Fujitsu Esprimo D538 vs. HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower

Differences between Fujitsu Esprimo D538 and HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Fujitsu Esprimo D538 which was released in 2018. The HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower is older and entered production in 2017.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Fujitsu Esprimo D538 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 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 Fujitsu Esprimo D538 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower has 4 RAM slots while the Fujitsu Esprimo D538 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 Fujitsu Esprimo D538 is using the faster 2666 MT/s RAM. The HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2400 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Fujitsu Esprimo D538 can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower has 10 USB ports. The Fujitsu Esprimo D538 is inferior in this regard and packs 8 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 Tower comes with 2 ports, while the Fujitsu Esprimo D538 has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower 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 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 HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower is better equipped as it comes with 5 SATA slot(s), while the Fujitsu Esprimo D538 has 3 slot(s).

When your goal is to have the fastest SSD transfer speeds, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, it is good that both models have M.2 SSD slots. Today M.2 SSDs are not much more expensive than the average SATA drives, so it really does not make sense to invest in SATA drives anymore.

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 Fujitsu Esprimo D538 comes with a decent 280 Watt PSU, but the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower has a more powerful one rated at 500 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