Alienware Area 51 R4 vs. Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Alienware Area 51 R4 and Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT which was released in 2018. The Alienware Area 51 R4 is older and entered production in 2015.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Alienware Area 51 R4 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT 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 Alienware Area 51 R4 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
Memory
The Alienware Area 51 R4 has 4 RAM slots while the Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT 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 Alienware Area 51 R4 is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2666 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Alienware Area 51 R4 as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT 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 Alienware Area 51 R4 has 12 USB ports. The Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT is inferior in this regard and packs 8 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the Alienware Area 51 R4, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT 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 3060 MT has a DisplayPort. The Alienware Area 51 R4 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 3060 MT comes with an HDMI port, while the Alienware Area 51 R4 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 Area 51 R4 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT has 3 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 Dell OptiPlex 3060 MT comes with a decent 260 Watt PSU, but the Alienware Area 51 R4 has a more powerful one rated at 1500 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
