Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 20, 2018. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Anyone who manufactures the all-in-one PCs popular in 2D image and graphics editing cannot avoid comparison with Apple’s iMac. These comparisons are not always fair, however, because Dell’s AIO computers, for example, can be opened by users, who can inexpensively add or upgrade third-party components themselves. Soldering the CPU and GPU directly onto the mainboard in Apple’s manner and permanently bonding the case saves costs and weight, but also makes many repairs and upgrades uneconomical or impossible. For a price of just under 1,800 euros, the Dell Inspiron 7775 AIO offers an almost borderless Infinity Edge 27“ 4K display, 16 Gbytes of RAM, internal SSD and HDD, plus the necessary USB, HDMI and network connections. But what can the AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and AMD RX 580 deliver?
Case / Display
Well protected by individually shaped polystyrene elements, yet compactly packaged in a larger box, the Dell Inspiron 7775 can be unpacked and set up within a few minutes. The reassuring weight of the die-cast aluminium stand makes a positive impression – nobody will knock this computer over easily. The power supply is external, as on a notebook, which should help keep temperatures low in the small case. Unfortunately, the display is adjustable neither in height nor angle; a vertical orientation, as is often used in layout work, is not possible. The overall impression of the case and display is high quality, with good workmanship even in the details. The 4K display offers high image quality; contrast and colours appear fresh and remain intact even from indirect viewing angles.
Apart from the SD card slot, one USB 3.1 port and a headset I/O socket on the left-hand side of the device, all other connections, including 3x USB 3.1, Gigabit LAN, HDMI I/O and USB 2.0, are easily accessible on the rear to the left and right of the stand. All cables leading to the computer can be routed together through a large hole in the stand. Amusingly, Dell hid the connections on the Dell Precision AIO (reviewed on the following pages) behind the stand, making the insertion of USB and other cables a genuine test of patience. The rear cover is easy to remove, making the replacement or upgrading of the SSD and HDD child’s play. The speakers and webcam optics are housed in the silver strip along the bottom edge of the display. This is not necessarily the cleverest position for the webcam, because with an upright seating position the camera films the face from below. That is not necessarily the best side of yourself to present in a web conference.
Equipment
As mentioned at the beginning, the Dell Inspiron 7775 is the only computer in the test pool equipped with an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 CPU. You have already been able to read in the introduction why more manufacturers are not currently using AMD’s inexpensive, powerful CPUs and why the Cinebench 15 CPU score is only part of the truth. How Dell managed to obtain the installed AMD Radeon RX 580 – one of the most popular graphics cards for cryptocurrency mining – at reasonable prices during the GPU crypto madness will probably remain a trade secret. For the customer, the RX 580 is a good choice that does not negatively affect the price-performance ratio.
With 16 Gbytes of RAM, a 256 Gbyte SSD as mass storage for the operating system and applications, and a 1 Tbyte HDD for project data, the Inspiron 7775 has sufficient internal memory to work in its traditional field of use without external assistance. The wireless mouse and keyboard included are of average quality; experienced users will probably prefer to rely on their proven input devices. I find it a little unfortunate that the wireless receiver for the mouse and keyboard is not integrated, so the first USB port is already occupied.
Performance
At a clock frequency of 3 GHz, the eight cores of the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 CPU deliver a solid 1,420 points in the multi-CPU test. That is a good value for a CPU in this price class. For comparison, the base version of the new iMac Pro with an eight-core CPU delivers only 240 points more in the same test, but costs significantly more. The CPU benchmark in V-Ray confirms this figure with a calculation time of 1:38 – roughly in the performance range of the significantly more expensive Intel i7 8700K.
The AMD Radeon RX 580 remains significantly below its capabilities, at 84.90 frames per second in the Cinebench 15 OpenGL test and 4:00 minutes in the V-Ray rendering test. Values around 125 frames per second are normally no problem for an RX 580 in Cinebench. The curtailed graphics performance should be sufficient for the Inspiron 7775’s field of work. We noted positively that even after a prolonged period under synthetic load, the Inspiron remained thermally stable and neither the CPU nor graphics card was slowed through thermal throttling. At lower loads of up to around 30%, the fans still turn pleasantly slowly and reach the volume of quiet conversation. At full load, it becomes louder again after around five minutes, but remains bearable. Under synthetic load the maximum CPU temperature was 86°C, while the GPU reached 80°C. Although a few more degrees of reserve would be desirable, that is acceptable.
We were somewhat irritated by the SSD, which can read data quickly at 1,331 Mbytes per second but writes rather sluggishly at just 388 Mbytes per second. Since hardly any 4K video will probably be edited on the Inspiron 7775, this should not carry too much weight, although faster is always better. As expected, the 1 Tbyte HDD performs its duties at around 105 Mbytes per second for both writing and reading. So far, so good, were it not for Dell’s basic Windows 10 configuration, which causes very high Interrupt to Process latencies of 10,692 microseconds. A Dell driver causes the highest DPC Routine Execution Time. With some patience and fiddling with services and drivers, this figure can certainly be reduced to a tolerable level. That should be the manufacturer’s job, however.
Conclusion
Apart from the failures in the operating-system configuration and the graphics card running with the handbrake on, we liked the Dell Inspiron 7775. Considering the asking price, the AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and Radeon RX580 graphics card deliver decent performance and have no need to hide behind the proven Intel / Nvidia duo. The workmanship is at Dell’s typically high level – because components can be replaced, it is possible to adapt the computer’s mass storage to changing circumstances in the future. Dell took a chance with the AMD Ryzen 7 and gained something in terms of price-performance. Look online for third-party offers on this model; it can really be worthwhile.
