Dell Inspiron 3030 Small Desktop - Intel Core i5-14400 Processor, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, Intel UHD 730 Graphics, Windows 11 Home, Onsite & Migrate Service - Mist Blue

This is my second Dell Inspiron. My first has an i7-7700 processor which is not supported by Windows 11. Plus, I've had it for 7 years, so it was getting long in the tooth anyway. I upgraded to this Inspiron 3030 with an i7-14700 processor and Win 11 Pro. I intentionally decided to go with the single, 1TB SSD because I wanted to move the 250 GB SSD and 1TB HD from my older machine to this newer one. The Inspiron started well and, after the normal Dell/Windows initialization routine, it ran properly; no muss, no fuss. I then began to move components over from my old Inspiron to this new one.Before I started, I read the user's manual to familiarize myself with the contents of the case. Opening the case is actually quite simple; two thumbscrews and you're in. (No screwdriver required.) Adding a 7-port USB 3.0 PCIe card was as simple as pulling on a tab, inserting the card, and closing the tab. (Again, no screws involved.) As for adding my older hard drives, inside the 3030's case is a power harness for three additional SATA drives/cards, and a spare SATA data cable. Moving my 250GB SSD and 1TB HD (both AHCI) from my old machine to the new machine was easy; just unscrew the drive caddy from the old machine and screw it onto the case of the new machine, plug in the power cables and the SATA cables, close the case, and reboot. Bingo! The drives were present and accounted for. (The old drives needed different drive letters assigned (per my desires), and the old SSD (which was the old OS disk with Win 10 Home installed) had to be reconfigured and reformatted to a Data disk, but that was easily done via Disk Management.)Now, many people have said that you have to change the Inspiron 3030's BIOS setting from the default "RAID" to "AHCI" when installing AHCI drives. However, this is not the case; at least for this particular model. After much review and research (read the owners manual!), I realized that there was no need to change the new Dell's BIOS storage setting to "AHCI" from the default "RAID" setting. (The Inspiron 3030's "RAID" setting actually does NOT have a true RAID function and thus does not have to reformat the drives when an additional drive is added.) In the event, I just plugged in the new drives, rebooted, and they were recognized without any problem. Of course, I had backed up everything and had a Recovery Disk handy if anything went sideways.So, long story short, I am satisfied with this machine (I'm writing this review using it). It is already much faster than my old machine, which saves me lots of time when processing and moving large files. Good product, good price. 5 stars.

We have 2 of these now in the house and they are really nice. Fast, so far easy to use as well. I am still getting used this new computer as it is a lot differant than my old one. Good quality. I recommend it to any one who needs a new computer.

Excellent purchase. Fast and simple to use. Small and quiet. I have mine set-up with two screens for multiple apps (ex. charts and graphs) running at the same time. I would definitely buy from this company again. Get the most memory capacity you can afford, it’s worth it.

This little dynamo boots up almost instantaneously and switches between programs quickly. Great speed for internet browsing, email and office applications (i5 14400 processor). It runs incredibly quiet and cool with the solid-state hard drive. This computer has the respected Dell name on it and Dell support behind it. The compact case frees up space and has a pleasant cobalt blue face plate. The wireless capability eliminates the need to run a cable to your printer.I was caught off guard by the change to what I considered standard ports. It has been a while since I bought a new desktop unit. There are plenty of USB ports with 4 on the back (2-2.0 and 2-SS 3.0) plus 4 on the front (2-2.0, 1-SS 3.0 and 1 USB C). Other ports on the back are 1 Display port (no VGA port), 1 HDMI port and 1 ethernet port. Additionally, there is only 1 "power jack port" on the back for use with external speakers or external drives. I was forced to buy a new HDMI to VGA cable to connect my monitor.There is no DVD drive although there is a knockout where an internal DVD drive would be mounted. I browsed the internet, but I could not find a Dell drive to fit this knockout. Some have been able to install an off brand slim fit drive. I rarely use the DVD drive, but it in was comforting to have one available.The included keyboard and mouse are kind of "entry level" but they do get the job done. I chose to use my wireless keyboard and mouse instead.I am not a fan of CHANGE in general, but I am growing fond of this small box that packs all the power I need.

Dell has always been the brand I've used. It's always been reliable and has lasted for almost 10 years with no problems. I'm still working on getting all my info transferred from my old computer. Dell Migrate didn't work as expected - it only transferred some of my information, no documents and no photos. I was worried about the color "mist blue" - 99% of the it is black with just the front cover being "mist blue" - more gray than blue. And it is advertised as the small desktop, it is regular size. I can live with those discrepencies, so not a problem. I feel positive that it will perform as well if not better than all my previous Dell computers. Price was very reasonable.