Dell Vostro 3660 vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Vostro_3660.jpg case front and back pannelLenovo_ThinkCentre_M700_Tower.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Pentium; Celeron;Intel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetH110H110
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1660 SuperGeForce GTX 1650
RAMDIMM DDR3-2133DIMM DDR4-2133
RAM slots22
RAM speed2133 MT/s2133 MT/s
RAM max16 GB32 GB
USB ports(4x)USB-A 2.0; (2x)USB-A 3.0; (4x)USB-A 3.0; (2x)USB-A 2.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.4; VGA;(2x) DisplayPort 1.2; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In;RJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Serial; (2x) PS2;
Optional portsN/A2x USB-A 2.0; Serial; Media card reader (USB 2.0);
SATA ports43
PCI slotsPCIe 2.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1; PCIPCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);N.A.
Drive bays3.5in; 5.25in; (2x) 2.5in; 9.5 mm(2x) 2.5/3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU240WATX 250 W
Weight5.90 kg (13.01 lbs)12.5 kg (27.5 lb)
Released20162015
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 3660 and Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Vostro 3660 which was released in 2016. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower is older and entered production in 2015.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Dell Vostro 3660 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower and will fit more easily under your desk.

Processor

The two models have the same generation of Intel processors. We think that the 6 generation of Intel Processors have enough power to execute all of the home and office tasks that most people will care to do.

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 2133. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Dell Vostro 3660 can do a bit less at max 16 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

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.

Unfortunately, only the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 3660 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 3660 comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower 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 3660 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower 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 Vostro 3660, nor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower 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

Having a Power Supply Unit with high power rating is important, if you are going to use components which require extra power. The Dell Vostro 3660 comes with a decent 240 Watt PSU, but the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower has a more powerful one rated at 250 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

Dell_Vostro_3660_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutLenovo_ThinkCentre_M700_Tower_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout