Dell Inspiron i3847-5078BK Desktop (Windows 7)
Product Description
Amazon.com
Inspiron Desktop 3000 Series
This compact. That expandable.
Increase your storage and your possibilities. With powerful processors and graphics, this expandable desktop packs big performance in a compact design.
Big on expansion. Big on power.
Easy expandability:You’ll never be short on room with large hard drives and the option to add more later.
Power player:Boost performance with powerful Intel processors. Run multiple programs at once so you can edit videos, listen to music or watch a movie at the same time with less lag.
Accessible connectivity
It’s easy to connect to your other devices with convenient accessibility to plenty of ports so you can link up your camera or HDTV to exchange data, or even charge devices. You’ll also get USB 3.0, standard WiFi, 1 TB of max Hard Disk Drive and Bluetooth.
Updated operating system:Navigate smoothly with the new, feature-rich Windows 8.1. Learn how to personalize your desktop with great new apps and features that make multitasking a breeze.
Keep your content and apps in your own cloud
Access, manage and share your data from anywhere. PocketCloud 2.0 gives you access to your content and applications from a PC, smartphone or tablet so you can safely and efficiently take your desktop with you wherever you go.
Unlimited access:Leave home with confidence that you will have anytime, anywhere access to your desktop when you are away. Locate, edit and share your files on the fly.
Efficient:Save time and hassle by wirelessly moving photos, videos and documents between your PC and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
Expandable:Upgrade to PocketCloud Premium to enable multiple connections to other PCs, tablets or smartphones.
My Dell for your peace of mind
My Dell is an easy-to-use support tool that consolidates the information you need about your PC. My Dell provides access to everything you need to take the guesswork out of owning a PC.
Proactive:Advice and alerts to let you know about issues before they happen, and tools to fix issues if they arise.
Trustworthy:Dell Back-up and Recovery provides flexible, automated backup and recovery to ensure your precious pictures, music and files remain safe. This feature is accessible through the My Dell interface.
Simple:Easy access to Dell support, warranty information and services to help you save time and reduce hassle.
Specifications
| Processor | 4th Generation Intel Core i5-4460 processor (6M Cache, up to 3.4 GHz) |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-Bit, English |
| Memory | 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz (4GBx2) |
| Video Graphics | Intel HD Integrated Graphics |
| Hard Drive | 1TB 7200 rpm SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive |
| Multimedia Drive | Tray load DVD Drive (Reads and Writes to DVD/CD) |
| Media Card Reader | 8-in-1 Media Card Reader and USB 3.0 |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth tied to wireless card |
| Display | No Monitor |
| Fax/Data Modem | HDMI - Yes |
| Wireless Connectivity | Dell Wireless-N 1705 + Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Audio | Integrated 5.1 Audio / No Speakers |
| Keyboard | Dell USB Entry Keyboard - English |
| Pointing Device | Dell USB Optical Mouse (Wired) |
| Warranty and Support | 1Yr In-Home Warranty |
| Software 1 | McAfee TPeaks Live Safe - 30 Day |
| Software 2 | Microsoft Office Trial (OHT13M) |
| Software 5 | [C3F4IO7] CY3,FY14,Addl SW,INS,NoCAM,W7 |
| Disclaimer3 | US Power Cord |
CUSTOMER REVIEW
Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?) OK... A little background: I am the kind of guy who builds his own PCs. Sure, over the past three-and-a-half decades I've owned several pre-builts, including several from Apple, ASUS, IBM (old school!), Acer, Compaq, HP, Lenovo, Gateway and other companies, but those usually ended up being cannibalized for parts because I never really liked how limited the designs were in those systems. They lacked expansion slots, or the memory couldn't be upgraded, or they weren't flexible enough to allow me to add more hard drives (you can never have enough hard drives). So I frequently just built Frankenputers from pieces and parts, and tailored them to my needs, all the while working in various computer stores (years ago) selling pre-built units-- including Dells-- to customers (until all the computer stores went out of business thanks to Best Bigbox killing them). I have to add that my experience with Dell at that time left me less than enthused.
Enter the Dell Inspiron i3847. They advertised it as "That expandable" and I was intrigued. "Truly? A pre-built desktop that doesn't make expansion a chore? This I've got to see!"
When the Dell arrived, I fired it up and was, indeed pleased by the fast setup and the lack of bloatware-- indeed, the only extra software on it seemed to be the 30-day trial of McAfee, but as I have my own subscription with Kaspersky, I didn't even need this and it was easily deleted, leaving me the majority of the 1TB hard drive for future software installations.
The speed was also quite nice. I was coming from an AMD Phenom X4 955 3.2 GHz, and the boost in speed when going to the Intel Core i5 (also 3.2 GHz) is quite welcome. That's not to say the AMD was slow, but that the Intel is just more optimized. It's simply faster in day-to-day functions, and plays nicer with my various applications.
The 8GB of RAM was also pretty helpful, I must say. It's nice to get a PC loaded with enough RAM to do any job. Too many pre-built PCs cheap-out in this regard, giving the buyer 4GB to deal with. In this era of 64-bit Windows, there's simply no reason not to slap the other 4GB in there and make the end-user experience that much more pleasant.
The on-board graphics? Well, they're Intel on-board graphics. Fast enough for web browsing, basic games, basic video, and business applications, but I'm a bit of a gamer and video editor, and so I was exceptionally pleased to see the free slot and ample space in the Dell Inspiron to allow me to install my Radeon HD 7850. Yes, yes... I know I'd be better served on an Intel with a GeForce card, but right now I'm happy with my existing Radeon pulled from an AMD system, and you can bet I was happy to see that it fit in the Dell.
Of course, there was one problem: Power. The Dell Inspiron i3847-5078BK comes with a very basic 300-watt power supply, and no, it does not have PCI-E connections. That meant swapping over my Corsair RM550 so that I could provide power to my Radeon card... And then, as long as I was in there, I mounted a second and third hard drive. I had to provide an extra SATA connector, and to be clear, there is no third HDD bay, but I happened to have a 5.25 caddy around, and so my third hard drive fit nicely in the second optical drive bay (which I wouldn't have needed, anyway... I really don't see the point to two optical drives unless you do a lot of disc-to-disc copying). While I was making changes, I decided to pull the stock DVD-RW drive (not a bad drive, mind you) and replace it with my own BD-RW drive.
It took some work getting the cables from my modular power supply managed, but once done, everything worked perfectly. The power supply mounted with no problems, the new hard drives all work, and the system is still so remarkably quiet I'm amazed it's got such a beefy CPU.
I didn't stop there, though. This system came with Windows 7 64-bit. That's nice and all, but after a couple years of using Windows 8 and 8.1, I was too used to the new OS and all the advancement in it (and before you gripe about how terrible Windows 8.1 is, let me point out that the under-the-hood improvements are enough of a performance boost for any gamer to think twice about being pedantic about the UI changing slightly.) With Windows 8.1 in place on this Core i5 system, with an improved video card and 8 GB of RAM, the system boots up super-fast and everything blazes.
Even before I put Windows 8.1 on this PC, though, it was pretty darn fast. The hardware is solid. The Core i5 CPU is absolutely lovely, and I have no complaints about it. The added RAM was probably the real boost to the system, though. If you absolutely hate Windows 8.1 then you will still see plenty of speed on this system as-is, with Windows 7 on it.
Despite this being an excellent computer that has changed my mind about pre-built systems, I am knocking off a point from my review for a combination of things:
First, the stock power supply was woefully inadequate for any expansion of the system. It was enough to run the hardware included, but if the average user wants to add a hard drive or video card, they're going to find out soon enough that they needed to upgrade the power supply. What's more, the included PSU has exceptionally short wires going to the CPU and motherboard, making it useful only for this particular PC & motherboard's layout. This is a minor complaint, but when they advertise that it's "That Expandable", they really should see fit to stick a beefier, more well-equipped power supply in the case.
Second, I just don't see the point to having two 5.25 bays and only two 3.25 bays when there are four SATA connections. Most people simply aren't going to need an extra optical drive, and would want that extra hard drive some day. Maybe it's just me, but I think a third 3.25 rack would have been preferable in a case like this, or, barring that, at least include a caddy to transform that 5.25 bay into a 3.25 bay. I had one lying around, but most people won't, and again they're selling this series as "Expandable" so I'd think this hardware would be part of the case design.
Finally, there are no front fans whatsoever. No hard drive cooling, no intake. I may correct this myself if I can figure out how to make it work with the nearly-sealed front panel, but I found it strange that a system that is supposed to be expandable wouldn't take into account the possibility that future upgrades might increase the interior heat and require some additional cooling.
These are, of course, all nitpick from a PC builder's point of view. For the average consumer looking for a powerful system this is a great choice. You have the ability to add that GeForce (or AMD) video card, as long as you make sure to swap out the power supply, too. You have the ability to add an extra hard drive easily (the SATA and power connectors are right there, held in place on the empty drive bay). You have 8GB of RAM and almost the entire 1 TB hard drive to work with thanks to Dell not packing in a bunch of unnecessary bloatware. You have excellent speed, and best of all, quiet cooling and power that makes this system purr.
This is an excellent choice in pre-built PCs. I can safely say that the next time I am looking to help a layperson find a pre-built desktop computer that I won't have to help them fix all the time, it will likely be a Dell. My assessment of Dell's hardware (and software) has *vastly* improved after my experience with this system. They've made consumer-friendly systems that still cater to the desires and needs of tinkerers and people in-the-know, like me.
Final Verdict: FOUR STARS for me, but it could be FIVE STARS for the average consumer who never intends to do any upgrading themselves. Let's call it FOUR AND A HALF STARS, if Amazon would let me do that.
0 comments:
Post a Comment