Acer Veriton X4630g vs. HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Acer Veriton X4630g and HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower which was released in 2017. The Acer Veriton X4630g is older and entered production in 2013.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Acer Veriton X4630g is the right one for you. It is smaller than the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower 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 ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Acer Veriton X4630g is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
Memory
The Acer Veriton X4630g has 4 RAM slots while the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower 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 ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower is using the faster 2400 MT/s RAM. The Acer Veriton X4630g 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 ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Acer Veriton X4630g can do a bit less at max 32 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.
DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the Acer Veriton X4630g comes with 2 ports, while the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the Acer Veriton X4630g 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 Acer Veriton X4630g is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower 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 HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower, nor the Acer Veriton X4630g 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 Acer Veriton X4630g comes with a decent 220 Watt PSU, but the HP ProDesk 400 G4 Microtower has a more powerful one rated at 310 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
