With the Dell Inspiron 34702, you’re getting a mainstream desktop PC that might not have much room for internal expansion, but sports a diminutive stature that can blend into pretty much of any modern workspace. Used at home, it can easily sit mounted to the back of a flat-panel display or sitting on the corner of a desk to show off its industrial-chic styling.
It’s expensive for a Core i5-powered PC, but its feature set might justify the extra bucks, especially the storage option and other IT-friendly features. This PC will definitely appeal to corporations looking to replace hundreds or thousands of business desktops.
Design
The Inspiron 3470 is a tiny desktop, measuring just 11.4 by 3.6 by 11.5 inches (HWD). That’s slightly bigger than the Dell Optiplex 5050 (7.2 by 7 by 1.4 inches) and a smaller than the Acer Aspire TC-885-UA92 (13.4 by 6.4 by 13.8 inches), which is designed to be used vertically, thus the extra inches on the vertical side.
The Inspiron is tiny enough to fit upright on a tabletop, alongside a monitor like the 21.5-inch Acer SB220Q bi, to create a powerful combo for the home-office.
Connectivity is excellent for a general-use PC. Front ports are located below the power button, and to the right of an optical drive. They include an SD card reader, a headphone jack and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. There’s no USB-C port, an unfortunate exclusion given the PC’s price and the increasing number of hard drives and other peripherals that use the standard.
Around the back, there are four USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, a VGA port and an Ethernet port. For wireless networks, the Dell Inspiron 3470 includes 802.11bgn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. Also bundled into the package are Dell branded wireless keyboard and mouse.
Performance
For the price, this Inspiron 3470 offers more PC than you’re paying for, especially the components which include a 9th-generation intel Core i5-9400F CPU (6-core) running at 4.1 GHz with Turbo boost technology Intel HD Graphics 630. To that configuration, it adds 12GB RAM, 128GB SSD and 1TB hard drive storage. Compare that with the Acer Aspire TC-885-UA92, that packs the same processor and RAM size, but uses a 512GB SSD for storage but cost much less and includes a USB Type-C port.
As configured, the Inspiron shines well on everyday office productivity tasks, which approximates editing spreadsheets, videoconferencing and other tasks that business users are likely to perform every day.
As expected, users of tiny business desktops with integrated GPUs shouldn’t expect to play intensive games on them, and that’s true of the Dell Inspiron 3470. In case you need to play games while not working, Dell offers the Inspiron i5676-A696Blu with a dedicated AMD Radeon RX 580 graphics card, ideal for both work and play.
Dell Inspiron 3470 Review: Verdict
The Dell Inspiron 3470 Desktop deserves praise for its impressive computing performance and IT-friendly features, include easy remote management, a wide variety of configurations, and easy to access internal components.
For organizations and corporates planning to deploy hundreds of PCs, this might be a good starting point that won’t get expensive when you max out the CPU configurations and offers multiple locking options for security. It offers more bang for the bang as a general-use desktop PC for the small-office and the tiny design ensures you can use it where space is limited.
Are there any better alternatives?
Small businesses working with more constrained budget and without an IT staff will want to take a hard look at alternatives like the Acer Aspire TC-885-UA92, which packs the same CPU and RAM, but tops out with a 512GB solid state storage and costs much less.
It is a slightly cheaper option that lacks remote management features that you might not use anyway. If you need to do some graphic intensive tasks like media editing and some gaming while not working, the Dell Inspiron i5676-A696Blu offers a dedicated graphics card and strong overall performance, for around the same price.
Should you buy it?
Maybe. If you’re working on constrained space, then the Dell Inspiron 3470 will occupy very little space on your desk. Otherwise, the Acer Aspire TC-885-UA92 looks like a better buy, offering better connectivity, more SSD storage and lots of space for upgrades, all that while costing much less.
Recommended Configuration
Acer Aspire TC-885-UA92 Desktop, 9th Gen Intel Core i5-9400, 12GB DDR4, 512GB SSD, 8X DVD, 802.11AC Wifi, USB 3.1 Type C, Windows 10 Home
3 used from $429.46
The Review
Dell Inspiron 3470
The Dell Inspiron 3470 Desktop deserves praise for its impressive computing performance and IT-friendly features, include easy remote management, a wide variety of configurations, and easy to access internal components.
PROS
- Affordable
- Good basic PC
- Space saving design
CONS
- Basic features
Review Breakdown
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EDITORS RATING
