Dell Tower Plus DEBT2250-7979BLK-PUS, Core Ultra 7 265, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Black

A CPU monster with integrated graphics that hold it back. Perfect for number crunchers, a non-starter for anyone else.

The Core Ultra 7 265 is the star here, landing in the 89th percentile for CPU performance in our database. That's one of the best chips you can get for raw productivity. Paired with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, this thing doesn't flinch at heavy multitasking. The real surprise, and not a good one, is the storage. A 1TB SSD is solidly middle-of-the-pack, and the Q&A dodges the question of whether it's a fast NVMe 4.0 drive or a slower older model. For a tower billed for 'maximized performance,' that's a weird corner to cut.

Stacked against a Lenovo Legion Tower 5i or an HP Omen 45L, the Dell looks lost. Those towers come with dedicated RTX graphics cards that make them actual gaming and creative rigs. The Dell's CPU is competitive, but the lack of a GPU means it's playing a completely different game. If you need a quiet, reliable office machine with a warranty, the Dell wins. If you want to do literally anything graphically intensive, the Lenovo or HP are the obvious choices, even if their CPUs are a step behind.

Pricing is a mess, with listings ranging from a reasonable $1,300 to an absurd $283,228. Ignore the crazy outlier. At the real street price around $1,300, you're paying a premium for that Core Ultra 7 and Dell's business-class build and support. It's a fair deal for an office that needs CPU horsepower and reliability above all else. If you find it closer to the lower end of that range, it's a solid buy for the right user.

The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 is a business workhorse masquerading as a creative powerhouse. It packs Intel's new Core Ultra 7 265, a 20-core chip that absolutely chews through spreadsheets, code compiles, and multi-tab browser chaos. But let's be real about that integrated Intel UHD graphics. This is not a machine for rendering 3D scenes or gaming after hours. It's a serious productivity tower with a split personality, offering top-tier CPU performance and a GPU that belongs in a much cheaper box.

If you're looking for a machine to game on, edit video, or do any 3D work, this isn't it. Go get an HP Omen or Lenovo Legion Tower instead. You'll sacrifice a little CPU speed for a dedicated GPU that makes all the difference.

Buy this if your workday is a marathon of Excel, code, and video calls, and you never plan to touch a game or a 3D model. The Core Ultra 7 is a beast, and the 32GB of RAM means this tower will feel fast for years. But for anyone with even a hint of creative or gaming ambition, this is a hard pass. You're getting a Ferrari engine in a chassis with bicycle tires.