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Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050) Laptop Review

(Long-)Lasting impression. The entry-level version of the Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming Notebook lacks the higher-end hardware complement of its pricier siblings. Although still hampered by a subpar display, the notebook is nonetheless a decent performer at a great price. The battery life puts many other laptops – gaming or not – to shame.

About six months ago we reviewed the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming with Intel Core i7-7700HQ, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD. Except for the display, we came away impressed: the gaming notebook looks great, offers a lot of bang for the buck and the battery life is simply outstanding. Our test unit this around is the most basic version in the series with Core i5-7300HQ, Nvida GeForce GTX 1050, 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB, platter-based hard drive. At the time of writing, this particular notebook costs $750 when purchased directly from Dell. 

The Dell competes with a host of other entry-level gaming rigs ranging from the Acer Aspire VX5-591G, Lenovo Legion Y520 15IKBN, Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M, and Asus ROG Strix GL553VD to the Gigabyte Sabre 15. All these systems are equipped with either the GTX 1050 or GTX 1050 Ti, but feature the higher-end Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, so we can expect the Inspiron to lose some ground when it comes to raw processing power. Only the Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S is also equipped with the same - and slower - Core i5 CPU.

Since the two systems are otherwise identical, we’ll only touch upon the sections which merit a more detailed look and will skip the ones dealing with the case, connectivity and input devices entirely.

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050) (Inspiron 15 7000 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i5-7300HQ 4 x 2.5 - 3.5 GHz, Kaby Lake
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile - 4 GB VRAM, Core: 1354 MHz, RAM: 1752 MHz, GDDR5, Optimus
Memory
8 GB 
, 2400MHz, DDR4, 2 slots (1 used)
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 141 PPI, AU Optronics AUO38ED B156HTN , TN, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel HM175
Storage
Toshiba MQ02ABD100H, 1000 GB 
, 5400 rpm
Soundcard
Intel Skylake PCH-H High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: audio-combo, Card Reader: SD
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 27 x 385 x 275 ( = 1.06 x 15.16 x 10.83 in)
Battery
74 Wh Lithium-Ion, six cells
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Additional features
Keyboard: chiclet, My Dell, Dell Digital Delivery, Dell Backup & Recovery, DropBox, Microsoft Office 2013 trial, McAfee LiveSafe (30 days)), 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.75 kg ( = 97 oz / 6.06 pounds), Power Supply: 510 g ( = 17.99 oz / 1.12 pounds)
Price
750 USD
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

389 mm / 15.3 in 266 mm / 10.5 in 29 mm / 1.142 in 2.5 kg5.51 lbs382.8 mm / 15.1 in 254.8 mm / 10 in 30 mm / 1.181 in 2.5 kg5.51 lbs385 mm / 15.2 in 275 mm / 10.8 in 27 mm / 1.063 in 2.8 kg6.06 lbs380 mm / 15 in 267 mm / 10.5 in 26 mm / 1.024 in 2.5 kg5.56 lbs378 mm / 14.9 in 267 mm / 10.5 in 26.9 mm / 1.059 in 2.5 kg5.5 lbs378 mm / 14.9 in 260.1 mm / 10.2 in 23.9 mm / 0.941 in 2.5 kg5.51 lbs297 mm / 11.7 in 210 mm / 8.27 in 1 mm / 0.03937 in 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

SD Card Reader

As before, the SD card reader – which we test using our Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference memory card – returns middling results with AS SSD reporting a transfer rate of under 30 MB/s.  Copying 1 GB of jpg files (roughly 5 MB each) to the desktop takes about 41 seconds. The Gigabyte Sabre 15 accomplishes the same task almost 30 seconds faster.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
 
78.8 MB/s +215%
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
 
74.7 MB/s +199%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
 
61.3 MB/s +145%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
 
57.3 MB/s +129%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
 
24.98 MB/s
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
 
24.2 MB/s -3%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
 
21.2 MB/s -15%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
 
202.8 MB/s +586%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
 
91.7 MB/s +210%
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
 
89.7 MB/s +203%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
 
86.5 MB/s +193%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
 
29.56 MB/s
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
 
26.1 MB/s -12%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
 
17.9 MB/s -39%

Communication

Like its more powerful sibling, our Inspiron is equipped with a 1x1 Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 3165 wireless module with Bluetooth 4.2 on board. The wireless card tops out at 314 and 326 Mbit/s for send and receive, respectively when the laptop is placed one meter from our Linksys EA8500 test router. Many budget gaming systems aren’t much faster, so we can’t complain too much about the performance here. During our time with the notebook we didn't experience any connectivity problems or similar issues.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
641 MBit/s +104%
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
Qualcomm/Atheros QCA6174
632 MBit/s +101%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Wireless-AC 7265
434 MBit/s +38%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless Network Adapter
341 MBit/s +9%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168
319 MBit/s +2%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
314 MBit/s
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
Realtek 8821AE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
282 MBit/s -10%
iperf3 receive AX12
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
674 MBit/s +107%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Wireless-AC 7265
661 MBit/s +103%
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
Qualcomm/Atheros QCA6174
660 MBit/s +102%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless Network Adapter
343 MBit/s +5%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
326 MBit/s
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
Realtek 8821AE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
307 MBit/s -6%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168
240 MBit/s -26%

Maintenance

Since our review notebook is only equipped with a 2.5-inch platter-based drive – the higher-end Inspiron 15 Gaming we reviewed in February featured both an SSD and a 1 TB HDD - we decided to take a look at the inside once more. The bottom panel is secured by one single screw, which makes access to the hardware quite easy. The plastic tabs holding the bottom panel to the base unit don't seem to be very sturdy, so gentle handling is required. Good news: even though our Inspiron only comes with a conventional hard drive, it also features an M.2 slot for those who’d like to install their own SSD. Users have access to the two DDR4 RAM slots (one occupied), the WLAN module, and the BIOS battery. The dual fan system is in plain view as well and very easy to clean.

Warranty

In the US, the Inspiron is covered against manufacturer’s defects for a period of 12 months. Dell offers many upgrades including 3 Years of Premium Support with Onsite Service for $150. 3 Years Accidental Damage Service add an additional $80. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Display

Four SKUs of the Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming feature 1080p displays with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Our review notebook, which is the least expensive model in the lineup, is still only offered with a TN display, while all other versions feature panels based on IPS technology. When our colleagues reviewed the higher-end Inspiron, the TN panel was the sole option. Dell likely responded to complaints from its customer base - definitely a step in the right direction. The highest-end Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming features a 15.6-inch UHD (3840x2160) IPS display.

The AU Optronics AUO38ED B156H TN panel is the same one we encountered during our review of the higher-end sibling with the brightness, contrast and gamut at very similar, subpar levels. At 235 nits, the display brightness is average for a gaming notebook, although the contrast ratio is the lowest one in our comparison.Thankfully, Dell does not use PWM to control the brightness.

Given that this is a TN display, backlight bleeding isn’t much of an issue, although the panel does look grayish when displaying black.

Update 08/09/2017: Our colleagues had the chance to re-review the higher-end Inspiron (Core i7-7700HQ, GTX 1050 Ti) with a Full HD IPS panel from LG Philips instead of the TN display. We've included this model in the display comparison table below. The synopsis: the IPS panel is far from class leading, but it is slightly brighter with much better contrast, more vivid colors and much better viewing angles.

minimal backlight bleeding
minimal backlight bleeding
subpixel array
subpixel array
223.8
cd/m²
241.7
cd/m²
221.8
cd/m²
224.7
cd/m²
242.2
cd/m²
226.5
cd/m²
239.1
cd/m²
251.2
cd/m²
242.7
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
AU Optronics AUO38ED B156HTN tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 251.2 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 234.9 cd/m² Minimum: 15.48 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 242.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 351:1 (Black: 0.69 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 11.6 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.92
ΔE Greyscale 15.7 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
57.55% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
39.47% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
39.47% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
57.5% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
38.2% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 1.57
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
AU Optronics AUO38ED B156HTN , TN, 15.6", 1920x1080
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567
LG Philips LGD053F (156WF6), , 15.6", 1920x1080
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
LP156WF6-SPK3, IPS, 15.6", 1920x1080
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
IPS, 15.6", 1920x1080
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
BOE HF NV156FHM-N43, IPS, 15.6", 1920x1080
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
ID: LGD0533, Name: LG Display LP156WF6-SPK3, IPS, 15.6", 1920x1080
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
BOE CQ NV156HFM-N42, IPS, 15.6", 1920x1080
Display
8%
23%
68%
2%
5%
Display P3 Coverage
38.2
41.49
9%
47.11
23%
67.6
77%
38.97
2%
40.56
6%
sRGB Coverage
57.5
61.7
7%
70.4
22%
90.8
58%
58.2
1%
59.4
3%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
39.47
42.98
9%
48.71
23%
66.4
68%
40.3
2%
41.9
6%
Response Times
-2%
-45%
-14%
-46%
10%
-24%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
36.8 ?(17.2, 19.6)
37.6 ?(21.2, 16.4)
-2%
58.8 ?(33.6, 25.2)
-60%
38.8 ?(20.8, 18)
-5%
57.6 ?(23.6, 34)
-57%
32 ?(16.4, 15.6)
13%
46 ?(25, 21)
-25%
Response Time Black / White *
27.6 ?(24.4, 3.2)
28 ?(16.4, 11.6)
-1%
36 ?(23.6, 12.4)
-30%
33.6 ?(18.8, 14.8)
-22%
37.2 ?(4.8, 32.4)
-35%
25.6 ?(15.6, 10)
7%
34 ?(20, 14)
-23%
PWM Frequency
21550 ?(99)
19230 ?(99)
20000 ?(99)
20000 ?(90)
Screen
46%
21%
25%
62%
25%
49%
Brightness middle
242.2
272
12%
239
-1%
255.9
6%
289.3
19%
248.4
3%
277
14%
Brightness
235
251
7%
244
4%
249
6%
280
19%
241
3%
268
14%
Brightness Distribution
88
85
-3%
88
0%
90
2%
93
6%
84
-5%
91
3%
Black Level *
0.69
0.23
67%
0.35
49%
0.48
30%
0.29
58%
0.3
57%
0.26
62%
Contrast
351
1183
237%
683
95%
533
52%
998
184%
828
136%
1065
203%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
11.6
6.7
42%
7.3
37%
5.9
49%
3.1
73%
7.5
35%
5.05
56%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
19.4
13.5
30%
24.7
-27%
18.9
3%
7.1
63%
25.2
-30%
8.93
54%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
15.7
6.8
57%
4.9
69%
5.6
64%
2.1
87%
6.5
59%
2.97
81%
Gamma
1.57 140%
2.18 101%
2.19 100%
2.21 100%
2.22 99%
2.19 100%
2.39 92%
CCT
11662 56%
6476 100%
7332 89%
7250 90%
6226 104%
7852 83%
6466 101%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
39.47
39.5
0%
35
-11%
44.8
14%
59
49%
37
-6%
38
-4%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
57.55
61.4
7%
55
-4%
70.1
22%
91
58%
57.9
1%
59
3%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
17% / 32%
-12% / 10%
11% / 19%
28% / 48%
12% / 19%
10% / 30%

* ... smaller is better

At 39 and 58 percent of the AdobeRGB and sRGB standards, color coverage is fairly dismal. None of the entry-level gaming units fare much better, so this seems to be par for the course. Needless to say that even basic photo editing is not really recommended. The Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 has exactly the same processor and graphics card as the review laptop and offers close to 100 % sRGB coverage, but it is also significantly more expensive.

vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. Samsung Odyssey
vs. Samsung Odyssey

With high average DeltaE deviations for both color and grayscale according to our measurements with the X-Rite spectrophotometer and CalMAN software, the display is visibly bluish in nature. Calibration does improve the display significantly, although the result is still middling even when compared to other entry-level displays in their uncalibrated state.

ColorChecker before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration

Outdoor visibility is not great courtesy of the comparatively low brightness and lackluster contrast. Thanks to the matte panel, working in the shade is possible provided the display is carefully adjusted, but overcast skies and especially sunlight make deciphering the screen either hard or next to impossible. Since this is a gaming unit, suitability for outdoor use is of a lower priority.

Viewing angle stability is atrocious with substantial screen darkening and color inversions even at more moderate angles. Notebooks with IPS displays fare much better in this regard.

outdoor use - shade
outdoor use - shade
outdoor use - direct sunlight
outdoor use - direct sunlight
viewing angles
viewing angles

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
27.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 24.4 ms rise
↘ 3.2 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 67 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
36.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 17.2 ms rise
↘ 19.6 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 48 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8752 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured.

Performance

Our review unit doesn't comes equipped with the very common i7-7700HQ CPU like many gaming systems, but features the somewhat less popular - but also less expensive - Intel Core i5-7300HQ instead. The two bottom SKUs available in Dell's Online store feature this processor; the remaining three SKUs come with the more powerful i7 CPU. The top-of-the-line Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming features 16 GB of RAM, a 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, a higher-end GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU and a 15.6-inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS display for $1200.

We should note here that our review system is equipped with 8 GB of single-channel DDR4 RAM. Users can install a second 8 GB DDR4 module for a small performance boost, as two modules would allow the RAM to run in dual-channel mode.

 

Processor

Although most of the entry-level gaming systems in our comparison feature the Intel Core i7-7700HQ, our Inspiron is equipped with the Intel Core i5-7300HQ quad-core processor. Both processors have a TDP rating of 45 W, but the Core i5 CPU does not support Hyper-Threading. The processor performs a little below expectations with single-core performance lagging behind laptops equipped with the same CPU - like the Acer Aspire VX 15 VX5-591G and the (admittedly much more expensive) Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 - by about 15 % according to Cinebench. Multi-core performance, on the other hand, is much closer and can be sustained for extended periods of time with only minor dips according to our Cinebench Multi CPU loop test (see graph below).

Competing notebooks with the Intel Core i7-7700HQ offer about 15-25% better single-core performance;  multi-core performance is up to 45 % better.

CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R15
CineBench R15
0102030405060708090100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260270280290300310320330340350360370380390400410420430440450460470480490500510520Tooltip
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
161 Points +25%
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
159 Points +23%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
155 Points +20%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
148 Points +15%
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
148 Points +15%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
146 Points +13%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
129 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
738 Points +44%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
736 Points +43%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
732 Points +42%
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
652 Points +27%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
514 Points
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
511 Points -1%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
508 Points -1%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.84 Points +23%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.83 Points +23%
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.72 Points +15%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.7 Points +14%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
1.49 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.17 Points +47%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.17 Points +47%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.08 Points +45%
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
7.12 Points +28%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
5.56 Points
Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
22512 Points +31%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
22273 Points +30%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
21774 Points +27%
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
18304 Points +6%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
17197 Points
Rendering Single 32Bit
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
6107 Points +22%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
5954 Points +19%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
5548 Points +11%
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
5502 Points +10%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
5006 Points
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
351.3 s *
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
323.6 s * +8%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
217.1 s * +38%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
211.3 s * +40%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
6745
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
17197
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
5006
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
5.56 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
48.98 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.49 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
129 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
78.1 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
514 Points
Help

System Performance

PCMark performance is solid and at times even ahead of the Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71, which is also equipped with a platter-based hard drive and the same GPU, but features the higher-end i7 CPU. Other entry-level gaming notebooks with the i7 CPU and SSDs are up to 25 % faster depending on the subtest. 

Perceived performance is not bad, but is held back a little by the conventional hard drive especially when launching programs for the first time.

PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
4001 Points +10%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
3770 Points +4%
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Hynix HFS128G39TND
3661 Points +1%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
3659 Points +1%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
3638 Points
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
3431 Points -6%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
5305 Points +12%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
5063 Points +7%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
4884 Points +3%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
4749 Points
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4680 Points -1%
Creative Score Accelerated v2
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
5362 Points +24%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
4334 Points
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4317 Points 0%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
4274 Points -1%
PCMark 10
Score
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
4364 Points +21%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
3618 Points
Essentials
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
7542 Points +18%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
6370 Points
Productivity
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
6749 Points +21%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
5591 Points
Digital Content Creation
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
4432 Points +23%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
3611 Points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3638 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
4334 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4749 points
PCMark 10 Score
3618 points
Help

Storage Devices

2.5-inch HDD + open M.2 slot
2.5-inch HDD + open M.2 slot

The Toshiba MQ02ABD100H with a 64MB buffer and 8GB of NAND flash spins at a rather pedestrian 5400 RPM. Even though this is a hybrid drive, the performance trails that of the 7200 RPM Travelstar 7K1000 in the Asus ROG Strix in all areas except for 4K reads - here the two drives perform very similar. As our table below shows, any notebook equipped with SSD primary storage runs circles around our test candidate. 

As we mentioned earlier, even though our review notebook is the least expensive option in the lineup and only equipped with a single 2.5-inch hard drive, the M.2 slot is open, so experienced user can certainly install an SSD if so inclined.

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
Hynix HFS128G39TND
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
21400%
15742%
56%
11511%
Read Seq
84.7
2170
2462%
1518
1692%
93.5
10%
510
502%
Write Seq
65.4
1202
1738%
798
1120%
89.6
37%
137.6
110%
Read 512
19.86
786
3858%
460.5
2219%
39.06
97%
362.1
1723%
Write 512
28.43
822
2791%
195.8
589%
51.1
80%
137.2
383%
Read 4k
0.531
58.9
10992%
47.16
8781%
0.57
7%
35.18
6525%
Write 4k
0.481
146.4
30337%
143.1
29651%
1.05
118%
104.8
21688%
Read 4k QD32
1.105
457.7
41321%
521
47049%
1.06
-4%
375.8
33909%
Write 4k QD32
0.505
392.9
77702%
176.4
34831%
1.04
106%
138.1
27247%
Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Transfer Rate Minimum: 33.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 110.4 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 82.9 MB/s
Access Time: 17.8 ms
Burst Rate: 94.6 MB/s
CPU Usage: 7 %

GPU Performance

Our Inspiron is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 with 4 GB of GDDR5 RAM. Performance according to the various 3DMark benchmarks ranges from slightly faster (3DMark 11 Performance GPU: +3 % vs. Dell XPS 15 2017 9560) to quite a bit slower (Ice Storm Extreme Graphics: -22 % vs. Gigabyte Sabre 15). Notebooks equipped with the GTX 1050 Ti will outperform the review gamer by an additional 35 %; systems with the GTX 1060 can offer double the performance. 

Please check out our dedicated page for the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 for more technical information.

3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
8201 Points +3%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
7982 Points
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
7835 Points -2%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7760 Points -3%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7731 Points -3%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7457 Points -7%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7440 Points +34%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
6999 Points +26%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
6707 Points +21%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
5995 Points +8%
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
5950 Points +7%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
5562 Points
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
50981 Points +45%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
39864 Points +14%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
39507 Points +13%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
38001 Points +8%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
37840 Points +8%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
35089 Points
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7682 Points +30%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
6393 Points +8%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
6166 Points +5%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
6013 Points +2%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
5990 Points +2%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
5895 Points
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
103946 Points +74%
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
95568 Points +60%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
76284 Points +27%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
73576 Points +23%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ
59850 Points
3DMark 11 Performance
7170 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
13473 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
5085 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
2512 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Gaming performance is mid-pack to a little below average for a GTX 1050 notebook. The Gigabyte Sabre 15 with quad-core i7 CPU and the same GPU with only 2 GB of RAM performs about the same as our test laptop or slightly better when running Witcher 3 and other games; the much more expensive Dell XPS 15 outperforms the others and offers frame rates that are at least 15 % higher. As the table below shows, most older games are playable at Full-HD resolution and maximum details.

Rise of the Tomb Raider
1024x768 Lowest Preset (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
105.5 fps
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
122 fps +16%
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:2x (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
64.5 fps
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
76 fps +18%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
70.1 fps +9%
1920x1080 High Preset AA:FX AF:4x (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
35.8 fps
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
45 fps +26%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
38.7 fps +8%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
36 fps +1%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
38.6 fps +8%
1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
30.9 fps
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
38 fps +23%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
33.4 fps +8%
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
30 fps -3%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
34.2 fps +11%
The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
95.9 fps
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
125.5 fps +31%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
69.2 fps
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
77.3 fps +12%
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
39 fps
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
43 fps +10%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
41 fps +5%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
34.6 fps -11%
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-75C4 VX15
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
45.8 (30min) fps +17%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) (sort by value)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
21.9 fps
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
38 fps +74%
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
20.8 fps -5%
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
22 fps 0%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
24.9 fps +14%
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-75C4 VX15
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
25.2 (19min) fps +15%
lowmed.highultra
Metro 2033 (2010) 85.5 80.7 72.7 44.6
Dirt 3 (2011) 194.4 106.9 127.4 101
Sleeping Dogs (2012) 174.9 135.8 114.6 98.5
Hitman: Absolution (2012) 79.1 73.9 66.8 41.8
Tomb Raider (2013) 252.5 208.6 167.7 79.9
BioShock Infinite (2013) 173.5 149.6 139.2 64.9
GRID 2 (2013) 120.4 103 96.2 75.3
Company of Heroes 2 (2013) 52.4 50.7 47.4 26
Thief (2014) 58 56.6 53.8 41.8
GRID: Autosport (2014) 141.6 98.7 87 71.3
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) 122.8 99 58.8 45.8
The Witcher 3 (2015) 95.9 69.2 39 21.9
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) 80 76 50 32
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 105.5 64.5 35.8 30.9
Ashes of the Singularity (2016) 37.1 31 28.6

Stress Test

We use the synthetic benchmarks Prime95 and Furmark to stress the CPU and GPU to identify potential stability issues as well as throttling. With Prime 95 running, the Core i5 processor returned a solid 3.1 GHz at 68 C and is thus able to maintain the maximum Turbo Boost under load. When only Furmark is active, the GPU runs at 1493-1506 at 61 C. Running both Prime95 and Furmark in parallel results in an initial CPU clock rate of 3.1 GHz with one or two cores dipping to 800 MHz for split seconds at a temperature of 73 C. The GPU maintains 1493 MHz at 61 C. Ten minutes later, the CPU still shows the same behavior with the occasional, but now longer dips to 800 MHz at a temperature of 79 C, while the GPU still maintains 1493 MHz with occasional dips to 1455 MHz at 69 C. Our Witcher 3 stress test, which is a more accurate representation of gaming loads, had the GPU running at 1708 MHz with the temperature staying at a rock steady 59 C. For the CPU cores, we saw ranges from 1.7 – 1.8 GHz at just under 60 C as well.

Running the notebook on battery power only affects GPU performance. Our run of 3DMark 11 on batteries returns an near-identical Physics, but much lower Graphics score. Overall performance drops by about 15 %.

CPU stress
CPU stress
GPU stress
GPU stress
CPU + GPU stress
CPU + GPU stress
012345678910111213141516171819202122232425Tooltip
The Witcher 3 ultra
CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C) Average GPU Temperature (°C)
Prime95 Stress 3.1 - 68 -
FurMark Stress - 1493-1506 - 61
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 0.8-3.1 1455-1493 79 69
Witcher 3 Stress 1.7-1.8 1708 59 59

Emissions

System Noise

The Inspiron is near-silent in idle mode, although the heard drive is audible at all times. At 49 dB under maximum load, the review notebook actually even tops the higher-end Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming with Intel Core i7-7700HQ and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, which reaches 47 dB. The Samsung Odyssey and the Asus ROG Strix are similarly loud; at 39 dB, the Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G is much less obtrusive and a better choice for quiet environments. We should point out thought that under normal operation, the Inspiron never gets particularly annoying.

Noise Level

Idle
31.6 / 31.8 / 31.8 dB(A)
Load
36.3 / 49 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   BK Precision 732A (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 28 dB(A)
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, Hynix HFS128G39TND
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ, Liteonit CV3-8D128
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
Noise
4%
-2%
-9%
7%
-8%
-7%
off / environment *
28
27.7
1%
28.1
-0%
30.6
-9%
30
-7%
28.2
-1%
30.3
-8%
Idle Minimum *
31.6
30.5
3%
28.1
11%
33.4
-6%
30
5%
33
-4%
31.6
-0%
Idle Average *
31.8
30.5
4%
29.1
8%
33.4
-5%
30
6%
33.3
-5%
31.6
1%
Idle Maximum *
31.8
30.6
4%
29.1
8%
33.4
-5%
31.1
2%
34.7
-9%
33.4
-5%
Load Average *
36.3
40
-10%
49.2
-36%
46.5
-28%
31.3
14%
44.5
-23%
47.8
-32%
Witcher 3 ultra *
46.3
40
14%
49.2
-6%
Load Maximum *
49
42.6
13%
49.2
-0%
49.6
-1%
38.9
21%
52.8
-8%
47.8
2%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Despite the slightly higher noise level compared to the more powerful sibling, our review notebook actually not only gets louder, but also runs hotter as well - a somewhat bewildering result, since the CPU cores of the Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming with Intel Core i7-7700HQ reach temperatures of 90 C and above, while our Inspiron only exceeded 80 C for very brief bursts.

During our stress test, the rear center section of the keyboard reached 47 C. Tests with Witcher 3 show a more reasonable 40 C in the same area, which is perfectly acceptable for a gaming notebook. Due to the number pad, the keyboard is shifted left, so it's the right third that heats up more. The WASD keys and the number pad remain somewhat cooler, so fingers won't likely get as sweaty.

Note: several of the recorded test results during the review period left us scratching our heads. While fluctuations are not out of the ordinary and might be attributed to measurement inaccuracies, environmental differences or unit variation, it doesn't quite make sense that the base version of the Inspiron is not only noisier, but also runs warmer than its more powerful sibling. One possible explanation could be the fact that our particular Inspiron isn't a brand-new notebook directly from the Dell, but rather a review unit from Intel with a plethora of preinstalled applications. Unfortunately, we are not in a position where we can do a reformat / reinstall to see if the results change in any way. We should emphasize here that none of our findings are particularly troublesome and thus shouldn't be considered deal breakers.

Maximum load (top)
Maximum load (top)
Maximum load (bottom)
Maximum load (bottom)
Witcher 3 stress (top)
Witcher 3 stress (top)
Witcher 3 stress (bottom)
Witcher 3 stress (bottom)
Max. Load
 29.8 °C
86 F
47.2 °C
117 F
33.4 °C
92 F
 
 29 °C
84 F
45.6 °C
114 F
35.2 °C
95 F
 
 25 °C
77 F
36.6 °C
98 F
30.4 °C
87 F
 
Maximum: 47.2 °C = 117 F
Average: 34.7 °C = 94 F
42 °C
108 F
39 °C
102 F
36.4 °C
98 F
32.6 °C
91 F
43.2 °C
110 F
28 °C
82 F
32 °C
90 F
28.4 °C
83 F
26.6 °C
80 F
Maximum: 43.2 °C = 110 F
Average: 34.2 °C = 94 F
Power Supply (max.)  43 °C = 109 F | Room Temperature 20.8 °C = 69 F | Raytek Raynger ST
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 34.7 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F for the devices in the class Gaming.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 47.2 °C / 117 F, compared to the average of 40.5 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 43.2 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.4 °C / 80 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(+) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.5 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(±) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 36.6 °C / 97.9 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-7.7 °C / -13.9 F).

Speakers

Although the Inspiron is equipped with a subwoofer, the sound quality isn't quite as good as we had hoped for, but still decent nonetheless. Bass doesn't drop off before the 125 Hz mark and mids and highs are surprisingly well-balanced. The speakers get loud enough and don't distort even at maximum volume levels, which is important since gaming systems can get very noisy under load. For extensive gaming or listening to music we still recommend a good pair of headphones, however.

Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
the subwoofer fires downwards
the subwoofer fires downwards
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2038.237.32538.434.93135.334.34034.434.25033.233.26332.733.5803234.310031.936.312530.743.416028.955.120028.557.625027.45731527.258.440026.257.350025.860.763025.862.780027.763.8100025.261.2125025.265.5160024.562.9200024.269.2250023.967.6315023.864.7400023.462.5500023.664.3630023.568.2800023.567.61000023.6721250023.466.71600023.661.9SPL36.878.2N2.843.5median 25.2median 62.7Delta1.5435.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseDell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050) audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (78.2 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.1% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 41% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 52% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 26% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 69% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 6% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 92% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 4% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency Comparison (Checkbox selectable!)
Graph 1: Pink Noise 100% Vol.; Graph 2: Audio off

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Strangely enough, the power consumption during idle and and very low load levels is significantly higher than that of the more powerful Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming, which consumes between 35 - 50 % less. The platter-based hard drive likely consumes a little more than a primary SSD would, but since this is a low-power 5400 RPM unit, we wouldn't expect it to add more than an average of 2.5 W to the total power draw. At this time, we have no explanation for this behavior aside from what we've stated in the "Temperature" section of our review. At moderately-high to very high loads, the higher-end Inspiron does require more power, although the differences are not significant and in line with what we would expect given the more powerful hardware.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.31 / 0.51 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 9.1 / 10.3 / 13 Watt
Load midlight 75.6 / 115.2 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
i5-7300HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H, TN, 1920x1080, 15.6"
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, Intel SSDSCKKF256H6, TN, 1920x1080, 15.6"
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6"
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6"
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6"
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
i5-7300HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Hynix HFS128G39TND, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6"
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Liteonit CV3-8D128, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6"
Power Consumption
21%
3%
5%
-2%
2%
3%
Idle Minimum *
9.1
4.4
52%
8.5
7%
6.7
26%
7.7
15%
8.4
8%
8
12%
Idle Average *
10.3
6.8
34%
9.1
12%
8.9
14%
11.7
-14%
13.1
-27%
10.9
-6%
Idle Maximum *
13
8.3
36%
9.7
25%
10.8
17%
12
8%
14.2
-9%
11
15%
Load Average *
75.6
81
-7%
79.9
-6%
81.8
-8%
80.5
-6%
50
34%
76.7
-1%
Witcher 3 ultra *
83.8
97.7
-17%
92.2
-10%
94.9
-13%
Load Maximum *
115.2
127
-10%
121.5
-5%
122.7
-7%
128.4
-11%
111
4%
106.4
8%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Given the higher power draw at lower loads in combination with the same battery capacity (74 Wh) as the higher-end Inspiron 7000 Gaming, it's not surprising that the battery life takes a hit. Still, 9.5 hours of real-world WLAN usage (screen brightness set to 150 nits, balanced profile) is nothing to sneeze at, as the review laptop easily bests all competitors except for the more powerful sibling. Since the maximum power consumption is lower, our system does beat the Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming when running the Battery Eater Classic test. For a gaming system, the Inspiron is way above average for its class, making it a good choice for students who use the notebook for school during the day but want to be able to play games as well when all work is done.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
18h 11min
WiFi Websurfing
9h 29min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 02min
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050)
i5-7300HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, 74 Wh
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, 74 Wh
Lenovo Legion Y520-15IKBN-80WK001KUS
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, 45 Wh
Samsung Odyssey NP800G5M-X01US
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, 43 Wh
Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, 48 Wh
Acer Aspire VX15 VX5-591G-589S
i5-7300HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, 52.5 Wh
Gigabyte Sabre 15G
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, 47 Wh
Battery Runtime
-6%
-58%
-45%
-57%
-42%
-49%
Reader / Idle
1091
1174
8%
509
-53%
612
-44%
440
-60%
493
-55%
WiFi v1.3
569
622
9%
240
-58%
263
-54%
276
-51%
330
-42%
261
-54%
Load
122
81
-34%
46
-62%
76
-38%
47
-61%
77
-37%

Pros

+ sturdy, well-designed chassis
+ good system/gaming performance
+ excellent battery life
+ ease of maintenance

Cons

- subpar TN display with low contrast
- inaccurate colors and poor viewing angles
- no full-size up and down arrow keys
- no Thunderbolt or USB Type-C port

Verdict

In review: Dell Inspiron 15 7567. Test model provided by Intel
In review: Dell Inspiron 15 7567. Test model provided by Intel

In some ways, our review of the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming with i5-7300HQ and GTX 1050 wasn't quite as straight forward as we expected it to be: on paper, the review laptop is simply a less powerful version of the higher-end sibling. While the performance is indeed lower and just about where we would expect it to be, it's baffling that the system is noisier, louder, runs hotter and has a slightly shorter battery life as well. This list might sound like it should be a deal breaker, but it really isn't: the Inspiron is well built, sturdy, looks good, offers decent performance and easily lasts an entire day when performing every-day tasks. The one real downfall is the TN display which is reasonably bright, but suffers from poor contrast, inaccurate colors and very poor viewing angles.

The Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming is one of the longest-lasting budget gaming systems out there. The price is of $750 seems more than fair as well.

For $850 at the time of writing, the Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming can be ordered with a 256 GB SSD in addition to the GTX 1050 Ti and a 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS display. Given the lackluster TN display of the review notebook, this is an absolute no-brainer in our opinion should the budget permit the added expense. 

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050) - 08/07/2017 v6 (old)
Bernie Pechlaner

Chassis
84 / 98 → 85%
Keyboard
80%
Pointing Device
82%
Connectivity
0 / 81 → 0%
Weight
58 / 10-66 → 86%
Battery
92%
Display
74%
Games Performance
87%
Application Performance
78%
Temperature
90 / 95 → 95%
Noise
82 / 90 → 92%
Audio
56%
Camera
42 / 85 → 50%
Average
75%
80%
Gaming - Weighted Average

Price comparison

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567 Gaming (i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050) Laptop Review
Bernie Pechlaner, 2017-08- 9 (Update: 2019-04- 5)