Dell 7577 review from the perspective of a Mac user

[asiancorruption]

Here's a review from a perspective that is seemingly rare. I used windows all my life, then I was given the chance to go to Mac for well under MSRP. Now after a year of using a 2015 macbook pro 13, and finally giving up because i couldn't run both macos and windows 10 on a 120gb hard drive. I finally decided to go back to windows because i needed it to run programming software for college, and more importantly I wanted to start playing video games properly (going from 60 fps @ 720p to 140fps on maxed out settings makes CSGO feel like a different game).

 

Here's a rundown of the specs:

GTX 1060 MAX Q 6gb

8gb DDR4 RAM

i5 7300 HQ

1080p IPS 15.6 display

NVME 256gb ssd

57wh Battery with quick charge

 

Build Quality:

Well, coming from a Macbook pro, this thing isn't too bad. It has the usual traits of a well built laptop: no deck flex, sturdy keys, not too much screen flex (but the panel does have a little backlight bleed)  and overall feels solid.

(Also, their choice in material was a good one. Smooth sturdy plastic instead of rubberized plastic)

 

Aesthetic:

Going from a Macbook, which is often praised for their minimal aesthetic to something relatively "gamer aesthetic" was an abrupt change. Thankfully, this laptop isn't too in your face. Red backlighting, with a red border around the trackpad, as well as a red dell logo and red exhaust vents. its pretty unassuming imo. The bezels on this laptop are huge though. if i had to guess it's at least half an inch on all sides with the bottom being the thickest. Ironic considering dell's almost invisible bezels on their XPS line.

 

Performance:

I'll admit I'll probably not do this laptop any favors considering this is the field I'm the least experienced in. This is my first gaming laptop, and what a machine it is. The first hour it was out of the box i immediately noticed how much more powerful it is than the Macbook just downloading games.  For the most part, I get over 100fps most of the time in the games that i'm playing currently. which is mostly CS:GO, Saints row 3  and Overwatch all on the highest possible settings. The only game that didn't run too well was just cause 3, which is because my laptop was configured with only 8gb of RAM. Keep that in mind if you play really demanding titles.

Battery life is typical for a gaming laptop, at around 4 hours and 1.5 hours gaming. Its a huge difference compared to the 7-8 i was getting on Mac, but it doesn't really bother me considering i keep this on the charger most of the time. Temps are good. underload the hottest temp i saw was 68c, not bad for a 1060.

 

Ergonomics:

The keyboard is good, great feel, properly spaced out, has a numpad and the texture of the keys is smooth, instead of being textured and cheap feeling. The backlighting is Red, 2 stage and weak. my $25 RGB gaming mouse has far better leds.

The trackpad uses windows precision drivers. Accurate, clicky but the surface feels somewhat cheap because of the texture. I bring my mouse with me to class because of this. 

 

IO:

Comes with 3 usb 3.0 ports ( one is fast charging) 1 usb type c with 4 lane pcie for full bandwidth. 1 hdmi 2.0, power port, kensington lock, RJ45,   SD card slot and 3.5 jack. Also comes with a fingerprint sensor, which is great. Almost as accurate as touch ID on my iphone 7+

 

Audio:

3.5 jack sounds fine, not noticeably worse or better than my MBP , the speakers are loud, forward firing and sound fine. They lack bass though.

 

Things i don't like about this laptop:

 

While there are a lot of ports, i don't really like where they're located. 2 of the usb ports are on the right side, and make it awkward to place your mouse beside because of the cable making extra clutter.

 

The hinge in mounted in the middle. I worry that if i move the lid using the corners of the screen, I'll torque it over time

 

The backlighting is super weak, and its red.

 

The trackpad kinda feels like crap, but it is accurate.

 

The power brick is huge. I emphasize the word brick. it's bigger than the power supply for my 27 inch monitor. 

 

For having a max Q gpu, its relatively thick and heavy compared to other max Q laptops

 

My model came with a little bit of coil whine,  not too bad though.

 

 

Overall, I do really like this laptop. Especially for the price I got it for. After my 10% student discount and black friday discount. I bought this for $1,170 CAD before taxes ( or $913 USD). Most 1050 ti laptops are $1200 CAD so this thing was a steal. After i sell my macbook, i will have probably paid next to nothing to switch up.

 

Thanks for reading my first attempt at a review. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.