Dell Inspiron 3647 SFF Desktop Review

So I recently decided to upgrade my granddaughter's PC.  She had been using an 9 year old Dell Dimension 9100 I bought way back in 2005.  That device over the years went from being my primary computer to a Home Server to a VM Host and finally to my granddaughter. 

I decided the stick with the desktop format versus and All-in-One (AIO) or laptop.  My granddaughter already uses an iPad2 as her "tablet" device and while I like the AIO format and own an HP TouchSmart device circa 2007 - I wanted something a little easier to upgrade and less expensive.  It always surprises me the premium for AIO considering the components used.

So after some due diligence I bought a Dell Inspiron 3647 Small Form Factor (SFF) desktop and new 22" 16:9 HD monitor.  All in it cost me less than $500.  That included an 4th Gen Core i3 processor with 3M of L2 Cache on H81 chipset running at 3.5Ghz, 4GB of RAM, Intel 4600 Graphics and a 1TB 7200 RPM HDD - Running Windows 8.1

One area that I think Dell missed the boat with was not providing me an SSD option during ordering.  Sure 1TB is fine, but my granddaughter lives on YouTube and I would rather just have a fast boot.  The unit also came with both Wired and Wireless connections and a DVD Drive.  Eventually I'll upgrade to SSD as I continue to watch the prices drop.

The SFF is nice - versus the traditional "tower" design of my old 9100.  It looks tiny sitting in her desk computer compartment.  It's very quiet, uses much less energy than my old 9100 and I can easily upgrade here to 8GB RAM if she ever needs it. 

Graphics are fine and the Dell S2240L monitor is a near bezel less design with HDMI connection and full 1080p support.  

 Being a low cost unit it comes with traditional USB wired keyboard/mouse. Wireless was available but I had an MS Arc Keyboard/Mouse set - so used that instead.  Which works great.

 I also considered two alternatives - the Intel NUC and LG Chromebase AIO.  

I had made the statement in another post that I was sold on the Intel NUC.  I could have come in close to the same price point with a NUC. The D34010WYK Kit which uses a similar i3 Core proc and uses on chip PCH supports up to 16Gb RAM and mSATA was around $260 on NewEgg which by the time I added RAM, mSATA and Wireless would have been slightly more than the $354 I paid for the base Inspiron unit.  The only reason I did not pull the trigger was I wanted to leverage the traditional computer house space in my granddaughters desk vs placing it on top.  

 With the LG Chromebase - it comes an in at $399 with 21.5" monitor, wired keyboard/mouse and an integrated webcam.  Even though as I had mentioned my granddaughter lives on YouTube, I know she will want to do more including video editing, attaching camera, etc - which is where ChromeOS today is a little weak.  

 So as of today I'm happy with the decision and it's simply amazing what you buy today for less than $500.  

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