Acer Veriton X2680g vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower

Comparison and Differences

Acer_Veriton_X2680g.jpg case front and back pannel

Lenovo_ThinkCentre_M72e_Tower.jpg case front and back pannel

Model
Form factor	Small	Mini Tower
CPU options	Intel Gen11 i3/i5/i7; Pentium; Celeron	Intel Gen2&3 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
Chipset	B560	H61
Dedicated GPU *	Radeon RX 6400 Low Profile	GeForce GTX 1660 Super
RAM	UDIMM DDR4-2933	DIMM DDR3-1600
RAM slots	4	2
RAM speed	2933 MT/s	1600 MT/s
RAM max	64 GB	16 GB
USB ports	(2x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0; (2x) USB-A 3.1	(6x)USB-A 2.0;
Video ports	DisplayPort 1.4; HDMI 2.0; VGA	DVI-D; VGA;
Other ports	RJ45; (2x) Mic, Speaker; Line in; Line out; PS/2 ports; Serial	RJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Serial; (2x) PS2;
Optional ports	Serial; Parallel; Card reader	Parallel; Serial; Media card reader (USB 2.0);
SATA ports	4	3
PCI slots	PCIe 4.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 3.0 x1	PCIe 2.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slots	M.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)	N.A.
Drive bays	3.5in; 5.25 inch slim	(2x) 2.5/3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU	180/300 W	ATX 280/320 W
Weight	5.00 kg (11.02 lb)	9.4 kg (20.72 lb)
Released	2021	2012
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 Acer Veriton X2680g and Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Acer Veriton X2680g which was released in 2021. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower is older and entered production in 2012.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Acer Veriton X2680g is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower 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 Acer Veriton X2680g as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The Acer Veriton X2680g has 4 RAM slots while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower 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 Acer Veriton X2680g is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower 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 Acer Veriton X2680g as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower 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 Acer Veriton X2680g has 10 USB ports. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower 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 Acer Veriton X2680g, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower 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.

Unfortunately, only the Acer Veriton X2680g has a DisplayPort. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.

The Acer Veriton X2680g comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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 Acer Veriton X2680g is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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 Acer Veriton X2680g. Sadly, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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 Acer Veriton X2680g comes with a decent 300 Watt PSU, but the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Tower has a more powerful one rated at 320 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.