Dell Inspiron 3880 vs. Dell Tower Plus EBT2250

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Inspiron_3880.jpg case front and back pannelDell_Tower_Plus_EBT2250.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen10 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;Core Ultra 5/7/9/7K/9K (Series 2)
ChipsetB460Z890
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1650 SuperRTX 4090
RAMDIMM DDR4-2666/2933SODIMM DDR5-5200
RAM slots22
RAM speed2933 MT/s5200 MT/s
RAM max64 GB64 GB
USB ports(4x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0;(4x) USB-A 2.0; (5x) USB-A 3.2 Gen 1; (1x) USB-C 3.2 Gen 2; (1x) Thunderbolt 4/USB4 (USB-C)
Video portsHDMI 1.4b; VGA;(3x) DisplayPort 1.4; HDMI 2.1
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Mic; Line-Out; Card Reader;RJ45 (2.5 Gbps); Audio (Headset, Line-in, Line-out, S/PDIF);
Optional portsN.A.SD-card slot
SATA ports23
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1;PCIe Gen5 x16; (2x) PCIe Gen3 x4
M.2 slotsM.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT); (2x) M.2 2230/2280 (PCIe Gen4 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)
Drive bays3.25in; 9.5mmN.A.
PSU260 W460/750/1000 W
Weight6.02 kg (13.27 lb)12.94 kg (28.53 lb)
Released20202025
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

** As an Amazon associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
* 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 3880 and Dell Tower Plus EBT2250

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 which was released in 2025. The Dell Inspiron 3880 is older and entered production in 2020.

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 Tower Plus EBT2250 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell Inspiron 3880 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

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.

The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 is using the faster 5200 MT/s RAM. The Dell Inspiron 3880 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2933 MT/s. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 64 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 Inspiron 3880 has 8 USB ports. The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 is inferior in this regard and packs 4 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250, is that it has 1 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Dell Inspiron 3880 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.

Nowadays, almost every new computer comes equipped with a DisplayPort. However, none of the devices being compared here has one. Don't worry though, DisplayPort adapters are very cheap and you can get virtually 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 Tower Plus EBT2250 is better equipped as it comes with 3 SATA slot(s), while the Dell Inspiron 3880 has 2 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 Tower Plus EBT2250 has 1 M.2 slots while the Dell Inspiron 3880 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 Inspiron 3880 comes with a decent 260 Watt PSU, but the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 has a more powerful one rated at 1000 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_Inspiron_3880_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_Tower_Plus_EBT2250_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout