This laptop’s rear fan outtakes do a great job at dispelling hot air, but its plastic build doesn’t dissipate heat all that well.” src=”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KPXZqqqGvfEeil_acUGBKQ2FXII=/250×250/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20086152/cfaulkner_200714_4098_0006.0.jpg”/>

This laptop ’ mho rear fan outtakes do a capital job at dispelling hot air, but its plastic build doesn ’ thyroxine disperse heat all that well .

The backlit keyboard gets the job done, but you’ll probably be better served with your own keyboard and mouse.” src=”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/J0LNBfqIei9NRqIv4TCfdUzZ5A8=/250×250/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20086147/cfaulkner_200714_4098_0012.0.jpg”/>

The backlit keyboard gets the subcontract done, but you ’ ll credibly be better served with your own keyboard and mouse .

Having an SD card reader is always nice to have, as are multiple USB ports on each side of the machine.” src=”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/e7ts7hqKj3hPhJZz5AU2ddLddPo=/250×250/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20086150/cfaulkner_200714_4098_0008.0.jpg”/>

Having an SD circuit board reader is constantly nice to have, as are multiple USB ports on each side of the machine .

Our review of
Dell G5 15 SE (2020)

Verge Score

8

out of 10

Good Stuff

• Incredibly capable for the price
• It can run most games at 60 frames per second
• Great selection of components and ports

Bad Stuff

• Clunky, all-plastic design
• Light bleed on display
• Occasional performance issues

Buy for $879.99 from Dell
To see how capable the processor in my review unit is, I disabled the discrete RX 5600M graphics driver for fun to see if the Ryzen 7 4800H could handle Grand Theft Auto V ’ s intensive graphics benchmark. It seemed like a gull ’ sulfur errand when I started out, but the benchmark running with the lowest graphic settings at 1080p achieved a relatively steady 60 frames per irregular without any hand-holding with a GPU. That was doubly as fast compared to stats I collected from a machine running entirely on the Intel Core i7-10750H. This test proves that this processor rips and tears. It besides showcases how having the 5600M graphics further adds to the performance .
I tried out a batch of other games on this laptop to get a sense of its graphic chops, including Grand Theft Auto Online, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Disco Elysium, Rocket League, Control, and Apex Legends. Each game registered about 100 frames per second on mechanically recommended settings ( normally near their highest settings available ) at the display ’ s native 1080p resolution, which is precisely what I want out of a bet on laptop. Games that political campaign at 100+ frames per second look specially good since this model I ’ meter test has a 144Hz freshen pace FreeSync screen that displays graphics without tearing or distortion .






( note : The base model comes with a 60Hz display, though Dell told me that it plans to raise the standard refresh rate in the base configuration from 60Hz to 120Hz late this summer once it sells out, and it doesn ’ t expect the price to increase. The 144Hz choice will continue to exist for higher-end models, like the one I tested. )
Most games run with some graphic settings set to max without dropping below — or at least excessively far below — a polish 60 frames per second, though the mileage varies depending on the title. GTA Online, for example, averaged 55 frames per second with some of the more gain shadow and anti-aliasing options switched on, but the game looks about just as good with those resource-intensive settings switched off. Metro Exodus, another game that puts hardware to tax, besides averaged 55 frames per second with settings adjusted to high on the benchmark, and that one was a fiddling more rickety in terms of performance .
The Radeon RX 5600M is a midrange graphics chip that doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate perform a well in most cases as Nvidia ’ s GeForce RTX 2060, though it ’ randomness far better than the experience I had with the GTX 1650 built into the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 I reviewed recently. In the G5, the RX 5600M ’ randomness operation is given a rise by AMD ’ s new SmartShift feature, which dynamically pushes power between the CPU and GPU depending on where it ’ sulfur needed most. It ’ second tough to tell when this is working in actual time, though a Dell spokesperson told me that the feature is built into the BIOS floor and into the drivers, and that it ’ s constantly running. Without this tight integration, I ’ m not sure I ’ vitamin d recommend getting merely any laptop built with the RX 5600M. I can ’ t argue with the results hera, though .

Dell G5 15 SE (2020) specs (as reviewed)

• 2.9GHz AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor (12MB total cache, up to 4.2GHz, eight cores)
• 16GB DDR4-3200MHz, 2x8GB (two slots, user-configurable)
• AMD Radeon RX 5600M with 6GB GDDR6
• 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD
• 15-inch wide-angle VA display, 1920 x 1080, 300 nits, 144Hz refresh rate
• 14.4 x 10 x 0.85 inches, 5.51 pounds
• Three-cell battery, 51Wh
• 240W power brick
• Side-mounted speakers
• Two USB 2.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0, one USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, Ethernet, USB-C port with DisplayPort support, plug for charger, SD card reader, lock slot
• Full-size backlit keyboard
• Plastic Precision touchpad
• Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2×2)
• Bluetooth 5.1

aside from gaming, the operation in daily tasks is besides exemplary for the price. The G5 15 SE doesn ’ thyroxine slow down with over 30 Microsoft Edge tab open, along with Spotify, Affinity Photo, and Slack. I was besides please with how cursorily it can export video in Adobe Premiere Pro. It crunched out a five-minute, 33-second 4K export in seven and a one-half minutes. That ’ s not a bad result, though I wouldn ’ thymine recommend this machine to person who specializes in creative work. To its accredit, it stayed relatively placid throughout the export action, though it did get toasty at about 100 degrees Celsius while plugged in .
On circus tent of the brawny processor, my review unit has 16GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 3,200MHz aided by fast NVMe M.2 memory ( both of which are configurable at the meter of purchase or by yourself if you feel comfortable opening it up ). I didn ’ thymine have many general performance issues, but there was one nag trouble I couldn ’ metric ton escape. Every 20 or so minutes, the computer locks up for about 10 seconds. Background operations keep going, but the shiner cursor cryptically disappears and my current application freeze. A Dell spokesperson told me that this problem international relations and security network ’ thymine widespread, and that it could be the leave of a recent Windows update throwing something out of whack. But when I uninstalled angstrom many late updates as I could, the write out distillery lingered .






With its gambling focus over productivity, the G5 unsurprisingly doesn ’ t fare closely arsenic well in the barrage department as other late AMD-powered machines. I averaged about three hours of battery life on the “ Better Battery ” power profile with the screened dimmed to around 75 percentage of its entire 300 nits potential. That ’ s not a storm number for a gambling laptop with a 51Wh battery and a 144Hz FreeSync display, but it ’ s decidedly not big compared to the durable performance of more expensive options like the Asus Zephyrus G14, another gaming laptop featuring a Ryzen central processing unit. The G5 15 SE came with McAfee LiveSafe installed, which I was leery of being the perpetrator for the promptly barrage drain. Though, even without it, I averaged the same life straddle. Dell says that it ’ randomness constantly looking for ways to optimize battery life sentence, and it ’ s in ceaseless communication with AMD about it. so, it could improve a little in the future, but for immediately you ’ ll need to keep the adult, orthogonal 240W exponent brick stopping point .

Agree to Continue: Dell G5 15 SE (2020)

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a serial of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It ’ s impossible for us to read and analyze every one one of these agreements. But we started counting precisely how many times you have to hit “ agree ” to use devices when we review them, since these are agreements most people don ’ t read and decidedly can ’ thyroxine negociate .
To start using the Dell G5 15 SE, you ’ ll need to agree to the trace :

• Select your region
• Pick your keyboard layout
• Windows 10 license agreement
• Dell’s End User license agreement
• Microsoft account
• PIN

optional :

• Connect to Wi-Fi
• Activity History
• Set up the Phone app with an Android phone
• OneDrive backup
• Office 365
• Cortana setup
• Privacy settings (speech recognition, location, Find My Device, sharing diagnostic data, inking and typing, tailored experience, advertising ID)
• Support and protection. Filling this out requires agreeing to McAfee privacy policy

Final run : there are six mandatary agreements and 14 optional agreements to use the G5 15 SE .

Performance apart, there ’ south unfortunately a fortune of room for improvement in some cardinal areas of its design. In photograph, this laptop looks relatively flimsy, standing out with a glossy, iridescent shell and its mint, angular fan outtakes — though it ’ s a run down look in person that ’ s evocative of an older Alienware human body. Having an all-plastic build at this price luff international relations and security network ’ t a shocker, but it creaks when you move the display approximately, and it generally feels bulky to carry around — not helped by weighing a goodly 5.5 pounds .
Its 15.6-inch 1080p VA display looks crisp and has bang-up viewing angles ( Dell refers to it as WVA, or wide vertical conjunction ), though it ’ s surrounded by thickly bezels. The unit of measurement I used for review had some light bleed at the penetrate of the display, though it ’ s most obtrusive during loading screens with iniquity backgrounds. There are side-mounted speakers located near the raise of the keyboard, and shocker, they aren ’ t great. sometimes, their location can lead to sound that has a wide-eyed presence than what ’ sulfur normally emitted from laptop speakers, but you ’ re still better off listening through a headset .






You might immediately plug in your own prefer keyboard and mouse on this machine, but the backlit chiclet keyboard here is serviceable and I don ’ t make many errors typing on it. If you prefer clicky keys with a commodity amount of travel, you won ’ thyroxine detect that here. The trackpad, while it supports Windows Precision drivers for intuitive scroll and gestures, is far besides small. There ’ mho so much idle space on the wrist remainder, so I would love to see Dell actually do something with it.

The G5 15 SE ’ mho ports are comprehensive for the cost. This laptop has a office punch, an SD card proofreader, a 3.5mm earphone mariner, two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, Ethernet, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort for defend monitors .
The Dell G5 15 SE is a winner if you ’ re trying to get the most sum of baron for the least sum of money. This international relations and security network ’ t the most lean, well-built laptop out there, and I look forward to seeing how Dell refines its edge in future versions. But as it stands, I recommend opting for this over most early gaming laptops conclusion to $ 1,000. Its fast components make for a absolute enjoyable gaming have with minimal compromises, and it includes some high-end features like a fast freshen pace expose and a rapid RAM and NVMe M.2 SSD jazz band that keeps it quick on its feet for most tasks. At this price point, Dell is running the show .
photography by Cameron Faulkner / The verge