Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT vs. Dell Vostro 3800
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT and Dell Vostro 3800
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Vostro 3800 which was released in 2014. The Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT is older and entered production in 2012.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Dell Vostro 3800 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT 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 Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT has 4 RAM slots while the Dell Vostro 3800 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 Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Dell Vostro 3800 can do a bit less at max 16 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
In total the Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT has 10 USB ports. The Dell Vostro 3800 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. 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 Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 3800 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 Vostro 3800 comes with an HDMI port, while the Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT 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 Dell Vostro 3800 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell OptiPlex 9010 DT has 3 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 9010 DT, nor the Dell Vostro 3800 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
Looking at the Power Supply Unit (PSU) of the two models we don't see any differences. For either of them you get a maximum power of 250 Watts. However be careful, many models have more than one power supply option. When buying your computer, it is a good idea to get a version with the most powerful PSU. This will potentially allow you to upgrade to a more powerful GPU for example.