Dell OptiPlex, Core i5-6500, 32GB, 1TB SSD, GTX 1050 Ti

The i5-6500 CPU is the 9th percentile in our database, slower than 91% of desktops we've tested. The 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD are nice, but they can't overcome that aging processor. The GTX 1050 Ti handles eSports games fine, but this is a bundle play, not a performance play.

Let's talk about that i5-6500 first, because it's the bottleneck here. Four cores, 3.2GHz base, 3.6GHz turbo. That was a solid mid-range chip in 2015, but in 2024 it's a 9th percentile CPU. For context, a modern budget chip like an i3-12100 will run circles around it in both single and multi-threaded workloads. The 32GB of RAM is actually overkill for this processor, you'll rarely max it out before the CPU taps out.

The GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB of VRAM is the saving grace for gaming. It's a 58th percentile GPU, which puts it right around average for our database. You'll get playable frame rates in games like Valorant, CS2, Fortnite, and League of Legends at 1080p with lowered settings. The 1TB SSD is a genuine quality-of-life win, boot times and game loads will feel snappy. But the port selection is thin at the 22nd percentile, you get DisplayPort, HDMI, and Ethernet, plus some USB ports, but nothing fancy.

Stacked against the competition, this Dell doesn't just lose, it gets lapped. The Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra is in a completely different universe, it's a workstation that costs several times more and delivers performance this OptiPlex can't dream of. The Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS and HP OMEN GT16-0364 are proper gaming desktops with modern CPUs and GPUs that will run circles around the 1050 Ti. Even the MSI Aegis Z2 and iBUYPOWER Slate, which are budget-oriented gaming rigs, come with newer processors and better graphics. The only argument for this Dell is the bundle, and that's a convenience play, not a performance one.

At $627 USD, you're getting a complete setup, tower, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. That's the pitch, and it's not terrible if you need everything at once. But the value math gets shaky when you look at what that money buys in raw performance. The CPU is a 9th percentile part, and the GPU is middle of the pack at best. You could build or buy a used system with a Ryzen 5 3600 and an RX 6600 for similar money, and it would absolutely demolish this in gaming. The bundle convenience is real, but you're paying a premium for aging silicon.

The headline number here is the CPU, and it's not a pretty one. That Intel Core i5-6500 sits at the 9th percentile in our database, which means it's slower than 91% of the processors we've tested in desktops. It's a 6th Gen chip from 2015, and it shows its age the moment you ask it to do anything beyond basic tasks. The 32GB of DDR4 RAM and 1TB SSD are nice touches, but they're bolted onto a foundation that's nearly a decade old.

That said, this is a bundle, not just a tower. For $627 USD, you get the desktop, a new 24" LED monitor, RGB keyboard, mouse, and speakers. The GTX 1050 Ti is a 4GB card that was entry-level when it launched in 2016, and it lands at the 58th percentile for GPU performance. It'll handle eSports titles and older games fine, but don't expect to crank settings on anything modern.

Skip this if you want to play anything released in the last few years at decent settings. The i5-6500 at the 9th percentile is a hard ceiling, and the GTX 1050 Ti's 4GB of VRAM will choke on modern textures. Also skip it if you care about port selection, the 22nd percentile ranking means you're getting the bare minimum. And if you're even slightly comfortable with used parts, you can build a far more capable system for the same $627 USD. This is for people who want a box that turns on and plays older games, nothing more.

This is a tough one to recommend. The 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD are genuinely useful, and the bundle means you're up and running immediately. But that i5-6500 at the 9th percentile is a dealbreaker for anything beyond casual use. If your gaming ambitions are limited to eSports titles at 1080p and you need a complete setup in one box, it'll do the job. For everyone else, the CPU bottleneck will frustrate you within a year, and you'd be better off saving a bit more for something with a modern processor.