Dell Inspiron 3250 vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Small

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Inspiron_3250.jpg case front and back pannel

Lenovo_ThinkCentre_E73_Small.jpg case front and back pannel

Model
Form factor	Small	Small
CPU options	Intel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;	Intel Gen4 i3/i5/i7; Pentium;
Chipset	H110	H81
Dedicated GPU *	GeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile	GeForce GT 1030 Low Profile
RAM	DIMM DDR3-1333/1600	DIMM DDR3-1600
RAM slots	2	2
RAM speed	1600 MT/s	1600 MT/s
RAM max	16 GB	16 GB
USB ports	(2x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0;	(2x)USB-A 3.0; (4x)USB-A 2.0;
Video ports	HDMI 1.2; VGA;	DisplayPort; VGA;
Other ports	RJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Card Reader;	RJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In;
Optional ports	N.A.	Serial; Media card reader (USB 2.0);
SATA ports	3	3
PCI slots	PCIe 2.0 x16; PCIe 2.0 x1;	PCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slots	M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)	N.A.
Drive bays	(2x) 2.5in; 3.5in; 9.5mm	2.5in; 2.5/3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU	180 W	ATX 180 W
Weight	4.82 kg (10.63 lbs)	6.0 kg (13.2 lb)
Released	2016	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 Dell Inspiron 3250 and Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Small

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Inspiron 3250 which was released in 2016. The Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Small is older and entered production in 2013.

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 Dell Inspiron 3250 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Small 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 1600. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 16 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

Both models have the same amount of USB ports for total count of 6. 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.

Unfortunately, only the Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Small has a DisplayPort. The Dell Inspiron 3250 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 Inspiron 3250 comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Small 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 3 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 Inspiron 3250, nor the Lenovo ThinkCentre E73 Small 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.