Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower

Differences between Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF and Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower

Both computers, the Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower, were released during the same year - 2012.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower and will fit more easily under your desk.

Processor

The two models have the same generation of Intel processors. We think that the 3 generation of Intel Processors have enough power to execute all of the home and office tasks that most people will care to do.

Memory

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower has 4 RAM slots while the Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF 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.

None of the desktops has an advantage when it comes to the speed of the RAM being used. Both models support RAM speeds of up to 1600. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF can do a bit less at max 8 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 8. If this is not enough, using a USB hub is always a viable option. None of the desktop models has a USB 3.1 port (10Gb/s), so if you need a fast connection to your peripherals, like external Solid State Drive, you will need to look elsewhere.

Unfortunately, only the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower has a DisplayPort. The Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF 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 OptiPlex 3010 SFF comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF 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 Dell OptiPlex 3010 SFF, nor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower 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 OptiPlex 3010 SFF comes with a decent 240 Watt PSU, but the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Tower has a more powerful one rated at 450 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