Dell Inspiron 15 7000 series (7559)
For the more business-minded.
The Dell Inspiron is the polar opposite of devices like the ASUS G752VY and MSI GT72S. In contrast to their flashiness, the Dell is staid and business-like. There’s no weird coloured keyboard backlights or ‘game enhancement’ software, no big flair on the casing, no fancy PCIe SSD installation. It’s a simple, elegant and business-like device.
The GeForce GTX 960M graphics processor is only mid-range (though at the upper end of mid), the default memory is 8GB of DDR3 and there’s no SSD. Instead, it used a hybrid 1TB hard drive with 8GB of flash storage for caching.
Those more modest specs meant that it wasn’t terribly competitive on performance with the other devices we tested here. The lack of an SSD in particular hurt it, although it wasn’t as far off the mark as you might think in the overall performance tests. It also performed well in our battery life tests, with the 74Wh battery giving it a longer life than any of its competitors.
It’s also comfortable and easy to use. Although we prefer larger touchpads, this one works great, and the rubberised keyboard deck makes it very comfortable use. The keyboard has a simple white backlight and relatively shallow keys designed for faster typing rather than precision gaming.
With a sale price considerably less than some of its competition, the Inspiron 15 7000 series is genuinely good value. It doesn’t cram in all the latest tech, but if you’re not into that anyway and just want something that’s smooth and comfortable to use, Dell has the goods.