dingle G7 15 review: dingle's top play laptop is at its good when it cost less

Sarah Tew/CNET The Dell G7 15 is a victim of its lower-end linemate's success. The G5 15 offers a wide variety of component options starting at $900 for entry-level and mainstream gamers and it's all wrapped up in an attractive and relatively thin and light case, which is how it earned an Editors' option award
for budget gaming laptops

last year. The G7 15 is the upgraded version with things like a thinner, lighter all-metal chassis instead of plastic, higher-end component and display options and a four-zone RGB LED backlit keyboard. But all of that just isn't enough to give it an enthusiastic recommendation. At least not for the pricier configuration I tested. The issue I have is the G7 doesn't differentiate itself enough from the G5 for those on a budget. And for those less restricted by price, the Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card in my review system pushes the price up so that it's not too far off from the nicer-looking and more capable Alienware m15. Dell G7 15 Price as reviewed $1,350 Display size/resolution 15.6-inch 1,920x1,080 144Hz display CPU 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-9750H Memory 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2667MHz Graphics 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Storage 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe + 1TB HDD Networking 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0 Operating system Windows 10 dwelling
(64-bit) Unless you really want the RTX card's support for beam trace or DLSS
that improves lighting and detail realism in supported games (there are only a match dozen at the moment
), you're better off getting the G7 with a GTX 1660 Ti chip, which performs nearly as well for less money. In other words, if you're going to spend for the RTX 2060, you might as well spend to have it in a better laptop like the m15, too. That's not to say the Dell G7 15 is something you should stay away from. Oddly enough, the Dell G7 15 currently starts at $900 for seemingly the same configuration as the base G5 15. In this case, the G7 is certainly the way to go. The is £1,149 and it's $2,313, although both are better than what you'll get in the US. I like the look of the G7, too, and the metal case does make it feel more premium than the G5. The keyboard is comfortable for typing and gaming and, because Dell used white markings instead of the G5's blue, you can read the keys easily with the backlight off. The touchpad, on the other hand, is disappointing. It's actually smaller than the G5's and I found it took a couple swipes before it would recognize my touch. The rest of the build is similar to the G5, with display ports, Ethernet and the power input on back to make it tidier to use on a desk with peripherals. Along with HDMI, my system had a Mini DisplayPort, which is only available if you get the RTX 2060 card or higher. The same goes for Thunderbolt 3 and display options for 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rates. There's also an Ultra HD-resolution (3,140x2,160-pixel) OLED available if you want to drive the price up to . Then again, you can get a similar configuration in the , too. Sarah Tew/CNET Basically, if you want the performance of an Alienware for less money and in a body that doesn't look as much
like a typical aggressive gaming laptop, the Dell G7 15 is certainly worth considering. Depending on your configuration and budget, though, you might be better off with the G5 15 or saving up for the Alienware m15. Geekbench 4 (multicore)

Asus ZenBook pro couple UX581G

24,211 Dell G7 15 22,154 Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-52) 21,433

Razer blade 15

17,175

note:

Longer bars indicate better performance Cinebench R15 CPU (multicore)

Asus ZenBook pro duet UX581G

1,445 Dell G7 15 1,280 Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-52) 1,248

Razer blade 15

865

note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

stream television playback battery-drain examination

Dell G7 15 345

Razer blade 15

345 Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-52) 277

Asus ZenBook pro duet UX581G

249

note:

Longer bars indicate better performance (in minutes)

3DMark fire strike Ultra

Dell G7 15 3,440

Asus ZenBook professional couple UX581G

3,378

Razer blade 15

3,362 Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-52) 3,157

note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

far cry 5 (FPS)

Dell G7 15 87 Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-52) 85

Razer blade 15

79

Asus ZenBook pro couple UX581G

53

note:

Longer bars indicate better performance (FPS)

Deus ex-wife: Mankind divide (FPS)

Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-52) 79.7 Dell G7 15 77.9

Razer blade 15

74.7

Asus ZenBook pro couple UX581G

56.7

note:

Longer bars indicate better performance (FPS)