Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny vs. Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny and Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny which was released in 2015. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower is older and entered production in 2013.
If you are looking for the smaller form factor the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny is the right one for you. It is smaller than the Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower and will fit more easily under your desk.
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 M700 Tiny as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny is using the faster 2133 MT/s RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny as it has the ability to run 32 GB of RAM. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower can do a bit less at max 16 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 6. 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.
DisplayPort is crucial for any desktop machine. It is good to see that both models are featuring DisplayPorts. However, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny comes with 2 ports, while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower has only 1. If you are planning to use multiple monitors, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 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 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower is better equipped as it comes with 3 SATA slot(s), while the Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny has 1 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 Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny. Sadly, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower 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
Having a Power Supply Unit with high power rating is important, if you are going to use components which require extra power. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 Tiny comes with a decent 65 Watt PSU, but the Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 Tower has a more powerful one rated at 450 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
