Dell Vostro 3268 vs. HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Dell Vostro 3268 and HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF
Both computers, the Dell Vostro 3268 and the HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF, were released during the same year - 2017.
Both models have the same form factor, meaning reoughtly they have the same phiysical size and form.
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 SFF as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell Vostro 3268 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
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 2400. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Dell Vostro 3268 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 ProDesk 400 G4 SFF has 8 USB ports. The Dell Vostro 3268 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.
Unfortunately, only the HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 3268 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 3268 comes with an HDMI port, while the HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF 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 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 2 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.
M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Dell Vostro 3268, nor the HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF 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
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.