Older (2013-2017) vs New (2023+)

A decade is a long time in laptops. We split the catalog into two eras — the 2013–2017 vintage and the 2023+ generation — and compared what each band actually delivers at the median, using three representative listings per side. It is the cleanest way to answer the eternal question: how much laptop progress does ten years buy?

The decade in four numbers

Median price: $194 for the vintage band versus $524 for the new one. Median graphics score: 7.9 versus 49.1 out of 100. Median processor score: 22.2 versus 53.0. Median year: 2015 versus 2023. Read as a ratio, ten years of progress costs 2.7× the money and returns 6.2× the graphics and 2.4× the processor capability.

Who represents each era

The vintage band surfaces Dell's corporate workhorses of the mid-2010s — the Latitude E5570 at $194, the E7470 at $211, and the E7270 at $184. The new band is the 2023–2024 Latitude 5000 series: the 5540 at $524, the 5550 at $772, and the 5440 at $509. It is a fitting comparison in one way: same product lineage, ten years apart, which keeps the comparison honest — these are fleet machines built to the same brief in different decades.

What a 2015 machine still does well

Plenty, within its envelope. Office suites, browsers, video calls, media playback — the workload most laptops actually serve — runs fine on a 22/100 processor. At under $200, the vintage band is the cheapest reliable path to a usable second machine, a student first laptop, or a spare. What it will not do is anything graphical: 7.9/100 graphics puts modern games and GPU work firmly out of reach.

What the 2023 generation changes

Beyond the raw multiples, the newer band shifts the experience in ways the score table understates: efficiency and battery behavior, current connectivity, and years of remaining platform support. A 6.2× graphics jump also changes what the machine is for — the 2023 band covers casual gaming and creative work that the vintage band never could.

Bottom line

Ten years buys a 6× graphics leap and a 2.4× processor leap for 2.7× the price. If the laptop serves documents and browsing, the 2015 band at under $200 is the value play of the entire catalog. If it serves anything heavier, the 2023+ band is where usable capability starts.