Dell Optiplex

[Matt_A]

Followed a thread about hardware to the wiki. It turns out the computer I pulled out of storage has low CPUMark score. I started looking and found this:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7040-Bluetooth-Windows10/dp/B0B2DT66SJ/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=dell+OptiPlex&linkCode=sl2&linkId=e2cda995d0e9ebf3094d47897156d34f&qid=1679852601&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_feature_twenty-eight_browse-bin%3A23724145011&refresh=1&rnid=23724143011&s=pc&sr=1-6

Does this look like a good value?

 

[tigerwillow1]

I don't think so unless you want to run windows 7. At generation 8, the Intel chips had a huge performance increase. No point in going earlier if running win 10 or 11, and gen 8 machines can be had for less $ that the one you linked to. (i7-6700 is gen 6).

 

[Matt_A]

I don't think so unless you want to run windows 7. At generation 8, the Intel chips had a huge performance increase. No point in going earlier if running win 10 or 11, and gen 8 machines can be had for less $ that the one you linked to. (i7-6700 is gen 6).

Thanks very much!

Can you point me to somewhere that has gen 8 machines for good prices?

 

[wittaj]

Ebay

 

[Matt_A]

Ebay

What terms should I search for? I have not used Ebay in a decade. I favor the fat towers with lots of expansion slots. This any good?:

Dell OptiPlex 7060 Tower Intel i7-8th gen 32GB RAM 256GB SSD M.2 Win 11 Pro | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dell OptiPlex 7060 Tower Intel i7-8th gen 32GB RAM 256GB SSD M.2 Win 11 Pro at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Of course, I understand the nature of auctions. I'm not looking to hold anyone accountable -- just trying to head down the path of the best value ......

 

[Tinman]

Keep looking:

Dell OptiPlex 7060 Tower Intel i7-8th gen 16GB RAM 256GB SSD Win 10 Pro | eBay

 

[tigerwillow1]

When looking at performance be aware at a gen8+ i5 is at least as fast as a pre-gen8 i7, so if that i7-6700 was fast enough for you, a newer i5 is at least as powerful, and you wouldn't need an i7. The newer i7s have a noticeable premium over the more common i5s. A random example:
Dell Optiplex 7060 Tower 3.0 GHz Core i5-8500 16GB RAM 256GB SSD DVDRW Win10 | eBay

I'm not a BI user, but I think you don't really need a lot of expansion. Most BI users are using SFF boxes. I've bought about 8 machines from ebay and have been consistently lucky. I prefer from a source with multiple identical machines on the theory they are used business machines and probably not beat up. Make sure you get the configuration you want or your final cost will go up. For instance, whatever you get should have an SSD.

 

[Mike A.]

I favor the fat towers with lots of expansion slots...

The larger Dell Optiplex towers don't really give you much over the SFF. You get a somewhat larger power supply but there isn't a built-in place for 3.5" drive expansion beyond the one. Plenty of space to stuff things in there somewhere but not with a ready-made slot for it. I kind of made the mistake of assuming that there would be when I got mine. Don't really need some big video card for BI and it's not an application where you're driving things so hard that added space/cooling is a benefit. So you end up with a lot of extra size that's not really all that effectively used. I think the HP EliteDesk are the better way to go for BI with two easy 3.5" bays. Even if you just use one drive the SFF or EliteDesk pretty much do the same and all you need in a smaller package.

 

[Flintstone61]

Here is an example that would give you room to have more drives.

HP EliteDesk 800 G4 TWR | i7 8700 8GB RAM 1TB HDD | 806527 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for HP EliteDesk 800 G4 TWR | i7 8700 8GB RAM 1TB HDD | 806527 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06075968.pdf

 

[Flintstone61]

An the 8th gen CPU system from HP or Dell also will have the Ability to upgrade to Windows 11.

 

[Flintstone61]

If you want a decent tower with room like the older Optiplex "used to have" I'd suggest the Dell Precision 3630 tower. I have one now they are cheaper. I beleive they are rated for a Nividia GT2070 or maybe higher. plus WIn 11, and 3- full Hard drive bays

️ Dell Precision 3630 Tower i7-8700 3.20GHz 16GB RAM 256GB SSD Windows 11 Pro | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ️ Dell Precision 3630 Tower i7-8700 3.20GHz 16GB RAM 256GB SSD Windows 11 Pro at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[TonyR]

If you want a decent tower with room like the older Optiplex "used to have" I'd suggest the Dell Precision 3630 tower. I have one now they are cheaper. I beleive they are rated for a Nividia GT2070 or maybe higher. plus WIn 11, and 3- full Hard drive bays

️ Dell Precision 3630 Tower i7-8700 3.20GHz 16GB RAM 256GB SSD Windows 11 Pro | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ️ Dell Precision 3630 Tower i7-8700 3.20GHz 16GB RAM 256GB SSD Windows 11 Pro at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I lean toward Dell mini-towers that use standard, available-anywhere ATX power supplies like the one you linked....the proprietary supplies in many of the newer Dells are expensive and somewhat wimpy anyway....IMO.

 

[Flintstone61]

https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/precision-3630-workstation_users-guide_en-us.pdf