Review and testing of the Dream Machines RG3060-15UA38 laptop based on the Intel Core i7-12700H processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card

Dream Machines has consistently delighted us with gaming laptops with outstanding performance. It was these models that appeared in our reviews earlier. Therefore, an opinion could be formed that Dream Machines are exclusively large-sized heavy-duty laptops. But in the company’s lineup there are also more compact modern gaming-class devices. We will get acquainted with such a laptop in this review.

 

Dream Machines RG3060-15UA38

This laptop is finished in black, but can be equipped with a sticker with a unique pattern. We got a version with a camouflage color, which well reflects the modern realities of our citizens.

Notebook dimensions 361 x 241 x 25 mm and weighs up to 2.2 kg. For a gaming laptop with a 15.6-inch screen, this is a small size. And it can be called gaming, since the configuration is built on a modern Intel Core i7-12700H processor (20 threads) in combination with a GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card and 16 GB of DDR4 RAM. For data storage, a fast NVMe M.2 drive from Kingston with a capacity of 1 TB is used. The screen supports a resolution of 2560×1440 at 165Hz.

Full characteristics are presented in the table.

 

Delivery set

The laptop comes in a large black box with a carrying handle.

Complete with instructions, thermal pad and screws for the NVMe drive, power supply with appropriate cable.

The Chicony A17-180P4A power supply is rated at 180W.

 

Appearance

The laptop is made of black plastic. The case is rigid, but the screen cover is thin – it flexes under force.

Initially, there is a DM logo on the body, but our copy has an actual combat color with its logo drawn.

The bottom has a lot of slots, which provides a good flow of air. Large rubber inserts provide a good grip on any work surface and lift the case.

At the corners of the case there are holes for blowing hot air. Massive copper radiators are clearly visible through them, which gives a certain charm and solidity.

Also on the back are USB 3.2 Type-C, mini DisplayPort and HDMI connectors. In the center there is a connector for connecting the power supply, which is much more convenient in terms of organizing workplaces relative to the side power connector.

On the left side is a Kensington lock slot, one USB 3.2 and one USB 2.0. Another nice little thing is two audio jacks, which allows you to combine different headphones and microphones. On the right side is another USB 3.2 connector and an RJ-45 Ethernet port.

The screen leans back about 130 degrees – everything is standard here. The lid is thin, the side frame is narrow1.

The inner surface is made in a single black color. The plastic is smooth but not easily soiled.

Above the screen is a webcam with built-in microphones.

The keyboard is membrane type, full-size, there is a digital block.

The keys have a translucent edging and backlight.

The power button is located separately from the main array of keys in the right corner.

The touchpad with keys is made in the form of a single panel.

 

Screen

Dream Machines has a 15.6-inch matte screen.

Used IPS-matrix BOE NE156QHM-NY1. Resolution 2560×1440 pixels, refresh rate 165 Hz.

For measurements, we used the X-Rate i1 Display Pro, Argyll + DisplayCAL and HCFR Colormeter applications. The brightness is set at 120 cd/m.

According to measurements, the screen provides full coverage of the sRGB color range and 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, which is an excellent result.

Screen brightness is adjustable from 20 cd/m² to 296 cd/m². Contrast ratio at 1060:1. Color temperature at 7000K, i.e. colors are slightly shifted towards the cold spectrum.

There is a certain shift in color accuracy in certain parts of the spectrum, although the overall DeltaE deviation of 2.4 units is not high. The optimal value of the DeltaE coefficient is less than 2 units.

Viewing angles are good. A slight deviation does not affect the perception of the picture. A high refresh rate improves the perception of a dynamic picture.

 

Internal device

To access the internal components, unscrew the bottom cover. Here we see a solid cooling system with heat pipes, where copper plates cover almost all elements of the board. Near the battery there is a place for an additional 2.5-inch drive. If desired, you can immediately order configurations with a primary NVMe drive and an additional hard drive. Stereo speakers are located in the lower corners of the case.

Cooling turbine blocks are located in the upper corners, which blow out the exhausted hot air through the side openings in the housing. The processor cooling unit has two heat pipes, the video card has three pipes. All power components and memory chips of the video card are covered with radiator plates. As an additional option, when ordering a laptop, you can choose the Thermal Grizzly high-performance thermal interface, which will further improve the efficiency of the cooling system.

At the bottom of the case, under the arms, there is a 3410 mAh battery.

One terabyte NVMe M.2 Kingston SA2000M8/1000G drive installed. Nearby is the Intel AX201NGW wireless module, which provides Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

Two memory slots are available, and memory can be configured differently when ordering, using one or two slots. Our version has two DDR4 sticks for dual-channel operation.

The laptop is based on an Intel Core i7-12700H processor from the Alder Lake family. It has six performance cores with Hyper Threading and eight energy efficient cores, processing 20 data streams simultaneously. The maximum frequency in Turbo mode can reach 4.7 GHz. The declared base power is 45 W with a maximum value in Turbo mode of up to 115 W.

DDR4-3200 memory operates in dual-channel mode with delays of 22-22-22-52. The total amount of memory is 16 gigabytes.

Graphics are handled by the GeForce RTX 3060 mobile graphics card. It is based on the GA106 graphics processor with 3840 stream processors. By the way, the desktop version of the GeForce RTX 3060 is equipped with 3584 stream processors, but at higher frequencies. In this case, the graphics card is limited to 80W and the Boost Clock is set to 1425MHz. It uses six gigabytes of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, an effective frequency of 14000 MHz.

In 2D mode, the system switches to the processor’s integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics.

 

Software

Dream Machines RG3060-15UA38 runs on Windows 11 Home operating system. The Control Center application is installed to monitor and control hardware parameters.

The main menu has four sections. In Power Modes, you can manually change performance profiles, choosing between autonomy or maximum performance.

The Fan Speed ​​Setting section displays temperature and fan speed monitoring data. It is possible to use the mode with improved cooling by accelerating the speed or manually adjust the fan mode.

In the FlexiKey section, you can set macros for keyboard keys. It is possible to create several profiles with different parameters

The LED Keyboard contains backlight settings. You can choose a nice color and one of the backlight brightness modes. Separate backlighting for each key and visual effects are not supported.

Efficiency of the cooling system and noise level

Let’s move on to temperature testing in heavy applications.

The laptop was tested in a room with a temperature of 26 ° C. To simulate a long gaming load, a looped 3DMark Time Spy stress test was launched.

Under such conditions, the GPU frequency showed frequencies of about 1400 MHz at temperatures up to 72 ° C. Processor cores at the peak warmed up to 90 °C, but the average temperature was about 60 °C. The core frequencies jumped up to 4 GHz and higher, periodically showing values ​​up to 4.6 GHz. The fan speed reached 4600 rpm.

The second test will be the extreme load on the processor and memory subsystem in the AIDA64 stress test.

After reaching peak temperatures, the frequency of processor cores gradually decreased to 2.6-2.7 GHz. The average core temperature was up to 70°C with peak values ​​up to 90°C. At the same time, the fan speed is below 3800 rpm.

Under heavy load, the body heats up in the central part and under the screen. It does not cause discomfort.

 

GeForce RTX 3060 Overclocking

We experimented a bit with overclocking a mobile graphics card. The benefits of such overclocking are often scanty, but it is interesting to look at the potential of the video card. First of all, the fans in the Control Center are set to Maximum. Then the working frequency configuration was selected. In this case, we managed to accelerate the GPU by 130 MHz, the memory was accelerated to 15060 MHz. Higher frequencies resulted in unstable operation.

The real acceleration in GPU frequencies is minimal. In the 3DMark Time Spy stress test, the average Boost increased to 1450 MHz when heated to 69 ° C.

 

Test results

Overall Performance

PCMark 10
The graph shows the overall result of the extended test and the results of individual groups of tests as part of this benchmark.

For comparison, you can refer to the old Acer Predator Triton 300 SE review on Intel Core i7-11375H and GeForce RTX 3060, and we can see that the Dream Machines RG3060-15UA38 with a more modern processor is faster on all internal PCMark tests.

CPU-Z Benchmark

The multi-threaded result of the Intel Core i7-12700H is 2.5 times better than that of the Intel Core i7-11375H.

Cinebench

In Cinebench tests, the advantage of the Intel Core i7-12700H over the Intel Core i7-11375H is up to 2.2 times. And even in the single-threaded test, there is a significant gap in favor of the modern CPU.

Geekbench 5

In the single-threaded test, the Intel Core i7-12700H is faster than the old Intel Core i7-11375H by 16%, in the multi-threaded test, the gap between them is 2.2 times.

AIDA Cache & Memory Benchmark

A system with the new Intel Core i7-12700H shows memory bandwidth at the level of the configuration with the older processor when using identical DDDR4-3200 memory with the same timings in dual channel mode.

Disk subsystem

The Kingston SA2000M8/1000G drive does not show any outstanding results in the base tests. In the gaming segment, we came across laptops with faster SSDs.

On the other hand, the overall score and average access time according to the results of the PCMark drive test are at a good level.

 

Game Applications

Testing was carried out in standard mode and when overclocking the GeForce RTX 3060. Games were tested at 1920×1080 and 2560×1440 resolutions.

3DMark

First, the results are shown in normal mode, then in overclocking.

Increasing the frequencies of the GeForce RTX 3060 provides a 5% increase in GPU Score. Compared to Acer based on the Intel Core i7-11375H and GeForce RTX 3060, the graphics scores are equal, and the overall score is higher due to the powerful processor.

It’s also interesting to compare the strangled mobile video adapter with the GeForce RTX 3060 to the top desktop version of the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. And despite the low frequencies, the mobile graphics card is clearly faster.

Cyberpunk 2077

In Cyberpunk, the laptop allows you to comfortably play in Full HD with high quality graphics. With maximum graphics (without tracing) there will be periodically drawdowns below an acceptable level.

You can comfortably play in the native resolution of 2560×1440 with a combination of high quality graphics and DLSS scaling.

Days Gone

In this game, the results at 1440p at maximum graphics are close to a good level. Rare 1% low events spoil the picture, but this parameter is not ideal even in Full HD.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human

At 1920×1080 with maximum graphics settings (without tracing), the average result is below 60 frames, at 2560×1440 the results are about the same with DLSS active. A demanding player may need to turn down the graphics quality for maximum comfort.

Far Cry 6

The laptop handles Far Cry 6 in Full HD with the usual Ultra settings and delivers about 60 frames with active tracing.

If you play at full resolution 2560×1440, you will have to limit yourself to regular graphics without tracing.

God of War

The video card does not cope well with the maximum graphics settings, so all tests were carried out at high quality. In this mode, the laptop is able to provide normal fps even in 2560×1440 format. For higher frame rates, you can use DLSS.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Dream Machines shows good results in all resolutions. You can safely enjoy the game in 1440p format.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

In this game, you can turn on the maximum quality of the tracing at a lower resolution and the base level of the tracing in 4K.

Resident Evil: Village

Dream Machines delivers great results at any resolution. But if you play with tracing, it’s better to limit yourself to the Full HD format.

Stray

A recent hit about a stray cat in cybercity.

Excellent results at native resolution of 2560×1440.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

In the 1920×1080 format, you can safely set the maximum graphics settings, including HairWorks and all post-effects. For comfortable performance in 2560×1440 format, you can choose the maximum settings, but without HairWorks.

 

Battery life

To test battery life, we ran several tests using dedicated PCMark benchmarks. The Modern Office test simulates a combined office workload. The second test measures the operating time when playing Full HD video. Screen brightness is fixed at 120 cd/m² to compare results with other laptops. Keyboard backlight is off. For all modes, the power-saving mode was turned on.

Four hours offline is not the highest result. But Dream Machines gaming laptops have never stood out for high autonomy. To pass the time on the road or temporarily work without access to an outlet, this is quite enough.

 

Conclusions

Notebook Dream Machines RG3060-15UA38 combines good performance with moderate dimensions. This is not an ultra-compact variant, but it is quite comparable to the performance models of more famous brands (Acer, ASUS, etc.). Powered by a state-of-the-art Intel Core i7-12700H processor, the laptop delivers outstanding application performance. The gap in relative to the previous generation of mobile Intel Core i7 processor tests is enormous. Dream Machines is equipped with a good fast screen. The matrix provides full coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, but there is a certain deviation in color accuracy. Add to this the high resolution of 2560×1440 and you have a good option for working with graphics, video and other content. And the high refresh rate will ensure maximum comfort in fast-paced games. The GeForce RTX 3060 mobile graphics card handles games at native 1440p decently, but often thanks to DLSS or with a slight decrease in settings. You also get support for all modern technologies, including ray tracing. It is worth noting the good potential of this option as a professional workstation – there is a processor with 20 threads, a powerful video card that, with the Nvidia Studio driver, will provide acceleration of specialized applications, plus a good high-resolution screen. Dream Machines RG3060-15UA38 will be a good choice not only for gamers, but also for those who are involved in programming, development or design. In addition, I would like to note a high-quality cooling system, the presence of a backlit keyboard and a large set of ports. In obvious disadvantages, you can write down only a small battery life. Also note the thin screen cover. Otherwise, we have an excellent productive laptop for any task.

FAQ Dream machines rg3060-15ua38

What type of processor does the FoxLaptop Ryzen model use?

The FoxLaptop Ryzen model is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor.

Does HP offer an OLED screen option for their 2023 laptop models?

Yes, some HP 2023 laptop models feature OLED screens for enhanced visual quality.

What are the key specifications of a PC with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 for gameplay?

A PC with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 typically offers high-end gameplay specifications, including advanced graphics processing capabilities and compatibility with 4K QHD gaming.

Can you find the internal design and upgrade options of laptops in the ‘Contents Show’ section of reviews?

Yes, information about internal design and upgrade options of laptops is often included in the ‘Contents Show’ section of detailed reviews.

What screen resolution does a 15.6-inch laptop with FullHD (FHD) offer?

A 15.6-inch laptop with FullHD (FHD) typically offers a screen resolution of 1920×1080.

Are Lenovo laptops available with Nvidia GeForce GTX graphics cards?

Yes, Lenovo offers laptops with Nvidia GeForce GTX graphics cards, catering to both general and gaming-specific needs.

How does the appearance and screen quality of a 17.3-inch FHD laptop compare to other models?

A 17.3-inch FHD laptop typically offers a larger screen size with clear and detailed visuals, making it suitable for gaming and multimedia applications.

For touch device users, how does the touchpad performance of a portable computer matter?

For touch device users, the touchpad performance is crucial for navigation and overall user experience, especially in the absence of a mouse.

Is it common for Chinese companies to manufacture laptops with 64GB RAM options?

Yes, it’s becoming increasingly common for Chinese companies to manufacture laptops with high RAM options like 64GB, catering to demanding usage scenarios.

When exploring laptops by Lenovo, what are the typical specifications and features to expect in 2022 models?

In 2022 models, Lenovo laptops typically offer advanced specifications such as AMD or Intel processors, high-resolution displays, and features tailored for both general use and gaming.