Dell G5 15 5500 Review : Affordable RTX Gaming @ 144 Hz!

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Dell G5 15 5500 : Performance, Verdict + Award

Contents

Dell G5 15 5500 : Performance

Our Dell G5 15 5500 is the top-of-the-line model, powered by the 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H.

This is high-powered 45 watt processor with 6 cores and 12 threads, and a 2.6 GHz clock speed that ramps up to 5 GHz during intensive tasks.

The processor has Intel UHD Graphics built-in, but switches to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory) for gaming and more strenuous graphics work.

Our review sample came with 16 GB of DDR4-2933 memory, and a 512 GB SK hynix PCIe SSD. Keeping all that powered is a large 68 Whr lithium-ion battery.

Work Performance : PCMark 10

The Intel Core i7-10750H is about 13% faster than the Intel Core i7-10510U, which is a 25 watt processor, with 4-cores and 8-threads.

It is, frankly, overkill for basic work applications, but will be very helpful in tackling compute-intensive tasks, like rendering videos.

Gaming Performance : 3DMark Time Spy

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 offers 6X more graphics performance than entry-level graphics like the GeForce MX250.

It is roughly between the performance of the desktop Radeon RX 5500 XT, and the desktop GeForce RTX 2060.

That means it will not only easily handle games at the display’s native 1080p resolution, it can deliver higher frame rates to take advantage of the higher Hz refresh rates it supports.

Gaming Performance : 3DMark Time Spy Extreme

We also ran a Time Spy Extreme test for those who are thinking of hooking up this laptop to an external display.

Performing between the desktop Radeon RX 5500 XT, and the desktop GeForce RTX 2060, it can handle 1440p gaming, but at roughly half the frame rate.

Gaming Performance : Strange Brigade @ 1080p

Strange Brigade is a third-person shooter game released in August 2018. We tested it at 1080p using the Vulkan API at Ultra High settings.

As you can see, the Dell G5 15 5500 has no problem exceeding 144 fps at times, with an average frame rate of 101 fps.

Gaming Performance : The Division 2 @ 1080p

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is a newer third-person shooter game released in March 2019, with much higher graphics requirements.

Even at the Extreme graphics settings, Dell G5 15 5500 was able to deliver an average frame rate of 59 fps.

It was head-to-head with the desktop Radeon RX 5500 XT, and just 6% slower than the desktop GeForce RTX 2060.

Battery Life : Modern Office + Gaming

We locked the display’s brightness at 50%, and ran PCMark 10’s Modern Office and Gaming tests until it powered off.

The Dell G5 15 5500 lasted about 5.5 hours running Modern Office applications, but only about 77 minutes while gaming.

You can only game on-the-go for a short time. Realistically, it should be plugged in when you game.

Battery : Recharging Speed

Dell quotes a 4 hour recharging time using the massive 240 watt charger, when the laptop is completely powered off.

We are glad to report that its real-world recharging speed is much, MUCH faster. To test it in a real world setting, we started charging at 10% with the display brightness set to 50% :

  • 25% : 21.5 minutes
  • 33% : 26.5 minutes
  • 40% : 35 minutes
  • 50% : 46 minutes
  • 60% : 57.5 minutes
  • 75% : 75 minutes
  • 90% : 91.5 minutes
  • 100% : 148 minutes

It charges really fast to about 90%, taking only just over 1.5 hours. However, the last 10% took much longer – an addition 56.5 minutes!

This gives it a battery life : recharging time ratio of 2.3:1 for office work. As a rule of thumb, you will need to recharge its battery about 26.5 minutes for every hour of battery life.

 

Dell G5 15 5500 : Verdict + Award

The Dell G5 15 5500 does a good job of focusing on what’s important for gamers, wasting little on pointless aesthetic bling.

Its powerful 45-watt Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics will have no problem driving its Full HD display beyond 60 Hz, no matter what game you play.

It also comes with fast networking capabilities – Killer E2500 offering Gigabit LAN, and Killer AX1650i offering Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

And we love its large number of ports – three USB Type A ports, one USB Type C port, as well as an SD card reader and both HDMI and miniDP ports.

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Powering all that is a large 68 Wh battery, but here’s a reality check – you can’t really game on-the-go for more than an hour or so. All that performance comes at a price – battery life.

Realistically, the Dell G5 15 5500 should be plugged into a wall socket whenever you game.

It is also a chunky and heavy laptop, no thanks to its large battery and the much higher cooling requirements for its powerful components.

But if all you want is an affordable gaming laptop that offers powerful gaming performance and a 144 Hz display, it’s hard to beat what Dell G5 15 5500 offers.

And here is what Dell offers over other gaming laptop brands – 2 years of premium on-site service!

Whatever happens to your G5 15 5500, just call Dell Support and they will either remotely solve the problem or send a technician to wherever you are to fix it.

That’s why we have no qualms awarding it our Reviewer’s Choice Award!

 

Dell G5 15 5500 : Where To Buy?

The Dell G5 15 5500 is available in the Interstellar Dark Cover colour, with a starting price of RM 4,499 (about US$1,083 / £847 / A$1,486 / S$1,482).

Here are some online purchase options :

MY : RM4,149 | RM 4,159 | RM4,185 | RM4,305 | RM5,359 | RM5,423

SG : $2,499 | $2,899

US : $1,200 | $1,259 | $1,299

UK : £1,099 | £1,099 | £1,349

 

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