Soldered 8 GB RAM makes the Dell Inspiron 16 7630 and 7635 2-in-1 series a tricky recommendation

Dell is now shipping its 16-inch Inspiron 7630 2-in-1 and 7635 2-in-1 models based on Intel and AMD CPUs, respectively. Both models share similar chassis designs but with different processor options to cater to different budget levels. Unfortunately, the non user-upgradeable RAM can make certain configurations difficult or even tricky to recommend.

Dell offers SKUs with 8 GB of RAM or 16 GB of RAM, but certain RAM configurations are tied to higher-end CPUs or storage drives. Thus, upgrading from 8 GB to 16 GB will cost buyers several hundred dollars more even though a simple RAM upgrade alone should be no more than $50 to $100 USD. For example, the least expensive configuration includes the Ryzen 5 7530U CPU with 8 GB of RAM for $650. If you want 16 GB, however, the price skyrockets to $900 since the 16 GB configuration is tied to the faster Ryzen 7 7730U.

The price discrepancy applies for the Intel version of the model as well. The 8 GB configuration currently retails for $950 with the Core i5-1335U while the 16 GB must be paired with the Core i7-1360P for at least $1200. There is currently no way to order the Inspiron 16 2-in-1 with the Ryzen 5 or Core i5 CPU with 16 GB of RAM which is a shame because the low price of the Inspiron has always been a major selling point for the series.

To make matters more frustrating, the previous generation 2022 Inspiron 16 2-in-1 had removable RAM and so it's unfortunate to see the 2023 version lose this feature.