Up close with the Dell Inspiron 15 7000, an $800 gaming laptop

Big, black, ugly, heavy, and fingerprint-prone: that's what the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 looks like, at first...

Open or closed, it looks like a pretty boring computer. But wait...

Why is this air vent so... rakish? Is that a tint of red I see...?

Twin fans? Why could an $800 laptop possibly need such things? Let's find out...

That's because it's an $800 laptop that can play any PC game. Here's Fallout 4, running comfortably at 1080p and low detail settings. Grand Theft Auto V and The Witcher 3 are playable at 1080p and low detail as well.

You can completely max out the settings of less-demanding games like Superhot. And we were able to play Tomb Raider and BioShock Infinite well at 1080p resolution and high detail settings.

Dell didn't skimp too much on other components. The keyboard is thin but quite passable. I used it for a couple weeks with no issue.

Here's a closer look at the keys. You get a full numpad, as with many other 15-inch laptops.

You'll definitely need to plug in a mouse to play games. Even if you like using a touchpad, the Elan one in this Dell doesn't work particularly well.

Plenty of ports, too, including three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI 1.4 jack, Gigabit Ethernet, and a full-size, full-depth SD card slot.

The Inspiron 15 7000 has pretty loud speakers, and here's the built-in subwoofer to go with them. They work quite nicely for movies and games, even if I'd rather use headphones for my music.

Another look at one of the laptop's rear vents. The CPU and GPU are independently cooled, each with its own heatpipe and fan.

Another look at Superhot running on the Dell Inspiron 15 7000. The screen's nothing special, but the matte coating does cut down on distracting reflections.

One last look at the Dell Inspiron 15 7000.