Dell Tower Plus DEBT2250-7236BLK-PUS 2025, Core Ultra 7 265, 16GB, 1TB SSD, RTX 4060, Black

A fast, quiet workhorse with a baffling audio blind spot. Great CPU, solid build, but no 3.5mm jack means your old speakers are paperweights.

The Core Ultra 7 265 sits in the 89th percentile for CPUs in our database, and it shows. This thing chews through photo editing, video exports, and multitasking without breaking a sweat. The RTX 4060 is more mid-pack at the 70th percentile, so don't expect 4K ultra gaming, but 1080p high refresh is totally doable. What surprised us most is how quiet it runs. Multiple owners mention near-silent operation even under load, which is rare for a mid-tower at this price.

Against the HP OMEN GT22-3080, the Dell wins on CPU power and port selection but loses on gaming GPU muscle. The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 is a better pure gaming rig with stronger graphics options, though it'll cost you more. If you're on a Mac workflow, the Mac Studio M5 Max smokes this for creative apps but locks you out of PC gaming. For a quiet, upgradeable all-rounder, the Dell holds its own, but the audio thing is a real differentiator, and not in a good way.

At $1,690 USD, you're paying for the CPU, the quiet build, and Dell's onsite service. That's not a bad deal if you need a reliable workhorse and don't care about audio jacks. But the RAM and GPU are nothing special, and the audio omission is a real cost if you need to buy USB speakers or a DAC. It's worth it for the right buyer, but not a slam dunk.

The Dell Tower Plus is a weird mix of genuinely impressive hardware and one baffling design choice. You get a 20-core Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and an RTX 4060, which is a solid combo for creative work and 1080p gaming. But Dell skipped a dedicated sound card with 3.5mm jacks, so your standard speakers or headphones? Useless without an adapter or USB audio gear. That's the kind of thing that turns a great desktop into a return.

If you're a serious gamer wanting max frame rates at 1440p or 4K, this isn't your machine. Go grab a Legion Tower 7i or an OMEN with a stronger GPU. And if you have a beloved set of 3.5mm speakers you refuse to replace, just walk away now.

Buy it if you need a fast, quiet, upgradeable desktop for work and light gaming, and you're fine using USB or Bluetooth audio. Skip it if you have standard 3.5mm speakers or headphones and don't want to buy adapters. The Core Ultra 7 265 is the star here, but Dell's audio decision is a self-inflicted wound that will annoy a lot of people.