The Dell G series of gaming laptops has evolved a lot over the last few years. Introduced in 2018, the first G series laptop (G5) was announced to cater to the entry-level market and for those users who were looking for an affordable gaming laptop from a renowned brand.
However, the last few iterations of the G series have seen significant improvement in terms of both design and performance, which has also led to a slight price hike.
The company recently announced the Dell G15 and the G16 series of gaming laptops with a design overhaul, which look more like Alienware rather than a budget gaming laptop with a starting price of Rs 89,990.
I have been testing the Dell G15 5530 with the Intel Core i7-13650HX CPU and the RTX 4060 laptop GPU. Since I started gaming on this machine, I just had one doubt — is this the most practical mid-range gaming laptop of 2023? And I have answered just that in my full review of the new Dell G15 5530.
Dell G15 5530 design: Inspired by Alienware
I have reviewed almost every major variant of the Dell G series gaming laptops over the years. Hence, when it comes to design, I didn’t expect much from this model. As soon as I opened the box, I was both happy and surprised. The Dell G15 5530 looks nothing like its predecessor. In fact, the design of this laptop is more in line with the expensive Alienware gaming notebooks.
I also like the dual-tone quantum white with deep space blue thermal shelf finish, which looks funky and trendy at the same time. Do note that the G15 2023 is a thick and heavy machine, weighing 2.8 kg. However, that definitely shouldn’t be an issue for those who just want a capable gaming machine that will possibly stay inside a gamer’s den for most of the time.
When it comes to connectivity and ports, the G15 5530 does not disappoint, and I also liked the fact that connectivity options like HDMI, DisplayPort, and the charging port are located at the back. Things like the LAN port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a couple of USB-A ports are on either side, making them easy to access, and it also offers the latest Bluetooth 5.2 along with Wi-Fi 6E support. Overall, the Dell G15 5530 is a practical yet trendy-looking gaming laptop.
Dell G15 5530 Display: Better but not the best
I have been testing the variant with FHD resolution and 165Hz refresh rate. In terms of colour accuracy, the G15 looks a lot better than its predecessor and is similar to other laptops of the calibre. However, the peak brightness is limited to 300 nits, which could be an issue while watching movies and videos, and the lack of HDR certification is also a bummer.
During my use, I felt that the laptop has a colour-accurate display, although not as good as the one on more professional notebooks. Again, if you mostly plan on using this laptop for gaming, this shouldn’t be an issue. Overall, a good upgrade and a step in the right direction for the brand.
Dell G15 5530 keyboard, camera, and audio
The Dell G15 5530 boasts a tactile keyboard with a dedicated number pad that has an orange backlight and feels fantastic while gaming, especially the slightly deeper key travel and tactile feedback. However, a full RGB treatment on the keyboard would have been preferred. The trackpad on this laptop is pretty straightforward and works as expected.
Two minor setbacks of this laptop are the low-resolution 720p web camera and subpar speaker setup. The brand could have easily incorporated a 1080p web camera. For a notebook of this size, the speakers just sound tiny and lack bass. Perhaps Dell can improve on these aspects with the next generation.
Dell G15 Performance: Solid champ
If there is one aspect of this laptop that gets full marks from me, it’s the performance. The laptop is based on the Intel Core i7-13650HX, one of the most capable gaming laptop CPUs from Intel, with up to 4.9GHz clock speed, 14 CPU cores, and a max turbo power of 157W. When unleashed, this CPU offers desktop-class single-thread and multi-thread performance, and we confirmed the same by running the most popular CPU-bound benchmarks like Cinebench, CPU-Z, and Geekbench.
Coming to the graphics, the laptop houses the RTX 4060 laptop GPU with 8GB video memory, again, a great mid-tier GPU from NVIDIA, capable of handling most modern AAA titles even at 1440p resolution. Here are the average frame rates that we obtained on the most popular games.
It’s not just the peak performance; the laptop has an improved cooling system with a dual fan design, ensuring sustained performance for an extended period. While it does get hot with continuous gaming, the fans do kick in to ensure there is no thermal throttling. I am also happy to report that I didn’t notice any heat around the keyboard area.
Like most gaming laptops, the Dell G15 5530 offers average battery life and could last over 4 hours on non-gaming tasks. The laptop comes with a massive 330W power adapter, which is more than capable of powering this powerful machine.
Verdict: Excellent gaming mid-tier laptop
From the funkier design to the best-in-class CPU and GPU performance, the Dell G15 5530 is not just for gamers. In fact, this CPU-bound machine could also be used by content creators for tasks like video rendering, 3D visualization, and more. Overall, as a package, Dell has produced an excellent mid-range gaming laptop in the form of a G15 5530. Apart from performance, the catchy design also makes it one of the best mid-range gaming laptops around Rs 1,50,000 price mark in India.
