Is the Dell Inspiron 15 5570 good for gaming?
Is the Dell Inspiron 15 5570 good for gaming?
Inspiron's lackluster gaming performance
The Dell Inspiron 15 used to be good at gaming, but this was a time before Dell decided to ax the gaming line of laptops from the series and create a brand new family — the G series. If you want to do some light Windows Store gaming while away from home and office, the mid-tier Inspiron 15 5570 is satisfactory for small games only with its integrated Intel GPU.
Depending on how you configure the Inspiron 15 5570, it's possible to have the notebook rock, at best, an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U processor, 8GB of RAM, and an AMD Radeon 530 Graphics with 4GB GDDR5 VRAM. It's a dedicated GPU, which is arguably what you need for gaming, but it doesn't really compare to NVIDIA's GTX offerings for laptops.
Dell's Gaming notebook series
For triple-A titles like The Witcher 3, Call of Duty, GTA V, and PUBG, you'll want to upgrade to the Dell G3 15 series. The entry model costs $800 and comes packing an 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8300H processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB mechanical hard drive, and the all-important NVIDIA GTX 1050 GPU with 4GB GDDR5 VRAM.
It's possible to configure the Dell G3 15 on the store with a GTX 1060 GPU, SSD, and 16GB DDR4 RAM, depending on available budget. Even with the GTX 1050 equipped, it'll be possible to enjoy the latest games with a few settings turned down. Honestly, you can get away with great portable gaming performance with the entry G3 15.
Hardcore gaming with Alienware
And when even the GTX 1050 just isn't enough, the Alienware catalog of notebooks will be powerful enough to handle the most demanding games. Costing vastly more than both the Inspiron 15 5570 and G3 15 ranges, this family of premium gaming notebooks is specifically engineered for more intense entertainment.
The base Alienware 15 model comes with an 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8300H CPU and overclocked NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU with 6GB GDDR5 VRAM. Available configurations allow you to spend vast amounts of funds and upgrade to an 8th Generation Intel Core i9-8950HK CPU, 32GB DDR4 RAM, and the NVIDIA GTX 1080 GPU with 8GB GDDR5X VRAM for good measure.
The Alienware 15 with an Intel Core i9 processor and GTX 1080 quickly becomes more powerful than many gaming desktop PCs.
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Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.