Dell Inspiron 3471 vs. Dell OptiPlex 7080M
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Dell Inspiron 3471 and Dell OptiPlex 7080M
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 7080M which was released in 2020. The Dell Inspiron 3471 is older and entered production in 2019.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Dell OptiPlex 7080M is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell Inspiron 3471 and will fit more easily under your desk.
Processor
Usually the newer the generation of the CPU, the better the performance and efficiency is. If your budget allows it, you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 7080M as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell Inspiron 3471 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
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 Dell OptiPlex 7080M is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The Dell Inspiron 3471 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2400 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Dell OptiPlex 7080M as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Dell Inspiron 3471 can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
Both models have the same amount of USB ports for total count of 6. If this is not enough, using a USB hub is always a viable option. What is nice about the Dell OptiPlex 7080M, is that it has 4 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Dell Inspiron 3471 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 Dell OptiPlex 7080M has a DisplayPort. The Dell Inspiron 3471 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 3471 comes with an HDMI port, while the Dell OptiPlex 7080M 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 ports are placed on the system board and it is where you connect your HDD, SSD and Optical Disk Drives. More SATA slots will allow you to have more drives running at the same time. In this regard the Dell Inspiron 3471 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell OptiPlex 7080M has 1 slot(s).
An M.2 SSD can be several times faster than a SATA one. Thus, we are happy to see that both models support the M.2 interface. However, the Dell OptiPlex 7080M has 1 M.2 slots while the Dell Inspiron 3471 comes with just 1.
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 OptiPlex 7080M comes with a decent 180 Watt PSU, but the Dell Inspiron 3471 has a more powerful one rated at 200 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
