Dell Inspiron 15 7559 Review - Affordable, Upgradeable
Design and User Experience
With a 15.6-inch display, the Dell Inspiron 15 7559 is a full-size laptop, but it has a sleek look for a system this size. That’s thanks to the way Dell designed the underside of the laptop: it curves up toward the edges, making the machine appear about a half-inch thick. In fact, it’s nearly a full-inch at its thickest.
Despite having a typical full HD resolution, the LED back-lit display looks great. The anti-glare material makes for clear, crisp images even under harsh lighting. As we noted earlier, the display lacks touch, which could be an issue for some users, but they have the option to get a 7000 series laptop with a touchscreen if they’re willing crack their wallets a little further.
The Inspiron 15 7559 handles typical entertainment tasks well. We streamed plenty of TV shows on Netflix without a problem. The images are clear, though you won’t mistake the screen for a 4K display. As we mentioned earlier, text looks great on the anti-glare display, making the Inspiron 15 7559 a fine system for students or anyone who writes regularly.
The Inspiron 15 7559 has a black chassis, save for a few red accents that give the system some attitude, without being hokey. The vents at the back of the laptop get the red treatment, as do the Dell logo on the lid, the speakers above the keyboard, and the border of the touchpad. The chassis is sturdy and has very little give, even when being lifted. Dell also offers the system in “Hibiscus Red.”
The red speaker near the display gives the mostly-black laptop some attitude.
Dell took advantage of the laptop’s size when designing the keyboard, which has a full number pad and a row of function keys that also provide controls for display brightness, media player controls, and the keyboard’s backlighting. The keys are spaced well apart and have enough resistance to make typing comfortable – another important characteristic for students and writers.
Large vents with heatsinks just behind them (Dell calls these “thermal fins”) take up most of the Dell Inspiron 15 7559’s backside, so the ports are located on the sides. The left side houses the power port, two standard USB 3.0 ports and headphone/mic jack, while the right side has the remaining ports. Those include the Kensington lock port, Ethernet jack, HDMI port and SD card reader, as well as the PowerShare USB 3.0 port. Some laptops have required a change to the BIOS settings to enable PowerShare-like features, but that wasn’t the case for the Inspiron 15 7559; it started charging our phone as soon as we plugged it in.
Dell isn’t kidding about making it easy for users to upgrade the Dell Inspiron 15 7559. A single screw holds the back panel in place. Remove that screw, give the panel a quick yank, and you’re good to go. The back section exposes the 74Whr battery (though Dell insists that it should be the one to handle any battery replacement), as well as the memory and hard drive.
The 8GB memory DIMM in the Inspiron 15 7559 means that you have an open slot for boosting the memory without ditching your existing DIMM. If you want to upgrade the hard drive, you’ll need to replace it, which should be an easy project, as the HDD cage is held down with four unobstructed screws. But you have another option for boosting storage: The Inspiron 7559 also has two slots for M.2 SSDs, meaning you can add some extremely speedy storage if you have the budget for it.
Despite having a typical full HD resolution, the LED back-lit display looks great. The anti-glare material makes for clear, crisp images even under harsh lighting. As we noted earlier, the display lacks touch, which could be an issue for some users, but they have the option to get a 7000 series laptop with a touchscreen if they’re willing crack their wallets a little further.
The Inspiron 15 7559 handles typical entertainment tasks well. We streamed plenty of TV shows on Netflix without a problem. The images are clear, though you won’t mistake the screen for a 4K display. As we mentioned earlier, text looks great on the anti-glare display, making the Inspiron 15 7559 a fine system for students or anyone who writes regularly.
The Inspiron 15 7559 has a black chassis, save for a few red accents that give the system some attitude, without being hokey. The vents at the back of the laptop get the red treatment, as do the Dell logo on the lid, the speakers above the keyboard, and the border of the touchpad. The chassis is sturdy and has very little give, even when being lifted. Dell also offers the system in “Hibiscus Red.”
The red speaker near the display gives the mostly-black laptop some attitude.
Dell took advantage of the laptop’s size when designing the keyboard, which has a full number pad and a row of function keys that also provide controls for display brightness, media player controls, and the keyboard’s backlighting. The keys are spaced well apart and have enough resistance to make typing comfortable – another important characteristic for students and writers.
Large vents with heatsinks just behind them (Dell calls these “thermal fins”) take up most of the Dell Inspiron 15 7559’s backside, so the ports are located on the sides. The left side houses the power port, two standard USB 3.0 ports and headphone/mic jack, while the right side has the remaining ports. Those include the Kensington lock port, Ethernet jack, HDMI port and SD card reader, as well as the PowerShare USB 3.0 port. Some laptops have required a change to the BIOS settings to enable PowerShare-like features, but that wasn’t the case for the Inspiron 15 7559; it started charging our phone as soon as we plugged it in.
Dell isn’t kidding about making it easy for users to upgrade the Dell Inspiron 15 7559. A single screw holds the back panel in place. Remove that screw, give the panel a quick yank, and you’re good to go. The back section exposes the 74Whr battery (though Dell insists that it should be the one to handle any battery replacement), as well as the memory and hard drive.
The 8GB memory DIMM in the Inspiron 15 7559 means that you have an open slot for boosting the memory without ditching your existing DIMM. If you want to upgrade the hard drive, you’ll need to replace it, which should be an easy project, as the HDD cage is held down with four unobstructed screws. But you have another option for boosting storage: The Inspiron 7559 also has two slots for M.2 SSDs, meaning you can add some extremely speedy storage if you have the budget for it.
