Dell Inspiron I7559-2512BLK Review

The Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK $1,999.11 at Amazon is a gaming laptop that promises to offer solid performance, and can as well handle other projects such as entertainment, media editing and word processing pretty well. This system is potent enough to provide a smooth gaming experience on all but the highest settings, thanks to its Full HD display, latest Intel Core i7 processor (Skylake) and discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics card. It can efficiently perform daily work and media tasks, when not playing.

The Dell Inspiron i7559-763BLK, our Editors’ Choice for budget entry-level gaming category comes close in performance, but the Inspiron i7559-2512BLK comes with a few (but noticeable) upgrades that are a kicker in terms of increased performance and gaming stability. However, it lacks the chops to unseat the ASUS ROG GL552VW-DH71 as our top pick for entry-level gaming laptops.

Design

It is part of the Inspiron 15 Series, which Dell claims to have optimized for work and mid-range gaming performance, and its predecessor the Dell Inspiron i7559-763BLK Gaming Laptop (released late last year) has surpassed the expectations of most gamers on a budget. We envision the same in the newer Inspiron i7559, with whistles as an upgrade of its younger sibling from last year.

The Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK is hefty and looks larger than its 15-inch size, which is perhaps from its angular design. Though not the most portable system, it is still sturdy and well built at 1.0 by 15.08 by 10.4 inches (HWD) and 5.67 pounds. Though slightly thicker than the Dell Inspiron i7559-763BLK; 0.98 by 15 by 10.4 inches (HWD) and 5.88 pounds, it is lighter than by almost 0.21 pounds.

Display

It sports a 15.6-inch display with Full HD (1,920-by-1,080) resolution support, and comes with an anti-glare coating that attempts to cut reflections to a bare minimum. Lately, 1080p resolution is a basic minimum for gaming rigs. More powerful gaming laptops such as the MSI GE62 Apache and the MSI PE70 2QD-062US also use 1080p screens. Although some of the more expensive machines now have 3K or higher displays, this resolution works well for an entry-level system, since the hardware would have a difficult time smoothly playing with high settings on a higher-resolution screen.

The Inspiron i7559-2512BLK’s exterior is made almost entirely black plastic, except for some red flourishes on the Dell logo on the lid, the trim around the touchpad, the speaker, the fan vents, and on the rubber feet. The top lid and the keyboard deck are rubberized, which feels nice, while the bottom of the laptop and the bezel are hard plastic with similar accents on the backlit keyboard.

The system includes a 720p front-facing webcam above the display, and wireless connectivity comes by way of Bluetooth 4.0, and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The keyboard is backlit with white light, just like other stable mates in the Inspiron 15 Series. The keys themselves are of good quality, but the key travel feels a little short. The touchpad feels very smooth and sturdy.

Connectivity and Storage

Here you get a decent collection of I/O ports. There are two USB 3.0 ports and a headphone jack on the left of the laptop, while the right side holds another USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, a 2-in-1 SD card reader, an Ethernet port, and a Kensington lock slot. For storage, there is a hybrid 5,400rpm 1 TB HDD + 8 GB SSD Hybrid Drive Storage. For such a system, a 5400RPM is a bit disappointing, not when we have machines with faster SSD drives, like the Dell Inspiron i7559-763BLK Gaming Laptop.

Although it will give you somewhat better transfer rates, it can’t match a true SSD, so it isn’t much of a deal breaker. Sadly, the system dictates what files are stored on the solid-state drive partition. You may have to swap in a real SSD along the way, and even the 8GB RAM is upgradable to 16GB thanks to an available slot for seamless gaming and general performance.

The speakers provide decent sound quality, though they sound a tinny at maximum volume. If you plan on playing some old movies, you might have to get an external optical drive as the system doesn’t come with a DVD drive. After all, most manufacturers are steering clear of optical drives since almost everything ranging from operating system to utility software can be installed over the internet or on USB. So this is not a deal breaker as such.