Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny

Comparison and Differences

Lenovo_ThinkCentre_M600_Tiny.jpg case front and back pannelLenovo_ThinkCentre_M73_Tiny.jpg case front and back pannel
Model
Form factorMicroMicro
CPU optionsIntel Braswell Celeron; Pentium;Intel Gen4 i3/i5/i7; Celeron; Pentium;
ChipsetIntegrated SoCH81
Dedicated GPU *N.A.N.A.
RAMSODIMM DDR3-1600SODIMM DDR3-1600
RAM slots12
RAM speed1600 MT/s1600 MT/s
RAM max8 GB16 GB
USB ports(4x)USB-A 3.0; (2x)USB-A 2.0;(2x)USB-A 3.0; (3x) USB-A 2.0;
Video ports(2x) DisplayPort;DisplayPort; VGA;
Other portsRJ45; Headset; Mic;RJ45; Hdph; Mic;
Optional portsVGA/HDMI/DP/Serial; WiFi antenna; USB-A 2.0; Serial; WiFi antenna;
SATA ports11
PCI slotsN.A.Mini PCIe
M.2 slotsOptional M.2 2280/2242 M-key (SATA); M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT);M.2 2230 (WiFi/BT)
Drive bays2.5in;2.5in
PSU65 W65 W
Weight1.3 kg (2.9 lb)1.3 kg (2.9 lb)
Released20152013
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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny and Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny

If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny which was released in 2015. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny is older and entered production in 2013.

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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.

Memory

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny has 2 RAM slots while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny has only 1 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.

None of the desktops has an advantage when it comes to the speed of the RAM being used. Both models support RAM speeds of up to 1600. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny as it has the ability to run 16 GB of RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny can do a bit less at max 8 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.

Ports

In total the Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny has 6 USB ports. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny is inferior in this regard and packs 5 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.

DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny comes with 2 ports, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny 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 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 1 SATA slot(s). Keep in mind that having too few SATA slots might limit your options for connecting additional memory drives.

M.2 SSD interface allows you to transfer data with higher speeds compared to the old SATA interface. Unfortunately, neither the Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tiny, nor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M600 Tiny 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

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 65 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

Lenovo_ThinkCentre_M600_Tiny_motherboard.jpg motherboard layoutLenovo_ThinkCentre_M73_Tiny_motherboard.jpg motherboard layout