If you need an inexpensive secondary PC that will handle your basic-medium computing needs: email, Web browsing tasks, medium media editing, entertainment, home office use and college assignments, the Dell Inspiron 3000 Series i3847-4617BK is worth a look. Priced in the entry-level category, this small form-factor (SFF) desktop is among the most affordable yet powerful systems around, and it offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networking capabilities.
That said, its Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and integrated graphics offer a lot in the way of raw computing power. The system is quite OK for students or home office use where space saving is a priority, although the system’s diminutive chassis doesn’t offer much upgrade potential.
The Inspiron 3000 Series is set on a 14.45-by-6.89-by-17.32- inch (HWD) chassis, which is ideal for locations where space is limited. The front of the matte-black chassis has a glossy-black finish, with a signature silver trim and layered horizontal panels that pop open when pressed. Behind the lower panel are a pair of USB ports, a pair of audio ports and an 8-in-1 media card reader. The panel on the top hides a tray-loading DVD +/- RW drive.
Dell Inspiron Performance
The Inspiron i3847-4617BK comes equipped with a 3.2GHz Intel Core i5-4460 processor, a dual-core processor that functions like a quad-core thanks to Intel’s Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows each of the two cores to handle two different computing threads simultaneously. This dual-core powerhouse is coupled with 8GB of memory. In terms of productivity, the Core i5 will shoulder most any task sent its way.
Its PCMark 7 score of 2,730 points may not be much of a match for the HP ENVY Phoenix 810-460 Gaming Desktop, which scored 3,138 points with its quad-core Core i7 processor, but when compared to the 1,667 points scored by the Pentium equipped HP Pavilion Slimline 400-434, it’s miles ahead. It’s 4.17 points in our Cinebench R11.5 rendering test beat-out every competitor but the HP ENVY Phoenix 810-460, which scored 6.12 points.
All of this processing muscle helped the Inspiron i3847 to perform well in multimedia-creation tests. When running through our Photoshop CS5 test script, the Inspiron completed it in 3 minutes 33 seconds. The only area where performance really lagged was in graphics and gaming. This is expected of the integrated Intel HD Graphics, which is unlike the discrete graphics cArd found in gaming systems such as the Lenovo X315.
Its 3DMark 11 scores of 953 points (at medium settings) and 160 points (at higher settings and native resolution) are certainly respectable for a SFF desktop, considering most of its peers couldn’t run 3DMark at all. In actual gaming benchmarks, the performance was admirable, scoring 29 frames per second in Crysis 2 (at medium quality) and 13 fps in Lost Planet 2. That’s good enough for casual games, like Sims 3 and World of Warcraft, but even then, you’ll need to dial-down the eye-candy.
Other features
The 1000GB, 7,200rpm hard drive is loaded with Windows 8.1 with Bing (but you can now upgrade to Windows 10 for free as it has been rolling since 29th July). In there, Dell has loaded on a selection of software samples and utilities that may warrant an hour or two to clean off. Several sample games, toolbars from Google and Bing, dedicated website links to sites like Hulu, Netflix, and Ebay, and no less than five programs for reading eBooks and news feeds are included. The Inspiron 3000 also comes with a full-size keyboard and a two-button optical mouse (wired) and carries a one-year warranty.
There’s very little room for expansion with this desktop. There are no PCI slots on the motherboard, nor are there any open SATA ports for adding another hard drive. The lone memory slot is populated with an 8GB RAM module but the system will support up to 16GB of memory. Connectivity comes in terms of four USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 port, one HDMI input, one VGA input, a LAN port, and three audio jacks (line-in, line-out, and microphone). Wireless networking comes by way Dell Wireless-N 1705 and Bluetooth 4.0 module installed on the motherboard.
Summary
With high performance components, like a Core i5 processor, 1TB hard drive, and a slew of entertainment options that include a DVD-R/W optical drive, and several audio outputs, the Dell Inspiron 3000 Series i3847-4617BK stands head and shoulders above most other small form-factor competitors. Even when stacked up against our entry-level Editors’ Choice Acer Aspire ATC-605-UR2A, the pint-sized Inspiron 3000 offers better performance across the board. Add it all up, and the Dell Inspiron 3000 Series i3847-4617BK is clearly one of the best in its class.
Our Pick
Acer Aspire TC-885-UA92 Desktop, 9th Gen Intel Core i5-9400, 12GB DDR4, 512GB SSD, 8X DVD, 802.11AC Wifi, USB 3.1 Type C, Windows 10 Home
3 used from $499.00
