Third time’s a disappointment.
Timestamps/chapters:
00:00 – Introduction, specifications, pricing
01:23 – What’s in the box, ports/connectors
02:09 – External impressions, trackpad, keyboard
03:39 – Display measurements
04:26 – Advanced Optimus & G-Sync
05:13 – Battery life
05:54 – DPC latency
06:08 – Broken software, power profiles, poor reliability
08:16 – Fan noise
09:11 – External/case temperatures
09:48 – Temperatures: laptop stand vs flat-on-desk
10:20 – Power/thermal throttling tests
11:30 – Benchmarks
15:06 – Teardown
20:21 – Conclusion & thank you
Performance & cooling data for all tested laptops is gathered in 20-21 degree ambient temperature with the laptops sitting on a passive (fanless) cooling pad. Your results will vary based on ambient temperatures, the surface the laptop is placed on, and BIOS/firmware updates over time.
Disclaimers & important information:
All products shown on this channel were purchased through normal retail channels with my own money for the purpose of bringing you an unbiased and objective review.
No potentially tampered-with or cherry-picked “review units” have been provided by any manufacturer.
No third party has had any influence on the content of this nor any future videos. All opinions & performance data contained within are my own. I do not watch or read any other channel or website’s reviews before completing my own unless I find an unusual or suspicious performance, quality or battery life result. Double-check all performance data and measurements with other review outlets before making a purchasing decision.
Any pricing, availability, or performance information shown was accurate at the time of filming. Please check for any updated information & pricing before making any decisions based on the contents of this video.
For my fellow nerds:
Filmed on Olympus OM-D E-M5 III, iPhone 12 Mini and Galaxy S22 Ultra, thermal imagery captured with FLIR ONE Pro LT, audio recorded on Audio-Technica AT-2020USB+, edited with Adobe Premiere Pro using a mid-2021 Razer Blade 17.
38 Comments
NuclearNotebook
2 years agoA couple of corrections courtesy of eagle-eyed viewers:
1) The original SSD is in fact PCIE 3.0 (not 4.0) – this unit was originally specified to contain a PCIE 4.0 drive and I neglected to double-check the spec of the installed drive. The advertising/promotional material has since been corrected.
2) 09:48 – the included snippet of the screen capture for "flat-on-desk" does not show the 86 degree GPU temperature referenced in the video & the CPU is still running at 55W (vs. the 45w steady-state/PL1 shown in the "elevated" footage) – the CPU does eventually settle to 45w & the GPU will gradually rise to ~86 and remain there indefinitely.
If you spot any other errors please let me know and I'll pin them here 🙂
show more show lessFenix_Ikki
2 years agothat's a fucking great awesome review. i wish luck and sucess for your channel.
Dani
2 years agoI received mine on Friday, a bit earlier than expected. Haven't found the time to push it & test everything. But this laptop definitely runs hot, you were right. F
show more show lessThe weird thing is that it is also so loud. I think the laptop is given more power than is necessary all the time.
Rudraksh Pathak
2 years agoVery detailed video. Thanks.
BulletProof Tomato
2 years agoThank you so much for this detailed breakdown! It is absolutely perfect and exactly what i was looking for. I think i am going give the g15 a miss and go for something like the gigabyte aero 5 xe4 or gigabyte aurous 5 (i think they are basically the same but just different panels). I would recommend doing a review on one of those laptops as they seriously lack any one video review at all, that is if you are wondering what to explore next. Thanks heaps!!
show more show lessli jacky
2 years agothanks for your very professional work , and I had just paid $2309 with 277 cashback for this laptop. the 2230 M.2 will be definitely a pain ,but it may be used in steamdeck to replace the awkard 64GB MMC(if you have booked a budget version from US). As I had viewed quite a bit test videos, yours are the best which unassembly the whole machine (Most of the test reviews dont even try to touch the fans).
show more show lessHowever, the fan noise and temp bad feeling may be just personal. Most of the tests from the others are providing positive feedbacks comparing to other gaming laptops for these. So, it may not be an issue for me, but your point about the up-side-down motherboard is definitely pain my ass for cleaning the dust.
Anyway, thanks for everything and I have subscribed your channel, and expecting your other videos in future.
Ken's Gaming Mod Tech
2 years agoI am thinking about changing the thermal paste on this laptop but not really sure if temperatures will dip
Tech Shack
2 years agoSo should i wait for lenovo legion 2022 or buy older tried and tested legion 5 ?
Ken's Gaming Mod Tech
2 years agoI am also now experiencing black screen all the time now and it's getting ridiculous. Dell knows about this issue with the dell g15 5520, I will be sending back to dell to have them fixed it.
Abhradeep Dey
2 years ago0:06 entry level!?
Sahil Rawat
2 years agoThat was a very helpful and detailed Review… Thank You 😇 🙏
arjun saini
2 years agoSo this laptop eventually made into indian market for 166K INR (delivery and GST included) or roughly 2200 USD, but with RGB 4ZONE keyboard, QHD panel, 1TB Storage, 3 years of premuim support (optional for additional 6k INR), 1 year of McAfee, Microsoft office 2019(McAfee and Office are mandatory SADLY) and G series carry Bag. Do you think i should pull the trigger?
show more show lessfac_t
2 years agoNot a gamer, but a video editor. Been having so many fucking issues with this thing, WAY MORE than I ever had with my Dell Inspiron from 2018! still giving it a bit more of a run but it’s getting to the point I might have to return it and get a mac instead. Hoping it’s just Windows 11 and Adobe being shit and not the PC.
Oh yeah, I had that recovery screen come up WAY too much. In fact it just happened 2 seconds ago. Pretty much boots like normal after I restart.
show more show lessmahmoud elgml
2 years agoi am not defending dell here but for my unit here most of the common software issues was fixed when i installed win 10 beside other tools i use didnot work at all with win 11 also the G key is working fine here and to be honest when i first saw the power brick i did not expect a power saving experience with these power draining specs i had to have a cooling pad and for overall experience it is acceptable compared to what it offers
show more show lessPaolo Rafael Mendiola
2 years agoThis video earned a subscription from me. I love the depth. Also, I have this laptop and the same 165Hz screen, but I can't get Nvidia control panel to recognize it as a g-sync compatible monitor. Help?
Rahul Shekar
2 years agoWOW THIS IS WHAT WE CALL IN DEPTH REVIEW
sujal GHIMIRE
2 years agoIs it just me or the laptop’s fan is louder than a room fan?
Mehul Jain
2 years agohey can you check if the thunderbolt port or any other port in it support type-c pd charging??
Ateeshay Rawat
2 years agoIn what resolution were the games tested
QuTie PhoeBe
2 years agoGreat review! I'm currently using 4th gen i7. I do 95% software development, databases and programming and 5% gaming. I have been waiting for a nice upgrade. I have my eyes on this. It's the cheapest i7 12700H that I found by a mile at $1050.
I have a question though:
– does this overheat?
Thanks and more power to your channel!
show more show lessTeddy M
2 years agoJust brilliant. I wish I could buy you all the laptops in the world so you could review them lol.. You are just spot on, even better than Jarrod's tech (shhh, don't tell him that)!
Kad Rahul
2 years agoHeyy! Planning to buy laptop having i7 12th gen and 3060.
Was planning to buy this but now im confused.
What do you think of new predator helios 300, is that better. Or can you suggest me something?
Dab Lazarus
2 years agoThat cut-out on the MOBO from where the second SSD slot should've been got an audible laugh from me. That's just Dell doing Dell things. They make the weirdest/dumbest design choices sometimes.
Ron D'Onfro
2 years agoIt's prime day $1189 for the regular $1399 G15 on Dell's site. I had two of these in the shopping cart. My spouse and I were going to upgrade our 5-year-old Inspiron i7-6700HQ Laptops. After watching your in-depth review, we decided to pass because I absolutely want two separate hard drives, not to mention the other things you pointed out. Thanks, Great Review!!
show more show lessPrudhvi
2 years agoAwesome review 👍
Siddhant Patel
2 years ago@NuclearNotebook Great review, I was looking to buy G15, but with the 2nd SSD issues, I changed my mind now. Can you suggest a good laptop, with specs, such as i7 12700h, 3070ti, 32Gb ram(seen most laptop with this configuration having a default 16gb ram), plus storage of 1tb or 512 gb. My use would be something I would be gaming on it 30 to 40% of the time, while other usage would be related heavy internet usage, plus sim software like Matlab. Budget would be near to 2500 to 2000 usd
show more show lessBenjamin Ng
2 years agoHey nuclear notebook im gonna use this for editing software and coding wish me luck
Hungry to learn
2 years agoजो configuration आप बता रहे हैं वो G15 5520 नहीं है, उससे ऊपर का model है इसी series का, पर 5520 भी काफ़ी powerful है, मैं 3 months से use कर रहा हूँ I और ठण्डी जगह पर तो heat भी नहीं होता |
Erics Giovano
2 years agoOmg this review is so good and accurate. Hidden gem of this profound review of the laptop. Always appreciate a brutal honest review, but so accurate!!
sotinio1
2 years agoHi there, I was about to buy the version i7/3060 or i7/3070Ti but I came across so many bad reviews (mainly problems about overheating etc) I will mainly use it for video editing and gaming and I really don't care about 2nd slot. I am mostly anxious about thermals as they reduce laptops overall life, but if I repaste with a premium paste wouldn't it be ok? I would like your opinion or another recommendation around the same money
show more show lessEurekaElement
2 years agoI just got at special edition with Qhd screen.1tb 16gb ram 3060 6gb ddr i7 12700 processor
Jarrod'sTech
2 years ago6:08 Couldn't agree more, the Dell software needs to be re-written entirely from scratch. I had a bunch of other issues with software, not counting 30+ blue screens during testing.
Renjith Joseph
2 years agoThere's a refubrished one up for $2000. You reckon it would be worth it? A 3070 Ti at that price is mighty tempting
bek san
2 years agoHey man. I'm looking to buy g15 5520 2022 version with RTX 3070TI. But the general reviews of this laptop seems to be very poor. Especially on battery life and heating/throttling. Could you please help me out if I should buy or not? Would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Nathan H
2 years agoHey again, out of curiosity (as i have this exact spec'd laptop) would it be wise to liquid metal cool the CPU + GPU on this?
Basing this off your teardown, seems liquid metal could work on this as its mostly all copper and cant see any aluminium
SRIKAR 1233K
2 years agoDoes it have any fingerprint sensor
James Stewart
2 years agoHow is this entry level?
Sanju the funn
2 years agoLolz ! I have already ordered this one with 3060 g card
Hope ! Would be fine.