Acer Veriton M6680g vs. Dell XPS 8940

Comparison and Differences

Acer_Veriton_M6680g.jpg case front and back pannelDell_XPS_8940.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen11 i3/i5/i7/i9Intel Gen10 & 11 i3/i5/i7;
ChipsetQ570H470
Dedicated GPU *RTX 3070GeForce RTX 3080
RAMUDIMM DDR4-2933DIMM DDR4-2666/2933
RAM slots44
RAM speed2933 MT/s2666 MT/s
RAM max128 GB128 GB
USB ports(2x) USB-A 3.0; (6x) USB-A 2.0; (2x) USB-C 3.1USB 3.0 Type C; USB 3.1 Type A; (2x) USB-A 2.0; (7x) USB-A 3.0;
Video ports(2x) DisplayPort 1.4; HDMI 1.4; VGAHDMI 2.0; DisplayPort 1.4;
Other portsRJ45; (2x) Mic, Speaker; Line in; Line out; PS/2 ports; SerialRJ45; Mic; Headset; Card Reader;
Optional portsCard reader; ParallelN.A.
SATA ports53
PCI slotsPCIe 4.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1; PCI; PCIe 3.0 x16 (wired x4)PCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe x4; PCIe x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)M.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);
Drive bays(2x) 2.5/3.5in; 5.25 inch(3x) 3.5in;
PSU300/500 W500 W
Weight12.00 kg (26.40 lb)6.3 kg (13.89 lb)
Released20212020
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 M6680g and Dell XPS 8940

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Acer Veriton M6680g which was released in 2021. The Dell XPS 8940 is older and entered production in 2020.

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 M6680g as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell XPS 8940 is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

Both models have have equal amount of ram slots (4 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 M6680g is using the faster 2933 MT/s RAM. The Dell XPS 8940 is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2666 MT/s. In addition, you will be able to install the same amount of RAM in both models, and most probably 128 GB of RAM will be enough for most people. However, if you will be needing more RAM, make sure to check other desktop models too.

Ports

In total the Acer Veriton M6680g has 12 USB ports. The Dell XPS 8940 is inferior in this regard and packs 10 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. It's great that both of the models have USB 3.1 ports which will allow you to exchange data with your peripherals at up to 10Gb/s. But if you need maximum connectivity, go with the Acer Veriton M6680g as it has 6 USB3.1 ports (the Dell XPS 8940 has 1).

DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the Acer Veriton M6680g comes with 2 ports, while the Dell XPS 8940 has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the Acer Veriton M6680g is the better choice.

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

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 M6680g is better equipped as it comes with 5 SATA slot(s), while the Dell XPS 8940 has 3 slot(s).

When your goal is to have the fastest SSD transfer speeds, an M.2 interface is crucial. Thus, it is good that both models have M.2 SSD slots. Today M.2 SSDs are not much more expensive than the average SATA drives, so it really does not make sense to invest in SATA drives anymore.

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 500 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

Acer_Veriton_M6680g_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutDell_XPS_8940_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout