Inside Dell Inspiron 5559 – disassembly, upgrade guide and internal photos

Dell Inspiron 5559 is one of the most popular mainstream notebooks right now, and the review of its predecessor, Inspiron 5558, is still one of the most popular articles in our media. Without any doubt, we’re going to be taking an in-depth look at 5559 as well, but let’s start off with its internals – what upgrade options it offers and whether it’s easy to open and maintenance.

Just for the record, we have the configuration with an Intel Core i7-6500U processor, AMD Radeon R5 M335 GPU and 8GBs of DDR3 RAM. You can check its current price here: http://amzn.to/23Gl3IR

1. Removing the service lid

Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to upgrade your Inspiron 5559 – you just have to remove two screws from the service cover and use a pryer to lift it (we tried with fingers first, but it’s held on pretty firmly).


Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 32 40

Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 35 32

Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 36 23

1. Get access to RAM, HDD, BIOS Battery and Wi-Fi

You already have access to most of the components you may need to reach, including the two RAM slots, the 2.5” HDD, the BIOS battery and the Wi-Fi module.


Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 38 03

Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 38 12

Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 38 19 (1)

Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 43 16

The battery has its own dedicated slider, so it can be removed at any time.


Photo 2.02.16 г., 14 45 54

Photo 29.01.16 г., 15 37 49

Here are the main components we found in our Dell Inspiron 5559:

  • Hard Drive: Seagate ST1000LM024, 1TB, 5400 rpm (Check Price)
  • Battery: Simplo Technology, Type M5Y1K, 40Wh
  • RAM: 2x 4GB SK Hynix 1Rx8 PC3L-12800S – 11 – 13 – B4, 1600Mhz, DDR3 (Check Price)
  • Wi-Fi: Intel Dual-Band Wireless-AC 3160 (3160NGW)

2. Get access to the motherboard and the cooling system

We haven’t disassembled Inspiron 5559 down to its motherboard yet, but Dell has an awesome 100 page PDF where you can read everything about servicing the notebook in great detail: Inspiron 15 5559 Service Manual

You can check the current price of all available Dell Inspiron 5559 configurations here:
http://amzn.to/23Gl3IR

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Dean Winchester (@DeanUtd)

When should we expect the full in-depth review?

Hawk81
Hawk81
8 years ago
Reply to  Simeon Nikolov

is the Graphic Card Upgradeable ?
R5 M335

SBBear
SBBear
8 years ago
Reply to  Hawk81

I have the same question.

m_2
m_2
7 years ago
Reply to  Hawk81

if anyone knows a way to upgrade the R5 M335
put the link in a comment
thanks in advance

Tom
Tom
8 years ago

From all the research i’ve done and questions i’ve asked on other forums it doesn’t look like the R5 M335 is upgradeable, but if anyone hears different I would very much like to know. I have this same model except with 16GB of RAM and find that I can use it to game on older less demanding games at low to reasonable settings and resolutions. But an upgrade option would be very welcome.

marcus
marcus
8 years ago

Does the inspiron 5559 have a mpci slot so you can do a epgu

Tommy
Tommy
7 years ago

Do you know if the dvd drive is SATA III capable for an SSD?

admiral70
admiral70
7 years ago
Reply to  Tommy

Love to know if the Inspiron 15 5559 HD can be upgraded to an SSD.

mohamed
mohamed
7 years ago
Reply to  admiral70

its possible

Juan Wiswell
Juan Wiswell
7 years ago
Reply to  mohamed

Can the DVD rom be replaced with an SSD? so that I can keep the 1 TB of HDD and move the OS files to the new SSD?

Monis Anwar
Monis Anwar
7 years ago
Reply to  Juan Wiswell

someone reply to >>>”Can the DVD rom be replaced with an SSD? so that I can keep the 1 TB of HDD and move the OS files to the new SSD?”<<< QUICK

Rossen Pandev
7 years ago
Reply to  Monis Anwar

I suggest moving the HDD to the DVD caddy instead of the SSD. This way you can utilize the full performance of the SSD instead of crippling it with a SATA II controller on the DVD.

Troy Parla
Troy Parla
7 years ago
Reply to  Juan Wiswell

Yes, I immediately swapped out the installed HDD with a smaller SSD ( just to get the operating system and frequently used programs on ) then added a new HDD into a caddy that replaced the DVD drive.

I only replaced the HDD that came with the machine because I had a 2gb drive in my former laptop and wanted the extra space.

I do recommend you move the HDD to the caddy position as Rossen Pandev suggested.

Issam
Issam
7 years ago

can i upgrade the grafic card ? or change it to nvidia ?

Mathieu Pascal
7 years ago
Reply to  Issam

By changing your motherboard i guest.

badar saleem
badar saleem
7 years ago

can i add additional graphic card of nvidia with amd radeon r5 m335 to make them work both at a time….need help…?????

Mohamed Shawer
7 years ago
Reply to  badar saleem

You cant add a graphic card in the laptop but you can use an external graphic card, but I recommend buying a desktop and safe yourself the trouble, or buy inspiron 7559 from online site its much cheaper than local market in my opinion

badar saleem
badar saleem
7 years ago

and my far cry game plays with slow motion in dell inspiron 5559 ci7 what is the reason…???

badar saleem
badar saleem
7 years ago
Reply to  badar saleem

my far cry 4

badar saleem
badar saleem
7 years ago

I strongly recommend not to buy or use this model.of del trust me i am using this machine and it seriously sucks..its very slow like u are using any pentium 3 desktop…

elenor
elenor
7 years ago
Reply to  badar saleem

Second that. This is a pos. You get what you pay for I guess. I can’t wait to get a new computer. Mine decided it didn’t like to be charged 3 months after purchase. I have taken it apart and put it back together again like four times to get it to work. I have no idea what the problem was to this day, but for some reason reassembly is the only thing that would get it to work again. Now it’s been working for a while without charging issues, but the speakers stopped working out of the blue one… Read more »

amd
amd
7 years ago

dell inspiron I5559-4682SLV
can i upgrade graphic card?

Migz
Migz
7 years ago

can i change my non backlight keyboard laptop with a backlight one?

dave
dave
7 years ago

can we use Samsung 960 EVO M.2??

Jim
Jim
6 years ago

Hi! i have dell inspiron 15 5000 series, model: 5559, i5-6200u. My laptop is only 4gb ram, can i upgrade my ram? like to put an 8gb ram on it to make it 12gb ram? thanks!

Paula
Paula
2 years ago
Reply to  Jim

I’ve just put 2x8gb ram in my 5559 & it’s now super quick (for everyday non-professional use). I have compressed the hard drive; now have 2tb (cheaper than buying new drive) & reformatted my passport hard drives & memory sticks from fat32 to ntfs, also compressing them to double the storage. Only ‘problem’ I’ve had is with the power-on button; mine will now sometimes work with a lot of wiggling around – so emailed tech support. Amazing solution: tweak the bios so 5559 automatically switches itself on when mains power is turned on. I do not feel confident enough to… Read more »

Diwakar
Diwakar
3 months ago
Reply to  Paula

Which 8gb ram did you bought for Dell 5559