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Again, these business-minded systems will limit your after-hours enjoyment to
casual games and video streaming.
BATTERY RUNDOWN TEST
After fully recharging the laptop, we set up the machine in power-save mode (as
opposed to balanced or high-performance mode) where available and make a
few other battery-conserving tweaks in preparation for our unplugged video
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and volume at 100 percent until the system conks out.
With a bit more than 15 hours of battery life, the Latitude 7400 can take you
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unplugged runtime was the second highest in the group, though all the laptops
except possibly the ThinkPad T490 showed very impressive stamina.
A TOUGH CHOICE TO MAKE
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X1 Carbon Gen 7 as our favorite business ultraportable, but it comes awfully
close. It delivered better performance in most of our tests, though that’s likely
because our Carbon test unit had a Core i5 instead of Core i7 processor and only
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but is worthy of note.)
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since the keyboard and screen are the main ways you interact with any PC,
though on the other hand the Dell has an advantage in the key area of battery
life. So while either system is an excellent choice, you’ll want to consider both
carefully. And if you don’t need a 4K screen, the 7400 may well be your
preferred pick.
M. DAVID STONE
PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION (^) I SUBSCRIBE (^) I JANUARY 2020