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Dell at PAX West: Inspiron 7000 Gaming serves quad-core and GTX 1060 for $1,000

Dell Inspiron
Image used with permission by copyright holder
During the PAX West 2017 gaming show in Seattle, Dell introduced several new products to meet the needs of its PC gaming customers. The product rollout included a new AMD-powered Dell Inspiron desktop, an Intel-powered Inspiron laptop, and two Alienware-branded curved monitors. The PCs won’t be made available until sometime in September, and will follow just one of the two Alienware monitors that are now available to purchase.

Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop

For starters, the big news with Dell’s latest Inspiron desktop is that it’s now sold with a clear panel. That means if you configured the PC with optional Recon Blue lighting, you’ll be able to see all the tasty hardware inside washed with a blue hue without having to remove the side panel. You can also see this illumination through the angled intake grille on the front.

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As the specifications show, this gaming desktop is based on AMD processors including two of its latest all-in-one APU chips, and six of its most recent Ryzen processors. What you won’t find here are configurations for AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper chips, which are provided through Dell’s Alienware-branded Area-51 Threadripper Edition desktop instead.

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That said, you will see a slight difference between the APU and Ryzen versions, such as the number of available open expansion slots, and the number of ports. For instance, the Ryzen model includes an additional USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port on the front, and two additional USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports on the back. Neither PC provides options for Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 Gen2 connectivity.

In addition to Windows 10, the new Dell Inspiron ships with trial versions of Office 2016 and McAfee LiveSafe already installed. Dell’s other pre-loaded programs include My Dell, Dell Digital Delivery, Dell Backup & Recovery, Dropbox, SupportAssist, and Adobe’s PDF converter. Windows 10 will have Flipboard, Groove Music, iHeart Radio, and Twitter apps already installed.

Processor: A10-9700 APU (4-core)
A12-9800 APU (4-core)
Ryzen 3 1200 (4-core)
Ryzen 5 1400 (4-core)
Ryzen 5 1600X (6-core)
Ryzen 7 1700 (8-core)
Ryzen 7 1700X (8-core)
Ryzen 7 1800X (8-core)
Processor cooling: Air cooling
Liquid cooling
Expansion slots (APU model): 3x PCI Express x1
1x PCI Express x16
Expansion slots (Ryzen model): 2x PCI Express x1
2x PCI Express x16
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 560 (2GB)
AMD Radeon RX 570 (4GB)
AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB)
Memory (2x UDIMM slots): 4GB DDR4 @ 2,400MHz (4GB x 1)
8GB DDR4 @ 2,400MHz (8GB x 1) (4GB x 2)
16GB DDR4 @ 2,400MHz (16GB x 1) (8GB x 2)
24GB DDR4 @ 2,400MHz (8GB x 1 + 16GB x 1)
32GB DDR4 @ 2,400MHz (16GB x 2)
*32GB is the maximum
Storage (single): 500GB to 2TB 7,200RPM 3.5-inch HDD
500GB to 2TB 7,200RPM 2.5-inch HDD
128GB to 512GB M.2 SSD
Storage (dual): 128GB M.2 SSD + 500GB HDD
128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
256GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
256GB M.2 SSD + 2TB HDD
512GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
512GB M.2 SSD + 2TB HDD
Storage (optical): Tray-load Slim DVD-RW
Connectivity: Wireless N + Bluetooth 4.0 (up to 150Mbps)
Wireless AC + Bluetooth 4.1 (up to 867Mbps)
Wireless AC + Bluetooth 4.1 (up to 433Mbps)
Wireless AC + Bluetooth 4.2 (up to 433Mbps)
Ports (APU model): 2x USB 2.0 Type-A (front)
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A (front)
1x Headphone/microphone jack (front)
1x SD card reader (front)
————-
2x USB 2.0 Type-A (back)
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A (back)
1x P/S2 port (back)
7x Audio ports (back)
1x HDMI (back)
1x Gigabit Ethernet (back)
Ports (Ryzen model): 2x USB 2.0 Type-A (front)
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A (front)
1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C (front)
1x Headphone / microphone combo (front)
1x SD card reader (front)
————-
2x USB 2.0 Type-A (back)
4x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A (back)
1x P/S2 port (back)
7x audio ports (back)
1x HDMI (back, on graphics card)
1x Gigabit Ethernet
Audio: HD 7.1 Performance Audio
Waves MaxxAudio Pro
Power supply: 300 watts
460 watts
Case color and panel options: Recon Blue with solid panel
Recon Blue with clear panel
Dimensions: 18.07 x 8.50 x 17.23 inches
Starting weight: 30.27 pounds
Illumination: Optional Polar Blue LED lighting
Availability: September 2017
Starting price (APU model): $650
Starting price (Ryzen model): $1,250

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming Laptop

Here is Dell’s latest gaming laptop entry without rocketing into the Alienware zone. Packing seventh-generation Intel Core processors and Nvidia GeForce discrete graphics, the updated Inspiron 15 7000 laptop includes options such as an Ultra HD resolution, Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, and dual storage configurations.

As the specifications show, customers can configure the laptop with Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060 discrete graphics chip based on Max-Q technology. This enables the GTX 1060 (and higher graphics chips) to reside in laptops measuring as thin as 0.70 inches. Dell’s Inspiron 15 isn’t quite that thin, but customers configuring the laptop with the GTX 1060 won’t see the graphics chip’s performance throttled back to prevent excessive heat in a compact area.

“A striking, gamer-focused design with dedicated forward and rearward thermal vents provides the first clue to this system’s capabilities,” Dell says. “Behind those vents are extra-capacity heat exchangers connected by oversized piping to dual cooling fans with high-efficiency blade pitch.”

The laptop ships with Windows 10, and can be configured with Ubuntu in various regions. Software installed by Dell includes My Dell, Dell Digital Delivery, Dell Backup & Delivery, Dropbox, Adobe PDF Converter, SupportAssist, and trial versions of Office 2016 and McAfee LiveSafe. Windows 10 will have the Flipboard, Groove Music, iHeart Radio, and Twitter apps already installed.

Screen size: 15.6 inches
Screen type: In-Plane Switching
Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 (FHD)
3,840 x 2,160 (UHD)
Processor: Intel Core i5-7300HQ (4-core)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ (4-core)
Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4GB)
GeForce GTX 1060 w/ MaxQ (6GB)
Memory: 4GB to 16GB DDR4 @ 2,400MHz
*supports up to 32GB
Storage (single): 256GB SATA SSD
512GB PCI Express SSD
1TB 5,400RPM HDD
1TB 5,400RPM Hybrid w/ 8GB cache
Storage (dual): 128GB SATA SSD + 500GB HDD
128GB SATA SSD + 1TB HDD
256GB SATA SSD + 1TB HDD
Connectivity: Wireless AC (up to 867Mbps)
Bluetooth 4.2
Audio: Waves MaxxAudio Pro
2x stereo speakers
Camera: 720p webcam
Dual array digital microphones
Ports: 1x Microphone / headphone jack
1x HDMI 2.0
3x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A (one charges)
1x Thunderbolt 3 Type-C
1x SD card reader
1x Gigabit Ethernet
Backlit keyboard: Optional (red only in some regions)
Precision touchpad: Yes (optional backlighting)
Fingerprint reader: Optional in power button
Battery: 56WHr 4-cell
*GTX 1050/1050 Ti has 130-watt AC adapter
*GTX 1060 model has 180-watt AC adapter
Dimensions: 15.32 (W) x 10.82 (D) x 0.98 (H) inches
Starting weight: 5.82 pounds
Color options: Matte Black
Beijing Red
Operating system: Windows 10
Ubuntu (in select countries)
Availability: September 12, 2017
Starting price: FHD – $1,000
UHD – $1,500

Alienware 34 Curved Gaming Monitor

Finally, we have a pair of Alienware-branded curved monitors packing four customizable lighting zones and the trademark Alienware silver/black design. The AW3418DW model sports a curvature with a 1,900mm radius and an Ultra HD resolution while the AW3418HW has a wider curvature (3,800mm radius) but a lower maximum resolution.

According to Dell, the new Alienware monitors synchronize their lighting with Alienware laptops and desktops, but they work just fine on non-Alienware products, too. To customize the lighting, you can download Dell’s free desktop software and assign colors to four zones located on the back: three separate lines and the Alienware logo. Lighting effects include Static, Morphing, Probing, and Spectrum.

The new panels also ship with “gaming-centric” menu settings. Here you can enable built-in features such as the Timer, and the frames-per-second counter. There are also three pre-optimized profiles for first-person shooters, role-playing games, and real-time strategy games. Three additional profile slots are provided for your own customized group of settings as well.

Finally, all ports reside on the bottom of the display. The stand is actually hollow, and provides a removable cover so you can route all dangling cables inside, removing visual clutter. This stand is height adjustable, and provides plenty of tilt (-5 to 25 degrees) and swivel (-20 to 20 degrees) adjustment for your viewing pleasure.

AW3418DW AW3418HW
Screen size: 34.1 inches 34.1 inches
Screen type: In-plane Switching (IPS) In-plane Switching (IPS)
Screen resolution: 3,440 x 1,440 @ 120Hz (overclocked) 2,560 x 1,080 @ 160Hz (overclocked)
Screen curvature: 1900R 3800R
Synchronization technology: Nvidia G-Sync Nvidia G-Sync
Aspect ratio: 21:9 21:9
Maximum brightness: 300 nits 300 nits
Pixel pitch: 0.233 x 0.233 millimeters 0.233 x 0.233 millimeters
Pixel per inch: 109 109
Supported color spaces: sRGB 99 percent sRGB 99 percent
Color depth: 16.77 million 16.77 million
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1 1,000:1
Response time: 4 milliseconds gray to gray 4 milliseconds gray to gray
Ports: 1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x HDMI 1.4
4x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
1x Headphone jack
1x Audio output
1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x HDMI 1.4
4x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
1x Headphone jack
1x Audio output
Availability: August 30, 2017 Holiday Season 2017
Price: $1,500 $1,200
Kevin Parrish
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then…
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