Dell Precision 3431 Small Form Factor upgrades
Released 2019 · end of sale
No soldered RAM and no BGA CPU: all 4 DIMMs and the CPU are socketed. The service manual's 'memory is embedded in board' line is erroneous boilerplate. Storage bays have per-bay capacity differences (M.2 2280: 1–2 TB; 3.5": 4–8 TB depending on source), so a single storage-wide maximum is approximate. Max RAM is a validated 64 GB (4x16 GB UDIMM).
Upgrade guide → What fits, step by step, and official documents.
- 4x DDR4-2666 UDIMM (max 64 GB): 4 × DDR4 DIMM · up to 64 GB total · 2666 MT/s
- 1x M.2 2280 NVMe + SATA 3.5"/2.5" bay: 3 × SSD / HDD / SSD M.2 2230 / M.2 2280 / 2.5" / 3.5" (NVMe / SATA / SATA) · max 9.5 mm thick · up to 8.192 TB
- LGA1151v2 socket (8th/9th Gen Intel + Xeon E): LGA1151 (8th/9th gen) · Core 8th gen, Core 9th gen, Xeon E-2100/2200, Xeon E-2100/2200 · max 95 W
Slot map
4x DDR4-2666 UDIMM (max 64 GB) 4 × DDR4 DIMM · up to 64 GB total · 2666 MT/s
4 user-accessible 288-pin desktop UDIMM slots (not SO-DIMM); 16 GB max per module, 64 GB max total. ECC only works with Xeon E CPUs, non-ECC with Core/Pentium (either fits, hence ECC = null). Unbuffered only — no RDIMM/LRDIMM. Pentium/i3 CPUs run RAM at 2400 MT/s. Dell does not validate 32 GB UDIMMs here. Ignore the service manual line claiming the RAM is soldered — it is erroneous boilerplate.
| $/GB | Price | Capacity | Product | Condition | Store | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.75 | $21.99 | 8 GB | Micron 8GB DDR4-2400 UDIMM DDR4-2400 DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $4.81 | $77.00 | 2 × 8 GB | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB Kit (2 × 8GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 CL16 DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $5.31 | $170.00 | 2 × 16 GB | Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB Kit (2 × 16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 CL16 DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $6.12 | $195.99 | 2 × 16 GB | Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB Kit (2 × 16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 CL16 DIMM | New | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $9.37 | $149.99 | 2 × 8 GB | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB Kit (2 × 8GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 CL16 DIMM | New | eBay US | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $9.75 | $78.00 | 8 GB | Lenovo 8GB DDR4-2400 UDIMM (FRU) DDR4-2400 DIMM | New | eBay US | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $9.97 | $319.00 | 2 × 16 GB | Crucial 32GB Kit (2 × 16GB) DDR4-3200 UDIMM runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 DIMM | New | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $15.00 | $240.00 | 2 × 8 GB | Crucial 16GB Kit (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 UDIMM runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 CL22 DIMM | New | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $16.52 | $132.16 | 8 GB | Lenovo 8GB DDR4-2400 UDIMM (FRU) DDR4-2400 DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
All compatible memory with filters → · Compare prices: DDR4 desktop RAM (DIMM)
1x M.2 2280 NVMe + SATA 3.5"/2.5" bay 3 × SSD / HDD / SSD M.2 2230 / M.2 2280 / 2.5" / 3.5" (NVMe / SATA / SATA) · max 9.5 mm thick · up to 8.192 TB
1x M.2 2280 (NVMe Gen3 x4, ~32 Gbps — Dell's 'PCIe 40/50' means Class 40/50 drives, NOT Gen4); 1–2 TB max (Setup Guide 1 TB, spec sheet 2 TB). The M.2 2230 slot is provisioned for a 32 GB Optane module, not a normal SSD. The 3.5" bay holds 1x 3.5" (up to 8 TB per spec sheet, 4 TB per Setup Guide) or 2x 2.5" drives (<=9.5 mm thick) for SATA RAID 0/1. M.2 thermal pad needed for 512 GB+ PCIe SSDs. Extra NVMe needs a PCIe add-in card.
| $/TB | Price | Capacity | Product | Condition | Store | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $16.60 | $8.30 | 500 GB | HGST Travelstar Z7K500 500GB 2.5" 7200 RPM HDD (7 mm) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 7200 rpm · 7 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $19.72 | $9.86 | 500 GB | Seagate Laptop Thin 500GB 2.5" 7200 RPM HDD (7 mm) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 7200 rpm · 7 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $19.99 | $19.99 | 1 TB | MQ01ABD100 1 TB 2.5" SATA HDD (5400 RPM) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 5400 rpm · 9.5 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $19.99 | $19.99 | 1 TB | Travelstar 5K1000 1 TB 2.5" HDD · SATA · 5400 rpm · 9.5 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $20.00 | $10.00 | 500 GB | Toshiba 500GB 2.5" 5400 RPM HDD (7 mm) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 5400 rpm · 7 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $23.98 | $23.98 | 1 TB | MQ04ABF100 1 TB 2.5" HDD · SATA · 5400 rpm · 7 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $25.00 | $25.00 | 1 TB | Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541010A9E662 1 TB 2.5" SATA HDD (5400 RPM) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 5400 rpm · 9.5 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $27.99 | $27.99 | 1 TB | Travelstar 7K1000 1 TB (7200 RPM) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 7200 rpm · 9.5 mm | New | eBay US | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $29.99 | $29.99 | 1 TB | Travelstar 7K1000 1 TB (7200 RPM) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 7200 rpm · 9.5 mm | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $35.90 | $17.95 | 500 GB | Seagate Laptop Thin 500GB 2.5" 7200 RPM HDD (7 mm) 2.5" HDD · SATA · 7200 rpm · 7 mm | Refurbished | eBay US | View deal Amazon Price alert |
All compatible storage with filters → · Compare prices: NVMe M.2 2280 SSD, NVMe M.2 2230 SSD, 2.5" SATA SSD, 2.5" laptop hard drive, 3.5" hard drive
LGA1151v2 socket (8th/9th Gen Intel + Xeon E) LGA1151 (8th/9th gen) · Core 8th gen, Core 9th gen, Xeon E-2100/2200, Xeon E-2100/2200 · max 95 W
Socketed LGA1151 (300-series chipset), 1 socket. Supports Coffee Lake 8th Gen (i7-8700, Xeon E-2174G) and Coffee Lake Refresh 9th Gen (Pentium G5420, i3/i5/i7/i9-9xxx, Xeon E-2200). 8th/9th Gen swaps may need a BIOS update — check Dell's CPU support list first. Max validated TDP 95 W (i5-9600, i7-9700, i9-9900, Xeon E-2236 class); SFF chassis cooling limits sustained boost.
| Price | Cores | Product | Condition | Store | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35.25 | 6 cores / 6 threads | Intel Core i5-9500 LGA1151 (8th/9th gen) · 3.0–4.4 GHz · 65 W · iGPU · cooler included | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $49.99 | 6 cores / 6 threads | Intel Core i5-9500 LGA1151 (8th/9th gen) · 3.0–4.4 GHz · 65 W · iGPU · cooler included | Refurbished | eBay US +1 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $79.99 | 8 cores / 8 threads | Intel Core i7-9700 LGA1151 (8th/9th gen) · 3.0–4.7 GHz · 65 W · iGPU · cooler included | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |