Dell OptiPlex 7050 Micro, Core i7-6700T, 32GB, 256GB SSD, Black

A tiny office PC with a ridiculous amount of RAM for the price. Just don't expect to store much or play anything on it.

The surprise here is the RAM. 32GB of DDR4 in a box this small is overkill for most office tasks, and it's the main reason this thing feels snappy with a dozen browser tabs and a few spreadsheets open. The i7-6700T is a low-power chip, so it's not going to set records, but it handles everyday work without breaking a sweat. The integrated HD 630 graphics are fine for video and basic display duties, but don't even think about gaming. The 256GB SSD is the real bottleneck. It's fast enough for booting Windows, but you'll fill it up quicker than you'd expect.

The OptiPlex 7050 Micro goes head to head with the HP OmniDesk M03-0054 and the Lenovo IdeaCentre 91CX0002US in the refurbished business desktop space. The Dell wins on RAM and compact size, but the HP and Lenovo often come with larger storage drives and newer CPUs. If you need a tiny, quiet machine for a reception desk or a home office, the Dell is the pick. If you need more storage or a bit more processing power, the HP is the safer bet. The Apple Mac mini M4 and Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus are in a completely different league for performance, but they also cost significantly more.

At around $292 USD, this is a steal for a basic office PC. You're getting a machine with more RAM than most new budget desktops for less money. But the value proposition falls apart if you need more storage or any kind of graphical horsepower. For pure productivity, it's a bargain. For anything else, you'll spend more upgrading than you saved.

The Dell OptiPlex 7050 Micro is a tiny workhorse that punches way above its size class for office work. You're getting a 4-core i7, a generous 32GB of RAM, and a footprint smaller than a hardcover book. The one thing to know? This is a refurbished business machine, not a new PC. That means you get serious value for basic productivity, but you're also buying hardware from 2017 with all the limitations that brings.

If you're looking for a gaming PC or a machine for video editing, this isn't it. Go get a desktop with a dedicated graphics card instead. And if you need more than 256GB of storage without cracking open the case, look for a model with a larger drive from the start.

Buy this if you need a cheap, quiet, tiny PC for email, web browsing, and office apps. The 32GB of RAM is a genuine standout, and the price is right. Just know that the 256GB SSD is small, and the CPU is old. If you can live with those two compromises, this is a fantastic little machine for the money.