Acer Veriton X2660g vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small

Comparison and Differences

Acer_Veriton_X2660g.jpg case front and back pannelLenovo_ThinkCentre_M72e_Small.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorSmallSmall
CPU optionsIntel Gen8 i3/i5/i7; Pentium; CeleronIntel Gen2&3 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetB360H61
Dedicated GPU *Radeon RX 6400 Low ProfileGeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile
RAMUDIMM DDR4-2666DIMM DDR3-1600
RAM slots22
RAM speed2666 MT/s1600 MT/s
RAM max32 GB16 GB
USB ports(2x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0; (2x) USB-A 3.1(6x)USB-A 2.0;
Video portsDisplayPort 1.2; HDMI 1.4; VGADVI-D; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; (2x) Mic, Speaker; Line in; Line out; PS/2 ports; SerialRJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Serial; (2x) PS2;
Optional portsSerial; Parallel; Card readerParallel; Serial; Media card reader (USB 2.0);
SATA ports43
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 3.0 x1; PCIPCIe 2.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)N.A.
Drive bays3.5in; 5.25 inch slim2.5/3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU180/250 WTFX 240 W
Weight5.00 kg (11.02 lb)6.6 kg (14.55 lb)
Released20182012
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck 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 X2660g and Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Acer Veriton X2660g which was released in 2018. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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 Acer Veriton X2660g as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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.

The Acer Veriton X2660g is using the faster 2666 MT/s RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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 Acer Veriton X2660g as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small 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 X2660g has 8 USB ports. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small 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 X2660g, is that it has 2 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small 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 X2660g has a DisplayPort. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small 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 X2660g comes with an HDMI port, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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 Acer Veriton X2660g is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small 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 X2660g. Sadly, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e Small comes with a decent 240 Watt PSU, but the Acer Veriton X2660g 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

Acer_Veriton_X2660g_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutLenovo_ThinkCentre_M72e_Small_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout