Dell Inspiron 3671 vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower

Differences between Dell Inspiron 3671 and Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Inspiron 3671 which was released in 2019. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower is older and entered production in 2015.

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 3671 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower 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 Dell Inspiron 3671 is using the faster 2400 MT/s RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2133 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

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 M700 Tower has a DisplayPort. The Dell Inspiron 3671 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 3671 comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower 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 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 Dell Inspiron 3671 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower has 3 slot(s).

If you want the fastest transfer speeds for your SSD, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, if the M.2 SSD slot is a mandatory requirement for you, go with the Dell Inspiron 3671. Sadly, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower has no such slot, and you will be forced to use the SATA interface instead.

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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tower comes with a decent 250 Watt PSU, but the Dell Inspiron 3671 has a more powerful one rated at 365 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