Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 vs. HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower

Comparison and Differences

Fujitsu_Esprimo_P7012.jpg case front and back pannelHP_ProDesk_490_G3_Microtower.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMini TowerMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen12 i3/i5/i7/i9; Pentium; CeleronIntel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetQ670H110
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GTX 1650 SuperGeForce GTX 1660 Super
RAMUDIMM DDR4-3200DIMM DDR4-2133
RAM slots44
RAM speed3200 MT/s2133 MT/s
RAM max128 GB64 GB
USB ports(2x) USB-A 3.0; (7x) USB-A 2.0; USB-A 3.1; USB-C 3.2(6x)USB-A 3.0; (2x)USB-A 2.0;
Video ports(2x) DisplayPort 1.4DisplayPort; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Headset, Line in; Line outRJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Serial; (2x) PS2;
Optional portsHDMI 2.1; DP 1.4a; DVI; VGA; Parallel; Serial; Thunderbolt 4; (2x) USB-C 3.1 (DP support 60W/15W)SD card reader; Serial; Parallel;
SATA ports43
PCI slotsPCIe 4.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1; PCIe 3.0 x16 (wired x4)PCIe 3.0 x16; (2x) PCIe x1; PCIe 3.0 x16 (wired x4);
M.2 slots(2x) M.2 2280/2230 M-key (PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)N.A.
Drive bays(3x) 3.5in; 2.5in; (2x) 5.25 inch(2x) 3.5in; 5.25in (slim)
PSU280/300 W180/300 W
Weight7.40 kg (16.31 lb)7.05 kg (15.5 lb)
Released20222015
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 Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 and HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 which was released in 2022. The HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower is older and entered production in 2015.

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 Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower 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 Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 is using the faster 3200 MT/s RAM. The HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 2133 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower can do a bit less at max 64 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 has 11 USB ports. The HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower is inferior in this regard and packs 8 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. What is nice about the Fujitsu Esprimo P7012, is that it has 1 USB 3.1 port(s) which allows transfer of up to 10Gb/s. Unfortunately, the HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower 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.

DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 comes with 2 ports, while the HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 is the better choice.

None of the models has an HDMI port. If your monitor supports only the HDMI interface, you will need to buy an adapter. Such adapters are cheap so nothing to worry about.

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 Fujitsu Esprimo P7012 is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower 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 Fujitsu Esprimo P7012. Sadly, the HP ProDesk 490 G3 Microtower 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 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

Fujitsu_Esprimo_P7012_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutHP_ProDesk_490_G3_Microtower_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout