Acer Veriton ES2710g vs. Alienware X51 R3
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Acer Veriton ES2710g and Alienware X51 R3
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Acer Veriton ES2710g which was released in 2017. The Alienware X51 R3 is older and entered production in 2015.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Alienware X51 R3 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Acer Veriton ES2710g 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 ES2710g as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Alienware X51 R3 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 Acer Veriton ES2710g is using the faster 2400 MT/s RAM. The Alienware X51 R3 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2133 MT/s. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 32 GB of RAM will be enough for most people. However, if you will be needing more RAM, make sure to check other desktop models too.
Ports
In total the Alienware X51 R3 has 8 USB ports. The Acer Veriton ES2710g 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 Acer Veriton ES2710g 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 Acer Veriton ES2710g does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.
The Acer Veriton ES2710g 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 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 Alienware X51 R3 is better equipped as it comes with 3 SATA slot(s), while the Acer Veriton ES2710g has 2 slot(s).
M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Alienware X51 R3, nor the Acer Veriton ES2710g 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 Acer Veriton ES2710g comes with a decent 300 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
