HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower

Comparison and Differences

HP_EliteDesk_800_G3_SFF.jpg case front and back pannel

Lenovo_ThinkCentre_E73_Tower.jpg case front and back pannel

Model
Form factor	Small	Mini Tower
CPU options	Intel Gen6&7 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;	Intel Gen4 i3/i5/i7; Pentium;
Chipset	Q270	H81
Dedicated GPU *	GeForce GT 1030 Low Profile	Radeon RX 550
RAM	DIMM DDR4-2400	DIMM DDR3-1600
RAM slots	4	2
RAM speed	2400 MT/s	1600 MT/s
RAM max	64 GB	16 GB
USB ports	USB-C 3.0; (6x)USB-A 3.0; (4x)USB-A 2.0;	(2x)USB-A 3.0; (4x)USB-A 2.0;
Video ports	(2x) DisplayPort;	DisplayPort; VGA;
Other ports	RJ45; Hdph; Headset; Line-Out; Line-In;	RJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In;
Optional ports	DP/HDMI/VGA/USB-C(DP); Serial; SD card reader;	Serial; Media card reader (USB 2.0);
SATA ports	3	3
PCI slots	PCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 3.0 x1; PCIe 3.0 x16 (wired x4);	PCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slots	M.2 2280 M-key (PCIe x4); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);	N.A.
Drive bays	2.5in; (2x) 3.5in; 5.25in (slim);	(2x) 2.5/3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU	180 W	ATX 180 W
Weight	5.3 kg (11.7 lb)	7.5 kg (16.53 Ib)
Released	2017	2013
Manual	link	link
Price**	Check Price	Check Price

** As an Amazon associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
* 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 HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF and Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF which was released in 2017. The Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower is older and entered production in 2013.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower 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 HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF has 4 RAM slots while the Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower 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 HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF is using the faster 2400 MT/s RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower 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 HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower can do a bit less at max 16 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF has 10 USB ports. The Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower 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.

DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF comes with 2 ports, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF is the better choice.

None of the models has an HDMI port. If your monitor supports only the HDMI interface, you will need to buy an adapter. Such adapters are cheap so nothing to worry about.

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 3 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.

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 HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF. Sadly, the Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Tower 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 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.