Dell Inspiron 660 vs. Dell Vostro 270s

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Inspiron_660.jpg case front and back pannelDell_Vostro_270s.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerSmall
CPU optionsIntel Gen2&3 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; PentiumIntel Gen2&3 i3/i5/i7; Pentium; Celeron;
ChipsetB75B75
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1650 SuperGeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile
RAMDIMM DDR3-1333/1600 DIMM DDR3-1333/1600
RAM slots22
RAM speed1600 MT/s1600 MT/s
RAM max8 GB16 GB
USB ports(4x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0;(4x)USB-A 2.0; (2x)USB-A 3.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.2; VGA;HDMI 1.2; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; (3x) 5.1 audio; Card Reader;RJ45; Hdph; (2x) Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; PCI-E mini-card (Bus)
Optional portsN.A.N/A
SATA ports44
PCI slotsPCIe 2.0 x16; (3x) PCIe 2.0 x1; mPCIe;PCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 2.0 x1;
M.2 slotsN.A.N.A.
Drive bays(2x) 3.5in; (2x) 5.25in;3.5in; 5.25in;
PSU300 W300 W
Weight7.9 kg (17.41 lb)5.90 kg (13.01 lbs)
Released20122012
Manuallinklink
Price**Check PriceCheck Price

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* 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 Dell Inspiron 660 and Dell Vostro 270s

Both computers, the Dell Inspiron 660 and the Dell Vostro 270s, were released during the same year - 2012.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Dell Vostro 270s is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell Inspiron 660 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 Dell Vostro 270s as it has the ability to run 16 GB of RAM. The Dell Inspiron 660 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 Inspiron 660 has 8 USB ports. The Dell Vostro 270s 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. 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.

Nowadays, almost every new computer comes equipped with a DisplayPort. However, none of the devices being compared here has one. Don't worry though, DisplayPort adapters are very cheap and you can get virtually any combination of conversion types.

In case your monitor supports HDMI only, you will be happy to hear that both models come with an HDMI port.

SATA slots are located on the motherboard and it is where SSD, HDD and Optical Disk Drives are connected. Each of the two models being compared have 4 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.

M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Dell Inspiron 660, nor the Dell Vostro 270s 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

Looking at the Power Supply Unit (PSU) of the two models we don't see any differences. For either of them you get a maximum power of 300 Watts. However be careful, many models have more than one power supply option. When buying your computer, it is a good idea to get a version with the most powerful PSU. This will potentially allow you to upgrade to a more powerful GPU for example.

Motherboard

Dell_Inspiron_660_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_Vostro_270s_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout