Dell Inspiron 15R (N5010)

N5010 · 2010–2011 · laptop

Specifications

Cpu: Intel Celeron or Pentium dual-core (base configuration) up through Core i3-380M / i5-460M (Arrandale, 1st-gen Core), depending on configuration; paired with Intel HD Graphics or an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 / 5650 / 550v discrete option
Ram: max: 8 GB DDR3-1333 (2x4 GB), two SO-DIMM slots · base: 3 GB DDR3-1333 (single module, entry configuration) or 4 GB on higher-tier configurations
Ports: 4x USB 2.0 (one shared with eSATA) · VGA · HDMI · RJ-45 Ethernet · ExpressCard/34 slot · 8-in-1 media card reader · Headphone and microphone jacks
Battery: 6-cell Li-ion, removable, roughly 48 Wh
Display: 15.6" WXGA HD, 1366x768, LED-backlit, glossy TrueLife
Storage: base: 250 GB SATA HDD, 5400 RPM · options: 320 GB SATA HDD · 500 GB SATA HDD · Optional DVD+/-RW optical drive
Weight: 2.69 kg
Os Support: latest: Windows 7 officially; owners commonly report running Windows 10 unofficially on the Core i3/i5 configurations, though Dell never published Windows 10 drivers for this model · shipped: Windows 7 Home Premium (also offered with Home Basic in some markets)
Release Price: From about $549 for the base configuration at launch

Variants

Revisions

Intel Celeron / Pentium configurationEntry-level Arrandale-era Celeron and Pentium dual-core options on the base configuration.

Intel Core i3-380M / i5-460M configurationMid-tier and higher configurations; both are first-generation (Arrandale) Core CPUs sharing the same socket, a common upgrade target for owners of lower-tier units.

Upgrade paths

RAM

8 GB DDR3-1333 (2x4 GB SO-DIMM) · Single bottom access panel covers both SO-DIMM slots, no disassembly needed.

~$20-40

EASY

storage

2.5" SATA HDD or SSD, capacity limited only by BIOS/controller support · Drive bay accessed from the underside after removing a few screws, a well-documented and popular SSD swap even years later.

~$25-80

EASY

battery

Higher-capacity 6-cell or extended replacement pack · External, clasp-release battery on the back edge, no tools needed.

~$25-40

EASY

CPU

Any Arrandale-generation Socket G1 Core i3/i5 CPU the motherboard supports (three-digit model numbers only; second-generation Sandy Bridge chips are not compatible with this socket/chipset) · Requires a keyboard and palm rest teardown to reach the socket. A common forum-documented upgrade from Celeron/Pentium base units to a Core i5-460M.

~$15-40 used

MODERATE