Dell Vostro 5880 vs. Dell XPS 8500

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Vostro_5880.jpg case front and back pannelDell_XPS_8500.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen10 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;Intel Gen2 & 3 i3/i5/i7;
ChipsetH470H77
Dedicated GPU *GeForce RTX 2070 SuperGeForce GTX 1650 Super
RAMDIMM DDR4-2666/2933DIMM DDR3-1333/1600
RAM slots24
RAM speed2933 MT/s1600 MT/s
RAM max64 GB32 GB
USB ports(4x) USB-A 3.0; (4x) USB-A 2.0; USB 3.0 Type C;(8x) USB-A 2.0; USB 3.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.4b; DisplayPort 1.4;HDMI 1.2; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Mic; Line-Out;RJ45; S/PDIF; Mic; Headset;
Optional portsSD card readerN.A.
SATA ports44
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe 3.0 x1;PCIe 3.0 x16; (x3) PCIe x1; mPCIe;
M.2 slotsM.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT); N.A.
Drive bays3.5in; 9.5mm(2x) 3.5in; (2x) 5.25in; mSATA;
PSU260/460W460 W
Weight6.03 kg (13.28 lbs)13.8 kg (30.42 lb)
Released20202012
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 Dell Vostro 5880 and Dell XPS 8500

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Vostro 5880 which was released in 2020. The Dell XPS 8500 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 5880 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell XPS 8500 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The Dell XPS 8500 has 4 RAM slots while the Dell Vostro 5880 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 5880 is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The Dell XPS 8500 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 5880 as it has the ability to run 64 GB of RAM. The Dell XPS 8500 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 9. 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 Dell Vostro 5880 has a DisplayPort. The Dell XPS 8500 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost 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.

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 5880. Sadly, the Dell XPS 8500 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

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 460 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_Vostro_5880_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_XPS_8500_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout