Dell G16 is a larger, more powerful budget gaming laptop

Dell’s G-series gaming laptops are meant to provide a budget-friendly option for gamers, especially when compared to their more expensive Alienware machines. But the new Dell G16-7620 looks to be a beast of a gaming laptop.

This a significant departure from past G-series machines. The previous-generation G15 was decent, but compared to the Alienware lineup, it lacked the best cooling, graphics, refresh rates, and other mainstays of high-end gaming laptops. The G16 appears to be different.

An open Dell G16 laptop with its lid open.

For starters, the Dell G16 features a new Intel Alder Lake 12th-gen 14-core i7 processor (up to 4.7GHz). The previous Dell G15 had a 10th-gen eight-core i7 processor. This is a huge spec bump for the G-series, but even more surprising is that the G16 now has the same processors as the high-end Alienware X-series. It even renders the older 2020 Alienware m17 R5 obsolete, although Dell is still selling that model on its website.

The G16 has three graphics tiers to choose from. The base model comes with a Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti and a 90W power supply. You can upgrade that to an RTX 3060, which brings it in line with the Alienware X15 base model, or you can max out the G16 with an 8GB RTX 3070 Ti and 120W power.

The screen on the new Dell G16 is bigger and clearer than the previous model. It sports a 16-inch QHD display with a 165Hz refresh rate. Dell managed to pack that into a frame with much smaller bezels than the previous model. It looks a lot like an Alienware display, which also sports a QHD panel with the same refresh rate.

But Dell had to make some sacrifices to its machine to keep its Alienware line on top.

For starters, this new G16 only comes with a 720p webcam. The Alienware models sport an Alienware-proprietary 1080p HD camera, so streamers will want to get the more expensive unit or purchase a higher-end peripheral camera.

When it comes to memory, the G16 base model starts at a measly 8GB of DDR5 RAM. Of course, you can upgrade up to 32GB, which any gamer will want to do. 8GB is too small for a gaming laptop with specs such as these and is clearly an attempt by Dell to force consumers to pay more for upgraded machines. You’ll want at least 16GB, with which the base model Alienware X15 begins.

Finally, the Dell G16 base model comes with 512GB of SSD storage and three USB-A ports, but it has only one USB-C port, which is also the charging port. With an unimpressive 56WHr three-cell battery in the base model, you will want to keep your machine plugged in most of the time during intense gameplay. Good luck plugging in any USB-C peripherals at the same time, unless you buy a bunch of dongles. The Alienware includes a powerful six-cell lithium-ion battery.

Overall, Dell’s new G16 gaming laptop is a beast in performance. The big QHD display, Alder Lake chipset, and powerful GPU options make it a fantastic gaming machine for most gamers. However, Dell sacrificed RAM and ports to keep it below its own Alienware line. This shouldn’t stop most gamers from taking a second look at the powerful new Dell G16.