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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is typically less expensive and offers a higher-resolution screen with better battery life, making it suitable for general use and work that involves viewing detailed visuals. It also has a more modern release date than the MSI Pulse GL66. However, the MSI laptop, while generally more costly, is equipped with a more powerful processor and a dedicated Nvidia graphics card, thus providing superior performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, engineering applications, and gaming. The MSI's keyboard has a numeric pad with RGB lighting and includes hardware ray tracing and DLSS features, which are valuable for gamers. If portability is a concern, the Dell model is slightly lighter, but both laptops have similar portability metrics. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Dell Inspiron 16 5635
- Very good for general use
- Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Pulse GL66
- Good for gaming and AI
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
8.0
7.3
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
265.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is very good for general use, while the MSI Pulse GL66 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.3
7.2
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Pulse GL66 is good for gaming and AI, while the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is only fair.
The MSI Pulse GL66, with its Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU and higher screen refresh rate, provides a better gaming and 3D experience than the Dell Inspiron 16 5635, which is equipped with an integrated AMD Vega 8 GPU and a lower refresh rate screen. While both have similar screen quality and capable CPUs, the superior GPU and refresh rate of the MSI are crucial for smoothly rendering games and 3D graphics.
Content Creation
7.9
7.2
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for content creation, though the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7
7.0
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for software development, though the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
6.6
6.8
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
265.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 has a better screen than the MSI Pulse GL66 for software development, and content creation, while the MSI Pulse GL66 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
For general use, both the Dell Inspiron and MSI Pulse GL66 offer displays with adequate resolution and brightness, but they may not have the ideal panel type that provides wide viewing angles and better color reproduction. In engineering and design, professionals look for displays with wide color gamuts to ensure accurate color rendition, and these models offer only fair performance, not covering advanced color spaces as thoroughly as high-end displays. When it comes to gaming and 3D, a high refresh rate is crucial for smooth motion, and both the Dell and MSI laptops may not meet the expected standards for fast-paced visual content, despite offering acceptable resolution and panel types.
Battery
8.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 has 8 hours of battery life. The MSI Pulse GL66 has 4 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Cost
$735
$1,399
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 has a price of $735 and the MSI Pulse GL66 costs $1,399.
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Key similarities
Engineering and Design
7.3
7.5
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Pulse GL66 and Dell Inspiron 16 5635 are both good for engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Portability
Good
Good
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
4.1 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 and MSI Pulse GL66 both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0
7.4
The MSI Pulse GL66 and Dell Inspiron 16 5635 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 and the MSI Pulse GL66 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 5635 | MSI Pulse GL66 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$735 | $1,399 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | March 1, 2023 | March 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.1'' x 9.9'' x 0.72'' | 14.1'' x 10.2'' x 0.94'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 4.19 lbs | 4.63 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.05" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.92" | 10.2" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7730U | Intel i7-11800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 8 Hours | 4 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 54 Wh | 53 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2560 x 1600 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 265 nits | 245 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.6/10 | 7.1/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Dell Inspiron 16 5635
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Dig into reviews and images
UltrabookReview
Derek Sullivan | January 2023
"Compared to the previous year’s Inspiron, Dell upgraded the screen aspect ratio on this generation, but also transitioned to a more minimalistic centered keyboard flanked by up-firing speakers. The 16-inch screen is huge plus and I really appreciate the extra real estate without sacrificing the footprint much. This year’s model is a little larger than last, though, as the former model was already very small for a 15 incher."
MSI Pulse GL66
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | April 2022
"The MSI Pulse GL66 has a lot of potential for improvement. Although the RTX 3060 is only able to use 105 watts, we still liked the gaming performance, particularly since this also makes the Pulse comfortably efficient but not slow by any means. Neither the dark display with its lame response times, nor USB 2.0 or the lack of Thunderbolt will please real gamers. The use of a sticker factory seal, which is at least questionable, also won't inspire any enthusiasm. It is obvious that the laptop is really designed for price-conscious gamers."
Get a great deal on the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 or the MSI Pulse GL66
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
About MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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