Dell’s PC market share is quite huge (approximately17% as of 2023), mostly because its PC products are present forevery use and budget. Whether you are a professional content creator, a gamer, or someone who has to do basic tasks like browsing, working on tools like MS Office, orless intensive work, Dell has a plethora of options in its laptop catalog to fulfill your needs.
Dell G15 (2023)
Alienware m18 R2
Typically, the specs inside a laptop matter more than the company itself. However,Dell is well-knownfor its customer support, reliable hardware, and versatile notebooks that are portable and have great battery life. If you are looking to buy a Dell laptop, you are in the right place! The Game Rant team has gone through plenty of laptops before choosing the top ones for your needs. Following our laptop recommendations are some key points that you should check out to make your decision carefully.
Game Rant’s Picks for the Best Dell Laptops in 2024
Dell XPS 17 9730
Dell XPS 17 9730 is a lightweight and incredibly powerful notebook for those who want little to no compromise in their work. Powered by a 14-core Raptor Lake processor and the most popular Ada GPU, the XPS 17 can take on any task without struggling a bit. Its screen is immersive and is quite bright to work in a well-lit environment. It’s sleek and has great sturdiness to show off its premium build quality.
One of the best things about selecting a Dell laptop is that the company allows for customization based on your needs. So, whether you want an entry-level configurationor a premium one, you are free to choose from Dell’s official website. However, choosing the best hardware isn’t going to be simple as the options include the series, display, hardware, and model. Don’t worry! We have already configured the best possible Dell laptop without going overboard in cost.
If you are looking for a lightweight laptop that has great battery life and potent hardware to execute intensive apps as well as games, the Dell XPS 17 is the right option for you. From a high-end 14-core i7 13700H CPU to apowerful discrete RTX 4070 GPU, the configuration is solid for basic and intensive work like 3D rendering, game development, and similar tasks. The system RAM and storage are also going to be sufficient for a while. What stands out is its battery life, which can last for up to six hours on a single charge, assuming you are doing a variety of things like video playback, surfing, gaming, etc.
The display is quite large for a great viewing experience and can reach up to 500 nits of brightness. Its anti-glare properties will keep your eyes safe for longer usage and FHD+ resolution will keep images a bit sharper than regular full HD. Connectivity is also top-notch and whether you want blazing fast internet or multiple high-bandwidth ports for your devices, you will have everything on this laptop.
Dell Inspiron 15 3525
The Dell Inspiron 15 3525 is cheap yet quite capable of performing well in modern applications. Although it can’t play modern titles, it still has the power of Vega iGPU to handle light graphical loads like photo editing and is sufficient for college and school students and even for office workers. It has plenty of RAM and storage capacity and comes with a thin build for easy portability.
Most users don’t have a budgetof over a thousand dollars, which is why entry-level laptops exist. They are cheap, lightweight, and get the job done. If you don’t have any intensive apps to run and want something that can open spreadsheets, run multiple browser tabs, and perform well with basic office applications, the Dell Inspiron 15 3525 won’t disappoint. Running on a Ryzen 5 5500U processor that boasts 6 cores and 12 threads, it gets enough juice for these tasks while being very power-efficient. The Ryzen ‘U’ chips are designed to prolong battery life and the Inspiron 3525 won’t discharge before you complete your job.
Its display is adequate, featuring a standard 15.6-inch screen size with 1080p resolution, and it is powered by the Vega 7 iGPU. What stands out in this laptop is its memory and storage configuration. While the laptop is available in different RAM-storage configs for lower prices, this one saves your time by bringing 16GB of RAM and 1TB of fast SSD storage. Moreover, the ultra-lightweight and thin body design makes it highly portable for travel, and that sums up our recommendation for users who are on a tight budget.
Dell Inspiron 16 5630
Dell Inspiron 16 5630 is based on the latest Core i7 1360P processor, which is power-efficient but brings enough cores to crunch big numbers. The laptop is perfect for office work and is easily portable due to its lightweight construction and thin build. A good 16-inch FHD+ display is provided for rich details and a good battery life to keep going for several hours.
Moving towards the thousand-dollar mark, the Inspiron series has another prominent model that is way better than the previous one in terms of productivity. While it still isn’t there for a great gaming experience, you’re able to do whatever you wish on this laptop quickly.If you are an engineer needing a laptopfor engineering-specific programs like Matlab, AutoCAD, or Inspire, it’s going to be perfect for you while being pocket-friendly. This is achieved through its power-efficient Core i7 1360P processor that generally uses 20-40W of power most of the time but doesn’t hesitate when more power is needed.
It also brings an iGPU based on the Intel Iris architecture for keeping the graphical loads away from the main processor. Connectivity is impressive too, boasting Wi-Fi 6E for supporting high internet bandwidth, the latest Bluetooth for stable peripheral connection, and a Thunderbolt 4.0 port which can be used for power delivery or display. Its amazing battery life is appealing already, but its thin build and lightweight construction make it wonderful for frequent travelers.
Dell XPS 14 9440
Dell XPS 14 9440 is a compact laptop with an InifinityEdge display to make picture quality more immersive. Its sleek and functional design is perfect for minimalists who also want the latest and power-efficient hardware to keep going for several hours. The build quality is highly durable and reduces weight with the use of CNC and Gorilla Glass 3.
With the arrival of Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs, the laptop world has totally changed. While these chips are taking time to become more common on laptops, the Dell XPS 14 9440 has already adopted one to ensure users can balance between a power-saver or a high-performance mode. The Core Ultra 7 155H processor brings too many cores and threads for high productivity and intensive apps, but its wide range of frequencies helps save battery life impressively when the laptop is sitting idle or doesn’t require too much power for casual tasks.
Equipped with an Intel ARC Alchemist-based iGPU, it can also play games with satisfactory frame rates. All of this without consuming too much battery as the total power consumption of the Core Ultra 7 155H doesn’t exceed 115W on 100% usage. The laptop is impressive from the inside and the outside as well. The exterior is made with CNC aluminum and Gorilla Glass 3, keeping a sleek look and equipping the Touch Function row on top for multimedia control. The speakers are incredible too, delivering up to 8W of peak power, which is uncommon on laptops. With this current configuration,the laptop costs about $1500but can be customized further to improve the specifications.
The Dell G15 5530 comes with a 15.6-inch FHD display with a resolution of 1920x1080 that’s complemented by a 165 Hz refresh rate. It even has a response time of just 3 ms, offering a lag-free gaming experience. The display is also sRGB 100% compatible and supports ComfortViewPlus and Nvidia G-SYNC technologies.At its heart, the Dell G15 5530 is equipped with a 13th-generation Intel Core i7-13650HX processor. Paired with this is the latest Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card.
Dell isn’t just about productivity or entry-level laptops. Dell’s catalog also has incredibly powerful gaming laptops as well. While the Alienware series is quite expensive for most users, the G15 5530 won’t break the bank. It costs a bit over $1100 but is decent for playing modern titles. The G15 5530 uses a great CPU-GPU combo for achieving up to 60 frames per second in games on high settings. You can also play many games on Ultra, butthe RTX 40608GB laptop GPU isn’t going to be as good as the desktop variant. Still, the 4060 is significantly faster than any iGPU from Intel’s latest-gen CPU lineup.
The laptop focuses a lot on its cooling as the components need to work at 100% in intensive titles as well as CPU-oriented apps. Dissipating heat from a high-performance CPU like i7 13650HX and RTX 4060 can be a challenge and, therefore, the G15 brings a unified cooling solution to keep the system cool so that the laptop can maintain higher clock speeds in gaming. Apart from gaming, the laptop is quite good at productivity too, and has a highly fluid 165Hz IPS display to enable smooth movements.
Alienware’s m18 R2 is an enthusiast-grade, high-end gaming laptop boasting the latest flagship Intel Core i9 processor from the 14th gen and one of the fastest laptop GPUs in existence.The laptop uses a premium QHD+ display running at 165Hz that is very responsive and delivers vibrant colors via a wide color gamut. It has a high ask but one it justifies thanks to its uncompromising take on hardware.
If you are a professional gamer and want no compromises in performance, look no further than the Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop. It’s the latest Alienware gaming laptop from Dell that features the flagship Core i9 14900HX CPU paired with the fastest GPU, the RTX 4090. This results in a staggering frame rate number that can’t be outperformed by any other configuration. Furthermore, the 165Hz QHD display enhances the fluidity of movements in gameplay, making gaming more pleasant.
The display is G-Sync compatible to eliminate all types of screen tearing and boasts a 3ms response time to quickly transition to the next frame, giving you an advantage over your opponents in competitive gaming. The screen is highly vibrant through a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and measures 18 inches for immersive viewing. Of course,all of this does affect its battery life, but considering how power-consuming the components are, it’s hard to complain.
Things to Consider When Buying a Dell Laptop
Configuration: Checking for the configuration is the first and the most crucial step in choosing any laptop. The same goes for Dell laptops. It’s recommended that you always get faster hardware for your needs to make your laptop a bit future-proof. Ensure your laptop has the latest-generation CPU and GPU to achieve the highest possible performance.
Screen Size: Screen size affects the immersion drastically. If you want more immersion, get a 17 or 18-inch display size. But if you are accustomed to smaller screens, there is no problem with such laptops as well.
Portability: If you travel frequently or go to school, a highly portable laptop will make your life easier. Look for a smaller screen size and a laptop that is thin and lightweight.
Battery Life: Higher battery life means more work, but laptops with great battery life generally lack the performance you find on premium ones. Fortunately, some excellent Dell laptops provide a good balance between battery and performance.
FAQ
Q: What’s the best Dell laptop model?
Generally speaking, Dell laptops from Alienware and the XPS series have the best performance in the whole catalog. However, the performance depends on the configuration rather than on the series.
Q: Is a Dell laptop good for students?
Dell has great customer support and also offers plenty of freebies with their laptops. It’s definitely a top laptop brand for students as well as professionals.
