Alienware X51 R3 vs. Dell Inspiron 3250

Comparison and Differences

Alienware_X51_R3.jpg case front and back pannelDell_Inspiron_3250.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorSmall GamingSmall
CPU optionsIntel Gen6 i3/i5/i7;Intel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetZ170H110
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1650 SuperGeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile
RAMDIMM DDR3-2133DIMM DDR3-1333/1600
RAM slots22
RAM speed2133 MT/s1600 MT/s
RAM max32 GB16 GB
USB ports(4x) USB 3.0 Type A; (2x) USB-A 2.0; (2x) USB 3.1 Type A(2x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.4b;HDMI 1.2; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Line-Out; Line-In; S/PDFI optical/analog;RJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Card Reader;
Optional portsN.A.N.A.
SATA ports33
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16;PCIe 2.0 x16; PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slotsN.A.M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)
Drive bays(2x) 2.5in; 3.25in; 5.25in;(2x) 2.5in; 3.5in; 9.5mm
PSU180/240/330 W180 W
Weight5.49 kg (12.10 lbs4.82 kg (10.63 lbs)
Released20152016
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

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* 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 Alienware X51 R3 and Dell Inspiron 3250

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Inspiron 3250 which was released in 2016. The Alienware X51 R3 is older and entered production in 2015.

Both models have the same form factor, meaning reoughtly they have the same phiysical size and form.

Processor

The two models have the same generation of Intel processors. We think that the 6 generation of Intel Processors have enough power to execute all of the home and office tasks that most people will care to do.

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 Alienware X51 R3 is using the faster 2133 MT/s RAM. The Dell Inspiron 3250 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 1600 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Alienware X51 R3 as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Dell Inspiron 3250 can do a bit less at max 16 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the Alienware X51 R3 has 8 USB ports. The Dell Inspiron 3250 is inferior in this regard and packs 6 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the Alienware X51 R3, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Dell Inspiron 3250 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.

Unfortunately, only the Alienware X51 R3 has a DisplayPort. The Dell Inspiron 3250 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.

The Dell Inspiron 3250 comes with an HDMI port, while the Alienware X51 R3 does not support the interface. Of course missing HDMI port is something that can be easily fixed with a good adapter (e.g. DisplayPort to HDMI).

SATA slots are located on the motherboard and it is where SSD, HDD and Optical Disk Drives are connected. Each of the two models being compared have 3 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.

M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Dell Inspiron 3250, nor the Alienware X51 R3 has one. However, you can still use a SATA SSD drive which should give you satisfactory performance.

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 3250 comes with a decent 180 Watt PSU, but the Alienware X51 R3 has a more powerful one rated at 330 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

Alienware_X51_R3_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_Inspiron_3250_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout