Dell Vostro 3681 vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Dell Vostro 3681 and Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Vostro 3681 which was released in 2020. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small is older and entered production in 2012.
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 Vostro 3681 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
Memory
The Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small has 4 RAM slots while the Dell Vostro 3681 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 Dell Vostro 3681 is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small 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 Dell Vostro 3681 as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small can do a bit less at max 32 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
Both models have the same amount of USB ports for total count of 8. 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 M82 Small has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 3681 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 3681 comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 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 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell Vostro 3681 has 2 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 Vostro 3681. Sadly, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small 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 Dell Vostro 3681 comes with a decent 200 Watt PSU, but the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 Small has a more powerful one rated at 240 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
