Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 vs. Dell Vostro 260
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 and Dell Vostro 260
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 which was released in 2024. The Dell Vostro 260 is older and entered production in 2010.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell Vostro 260 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 Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell Vostro 260 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
Memory
The Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 has 4 RAM slots while the Dell Vostro 260 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 Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 is using the faster 4400 MT/s RAM. The Dell Vostro 260 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 1333 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The Dell Vostro 260 can do a bit less at max 8 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
In total the Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 has 10 USB ports. The Dell Vostro 260 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 Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Dell Vostro 260 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 SFF Plus 7020 2024 has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 260 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 260 comes with an HDMI port, while the Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 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 260 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024 has 3 slot(s).
If you want the fastest transfer speeds for your SSD, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, if the M.2 SSD slot is a mandatory requirement for you, go with the Dell OptiPlex SFF Plus 7020 2024. Sadly, the Dell Vostro 260 has no such slot, and you will be forced to use the SATA interface instead.
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 300 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.
Motherboard
