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.

Fast and easy setup, just followed the prompts and was up and running. Loaded fast and easily ran some older greeting software and gave me a free version of office. Love 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.

I really enjoy this guy. I bought a used, like new, one, because it was $150 less than the on-sale price. I figured if it was bad, I could just return it. I upgraded the RAM from 1x16 to 2x32. The only issue with upgrading it was the RAM I used had heatsinks that take up space, so I had to remove the optical drive holder. It's processor is more than capable of what I need it for. Having so many USB 3 ports is also wonderful.The only downside is I didn't realize that it does not support XMP profiles for RAM, but that is my fault for not checking before, and I still would have bought it anyways had I known, and I also would have purchased a new one had the sale on the used not been available.

Computer is great . Good value for the money. Only problem is that the computer did not come with the Migrate service that was stated in the ad. I had to purchase the Dell Migrate service for $52.92 from Dell. I have been trying to get a refund for my added purchase from Dell. Dell says its the Vendors problem which was Amazon in this case. Amazon will not refund me saying its Dell problem.

I purchased the i7 with the 1 TB SSD with Windows 11 Pro on November 22, 2024. Mine came with an optical drive. The pc was easy to set up, worked great, perfect for my basic needs, fast, etc. I kept the AV up to date, as well as all the windows 11 updates. But for no reason it stopped working. It'd turn on but wouldn't boot up. It was past Amazon's return window, but might get help from Dell if it's still under warranty? All my many former pcs I kept running 15-20 years. The only reason I had to give them up was because Windows latest versions would not be supported. This is the first desktop (and/or laptop) that died on me in just 4 months. It's also my first Dell. So disappointed and frustrated, to say the least.

I purchased this Win11 Pro unit to replace my Win10 Pro unit that couldn't be upgraded to Win11. I was pleased with the small size and the installation and setup process was pretty straightforward. The new unit only has a 1TB SSD, so I'll move my HDD's from the old computer to this one. It's really nice to have a computer that starts up very fast.