Dell Inspiron 11 (3157) 2015 edition

Any owners of the non-touch edition out there? Just wanna ask if it likewise has a slot to add a SATA HDD/SSD later on -- the preconfigured models on dell.com all have 32GB eMMC, am planning to get one and bump it up to 8GB RAM and 250GB SSD.

How's the build quality of the 3157 btw? All the other sites are raving about it. Am currently posting this using a 3137, and i have to say, it hasn't aged well after 1yr+ worth of active usage:

- ghost touch
- getting purple haze when the LCD monitor is held a certain way
- touchpad now acting up from time to time


tia

 

I just picked up a 3157 from Staples for $299, I3000-10099SLV (Pentium N3700, 4GB RAM, 500GB drive). I previously owned a 3147, now passed down to my son.

One year's active use of the 3147 has resulted in some visible wear, one repair for ghost touches, and occasional A key and 1 key keyboard problems.

The 3157 is slightly faster (PCMark 7 - 1875, 3147 - 1774, probably from a slightly faster drive. It also comes with 2 USB 3.0 ports instead of 1, It also came pre-installed with Windows 10 Home version 1511. This Windows edition comes with an option to defer Windows updates. Nice!

Someone on Amazon wrote a review where they read the service manual and opted for the 2GB, 32GB eMMc version because he also wanted to upgrade the RAM and drive. The 32GB eMMc is installed within an SSD caddy and is not soldered to the mainboard.

The 3000 series appeals to me because of the component accessibility, the 2 in 1 design, the price, the long battery life, and bright IPS display.

 

I have tested my new 3157 (I3000-10099SLV) for a few days now and have run into no issues.

The screen is bright with no dead pixels. The keyboard is easy to type on. The two USB 3.0 ports are faster than the USB 2.0 port. The Wifi card links up quickly and stays connected.

When I installed a Sandisk Ultra II SSD, a CrystalDiskMark test shows 459 MB read / 434 MB write per second sequential speed. My older 3147 had speeds of 274 MB read / 263 MB / sec write.
The Sandisk SSD management software reports Sata III connections (6GB/sec) in the 3157. The 3147 had Sata II connections (3GB/sec).

For $299 plus the SSD, the Dell 3157 (Pentium N3700, 4GB Ram, 500GB drive) is a great deal. Competing notebooks in the same price range or slightly higher are missing features: not 2 in 1, no user replaceable components, no easy access to internals, lack of support, short battery life, and lower sales volume (fewer parts on Ebay).

My cons include all plastic construction, small thin rubber feet (easily lost), and no dedicated pg up/ pg dn keys, and straight power plug.

 

As an update, after two months of ownership of the Dell 3157, I see no issues with wear, touchpad, keyboard, touchscreen, or battery. The rubber feet are still in place. I get 6 to 7 hours of use per charge based upon the battery report from powercfg.