Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT vs. Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower

Comparison and Differences

Dell_OptiPlex_3050_MT.jpg case front and back pannelDell_OptiPlex_5000_Tower.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen6&7 i3/i5; Pentium; Celeron; Intel Gen 12 i3/i5/i7/i9; Pentium
ChipsetB250Q670
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1650 SuperAMD Radeon RX 6600
RAMDIMM DDR4-2133/2400 DIMM DDR4-3200
RAM slots24
RAM speed2400 MT/s3200 MT/s
RAM max32 GB128 GB
USB ports(4x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0; (5x) USB-A 3.0; USB-C 3.1;
Video portsDisplay Port 1.2; HDMI 1.4;(2x) Display Port 1.4a;
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Line-Out; RJ45; Audio; Line-Out/In;
Optional portsSerial+PS2; VGA; Media Card Reader;HDMI 2.0b/Displayport/VGA/PS2/serial/USB Type-C; Serial port; SD-card slot
SATA ports34
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; (3x) PCIe x1;PCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x4; (2x) PCIe 3.0 x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2280/2242 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x2, NVMe) (2x) M.2 2230/2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)
Drive bays3.5in; (2x) 2.5in; 5.25in (slim);3.5in; (2x) 2.5in; 5.25in (slim);
PSU240 W240/260/400 W
Weight7.93 kg (17.49 lb)7.34 kg (16.18 lb)
Released20172022
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 OptiPlex 3050 MT and Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower which was released in 2022. The Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT is older and entered production in 2017.

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

Processor

Usually the newer the generation of the CPU, the better the performance and efficiency is. If your budget allows it, you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower has 4 RAM slots while the Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT has only 2 slot(s). This is not something to worry about. Just make sure you take it into consideration when planning how much RAM you are going to use.

The Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower is using the faster 3200 MT/s RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2400 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower has 10 USB ports. The Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT is inferior in this regard and packs 8 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower, is that it has 1 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT has no such port, thus restricting your transfer speeds significantly. For people who want to use external drives on regular basis, this might be an issue.

DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower comes with 2 ports, while the Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower is the better choice.

The Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT comes with an HDMI port, while the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower does not support the interface. Of course missing HDMI port is something that can be easily fixed with a good adapter (e.g. DisplayPort to HDMI).

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 OptiPlex 5000 Tower is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT has 3 slot(s).

An M.2 SSD can be several times faster than a SATA one. Thus, we are happy to see that both models support the M.2 interface. However, the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower has 1 M.2 slots while the Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT comes with just 1.

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

Having a Power Supply Unit with high power rating is important, if you are going to use components which require extra power. The Dell OptiPlex 3050 MT comes with a decent 240 Watt PSU, but the Dell OptiPlex 5000 Tower has a more powerful one rated at 400 Watts. Choosing either one depends on your specific requirements and use case. Also don't forget that some models might have more than one PSU option - try to always get the most powerful one, especially if you plan to upgrade to a powerful GPU.

Motherboard

Dell_OptiPlex_3050_MT_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_OptiPlex_5000_Tower_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout