Dell G3 17 3779 (i5-8300H, GTX 1050, SSD, IPS) Laptop Review

The wireless communication is handled by the Intel Wireless-AC 9462 WLAN module. This 1x1 dual-band module offers WLAN-AC and in addition also the newest version (5.0) of Bluetooth. In our measurements where we simulate an optimal scenario, the Dell G3 17 3779 unfortunately only achieved an average result, remaining behind our expectations. During sending, our test unit achieved an average transfer rate of 321 Mb/s and during receiving only 284 Mb/s. While this is sufficient for most applications, in the test the Wireless-AC 9462 module does not reach the maximum speed specified by the manufacturer (433 Mb/s). 

If the WLAN connection is not sufficient then you can also use the Ethernet connection. The Realtek chip offers speeds of up to 1 Gb/s and worked without any problems during our test period.

The Dell G3 17 3779 sports a six-row chiclet keyboard, which with its white lettering harmonizes well with the device visually. The keys are slightly recessed in the base, so that the keyboard is at the same level as the palm rest. The keyboard has splash protection and is equipped with a two-step backlight. 

At 15 x 15 mm (~0.6 x 0.6 in), the keys are not large but are sized sufficiently. The keys of the number block are another millimeter smaller (~0.04 in). In the beginning, the arrow keys need some getting used to, since they are significantly smaller. The typing noise is pleasantly quiet and not annoying. Only the Space key draws some attention when typing quickly. The stroke is relatively short and the pressure point is noticeable, even though it could have been crisper.

At 10.5 x 8.1 cm (~4.1 x 3.2 in), the touchpad has the same size as in the Dell G5 15. It is visually highlighted with a blue line around the edges. While the input area is sufficiently large for multitouch input, there would have been sufficient space for a larger ClickPad. The slightly roughened surface feels comfortable, but you might have some slight problems with sweaty fingers in terms of the sliding characteristics. We also noticed some areas in the four corners that did not operate accurately in our test unit. 

The two input keys are integrated into the lower area. We only see a visual separation line on the input surface. The stroke is short and input is rewarded with a clicking sound that is clearly audible and too loud in our opinion. Since this is a gaming device, an external mouse will be used primarily, so the ClickPad serves its purpose as an occasional mouse replacement sufficiently well.

Our Dell G3 17 3779 is equipped with a 17-inch IPS panel made by AU Optronics. 1920x1080 pixels at this display size results in a pixel density of 127 ppi. Unfortunately, there are no alternative displays such as a 4K panel or G-Sync support.

However, Dell did not really do anything wrong with the built-in display, since the matte surface prevents reflections and the average display brightness is quite good at 323 cd/m², even if the Acer Predator Helios 300 and the two Asus devices achieve better values here. At 89%, the brightness distribution is also decent, and the contrast ratio (1042:1) is on a level we expect from an IPS display. We did not notice any PWM for brightness control in our test unit. 

On the other hand, we did not expect the extreme clouding that can even be seen frequently in our test unit during normal operation. Due to the manufacturing tolerances, we suspect that this very clearly visible clouding can only be found in our device, and we assume that this is not a general problem of the G3 series.

The Intel Core i5-8300H belongs to the current Coffee-Lake series and offers four physical computing cores including Hyper-Threading. The quad-core processor has a basic clock speed of 2.3 GHz, which can be increased dynamically up to 4.0 GHz, depending on load and cooling. The Intel Core i5-8300H is specified with a TDP of 45 watts. For the Turbo mode, the SoC can also use up to 78 watts.

In the single-core test, the new processor can assert itself very well and comes out significantly above the average of the class. The multi-thread performance of the new processor is also impressive and is at the same level as that of the Acer Predator Helios 300. Only the Asus ROG Strix is able to clearly move ahead in the comparison, due to its six computing cores including SMT (Simultaneous Multi-threading). On the other hand, the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 remains 20% behind in the single-core performance. 

You can find additional benchmarks on the Intel Core i5-8300H here.

As the storage solution, our Dell G3 17 3779 test unit offers an SSD with 128 GB of storage as well as a conventional hard drive from Western Digital with 1 TB of storage. The SSD from SK Hynix runs at SATA speed, which is much faster than a conventional hard drive, but it is still significantly below the performance of an SSD with NVMe support.

The Western Digital hard drive offers sufficient storage space and achieves an average transfer rate of 131.8 MB/s in the test, which is a good value for a hard drive that runs at 5400 rpm.

Unfortunately, Dell only offers the G3 17 with this storage solution, and the buyer is left with replacing the storage with larger models after the purchase as the only option.

With the Intel UHD Graphics 630, the Dell G3 17 3779 offers an energy-efficient solution that handles the display output for 2D operation and takes some load off the processor when playing high-resolution videos thanks to the integrated hardware decoder.

For 3D applications, it is switched to the dedicated graphics adapter via Nvidia Optimus, and then the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 takes over the graphics calculations. The GeForce GTX 1050 has its own 4-GB GDDR5 VRAM and a clock speed of 1354 - 1493 MHz in Boost mode. In the synthetic benchmarks, our test unit performs on the expected level and places below the devices with the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. The Asus ROG Strix remains unchallenged in first place. Its built-in AMD Radeon RX 580 can even take on the GeForce GTX 1060 without any trouble.

For direct comparison, we also included the Dell G5 15 5587 in this segment, in order to compare the performance with the GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q.

You can find further benchmarks on the Intel UHD Graphics 630 and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 here.

Gaming laptops are often loud, and anyone entertaining the thought of buying a gaming-capable notebook should not consider noise emissions as their most important purchase criteria. The Dell G3 17 3779 is no exception here, even though at 30.5 - 32.1 dB(A) during idle, we do not measure an extreme level. The device is almost always audible. Under load, the two fans rev up quite a bit and at 43.4 dB(A), they produce clearly audible fan noise. The Acer Predator Helios 300 and also the Asus ROG Strix are even louder at more than 50 dB(A).

All in all, the noise level is okay for a gaming device.

As mentioned earlier, the power consumption is very good for a gaming laptop. When we look more in detail at the single values, they also remain within an acceptable range. During idle, the Dell G3 17 3779 is content with 7.7 - 15.5 watts. Under load, the consumption increases up to a maximum of 106 watts and then levels out at 95 watts. With the exception of the Asus ROG Strix, the values of all the comparison devices are close. 

Our test unit includes a 130-watt power supply which provides sufficient power. We did not notice any discharging of the battery during full load.

Note:

Only the Dell G3 17 3779 models with the GeForce GTX 1050 and the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti include the 130-watt power supply. The slightly more powerful Dell G3 17 based on the GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q includes a 180-watt power supply instead.

In terms of its battery life, the Dell G3 17 3779 makes a surprisingly good impression. The built-in 56-Wh battery offers the same capacity as in the Dell G5 15 5587. In our comparison here, our test unit has the second-largest battery after the Asus ROG Strix (74 Wh). The battery life is decent for a gaming laptop. The Dell G3 17 3779 lasted for 5:45 hours in our realistic WLAN test where we adjusted the display brightness to 150 cd/m² to keep the conditions similar. This means that the display brightness had to be lowered by five steps (50%). With a good two hours even under load, our test unit also achieved a very good result. Anyone who likes to watch movies is also rewarded, as you can easily watch two or three movies in the good five hours before the battery has to be recharged again. A complete recharge takes almost 2.5 hours.

However, the Dell G3 17 3779 also has a strong disadvantage during battery operation! The performance of the CPU and GPU are drastically throttled in battery operation, which you can clearly see in our example of the 3DMark11 benchmark, where the Dell only achieves 1932 points in battery operation. The CPU clock speed is throttled to about 1.9 GHz in battery operation, and the Turbo mode is deactivated. This also results in a considerable decrease of the CPU performance, as the Cinebench R15 in battery operation screenshot shows.