Customer Ratings & Reviews

Let me jut say that I rarely game on a laptop but like the option when out of town. It's very hard to design a portable machine that can take on gaming. There are much more powerful gaming laptop option but you are going to pay a lot more. This machine has a good balance of value and power and plays any game with moderate to high settings, depending on what titles, of course. At the retail price, it's a good deal. Pick one up used today and it's still a good gaming and work machine at a better deal. The i7 CPU is fast, even though it's a mobile version of the chip. My home power house computer is an i7-8700K and this thing actually competes with it in benchmark scores. The 1060 Max-Q GPU doesn't compare with my desktop variant but that is to be expected. Like I said, it plays any game with adjusted settings but not like you have turn all the settings down. I'm used to 1440p gaming at home (on max settings) but still visually satisfied with gaming out on the road. I've had this new since my 2018 purchase from BestBuy and have never had any issues (you really have to be abusing the keyboard to cause damage to the fan underneath it, like some other reviewer stated). Funny how his complain starts with "what Dell doesn't tell you" Haha like it's a hidden secret that they should be legally bound to disclose. I've typed on this for work and gamed for over two years and fans are working great. This is especially impressive since they have to work so hard and thankfully there are two. One for the CPU and a dedicated one for the GPU. Something that is only in a gaming laptop. Another gripe was that it did not come with an HHD (only a cable for this). How is this a gripe?? And why would you want an HDD. This was a sub $1000 gaming laptop that included and faster m.2 SATA SSD card that outperforms any spinning hard drive. Then they give you the option to add your own HDD or SDD 2.5" product (cable included), when you wish to. I eventually added an OCZ 500GB SSD and have never needed more (and that is mainly due to large work file storage. Some people are fine with the 250GB since for mobile gaming, you don't pack it with every game you play. It has more than enough USB ports (3) for mobile use as well as a USB-C (1) that is also a Thunder port. This is great for docking stations versus a USB 3.0 docking station, plus being able to charge USB-C Phones and power other devices. The power brick is 180W which is the very high end of power bricks for laptops. It's also a large power adapter but my ACER AIO computer at home has a larger one, even though it's also 180w. You can use other power bricks (smaller wattage and size) to reduce footprint on certain trips. Although, if it's not a Dell original rated for the 180w, it will let you know when you first boot the machine. It warns that there maybe throttling down times if the original power supply is not used. I found this out when using a temporary power supply when I forgot mine and when using a generic vehicle cigarette lighter adapter power supply. I did not notice any performance issues but I was not attempting to game, only work. The display is great. Antiglare, unlike those very glary ones that have so much reflection you can use it as a mirror when off. This is a trick to make a display look pretty and gloss coat your image but it's just a gimmick. This display is very bright and great from wide viewing angles. It's 1080p AND runs at 60hz like it should, The WebCam is your basic 720p cam that does fine for Zoom meetings and all, not great at low light. The speakers sound good and have decent volume, for a mobile device, especially for meeting. Although, headphones are best for gaming. The mouse track pad is multifinger, so gestures like pinch to zoom work well. It has integrated buttons into the trackpad (instead of separate right and left buttons) and this is something to get used to. I actually rarely use it as I have a Logitech trackball that I prefer over any mouse type. The keyboard feels great, not clunky or chiclet and lights up! This was a big selling point, as when on the road, I find myself working in dimly lit areas at times. It's also a full keyboard with numeric keypad that is also a necessity for work. Battery life is typical for a gaming laptop (not much at full power) but this is expected for any gaming laptop, where you really should be plugged in to be gaming. Since it is geared for performance, you should go into the power settings and make it more for battery life than power, if you want to maximize the battery life. If not, just normal use, like for business or web browsing, will eat up your battery too quick. The CPU will only run in low MHz and power consumption, if you change the power profile. This is a windows power profile issue. If Windows had Artificial intelligence, it would understand you are not power using and step down you CPU and other hardware. All in all, I am very happy with this Laptop. If you learn to deal with laptop limitations and constraints and don't abuse it , then you can have a great mobile experience.

This is a great laptop for a good price. Built quality is top notch, lots of plastic but its all very sturdy, with no flex. It uses the latest 8th gen 6 cores/12 threads intel cpu and a discrete nvidia geforce gtx 1060 Q. I can play all moderm games at 1080p at high settings (some can even at ultra settings, but with some effects dialed down). I didn't have any problems setting up windows and installing steam with some games. It comes with a minimum amount of crapware from factory, most are apps that will help you keep your laptop bios and drivers up to date. Only thing I deleted was McAfee antivirus (windows 10 solution is more than enough). ++PROS++ +Well built and sturdy. +Fast, can play most moderm games at 1080p at high settings. +Fast 256 Nvme SSD boot drive. +Ready to install an extra 2.5' Hard drive (I added a 2.5" Western digital blue hard drive with no problems). +More than enough usb 3.0 ports, hdmi port for gaming on a large TV. +Quiet fans when non gaming, not that loud when gaming. Laptop's cooling solution is very good. --CONS-- -New cpu is known to be a hot chip, may throttle sometimes *(check my tips below). -Gtx 1060 is Q design, meaning its a full blown 6gb desktop version, however with lower clockspeeds than a regular 1060 to save on battery. *(check my tips below). Some tips: * You can use the program Throttlestop to underclock the CPU so it would not throttle down that much, check youtuber bob of all trades for a guide on how to use it. * I was able to overclock the GPU to +200mhz core and mem, reaching higher than regular gtx 1060 speeds, temps were good. * Download program HWinfo64 and check what monitor panel you have. If you are lucky as me, you may get an AUO panel, which can be overclocked to 120 hz, with custom resolution utility. If you get a LG panel, your'e SOL.

The Dell G7 is the successor to the Inspiron 15 7000 series and does an excellent job at improving upon the previous design aesthetic while also delivering outstanding performance for the price. BUILD: In terms of the build and construction, the G7’s housing is primarily plastic, but has a rigidity that prevents it from feeling cheap. In terms of the aesthetic, Dell is going for a simpler, more elegant design that is unlike their Alienware series laptops. There’s very little about this laptop that screams “gamer”, and I certainly like that about it, as I’m not only just a gamer, but a software engineer. Laptops that one can use in professional situations as well as for gaming are becoming more popular nowadays, and Dell’s G7 is a solid response to that demand. But like any other laptop, I wouldn’t dare let this suffer a drop, as the build materials likely won’t prove to be resilient to abuse. DISPLAY: The 15” 1080p IPS display is quite good on the G7. My unit has the AUO63ED panel which people online have overclocked to 100Hz and beyond (albeit at risk of warranty). Other units have had an LG display which did not achieve such overclocks. The display is matte, so you won’t suffer from tons of reflectivity, and it gets decently bright for most situations. For gamers and typical users, you will enjoy using this display. KEYBOARD: The keyboard is one of the things about this laptop that is taking some getting used to. I’m personally accustomed to mechanical keyboards as well as chiclet keyboards. However, both other high-end laptops that I own have better key travel in my opinion, and that’s largely due to the wider spacing between the keys on the G7 as well as the minimal height on the keys. It’s not as though the G7’s keyboard is bad, but my fingers are certainly more accustomed to keys with closer travel and a slightly larger key height. The ones on the G7 are just a bit more recessed compared to what I’m used to. I do want to emphasize that these are observations and my opinions; your experience my differ from mine. Additionally, the keyboard is backlit (blue); I do wish it was white instead, as blue can be fatiguing over time, but I’m not sure if this minimal amount will result in any noticeable impact. When the backlight is on, it has two brightness modes, but there isn’t too much difference between them. The WASD keys also have blue squares around them when the keyboard is backlit, but it’s not something I noticed until just now. If they wanted it to stand out more, they should have opted for a different color like white. Another interesting note is that the keyboard backlight turns off after a minute, but will turn back on once a key is pressed. As far as I’ve seen, I don’t think there’s a way to configure this. If there was, I’d expect it to be in the UEFI/BIOS (F2 upon boot). TOUCHPAD: The G7 has a Precision Touchpad which is decently large and has good palm rejection, as well. From my usage, it’s quite responsive to gestures as well as general usage, otherwise. One thing that I don’t like as much is that there are no separate mouse left-click/right-click buttons. It’s not a big deal, but I came from another gaming laptop that had them. The G7, in contrast, has very clicky touchpad mouse buttons which some may enjoy, and others may not. If you have to work in a quiet environment, you will tapping to click instead of pressing in the integrated buttons. Other than these nitpicks, I do enjoy using the trackpad and the gestures within Windows 10. I/O: The G7 is equipped with some pretty standard I/O compared to most laptops in this price bracket and demographic. It has 3x USB-A 3.1, 1x USB-C 3.1 (with Thunderbolt), HDMI 2.0, a 3.5mm Headphone/Microphone combo jack, a full-size SD card slot, and an RJ45 gigabit ethernet port. I do wish some of these ports were located on the back, just below the hinge, but that kind of design hasn’t hit the mainstream yet. STORAGE: The model I have came equipped with a Toshiba KSG60ZM 256GB NVMe SSD which claims to support 1500 MB/s read and 760 MB/s write. If you’re used to hard drives, this will be a lovely change, but if you’re used to absolute top-tier NVMe SSD’s like I am, you may consider swapping it out. It does support both an m.2 SSD (SATA or PCIe NVMe), as well as a standard SATA 2.5” HDD/SSD. By default, this the G7 has RAID enabled in the BIOS to use the Intel Rapid Storage Technology NVMe controller drivers. If you decide to swap out this drive and use manufacturer drivers over AHCI mode, do a google search on "SOLUTION: Switch Windows 10 from RAID/IDE to AHCI operation". This will let you switch to AHCI without reinstalling windows. RAM: My unit came with 8GB of RAM in total (2x4GB DIMM). This is a bit underwhelming, especially given the horsepower this machine has, otherwise. I would have liked to see 16GB. But if this product is focused on gamers, then the 2x4GB dual-channel memory configuration may have a sizeable enough impact on framerate to justify this decision. Even so, I do think 16GB is a much better choice for individuals like myself who would like to use this computer as a mobile workstation for professional purposes. In the end, I may have to shell out the additional high cost and max this machine out with 2x16GB for a total of 32GB. CPU: The i7-8750H is overkill for most people, but I’m not most people. As a software engineer, I’ve been dying to have more cores in a laptop at this price and configuration. With a total of 12 logical threads, this laptop can do heavy multitasking like running a full suite of docker containers for an enterprise environment (assuming you have the RAM to match). If you’re a game streamer using OBS or similar software that relies on CPU, you may appreciate the extra cores; however, most games won’t benefit a whole lot from the additional cores. That may change in the future, but the majority of today’s titles won’t see improvement from the increase in core count. In general, expect solid multitasking performance. That being said, this CPU runs hot, and undervolting -0.125V using ThrottleStop or Intel XTU can achieve lower thermals—especially considering that the CPU and GPU expel hot air through the same heat pipe. Just keep in mind that undervolting is done at your own risk and is not supported by the manufacturer. GAMING: The G7 is equipped with an Nvidia GTX 1060 Max Q. This puts it between the performance of the GTX 1050 Ti and the GTX 1060. As someone who has a custom-built desktop that is much faster than the Dell G7 (but cost way more money to do so), The G7 is really an excellent value and delivers a gaming experience that I am very satisfied with. The Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark was able to pull 60+ fps while set to the Very High preset under DX12 with exclusive fullscreen, FXAA and Vsync off at 1080p. That being said, a more stable framerate with fewer skips can be easily obtained under the “High” preset or by making your own fine-tuned adjustments. Competitive eSports games will also hit well over the 60fps mark. When pushing the graphical limits, this laptop can get loud and can take some time to cooldown after a gaming session. Proper airflow/ventilation will be important in obtaining reasonable temperatures, and undervolting the CPU can also help improve this. SOUND: As far as the speakers are concerned, they’re decent. Definitely wish they had a subwoofer bass port to improve frequencies in that range, but that’s a sacrifice Dell chose to make in this design. That being said, I have used cheaper gaming laptops from 2017 which did have better bass response and got louder than the G7 while also maintaining clarity. I don’t think the G7 is disappointing on this front, but I'm also not wowed by their solution. Regardless, I'm happy enough with the solution. CONCLUSION: The G7 is an excellent deal with few compromises compared to other laptops in a similar price bracket. I’ve mostly nitpicked in this review, but despite its few minor flaws, it’s an excellent laptop; one that I’m glad to be using and wouldn’t have issues recommending for the price. In fact, I have just ordered an even faster NVMe SSD and 32GB to make the G7 my primary mobile workstation.

This is a great gaming laptop at a reasonable price point. I’ve used Dell laptops at the office for over 10 years and this is the first “gaming” laptop I’ve had a chance to use. As with all my previous Dell computers, the quality of the system from the build to the components are top-notch. This laptop performs well thanks to the newest 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor with 8GB of DDR4 RAM (6 Cores/12 Threads), a 6 GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q graphics card and 256GB SSD with an expansion slot for an additional 2.5” HD/SSD. It was easy to setup and get started. Windows 10 is pre-installed and I had it up and running within minutes. As this is a gaming-only laptop for me, I did not add many of my usual applications to this machine and have focused on using it for playing Fortnite and Overwatch. There have been no lag issues and the HD display really shines through. Keyboard is laid out well and includes a numeric keypad. Instead of the usual red graphics, Dell decided to go with blue backlighting on the keyboard and blue graphics on the lid and fan grills…pretty slick! PROS: - Well built machine from the build to components – Dell does not disappoint - Fast booting with SSD drive - Support most modern games at 1080p and on high settings - Built in speakers sound great – headphone jack included - Fast SSD drive with expansion slot for additional 2.5” drive - Multiple USB 3.0 ports, HDMI port to connect to external displays or TVs - Fans work well to keep machine cool while gaming or general use – not too loud either CONS: - System is a bit on the heavier side - Boxy build, although this seems to be the new normal for gaming laptops - Need to replace both RAM memory sticks if upgrading RAM Overall this is a great gaming laptop at a great price point that will be suitable for all but the most discerning gamers. It’s well built and has all the latest components. This is certainly a laptop that I would recommend to friends and family.

Had the msi GS 65 stealth, returned it because I got a laptop mainly for djing and after owning it for a week I decided it was an uneccecary amount of power for my uses. I returned it and got the Dell g7 and am pleasantly surprised I downloaded a few games to test its power and i got over 60 frames on ultra settings in 1920x1080... on a few of the latest games. Blew my mind and was well worth the $1170 I saved switching from the new msi to this open boxed dell.

The folks at Dell have done a great job selecting the components for this gaming laptop while at the same time keeping it affordable. This laptop’s performance really shows thanks to the latest 8th generation Intel i7 processor with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, a 6 GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForce 1060 graphics card and a M2 SSD with an expandable 2.5” slot for an optional HD/SSD. It does not have a DVD/CD drive however with today’s industry I don’t feel it’s necessary and there’s always an option for an external one if you need it. It handles several active programs with ease and I was able to run current quality games at a high frame rate with virtually no lag and incredible detail. I will definitely be adding another hard drive for game and file storage and possibly upgrading the RAM to 16 or 32 gigs, however I don’t feel it’s necessary or a priority for the casual gamer like myself. Games looked great on the full HD IPS display and having the HDMI port to expand to a better or second monitor is always an option. If you’re not a gamer and are in the market for a decent laptop, this should definitely be taken into consideration; the laptop is lightweight, has a very comfortable keyboard and trackpad and has more options than you’ll ever need. I read some reviews by other owners complaining of the sound of the fan and I didn’t notice it was much louder than any other gaming laptops nor have I experienced any overheating issues. A few things I didn’t care for were the fact that it doesn’t have the sporty look of a gaming laptop, which could also be a good thing depending on your view, and the sharp corners on the front end of the keyboard which can catch you on the wrist. With it’s above average specs, this laptop should hold its ground against the competition and be considered if you’re in the market for a gaming laptop or a laptop that will outperform most others at this price point.

Great laptop. Open box. Great price. I can’t wait to add some things to it.

I’ve never had a gaming computer before. I’ve always been “buy a computer that can play games from 5 years ago” guy. With this laptop, I went onto several “will this work” sites, and was shocked! ALL the games, including games that just barely released, were not only playable, but playable at high or ultra settings! Usually, I’d be playing on bare minimum requirements. Games like Doom or GTA would have lower resolution than a PlayStation One game. Now, all games are mine for the playing! So far, I’ve mainly concentrated on two games... Sims 4 and my longtime guilty pleasure, GuildWars 2. Sims moves without choppy frame rates, and looks stunning. Guildwars 2 I’ve played since Beta on an old Windows 8 laptop with integrated graphics, on lowest settings. This laptop played it on ultra. The game looks totally different! Static trees and pixelated grasses have been replaced by wind rustled leaves and gently swaying grasses. I loaded a Doom demo and can’t wait to add that game to my collection! For the first time, I actually signed up for a Steam account! My next purchase will be a 2nd harddrive for the laptop to store games. I never realized modern games were all in the 60 to 90GB size! Besides amazing graphics, this computer is insanely fast. Apps and programs load in seconds, and bootup time is around 8 to 10 seconds. It gets warm but heat is vented towards the back and never feels too hot. My only complaint is the AC plug. It only works in one plug in my house, and I have to jiggle it to charge when I plug it in at work. I’m not sure why it’s so picky. Everything else from the Nintendo Switch, iPhone, iPad, Bluetooth speakers, etc charge with no problem. Small price to pay to play every pc game I can think of!

Dell has been in the PC market for years. And they tend to make good quality desktop and laptop PCs without needing to be overly flashy. I guess that makes them more suitable to people who prefer the utilitarian style. But because Dell has been in the PC market for so long, it’s difficult to figure out what exact type and model you’re getting. The model being reviewed here is a G7 Series 15 7588. It features an Intel Core i7 8750H processor that has 6 cores capable of 12 threads of execution. In layman terms, it means it can do more without bogging down your system. It has 8GB of RAM which should allow you to run several softwares at once. However, when it comes to gaming, more is usually better. 8GB is enough for most games today. Going forward, that may change. The 8GB of RAM is rated at DDR4 2666 or PC4 21300 and is preinstalled in 2x4GB. Upgrading the memory will mean purchasing a new set (in a pair) rather than a single. For storage, a 256GB SSD is installed using a M.2 interface. Dell’s support documentation list procedures for both M.2 and SATA drives but confusingly labels the 2.5” drive as hard drive and the M.2 as “Solid State Drive.” (Note: SSD can come in either 2.5” drive form factor using SATA interface or M.2 form factor.) The laptop features a 15.6 inch display with a 1920x1080 resolution on a IPS panel. That display is powered by both Intel’s integrated graphics and NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1060 “Max-Q” GPU. There is a dedicated 6GB of video memory which will allow the GPU to perform better without relying on system memory and its limited bandwidth. The performance review of the 1060 GPU will come shortly. On the audio side, it is powered by RealTek and has stereo speakers on the front side of the laptop. However, the laptop design itself is angled so the speakers are aimed downwards. Unfortunately, the speakers aren’t all that good and doesn’t have good range on them. They’re more on the high side and the bass/lows are very lacking. (Tested using a few Beatles songs and Luv(sic) Part 2 by Nujabes) The only way to potentially get a better audio experience will be to use your own headphones, either through Bluetooth or the 3.5mm headphone jack. Moving on, the keyboard is backlit and dims after a period of inactivity. The A, S, D, W keys have additional backlit design to let users easily find these movement keys. There is a number pad to the right. But given that this is supposed to be a gaming laptop, I wonder if this is a good design decision to include it. I suppose some MOBA players can use these for shortcuts. On the top of the keyboards are your usual function keys as well as special keys. By default, the special keys are enabled by default. To use the F1 through F12, one has to press and hold down the “Fn” key first. I’m fairly certain this behavior can be changed within the laptop’s BIOS/firmware. On the connectivity front, there is a Gigabit Ethernet port, 3 USB 3.x ports, a USB3 Type-C port with Thunderbolt, a HDMI port, and a SD Card reader. Unfortunately, I do not have any Thunderbolt devices to plug into the Type-C port to test its capability. But it is comforting to know that one can plug one to the laptop for a variety of things. The Gigabit Ethernet port worked as expected and I was able to transfer about 36GB of data from my desktop over to the laptop. The bandwidth was saturated close to its maximum speed and made transferring the entire Guild Wars 2 data file very fast. The laptop’s wireless capability is powered by Intel Wireless AC-9560, which can handle 802.11ac standards. According to the product documents on Intel’s website, it also can handle Bluetooth 5.0. For wireless networking, observed speeds topped off at around 100mbit/s. The laptop comes preinstalled with Windows 10 Home edition. This is the lowest full edition Windows 10 one can get. But at the same time, it’s a bit disappointing. While the feature differences between Home and Pro is fairly small, one feature that could be a plus for gamers is being able to defer and delay Windows Update through Group Policy. Group Policy editing is not included in WIndows 10 Home which could have helped in managing some of the other minor annoyances in Windows 10. As expected of any laptops and pre-made desktops, it comes with some additional software preinstalled. McAfee Security is also preinstalled but I have personally opted to not set it up or removed it entirely. The very thought of needing to pay after the free subscription expires bothers me. On the gaming department, I ran around in Guild Wars 2 on battery power. With that alone powering the GPU, it barely handles 30fps in crowded areas. Unfortunately, Guild Wars 2 is one of those games where you won’t get better framerate with a faster video card. Instead, it’s heavily reliant on how fast your processor is. Other games tested within the limited time I’ve spent with the laptop are “Ikaruga,” “Mark of the Ninja,” and “Dust: An Elysian Tail.” All of them performed great as expected due to the abundance of processing power of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060. In terms of battery life, the laptop can get by on normal operations for 4-5 hours. In gaming, and depending on the game itself, that will knock it down even further. On the other hand, if you’re going to be gaming, your best bet is to simply plug the laptop to the AC. On battery, I was able to run Guild Wars 2 for about 30-45 minutes, plus around 30 minutes of Dust: An Elysian Tail, and a little of Mark of the Ninja and Ikaruga. This is all before the battery level got down to around 21-22%. There are negative aspects to this gaming laptop. The built-in speakers leaves a lot to be desired. Because of this, you may end up using headphones for better audio listening. The use of Windows 10 Home instead of Windows 10 Pro restricts the user’s ability to fine tune how Windows operates, especially in the update department. And then there’s the fan. With a powerhouse graphics processor like the 1060, heat is going to be a constant issue. And to cool this GPU down, fans are necessary. There are times when it can get audibly loud. This comes as no surprise for a laptop geared for gaming. Overall, this is a pretty decent gaming laptop. Granted, I do not have the latest games to push the limit of the laptop. But I am certain it can run most games at decent level. On the other hand, if top performance is what you need, then a laptop should not be the option to take. This is a mid-range gaming laptop. Also consider that this is more of a portable gaming PC than a laptop. At over 5lbs, this is probably better suited at LAN parties instead of sitting at a Starbucks.

This is the first dedicated gaming computer I've owned, and it is like a whole new experience! Every single aspect of using it is better than any computer before. The quick and solid response from the keys, the backlit keyboard, the speed with which programs open, the graphics quality, the sleek case, the number of peripheral ports, and on, and on, and on. I am so impressed with it, that I don't even know where to begin. I suppose the keyboard is a good place, since that is the first interaction you have with it. The individual keys have a very low profile, smoothly beveled edges, and a stronger spring than I'm used to encountering on a laptop. This helps avoid accidental keystrokes and provides great positive feedback when a key is pressed. The adjustable backlight is a very soothing blue which allows for gameplay at night without washing out the screen. It is engineered to maximize heat dissipation, as evidenced by how infrequently the fan kicks in, and when the fan does come on, it is exponentially quieter than any laptop fan I've heard before. Graphics and speed are what you'd expect from the components used - crisp and fast - but it is the overall build quality that stays with you once you step away, and demands your attention each time you return. I would grab this computer for any type of use, not just gaming, because it performs like you always hope a computer will, even though most of them don’t.

For around $1,000 you get a lot of bang for your buck with this laptop. Keep in mind that this review is about value for the money spent. Build: the chassis is pretty solid with an efficient cooling design. The bezels are a little big and it is a little heavy, but not unbearable or deal-breakers. Keyboard and Trackpad: The keyboard has a pretty nice feel to it when typing and comes with a numeric keypad and a very nice blue backlight. The trackpad is big and gets the job done. However the track pad buttons felt a little unnatural to click, but maybe it's just different from what I'm used to. Processor: brand new hexacore with great multi-core performance and turbo boost allows for a lot of smooth multitasking. There are some issues with throttling when running off of the battery, but those could get fixed with future driver / software updates as this is a brand new processor. RAM: comes with 8GB running at a very respectable speed of 2666 mHz. It is enough for most people, but it can be upgraded. The downside is that it comes with two sticks of 4GB so you will need to buy two sticks of RAM instead of one to upgrade. GPU: This is the Max Q version of the GTX 1060 so expect performance between that of a 1050ti and a regular 1060 but the Max Q is designed to run cooler. With a little overclocking you can get noticeably better performance. In Far Cry 4 I was able to get around 60fps on very high settings, and around 60fps with ultra settings while slightly overclocked. Even when OC'd and during long sessions temperatures never seem to get too high. However there is extreme throttling when running off of the battery, you essentially HAVE to be plugged in to game. Screen: the 1080p IPS screen displays as you would expect it. It is a great match for this laptop considering the price and the hardware; the GTX 1060 would not handle anything higher so it would be a waste. Battery: the battery does not last very long since it is only 56WHr powering a 45W TDP 6 core processor and a dGPU. And since you need the power adapter to do any gaming, expect to take it with you anytime you leave the house. Verdict: Very good buy for any casual to moderate PC gamer on a budget. Great performance without paying for extra "features" that hardcore PC gamers would look for.

I purchased one yesterday and exchanged because the first had a lot of back lighting bleed on the display because of the plastic bezel. The second one is much better. It's not really noticeable unless your screen is black or watching a movie that is dark. It was just on the top right by the webcam. Maybe me just being picky... Overall though - This laptop is very powerful. Using an Oculus Rift on it now. Fan is noisy as most gaming laptops. If you get, I would recommend getting more RAM and Storage. 256GB will not last long nowadays and 8GB is only good for basic stuff and maybe a little RAM intensive apps. I really like it and can't beat the price for what you get. If you are only looking to get this for basic stuff, I would recommend others, but for gaming, VR, or high GPU / CPU usage - definitely a great option.

To begin, this is my first "Gaming" laptop, so I have little experience in these types of products. My sole reason for buying a more expensive gaming laptop was because I'm heading back to college, and my job requires a lot of travel for long periods of time. I'm a fan of gaming but I'm not as hardcore as others may be so I figured a nice middle of the ground dedicated GPU would be enough. So far it's been excellent. The GTX 1060 Max-Q design works very well for the 1080p display built-in, I easily get 60 fps on the majority of the games I play; modded Skyrim, Overwatch, Fortnite, Farcry, Tomb Raider, etc. Most of them can be played at high settings while maintaining that >60 FPS, if you're looking for exact numbers head to notebookcheck.net or do a quick Google search for benchmarks. I was pleasantly surprised. A couple things to note though: this laptop gets very hot under load, which makes sense the CPU and GPU share heat pipes and while they run to two fans, it doesn't dissipate nearly enough heat to stop it from thermal throttling. This has been a pretty common report from many other users. I did find that under-volting the CPU actually improved performance. There are several guides online to help you do this, it's not very difficult and from what I understand, it won't void your warranty. Don't quote me on that though. Another remedy I'm using is an adjustable laptop holder with built-in fans, it elevates the laptop off my lap or bed and pulls in fresh air and blows it directly into the intake fans on the bottom of the laptop. That has helped tremendsouly with thermal throttling and keeping my legs cool while I work. The CPU is awesome when it's not setting itself on fire. It's a six-core i7 with multithreading, that boosts to 4.10 GHz. By itself, the CPU is $400 USD, so that's a pretty good bargain when paired with a 1060 Max-Q. It easily handles any task I throw at it, with one caveat; it has to be plugged in. "No duh" right? I didn't understand that when I first started using this laptop, and I didn't understand why my laptop was going nuclear trying to run an almost 10-year-old game. So yeah, keep it plugged in if you intend to do anything more than web browsing. The screen is pretty good, I came from a cheap HP TN monitor, this is a full 1080p IPS 60-Hz screen, I did have to adjust the "clear text" options within Windows. Out of the box, the text was really jagged and misaligned but it was easily fixed in about a minute. I also got a customized color profile from the same notebookcheck.net which seems to marginally improve color accuracy. Color reproduction isn't great on this display, but it's a relatively cheap laptop so I didn't expect much. If you're looking for a display with 100% SGRB or some other standard I would recommend a Razer product, but expect to pay several hundred to thousands more. Expandability is pretty good, especially for this price range. Removing the bottom panel is a single retaining, Philips-head screw. RAM is two channel, my model came with two sticks of 4GB DDR4, pretty standard nowadays. I have the single M.2 256GB SSD and there is an open 2.5-inch HDD/SSD bay with an anti-vibration caddy if you decide to go HDD, which is a nice addition. I wasn't brave enough to remove the heatsinks from the GPU / CPU, but from what I've read you may need to reapply thermal compound to those areas if you're having throttling issues. The keyboard is okay. I came from a mechanical brown-switch keyboard on my desktop, so moving to this shallow movement is a little difficult. The backlighting is good too, consistent throughout the individual keys, two brightness modes, and blue. Not much else to say there. Audio quality is surprisingly good for two speakers and no subwoofer. It's not too tin-y, and the laptop is loaded with "Max Audio Pro", which is a pretty good equalizer. I'm not an audiophile and most of the time I have my Bose headphones connected so I don't use the speakers often. And there it is. I would definitely recommend this laptopt to anyone looking for an entry / mid-level gaming laptop. It's priced pretty well for what you get, competitors with lower prices will have lesser CPUs or worse cooling solutions, or a 3GB GPU instead of the 6GB that came with this one. I highly recommend watching reviews and benchmarking vidoes on YouTube to get a better understanding of what this laptop has to offer, and to get comparisons to other laptops.

This laptop is amazing I’ve had it for about a few months now and it has never did me wrong. Hooked it up to a monitor a keyboard and a mouse, super fast and just as good as any gaming pc. Except it’s a laptop which makes it 10x better. I’ve downloaded a lot of games which all worked smooth, I have done music production and video editing on it and not a problem came up! 10/10 I would def recommend it to any one looking for a reliable powerful pc that is portable! The fans are kind of loud from time to time but for the performance that you get you really can’t complain and it isn’t that much of an annoyance! Excellent product amazing experience, I’ve had a razor laptop before this, and I retuned it after a week, this however has never left my desk and don’t think it ever will!

Good gaming laptop- good graphics with advanced settings capable of customization and smooth keys. A bit heavy, but I dont travel with it often so it's nit a major issue. Battery life ~5.5-6hrs

Dell has consistently been a top quality PC manufacturer since the 16 bit days of the 1980s. This laptop is no departure. It was a very good value at about $1000 when I got it and is very, very fast. It could stand a little more memory (8GB standard), and I have doubled the memory with very little effort - only one screw needed to be removed. The case, keyboard, and LCD are all great quality and the CPU is a high end Intel i7. Gamers should be happy with the very high end 1060 Nvidia card as well. Very, very little to complain about. The SSD allows it to boot in about 7 or 8 seconds after the BIOS check finishes, which is incredible. It runs databases and compilers with extreme speed and games at the top resolution.

I love this laptop. I got it for school (maybe not the best for the occasion) but its a wonderful laptop. Ill break this down into sections for easier analysis. BUILD QUALITY + ASTHETICS While all plastic, its pretty solid, with the only real noticeable flex being in the screen, but that's to be expected for the price. The plastics in general aren't really fingerprint magnets, but they do show after some time. Some people I've seen have complained about the width of the laptop not really being 0.98", but mine seems to fit those dimensions fine. The keyboard and mouse are nothing fancy. The only real complaint I have here is the mouse pad is really easy, and I mean REALLY EASY, to click by accident. You don't even really need to click, just tap the mouse pad like a smartphone screen and it registers. The look of the laptop is very muted, like a regular Dell laptop besides the blue accents and the vented look at the front and back. I would akin it to a sleeper car, mostly stealthy outside look and nice internals. SCREEN + UPGRADEABILITY Not the best, not the worst in terms of the screen. You get what you pay for here. If you get lucky and get the AUO panel, congrats, you have 100Hz possible via overclocking. I'm stuck with the LG panel, so locked at 60Hz for me. This laptop in ungodly easy to get into and upgrade. Just unscrew the one screw on the bottom panel, and pop out all the clips. It has a 2.5" drive bay in the event you want to put a second drive in (I'll be throwing in a 2TB drive soon) and access to the other components is pretty easy. I encountered a pretty big issue though when trying to open it up, I ended up breaking all the clips on the screw side of the bottom panel. I'm not sure if I opened it wrong or not, but I'm pretty sure I did it correctly. The panel stays on fine when I put it back on, so it's not a major issue for me. PORTS + PERFORMANCE This laptop has all the ports you'll ever need. Thunderbolt 3 USB-C, 3 USB 3.0, a card reader, ethernet, the works. It's actually VR Ready too, so if you want to do that you can. This thing truly is a beast in terms of price to performance. I'm shocked how close the 1060 Max-Q is to a real 1060, Only a difference of maybe 10% at the worst. Combine that with an i7-8750H, this thing kills it in games. I'd say its relatively close to an Xbox One X in terms of gaming performance, but still just a little behind. Too bad Best Buy doesn't sell the 4K panel optioned unit, or it'd basically be the perfect mobile battlestation.

I purchased the G7 to replace a Dell Alienware 17R4 I passed on to a family member. I didn't need the power of the 17R4 and was looking for something more portable. The build quality and styling of the G7 is excellent. While some people will bemoan the bezel size and brightness of the display, I do not have a problem with either, given the cost savings. Some people will also take issue with the relative thickness of the laptop in this age of "thin & light" gaming laptops. However as a previous owner of an MSI GS62, I was always uncomfortable with the seeming fragility of the laptop, especially after spending $2000. I appreciate the solid feel of the G7, even with its plastic body. The only downside I have found is that the M.2 slot is not NVMe, so SSD speeds are not as fast as could be. Like the display, I do not mind this, as the laptop is inexpensive for a 8th Generation i7/1060 Max-Q configuration. Overall a quality machine for a good price.

This laptop has great hardware, 6 core 8th Gen i7 intel CPU, Nvidia gtx 1060 and a decent 8gb ram + 256 (sata, not NVME) m.2 SSD. Its really easy to upgrade the ram, add a second 2.5 HDD or SSD. Or replace the M.2 SSD with a bigger or faster nvme drive. just remove 1 screw and you can open the whole bottom of the PC. The screen bezels are a bit thick for 2019 but still acceptable. and the laptop is a bit heavy if you plan to move it daily maybe look into other options, else this is a great pc if you want to replace a old desktop. also the thunderbolt 3 port(data online the pc wont change over thunderbolt3) opens upgrade possibilities. The power supply is BIG but it provides 180w of power to the unity. on the down side there is no fingerprint reader or windows hello compatible webcam so there is no biometric log in to this laptop model.

The G7 has decent specs on paper, but is prone to random FPS drops unrelated to thermal throttling. As a result, the gaming experience is held back. Another issue is that the cooling cannot handle this CPU without undervolt, which speaks to Dell's poor quality. Asus and Lenovo know how to do cooling and dissipation of heat. Dell? Nah. They don't know a darn thing. This computer ain't worth it overall, since it sorta fails as a gaming system and workstation. Luckily, the system has a few redeeming qualities. Certain models have an overclockable panel, hexacore CPU, battery life is about 7hrs, and CPU accepts deep undervotes. I believe a display port is missing and this relates to newer VR headsets or whatever. I don't care for VR, but know some do. If I had another chance to buy a laptop it would be one with the 1660TI or 2060. 1060 MaxQ and 60hz aren't good enough anymore.