Customer Ratings & Reviews

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.

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!!!

If you are looking for a moderately affordable (less than $1000 dollar), reasonably equipped gaming laptop to double as your school or productivity machine, this may just be the right one for you! The first of several reasons why is the amazing battery life. JarrodTech on Youtube talks about it, but this G15 series of Dell Gaming laptop has one of the most outstanding battery life lengths for a gaming laptop released this year. This trim you are looking at in particular is equipped with 1080p FHD screen that is smooth and buttery with its 120Hz refresh rate but is also less demanding on the battery as compared to its higher resolution counterparts. The only detractor here is that I believe this model is equipped with a 53-watt hour battery as opposed to the 90 watt plus ones of the higher end trim levels of this laptop. Another area this trim level has some reductions is in it’s I/O. The two side USB-A ports on the right side are USB 2.0 only, one with power sharing, one without. This is okay for me as these ports are where I am running my mouse and headset from anyway. The rear ports have a USB-C with 3.2 connection and a USB A 3.0 port to my knowledge. The size and build quality of this laptop speaks to compromise in the right areas of the build while succeeding in remaining high quality. The keyboard deck is strong and doesn’t have a lot of flex, allowing for easy typing action and mitigating the rebound or “trampoline” feeling of typing on other plastic keyboard deck equipped laptops I have tried in the past. Alas, what it demonstrates in sturdiness comes at the cost of weight; it is a heavy machine at over 5Ibs. Factor this into your decision making as you well, but I certainly have no fear of lugging this and its 180W charger around. The keyboard is another reason why I can recommend this laptop to a student. The keystrokes are very quiet and accurate with no depth or looseness issues. It is like a stealthy chicklet style MacBook Pro with scissor-switch-like strokes. It makes for great typing and is very quiet in a library or lecture hall setting. The lighting is great with just a mild red orange that matches the accents on the rest of the laptop. I think RGB is gimmicky and eventually underutilized by most once the initial enthusiasm dies away, so the coloring of this laptop is perfect for me. The trackpad is similar in that it is reasonable for this trim of laptop and does not seem to have any performance issues. It is a springboard type track pad (firmer clicks at the top, softer at the bottom) and is has a matching touch surface to the speckled plastic of the rest of the laptop. I am very pleased with the included 512GB NVME drive. While a little small for today’s gaming file downloads (Doom Eternal is 79gb!), it is sufficiently fast for the price paid with a 2200mb/s read speed and 500mb/s write speed. The 8GB of 3200mHz RAM is up to the task for most daily users’ needs and allows for zippy multitasking through lots of open programs and chrome tabs—this being enhanced by the stellar Ryzen 5 5600H CPU with 6 cores and 12 threads. A problem I have had with Dell laptops in the past, but not this one, is coil whine. I am glad to find it is absent here. All of this with the discrete graphics (described below) being effectively cooled by this laptop’s intake and exhaust system. It should be noted that this is an example of a laptop that, based on its design, could benefit from a cooling fan pad or stand to allow for maximum cool airflow. It wouldn’t be advisable to game with this on a bed or any other surface that stifles its air intake. The RTX 3050 discrete graphics is the real compromise and decision-making point of whether to get this laptop. Unless you are new to the subject or have been hiding under a rock, you know that silicon is hard to get right now and ergo, the prices and availability of anything utilizing graphics cards is astronomical currently. As such, this 3050 is what this Dell laptop comes equipped with. With 4gb of VRAM, this is not a top-level gaming laptop by any stretch. I think that Best Buy’s listing this as “High-End” graphics card according to their purchasing guide is a big stretch, unless one is comparing it to an Ultrabook or the like. The 3050 is an entry level graphics card in this current generation of NVIDIA graphics and is going to yield you 60fps only at low or medium settings on most newer AAA title games. I played Battlefield 1 and I managed on Operations to get 60fps+ on preset medium settings. I really enjoyed the gameplay and considering that my main gaming PC has a 2080 super with a 9700K CPU, I still managed to enjoy the gameplay on this great laptop! Altogether, you should put this under serious consideration for being the gaming laptop you choose if the above appeals to you. I think that this is a Dell gaming laptop with Alienware inspired aesthetics and, frankly, I am absolutely digging it. Thank for reading and good luck making your purchasing decision!

The materiales of contruction are defenitly better thant tha last two years. Dell is making great the things again. The laptops looks so cool and different than the tipycal gaming laptop You should buy a another 8 gb ram (3200 Mhz) for have a complete experience

## 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.

Review of Dell G15. Dell G15 Ryzen Edition is a 15.6” FHD 120Hz Display, with AMD Ryzen 5 5600H with Radeon Graphics 3.30 GHz, with 8GB memory with 512GBSSD, with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Graphics. It has: - 2 USB 3.2 Gen1, - 1 USB 3.2 Gen1 + Power Share, - 1 USB-C 3.2 Gen2, - 1 HDMI, Power, - 1 Rj45 Ethernet port, - Battery light indicator, - Audio/Mic Port, - Integrated Webcam, - Backlit Keyboard, - Killer WiFi 6 AX1650 160Mhz, - Bluetooth - Maximum Resolution 3840 x 2160 - Windows 10 Home (x64) Upon opening and setting up, it is similar to non gaming notebooks being setup out of box. But upon grabbing it, can’t help to notice its sturdy and heaviness made for gamers. With exterior cover and the surface in grainy texture, big vent outlets for aggressive look makes appealing to gamers. At first, with 8GB of memory I thought it would come short to play games and having additional applications opened while being connected with others for video meeting, but surprisingly it has handled well not impacting in the gaming experience, Didn’t notice like image and sound lagging or freezing of pixels at least at bear eyes. Haven’t tried a heavy game yet, but it was used by kids playing Genshin Impact with multiple players and was happy with the G15 response. On exterior remark, the backlit keyboard has noticeable in the dark, and specially keys W,S,A,D are marked with extra border lines to recognize easily just as detail. In overall, it is a configuration for affordable price point that deliver more than can be asked based on a week of usage. As side note, there was one situation that having closed the notebook without turning off, then opening it the system didn’t land to login screen instead looked like frozen and needed to restart. Couldn’t experience the same after that, but seems one time hiccup as date of the review.

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

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.

The Dell G15 5515 Ryzen Edition is a new gaming laptop from the Dell/Alienware group. The Laptop has been released in 2 versions, an entry level with the Ryzen 5 5600H and 120hz a more powerful version with Ryzen7 and 165hz screen. I have the entry level laptop. It is disappointing that the display response time is 35ms in this version, the 165hz screen has a 13ms response. As with most entry level systems the laptop comes with Windows 10 Home installed. The Grey speckled color scheme I recieved is unique and good looking. Gameplay at FHD is good, the Nvidia RTX 3050 is able to achieve great frame rates on high settings. You can game at 4k with an appropriate external screen. For FHD gaming the builtin screen is not the best it’s color gamut and response time are poor. The 15.6 FHD display is the matte type with 120 hz response time it is rated at 250 nits and 35ms response. The Nvidia RTX 3050 gives great gaming performance. It has 4gb of GDDR 6 and allows decent gameplay at FHD resolution. Fortunately Dell has placed several ports in the rear of the laptop to allow secondary screens using HDMI or USB Type C displayport. If you want to do any serious gaming a good gaming monitor would be recommended. The keyboard and touchpad have a good feel and response. Dell has provided a gaming mode “G” key to allow maximum cooling while gaming, while this is very effective the fans are loud. The 720p webcam is good for video conferencing for business and video chat for gaming. I like the fact that this laptop is upgradable, there is an open memory slot and another slot for a second ssd. The memory is upgradable to 32 gb you will need to install 2 modules for that. Currently there is 1 8 gb module installed in single channel mode. For the SSD you will need to purchase the hold down hardware from dell or a third party. External ports include one USB 2.0 port, One USB 2.0 port with PowerShare, One USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with DisplayPort, One HDMI 2.1 Port, One combined microphone/headphone port, One ethernet port. The laptop supports up to Wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H is a very capable processor for gaming when paired with the Nvidia RTX 3050 it provides very good gaming and video performance. 30 day trial versions of Xbox game pass ultimate, McAfee Live Safe, and Microsoft Office 365 are included The Dell G15 5515 is a great choice for a combined work, gaming work or school laptop.

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.

Good, can also mine crypto but will overheat easily.

THE BREAKDOWN: This dell G15 gaming laptop has delivered as a mid-level gaming laptop at a really great price point. I think that this is another great improvement over last year’s model. In the box you will find the laptop itself with a power cable and a quick start guide. Once you plug it in and turn it on it walks you through the setup process. For some reason this process stalled for me and took over 45 min to get completed. After that little hiccup everything was great. It does come with a free month of McAffee software but if you have your own like me, it was very easy to uninstall it. The Window’s updates did not take long to install either. This version comes with: • Windows 10 • 15.6” FHD display • AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor • 8GB memory • 512GB SSD • Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Graphics with 4GB GDDR6 memory • Wired/Wireless dual band connectivity • HD webcam and microphone • Backlit keyboard • Game Shift (which is a gaming dynamic mode powered by Alienware Command Center) All of these features make this laptop a great choice for a mid-entry gaming laptop. I personal like the grey color look, it adds something new to the traditional mostly black setups. This computer does have one more available slot for RAM and PCIe slot for an additional M2 SSD if you need more space. There is also 2 USB 2.0 ports on the right side, ethernet port on the left with a 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI port, USB-A 3.2 and USB-C 3.2 on the rear. I personally like the power connector on the rear of the laptop instead of on the side. The audio through the speakers was very good and I felt that they were loud enough for my applications. There are a couple shortcut keys on this laptop. There is the “G” key to enable high performance mode (note you will need to make sure you download the Alienware Command Center). I personally did not see a huge performance increase while using this feature. If I had to put a percentage on it, I would say 5-10 %. I ran this through 2 testing applications, 3DMARK and PCMARK10. For the 3DMARK it scored a Time Spy Score of 5249 which is pretty standard for this setup. On the PCMARK10 it scored 5475 which another great score. Gaming performance was really better than I anticipated. This thing handled most of the games I threw at it on mid, ultra or ultra-high settings. PRO’s: -Great Display - AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor - Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Graphics with 4GB GDDR6 memory - Wired/Wireless dual band connectivity - HD webcam and microphone - Backlit Keyboard CON’s: -Needs More RAM -Fans get loud when playing for awhile -Good entry/mid-level gamer and for students SUMMARY: Overall, this product worked as intended, and I would recommend this to a friend if they are in the market for device like this that is portable and gets the job done.

When I received my Dell G15 - 15.6" FHD laptop I was immediately taken by how heavy it was. This laptop has some serious weight and for good reason. To combat heat generated by playing games there are some sizable fans at the top of the keyboard and below the screen. At over 5 pounds this laptop is not your typical portable computing device. With the AMD Ryzen 5 5000 Series processor the screens move quickly during general computer or internet use. Where the G15 shines is with general gaming. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics are very good at rendering a smooth HD picture with very little motion lag during gaming. Having 8 gigs of dedicated RAM may be at the edge of the G15’s ability for more power-hungry gaming. Games needing heavy cache of memory may experience reduced quality or a measure of lag, however for general gaming the G15 fits the bill. The SSD hard drive is excellent at accessing program or gaming data very quickly. The overall size of the laptop is larger than a general 15.6” laptop. That is to accommodate the higher performance components needed for quality gaming and the cooling fans as well. The general computing on the G15 is smooth and quick. Pages load with little effort and display on the screen with sharp detail. The keyboard is back lit with red color and a full-size keyboard with dedicated number keys on the right side. The weight could be considered a negative for some users and in reality this is more of a table top mobile device for gaming as apposed to a true "laptop". Most serious gamers are not concerned with this aspect. As I said earlier the G15 is a tank and built for gaming!

Great Laptop! Alienware Specs! This is a excellent laptop and it works like any other gaming laptop I highly recommend you buy this if you stream and game.

TLDR: The single channel of 8GB RAM is limiting + Ryzen needs memory bandwidth! This laptop was so close to being the best premium lower end gaming laptop IMO, if Dell hadn’t nerfed it out of the box. (I HIGHLY recommend grabbing another 8GB stick of DDR4 CL22 3200 to match what it comes with to get dual channel) Build/packaging/ports - 9/10 INCREDIBLY solid for this price point. I do not remember ever seeing or even hearing of a more well built sub $1K laptop. The whole thing has very little flex! (the screen has a bit, but almost zero body flex) The overall look is subjectively awesome, with some texture on the back and a cool speckle pattern all over in the lighter sections. The only reason I gave this section a 9/10 is due to having 2 x USB 2.0 (USB2.0 in 2021 is silly imo) on the side, but luckily the USB-C port works with Displayport Alt-Mode and there is full size HDMI for more external displays if needed. Software/Turbo+Acoustics - 5/10 Insane bloatware pile! I counted somewhere around 12+ Dell apps pre-installed, many not needed by 90% of users. The built in Boosting/Turbo mode is mostly useless considering it adds and extra 15w to the CPU and GPU. I got anywhere from 0% performance gain to a MAX of 3% gain in any of my testing, while the fans being cranked to max (or near to it at least) and EXCESSIVELY loud. Just play in normal mode, it still keeps the temps in check, and the fan whine to a minimum. LCD - 7/10 Overall at this price point the screen is good. Definitely washed out/not exactly popping out the colors, but looks better than other screens that I’ve seen, but is also a touch slower at 120hz vs 144hz that most have around this price point. Max brightness isn’t the best, but still very usable. Battery - 9/10 For being the smaller option available in this model, the 3 cell still gives you about 1.5-2 hours of near full load, and around 4+ hours of average load (I always tested with max brightness). Just basic web browsing could get even more! SSD - 7/10 512GB is good at this price. I tested the drive with CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4, it scored 2549MB/s reads and 1216MB/s writes (SEQ1M Q8T1 aka near peak) 42MB/s reads and 126MB/s writes (RND4K Q1T1, slowest test) When I took the back off however, I realized that this is only a 2230 M.2 drive, and not a normal full size 2280! It's CRAZY small, not sure why Dell felt the need to put this drive in there. (Its neat for something this tiny to still get respectable NVME performance) RAM/CPU(APU) I put these together because of the MAIN gripe with this machine. 8GB is just barely enough ram for gaming these days, especially with an APU that is sharing 512MB to its on-chip Radeon graphics (Windows only has 7.5GB to work with). On top of that, while it's good RAM for laptops, 8GB DDR4 3200 [email protected], there is only 1 stick, meaning that right out of the box, Dell is severely holding back this 5600H with only a single channel! Even 2x4GB sticks wouldn’t be the worst option if Dell felt it HAD to go 8GB. (I added another spec matching 8GB stick to test) My testing follows: (only showing my turbo OFF results due to very minimal increases) Geekbench 5 with 8GB (single channel) 1310 Single 4709 Multi Geekbench 5 with 16GB (dual channel) 1375 Single 6204 Multi 3DMark Timespy CPU score 8GB 5447 3DMark Timespy CPU score 16GB 6875 Multi Core Geekbench scores increased by 24% and 3DMark Timespy CPU score increased 20% just by running dual channel memory! (shows how nerfed the CPU is out of the box) Which brings me to gaming… GPU 8/10 The RTX 3050 4GB isn’t a top tier mobile GPU by any means, but it can hold its own when playing most games at 1080p between medium and high settings on most AAA titles. BUT the 3050 was also held back by the lack of memory bandwidth to the 5600H. Tests follow: (again only showing turbo off) 3DMark Timespy 8GB 5288 3DMark Timespy 16GB 5462 Only a small ~3% increase going to 16GB in timespy, but in game tests…. Borderlands 3 8GB (1080p Med preset, 100% render, DX11) 64.72FPS Borderlands 3 16GB (1080p Med preset 100% render, DX11) 86.46FPS Rainbow 6 Siege 8GB (1080p very high preset, DX11) 135FPS Rainbow 6 Siege 16GB (1080p very high preset, DX11) 188FPS A 25% increase in BL3 and a 28% increase in Rainbow 6 Siege! I knew going dual channel would help, but not this much!! (I was blown away by the increases that I re-ran everything...twice, same results!) Thoughts Anyone looking at this laptop should strongly consider adding more memory to it. It is not a difficult upgrade. With the longevity of the battery life under light load, I could easily see this as a great dual-purpose machine for a college student, working by day, gaming all night! (I played 5 hours of BL3 straight, without issues) While missing a channel of ram certainly hurts, I still do recommend this laptop to most users in the market for a nicer low end gaming laptop!

Bought this out of box. Excellant choice and love it.

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.

I'm not sure when $1K became the threshold for "budget" PC gaming on-the-go, but here we are; so the question at hand is whether this particular budget offering from Dell is worth your time. Honestly, the answer is an infuriating "it kind of depends." Out of the box, your gaming experience is going to be hamstrung by a paltry 8GB of single-channel RAM, a tiny NVMe hard drive, and only 4GB of dedicated video memory. If you can dig just a little deeper into your pocketbook, you can actually achieve noticeable performance improvements (see below), but you are forever going to be locked at medium-ish (with a few high and low settings thrown in for good measure) for many of today's AAA titles simply because there's no getting around the RTX 3050 card's limited VRAM. At 1080p, that may not matter much, and for lower-demand titles, you may actually not notice at all, but as this laptop is squarely aimed at the gaming market, you should definitely know what you're getting into ahead of time. The G15 isn't exactly sleek weighing in at 5 lbs, 7.3 oz and roughly 1" thick, with a huge, nearly 2" deep grey hinge section at the back. The plastic phantom grey finish has embedded flecks in the material that will probably always make you wonder if your laptop is dirty...but it's a cool departure from plain black or stark white that will hopefully avoid yellowing over time. The "coral" colored font on the keyboard is unique relative to the plain white lettering that accompanies many backlit but non-RGB keyboards, and it is very easy to see when illuminated by the 2-step LED backlight. However, lettering contrast is a little low in regular light when the keys are not backlit as the darker orange/red font tends to fade into the dark keycaps themselves. Strangely, the power key is the one key that is NOT backlit. The offset trackpad is touch, gesture, and click-capable though it feels just a bit "clumsy" in use as clicking action in particular takes just a bit more force that I would have expected. Kudos to Dell for moving the power port to the BACK of the unit where it won't get in the way of your peripherals or mousing hand, and for including a number of ports on more than one side of the laptop. Note that both USB ports on the right side are of the slower 2.0 variety, but they are spaced far enough part to accommodate most reasonably sized dongles or thumb drives. On the back, Dell has provided an HDMI output, the power connector, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port (supports video output, too!), and one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port. The left side includes a GigE port for your hardwired LAN parties and a 3.5mm audio/mic combo jack...there is no audio/mic splitter included with the laptop. The 180W power brick has cords snaking out both ends with a combined length of 8 feet--you should be able to game (or charge) comfortably from most wall outlets. The shell actually feels pretty solid with relatively little give around the keyboard during typing. There are a series of stylized vent cutouts above the keyboard for CPU and GPU fan exhaust (as well as larger vents on the back and sides)--keep your hands clear of the top vent area during gaming because they can get uncomfortably HOT under load! Dell managed to squeeze in an entire numpad on the keyboard though keycap spacing does feel just a tad tight--perfectly understandable on a laptop of this size. The chicklet keys have minimal travel with soft and fairly quiet key action...they are fine for day-to-day typing, though the arrow keys in particular are small and a bit awkward given that each arrow is only given a half-height keycap relative to the rest of the keys on the keyboard. There is a "G-shift" key that activates maximum CPU/GPU performance and full-tilt fan profiles, but the fans are easily audible even from across the room at full speed (I measured 54dB at "gaming distance" from the laptop)...I recommend leaving G-shift disabled for regular usage as the performance gains didn't seem substantial enough to warrant the extra (and intrusive) noise. Battery life was quite respectable; I set a Netflix queue on continuous play at 75% brightness/75% volume and ran down the battery to 2% shutdown in 8 hours 28 minutes! The matte finish 1080p 120hz IPS screen actually has decent off-angle viewing but does not feature the kind of eye-popping intensity or rich color saturation you might be craving from a higher-dollar glossy display. Backlight bleed was pretty uniform with larger blooms at the lower left and right corners--but there was nothing really intrusive in regular use, even on all-black pillar-boxes for 4:3 media content. Out of the box, color temperature was a bit off with a cast of overblown greens, a pronounced cut in red, and a slight dip in blues. With just some minor tweaking to Win11's color settings (minor cuts in green & blue), I was able to get the display to within 8 degrees of the ideal 6500K color temperature with a luminance value at just under 100 cd/m2--which is okay, just definitely not brilliant or blindingly bright. While the 120hz screen is appreciated, it is not G-Sync/Free-Sync capable for ultra-smooth video, nor was I able to get any game close to maxing out the panel's refresh rate...the 3050 just doesn't have that kind of horsepower under the hood. The tiny integrated 720p webcam provides a typically grainy image passable for Zoom or Teams in a pinch, while the integrated speakers get loud enough to be heard easily across (even outside) the room, though obviously there is little to no bass presence. My G15 came preloaded with Windows 11; this was my first experience with the new OS, but the overall interface isn't startlingly different from Windows 10, so those of you who happen to get a new build (the G15s were originally shipping with Win10) shouldn't worry that you'll be lost about what to do. It took a good 16 minutes before I was past all the initial setup and "preparing your Windows" screens before I was into the Windows 11 desktop. After that, there were 7 updates delivered via Dell Update, 42 Windows Store app updates, 5 Windows updates, and driver updates from AMD and NVIDIA--full initial installation occupied ~62GB of the Samsung PM991 512GB hard drive. The drive itself performs with decidedly "budget-oriented" benchmark specs (CrystalDiskMark results attached), and with only 5 games installed (Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk 2077, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Red Dead Redemption 2), I had consumed virtually all the free space on the drive. If you plan to make this laptop your daily driver, you're probably going to want a bit more breathing room for your game library. There is an open M.2 slot on the motherboard, but you'll need to purchase a heatsink (recommended) and mounting bracket (required) to install one. User maintenance is helped by 4 captive screws on the bottom cover which means only 4 screws are actually removed from the baseplate itself--prying the bottom cover off takes a bit of finesse; but once you're there, the open RAM and M.2 slots are easily accessible. I personally recommend you check your pre-installed M.2 drive even if you don't install another SSD...mine still had the plastic cover installed on the heatsink's thermal pad! While adding another SSD, I also installed another 8GB of 3200Mhz DDR4 RAM--real-world performance gains were substantial and even surprising: FPS (LOW/HIGH/AVE) Horizon Zero Dawn - MED (couldn’t go higher due to VRAM limits) 8GB: 15/132/56 16GB: 13/144/80 (43% improvement!!!) Shadow of the Tomb Raider - HIGH 8GB: 66/135/85 16GB: 72/145/92 (8% improvement) Red Dead Redemption 2 – NVIDIA Recommended/MED & HIGH 8GB: 14/78/53 16 GB: 23/108/63 (19% improvement) Gears of War 4 - HIGH 8 GB: 91 ave FPS 16GB: 112 ave FPS (23% improvement) Metro Exodus Enhanced - MED 8 GB: 16/62/23 16 GB: 20/58/28 (22% improvement) As a budget laptop, you definitely get budget-level performance out of the box, some of which you're just never going to upgrade away. But with just a small investment in additional RAM (at a minimum), you can reap some pretty substantial performance gains and have yourself a decently versatile laptop for everyday computing and productivity work to boot. If this is the price/performance tier you're aiming at, the Dell G15 definitely DOES have a lot to offer...and you'll probably be pretty happy with your purchase--so long as your pockets are maybe just a hair deeper.

Shhhhhh - If anyone asks, I didn't tell you this - it's an Alienware in Dell's clothing! Even the Motherboard has the Alienware "Alien" logo right dead center of it! First thing to do when you open this laptop - run ALL available updates from Dell, with special emphasis on the BIOS - the updated BIOS will help it run MUCH cooler! I've been "beating" on this machine for the past 5 days and I'm loving it! I did upgrade the ram almost immediately as 8GB is less than any of my machines. I bumped it up to 32GB, which according to Dell is the max supported. I also dropped in a 2nd SSD. Will it support 64GB RAM? It might, you never know until you try! Can you overclock it? Probably not. Can you game on it enjoyably without breaking a $1000 budget? Absolutely! The GPU isn't a top-tier GPU (RTX 3050), but it does the job nicely for a 1080p display. Are you going to be able to play the latest and greatest on ULTRA settings? Probably not, but it's not going to be hideous or require you to drop the resolution. The CPU, a Ryzen 5 5600H, is a 6 core/12 thread model and I haven't been able to make it shutter or flinch - I should have tried a modern AMD CPU much sooner! The good: very fast laptop that is RAM upgradeable (8GB model has a single 8GB 3200 SODIMM, can be upgraded to a total of 32GB). 2nd NVME SSD can be added. Sound is clean but not excessive. Keyboard has a nice tactile feel. Keyboard backlight is a pleasant orange color. Chassis, although plastic, is sturdy and does a fantastic job of resisting fingerprints. What you (or someone else) might complain about: Plastic chassis (some people just don't like plastic), the color range on the display could be better, the included SSD is 2230 in size, No XMD options in BIOS for memory, Numeric keypad is a little small, The power brick is a BEAST - big honka-chonka 180W unit! Will this hold you over until you can afford one of those $1500+ units? I think it will, especially if you're on a student budget. It will handle everything you throw at it plus you can do all your legitimate school work on it.