A laptop built to withstand occasional jostling in a briefcase or a minor keyboard coffee spill is one thing; one ready for outdoor use, pouring rain, vehicle mounting, and extreme temperatures is another. Dell’s Pro Rugged 14 (starts at $1,959; approximately $3,821 as tested) is what’s known as a semi-rugged laptop and exceeds expectations even for that elite class. A sunlight-readable screen, dual batteries for extended unplugged use, and comprehensive security features complement its exceptional build quality. It’s also civilized enough to function as an everyday PC, provided its bulk isn’t a concern. The Pro Rugged 14 earns our Editors’ Choice award for semi-rugged laptops.
Design: More Durable Than You Know
Even the densest consumer notebooks I’ve tested don’t compare with rugged laptops like the Pro Rugged 14. This laptop is exceptionally strong, with inflexible metal and carbon fiber outside and rubber bumpers all around. The design has passed Department of Defense MIL-STD 810H testing and is rated to operate in temperatures ranging from -20 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and withstand three-foot drops. (Even heavier and costlier fully rugged systems like the Panasonic Toughbook 40 Mk2 can survive six-foot falls.) Additionally, it carries an IP53 rating for resistance against dirt, dust, and water penetration. While the laptop can’t survive submersion, getting caught in a passing shower won’t spell disaster.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
This Dell is much bulkier than the typical 14-inch PC, measuring 1.32 by 13.4 by 8.7 inches and weighing 4.49 pounds. It’s a close match for the semi-rugged Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3. Our unit has a rigid carry handle; it’s also available with a flexible handle or none at all.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Dell built the Pro Rugged 14’s ports for durability, shielding them with secure covers. The left side features a Thunderbolt 4 connection, two 5Gbps USB ports, and a universal audio jack. Meanwhile, the right edge includes a SmartCard reader, a microSD/nano SIM slot, and an optional second Thunderbolt 4 port. Thunderbolt 4 ports on both sides allow the power cable to plug in from either side.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Additional ports, including an Ethernet jack, a serial port, and an HDMI monitor output, are located at the rear. A configurable slot back here can accommodate another Ethernet jack, a serial port, a USB Type-A connection, an extra-durable Fischer USB 3.0 port, or be left blank. The cable lock slot also sits on the back. The Pro Rugged 14’s only notable omission is an optical drive, which you can find in the competing Toughbook 55 Mk3. Some field or industrial users may need one.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Standard wireless features include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. The nano-SIM card slot provides optional 5G connectivity. The Pro Rugged 14 is compatible with first responders’ dedicated FirstNet network. Discrete GPS is also available.
Flipping the laptop over reveals its hot-swappable twin batteries. You’ll also find a lockable slot for the M.2 solid-state drive.
Dell offers a standard three-year warranty for the Pro Rugged 14. The Windows 11 Pro operating system has minimal preinstalled software, including Dell Command for updates and Dell SupportAssist for remote assistance. The Dell Rugged Control Center also provides specialized system settings, such as night mode and user-programmable shortcuts, including essential screen-edge menus if the laptop is dashboard-mounted.
Dell SafeID, a hardware-based alternative to TPM for securing user credentials, is among the laptop’s many security features. The laptop also supports Intel vPro Enterprise. Biometric support comes from a fingerprint reader in the power button and an infrared webcam. Dell also sells the laptop without a webcam, and it sells numerous replacement parts with tutorials to help extend the system’s lifespan.
(Credit: Charles Jefferies)
Dell provided us with its Rugged Escape backpack, explicitly designed for the Pro Rugged line. It’s well-made, featuring a durable exterior and a rubberized bottom. The shoulder straps are comfortable, and the back is well-padded, particularly at the bottom. With a sale price of $73.99, the bag adds another layer of protection to an already well-protected laptop.
Using the Dell Pro Rugged 14: Always Prepared
The contrast between a standard business laptop and the Dell Pro Rugged 14 is drastic. With exposed screws around the carbon fiber lid and robust metal plating, it looks like it’s ready for the next apocalypse. This is not a laptop that expects delicate handling.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Opening the lid involves unlocking a physical latch. The display hinges require significant effort, a crucial feature for scenarios like mounting the Pro Rugged 14 in a police cruiser, where it must remain open even when the vehicle hits a bump.
Dell’s screen appears basic on paper with its classic 1,920-by-1,080-pixel resolution, anti-glare surface, and wide-viewing-angle IPS technology. However, it stands out with glove-touch support, a passive stylus (which docks in a silo on the right side of the laptop), and an impressive 1,100-nit rated brightness that ensures visibility in direct sunlight. It’s so bright when I switch to full brightness indoors that I must squint and look away. The display also produces vivid, well-saturated colors.
The Pro Rugged 14 has three keyboard options. The standard model lacks backlighting, while our test unit features customizable RGB backlighting in any color you desire. You’ll also find a more durable rubberized keyboard available. Replacing the keyboard is quick and easy, requiring just a few screws to be undone. In terms of typing experience, I achieved near my best speed, reaching 117 words per minute in the Monkeytype online typing test. The keys provide ample travel and tactile feedback, which is a welcome relief given that rugged laptops often aren’t comfortable for extended typing sessions.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The touchpad is relatively small by consumer laptop standards and lacks a clicking surface, instead relying on two physical buttons below. Unfortunately, the webcam above the display is disappointing, with lowball 720p resolution and a washed-out picture. On the bright side, it comes with a sliding privacy shutter.
Although semi-rugged laptops typically aren’t known for their audio performance, the Pro Rugged 14’s front-facing speakers deliver surprisingly decent sound quality. They can get quite loud without becoming harsh and provide a full sound for the movies and music I sampled.
Testing the Dell Pro Rugged 14: AI Performance on the Go
We received a Dell Pro Rugged 14 featuring a 12-core Intel Core Ultra 7 165U processor, an Nvidia RTX 500 Ada Generation graphics chip, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. (The base model comes with a Core Ultra 5 125U and integrated Intel HD Graphics.) We won’t be comparing prices, as semi-rugged laptops typically sell through channel partners.
The abovementioned Panasonic Toughbook 40 Mk2 is the only other rugged laptop we’ve tested recently. The two leviathans join several mortal laptops for our performance comparisons, including the Acer Swift 14 AI AMD, the HP EliteBook 1040 G11, and the Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 4.
Productivity and Content Creation Tests
Our primary overall benchmark, UL’s PCMark 10, puts a system through its paces in productivity apps ranging from web browsing to word processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC’s storage throughput.
Three more tests are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon’s Cinebench 2024 uses that company’s Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs’ Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution.
Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems’ PugetBench for Creators rates a PC’s image editing prowess with various automated operations in Adobe Photoshop 2024.
Although the other laptops have higher-wattage H-class CPUs inside, the Dell kept the pace admirably, performing almost as well as the Toughbook in several tests. While it was not a barn burner, its performance was somewhere between satisfactory and above average for a laptop in this class—just not doggedly competitive.
Gaming and Graphics Tests
We challenge each laptop’s and desktop’s graphics with a quartet of animations or gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark test suite.
Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K) use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. Steel Nomad’s regular (4K) and Light (1440p) subtests focus on APIs more commonly used for game development, like Metal and DirectX 12 in addition to Vulkan, to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. A fifth test, Solar Bay, emphasizes ray-tracing performance using Vulkan or Metal APIs at 1440p resolution.
The Pro Rugged 14 stood out as one of the few semi-rugged laptops with dedicated graphics. While its RTX 500 Ada GPU is considered entry-level by mobile workstation standards, it delivered significantly better performance than any integrated solution and provides modest AI capabilities in the field. When it comes to graphics, the Pro Rugged 14 is ahead of the pack by a long shot.
Battery and Display Tests
We test each laptop and tablet’s battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.
To gauge display performance, we also use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to measure a laptop screen’s color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter).
In our tests, the Pro Rugged 14 impressed with nearly 22 hours of battery life using both batteries. While the Toughbook almost doubled that, it’s worth noting that it belongs to a different category as a fully rugged model (and weighs a ponderous 7.4 pounds). When both batteries are drained, the Pro Rugged 14 charges the battery in the first bay before the second, so it’s not a simultaneous charge. It took several hours to get both to full capacity. Dell sells a dedicated two-bay battery charger accessory for quicker charges.
Our screen testing shows the Pro Rugged 14 achieving nearly 1,000 nits of brightness and complete coverage of the sRGB color spectrum, which we expect from a laptop in this class.
Verdict: The Pro Rugged 14 Is Ready to Rumble
Semi-rugged laptops are known for their build quality, and the Pro Rugged 14 is no exception, standing out as one of the best in the industry. Dell supports its durability with a standard three-year warranty and available spare parts. Field operators will appreciate the laptop’s sunlight-viewable screen, glove-touch support, extensive wireless options, and night mode. Additionally, it delivers dedicated Nvidia RTX 500 graphics for AI capabilities, a distinct advantage. The Pro Rugged 14 is a robust, compelling alternative to the Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3, earning the latest claim to our Editors’ Choice award among semi-rugged laptops.
The Bottom Line
For computing in harsh environments, mere mortal laptops can’t compete with Dell’s potent, semi-rugged Pro Rugged 14 on durability and longevity.
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About Charles Jefferies
