Inside Dell Vostro 15 3525 – disassembly and upgrade options

The Vostro 15 3525 suffers the effects of cost-cutting. On the other hand, it has an excellent internal port selection.

Check out all Dell Vostro 15 3525 prices and configurations in our Specs System or read more in our In-Depth review.


1. Remove the bottom plate

This notebook’s bottom panel is held in place by 8 Phillips-head screws. Two of them are captive and lift the panel gently, so you can start the prying process from there.


2. Battery

Our unit is equipped with the smaller of two battery options. It has a capacity of 41Wh and lasts for about 8 hours of Web browsing, or 6 hours and 30 minutes of video playback. To take it away, unplug the SATA cable, and the battery connector, and undo all three Phillips-head screws keeping it attached to the chassis.


3. Memory and storage

Two SODIMM slots work in dual-channel mode. Storage-wise, you get one M.2 PCIe x4 slot, which supports Gen 4 drives. Also, there is a 2.5-inch SATA drive bay, which is only available with the smaller battery option.


4. Cooling system

Now, the cooling doesn’t look particularly impressive, as there is a small heat pipe dealing with the CPU, with a rather small fan being employed to dissipate the heat.

Check out all Dell Vostro 15 3525 prices and configurations in our Specs System or read more in our In-Depth review.

Dell Vostro 15 3525 in-depth review

What if we tell you, that your daily driver business notebook shouldn't be as boring as you're used to seeing it? What if somebody grabbed one of the unimpressive features and turned it up its head? Well, this is exactly what Dell did with the Vostro 15 3525.Yes, it comes with the Zen 3 refresh CPUs (that coincidentally end at the number 25 - the same as the name of this notebook). But what is arguably more important in our opinion is one of the display options. Again, we're going to completely ignore the 768p TN variant, and focus on the 1080p IPS panel. Which now comes with a 120Hz refr[...]

Pros

  • Upgradability is on point
  • Affordable
  • Has an SD card reader
  • Good input devices
  • Has comfortable viewing angles and good contrast ratio (Innolux YMHWH-156HRA (CMN1522))
  • 120Hz refresh rate (Innolux YMHWH-156HRA (CMN1522))
  • No PWM (Innolux YMHWH-156HRA (CMN1522))

Cons

  • Covers only 57% of sRGB (Innolux YMHWH-156HRA (CMN1522))
  • Questionable build quality
  • Externals get really warm during heavy load
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