Dell OptiPlex DELL TOWER 2016, Core i7, 16GB, 512GB SSD, GTX 1050 Ti, Black

A 2016 GPU in a 2015 office tower with RGB lights glued on. It'll crush Valorant, but the CPU is ancient and refurb quality is a coin flip.

The GTX 1050 Ti is the star here, landing in the 65th percentile for GPUs, which is respectable for a card from 2016. Paired with 16GB of DDR4, it'll chew through Fortnite, Apex, and older AAA games without much drama. But that Intel Core i7 6th Gen processor sits in the 1st percentile, which is basically dead last among every desktop we track. It's a 2015-era chip trying to keep up in 2025, and it shows when you try to do anything beyond light gaming or basic multitasking. The 512GB SSD is also on the small side, ranking in the 29th percentile, so you'll be uninstalling games to make room for new ones sooner than you'd like.

Against the HP OmniDesk M02-0234 or Lenovo Yoga AIO F0J20012US, this Dell wins on raw gaming potential thanks to the discrete GPU, but loses badly on reliability and modern features. The Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus and GMKtec Nucbox K8 Plus are far more compact and efficient, though they can't match the 1050 Ti's gaming performance. The ASUS ROG G700 is in a completely different league, but it also costs several times more. If you want a cheap esports box and don't mind tinkering, this Dell is a contender. If you want something that just works out of the box, look elsewhere.

The price swings wildly from USD 430 to USD 777 across two US listings, which tells you everything about how inconsistent this deal is. At USD 430, it's a defensible budget esports machine if you know what you're getting into. At USD 777, you're getting robbed. The best deal is at the lower end of that spread, and even then you should budget for potential fixes like a new wireless card or a clean Windows install. For the money, a used office PC with a GTX 1650 or even a newer Ryzen APU build would be a smarter long-term play.

This is a refurbished Dell OptiPlex dressed up as a budget gaming rig, and the results are mixed at best. The GTX 1050 Ti can absolutely push esports titles like Valorant and Overwatch 2 past 120 fps, which is the main reason anyone should consider this. But the CPU is ancient, the storage is cramped, and the 'RGB gaming' marketing is doing a lot of heavy lifting for what is fundamentally an old office tower with some lights slapped on.

If you want a reliable machine for modern gaming, content creation, or anything beyond esports and light office work, this isn't it. The 1st percentile CPU will frustrate you daily. Go get a used system with a Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel 10th Gen chip and a GTX 1660 Super instead. You'll spend a bit more but avoid the headache.

This is a budget esports machine for people who don't mind rolling the dice on refurb quality and doing some troubleshooting. The GTX 1050 Ti delivers where it counts for competitive shooters, but the ancient CPU, small SSD, and reported hardware issues make it a risky buy. If you can snag it near USD 430 and you're comfortable fixing minor problems, it's a decent deal. If you're paying anywhere near USD 777, you're making a mistake.