Reader hotasha15 is further along in their research than most people who write to us. They know what they want (a gaming laptop) and the brand (Dell), and even roughly how much they want to spend.
But they're looking at two similar versions of this laptop: the Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming. They found last year's 7567 for $899 with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, and the 7577 with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q for $999. Both have 7th Gen Intel Core processors, though at those prices, the one with the lesser GPU has more storage (1TB versus 256GB with the 1060).
Hotasha15 wants to know if the GTX 1060 Max-Q is worth the extra $100. They also said they're worried about the Max-Q models not being as powerful as standard GPUs.
So let's answer that first. Max-Q is the 1060 running at peak efficiency, not power. But in our testing, the GTX 1060 Max-Q handily outperformed the GTX 1050 Ti, and in several cases was comparable to the regular GTX 1060. It's also VR-ready, so I'd say it's worth the extra $100 if you can spare it.
MORE: Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Review
But the 7577 also has an improved screen compared to the 7567. Neither of the two is a beauty, but the older model's screen is horrendously bad, and that's probably worth the money on its own. That leaves you with less storage, but you could always use an external drive for some games.
There's one wrench in the plan, though. Dell is leaving the Inspiron Gaming line behind in favor of the new G Series. In fact, the first models just went on the market, with Intel's 8th Gen Coffee Lake processors. The equivalent version of the Inspiron in the G Series is the Dell G5 Series 15, which uses a similar chassis and has the same screen size.
If you want the 1050 Ti version, you can get it for $949 with a Core i5 or $1,049 with a Core i7. Either way, you'll get a 128GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. A GTX 1060 Max-Q starts at $1,249 with a Core i7.
Newer is always great, so it depends on price. Our reader didn't say what their max price is, so we don't know what they're willing to spend. If they can afford it, the latest G5 should be a good choice (on paper anyway; we haven't reviewed it). But the older Inspiron 15 5000, while it lasts, should be a good deal. If you're getting the last-gen machine, though, splurge on the GTX 1060 version and make it last.
Credit: Laptop Mag
