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These days, modern gaming laptops typically come in two flavors: huge red and black behemoths with lots of LED lights, or sleek smart workhorses you could use at a coffee shop. But what if there was a third option, one that screamed “interesting” but didn’t look like it fell from an alien spaceship? That’s where the new Dell G15 series comes in.
Dell’s latest G-series laptops continue to offer a great range of gaming specs at a more affordable price point than their higher-end Alienware siblings, this time in three retro-inspired colors that look like they belong in an arcade rather than dimly lit gaming room.
• product: Dell G-Series Laptops
• Launch date: Spring 2023
• Price: From $849
• Why it’s worth your attention: I’ve reviewed dozens of gaming laptops over the past few years, and the Dell G15 is the first laptop in a long time that I’m really excited about.
Of the many laptops littering Dell’s pre-CES event space in New York City, the G15 is the one that just about everyone is clamoring to get their hands on. The entire G-Series lineup is on display at Dell’s retro arcade games — including pinball and Street Fighter machines — which provide the perfect backdrop for this refreshingly colorful set of gaming laptops.
I was immediately drawn to the Pop Purple version of the G15, which exudes serious ’80s mall vibes with its beautiful mix of purple and baby blue hues. The laptop is also available in Quantum White and Shadow Gray, each of which is less eye-catching than purple, but still has an interesting two-tone design that immediately stands out from other gaming laptops. I also saw the larger G16 series, which has the same overall design, with a larger 16-inch display and softer Metallic Night Shade and Quantum White colors.
I haven’t had a chance to play games with the G15, but the specs look very promising on paper. Dell’s new gaming laptops feature all-new 13th-gen Intel Core processors (all the way up to a super-fast i9) and the latest Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics. You get a 15-inch 1080p display clocked at up to 165Hz — great for basic competitive gaming — along with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage.
The G15 also offers a decent selection of ports, including three USB-A connections (perfect for your mouse, keyboard, or headphones), a USB-C port, an HDMI input, and a headphone jack. Like all of Dell’s latest gaming PCs, the G-Series comes with the Alienware Command Center for fine-tuning everything from RGB lighting to game-specific settings.
I’ve reviewed dozens of gaming laptops over the past few years, and the Dell G15 is the first laptop in a long time that I’m really excited about. The G series has always offered great gaming performance for the money, but now it’s also one of the best –look at Gaming laptops — and should be a refreshing alternative to too aggressive (or too boring) competition. We’ll look forward to seeing how the G15 and G16 stack up against our picks for the best gaming laptops when we get our hands on them later this year.