Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 review: The do-it-all multimedia laptop

The 2022 Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 directly succeeds the 2021 Inspiron 16 Plus 7610 by introducing 12th gen CPUs and faster GeForce RTX GPUs to replace the 11th gen CPUs on last year’s model. The manufacturer has even revised the chassis for a different look after just a year in the market for the series. Our test unit comes configured with the Alder Lake-H Core i7-12700H CPU, 65 W GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, and 16:10 3072 x 1280 IPS display for approximately $1400 USD.

Other SKUs with the Core i5-12500H, 60 W RTX 3060, and 1920 x 1200 touchscreen are also available. A 2-in-1 version of the model exists called the Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 2-in-1. Competitors in this space include other midrange to high-end 16-inch multimedia or creator laptops like the Lenovo Yoga 7 16IAP7 , Huawei MateBook D 16 , Acer Swift X , Asus Vivobook Pro 16X , or even the MSI Creator Z16 .

More Dell reviews: Visually, the differences between the 2021 and 2022 models are immediately noticeable. The ventilation grilles along the sides and rear, for example, are now rectangular and ovals, respectively, instead of circles. The chrome-cut edges and corners are now gone for a more monochrome and less ornate appearance.

Build quality remains about the same. The metal base twists and creaks a bit more than on a pricier XPS or Spectre and this is especially true of the lid. We were hoping that all the visual changes would lead to a stronger chassis, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.

If you’re still rocking the 2021 model, then you’re not missing very much from a design standpoint with the 2022 model. One of our complaints about the Inspiron 16 Plus 7610 was its weight and this continues to be true for the 7620 despite the chassis redesign. At 2 to 2.

1 kg, the system is a few hundred grams heavier than the 16-inch Acer Swift X or Huawei MateBook D 16. The new design isn’t any smaller either as dimensions are actually slightly larger in footprint over the 7610. The 7620 carries all the same ports as found on the 7610 despite the exterior changes.

A second USB-C port like on the Lenovo Yoga 7 16 Gen 7 would have been nice to have given how large and heavy the unit is. Transfer rates with the SD card continue to be very slow. It’s clear now that Dell wants users to upgrade to the pricier XPS series if they want faster SD card performance.

Note that the RTX 3060 SKU comes with a MicroSD reader instead of a full-size one. SKUs can be configured with either the Intel AX201 or AX211 for Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, respectively. The AX211 in our unit would exhibit excellent receive rates when paired to our 6 GHz router, but transmit rates are not as steady as expected even after multiple retries.

Dell has upgraded the webcam from 720p or 1 MP on the Inspiron 16 Plus 7610 to 1080p or 2 MP on the 7620 model for cleaner images. There is support for Windows Hello and a physical webcam shutter for privacy. The bottom panel comes off easily with just a Philips screwdriver.

Once inside, users will notice the revised cooling solution when compared to the older 7610. The changes have actually removed one SODIMM slot and one M. 2 SSD slot from the 7620 leaving just one SSD slot and one SODIMM slot to work with as shown by our images below.

More confusingly, users who opt for the RTX 3060 SKU will have 2x SODIMM slots. 8 GB of RAM comes soldered onto our board for a maximum of 40 GB if configured with a removable 32 GB DDR5 RAM module. RTX 3060 SKUs can be configured with up to 64 GB since they have 2x SODIMM slots and no soldered RAM.

There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. The standard one-year limited warranty applies if purchased in the US. Dell has revamped the keyboard this year to exclude the numpad.

The typing experience is otherwise similar to the Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 2-in-1 as the keys are still slightly softer than the keys on the LG Gram 16 or HP Spectre series. The clickpad on our 2022 model is smaller than the clickpad on the 2021 model (11. 5 x 8 cm vs.

13. 5 x 9 cm) to be on equal footing with the clickpad on the Inspiron 16 7620 2-in-1. The new Mylar surface works great for cursor control as it’s smooth when gliding quickly yet a little sticky when gliding slowly for more accurate clicks.

Clicking on the clickpad is still softer and spongier than we would like, however. Interestingly, Dell has changed panel suppliers from AU Optronics on last year’s Inspiron 16 Plus 7610 to BOE for this latest model. Response times are slightly faster for less severe ghosting, but everything else remains mostly the same including the full sRGB coverage, ~1000:1 contrast ratio, and ~290 nit maximum brightness.

The viewing experience is good but still a few steps down from the XPS series or the OLED panel on the Asus VivoBook Pro 16X . Picture quality is noticeably grainier because of the aggressive matte overlay while colors aren’t nearly as vibrant as on OLED. We understand that the Inspiron series isn’t supposed to be top-of-the-line, but it’s disappointing that Dell didn’t make any significant changes to the display this year.

There are three 300-nit panel options to choose from: 3072 x 1920 matte non-touch, 1920 x 1200 matte non-touch, and 1920 x 1200 glossy touch. Our measurements below reflect only the higher resolution panel. The display is well calibrated out of the box much like what we discovered on the 7610.

Average grayscale and color DeltaE values would sit at 1. 4 and 1. 88, respectively, while our own calibration attempts would improve the averages even further to just 0.

5 and 0. 42. If you value sRGB accurate displays, then you’ll like what you’ll see here.

Outdoor visibility is comparable to last year’s model since maximum brightness has not changed. The Lenovo Yoga 7 or Asus VivoBook Pro 16X have brighter displays, but glare from their glossy overlays is more difficult to avoid. We set our unit to Performance mode via Windows and Ultra Performance mode via the pre-installed MyDell software prior to running any benchmarks below.

Users should become familiar with MyDell as it the hub for warranty concerns, product registration, battery charging settings, and performance modes. Nvidia Optimus comes standard with no MUX option. Raw multi-thread performance is about 30 to 50 percent faster than the last generation Core i7-11800H to represent a fairly significant year-over-year boost.

Performance sustainability could be a bit better, however, as CineBench R15 xT scores would drop by about 18 percent when running the benchmark in a loop. We’re not sure how much of a performance dip users should expect if downgrading to the Core i5-12500H configuration as we’ve yet to test any laptop with such a CPU as of this writing. PCMark 10 results are consistently higher than on the previous generation Inspiron 16 Plus 7610 as well most other 16-inch multimedia laptops.

LatencyMon reveals minor DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs on our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise smooth with just a single dropped frame during our minute-long test video. Our test unit comes with a budget 512 GB PCIe4 x4 M.

2 Kioxia SSD for sequential read and write rates of up to ~2700 MB/s each. A copper heat spreader lies on top to aid in cooling. The drive in our unit would exhibit no performance throttling issues when running DiskSpd in a loop.

Graphics performance from our GeForce RTX 3050 Ti is only about 10 percent faster than the RTX 3050 in last year’s model. Though the RTX 3050 series is generally disappointing since the older and cheaper GTX 1660 Ti is superior, at least Dell’s implementation here is faster than most other laptops sporting the same GPU. Upgrading to the RTX 3060 configuration is expected to boost graphics performance by up to 20 percent.

The GPU would be limited to a 60 W TGP, however, which is on the lower-end of the spectrum for mobile RTX 3060 options. Fan noise is ever present as both fans are never truly idle even when sitting on desktop with no running applications. At its quietest, we’re able to record a noise of 25.

7 dB(A) against a silent background of 23. 3 dB(A) even when set to the “Quiet” power profile. Additionally, it takes a while for the fan noise to calm back down after running high loads like games.

After closing Witcher 3 , for example, the fans would remain loud for several minutes thereafter. Fan noise would stabilize at 49. 2 dB(A) when running Witcher 3 on Ultra Performance mode or 46.

1 dB(A) if on Balanced mode to be louder than the Vivobook Pro 16X equipped with the same RTX 3050 Ti GPU. The high 40 dB(A) range has more in common with high-power gaming laptops than other multimedia laptops. Hot spots are on the very center of the keyboard where temperatures can reach 50 C when running high loads like games.

Other 16-inch laptops like the Asus Vivobook Pro 16X , Lenovo Yoga 7, and even the older Inspiron 16 7610 are cooler by more than a few degrees when under similar loads. The palm rests can be warmer than expected as well at 30 C compared to the more common mid 20 C range. The Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 is certainly more of a desk laptop than a lap laptop.

When running Prime95 stress, the CPU would reach 3. 5 GHz and 80 W for the first 15 seconds or so until core temperature hits 90 C. Thereafter, clock rates and board power draw would gradually fall before stabilizing at 2.

3 GHz and 50 W, respectively, in order to maintain a core temperature of 86 C. Running this same test on the 2021 model would result in slightly lower core temperatures and a board power draw of 83 C and 45 W, respectively. GPU clock rate, temperature, and board power draw would stabilize at 1627 MHz, 85 C, and 64 W, respectively, when running Witcher 3 compared to 1837 MHz, 69 C, and 63 W on the Inspiron 16 Plus 7610.

There’s no question that the processors in the 2022 model are running warmer in order to provide higher performance levels. Running on battery power limits performance even if set to Ultra Performance mode. A 3DMark 11 test on batteries would return Physics and Graphics scores of 10252 and 8609 points, respectively, compared to 22210 and 18923 points when on mains Power consumption is similar to the 2021 model when idling on desktop or when running very low loads.

When running higher loads, however, the 2022 model becomes more demanding especially if such loads are CPU intensive. Running Witcher 3 , for example, draws only 5 percent more power while Prime95 would draw a whopping 72 percent more. The significantly higher consumption is in line with most other laptops we’ve tested thus far powered by 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs.

We’re able to record a maximum draw of 137 W from the medium-sized (~15. 3 x 7. 5 x 2.

6 cm) 130 W AC adapter. Dell has made no changes to the AC adapter or its rated capacity despite the more power-hungry CPU. Battery capacity hasn’t changed from last year’s model for similar runtimes between them.

Users can expect 9. 5 hours of real-world WLAN use on the Balanced power profile. A lesser 56 Wh battery option is available on some SKUs for a lighter overall weight.

Charging from empty to full takes about 2 hours with the included barrel AC adapter. The system can also be recharged via third-party USB-C chargers. The most notable advantage of the Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 when compared to the 7610 is its 12th gen Intel Core-H CPU as it offers up to 50 percent faster multi-thread performance.

If your workloads can exploit the faster processor, then the 7620 may be a worthwhile investment over its predecessor. Most of the other changes are a sidestep for the series or only relatively minor upgrades at best. For example, the higher resolution 2 MP webcam is nice, but it’s nowhere near the 5 MP webcams on the HP Spectre or Envy 16.

The revised chassis design is nice as well, but it doesn’t really make the system any lighter, smaller, or stronger than the older 7610 design. Alternatives like the lighter Asus VivoBook Pro 16X come with the RTX 3050 Ti and an OLED panel the latter of which our Dell still doesn’t offer. A faster refresh panel, such as the 120 Hz panel on the HP Envy 16, would be a great option to have.

The Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 is a lot faster than the 7610 when it comes to CPU performance. Otherwise, most everything else is largely the same or even worse such as the warmer temperatures and fewer expansion slots. Meanwhile, several other changes can be seen as downgrades such as the omitted numpad, smaller clickpad, higher power consumption under load, warmer temperatures, and fewer number of SODIMM and M.

2 SSD slots. It’s still a powerful system with both the colors and performance fit for casual gaming and content creation, but it’s not exactly a homerun when some features are lacking. Amazon currently has one configuration available with the Core i7-12700H, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 3K display, and RTX 3050 graphics for $1450 USD.

We recommend ordering directly from Dell for more options. .