Acer Veriton X4680g vs. HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Acer Veriton X4680g and HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Acer Veriton X4680g which was released in 2021. The HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini is older and entered production in 2018.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Acer Veriton X4680g 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 Acer Veriton X4680g as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
Memory
The Acer Veriton X4680g has 4 RAM slots while the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini has only 2 slot(s). This is not something to worry about. Just make sure you take it into consideration when planning how much RAM you are going to use.
The Acer Veriton X4680g is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini 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 Acer Veriton X4680g as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
In total the Acer Veriton X4680g has 10 USB ports. The HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini 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 Acer Veriton X4680g, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini 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.
DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini comes with 2 ports, while the Acer Veriton X4680g has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini is the better choice.
The Acer Veriton X4680g comes with an HDMI port, while the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini 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 Acer Veriton X4680g is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini has 1 slot(s).
When your goal is to have the fastest SSD transfer speeds, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, it is good that both models have M.2 SSD slots. Today M.2 SSDs are not much more expensive than the average SATA drives, so it really does not make sense to invest in SATA drives anymore.
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 HP ProDesk 400 G4 Mini comes with a decent 150 Watt PSU, but the Acer Veriton X4680g has a more powerful one rated at 300 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
