Dell Inspiron 3847: At First Glance
The Dell Inspiron 3847 is a top-performing desktop that was released in the year 2014. Impressively, due to its popularity and affordability, it ranked as one of the top 10 best-selling desktops of 2014.
Speaking of its affordability, as of the time this review was published (June 2021), Dell Inspiron 3847 costs $546.38. At this price, you get the Dell Inspiron 3847 along with a wired mouse and keyboard at no extra cost.
However, you need to purchase a monitor separately or use a monitor that you own already. Having hinted about the performance of the Dell Inspiron 3847 and its price, let’s get into the main discussion.
Dell Inspiron 3847: Design, Dimension & Weight
The Dell Inspiron 3847 has an all-black mini-tower plastic chassis except for the chrome-like dell logo on its front bezel. The front chassis is simple and chic, it features a beautiful glossy finish.
Speaking of its simplicity, the front chassis features two layers of optical drives with their eject buttons by their right. The optical drives are very useful for recording and playback of CD and DVD media.
Below the optical drives, there is a section with a drop-down cover. This section houses two USB 2.0 ports, a microphone port, a headphone port, and an 8-in-1 media card reader.
Additionally, below these sections, you will find the chrome-colored Dell logo enclosed in a circle which is chrome-colored as well. The logo sits at the center of the front chassis and right below it, you’ll find the power button.
Also, below the power button, you will find the hard drive activity light. The hard drive activity light turns on when the computer reads from the hard drive or writes to it.
There’s a silver lining all around the front edges of the Dell Inspiron 3847. The silver edges give the desktop a unique and aesthetic look.
Moving on to the back of the Dell Inspiron 3847’s chassis, it is sectioned into 3 parts. The first section houses the power supply light and the power supply button.
Moreover, the power supply button has a causal effect on the power supply light. Therefore, when you press the power supply button, the power supply light turns on.
Next, below the power supply light and the button, you’ll find the power connector. The power connector as you might already know is used to connect the computer to the power source.
Furthermore, to the right-hand side of the first section, you’ll find a region of grid-like ventilation openings. Finally, to the utmost right of the first section, you’ll find the security cable.
Specifically, the security cable is great for preventing theft. Additionally, there is also a padlock ring for preventing unauthorized opening of the computer’s chassis.
Proceeding to the section of the back chassis, this section is further categorized into two columns. The first column has a black panel where you’ll find a white print of text labeled – Inspiron 3847.
Additionally, on the black panel, you’ll find a lot of useful ports. Precisely, the black panel features four USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports.
The total number of USB ports on the Dell Inspiron 3847 are eight.
Additionally, the black panel has an Ethernet port, a microphone port, a VGA port, and an HDMI connector. The HDMI port is very useful if you have a monitor that supports an HDMI interface.
Furthermore, the HDMI supports both audio and video media using just a single cable. Therefore, users can connect their TV and their DVD using the same cable.
Lastly, the black panel has a line-in connector which you can use for connecting microphones or CD players. Finally, the black panel also has a line-out connector used for connecting speakers.
Next to the black panel, you’ll find another region of grid-like ventilation openings. With these sufficient openings, there’s enough air circulating inside the computer.
The Dell Inspiron 3847 is a compact desktop computer. It has a dimension of 177.8 x 431.8 x 368.3 mm and a weight of 7900 g.
In conclusion, I’ll rate the Dell Inspiron 3847 a seven for its aesthetic and simple design.
Dell Inspiron 3847: Processor (CPU) Performance
The Dell Inspiron 3847 comes in quite a number of processor configuration variants. The least of its configurations ships with an Intel Celeron processor.
You can also purchase a variant with a dual-core Intel Pentium processor. Next, you can get a variant of the Dell Inspiron 3847 with a 4th generation dual-core Intel core-i3 processor.
Additionally, you can get a 4th generation quad-core Intel Core-i5 processor configuration variant. Finally, the high-end configuration is the 4th generation quad-core Intel core-i7 processor.
The model I reviewed shipped with the Core-i5 processor. According to the CPU benchmark, the Dell Inspiron 3847 with the Core-i5 processor recorded a score of 6,620 points.
In comparison with the ASUS M32CD prebuilt desktop, the Dell Inspiron 3847 performed better. The ASUS recorded a score of 6,538 points in the same test.
In conclusion, I will rate the processor performance of the Dell Inspiron 3847 an eight. This rating is a result of its impressive performance in the CPU benchmark.
Dell Inspiron 3847: Memory (RAM) Performance
The Dell Inspiron 3847 supports 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM with sizes ranging from 2 GB to a maximum of 16 GB. The desktop has two RAM slots with RAMs running in dual-channel.
Speaking of dual-channel RAM, it allows the use of two RAM cards. Dual-channel RAM increases the memory performance of the computer as opposed to single-channel RAM.
Moreover, the Dell Inspiron 3847 model I reviewed shipped with an 8 GB RAM running in dual-channel (4 GB RAM on each slot).
With 8 GB of RAM, the Dell Inspiron 3847 model I tested was a capable multitasking computer. It easily catered for multiple activities occurring simultaneously without noticeable stuttering or lag.
Precisely, I had the chrome browser running up to 8 browser tabs. Moreover, I was playing a video in the background and also had multiple documents opened.
However, despite these activities running concurrently, the Dell Inspiron 3847 kept running smoothly.
As a result of its impressive multitasking ability, I’ll rate the RAM performance of the Dell Inspiron 3847 an eight.
Dell Inspiron 3847: Storage Options & Performance
The Dell Inspiron 3847 supports a SATA hard disk drive with a rotational speed of 7200 rpm. In comparison with a standard 5400 rpm HDD, the 7200 rpm HDD of the Dell Inspiron 3847 is an improvement.
Specifically, with its improved rotational speed of 7200 rpm, it delivers a solid performance in starting up the computer. Moreover, launching application programs was also a speedy process.
The Dell Inspiron 3847 supports a maximum HDD capacity of 2 TB. The model I reviewed shipped with a 1 TB HDD which is quite sufficient for storing files by most users.
However, if users need more storage spaces, an upgrade can be easily achieved. Impressively, the desktop is an easily expandable computer it has an empty SATA slot where users can add another HDD.
Furthermore, the desktop features a total of 8 USB ports – 6 USB 2.0 ports and 2 USB 3.0 ports. Users can use these USB ports for connecting external storage devices.
In conclusion, due to the various storage options the Dell Inspiron 3847 offers, I’ll be rating it a seven in this aspect.
Dell Inspiron 3847: Graphics Card Performance
The Dell Inspiron 3847 ships with multiple graphics card options. The base graphics configuration is the integrated Intel HD 4600 graphics card.
The Intel HD 4600 graphics card has a base frequency of 350 MHz. Additionally, it has a boost frequency of 1200 MHz.
Next, you can also buy the Dell Inspiron 3847 with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 graphics card. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 is a dedicated GPU that has a dedicated VRAM of 1 GB DDR3 memory.
Additionally, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 has a base frequency of 874 MHz and a boost frequency of 1748 MHz.
Furthermore, the Dell Inspiron 3847 also comes in an NVIDIA GeForce GT 635 GPU configuration. This configuration also has a dedicated VRAM of 1 GB DDR3 memory and a base frequency of 927 MHz.
Finally, the highest GPU configuration of the Dell Inspiron 3847 is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 705. It has a VRAM of 1 GB, a base frequency of 874 MHz, and a boost frequency of 1748 MHz.
The Dell Inspiron 3847 model I reviewed shipped with the least GPU configuration – Intel HD Graphics 4600. Thankfully, the graphics performance is impressive.
The Dell Inspiron is an excellent performer at multimedia tasks. It produces clear and sharp images and videos.
However, the desktop is not a high-performing gaming machine but can handle some intensive games at low settings. Additionally, it can also handle some less-intensive games at high settings.
To test the gaming ability of my review model, I played Bioshock Infinite. At a resolution of 1280 x 720, the game played at 26 fps.
Also, at a resolution of 1920 x 1080, the game played at 14 fps. Based on the gaming test result, the performance of the Dell Inspiron 3847 is below average.
However, you can improve the gaming performance of the Dell Inspiron 3847 with the right GPU upgrades. For instance, the EVGA GTX-750 Ti SC GPU should result in better gaming performance.
Additionally, in this article, I will provide the result of the Dell Inspiron 3847 from the 3D Mark benchmark test. In the 3D Mark benchmark test, the desktop recorded a score of 706 points.
In comparison with the performance of the ASUS M32CD Prebuilt desktop, the Dell Inspiron 3847 is an underperformer. ASUS M32CD recorded a score of 966 points.
In conclusion, I’ll rate the graphics performance of the Dell Inspiron 3847 a six. This rating is due to its unimpressive gaming performance and its underperformance in the benchmark test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the Dell Inspiron 3847 supports dual monitors. However, this depends on the port available on the monitor you’re connecting to. The desktop has an HDMI port that can be used for connecting one monitor. Also, the Dell Inspiron 3847 has a VGA port that can be used to connect to another monitor.
Yes, you can add an additional hard drive to the Dell Inspiron 3847. This can be achieved with the empty SATA slot available.
However, the hard drive can only be expanded to a maximum of 2 TB which is enough space for storing data and files. Moreover, there are still other storage options available like connecting to external storage devices and optical drives.
The Dell Inspiron 3847 does not have a built-in microphone. However, there is a microphone port that can be used for connecting an external microphone.
The Dell Inspiron 3847 was released in 2014 which is about seven years from the time we published this review in 2021. However, despite the fact that the Dell Inspiron 3847 has been around for quite a while, it is still a relevant desktop computer today.
The Dell Inspiron 3847 is an affordable desktop PC. When we published this review in June 2021, the desktop starts at a price of $546.38. However, this cost excludes the cost of a monitor which has to be purchased separately since as it doesn’t ship with the computer.
Conclusion
The Dell Inspiron 3847 is a desktop computer that delivers sufficient performance for daily computing tasks. It packs nice specs and impressively it does this at an affordable price.
Also, the desktop is easily expandable. You can upgrade it in the future when there is a need for it. Therefore, the Dell Inspiron gives assurance for future use.
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