Dell’s new G7 gaming laptop is in a thinner chassis compared to the older model from 2018,
but sticking powerful hardware into a smaller space generally results in more heat, so just
how hot does the new G7 get? In this video I’ll be taking a detailed look at thermals
and seeing how much we can improve performance with some simple tweaks.
The new Dell G7 is available in different configurations, my model has the i7-8750H
CPU, Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics, and 16gb of memory running in dual channel, so expect
different results with different specs. You can find updated pricing for different models
linked in the description, and I’ll also note that Dell has already refreshed the G7
lineup with Intel's latest 9th gen CPUs, so expect slightly different results there.
On the bottom of the laptop there doesn’t appear to be many vents for air flow, they’re
just directly above the fans. Here’s what we’re looking at inside in terms of cooling,
with a couple of heatpipes shared between the processor and graphics, so a change in
temperature of one of these will affect the other.
The Dell Power Manager software allows you to change between a few different modes, however
I didn’t really find them to do too much, as we’ll see soon. I’ll also note that
while you can install the Alienware control center software, this did not give me any
fan control, the best you get is changing between the power manager profiles.
Thermal testing was completed in an ambient room temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, so
expect different results in different environments. I’ve tested idle down the bottom with the
quiet profile, and temperatures seemed about average while also being quiet, more on fan
noise later though. The rest of the results are from combined CPU and GPU workloads and
are meant to represent worst case scenarios.
The gaming results towards the upper half of the graph were tested by playing Watch
Dogs 2, as I find it to use a good combination of processor and graphics. The stress test
results shown on the lower half of the graph are from running the Aida64 CPU stress test
and Heaven GPU benchmark at the same time to fully load the system.
Let’s start with the stress test results, we can see that the ultra profile ran a bit
warmer under the same workload when compared to the default optimized profile, and we’ll
look at clock speed differences in the next graph. The ultra profile was providing slightly
better performance though, so I’ve used it for the majority of the testing. If we
apply a -0.15v undervolt to the CPU the temperatures don’t change, but when I add my Thermaltake
Massive 20 cooling pad we can lower the GPU by 6 degrees Celsius and the CPU by 4.
The gaming results weren’t too different, the GPU was slightly warmer in this game compared
to the stress tests, while the CPU undervolt managed to barely lower the CPU temperature.
With the cooling pad applied there were some nice improvements, lowering by 7 degrees on
the GPU and 6 on the CPU.
These are the average clock speeds for the same tests just shown. With the stress tests
we’re getting a small boost to CPU performance with the ultra profile enabled, which is why
it was a little warmer than the default optimized profile in the last graph. Under this workload
I found the power limits for the CPU would dynamically change, however on average over
a 30 minute period the optimized profile averaged a 30 watt TDP, while the ultra profile averaged
35 watts. When we undervolt the CPU the clock speed rises by more than 400MHz on all 6 cores,
and then a little extra was gained with the cooling pad in use.
I’m not certain why there was improvement to CPU clock speed with the cooling pad, I
wasn’t seeing thermal throttling, just power limit throttling, however the software was
clearly dynamically changing the CPU TDP as time went on. Perhaps with cooler temperatures
it’s smart enough to raise the TDP limit and improve performance, which would explain
the higher average TDP reported by HWInfo for this test.
Back to the clock speeds, the gaming performance out of the box was around 3.4GHz on all 6
cores in Watch Dogs 2, while the undervolt improved this by around 400MHz on all cores,
with no change seen here using the cooling pad, though as we saw earlier temperatures
were improved by a fair amount.
So to summarise, the CPU hits power limits under combined CPU and GPU load, preventing
thermals from getting out of control. The best improvement we could make was by undervolting
the CPU, which improved performance, while additional cooling did seem to help in some
cases.
These are the clock speeds I got while just running CPU only stress tests without any
GPU load. The full 3.9GHz all core turbo boost speed of the i7 was possible, so no change
from undervolting. When we look at the temperatures for the same test though we can see a large
improvement of 14 degrees Celsius, and this was due to a lower TDP, as less power is needed
while undervolted which equals less heat.
To demonstrate how this translates into performance I’ve got some Cinebench CPU benchmarks here.
I actually got the exact same results even though I take an average of 5 runs, not too
surprising given we got the same CPU clock speeds earlier. Things change a little with
the newer Cinebench R20 though, this test seems to be more intensive so was able to
cause some power limit throttling at stock, which is why the score was higher once undervolted.
So how do these performance boosts actually translate into games? I’ve tested with the
exact same Windows, Nvidia and game updates installed, the only changes were the ones
listed here.
Far Cry 5 was tested using the built in benchmark at 1080p. At ultra settings there was a 3.4%
improvement to average FPS with the CPU undervolted and graphics overclocked, with a larger 5.6%
boost to 1% low. The 1% low saw the biggest improvement at all setting levels, then at
the lower settings there was hardly any difference in average FPS, so for the most part we can
boost the performance in games with some simple tweaks.
If you’re after more gaming benchmarks with the Dell G7, check the card in the top right
where I’ve tested 20 different games.
As for the external temperatures where you’ll actually be putting your hands, at idle with
the quiet profile on it was only just getting to the low 30s, about average. While gaming
the wrist rest area remains cool, with the center getting into the mid 40s, warm but
not hot. The results were similar with the stress tests running, with the back getting
into the 50s and feeling hot to the touch, granted you won’t need to touch back there
except for the power button, though that is where the fingerprint scanner is. While gaming
on battery power the wrist rest area heats up a bit, as the discharging battery is directly
underneath, however the rest remains cool compared to the previous tests.
As for the fan noise produced by the laptop, I’ll let you have a listen to some of these
tests.
At idle with the quiet profile it was completely silent, no fan noise at all. While gaming,
or with the stress tests running in the optimized or ultra profiles, there was no change. The
fan was maxing out at around 52 decibels, a little below most other gaming laptops I’ve
tested while under the same loads.
Overall the new Dell G7 gaming laptop performed quite well in these tests without getting
too hot, at least when compared with the G5 that I tested previously which would hit 99
degrees under the same workloads. This seems to be due to power limit throttling that’s
present in the G7, so while the clock speeds aren’t quite as high as the G5, the temperatures
are much more reasonable. Let me know if you’d be interested in seeing a full comparison
video between the G5 and G7 down in the comments.
Undervolting the CPU was the best way to improve performance, essentially this results in the
CPU being able to do more with the power available. I would have liked to have seen better fan
control options though, like we were told about at CES, as the Dell Power Manager software
we’ve got doesn’t really give much flexibility.
The 180 watt power brick that Dell provided with the G7 appears to be adequate for these
specs, I wasn’t seeing battery drain during any of my testing. I don’t believe power
limits were put in place to prevent this, as the G5 I previously tested didn’t have
as much power limit throttling, though it ran hotter as a result, however I didn’t
see battery drain there either.
These differences in performance shown aren’t hard and fast rules, there are different factors
which will vary results, primarily the temperature of the room you’re running in, application
of thermal paste, and even the specific hardware which comes down to the silicon lottery. You
may not be able to undervolt or overclock your hardware the same as me, it depends on
the chip and its specific power requirements, so don’t just blindly copy my settings and
do some testing to find out where your stable point is for best results.
It may be possible to further improve temperatures by swapping the thermal paste, however as
this is a review unit that I have to send back I’m not able to change the paste, otherwise
the next reviewer will unknowingly report different results due to what I’ve done.
Undervolting, adjust power profiles, or using a cooling pad are much easier for most people
to do anyway, and as we’ve seen these tweaks did help improve performance of the Dell G7
gaming laptop.
Let me know how much of a performance boost you’ve found by undervolting your hardware
and what you thought of the improvements here, and course don’t forget to subscribe for
the full review of the new Dell G7 gaming laptop as well as future thermal testing videos
like this one.