The laptop we reviewed is the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620, which is powered by the latest Intel Core i7-12700H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics.
Not only does this laptop boast higher specifications, but it also features a sleek and slim design. Another major use of this laptop is for video rendering. It is also NVIDIA Studio certified for advanced 3D rendering, drawing, and video editing.
Compared to other models previously reviewed, such as the Legion 5i Pro (2022) and HP Omen 16 (2022), the Inspiron 16 Plus feels superior in terms of design and portability. However, in terms of performance, we can’t judge it just yet, as all of these models have different specifications.
Specifications
| Screen | 16.0-inch, 16:10, 3K (3072 x 1920), anti-glare, non-touch, 300nits |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-12700H (24MB cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 14 cores) |
| Wireless Connection | Intel Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz) AX211 2×2 wireless card, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 [60W] |
| Memory | 32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR5-4800 MHz, dual-channel |
| Storage | 1TB M.2 2230 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD |
| Ports | 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 1x Thunderbolt 4 port 1x Universal headset jack 1x HDMI 2.0 port 1x Power adapter port |
| Battery | 6 Cell, 86Wh Battery with 130W AC adapter |
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Weight | 4.51 lbs. (2.05 kg) |
Design
The dimensions of the laptop are 356.78 x 251.90 x 16.95 mm, and it weighs around 2.05 kg. The thickness measurement didn’t break the record, but it was much better than the laptops we reviewed before.
At first glance, it is difficult to distinguish whether this laptop belongs to the gaming segment or not. Thanks to Nvidia Max-Q technology and design optimizations, the laptop is thinner and more elegant.
The entire laptop is dark green with a matte texture, reflecting the simplicity of the design. There is a traditional Dell logo in the center of the display case. The display is hinged at the bottom, so the bottom of the laptop is slightly raised above the ground, allowing the heat generated to dissipate effectively.
Display
This laptop has a 16-inch anti-glare IPS LCD display (16:10 aspect ratio), and it supports 3K (3072 x 1920) resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 300 nits brightness. The side bezels of the screen are very narrow. The upper bezel has a webcam and a slider that blocks the camera for privacy. The webcam supports Full HD video recording and includes a dual-array microphone for smooth video conferencing.
Dell hasn’t revealed the color gamut of the display, so a color gamut test is a must. After testing, we found the following information: a 99.5% sRGB color gamut, a 74.3% Adobe RGB color gamut, a 77% DCI-P3 color gamut, and an average color accuracy DeltaE of only 0.22. The laptop also supports Dell’s Triple Eye Protection technology, which reduces harmful blue light and eye fatigue without compromising color accuracy.
Keyboard and TouchPad
It comes with a standard carbon black backlit keyboard with a simple enough design. The key travel feels adequate, with a uniform backlight. However, the numeric keypad is missing from the keyboard. In a large 16-inch laptop, it’s easy to add a numeric keypad.
Ports
We’ve seen many manufacturers compromise on ports to make the laptop’s body slimmer and lighter. However, in the case of the Inspiron 16 Plus 7620, the notebook comes with almost all the important ports.
On the left side, there is a DC-in port, an HDMI port, a USB Type-A 3.2 port, and a USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 port. On the right side, there is a USB Type-A 3.2 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a TF card slot.
It is worth mentioning that the variant we received has a TF card slot. Another variant with an RTX 3050 Ti graphics has an SD card slot instead of a microSD slot. With these numerous ports, users don’t need to carry a docking station.
RAM and SSD
The model we received comes with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The 32GB RAM is dual-channel (2x16GB) DDR5 RAM at 4800 MHz. After removing the bottom cover, you can see two RAM slots on the motherboard, both of which are equipped with 16GB RAM modules. The laptop supports up to 64GB of RAM, but since the main purpose of this laptop is to play games, 32GB of RAM is more than enough.
To test the RAM performance, we used AIDA64 cache and memory benchmarks. In the tests, we obtained the following results: a read speed of 66,135 MB/s, a write speed of 64,695 MB/s, a copy speed of 62,483 MB/s, and a latency of 95.6 ns. The memory benchmark scores are pretty good when compared to the laptops we have previously reviewed.
This laptop comes with a Hynix 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD. It is worth mentioning that the SSD size is 2230. The laptop only has one M.2 slot, so you’ll need to replace the current SSD to upgrade the storage.
We also tested the SSD using CrystalDiskMark and obtained the following results: 3561.27 MB/s for sequential read speed, 2608.42 MB/s for sequential write speed, 76.31 MB/s for 4K random read speed, and 241.25 MB/s for 4K random write speed. The benchmark results are undoubtedly not impressive, as the laptop uses the old PCIe 3.0 Gen protocol.
Battery and Charging
The Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 comes with a 6-cell 86Wh battery. It occupies a large area on the motherboard. The label on the battery reveals some key information. The battery capacity is 7167mAh, and the model number is 69KF2. In addition to the large battery, the laptop also comes with a 130W AC adapter.
CPU
The Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 is powered by Intel’s 12th Gen Core i7-12700H processor, which has 14 cores and 20 threads. The processor has a 24MB cache. We also did a CPU benchmark as follows:
Cinebench R23: 1,779 points in the single-core test and 17,608 points in the multi-core test.
GPU
In addition to the Core i7-12700H processor, the Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 has an RTX 3060 mobile graphics card with 6GB of GDDR6 memory. It is based on the GA106 Ampere architecture and has a 192-bit memory bus that supports the PCIe 4.0 protocol. We also did some benchmarking of the GPU.
3DMark Time Spy: The GPU test score is 6,796 points, approximately 25% higher than the RTX 2060’s score.
V-Ray GPU CUDA: With GPU Cuda acceleration turned on, the score was 772 points, meeting the needs of most 3D modeling software.
Adobe Premiere Pro: With CUDA acceleration enabled, the score reached 642 points, indicating that editing 4K video will not lag, and you don’t need to use proxies to play 4K videos in real-time.
Adobe After Effects: With CUDA acceleration enabled, the notebook scored 1,158 points, indicating that it can easily handle more complex video effects.
Cooling System and Stress Testing
The cooling system of the Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 consists of two fans and five heat pipes. The manufacturer has also designed ventilation holes on both sides of the bottom cover. Based on the specifications, the cooling system of the Inspiron 16 Plus seems to be good. To check its performance, we stress-tested the CPU and GPU separately.
CPU Stress Test: For this test, we used the AIDA64 FPU. After 15 minutes of testing, the CPU temperature rose to 62°C, and the power consumption stabilized at 45W.
GPU Stress Test: We used the FurMark Benchmark for this test. Thanks to the RTX 3060’s Dynamic Boost technology, the GPU consumes around 65W, while the temperature is around 60°C.
Combined Test: In this test, we used the same applications as in the standalone test. After 15 minutes of testing, the CPU consumed around 36W and the temperature was around 68°C, while the GPU consumed 60W and the temperature was around 65°C. The overall power consumption during the test was 95W.
Through testing, it was observed that the laptop could efficiently handle these aggressive factors. Further, it didn’t compromise the comfortable working experience and didn’t produce noise during heavy usage. In this aspect, the Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 is superior to its competitors (including HP Omen 16 (2022) and Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022).
Comprehensive Testing
In this testing phase, the overall performance of the notebook can be determined. For this test, we used two applications, PCMark 10 and CrossMark.
CrossMark: In this test, the overall performance score was 1,865 (including 1,746 points in Productivity, 2,010 points in Creativity, and 1,768 points in Response Capability). These scores indicate that the laptop can easily handle all daily office work tasks.
PCMark 10: In this test, the overall score was 7,055 points (including 10,186 points in Common Functions, 8,972 points in Productivity, and 10,453 points in Content Creation). Well, these test results are not as good as expected.
Also Read: Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 Review (Core i7-1260P, Iris Xe)
Summarize:
If you are looking for laptops in the gaming segment and business segment, then the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 is the best choice. The laptop boasts an eye-catching design and impressive performance, thanks to its Core i7-12700H processor and RTX 3060 graphics. According to various benchmark results, this laptop is not only suitable for the gaming sector but also for productivity tasks.
The laptop we received is currently priced at $1,949. However, if you’re short on budget, you can also buy the Inspiron 14 Plus series, which offers the same design but with slightly lower specifications and dimensions.
This is not a business laptop at all. Dell doesn’t have a compatible docking station in their program. Docking stations of other brands don’t meet the 130 Watt power supply restriction, so you still have to use the Dell power supply next to the docking station.
“The benchmark results are undoubtedly not impressive as the notebook uses the old PCIe 3.0 Gen Protocols.”
The statement about the M.2 NVMe SSD is incorrect in this article. This laptop is capable of PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe, up to 64 Gbps with a max storage size of 2TB in the 2280 form factor and PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe, up to 64 Gbps with a max storage size of 1TB for the 2230 form factor. The tech manual lists all these.
It’s unfortunate Dell still ships these laptops with Gen 3 SSDs. The best advice is to buy the lowest storage size for your configuration and replace the PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
Right now it’s on sale for 1499 from Dell.
This model has chronic overheating issues. The first laptop Dell sent required over 10 hours of technical support and three major repairs, including the replacement of the motherboard, within the first 90 days. The new motherboard began melting down within four days. Dell sent a replacement. I have had it for three days and it is already overheating, already making me spend hours on the phone with technical support. Just like last time, no improvement. It sits on a flat desk and runs only office software. I’m a postdoc and this has been a nightmare. Do not buy. Dell won’t take it back after 30 days (and replacements follow the date of your original warranty) and it is unusable. Huge $1500 mistake.
Dell offers a 30-day money-back policy for its laptops, so why can’t your laptop be refunded?
I got the 7620 two days ago. It has a horrible battery life of 2.5 hours, and that’s it (playing a Full HD movie). When charging it back up, the bottom gets really hot. Thermals seem to be an issue. Even when idle the fans are at work, cooling the system down. It looks great and is a good performer, but with this battery life, it isn’t usable for me at work.
It is again the worst laptop from Dell. I purchased this laptop in October 2022. I have been using it for the last 6 months. It does not work well with Windows 11 enterprise (with proper license). The processors got overloaded for no reason. freezes many times. The touchpad stopped working. I got an email that it will take 2+ months for the touchpad to be replaced. It’s a touch screen and try using it folded. You will burn yourself because of their design, as HEAT is directly released to your stomach. Really REGRETTING this BUY DECISION. Got driven by specs. Last time, in 2015, I purchased a Dell having issues with power loss whenever I picked up the laptop. Tens of visits could not be solved by their Dell technician which was solved in one visit by a local technician (because one internal wire insulation was broken and touching the aluminum frame). They will call you many times but have useless technicians. Lost my trust in this brand. NO MORE of DELL on my NEXT PURCHASE!!
The laptop’s performance has left me completely dissatisfied. On multiple occasions, it has turned on by itself after shutting down, and the fans continue to run for hours when I try to turn it off. There have also been instances where I had to press the power button several times to get it to start up. In short, this laptop is riddled with technical defects. Despite my request for a replacement or repair, the company has refused to comply. I strongly advise against purchasing this product, as it would be a waste of money.
Hi, soulee06,
Thanks for the detailed response. You’ve answered most of my questions. If the SSD is up to 64 Gbps speed, which SSD would you recommend? I am considering between these.
1. https://www.ebuyer.com/1409478-kingston-kc3000-2tb-m-2-2280-gen4-nvme-ssd-skc3000d-2048g or
2. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B7LDSHMX?smid=A2KVF7QXNCLV8H&tag=pepperugc03-21&ascsubtag=2512607259
3. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BQJ2KLSQ?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=pepperugc03-21&ascsubtag=2512607239&th=1
Thank you.
The Dell Inspiron 16 plus 7620 laptop has unfortunately been plagued by several issues. It tends to unexpectedly shut down and restart in the middle of tasks, which can be quite frustrating. I purchased this new laptop, but within just two months, it began overheating frequently. Dell’s response was to replace the motherboard.
One major drawback is the absence of a power light indicator, making it unclear whether the laptop is in sleep mode or fully shut down. This has led to instances where I thought I had shut it down, only to return and find my battery drained.
In terms of both design and performance, this laptop falls short, and I wouldn’t recommend it to others. Dell’s approach seems to be more about repairing than replacing, even when there are recurring issues. It feels like paying a premium price for what should be a new laptop but comes with refurbished-like problems.
In summary, I would strongly advise against purchasing this product. The list of issues with it seems endless.
This laptop is the worst I’ve ever used. Problems with the power button and fingerprint scanner. Power leak on the battery when idle. I can’t turn it off, I have to hibernate. Worst technicians and hundreds of useless support calls like terrorists. Fans are always on, even when the CPU load is 5%, and this is quiet in my Dell. I can’t install the Dell app. Windows was reinstalled in the first 2 days. I will never buy Dell again.