Latitude 5401 — Dell i7 9TH/8GB/256GB/14"

An i7 at a mid-line price — the 5401 carries a 9th-gen i7 in the compact 14-inch Latitude 5000 chassis, for buyers whose work is heavier than the average office load but whose budget stops short of the 7000 line.

Its role in this list is simple: it is the cheapest i7 badge in the Dell column. End buyers respond to that badge more than to generation numbers, which makes this an easy quote when someone insists on "an i7" with a tight ceiling. Pair it with i5 units and let the badge do the upsell.