Dell G7 17 7790 Review – Performance at the Expense of Quality?

Please note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also work with other affiliate partners and may be compensated from the links below. Details here.

Today, we are going to take a closer look at the Dell G7 17 7790 gaming laptop. At first glance, it may seem like the perfect gaming laptop that doesn’t cost a fortune, but is that really the case? Let’s find out!

It certainly is a gaming machine with some serious horsepower, however there is a couple of things you should be aware of and which you should take into consideration before pulling the trigger on it.

Before we express our opinion, lets first go over the specs, some general information and our personal experience with the Dell G7 17 7900, so you have a better idea how this thing feels and performs.

Specifications

First things first, keep in mind that you can get the Dell G7 17 7790 in a number of different variations with different graphics card options, CPU options, refreshing rates, different storage options and so on. Beneath are the specs of the G7 17 that we used for our review, just so you don’t get confused seeing different numbers elsewhere.

(Image Credit: www.dell.com)

• Screen size: 17.3”
• Resolution: 1920×1080 FHD
• Panel Type: IPS
• Refreshing Rate: 60Hz
• CPU: 9th Gen Intel 6 Core i7-9750H (up to 4.5 GHz)
• GPU: nVidia GeForce RTX 2060
• RAM: 16GB DDR4
• HDD: 1TB
• SSD: 256GB
• Weight: 7.28 Pounds
• Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon.com

This laptop also has a backlit keyboard, webcam, fingerprint reader, plenty of I/O ports and more. We will cover all of that later in this review.

Like we mentioned above, you can pick up this laptop with better (or worse) hardware and make it more powerful that way, but we think as it is, it offers really solid price to performance ratio. It is definitely more than enough for some serious gaming and unless you have unlimited budget, your best bet is to stick with this version.

Performance

We’ve already touched on this a bit, but to reassure you, this laptop is pretty damn good in terms of gaming capabilities. In fact, it can handle almost all AAA titles on medium/high details, some even on maxed out settings. Given that it has a FullHD display with only 60hz refreshing rate, the GeForce RTX 2060 is fully capable of delivering the smoothest frames.

Sure, there are some games like for example the Metro Exodus, where you will be forced to dial the settings back a lot. But those are exceptions. With basically 99% of the games that are currently out there, you will have the freedom to crank up the settings to high, or even extreme with no worries.

In terms of overheating, there is no problem with the GPU, as it stays in the range of 70-80° under a heavy load even with enabled ray tracing. However, the CPU tends to overheat quite a bit, especially with enabled turbo boost. It makes sense though, the more you stress the CPU the more heat it will produce.

The problem is the surface of the laptop starts to get really warm really quick, almost to the point where we were not able to keep our hands on it. And what’s even more annoying, the fans start to sound like there is an airplane about to take off in your room.

But don’t worry, that only happens when you enable turbo boost and when you play demanding, graphics hungry games. If you play less demanding games, the laptop runs fairly quiet and cool.

We also found a good solution on how to get the most of your CPU and still keep it decently cool. You can simply overclock the processor manually to 3.0 – 3.5 GHz, which will result in a bit of performance increase, while keeping the processor in lower temperatures. Just download the MSI Afterburner for example and do it yourself. You can also tweak RAMs a bit while your at it.

If you don’t know how to do that, here is a quick video on how to use the MSI afterburner software.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that the G7 17 has 16GB of RAM which is more than enough for gaming. Therefore, you will be able to do tons of things at once, like playing music, gaming, tabbing out – you know what I mean.

There is even a room for some professional work with graphics and video rendering/editing, which as you may not know, are the most memory hungry activities. Besides that, the IPS panel delivers some pretty accurate colors, which is something that content creators are looking for.

My only issue (besides the CPU overheating) is the 60Hz refreshing rate display. Having a 144hz monitor as a daily driver, I could really tell the difference. However, upgrading to 144hz does bump up the price significantly.

Related: Best Graphics Cards 2020

Build Quality and Design

Before we discuss the overall build quality of the G7 17, lets have a quick word on the design. The design and overall feel of this laptop is somewhat dull. Yes it has some likable features like thin bezels, the polished G7 logo above the keyboard and surprisingl, 25mm of height, which considering how massive this laptop is, is definitely a plus.

Let me know if I am wrong, but when you’re buying a gaming laptop, you kind of want it to stand out, don’t you? I am not saying it has to flash all sorts of colors and scream ”I am a gaming laptop!” when you turn it on, but the G7 17 lacks any signs of a proper gaming laptop, which it most certainly is, at least from the performance point of view.

Maybe that’s just me, though. Maybe that’s something that you are actually looking for.

Anyways, if you’re looking for an inconspicuous laptop that you can bring to work or school and smash games on without drawing too much attention, then trust me, no one will suspect anything.

What our main concern however, is the overall build quality. It’s not the worst we’ve seen, but it’s not definitely the best. The whole thing is made of plastic, which takes away from the overall durability and potential lifespan, but to be fair, it doesn’t feel cheap in any way.

The two things you’re going to be using the most (the keyboard and touchpad) are fairly good. The touchpad is accurate and responsive, which basically means it’s not a pain in the ass to use whenever you don’t have a mouse at hand.

(Image Credit: www.dell.com)

The keyboard is also pretty good. We found it excellent both for gaming and typing. It has a likable clicky sound, which gives a nice audible feedback whenever you press a key on it. The only thing that bothered us is that the keyboard slightly bends if you forcefully press down on it. It definitely could use a bit of reinforcement.

Finally, we have to say this thing is reeeeeally heavy. Weighting in at 7.3 Pounds (3.3kg) it doesn’t make for a good traveling partner. If you’re looking for portable gaming laptop, the G7 17 is probably not the best choice.

Display

Where things start to get a lot better though, is the display. It is a 17.3″ screen with FullHD resolution, which as you can probably imagine is super crisp and sharp. In fact, the PPI (pixel per inch) value is 127, which is around 30% more than a standard desktop gaming monitor (with FullHD)

Besides that, the screen uses an IPS (in-plane-switching) panel technology, which takes care of accurate color displaying. With color accuracy of 91% (sRGB) the G7 17 does a great job of displaying rich and accurate colors, which leads to better immersion in games. Also, it makes it suitable for various content creation activities.

(Image Credit: www.dell.com)

Furthermore, thanks to the IPS panel, the display has perfect viewing angles, which comes in handy when you’re watching a movie with someone, or basically whenever you or your buddy is forced to look at the screen at an angle for some reason.

Finally, the thing that scares away most gamers from buying the G7 is the 60hz refreshing rate. We understand, it’s 2020 and having a 60hz monitor basically makes you a boomer, but keeping the price as low as possible is priority for most people. Squeezing 144hz into an IPS display catapults this laptop to completely different price range.

Overall, the display on the G7 17 exceeded our expectation by a lot. It is super smooth and crisp, delivers rich and vibrant colors and has perfect viewing angles. Playing games on it feels almost same as having a top gaming monitor. Other than the 60hz refreshing rate, it’s is a perfect display for gaming as well as for content creation.

There is just some sacrifice you have to make when you want to keep the price down.

Related: TN vs VA vs IPS – Panel Type Differences

I/O Ports & Other Features

One thing the G7 17 really stands out and shines at is the connectivity. There is almost all the ports you can possibly think of and therefore you will have no issue connecting it to a TV, monitor, plugging all kinds of peripherals and so on.

Most of the I/O ports are located on the back, which is an ideal placement if you ask us. This way, you can have all your cables behind the laptop and keep your desk nice and clean.

Here’s a quick run down of all the ports you can find on the G7 17:

• 3x USB Type-A 3.1 Gen 1
• 1x HDMI 2.0
• 1x USB Type-C Thunderbolt
• 1x Mini DisplayPort
• RJ-45 Connector (Gigabit Ethernet)
• 1x 3.5mm Audio Jack
• SD Card Reader

(Image Credit: www.dell.com)

As you can tell, there is everything you need and beyond. One thing that’s missing is an optical drive – probably not an issue for most people, but just a heads up for all the oldschoolers out there.

In terms of features, there is nothing that really stands out:

• Webcamera
• Microphone
• Speakers
• Backlit Keyboard
• Fingerprint Reader

The microphone and speakers are pretty average, we do not recommend using it for games, though. However, it will do for watching movies for example. But for gaming, you will be much better off if you purchase a gaming headset.

Above all, the feature we enjoyed using the most was definitely the fingerprint reader. It is super accurate and quick meaning logging into your account is super easy and convenient.

Final Verdict

All in all, the G7 17 7790 is an incredibly well performing gaming laptop which will let you play almost any game on high settings and perfectly smooth frames. Besides that, it has a great large display, enough features and plenty of connectivity options.

On the other hand, the build quality isn’t the best, mainly because of the materials used. Above all, the biggest drawback is the 60hz refreshing rate, which might be an issue for competitive players.

With that being said, if you were to build a desktop PC with the same performance and the same quality monitor, you would be paying much more. The Dell G7 17 7790 offers great value for the money you spend on it and if you can overlook some things like the 60hz refreshing rate, dull design and somewhat mediocre build quality, you will love what this laptop can do for you.

You might be interested in: Dell G7 17 7790 (144hz)

Dell G7 17 (7790)

0.00

8.8

Quality

8.5/10

Features

8.7/10

Performance

9.5/10

Aesthetics

8.0/10

Pricing

9.2/10

Pros

• Superb Performance
• Decent Display
• Reasonable Price
• Plenty of I/O Ports
• Great Value

Cons

• Overheats Under Heavier Loads
• Noisy Fans
• Mediocre Build Quality
• Only 60Hz Display

Buy on Amazon