Dell Precision 16 7680 review – overheating and underdelivering on battery life
Verdict
Unfortunately, we got mixed results from this laptop. To start on a positive note, the build quality is fantastic. The chassis is not too thick, and not too heavy, which makes the machine pretty portable.
In addition, it has good upgradeability with one CAMM slot for memory (or two SODIMM slots via a CAMM adapter), as well as two M.2 PCIe x4 slots, which work with Gen 4 SSDs. It supports RAID mode and has a service door, where you can easily change one of the drives.
We can’t overlook the great keyboard, which not only is comfortable for typing, but also features a backlight, and spill-resistance. Moreover, you get a high-quality fingerprint reader, while the Full HD Web camera is paired with a privacy shutter and an IR face recognition scanner.
Dell Precision 16 7680’s IPS panel has a WUXGA resolution, comfortable viewing angles, a good contrast ratio, and an extremely high maximum brightness. It covers 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and produces pretty accurate colors with our Gaming and Web design profile. Moreover, it doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment, which makes the display safe for long periods of use in this aspect.
Here, the performance is pretty decent, especially in short-to-medium loads. We noticed some throttling in long loads, which is not good, considering the nature of this laptop.
And then come the negative aspects of the device. Its battery life is really short. We are talking about three hours of very light use. This is an issue, that is discussed on Dell’s official Web page, by people who also purchased the laptop. We didn’t find any meaningful explanation from the manufacturer.
Another issue, which is not really resolved is the high heat output. Yes, this is a powerful machine, and heat will always be an issue. However, the bottom panel of the device reaches temperatures of about 54°C, which is hot, to say the least. Even on idle, the machine can become pretty warm – the battery issue can be connected to that.
So, you have to put your priorities straight. Do you want a feature-packed device with a huge port selection and decent performance? Are you willing to give up the laptop factor of the device? These are questions you need to answer by yourself before making a purchase decision. If the answers to both of them are “yes”, then Precision 16 7680 is not a bad choice for you.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-precision-16-7680/
Pros
- Up to 128GB of DDR5 (CAMM) + two M.2 slots
- Capable hardware
- Fingerprint reader + optional IR face recognition and 5G connectivity
- SD card reader + 2x Thunderbolt 4 + HDMI 2.1
- Packs good security features
- Great spill-resistant keyboard and touchpad
Cons
- High price
- Horrendous battery life
- Gets really warm even on idle
Author: Alex Iliev
Author: eng. Kroum NikolovHead of Engineering at LaptopMedia.com, inventor and innovator with 40+ years of experience in electronics and high technology.
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No 2.5G ethernet for the top tier mobile workstation model!? That’s ridiculous
“+ Decent battery life – Horrendous battery life”
Are you serious ?
Unfortunately, the latter is the right one, my colleague has made a mistake, and thank you for pointing it out! The Precision 7680 is indeed one of the laptops with the shortest battery life we’ve tested, despite having a decent battery capacity.
keyboard arrow keys completely unusable, no page up or page down. micro return key. laptop tries to heat whole house. at least its a work machine for just email and i have a non dell machine for software development
feel sorry if you actually bought this machine