the presence of a speaker bar. Not only does the audio output sound better when directed toward you rather than downward or toward the rear, but the fabric-covered bottom bezel adds a touch of luxury to the overall look.
Thankfully, Dell includes a wireless keyboard and mouse rather than a wired pair that clutters your desk. Both peripherals are white to match the rest of the system. The keyboard is compact and the optical mouse is ambidextrous; both are serviceable if no match for Logitech's or Microsoft's best.
As mentioned, the Inspiron 27 All-in-One features a 27-inch display with full HD resolution, available with or without touch support. We received the touch panel, which usually means a glossy overlay that creates distracting glare and annoying reflections. I'm pleased to report that the Dell's touch screen doesn't suffer from such maladies. The finish does an admirable job fighting glare and reflections, helped by the fact that the display is considerably brighter than average (I measured it at 450 nits). Colors appeared vivid and rich with good contrast; Dell says the panel covers 99% of the sRGB color gamut.
That's the good news as far as the display goes. The bad news is that 1080p resolution isn't quite enough to produce a sufficiently sharp picture across the 27-inch panel—when you're seated in front of the screen, the edges of application windows and text characters appear blurry. The resolution is adequate if you're buying the Inspiron 27 as an entertainment system—1080p videos look crisp—but I wouldn't want to spend a full day doing productivity work in front of the display. It's a shame that Dell doesn't offer a display upgrade in the form of a 1440p or other higher-resolution panel; the old iMac's 5K pixel array isn't necessary, but something between full HD and 4K would be a good fit for this screen size.
By contrast, the 1080p webcam is stellar, producing a much nicer image than the lowest-common-denominator 720p cameras still found on most PCs and laptops. Videos appear less grainy with better color accuracy and clearer details in light and dark areas. The webcam pops up from the top of the display, which is a nice touch because you can push it down to protect your privacy when not in use.
The Inspiron's speakers have more than enough audio oomph to fill a small room, but they're better suited to watching videos and movies than listening to music due to their lack of bass. There is little separation between highs and midtones, creating a muddied sound for music playback. Dialogue sounds clear for YouTube and Netflix, however, which makes the Inspiron 27 All-in-One a good choice for streaming your favorite shows.
All but one of the ports are located in a neat strip on the back panel. A USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port is placed on the right edge, which saves you from having to reach around the back to plug in a USB-C flash drive or other device. I would have liked to see the audio jack in this spot, too, to make it easier to plug in a set of headphones, but it's located at the rear with the rest of the ports. These include four USB-A ports (three 3.1 Gen 1 and one 3.1 Gen 2), HDMI-in and -out ports, an Ethernet jack, and an SD card reader. It's a useful collection, though I'd happily trade one of the Type-A ports for a second USB-C connection.
As mentioned, our Dell Inspiron 27 All-in-One featured a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U CPU, 12GB of memory, Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, and a 512GB SSD loaded with Windows 11 Home. It's the first all-in-one desktop we've tested with one of Intel's latest "Alder Lake" generation processors, in this case an efficient 15-watt mobile chip.
For our performance charts, we compared the Inspiron 27 All-in-One to another 27-inch AIO based on a previous-generation mobile Core i7, the Acer Aspire C27, as well as three 24-inch all-in-ones: the business-focused Dell OptiPlex 5490; the low-priced, AMD-powered Lenovo IdeaCentre AIO 3; and the M1-based Apple iMac.
Subjectively, the Dell desktop felt peppy during typical Windows use. Programs loaded quickly and I was able to multitask, running a handful of apps and a dozen Chrome browser tabs, with no hiccups or lag. A low level of cooling fan noise was ever-present, however, a surprise given the Inspiron's use of a low-wattage mobile CPU with integrated graphics. I would have thought such a system would only need a fan to spin up occasionally.
The main benchmark of UL's PCMark 10 simulates a variety of real-world productivity and content-creation workflows to measure overall performance for office-centric tasks such as word processing, spreadsheeting, web browsing, and videoconferencing. We also run PCMark 10's Full System Drive test to assess the load time and throughput of the boot drive.
Three benchmarks focus on the CPU, using all available cores and threads, to rate a PC's suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon's Cinebench R23 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene, while Primate Labs' Geekbench 5.4 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning. Finally, we use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to convert a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p resolution (lower times are better).
Our last productivity test is Puget Systems' PugetBench for Photoshop(Opens in a new window) , which uses the Creative Cloud version 22 of Adobe's famous image editor to rate a PC's performance for content creation and multimedia applications. It's an automated extension that executes a variety of general and GPU-accelerated Photoshop tasks ranging from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving an image to applying masks, gradient fills, and filters.
The Inspiron 27 coasted to an easy victory in PCMark 10, although pitting its premium Core i7 against the Lenovo's unthreaded, entry-level AMD Ryzen 3 isn't exactly a fair fight. Still, the results show the gains you get going from a 10th or 11th Generation Intel chip to a 12th Gen, though all the Windows systems cleared the 4,000 points in PCMark 10 that indicate excellent productivity for Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
The Dell didn't enjoy as much of an advantage in our CPU and multimedia tests, though it routinely topped the Aspire and IdeaCentre. The Dell OptiPlex 5490 led the way largely because of its eight-core, 16-thread Core i7 desktop processor, while the 24-inch M1 iMac took top honors in the cross-platform HandBrake, Cinebench, and Geekbench tests.
We test Windows PCs' graphics with two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark, Night Raid (more modest, suitable for laptops with integrated graphics) and Time Spy (more demanding, suitable for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs). We were unable to complete our other GPU benchmark, GFXBench 5, on the Inspiron 27.
The only conclusion that can be drawn from the two 3DMark tests is that the 12th Gen Core i7's Iris Xe integrated graphics are clearly superior to Intel's older UHD 630 silicon and closer to Nvidia's GeForce MX330 entry-level discrete GPU. None of these systems will satisfy hardcore gamers, but none is intended to.
At first glance, the Inspiron 27 All-in-One impresses with its polished, understated design; roomy 27-inch display; and up-to-date Intel CPU. As soon as you attempt to put the system on your desk, however, you may realize the two-legged stand imposes severe limitations on where you can position it, and if you were planning on using the Dell as a daily work PC you may tire of its full HD resolution's fuzzy edges and its cooling fan's constant whir. With its good looks, the Inspiron 27 is best suited for part-time use in a reception area or conference room or as an entertainment system for watching videos and movies that look fine on its 1080p panel.
Despite its polished design and modern CPU, the Dell Inspiron 27 All-in-One is better suited for part-time use as an entertainment PC than as your primary computer.
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Matthew Elliott, a technology writer for more than a decade, is a PC tester, Mac user, and iPhone photographer. He was an editor for PC Magazine back when it was a print publication, and spent many years with CNET, where he led its coverage of laptop and desktop computers. Having escaped New York for scenic New Hampshire, Matthew freelances for a number of outlets, including CNET, IGN, and TechTarget. He covers computers of all types, tablets, various peripherals, and Apple iOS-related topics. When not writing about technology, Matthew likes to play touch football, pick-up basketball, and ping pong. He’s also a skilled snowboarder—and an unskilled mountain biker.
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