Comparison HP ProDesk 400 G6 SFF 7PH73EA vs Lenovo ThinkCentre M720 Tiny 10T7004LRU

The general type of computer. In addition to classic desktop models (including gaming purposes), more unusual solutions are also found nowadays: monoblocks, nettops, microcomputers. Here are the features of each type:

— Desktop. Traditional desktop PCs, in other words, models that do not fit into any of the more specific categories. For the most part, they are not even desktop, but rather "below the table" — they are carried out in vertical cases, most often placed under the tabletop, horizontal system units are extremely rare among such devices.

— Game. A variety of desktop computers, designed for professional players and gamers-enthusiasts. Such models are necessarily equipped with a powerful hardware, which allows you to comfortably play even demanding modern games. In addition, they often provide various additional features that are useful for specialization: built-in overclocking tools, high-end customizable cooling systems, etc. Another feature of gaming PCs is a distinctive design, often quite original: in an “aggressive” style, with backlight, unusual body shape, transparent inserts, etc.

— Monoblock. Monoblocks are devices that combine a screen, system unit electronics, a set of connectors and acoustics in one case; in other words, these are monitors with built-in comp...uter “hardware”. This design has two main advantages. Firstly, the system initially has a display, and it is quite large and optimally suited to its configuration — so the user does not need to look for a separate screen. Secondly, such a computer takes up very little space — only slightly more than a monitor with the same screen size; and the absence of a separate system unit can be written down as an advantage. On the other hand, if in a regular PC the “system unit” and the monitor can be selected separately, at your discretion, then in monoblocks this is not possible — you have to get by with the combinations that the manufacturer initially offers. In addition, the possibilities for modification and upgrade for such models are noticeably more modest than for traditional ones, and there is no talk of replacing the screen at all.

— Nettop. Devices also known as "mini PCs". They are small and modestly equipped — in particular, a very limited set of ports. In addition, many nettops do not differ in performance and are designed mainly for working with documents, surfing the Internet and other simple tasks. However, there are also quite powerful performant solutions. Anyway, the main advantage of the nettop is compactness.

— Microcomputer. As the name suggests, this type of computer is extremely tiny—comparable in size to a flash drive—and looks more like portable adapters for external screens than stand-alone devices. The case of such an “adapter” usually has its own HDMI connector, which is used to connect to a monitor or TV; the same port provides power. And the case most often provides for a “mobile” energy-saving processor with integrated graphics, a compact SSD or eMMC drive, and wireless modules. Peripherals like keyboards and mice are connected mainly via Bluetooth, but many models have wired connectors like USB, and sometimes in quite a decent amount (2 or even 3). In general, such a device can be a good alternative to a tablet or laptop for those who often move between different workplaces — the main thing is that these places have appropriate screens for connection. The power of microcomputers, naturally, is low, but they are not designed for "heavy" tasks.

— Thin client. Thin clients are computers designed to be used in terminal mode for external servers. In this case, all resource-intensive calculations are performed by the server, and the functions of the thin client are limited to entering initial data and receiving results. Most of these computers do not involve independent work at all, but this is not a drawback, but a feature of specialization. In general, this format of work is not used in everyday life and in the ordinary business sphere, but it is perfect for some highly professional tasks. And since the thin client does not need high performance, it can be made as compact, lightweight and inexpensive as possible.

The form factor of a computer case characterizes, first of all, the internal volume. Main PC Form Factors:

— Midi Tower. A representative of the tower family (tower cases) of medium size — about 45 cm in height with a width of 15-20 cm, with the number of external bays from 2 to 4. Most popular for middle-class home PCs.

— Mini Tower. The most compact "vertical" case type, with a width of 15-20 cm, has a height of about 35 cm and (usually) less than 2 compartments with external access. Used mainly for office PCs that do not require high performance.

— Full Tower. The tower case is one of the largest form factors for PCs today: 15-20 cm wide, 50-60 cm high, with up to 10 externally accessible bays. Most often in this form factor running advanced high performance PCs

— Desktop. Enclosures designed for installation directly on the desktop. They often have the possibility of horizontal installation — in such a way that a monitor can be placed on top of the case — although there are also models that are installed strictly vertically. Anyway, "desktop" models are relatively small.

— Cube Case. Cases having a cubic or close to it shape. They can have different sizes and are intended for different types of motherboards, this point in each case should be clar...ified separately. Anyway, such cases have a rather original appearance, different from traditional "towers" and "desktops".

The specific model of the processor installed in the PC, or rather, its index within its series (see "Processor"). The full model name consists of the series name and this index — for example, Intel Core i3 3220; knowing this name, you can find detailed information about the processor (characteristics, reviews, etc.) and determine how suitable it is for your purposes.

Clock speed of the CPU installed in the PC.

In theory, higher clock speeds have a positive effect on performance because they allow the CPU to perform more operations per unit of time. However, this indicator is rather weakly related to real productivity. The fact is that the actual capabilities of the CPU strongly depend on a number of other factors - the overall architecture, cache size, number of cores, support for special instructions, etc. As a result, you can compare by this indicator only chips from the same or similar series (see “CPU”), and ideally, also from the same generation. And that's pretty approximate.

Processor clock speed when running in TurboBoost or TurboCore mode.

Turbo Boost technology is used in Intel processors, Turbo Core — AMD. The essence of this technology is the same both there and there: if some of the cores work under high load, and some are idle, then some tasks are transferred from more loaded cores to less loaded ones, which improves performance. This usually increases the clock frequency of the processor; this value is indicated in this paragraph. See above for more information on clock speed in general.

The result shown by the PC processor in the test (benchmark) Passmark CPU Mark.

Passmark CPU Mark is a comprehensive test that allows you to evaluate CPU performance in various modes and with a different number of processed threads. The results are displayed in points; the more points, the higher the overall performance of the processor. For comparison: as of 2020, in low-cost solutions, the results are measured in hundreds of points, in mid-range models they range from 800 – 900 to more than 6,000 points, and individual top-end chips are capable of showing 40,000 points or more.

The result shown by the PC processor in the test (benchmark) Geekbench 4.

Geekbench 4 is a comprehensive cross-platform test that allows, among other things, to determine the efficiency of the processor in various modes. At the same time, according to the developers, the verification modes are as close as possible to various real tasks that the processor has to solve. The result is indicated in points: the more points — the more powerful the CPU, while the difference in numbers corresponds to the actual difference in performance ("twice the result — twice the power").

Note that the benchmark in Geekbench 4 is the Intel Core i7-6600U processor with a clock frequency of 2.6 GHz. Its power is estimated at 4000 points, and the performance of other tested CPUs is already compared with it.

The result shown by the PC processor in the test (benchmark) Cinebench R15.

Cinebench is a test designed to test the capabilities of the processor and graphics card. The creator of this benchmark, Maxon, is also known as the developer of the Cinema 4D 3D editor; this determined the features of testing. So, in addition to purely mathematical tasks, when using Cinebench R15, the processor is loaded with processing high-quality three-dimensional graphics. Another interesting feature is the extensive support for multithreading — the test allows you to fully check the power of chips that process up to 256 threads at a time.

Traditionally, for CPU benchmarks, the test results are indicated in points (more precisely, points — PTS). The more points scored by the CPU, the higher its performance.

The volume of the main drive supplied with the PC. For models with combined storages (for example, HDD+SSD, see "Drive type"), in this case, the main one is considered to be a more capacious hard drive; and if there are two HDDs in the kit, then they usually have the same capacity.

From a purely practical point of view, the more data the drive holds, the better. So the choice for this indicator rests mainly on the price: a larger capacity inevitably means a higher cost. In addition, we recall that SSD-modules in terms of gigabytes of capacity are much more expensive than hard drives; so you can only compare carriers of the same type by the combination of volume and cost.

As for the specific capacity, a volume of 250 GB or less in modern PCs can be found mainly among SSDs. Hard drives of this size are almost never found, for them a capacity of 250 to 500 GB is still considered quite modest. 501 – 750 GB is a pretty good value for an SSD, and among them it is also mainly used. 751 GB — 1 TB is an impressive figure for an SSD and an average for hard drives, 1.5 – 2 TB is a very solid capacity even for an HDD. And a very high capacity — more than 2 TB — paradoxically, is found even among pure SSDs: such drives are installed in high-end workstations, where speed...is no less important than capacity.