Dell G3 15.6" Gaming Laptop

Performance

The Dell G3 15.6 Gaming Laptop (model I3590-5988BLK-PUS) isn’t a top-of-the-line gaming rig, but it holds it own and provides great performance for many games.

For example, I’m able to run Fortnite with all of the setting set to “Epic” (highest) and the game is still very fluid and looks amazing. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there is a bug that prevents the FPS from showing in Fortnite, but I would estimate it to be in the 45-55 range.

The F7 key also functions as the “Game Shift” key which kicks up the fan speeds to prevent thermal throttling. The fans are somewhat noisy, so you’ll likely find yourself reaching for headphones if you turn this feature on.

A quick look at the specs:

• Intel Core i5 (Coffee Lake)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti
• 8GB RAM (2 x 4GB for a dual channel boost)
• 512GB NVMe solid-state drive (with about 480GB available out-of-the-box)

Design

Although the exterior of the laptop is constructed of plastic, it still feels solid and should stand up against the occasional bumps and rigors of transporting it. The exterior has a nice matte finish that helps hide fingerprints.

The keyboard is comfortable for both gaming and typing, with a full numeric keypad on the right. The keyboard also has a blue LED backlight that looks cool, especially at night. The WASD are clearly identified with a border.

Speakers are located on the bottom and, unfortunately, sound a bit tinny and underwhelming. This is yet another reason to use headphones while gaming.

The laptop is a little bulky, weighing about 5 pounds. However, this is expected since it is a gaming machine.

Display

I love the fact that the display has an anti-glare finish while still maintaining a sharp onscreen appearance. The display is IPS and looks great from an angle, with a 1080p 60Hz resolution. I also sometimes “dock” the laptop, using the side USB-C port with a hub that outputs to a 1080p monitor and it runs both displays without an issue. The default resolution for the display is 1536x864

Battery Life

I can typically get about 2-4 hours of battery life when gaming with this laptop. The charging brick is HUGE, which makes sense as it outputs 180 watts. The USB-C port shows a Power Delivery symbol, but as far as I know, Power Delivery specs max out at 100 watts, so you likely won’t be able to charge and use this laptop at the same time if using a third-party Power Delivery charger.

Setup

Set aside about 2 hours to allow the system to perform all necessary updates, including the Windows updates. There are also several Dell driver updates that the included “Dell Update” program can perform for you. Additionally, there was a system BIOS update that required a manual installation by downloading the update directly from the Dell support website.