Are the Dell G5 and G7 laptops good?

ono · May 8, 2018

I'm looking to pick up a laptop next month or so. I was considering some Asus ROG that was about 1000 USD on sale at BestBuy last month, but it was a 3GB GTX 1060 and it sounded like the thermals were bad. So I'm currently considering the Dell G5 or G7 line. Not quite sure the pros and cons between the two yet or compared to similar priced alternatives, so some advice here would be appreciated. The G7 seems reasonably priced with these specs at 1200 USD (and a similarly can do a G5):

i7-8750H

16 GB of RAM

128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD

GTX 1060 MQ 6 GB

Alternative laptop suggestions are also welcomed. For context, I'm in the US. Laptop would primarily be used at home, hooked up to an external monitor so display quality isn't a high priority. Primarily usage will be my home daily driver for Lightroom and general usage stuff like Chrome. Both eat up RAM, hence the 16 GB. I don't want to go lower than that judging from my past experience. Secondary usage will be for 1080p non-competitive gaming away from home (single player RPGs and action/adventure are my genres; e.g. Nioh, the upcoming Dark Souls, Tomb Raider, Dragon Age). At home, I'd game on my desktop so it won't be my primary mode of gaming. 15-16" size, probably 6 lbs max like these Dells. Would like something lighter if my budget permits. Budget is 1500 USD. Was previously looking closer to 1000 USB, but seems tough to find quality there with my RAM requirement. Low-key subtle look preferred, but not super important.

genexis_x · May 9, 2018

G7=7577. So yeah, good budget gaming laptop. Since you're using external monitor, I guess you don't mind the entry level IPS. G5 has a slightly different cooling design but I believe it is decent too.

And yes, avoid Asus FX and GL laptops. Very mediocre cooling.

Bruak · May 9, 2018

I have a question on them: will they push 1080p @144Hz through the Thunderbolt 3 ?

I had the previous version, and couldn't do it. My monitor only runs 144Hz through the Display port....using a USB-C to Display port cable I was able to push image to the monitor, but capped at 60Hz.

Also, I had the impression that running the monitor through the Thunderbolt 3 forced the graphics not to be run through the GTX1060.....long story short I returned the notebook