Dell OptiPlex 3050M vs. HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Dell OptiPlex 3050M and HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini which was released in 2018. The Dell OptiPlex 3050M is older and entered production in 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 600 G4 Mini as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell OptiPlex 3050M 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.
The HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini is using the faster 2666 MT/s RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 3050M is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2400 MT/s. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 32 GB of RAM will be enough for most people. However, if you will be needing more RAM, make sure to check other desktop models too.
Ports
In total the HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini has 7 USB ports. The Dell OptiPlex 3050M 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. What is nice about the HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini, is that it has 4 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Dell OptiPlex 3050M has no such port, thus restricting your transfer speeds significantly. For people who want to use external drives on regular basis, this might be an issue.
DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini comes with 2 ports, while the Dell OptiPlex 3050M has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini is the better choice.
The Dell OptiPlex 3050M comes with an HDMI port, while the HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini 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 1 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.
An M.2 SSD can be several times faster than a SATA one. Thus, we are happy to see that both models support the M.2 interface. However, the HP ProDesk 600 G4 Mini has 1 M.2 slots while the Dell OptiPlex 3050M comes with just 1.
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 65 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.
Motherboard
