Dell Vostro 16 7620 review

There is one type of device that makes us really excited. Thin, light, sleeper office laptops, which come with powerful processors and gaming graphics cards. Today, we have one such notebook, and it is called the Vostro 16 7620. What you can immediately take from the name, is that it comes with a 16-inch display. Ultimately, the laptop is a successor of the Vostro 15 7510, which was a 15-inch laptop.

This continues a trend we see in the mobile business world, where more and more manufacturers convert their series to a 16:10 aspect ratio, which inherently results in larger screen size. Apart from this, there is another quite interesting thing about the laptop – its hardware.

You can max it out with a Core i7-12700H and an RTX 3050 Ti (65W) – a super powerful processor and an entry-to-medium level gaming GPU. Nevertheless, it supports ray tracing, which was something unimaginable a couple of years ago. On the other hand, there is one inherent downside of the powerful hardware, and it is the shortened battery life. We don’t really know if this will be the case for this laptop, but we’ll find out shortly.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-vostro-16-7620/

Contents


Specs Sheet

Dell Vostro 16 7620 - Specs

  • BOE JFDKM-NV16WUM (BOE0A34)
  • Color accuracy  6.6  5.4
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 4000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 40GB
  • OS
  • Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Home, Windows 10 Home, Windows 11 Pro
  • Battery
  • 56Wh, 3-cell
  • Body material
  • Aluminum
  • Dimensions
  • 356.78 x 251.90 x 16.95 - 18.99 mm (14.05" x 9.92" x 0.67")
  • Weight
  • 2.02 kg (4.5 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 2x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • HDMI
  • 2.0
  • Card reader
  • SD, SDHC, SDXC
  • Ethernet LAN
  • 10, 100, 1000 Mbit/s
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.2
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • optional
  • Web camera
  • FHD
  • Backlit keyboard
  • optional
  • Microphone
  • Digital Array Microphones
  • Speakers
  • 2x 2.5W Woofers + 2x 2.5W Tweeters
  • Optical drive
  • Security Lock slot
  • Wedge Lock

All Dell Vostro 16 7620 configurations

#CommissionsEarned

What’s in the box?

This notebook comes with pretty standard packaging. It includes some paperwork and a 130W charger.


Design and construction

This device is entirely made out of aluminum. The same was the case with the more affordable Vostro 16 5620. However, unlike the 5620, the 7620 is very rigid and sports a good resistance to flex.

Its profile starts from 17mm and goes to 19mm at its thickest point. In terms of weight, the device stops the scales at 2.02 kilos, which is pretty good.

Here, you not only can open the lid with a single hand, but you also get very thin bezels all around the matte display. Furthermore, there is a Full HD Web camera above it, which features a privacy shutter. In addition, the lid acts as a support for the base, and lifts its backside slightly from the ground, thus providing more airflow to the fans.

The keyboard itself isn’t stellar. It has a slightly short key travel (provided you want to use it as a gaming device). On the other hand, the feedback is clicky, and you get a backlight and a NumPad section. We also shouldn’t forget the optional fingerprint reader embedded in the power button.

As for the touchpad, it is a unit of decent size, with smooth gliding, and accurate tracking.

Then, on the bottom panel, you will find two of the four speakers, which produce a quite loud sound (the other two are above the keyboard). Plus, there is a ventilation grill for the cool air, while the heat gets exhausted from one vent on the back, and one on each side of the machine.

Ports

On the left side, there is the power plug, an HDMI 2.0 connector, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and a Thunderbolt 4 connector. Switch sides, and you will find a security lock slot, an SD card reader, a LAN port, another USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and an audio jack.


Disassembly, upgrade options, and maintenance

To get inside this notebook, you need to undo 9 Phillips-head screws. Two of them are captive, and lift the two top corners of the bottom panel. This allows you to easily open the panel with a plastic tool.

Our device came with the smaller 56Wh package. It lasts for 7 hours of Web browsing or 6 hours of video playback. To get the battery out, you have to undo 5 Phillips-head screws. Then, unplug the connector from the motherboard and lift it away.

Here, you get 8GB of DDR5 RAM soldered, while a single SODIMM slot allows you to expand the memory to up to 40GB. Storage-wise, there is one M.2 PCIe x4 slot with Gen 4 SSD support.

The cooling comprises a total of three heat pipes, three heat sinks, and two fans. Thankfully, the VRMs and the graphics memory have heat spreaders on top.


Display quality

Dell Vostro 16 7620 in our configuration is equipped with a WUXGA IPS panel with a model number BOE JFDKM-NV16WUM (BOE0A34). Its diagonal is 16″ (40.6 cm), and the resolution is 1920 х 1200 pixels. The screen ratio is 16:10, and we are looking at a pixel density of – 141 ppi, and a pitch of 0.18 х 0.18 mm. The screen turns into Retina when viewed at distance equal to or greater than 61cm (24″) (from this distance one’s eye stops differentiating the separate pixels, and it is normal for looking at a laptop).

Viewing angles are excellent. We offer images at 45° to evaluate image quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

The measured maximum brightness of 286 nits in the middle of the screen and 273 nits as an average for the whole area, with a maximum deviation of 11%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen is 6710K – slightly colder than the sRGB standard of 6500K.

In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. In other words, the leakage of light from the light source.

Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work. The contrast ratio is good – 990:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows Dell Vostro 16 7620’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 50% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of Dell Vostro 16 7620 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 16 ms.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

Dell Vostro 16 7620’s backlight doesn’t flicker at any brightness level, making the laptop comfortable and safe in this aspect.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Gloss level measurement

Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 50.1 GU).


Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Dell Vostro 16 7620 configurations with 16″ IPS BOE JFDKM-NV16WUM (BOE0A34).

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Drivers

All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/vostro-16-7620-laptop/drivers

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. Our laptop is configured with a 56Wh battery pack. It lasts for 7 hours and 13 minutes of Web browsing, or 6 hours and 17 minutes of video playback.


CPU options

This device can be found with the Core i5-12500H or Core i7-12700H.


GPU options

Besides the integrated graphics, you can choose from the RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti, both coming with 4GB of GDDR6 memory, and 65W TGP limits.


Gaming tests

Metro ExodusFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Extreme (Check settings)
Average FPS109 fps49 fps22 fps

Borderlands 3Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Badass (Check settings)
Average fps96 fps63 fps48 fps

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)Full HD, Lowest (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)
Average137 fps85 fps75 fps

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon WildlandsFull HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Very High (Check settings)
Average fps86 fps78 fps67 fps

[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Dell Vostro 16 7620

Your Dell Vostro 16 7620 can be Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we’re yet to see a notebook that couldn’t be made more powerful through modifications. And have you seen the most popular search on Google related to “how to make my …”? No? OK, here it is:

As you see, having a faster laptop is more important than having more hair.

Well, the main issue here is that there are thousands of advices on the Web. Some work, some don’t. Some are easy, some are complicated. Some are safe, and some are risky. If only there could be an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested guide by a proven organization, right?

That’s what we’ve done. We have hundreds of laptops scattered in our office, and we’ve spent a whole year testing different optimizations. We’ve chosen the ones that really make a difference, that are easy to implement without expert skills, and that are safe for your laptop in the long term.

🚀 What’s the performance boost I could expect?

There’s no general answer but we’ve reached more than 30% GPU Performance boost on some models, while typically it’s between 10% and 20%. You could always go beyond but we want to be sure that our advice will keep your laptop on the safe side in the long term. But you want to get the absolute maximum? We’ll show you how, and then it’s up to you.

We even set several World Records on 3DMark, one being our first Max Out for a specific laptop model – MSI Katana B13V.

We’d be happy to compete with YOU on the 3DMark rank lists, and see what YOUR laptop can do using our guide!

📦 What’s included?

📖 Our eBook includes All the tools you need, along with an Easy-to-follow guide for hassle-free:

GPU Performance boost by vBIOS replacement, Overclocking, and Undervolting
⚙️ Checking the hardware components and finding if you could get a significant boost by upgrading some of them
💾 Installing a clean Windows OS, with all the base settings you need
📋 Software optimization steps that really give a performance boost
Building a RAID Storage configuration for doubling sequential read/write speeds or protecting your data
🎯 Display Profiles bundle for a panel of your choice, enhancing the display for accurate colors, better experience, and protection of your eyes

🎁 To receive the Display Profiles bundle as a gift, simply email us your panel model through our “Contact Us” form.

💵 What is the price?

R&D on laptops isn’t easy nor cheap, especially when you’re not using cherry-picked review samples but real units instead. Our idea is to reinvest the profits from the sales back in our laboratory. However, we also want to make it a killer deal for everyone who is planning or has already spent on a gaming laptop, as this product would significantly boost the performance per dollar they get.

[eBook Guide] How to MAX OUT your Laptop

🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
🖼 Display enhancing
💾 OS Optimization for best performance

✖ But if these optimizations are easy, why don’t manufacturers do them?

There are a lot of reasons for the manufacturers to put boundaries on your machine, locking part of its performance:

📊 Market Segmentation: To create different product tiers, manufacturers often limit performance. This allows them to target various market segments and price points, encouraging consumers to pay more for higher-performing models.
❓Unknown Potential: Each unit’s performance varies. Checking each one individually isn’t feasible.
🏢 Regulatory Compliance: Certain regions have regulations regarding energy consumption, and manufacturers often place some boundaries to fit all standards.
🏭 Supply Chain Constraints: Limitations are imposed due to the current availability of components.
🫰 Cost-effective solutions: Often, less popular but important details are overlooked. For example, better RAM types can boost performance by up to 30%, but many users ignore this, and many online stores don’t even provide that info.
🔒 Security concerns: Many protections impact performance while being negligible for regular users. However, manufacturers don’t know if their laptops will be purchased by individuals or large corporations, so they can’t disable these features by default.

 

Not a bad performance bump in terms of Storage Speeds:


What are the default apps that impact performance the most?

What to do when RAID drives don’t show up?
How to optimize Windows further for maximum FPS gain in games?

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power

Intel Core i7-12700H (45W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
Dell Vostro 16 76202.83 GHz @ 2.38 GHz @ 64°C @ 71W2.73 GHz @ 2.24 GHz @ 70°C @ 66W2.42 GHz @ 1.80 GHz @ 72°C @ 52W
Dell XPS 15 95203.18 GHz @ 2.56 GHz @ 95°C @ 87W2.52 GHz @ 2.10 GHz @ 92°C @ 57W2.11 GHz @ 1.70 GHz @ 81°C @ 45W
Dell Precision 17 57703.34 GHz @ 2.69 GHz @ 78°C @ 95W3.30 GHz @ 2.66 GHz @ 87°C @ 92W2.54 GHz @ 2.10 GHz @ 75°C @ 55W
MSI Pulse GL76 (12Ux)3.29 GHz @ 2.76 GHz @ 77°C @ 97W3.27 GHz @ 2.75 GHz @ 83°C @ 95W3.14 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 86°C @ 85W
MSI Crosshair 15 (B12Ux)3.27 GHz @ 2.67 GHz @ 84°C @ 97W3.19 GHz @ 2.65 GHz @ 91°C @ 94W3.05 GHz @ 2.47 GHz @ 88°C @ 80W
Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH317-56)3.39 GHz @ 2.84 GHz @ 64°C @ 103W3.53 GHz @ 2.76 GHz @ 71°C @ 100W2.66 GHz @ 2.86 GHz @ 87°C @ 102W
MSI Stealth GS66 (12Ux)3.84 GHz @ 2.82 GHz @ 83°C @ 124W3.55 GHz @ 2.67 GHz @ 85°C @ 107W3.19 GHz @ 2.42 GHz @ 83°C @ 85W
MSI Vector GP66 (12Ux)3.81 GHz @ 2.91 GHz @ 81°C @ 116W3.54 GHz @ 2.72 GHz @ 83°C @ 98W3.30 GHz @ 2.57 GHz @ 79°C @ 86W
Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (PT516-52s)3.25 GHz @ 2.52 GHz @ 89°C @ 80W3.10 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 90°C @ 73W2.93 GHz @ 2.38 GHz @ 91°C @ 66W

Interestingly, the Vostro 16 7620 manages its temperatures significantly better than the much more expensive XPS 15 9520. In the end, the Vostro runs its P-cores at 310MHz higher and 9°C lower than the XPS.

Real-life gaming

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 TiGPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (Max fan)
Dell Vostro 16 76201631 MHz @ 76°C @ 63W1602 MHz @ 84°C @ 63W
ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402)1701 MHz @ 80°C @ 64W1694 MHz @ 82°C @ 63W
Dell XPS 15 95201168 MHz @ 74°C @ 30W1380 MHz @ 75°C @ 38W
Dell XPS 15 95101187 MHz @ 74°C @ 40W1293 MHz @ 75°C @ 44W
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio1610 MHz @ 73°C @ 49W1629 MHz @ 70°C @ 50W
ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (GZ301)1299 MHz @ 62°C @ 40W1285 MHz @ 62°C @ 40W
Lenovo ThinkBook 15p Gen 21539 MHz @ 69°C @ 50W1536 MHz @ 69°C @ 50W
HP Omen 16 (16-b0000)1781 MHz @ 68°C @ 80W1767 MHz @ 71°C @ 80W
HP Envy 15 (15-ep1000)1681 MHz @ 87°C @ 75W1376 MHz @ 74°C @ 48W
ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 OLED (UM535)1530 MHz @ 66°C @ 50W1529 MHz @ 68°C @ 50W
HP Pavilion Gaming 15 (15-dk2000)1613 MHz @ 65°C @ 60W1576 MHz @ 73°C @ 60W
MSI Sword 151633 MHz @ 73°C @ 60W1605 MHz @ 79°C @ 60W1644 MHz @ 69°C @ 60W
Dell G15 55111882 MHz @ 71°C @ 88W1878 MHz @ 72°C @ 89W
Dell G15 55151857 MHz @ 76°C @ 80W1850 MHz @ 77°C @ 80W
Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-57)1616 MHz @ 70°C @ 66W1607 MHz @ 72°C @ 65W1632 MHz @ 69°C @ 66W
MSI Katana GF761619 MHz @ 76°C @ 60W1594 MHz @ 82°C @ 60W1632 MHz @ 70°C @ 60W

Weirdly, the Vostro 16 7620’s RTX 3050 Ti runs at a lower clock speed and slightly higher temperature than the same GPU inside the 14-inch ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402).

Gaming comfort

After 30 minutes of gaming, we observed a high noise level and quite high external temperatures.


Verdict

It is clear that Dell needs to do more on the cooling front of this laptop. We are being rather optimistic about that, given the huge improvement of the purely gaming Dell G15 5511 (and 5515). Interestingly, you can see one less heat sink, compared to the Vostro 15 7510, but the general real estate of the heat dissipating surfaces looks bigger.

Unfortunately, the 16-inch model loses one of the SODIMM slots and one of the M.2 storage slots. A quite disturbing fact, considering you don’t get much more inside. On the bright side, the laptop uses DDR5 memory, which is considerably faster than its DDR4 predecessor.

Dell Vostro 16 7620’s IPS panel has a WUXGA resolution, comfortable viewing angles, and a good contrast ratio. While its backlight doesn’t use PWM, the color coverage is a bit disappointing at 50% of the sRGB gamut. Now, can you imagine this device, but with a high-refresh-rate panel? We feel that this is essential in such a machine.

Apparently, Dell has other ideas. Thank God some of them are good. For example – you get a full-sized SD card reader, as well as a Thunderbolt 4 connector. There is an optional fingerprint reader embedded in the power button, while the camera has a Full HD resolution and sports a privacy shutter.

On the other hand, it is really hard to recommend a laptop that gets this hot. And it is very far from extracting the full potential out of the Core i7-12700H. However, if you find yourself a deal for this device, but at least with the 100% sRGB panel, it won’t be a bad idea. After all, with the I/O it has, and with a display, which can offer good color accuracy, you will end up with a decent photo and video-editing laptop.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-vostro-16-7620/

Pros

  • Thin and light outfit
  • Strong aluminum chassis
  • Great speakers
  • No PWM (BOE JFDKM-NV16WUM (BOE0A34))
  • 16:10 aspect ratio
  • Thunderbolt 4 + SD card slot
  • Reasonable performance for its class
  • Optional fingerprint reader


Cons

  • Covers only 50% of sRGB (BOE JFDKM-NV16WUM (BOE0A34))
  • Toasty externals under extreme load
  • Unsatisfactory battery life (with the 56Wh unit)

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
6 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Taranto
Taranto
1 year ago

Hi there, Alex.

“it is very far from extracting the full potential out of the Core i7-12700H”. I didn’t get it. In your opinion, what exactly is limiting this laptop from achieving the full potential out of the processor?

Thanks for the review.

Artur
Artur
1 year ago

Hey, great review! Would you happen to know if this laptop has a MUX Switch? Thanks in advance!

Eric Boyle
Eric Boyle
1 year ago

I got the 7620 laptop directly from Dell late November last year. Complete nightmare, keeps crashing. 4.5 months since I got it Dell have done everything to resolve the issue, everything except replace it.

Yaniv
Yaniv
11 months ago
Reply to  Eric Boyle

Hi, can you please share exactly which model it was and what the problem was?
I’m considering buying exactly the same one..