Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny

Differences between Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT and Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT which was released in 2012. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny is older and entered production in 2011.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT and will fit more easily under your desk.

Processor

The two models have the same generation of Intel processors. We think that the 3 generation of Intel Processors have enough power to execute all of the home and office tasks that most people will care to do.

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. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny as it has the ability to run 16 GB of RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT can do a bit less at max 8 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT has 8 USB ports. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny is inferior in this regard and packs 5 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. 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 M92 Tiny has a DisplayPort. The Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT 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 OptiPlex 3010 DT comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny 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 OptiPlex 3010 DT is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny has 1 slot(s).

M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT, nor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M92 Tiny 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

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 M92 Tiny comes with a decent 65 Watt PSU, but the Dell OptiPlex 3010 DT has a more powerful one rated at 250 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