Dell Slim

The Dell Slim Desktop is a compact business PC with a best-in-class Intel Core Ultra 5-225 processor and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. It's excellent for productivity and office work, but the integrated graphics make it a poor choice for gaming or GPU-heavy tasks. At $1,100, it's a solid value for the right buyer.

The Core Ultra 5-225 is the star of the show. With 10 cores running at 3.30GHz base and boosting up to 4.90GHz, this processor is top of the charts in our database. In practical terms, that means fast application launches, snappy multitasking, and enough headroom for light content creation or software development. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM is well above average for this category, and it's dual-channel capable, which helps the integrated graphics breathe a little easier.

Storage is a 1TB NVMe SSD, which lands right around the middle of the pack. It's not the fastest drive we've tested, but it's plenty quick for boot times and file transfers. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 730 is where expectations need to be set. It handles dual 4K monitors for productivity work without issue, but it's a weak spot for anything 3D. Our gaming score for this machine came in at 12.3 out of 100, which is about as low as it gets. This is not a gaming PC, and no amount of RAM will change that.

Compared to the HP OMEN GT22-3080 or the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i, the Dell Slim is playing a completely different game. Those machines are gaming desktops with dedicated GPUs and much larger power supplies, but they also cost more and take up way more desk space. The Dell Slim beats them on CPU performance per dollar, but it loses badly on graphics. The Apple Mac Studio M4 Max is another interesting comparison. It's significantly more expensive, but it offers far better GPU performance and a more premium build. For pure office work, the Dell Slim holds its own. For anything creative or GPU-heavy, the Mac Studio is in another league.

The ASUS ROG GM700TZ-BS978 and CLX SET are both gaming-focused systems that will crush the Dell Slim in any graphics benchmark. But they're also louder, bigger, and draw way more power. If your workflow is email, documents, web apps, and the occasional spreadsheet, the Dell Slim is the more sensible choice. It's quieter, smaller, and more energy efficient.

At $1,100, the Dell Slim Desktop is priced competitively for what it offers. You're paying for the CPU and RAM, and those are legitimately excellent. But you're also accepting some compromises. The integrated graphics and 180W power supply mean you won't be adding a dedicated GPU later, and the port selection is thinner than we'd like. If you need a pure productivity machine, this is a solid deal. If you want any gaming or rendering capability, you'll need to look elsewhere or budget for a completely different system.

The Dell Slim Desktop is one of those machines that flies under the radar until you actually look at the spec sheet. For around $1,100, you're getting an Intel Core Ultra 5-225 10-core processor, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD in a compact small form factor case. That's a serious amount of compute power for a business or home office setup, and it's the kind of config that would have cost twice as much a few years ago.

Dell is positioning this as a workhorse for productivity, and honestly, the specs back that up. The CPU is the absolute best we've seen in this category, landing in the 100th percentile against every other desktop in our database. If you're running spreadsheets, compiling code, or juggling a dozen browser tabs while on a video call, this thing won't break a sweat. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 730 is the trade-off, though. It's fine for dual monitors and everyday tasks, but it's not built for gaming or any serious GPU work.

For anyone searching for a compact business desktop with strong single-thread performance and modern connectivity, the Dell Slim checks a lot of boxes. It ships with Windows 11 Pro, supports dual monitors out of the box via DisplayPort and HDMI, and includes WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5. The 180W power supply tells you everything about the design philosophy here: efficiency over raw power draw.

Skip the Dell Slim Desktop if you're a gamer, video editor, 3D artist, or anyone who needs serious GPU horsepower. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 730 is a hard bottleneck, and the 180W power supply means you can't just drop in a graphics card later. If you need gaming performance, look at the HP OMEN GT22-3080 or Lenovo Legion Tower 5i instead. If you need GPU acceleration for creative work on a compact machine, the Apple Mac Studio M4 Max is worth the extra money. This Dell is for spreadsheets, not shaders.

Should you buy the Dell Slim Desktop? If you need a compact, reliable business machine with excellent CPU performance and plenty of RAM, yes. This is a great fit for office workers, remote employees, and anyone who values a clean desk setup. The Core Ultra 5-225 is genuinely impressive, and 32GB of DDR5 means this machine will stay relevant for years.

But if you have any interest in gaming, video editing, 3D modeling, or anything that touches a GPU, skip this. The integrated graphics are a hard limit, and the 180W PSU means there's no upgrade path. For $1,100, you're getting a fantastic productivity tool and a terrible gaming machine. Know which one you need before you buy.