Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF vs. Dell Vostro 360 AIO

Comparison and Differences

Dell_OptiPlex_3040_SFF.jpg case front and back pannelDell_Vostro_360_AIO.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorSmallSmall
CPU optionsIntel Gen6 i3/i5; Pentium; Celeron; Intel Gen2 i3/i5/i7; Pentium;
ChipsetH110H61
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GT 1030 Low ProfileN.A.
RAMDIMM DDR3L-1600 SO-DIMM DDR3-1333
RAM slots22
RAM speed1600 MT/s1333 MT/s
RAM max16 GB8 GB
USB ports(4x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0; (2x)USB-A 2.0; (4x)USB-A 3.0;
Video portsDisplay Port 1.2; HDMI 1.4;VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Line-Out; RJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Media Card Reader; Mic Integrated
Optional portsSerial+PS2; VGA; Media Card Reader;N/A
SATA ports22
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1; N.A.
M.2 slotsN.A.N.A.
Drive bays3.5in/2.5in; 5.25in (slim); 3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU180 W150W/180 W
Weight6.1 kg (13.45 lb)9.35 kg (20.61 lbs)
Released20152012
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 OptiPlex 3040 SFF and Dell Vostro 360 AIO

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF which was released in 2015. The Dell Vostro 360 AIO 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 OptiPlex 3040 SFF as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell Vostro 360 AIO 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.

The Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF is using the faster 1600 MT/s RAM. The Dell Vostro 360 AIO 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 3040 SFF as it has the ability to run 16 GB of RAM. The Dell Vostro 360 AIO 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 3040 SFF has 8 USB ports. The Dell Vostro 360 AIO is inferior in this regard and packs 6 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 3040 SFF has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 360 AIO 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 3040 SFF comes with an HDMI port, while the Dell Vostro 360 AIO 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 slots are located on the motherboard and it is where SSD, HDD and Optical Disk Drives are connected. Each of the two models being compared have 2 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.

M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF, nor the Dell Vostro 360 AIO 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_OptiPlex_3040_SFF_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_Vostro_360_AIO_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout