Dell Vostro 3250 vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 72 Small

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Vostro_3250.jpg case front and back pannelLenovo_ThinkCentre_Edge_72_Small.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorSmallSmall
CPU optionsIntel Gen6 i3/i5/i7Intel Gen2&3 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetH110H61
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GT 1030 Low ProfileGeForce GT 1030 Low Profile
RAMDIMM DDR3-1600DIMM DDR3-1600
RAM slots22
RAM speed1600 MT/s1600 MT/s
RAM max16 GB16 GB
USB ports(4x)USB-A 2.0; (2x)USB-A 3.0; (6x)USB-A 2.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.4; VGA;DVI-D; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Media Card ReaderRJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In;
Optional portsN/ASerial; Media card reader (USB 2.0);
SATA ports23
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1;PCIe 2.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);N.A.
Drive bays3.5in; 5.25in;2.5in; 2.5/3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU180 WTFX 180 W
Weight3.17 kg (6.99 lbs)6.0 kg (13.2 lb)
Released20162012
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

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* Dedicated GPU warning: Check if your particular power supply model has enough power. Additionally some PSUs don't come with an auxiliary PCIe power connector and you may need to buy a SATA to PCIe power adapter.

Differences between Dell Vostro 3250 and Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 72 Small

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Vostro 3250 which was released in 2016. The Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 72 Small is older and entered production in 2012.

Both models have the same form factor, meaning reoughtly they have the same phiysical size and form.

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 Vostro 3250 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 72 Small 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.

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. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 16 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

Both models have the same amount of USB ports for total count of 6. 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.

Nowadays, almost every new computer comes equipped with a DisplayPort. However, none of the devices being compared here has one. Don't worry though, DisplayPort adapters are very cheap and you can get virtually any combination of conversion types.

The Dell Vostro 3250 comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 72 Small 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 Edge 72 Small is better equipped as it comes with 3 SATA slot(s), while the Dell Vostro 3250 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 Vostro 3250, nor the Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 72 Small 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 180 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

Dell_Vostro_3250_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutLenovo_ThinkCentre_Edge_72_Small_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout