Dell Vostro 3902 vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Vostro_3902.jpg case front and back pannelLenovo_ThinkCentre_M900_Small.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerSmall
CPU optionsIntel Gen4 i3/i5/i7; Pentium; Celeron;Intel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetH81 Q170
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1660 SuperGeForce GT 1030 Low Profile
RAMDIMM DDR3-1600DIMM DDR4-2133
RAM slots24
RAM speed1600 MT/s2133 MT/s
RAM max16 GB64 GB
USB ports(6x)USB-A 2.0; (2x)USB-A 3.0; (8x)USB-A 3.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.2; VGA;(2x) DisplayPort 1.2; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; PS2RJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Serial;
Optional portsN/A2x USB-A 2.0; Media card reader (USB 2.0); (2x) PS2; eSATA;
SATA ports43
PCI slotsPCIe 2.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1; PCIPCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1; PCIe 3.0 x16 (wired x4); M2 to PCI adapter (optional);
M.2 slotsN.A.M.2 (WiFi/BT or PCI extension card)
Drive bays3.5in; 5.25in;2.5in; 2.5/3.5in; 5.25in (slim);
PSU300 WTFX 210 W
Weight8.50 kg (18.73 lbs)9 kg (19.8 lbs)
Released20142015
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 3902 and Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small which was released in 2015. The Dell Vostro 3902 is older and entered production in 2014.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell Vostro 3902 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell Vostro 3902 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small has 4 RAM slots while the Dell Vostro 3902 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small is using the faster 2133 MT/s RAM. The Dell Vostro 3902 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 1600 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Dell Vostro 3902 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 8. 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 M900 Small has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 3902 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 3902 comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 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 Dell Vostro 3902 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small 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 3902, nor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 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

Having a Power Supply Unit with high power rating is important, if you are going to use components which require extra power. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Small comes with a decent 210 Watt PSU, but the Dell Vostro 3902 has a more powerful one rated at 300 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_3902_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutLenovo_ThinkCentre_M900_Small_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout