Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming Notebook Review

The matte black case of the new gaming notebook looks simple and inconspicuous at a first glance. First, the big red fan grilles with a dark silver grid hint at the power sleeping inside the 15-inch device. Among others the red lattice at the front edge is new. The red decorated Dell logo on the lid has been kept. When the notebook is opened, it becomes apparent that Dell has omitted the red border surrounding the touchpad and the red grid bar above the keyboard. Those who like Dell's design, but do not want to spend that much money and therefore buy the Inspiron predecessor do not have to bother: Dell uses the same case for it.

Thanks to many rounded parts and several rubberized surface textures, the laptop feels nice to the touch. In terms of build quality we could also only detect trifles: For example, the front parts of the base unit's left and right edges are slightly too sharp. As is known from most matte products, the surface is a fingerprint magnet. In addition, the lid can be depressed slightly too easily.

There is a maintenance hatch on the underside of the new Inspiron, which can be removed after loosening a single screw. It is not possible to replace the battery or get a glimpse of the inside without tools.

The weight of 2.6 kg measured by us is on par with the competitors'. The remarkable height of up to 26 mm is also normal for a gaming notebook. You should clarify whether a bag has enough stowage space before buying it.

We are not absolutely happy with the connectivity of the new Inspiron 7000 series. In particular, it lacks diversity: Neither a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt support nor many USB-3.0 ports are available. The interface layout is largely sophisticated. The Ethernet port and the HDMI-out are relatively far towards the back so that connected cables are not in the way.

The transfer rates recorded with our Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference memory card from Toshiba are very slow. When copying JPG files (about 5 MB each) the average transfer rate is only about 22 MB/s. We have already found such poor values in the Acer Aspire VX5 and MSI GE72. If moving files to SD cards is important for you, you should consider a competitor such as the Asus Strix GL502. The Strix GL502VM achieved above 80 MB/s in our JPG test.

Dell has equipped the laptop with two communication solutions to allow users to dive into the world of online gaming: First of all an Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 3165 1x1 is used, which is supposed to achieve transfer rates of up to 433 MBit/s (gross). We have recorded a receiving rate of 246 MBit/s and a sending rate of 306 MBit/s. On the other hand, a Gigabit Ethernet adapter allows for stable connections via cable.

Dell's web-page for the Inspiron 7567 specifies Bluetooth version 4.0. However, the included data sheet lists Bluetooth 4.2.

A 720p webcam can be used for video conferences. It produces acceptable pictures in good lighting conditions. However, you have to accept a slight noise and not absolutely precise colors.

Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not include any accessories. Only several leaflets are in the box of our US notebook.

It is more or less common that Dell only includes a one-year warranty for new notebooks. The warranty includes pick-up, repair and hardware service. When ordering the device, the manufacturer offers a premium warranty in the online configuration. Among others, it includes 24 h service and software support. The minimum term of this extra service is one year (79 Euros, ~$83) and the maximum is four years (269 Euros, ~$285). Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Keyboard

The used chiclet keyboard features a consistent and crisp pressure experience. However, the short travel could be slightly longer. In particular, inputs from the space bar feel spongy. Nevertheless, touch typists will get used to the keyboard after a while. It is pleasing to find that the Inspiron 7567 features a complete number pad. Another appreciated feature is the two-level backlight. However, we dislike the small arrow keys, which are too small for e.g. race games. Pros include the relatively quiet and muffled typing noise without disturbing clattering noise. In addition, the keyboard unit is splash-protected according to the manufacturer.

Touchpad

The 10.6 x 8 cm touchpad consists of a roughened plastic surface, which does not look especially high-end but is convincing in use: Inputs are translated flawlessly and quickly. Most inputs are also recognized reliably in the corners. The mouse buttons beneath the touchpad generate a very quiet, yet high-pitched clicking noise. The travel gets softer and longer towards the edges.

Both TrueColor modes show a significant yellow tint and are much too warm. In addition, brightness falls significantly (40-50 cd/m²) and colors get worse. We added the screenshots of our measurements below. With deactivated software, we recorded a maximum brightness of 272 cd/m² (average: 251 cd/m²). Therewith, the IPS panel performs only slightly better than the TN model. Lower black value and, so, higher contrast of almost 1200:1 are advantages. As a result, images appear much more vivid on the IPS panel. We could not detect PWM.

The core of our Inspiron test model is an Intel Core i7-7700HQ. The CPU features a base clock of 2.8 GHz and achieves a maximum Turbo clock of up to 3.8 GHz. Intel specifies a TDP of 45 W. We analyze the performance with Cinebench R15. In the multi-core test, the processor works at 3.4 GHz and achieves 724 points. The Acer Aspire VX5 performs significantly worse with 677 points. Once again, the Asus Strix GL502VM takes the lead with 743 points.

The CPU even clocks at 3.4 GHz after several runs. The Cinebench R15 result even remains at the same level on battery. Those who buy the i5 variant of the new Dell Inspiron 7000 series can expect a 30% lower performance.

Please refer to our benchmark list of current notebook processors for further comparisons and benchmarks to various mobile processors.

The Inspiron 7567 meets the expectations on a gaming notebook: It is responsive. Thanks to powerful hardware and a fast SSD, software opens quickly and runs smoothly. We use PCMark 8 to confirm our subjective impression. Our test model performs about 1200 points (31%) better than the predecessor in the PCMark 8 Work benchmark. The Asus Strix GL502VM performs 8% better.

In the Home benchmark, our test model achieves 3850 points. That is about 150 points more than the similarly equipped Acer Aspire VX5. The predecessor reviewed by us only accomplished 2907 points.

Gaming can first be fully enjoyed with a powerful dedicated graphics card. Dell uses an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti in our test model. It belongs to the Nvidia Pascal architecture and has been available since early 2017. With a core clock of 1393 - 1620 MHz and 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, it is ready for the latest games. The performance is about on par with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M. According to Nvidia the targeted maximum power consumption is 70 W (Nvidia GeForce GTX 970: about 81 W). The cheapest model of the new Inspiron series does not use the Ti variant. This results in a significant performance difference.

We want to compare these two graphics units in order to show how big the difference actually is. For this purpose we use 3DMark 11. With almost 9700 points (GPU score), our test model exceeds the average result of an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 by as much as 1900 points. Currently, the cheapest variant of the new Inspiron costs about 150 Euros (~$159) less than the Ti variant. Hence, those who can afford it can profit from 25% higher GPU performance and a more powerful CPU. A comparison to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 can also be interesting: Therefore, we have added the Asus Strix GL502VM to this comparison. The more powerful GTX 1060 performs almost 60% better.

Those who occasionally use the gaming notebook on battery have to accept a small performance loss. 3DMark reports 7638 points in this scenario.

Further benchmarks to various graphics cards are available in our article about current notebook graphics cards.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti allows smoothly running all current games with high or very high settings. Those who want to maximize the settings or expect at least 60 fps need a more powerful graphics card such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060. Due to the performance difference between the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 in the cheapest Inspiron model and the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, the latter can accomplish a few decisive frames per second more; especially at high settings. Those who do not need more than 30 fps for smooth gaming will be content with the GTX 1050.

Further gaming benchmarks of various graphics cards are available in our article Computer Games on Laptop Graphics Cards.

The noise development of the new Inspiron is pleasing at first: The gaming notebook works silently in idle mode and during normal web-surfing most of the time. A rustling noise from the HDD is audible time and again. The fans only run infrequently and the generated noise remains pleasant. Under load the fans speed up quickly and produce a noise close to 47 dB(A). Headphones or speakers set to a loud volume are required in order to drown out the fan noise. The generated frequency is alright overall. However, we would wish for a less high-frequency noise in the future.

The sound is decent, but it is lacking in bass. In addition, the volume is not overly high. With the WaveMaxxAudio software, we can get a high volume and some bass from the speakers. The stereo speakers can convince in occasional YouTube and video sessions.

Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes above can be turned on/off!)

The very low energy demand in idle mode deserves praise. The new Inspiron Gaming notebook always remains below 9 W in this scenario, while the Asus Strix GL502VM with Nvidia GTX 1060 requires about 40 W here. The predecessor of the Inspiron also performs significantly worse with values between 9.4 - 15 W.

Under load, all components have to work hard and the energy demand increases heavily. Our test model reaches 82 W on average and a maximum of 127 W. This result is also not bad. In comparison with the Asus Strix GL502VM it becomes apparent that the more powerful Nvidia GTX 1060 needs more energy. The gaming competitor requires up to 156 W.

The power adapter of the Dell only provides 130 W. This might limit the actual performance due to production variance in the performance of the power adapter. In particular, the Inspiron variant with UHD display might have a higher energy demand.

In stand-by mode, the laptop has a low power consumption of 0.5 W. Turned off, but connected to the mains, the energy demand is about 0.3 W.

The Dell comes with a six-cell battery with a capacity of 74 Wh. We determine the runtimes in three different scenarios. The first test identifies the maximum runtime. We select the energy-saving profile, set the brightness to its minimum and start a reading script. The Inspiron achieves an impressive 19.5 hours here.

The Wi-Fi runtime is probably the most important scenario. It simulates web-surfing at a brightness of 150 cd/m². Once again, the new Dell Inspiron 7567 proves to be a runtime wonder. No other notebook in our comparison can last over 10 hours.

Finally, we test the minimum battery runtime. We start the Classic Test of the Battery Eater tool with the Windows energy profile "maximum performance" and maximum brightness. In this test, the test model achieves almost 1.5 hours. In comparison to the competitors, this is a very typical result.