Dell Inspiron 3250 vs. Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Inspiron_3250.jpg case front and back pannelDell_OptiPlex_3040_SFF.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorSmallSmall
CPU optionsIntel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;Intel Gen6 i3/i5; Pentium; Celeron;
ChipsetH110H110
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1650 Low ProfileGeForce GT 1030 Low Profile
RAMDIMM DDR3-1333/1600 DIMM DDR3L-1600
RAM slots22
RAM speed1600 MT/s1600 MT/s
RAM max16 GB16 GB
USB ports(2x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0;(4x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.2; VGA;Display Port 1.2; HDMI 1.4;
Other portsRJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Card Reader;RJ45; Headset; Line-Out;
Optional portsN.A.Serial+PS2; VGA; Media Card Reader;
SATA ports32
PCI slotsPCIe 2.0 x16; PCIe 2.0 x1;PCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)N.A.
Drive bays(2x) 2.5in; 3.5in; 9.5mm3.5in/2.5in; 5.25in (slim);
PSU180 W180 W
Weight4.82 kg (10.63 lbs)6.1 kg (13.45 lb)
Released20162015
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

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* Dedicated GPU warning: Check if your particular power supply model has enough power. Additionally some PSUs don't come with an auxiliary PCIe power connector and you may need to buy a SATA to PCIe power adapter.

Differences between Dell Inspiron 3250 and Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Inspiron 3250 which was released in 2016. The Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF is older and entered production in 2015.

Both models have the same form factor, meaning reoughtly they have the same phiysical size and form.

Processor

The two models have the same generation of Intel processors. We think that the 6 generation of Intel Processors have enough power to execute all of the home and office tasks that most people will care to do.

Memory

Both models have have equal amount of ram slots (2 RAM). Usually two RAM slots are more than enough for most cases. However, the count should be taken into account when planning how much and what combination of RAM you are going to need for your system.

None of the desktops has an advantage when it comes to the speed of the RAM being used. Both models support RAM speeds of up to 1600. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 16 GB of RAM will be enough for most people. However, if you will be needing more RAM, make sure to check other desktop models too.

Ports

In total the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF has 8 USB ports. The Dell Inspiron 3250 is inferior in this regard and packs 6 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. None of the desktop models has a USB 3.1 port (10Gb/s), so if you need a fast connection to your peripherals, like external Solid State Drive, you will need to look elsewhere.

Unfortunately, only the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF has a DisplayPort. The Dell Inspiron 3250 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.

In case your monitor supports HDMI only, you will be happy to hear that both models come with an HDMI port.

SATA ports are placed on the system board and it is where you connect your HDD, SSD and Optical Disk Drives. More SATA slots will allow you to have more drives running at the same time. In this regard the Dell Inspiron 3250 is better equipped as it comes with 3 SATA slot(s), while the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF has 2 slot(s).

M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF, nor the Dell Inspiron 3250 has one. However, you can still use a SATA SSD drive which should give you satisfactory performance.

Make sure that the available M.2 slot supports the PCIe (also called NVMe) interface. This is important as there are M.2 slots which support only the inferior SATA III interface. For comparison, the SATA III interface has max speeds of 6Gb/s, while the PCIe 3.0 x4 will support speeds up to 32Gb/s!

Power Supply

Looking at the Power Supply Unit (PSU) of the two models we don't see any differences. For either of them you get a maximum power of 180 Watts. However be careful, many models have more than one power supply option. When buying your computer, it is a good idea to get a version with the most powerful PSU. This will potentially allow you to upgrade to a more powerful GPU for example.

Motherboard

Dell_Inspiron_3250_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_OptiPlex_3040_SFF_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout