Dell - G15 15.6" FHD Gaming Laptop - AMD Ryzen 5 - 8GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Graphics - 512GB Solid State Drive

The Pros: Excellent keyboard, 120hz display, graphics capable of running Horizon: Zero Dawn and Outer Worlds at 60fps, expandable via 1 open m.2 slot and up to 32gb of RAM. Cons: weak ram (8gb) out of the gate, Display color accuracy could be much better, bottom case is difficult to open, plastic construction makes build quality feel cheap, heat can be an issue. Overall a favorable impression, given the price point and specs, but the build quality suffers one big issue for me: there's a noticeable bump or bulge (see photos) that's been there since I got it; I can't quite figure out where its coming from or why it's there, but it creates a small gap around that bubble (~1-2mm) between keyboard deck and display when closed. I don't THINK it's impacting the sleep/wake cycle.

I may have a slightly biased review coming from a person who’s last computer was a 2013 MacBook, but this computer is fantastic. $800 for a computer with Ryzen 5 was more than enough to convince me to buy. The boot speed is insane, the GUI is beautiful, and the computer is very able to handle even the highest graphic games easily. Best purchase of the year. I love this machine.

Incredible, had for a year and loved it so much. Perfect for mid range pc gaming on a budget.

Dell continues to release entry to mid-level Laptops, which combine a great price point for entry level performance. Over the years, the design has changed, with this being quite a nice update from previous models. Inside the box you’ll find the Dell G15, the power brick and plug, and a simple quick start guide. Starting up the PC for the first time will present you with the familiar Cortana Windows 10 setup process. After a few minutes of confirming my Microsoft account login, and you’re presented with a clean desktop. The only “bloatware” on this machine is Dell’s Support software and a McAfee trial subscription. Having an existing subscription with another anti-virus provider, I was able to easily uninstall the McAfee software. The only real pain point during setup, is the same for any new PC: running Windows updates. The PC came pre-installed with the October 2020 Windows 10 update and required several updates before the PC was ready to use without a restart notification. For those wondering, yes this will support the upcoming release of Windows 11 and does support the current Beta. There was also a Dell Firmware update, which downloaded quickly, and did take several minutes to install (be patient here). After almost an hour of updates, the PC was finally ready to use. While you will get some constant notifications from Dell’s software about installing or setting up additional services with your mobile phone, it’s easy to turn off or silence them in the notification pane. If you’re not already a Dropbox User, this one offered a familiar 20GB storage upgrade for up to 1 year, once you’re logged into your Dropbox account via the pop-up, you’ll see the additional space added. This Dell G15 variant has an AMD Ryzen 5600H CPU (with integrated Ryzen Graphics) paired with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050 with 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM (3200Mhz), and a 512 GB SSD. You’ll find around 430-460 GB of free space available, once you account for the recovery partition, and the Windows installation with updates installed. This is plenty of space for casual users, and those really focusing on using this for more intensive applications for content creation, such as graphic and video editing programs. I should point out; this laptop does have one available SODIMM slot available for RAM and a PCIe slot for an additional M.2 SSD. You will need another Dell part to properly install an additional SSD, as the laptop doesn’t ship with a bracket required to secure another M.2 SSD. This bracket can be acquired easily from Dell direct (although you’ll need to call them), or from third party suppliers. There are also two USB 2.0 A ports on the right side (one with a “Power Share” icon), a gigabit ethernet port on the left next to a headphone jack, and a HDMI port, a USB-A 3.2 and USB 3.2 Type C with DisplayPort on the rear. Having used several Gaming Laptops over the years, it’s nice to report the power connector on the rear, and not in the way of your external mouse (if you chose to use one). The gray color is a nice touch, with a darker strip along the monitor area, and a nice “G” logo found on the side, and on the palm rest area of the laptop. The external casing also has this darker gray splash pattern throughout, giving the device a nice stand out look compared to other laptops. The speakers are plenty loud for most multimedia use, and the included audio software does a good job of tweaking EQ to match the experience you’re looking for. The keyboard sports several function keys, including multimedia keys, keyboard backlight toggle, screen brightness, display button, and the “G” key to enable High Performance (HP) mode. You will need to install the Alienware Command Center to take advantage of using the “G” key. Using the “G” key to enable HP yielded some performance boost, and results may vary based on the game you’re playing. I did notice some performance improvement, and when running benchmarks, you’ll likely see about a 5 to 10% bump in the overall results. Gaming performance is better than I was expecting, and with a RTX 3000 series GPU, was able to play most games at mid to high/ultra settings. If you’re solely focused on FPS (frames per second), I’m happy to report this Dell averages around 40 to 118 FPS depending on the game you’re playing. Casual games, such as SIMCITY or City Skylines had ranges in the 40 to 80 FPS at high settings, Death Stranding averaged around 50 FPS, Red Dead Redemption averaged 30 to 75 FPS depending on the graphics settings used. I found that most games played easily on high settings easily. Star Trek Online, for instance, was able to play smoothly on High Graphics settings, with an average FPS of 70, even with larger space combat sequences. However, games like Red Dead Redemption 2 would see frame dips when set to high. The GeForce Experience software provided by Nvidia does a really great job of “optimizing” games based on the GPU and seemed to provide the easiest way to adjust settings for the best performance. The display is a native 120hz IPS display, which works well when displaying even thin graphical elements in game and allowing you to take advantage of the greater than 60 FPS seen in 1080 gameplay. While you can connect this to an external monitor for 4K, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend setting the resolution higher than 1440p for gameplay. Your results may vary, depending on the game and overall graphics settings used, and found that 1080 resolution offered the best mix of performance and quality for most games. The response time on the built-in monitor is also not the quickest, with the manual pointing out it’s up to 35ms response time. During gameplay, I didn’t notice any major delays in response, and didn’t notice any ghosting in the image during faster movement. This laptop also features Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6 with an integrated newer generation “Killer 1650” card installed. If you’re lucky enough to have a Wi-Fi 6 capable router and a broadband connection, you’ll likely notice ISP speeds being easily reached. Running a speed test on my network yielded ISP provided speeds, quick downloads, uploads, and easily transferred data to and from my home server. The Bluetooth connection with my wireless headset (which supports BT 5) easily paired and held on to the audio connection even as I stepped away into another room in my home. The integrated 720p camera and microphone were good enough for Discord sessions and Video Conference Calls. So, who is this Dell G15 Ryzen for? I’d say this is a great laptop for anyone looking for a versatile machine, that supports current generation games, and has an RTX 3000 series cards. Whether you’re a casual gamer, student, or someone looking to get some higher performance all around machine, without the expensive price tag. I was impressed with the overall performance, the quick load times for apps/games, and the expansion offered. You’ll benefit from the performance boost over previous generation CPUs and be able to game in-between productivity tasks. Given the price vs performance, I’d say this is in the sweet spot and is a worthy contender for those looking to play new games in a budget friendly configuration. After a week of use, I can honestly say this is quite the Gaming Laptop contender.

This is a great computer for beginner gamers and fairly inexpensive. It starts up quickly; the graphics are terrific, and it even works well with multiple screens when you hook up more than one (I've got two 32inch monitors hooked up to it—one with HDMI and one with a USB Type C to HDMI cable). It also streams video like nobody's business (Youtube, Netflix, HBOMax, Hulu, etc.). And the wireless on this this laptop is better than I have experienced on any computer. It's cheaper to buy the 8GB RAM version of the laptop and then add the extra 8GB RAM yourself—it's cheaper that way. However, if you're going to add more RAM, I would make sure it's 3200 MHz and you might want to have someone at Best Buy help you get the back casing off to put the RAM in because the screws can be a pain to get out (it's easy to strip them). Also, be aware that the only USB 3.0 port is at the back of the laptop—none are on the side. All in all, terrific computer!!!

More than enough for school and great entry level gaming laptop. Battery life and screen could be better but for tge price I am happy with the purchase.

## Performance This Dell G15 gaming laptop features a fast AMD processor and decent graphics card that can accommodate most PC gaming needs while on the go. Now it won’t be as powerful as say a dedicated desktop gaming rig, but for a portable gaming station it definitely gets the job done. I tested out the Dell G15 with Fortnite and allowed the game to set its own settings. It configured all settings to “High” (one notch below the highest setting of “Epic”). At the beginning for each match (after dropping from the bus), FPS varied between 20 and 60, but after landing and exploring the nearby land (allowing all textures and content to load), it settled around 50-60 FPS (I have the max set at 60). Gaming on this system looks amazing on the 120Hz IPS display panel. ## Specs - 15.6” FHD 120Hz Display - AMD Ryzen 5 5600H Processor - 8GB Memory - 512GB SSD - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Graphics ## PROs + Speed: In the benchmark score image associated with this review, you can see that when compared to Novabench’s “High-end Laptop” baseline configuration, the overall score came out about 9% better on this unit and the GPU score came out 38% better on this unit. + Backlit keyboard: The keyboard has a red glow (with two brightness settings) which makes it nice for late night gaming. + Matte screen: The screen does a nice job reducing glare! + Plenty of ports: There’s an ethernet port and headphone jack on the left, two USB-A ports on the right side, and a USB-A, USB-C, power and HDMI port on the back side. + Minimal bloat: Dell added some support applications and it includes a trial of McAfee antivirus, but that’s about it for the added software. ## CONs - No Windows Hello: There is no Windows Hello compatible camera or fingerprint reader on the device - Size: As expected with a gaming laptop, the size is somewhat large and bulky (it reminds me of an early 2000s machine, before ultrabooks hit the scene). It weighs just over 5 pounds. - Noise: The fans can get loud while playing, which probably isn’t much of an issue if you’re using headphones. ## Summary Overall, the G15 isn’t a bad entry level gaming laptop. While you won’t get quite the performance of a full desktop rig, the Dell G15 is still ideal for students -- or even professionals -- who need the portability of a laptop with the ability to game after school or work.

When buying a gaming laptop, I usually temper my expectations. It’s unrealistic to expect a device to perform comparable to desktops and consoles unless money is no object. It’s best to measure a laptop according to specs and description. For the most part, the G15 aligns with what it’s capable of doing. [Pro: It’s a beautiful laptop with a sturdy build] Aesthetically, this is a gorgeous looking device. The gray color chosen is a nice break from the typical all-black design. The textured lid is smooth to the touch, and the computer is covered in a nice speckled pattern which pulls off a unique hybrid appearance. [Pro: Performs well with compatible games] I did my testing with Gears of War 4 to analyze performance and experience. Albeit an older game, the G15 met the exact recommended requirements according to Microsoft. I was able to stay above 80 FPS which was pretty nice. At times, I even got above 90 frames consistently. [Con: This PC can run hot] To increase airflow, I always use laptops in an elevated position above a cooling pad. While playing a few games, I noticed the vents above the keyboard and keys near the edge of the device got hot. When I checked the thermals, the CPU had reached 70 degrees Celsius. It quickly cooled back down, but I’m anticipating a bios update to address any heating issues. [Pro: Upgradeability is the huge win for this laptop] The manual provided great detail on the type of changes that could be made to the laptop. The RAM capacity of the Dell G15 maxes out at 32 Gigabytes. 32 Gigabytes is overkill, but upgrading the RAM to 16 Gigabytes is an inexpensive investment that seems necessary. Also, Dell included an additional unused M.2 2230/2280 slot. Theoretically, this laptop could be customized to support 4 TB ( using two 2TB 2280 SSDs ) if you also decide to replace the original SSD as well. You will need a mounting bracket for the additional empty SSD slot. They are about $10 so this is an affordable add-on. [Con: No Upgrade for the GPU] I have no problem with the RTX 3050 as a graphics card. However, my belief is that gaming laptops should be supplied with a GPU containing at least 6 GB of VRAM to provide an optimal experience. Newer releases are often requiring more VRAM as well as RAM. However, RAM can be easily upgraded. [Pro: The HDMI port 2.1 provides future proofing.] HDMI 2.1 is not a widely supported standard. Yet, the inclusion of this port makes the G15 a good candidate for external displays that can support 4K @ 120Hz. [Mixed Bag: You can enjoy some, but definitely not all titles are high settings.] This is not a good or bad thing, but it should be understood. The games where recommended requirements were met or exceeded performed well especially in the department of FPS. The games that struck out in VRAM and/or RAM department encountered issues which was to be expected. [Conclusion] From the specs and personal usage, this version of the Dell G15 is a GOOD entry-level gaming device. Games where recommended requirements are met play well even at high settings. Unfortunately, this will always be held back by incompatibility or poor performance with more resource-demanding titles. For Fortnite, the G15 is perfect. You should look the other way if you desire to play Cyberpunk 2077. This computer is a suitable option for those who prioritize frame rate over graphical detail. I have a backlog of older games (which happen to be smaller in size) so the SSD capacity and current configurations will work for my purposes. The best advice I can give is to know the type of games you’re wanting to play. and what components can get you there.