Dell Vostro 3250 vs. HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower

Comparison and Differences

Dell_Vostro_3250.jpg case front and back pannelHP_ProDesk_400_G3_Microtower.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorSmallMini Tower
CPU optionsIntel Gen6 i3/i5/i7Intel Gen6 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetH110H110
Dedicated GPU *GeForce GT 1030 Low ProfileGeForce GTX 1660 Super
RAMDIMM DDR3-1600DIMM DDR4-2133
RAM slots22
RAM speed1600 MT/s2133 MT/s
RAM max16 GB32 GB
USB ports(4x)USB-A 2.0; (2x)USB-A 3.0; (4x)USB-A 3.0; (4x)USB-A 2.0;
Video portsHDMI 1.4; VGA;DisplayPort; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Media Card ReaderRJ45; Hdph; Mic; Line-Out; Line-In; Serial; (2x) PS2;
Optional portsN/ASD card reader; Serial; Parallel;
SATA ports23
PCI slotsPCIe 3.0 x16; PCIe 3.0 x1;PCIe 3.0 x16; (3x) PCIe x1;
M.2 slotsM.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);N.A.
Drive bays3.5in; 5.25in;(2x) 3.5in; 5.25in (slim)
PSU180 W180/300 W
Weight3.17 kg (6.99 lbs)7.05 kg (15.5 lb)
Released20162015
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 Vostro 3250 and HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Vostro 3250 which was released in 2016. The HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower is older and entered production in 2015.

If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Dell Vostro 3250 is the right one for you. It is smaller than the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower and will fit more easily under your desk.

Processor

The two models have the same generation of Intel processors. We think that the 6 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.

The HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower is using the faster 2133 MT/s RAM. The Dell Vostro 3250 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 HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Dell Vostro 3250 can do a bit less at max 16 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower has 8 USB ports. The Dell Vostro 3250 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.

Unfortunately, only the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower has a DisplayPort. The Dell Vostro 3250 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.

The Dell Vostro 3250 comes with an HDMI port, while the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower 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 HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower is better equipped as it comes with 3 SATA slot(s), while the Dell Vostro 3250 has 2 slot(s).

M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Dell Vostro 3250, nor the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower 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 Dell Vostro 3250 comes with a decent 180 Watt PSU, but the HP ProDesk 400 G3 Microtower has a more powerful one rated at 300 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

Dell_Vostro_3250_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutHP_ProDesk_400_G3_Microtower_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout