Acer Veriton L4620g vs. Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF

Differences between Acer Veriton L4620g and Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF which was released in 2015. The Acer Veriton L4620g is older and entered production in 2013.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Acer Veriton L4620g is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF 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 Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Acer Veriton L4620g 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 Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF is using the faster 1600 MT/s RAM. The Acer Veriton L4620g is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 1333 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF as it has the ability to run 16 GB of RAM. The Acer Veriton L4620g can do a bit less at max 8 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.

DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the Acer Veriton L4620g comes with 2 ports, while the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the Acer Veriton L4620g is the better choice.

The Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF comes with an HDMI port, while the Acer Veriton L4620g 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 3040 SFF is better equipped as it comes with 2 SATA slot(s), while the Acer Veriton L4620g 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 3040 SFF, nor the Acer Veriton L4620g 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 Acer Veriton L4620g comes with a decent 135 Watt PSU, but the Dell OptiPlex 3040 SFF has a more powerful one rated at 180 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