Whenever we think of gaming laptops, we quickly associate them to flashy designs with all kinds of colour and light combinations. These designs does look good but sometimes get unwanted attention in classrooms or offices. What further adds to the annoyance are their hefty prices.
Dell gives us a chance to breathe a sigh of relief with the all new G3, an affordable gaming laptop which follows a simplistic design while still retaining some of the gaming elements. The laptop definitely doesn’t look shabby and Dell claims they have packed in all the essentials needed to outperform most of the laptops in this range.
We reviewed the all new G3 to find out, if it really is a perfectly balanced work and gaming laptop.
Design and build
The Dell G3 has a complete plastic body design which may not feel as premium as other gaming laptops, but is definitely isn’t bad. The device sports a full-size hinge which firmly holds the display with the body. There is a slight flex to the display, but that shouldn’t really be a problem. The chassis is built well and there are barely any quirks or loose ends.
The top of the G3 has a smooth finish with a centrally placed Dell logo which matches the overall theme of the laptop. The power and most of the connectivity ports are placed towards the left while the right holds a full size SD card reader and an additional USB 3.0 port.
As we open up the lid, we come across the 15.6-Inch full HD display with an anti-glare coating. The bezels on the screen are thick and it could have been much better if it had an edge-to-edge screen instead. The keyboard bay has diagonal design lines but what makes that space more exciting is the full size keyboard. The keys have a slight rubberized touch and are backlit. The trackpad is also generous with a matte finish which ensures there are no fingerprints.
The Dell G3 weighs 2.23 kg, which is considerably less for a gaming laptop. With just 258mm of thickness, it is quite a compact laptop making it easy to be carried around.
Features
The Dell G3 run on Intel’s Core i5 8300H processor which powers it through most computing tasks. The device we reviewed had 8GB of RAM along with a 128GB SSD and 1TB of HDD storage. There is also a higher spec model which sports an Intel i7-8750H processor. The laptop sells in two configurations – a base variant with an NVIDIA GeForce 1050 while the upgraded model comes with a slightly premium NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Ti.
The 15.6-Inch display on the G3 is an IPS panel which offers great viewing angles. Dell has made sure you never run out of connectivity with the G3. It has two USB 3.1 ports along with a USB 3.0 placed on the left. In addition to those, there is also a SD card reader which can come handy at times. The device sports an Intel 9462NGW (433 Mbps) Wi-Fi card which is quite slower by 2018 standards. The presence of a wired RJ-45 Ethernet port will be appreciated by gamers looking at minimum latency.
The Dell G3 has a HDMI 2.0 slot, but sadly it misses out on a USB type C port which is present on a lot of modern-day laptops.
Performance
The Dell G3 runs on Intel’s Core i5-8300H processor clocked at 2.8 GHz. Windows 10 feels buttery smooth. We had almost 20 tabs opened in Google Chrome with YouTube Full-HD videos running in the background. The device had no problems handling heavy computing and there was barely any lag or screen freezes.
We also ran PCMark 10, which gives a combined score by running Essentials, Productivity and Digital content creation tests. The Dell G3 managed to get a good score of 4,351 which is good for a gaming laptop. You can run software like Adobe Photoshop or Video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro without any sort of problems.
To test the GPU performance, we ran the Streetfighter 4 benchmark in two different settings. The initial test at 1280 x 720 managed to record a solid frame rate of 389.04 fps while the second test at full HD resolution obtained a frame rate of 285.59. Games like Fortnite by default adapt the high graphic settings and the G3 manages to deliver a good gaming experience. We also bumped the settings to Epic (highest graphic setting) and the laptop still managed frame rates of 47-55 fps which is very playable.
The display renders pretty colours, images and videos look natural. The display is quite bright and the anti-glare coating does a good job at eliminating reflections.
The Dell G3 does heat up after extensive gaming, but there is no drastic performance drop. The laptop has a dual-fan setup to keep it cool, but as the fans speed increases, you can feel some vibrations under the keyboard.
Dell likes to boast about the Maxx Audio Pro speakers on the G3. The speakers are loud and clear than most laptops in this range, but the downward placement takes away all the feel of the sound. We really hope Dell tries a different orientation in future models. The battery life of the laptop is also pretty much average and on a full charge, it can last about 4 hours under moderate use.
Verdict
The Dell G3 is a well-balanced machine for someone looking for a laptop for a mix of work and gaming. It follows a simplistic design making it perfect to be used in work environments. The laptop offers a strong performance which can handle every-day work tasks with ease, but it also won’t disappoint the gamer in you with its solid gaming abilities.
There are areas of improvement such as USB type-C ports and faster Wi-Fi cards where Dell could have improved, but with prices starting from around Rs. 82,999*, these are minor complaints.
*Prices are subject to change. Kindly refer to the product catalogue for latest prices and details.
