Dell Inspiron 15 7580: Any owner?

I am interested in the latest Dell Inspiron 15 7580, with the upgraded Intel Whiskey Lake CPUs (i5-8265u and i7-8665u), coming with the Nvidia MX150, 2 RAM slots (up to 32 GB), dual storage (M2 + SATA) and a matte FHD IPS screen.

Since I can't find any reviews on the latest 15 7000 gen, I'm looking for current owners opinions about:

- CPU and GPU temperatures: I've read that the previous versions of the Inspiron with the 940MX / MX130 had throttling issues with the GPUs hardly capped at 70-72 °C. I don't if these issues were later solved by a BIOS update.

- Display quality, in particular in terms of brightness and contrast.

- System noise: both in terms of fan noise and crackling electric sounds (e.g. coil whine)

 

I'm also looking for information on this model and the only thing I found is a video on YouTube this week:



Maybe you find some answers un this video.

 

I just ordered the 14" version of the 'New' Inspiron series from Dell in Canada. I really wanted the 15" version as the weight difference is only about 0.75 lbs compared to the 14" but the price difference was not worth it. My configuration comes with an i5-8250U, MX-150 2GB, 1080P IPS and 256GB NVME SSD (swapping this out for my nephew's laptop). The 15" version has two memory slots, a bigger touchpad, USB-C and matte IPS screen. The 14" version only has one memory slot (single channel) and smaller form factor but also cost a lot less with sale promotion and student coupon applied. I can post an update on this thread when the laptop arrives and I've used it enough to know any flaws eg: coil and throttling. I don't think 2018 Inspiron 7000 series has a coil whine problem since I was contemplating between the Inspiron 14 and Latitude 14 with bigger battery but clearly has a coil whine issue from Notebookcheck.net review.

 

I found the following Link that has more information about the Inspiron 15 7580 :

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/9pbifu/inspiron_7580_trackpad_problem_return/

 

For the price though, I'd lean more towards the Huawei Matebook D (15.6") and the Asus S530 (15.6").

Both of which are cheaper and lighter than the Dell 15 7000.

If I didn't need a laptop right now, I would have waited for the Black Friday and got the Matebook D (on sale for introductory price in the summer but I missed the deal).

 

What are your quality impressions of this DELL 15 7000?
The screen, the keyboard, the material of the chassis, the construction.

removing the weight issue that things you liked?

 

I have had my 7580 for just a couple of days now. So far, I am relatively happy with everything but the display. I have the base HD display but it cannot compare with the one in my 6 year old XPS laptop. The colors are just not as vivid and the red is more of an orange than a true red. Overall the colors are just too warm. Still, if I had not compared them side by side, I probably would have been happy. You would think that after 6 years they would have improved the display, not made it worse.

I have not pushed my laptop much yet, so I cannot comment on noise or heat. So far it is quiet and barely warm.

 

My thoughts exactly, I've had my Dell 14 7000 for a few days. Build quality is superb, keyboard is excellent and trackpad is small but precise.

The screen is just average but if there's nothing beside it to directly compare it to, it's not too bad.

I'm able to undervolt by -100mv for the 8250U (stress tested with Prime95) and 850mv curve for the MX150.

The BIOS has a TDP throttle though, 20W max for the CPU/IGP under absolute full load.

Throttling does not happen in any games I've tried, it only happens with RealBench when the CPU, IGP and MX150 are all under full load.

Temps are good, max CPU is 85 degrees Celsius (RealBench) and MX150 is 65 degrees Celsius (RealBench).

Cinebench R15: 8250U - impressive score of 700 CB average and great score of 80 FPS average (single channel).

Planning on repaste with Liquid Metal after the 30 day return window expires.

*I was highly considering the Lenovo 720S which has a great screen, better keyboard/trackpad and larger battery. However, the 720S has massive throttling issues, unpredictable fan noise and no 2.5" hard drive expansion.*

 

Been playing with ThrottleStop for a couple days, I cannot remove the 20W TDP limit of the CPU, however I raise the Turbo Time Limit to 24 hours.

CineBench R15 is now constant 715 CB, 20W TDP still kicks in 5 minutes into 100% full load (locked in BIOS).

MX150 can be undervolt to 800mv with max temp of 60 degrees Celsius, however Heaven benchmarks 10% less FPS.

This is the same for the GTX 1050 in my G3, it can be undervolted to 800mv but 850mv gives 10% more performance.

So far I'm happy with this mobile machine that does not have any major throttling issue when temps are kept in check.

 

After playing with my new 7580 a bit more, I am less and less happy with the display. Again, if I did not have another laptop to compare it to, maybe I would have been okay with it. The color are just dull and it looks as if only half the color gamut is used. My magenta looks pink, the reds look orange, and the deep blue you would expect to see is closer to sky blue.
I was rather shocked to see that the monitor color depth reported by Windows is only 6-bit instead of 8-bit. Is that normal for laptops? My wife's HP x360 laptop is 8 bit and the colors on hers is much better. Looking at a smooth gradient color map (from Wikipedia), it does seem pretty bad. I can't imagine anyone using this laptop for any photography or graphic art applications unless another monitor is used. Still, everything else seems pretty good; I just hope I can live with the display.
The only problem I have seen so far is that occasionally videos on the web play at half or quarter speed. Closing the browser tab and restarting seems to fix it.

 

Might be a defect, perhaps talk to tech support to see if you can get a replacement.

I've decided to return my Inspiron 14" in favor of the 15" 7580 model.

There's some good Black Friday deals for the 7580 this week and I'm just more productive on a 15" screen despite the heavier weight.

I'll post an update on this thread when my Inspiron 7580 arrives.

 

I am surprised you give such feedback on the screen since it's an IPS panel I would have expected better.

I am looking into buying the model with the i7-8565U.

Can any of you owners comment on the battery life ?

The machine will be for my sister, with main use just some office apps and browsing, and eventually some photoshop work (not professional grade, so color-proofing is not a big deal)

 

Pulled out of the Dell 7580 and got an Acer SF315-52 (15.6") instead.

The Acer does not have a discrete GPU or Whiskey Lake CPU, however it's close to 1 lbs lighter, has a bigger battery rated at 17.2v (meaning no throttling on battery).

Both were the same price after tax on Black Friday, if I did not have to lug the laptop everyday to class, I would have gotten the Dell for the better specs.

 

Got the Acer turned out to be a lemon...

Powered it on once then put it to sleep to take a shower, and could not power it on again that night. It was in a very weird sleep mode which was consuming power but cannot power on, the laptop was very warm to touch on the bottom.

Next day after the battery drained fully, I was able to recharge it to full and power it on again and update the BIOS which fixed the issue. However, I returned it anyway because this should not happen brand new out of the box.

Also, there were still intermediate freezes and touchpad issues even after the latest BIOS update, so I placed an order the Dell 7580.

 

LaptopMedia.com review:

https://laptopmedia.com/review/dell-inspiron-15-7580-review-simple-yet-powerful/

Pretty good laptop for class, lighter than I thought at 4.1 lbs. Got it for a great price on Black Friday, I think I'll be happy with it when it arrives.

 

Laptop arrived yesterday, the factory OS install piss me off. Why are manufacture turning off the advanced power options in Windows nowadays?

The laptop is all I expected it to be and the BIOS options seem more featured than my Dell G3.

Keyboard travel distance is surprisingly not as good as the 14" version but better than the G3, trackpad is big and precise however I prefer the feel and precision of plastic trackpad on my G3.

Has good quality internal components, mine came with an Intel 9260 Wi-Fi, 256GB Toshiba NVME, Samsung 42 Whr battery, SK Hynix DDR-2666 and 2.5" hard drive bracket.

Temps are good and the same as the 14" version I returned, the 8265U can undervolt the same as the 8250U -100mv using ThrottleStop.

I only have three minor annoyances with the laptop which are not deal breakers for me. The screen is just average, I got a newer version of the BOE panel seen the review above. The colors accuracy is not ideal and the max brightness is about 230 - 240 nits. Color temperature seems a bit cool, probably 6800K - 7000K. Screen is better quality than the the 14" version though which was glossy and darker.

Exhaust fan pushed hot air backwards and downwards, I'm not a big fan of this orientation of hot air exiting the system. I prefer the exhaust fan setup of the 14" version and my G3, where this is a gap just above the keyboard and hot air exits in front of the screen panel moving upwards.

Default BIOS settings and default Windows install, I don't know why the default BIOS settings for this laptop is not optimal settings. Also, the BIOS does not report DDR-2666 installed even though HWMonitor does. Windows came with advanced power options missing, McAfee installed (on all Dell laptop but why?) and more bloat software than my G3.

All in all, a great travel laptop for my classes which I will enjoy using after I do a fresh install on Windows and re-paste. Considering the price I paid, I think I got a good deal and good performer for my daily tasks.

 

Anyone who has this laptop, how portable is it? I could've gone for something bigger with a GTX 1050 but got this purely for that reason.

 

Would be interested in knowing whether it is lightweight as well.

Any feedbacks after a few weeks of use?

 

I have mine now and so far I'm pretty happy with it. However the keys are far too small, anyone else feel this? I feel like I am typing at half the speed.

 

I received mine a few days ago, and I am very happy with it. I have a Precision 5530 (equivalent of the XPS 5970) for work and was contemplating buying the XPS for myself. I am very glad I went with a cheaper and very decent alternative.

The laptop seems well built, even though the one fan is a bit disappointing. The keyboard and trackpad are great. The palm rests are comfortable and do not get greasy as if you had eaten an entire chicken with your bare fingers. The XPS owners know what I am talking about. Fans can get noisy when playing, but I'd rather hear that than the atrocious coil whine of the XPS. It is pretty light as well, slightly heavier than the XPS, but definitely not a strain on your back.

The screen is not as bad as some make it to be, even though vastly inferior to the XPS. It is not suited for photography professionals, but I have had laptops with way worse displays, even in a higher price range. The purples and blues are not accurate, but the red part of the spectrum is decently represented. Overall the contrast is good, which makes it a pleasant display for me.

The speakers are excellent for bass, not so much for treble (saturation).

I undervolted the CPU by -90 mV and the GPU to 850 mV. Temperatures are good and stable. I am able to play Dota 2 with 60+ FPS.

Not sure about the battery life yet, it seemed pretty low when watching videos on Youtube (2hrs30 estimated time), but I am still unsure which video card is used and that might have something to do with it. I can't seem to find the power saving options either...

I dual boot with Ubuntu 18.04, and had to start by removing all the useless softwares (there are a ton of them), and free up the image and dell partitions on the SSD as there was little free space (128GB SSD).

All in all, I am very happy with my purchase, and would definitely recommend. I even find it more pleasant than the XPS in some aspects.

 

Battery life is not that good, I can get about 4-5 hours with brightness set to 50% and turbo boost disabled.

The good news is, the laptop support USB-C power delivery, preferably a 45w minimum USB-C powerbank would be ideal.

Ubuntu should run without problems with this laptop, it's certified for 18.04 LTS with Dell's custom kernel.

Laptop is about average in weight, mine weighs like 4.3 lbs with 2.5" Firecuda installed.