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The F9 key connects you to the G15’s ‘Game Shift’ macro, which calls up optimised game ready settings with one press.

keyboard is of the usual Dell high quality, with a good action when you come to those non-gaming things like writing reports or just keeping in touch with mates on socials. Another great thing about the keyboard? It features a numeric keypad. Cleverly compressed so that it all fits in, if you’re used to a typical desktop keyboard you’d really miss that keypad if it wasn’t there, yet the majority of laptops jettison it in the name of space-saving. The trackpad also does its job well and, of course, if that’s not your thing you can easily connect a mouse, be it wired or wireless. The features continue, with a built-in 720p webcam, plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.2 connectivity as standard. As tested, 512GB of SSD storage is packed in, which is plenty to install a choice selection of your favourite games without resorting to an external drive. If you’re heading out for an extended gaming session, we’d recommend schlepping the power brick along, as with varied usage the G15 delivers around four to four-and-a-half hours of battery life, which is about par for the course for a dedicated gaming laptop. There’s a lot going on inside! With its super-impressive array of specifications and features, the Dell G15 5520 offers a whole lot of gaming bang for a surprisingly reasonable number of bucks.

Getting into top-notch PC gaming doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition.The Dell G15 5520 is a perfect example of a high-spec gaming rig that comes without an eye-watering price tag. Words Bec Summer

L ooking the part with its dark grey, grey, and more grey aesthetic – officially known as “Shadow Grey” – the design of the G15 manages to be striking without being lairy. Its 15.6-inch screen has quite a slim bezel, so size-wise this laptop packs a lot into a footprint that doesn’t demand a wealth of desk – or, of course, lap – space. A look around the unit reveals a pleasing array of ports, including the connectivity of HDMI 2.1, three USB-A (SuperSpeed 2.2 Gen 1), one USB-C (with DisplayPort support), and a wired ethernet (RJ45) connector. What also stands out on the backside of the G15 is a pair of large exhaust ports, and they’re critical for keeping things cool in the heat of battle. For inside this beastie beats a whole lot

of oomph for gaming. Processor-wise we’re talking the absolute latest in a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H, which can pump out up to 4.70 GHz. When coupled with the included NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6 dedicated graphics adaptor, plus 16GB of onboard RAM, there’s enough power at play to run any of your staple esports games, and pretty much any other game that you can throw at the G15, at an impressive clip. That 15.6-inch screen is a good one, too, with anti-glare properties and, joy of joys, it can skip along nicely at 120Hz. The only trade-off, and that’ll only be for more hardened types, is that the highest resolution that this G15 supports is Full HD (1080p). Here Dell have really met a commendable sweet spot between delivering performance and keeping the cost down. All the graphics in the world are nothing without decent sonic accompaniment, and the G15 pumps out an impressive noise that won’t break any records for bass levels, but still impresses – there’s none of that classic tinny laptop thinness. The keyboard features very effective orange backlighting which can, if required, be turned off. A neat little touch is that the workhorse WASD block of keys features additional square backlit surrounds, so they’re easy to aim your fingers at even when your game is hitting you full-on. The shallow

46 DECEMBER 2022

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