Dell G5 15 SE Gaming Laptop Review: An Excellent Gaming Laptop For The Money

Without a question, the Dell G5 15 SE is one of the best gaming laptops you can buy for the money. It isn’t the most lightweight or most powerful gaming laptop on the market, but with a price tag of just under $1,000, an AMD Ryzen processor, and an RX 5600M graphics chip, you’ve got yourself a solid gaming rig. This particular Dell gaming laptop is also miles ahead of its competition within the same price category thanks to other fast components like fast RAM, an NVMe SSD, and a 144Hz refresh rate display. If you’d like to know more about this impressive device, just keep scrolling to read our full review of the Dell G5 15 SE Gaming Laptop.

See Where The Dell G5 15 SE Gaming Laptop Ranks In Our List Of The Best Cheap Gaming Laptops Of 2021 Here.

Overview Of The Dell G5 15 SE

Affordable gaming laptops are so in demand these days. Especially with the pandemic still ongoing, people are reaching out to play their favorite games as a way to cope with the numerous lockdowns we have faced. Along with the rise of demand for games, so does the demand for PC parts and gaming laptops and consoles.

Not to mention, gone are the days when you had to spend $2000 just so you can game on the go. This is where the Dell G5 15 SE comes in.

This gaming rig is a crowd favorite among gamers and an overall outstanding gaming laptop thanks to its strong CPU, long battery life, and bright 15.6-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Additionally, due to its AMD Ryzen 5000 H-series processor, this gaming system routinely outperforms its competition without a fuss.

The battery life of this gaming laptop was also excellent, lasting well over 7 hours. With that and an AMD graphics card capable of handling today’s most demanding AAA games, you’ve got yourself a capable gaming rig that won’t break the bank. Furthermore, this gaming laptop includes a display screen that is sharp and colorful enough for the price, as well as a very ergonomic keyboard to operate.

In terms of design, I personally like it. It’s not the sleekest looking laptop out there (nor the most lightweight, either) but I appreciate how the chassis is painted in gleaming silver. It’s a welcome change from the traditional red and black colors associated with gaming laptops.

On top of all that, the Dell G5 15 SE offers a large number of ports, allowing you to connect all of your important devices. Overall, it’s no surprise that this gaming laptop ranked first on our list of the best affordable gaming laptops in 2021.

Features & Specifications

• Dimensions: ‎14.4 x 10 x 0.85 inches
• Product Weight: ‎5.51 pounds
• Brand: Dell
• CPU: 1.6GHz AMD Ryzen 7 4800H
• GPU: 6128GB AMD Radeon RX 5600M
• RAM/Storage: 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 3,200MHz / 512TB SSD
• Display Size: 15.6 Inches
• Display Resolution: ‎1920 x 1080, 144Hz
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home (1909)
• Networking: Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650x (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.1, Ethernet
• Ports: 1 x USB-C, 3 x USB-A, 1 x mini DisplayPort, 1 x combo audio
• Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard
• Touchscreen: No
• Color: Supernova Silver Cover

Check Out Dell’s Product Preview Of The G5 15 Below.

Want To Look For Other Budget-Friendly Gaming Laptops? Read Our Top Picks For The Best Cheap Gaming Laptops Of 2021 Here.

What We Love About The Dell G5 15 SE

Design

Honestly, there’s nothing particularly outstanding with the Dell G5 15 SE’s design. It’s quite straightforward, simple, and can easily blend into a professional setting. I do appreciate that it doesn’t sport the in-your-face gaming aesthetic a lot of gaming manufacturers tend to strive for with their products. This one’s more subtle and the silver chassis is definitely enough to make it stand out from the usual dark colors.

To put it simply, the G5 15 SE is a rather plain-looking laptop with a few design embellishments that don’t scream “look at me, I’m a gamer.” It’s no head-turner and the lid has the most of these flourishes. It’s silver with a metallic gleam, carved with two vertical lines, and topped with a gleaming Dell logo.

The overall design is otherwise fairly modest, with gray plastic on the bottom panel and a plain black keyboard deck that does have RGB illuminations you can tinker around with. Personally, I don’t mind if a gaming laptop has bold, eye-catching colors or numerous RGB lights, as long as it’s not overdone or tacky. But the subtlety in the G5 15 SE is something else.

Whether that’s a good or bad thing is completely up to you. If you prefer gaudy, gaming colors, then this kind of style the G5 15 SE sports might not be for you. But if you want a gaming laptop that you can also use for work or in public without catching too much attention, then this is a nice balance.

Size

In terms of size, the G5 15 SE doesn’t stand out much as well. Weighing at 5.51 lbs, it isn’t particularly bulky, but it’s definitely not small or light either. Most gaming laptops I’ve seen at this price point also share the same weight and size, more or less. It’ll take a bit more effort in carrying this around with you but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Also, I noticed that with more affordable gaming laptops, the size of the model is one of the few things you’ll most likely have to compromise on. Packing such powerful hardware in a thin and light chassis is usually more commonly seen in premium and high-end gaming laptops. So if you’re on a budget, it’s much better to focus on the gaming performance of these laptops rather than the size.

Performance

When it comes to gaming performance, the Dell G5 15 SE certainly didn’t disappoint. The fundamental components of the Dell Gaming G5 15 SE are well-matched and even graphics-heavy games run pretty smoothly on this gaming rig.

The Intel six-core CPU, Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics, and 1080p LCD display work together to produce flawless frame rates in the latest games at high settings that’s sure to satisfy a lot of casual gamers. We’re not talking about the absolute pinnacle of a buttery-smooth gaming performance but this is definitely a solid experience either way.

If you’re looking for something more, you’ll need a more powerful GPU and a monitor that refreshes at 120Hz or higher. Not to mention, a bigger budget too. In any case, frame rates in the 60 to 70 fps range when set to ultra detail are highly enjoyable. However, they also show that using a high refresh panel with this setup is practically pointless.

With that said, the Dell G5 15 SE is a pretty solid contender among entry-level gaming laptops. It’s competent and capable enough to make sure that you get a nice gaming experience out of this rig for the years to come.

Display

The display on the Dell G5 15 SE is about what you’d expect from an entry-level gaming laptop. But with a few quirks. Its 1080p Full HD resolution is an excellent match for the modern components inside its chassis. However, the highlight of the display is the 144Hz refresh rate which allows you to have smoother-looking gameplays. Though the base model of this laptop comes with just a 60Hz refresh rate.

Keep in mind, reaching 144fps will be pretty near impossible with the latest AAA titles but this shouldn’t be a problem if you’re more of a casual gamer. The overall visual quality is likewise rather high, and the screen does get quite bright when set to its maximum brightness.

Battery Life

Gaming laptops don’t always have the best battery lives, which is understandable since playing games tend to drain batteries faster than your normal day-to-day tasks. The Dell G5 15 SE, on the other hand, provides some of the best battery life I’ve seen in a gaming laptop. This model easily lasted 7 hours, though this can vary depending on how frequently you use it.

Under heavy load, most gaming systems fall short of the 4-hour mark, but the G5 15 SE performed admirably. Especially if you think about how affordable this laptop is.

Our Least Favorite Things

Thermal Throttling

No product will ever be completely perfect and the Dell G5 15 SE is no exception to that. One major concern that you might want to keep in mind with this particular gaming laptop is that thermal throttling is a bit of an issue here.

Under stress, the laptop becomes noticeably heated, both on the underside and in hot patches surrounding the keyboard. So this is something to keep in mind in case heating is an issue with you. However, this isn’t a problem exclusive to this model. Most affordable and low-cost gaming laptops seem to encounter this problem as well. I guess a better cooling system is a luxury and a privilege?

In A Nutshell

Now that we have discussed the things we liked and disliked about the Dell G5 15 SE gaming laptop in this review, here’s a narrowed-down list of the good and the bad with this particular gaming rig.

Our Final Verdict

Overall, the Dell G5 15 SE exceeds expectations for an entry-level gaming laptop. It sports a subtle design that doesn’t look tacky, provides a terrific gaming performance thanks to its AMD chip, has plenty of ports, and pretty decent battery life. This computer is also not limited to gaming. You can easily use this for your professional work or everyday tasks as well. Although a few compromises were made to keep this gaming rig affordable, it still provides outstanding value for the money.

Have you already bought the Dell G5 15 SE? Or are you still contemplating it? Was our review helpful? Let me know in the comments section below if you have any suggestions, insights, or questions to ask. I would love to hear all your thoughts!

Recommended reading for you: