My daughter started a new school where they used Windows 10 based PCs so, I started looking for a new home PC. My requirements were: 1) it comes with Windows 10; 2) it is in a tower case so that I have room to work on it.
After reading the reviews, I decided on this one and am very pleased with the deal I got. It came with:
- a 1 TB hard drive and room for 2 more 3.5" SATA drives
- an empty 5.25" drive bay (I was thinking of moving the Lightscribe DVD writer from my old PC to here)
- two 4GB memory sticks. Leaving two slots open for me to add two more 4GB sticks and max out the memory
- empty PCI and PCI-e slots in case I ever decide to add a video card
- a 275W power supply which is more than enough for the upgrades I would make (unless I got a really good deal on a very good video card) but that is also not difficult to replace.
- multiple USB 3.0 & 2.0 ports on the front and back.
- oh yeah, it came with a genuine Windows10 license code (on a sticker on top of the case) that I used to activate my copy online. Look up the cost of a Windows 10 license
The PC performs well for what I've used it for (web browsing, email, streaming video, etc.) but if you are a gamer, you may want to make some upgrades. There are several YouTube videos showing how easily upgrades can be made.
There is only one open power cord connection so, if you want to add two more drives, you will need a splitter/adapter. There are two open SATA ports on the motherboard. And, you will need a Dell 3.5" drive plastic "adapter" to hold one of the drives in place.
Mine came in a brown box labeled "Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher" and I could tell it was used (somebody used a marker to cover a small scratch on the case) but it looks and runs as good as new. There are plenty of other reviewers that gave more complete information but, this works well for me and may be what you are looking for as well.
Since Windows 10 Pro by itself is $199, how this Microsoft-Certified refurbished machine could be got for such a low price is beyond me. The machine itself looks brand-new, clean inside and out without any signs of wear or tear. It arrived in just three days with Prime. The computer was sealed in plastic with a new COA and step-by-step instructions on how to activate the license. Also included was a brand-new power cord, new full-sized keyboard and new mouse. The machine set-up was simple and no problems after 48 hours of burn-in.
In short, this is quite a deal for anyone who needs a fairly powerful computer for really very little money. Oh, and it's a Dell, so there's that. Kudos to the refurbisher for a job really well done!
I was extremely happy with this purchase. I will start off with the pros.
- The listing shows the computer coming with an i5-3470. But mine actually came with an i5-3570. It's the same generation and build architecture, but its base clock and turbo clock are both 200MHz (0.2GHz) higher; so this processor is better than what it was supposed to come with.
- The computer did not require ANY cleaning inside. It had been thoroughly cleaned inside so there was no dust or dirty spots. I did replace the thermal paste on the CPU, as it was likely pretty old, but I would not expect the seller to have done that themselves.
- I didn't need it, but it came with a mouse and keyboard.
The Mini Tower (MT) case is far better than the Small Form Factor (SFF) case versions for a few reasons.
(1). Air flow is much better. Although the SFF don't have bad airflow, it isn't as good as the MT cases.
(2). Full size PCIe slots allow for full size cards to be installed (SFF require half height cards)
(3). More HDD/SSD spots and connections. MT has 2x3.5" and 2x5.25" bays to go with the 4xSATA connectors
(4). The MT use a full size, standard, ATX power supply instead of the proprietary power supply units in the SFF. That means you can spend like $30-$40 and get a nice power supply unit and go with an even better GPU like a GTX 1060 6GB.
There was really only one con for this machine (or at least the one I got), and that was the RAM setup. I got the listed 8GB, but it came installed at 4x2GB. That means if I ever want to upgrade, it will cost more because I will have to replace everything instead of just adding a few sticks. That being said, I don't really think I'll be upgrading, so the RAM isn't a huge deal.
I paired my machine with a Zotac GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini and this thing can game! I can play GTA V on HIGH settings @ 1080p while still getting over 60 fps. That's without any overclocking with MSI Afterburner. Keep in mind this is about the best graphics card you can use in this computer without upgrading the PSU because there are no PCIe power connectors. The GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini just uses the power from the PCIe slot and does not require any extra power.
Total price of the entire rig was about $360. That is an EXCELLENT price for modern 1080p gaming at 60 fps. If I was to spend any more money, it would be on a new PSU, but just for reliability sake.
I have included pictures of some of the components inside the case, along with a Cinebench test of the CPU and GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini.
Here are the specs of the specific machine I received. It seems like they are not all the same, so I can't guarantee you will receive the same:
CPU: i5-3570 (4 core, 4 thread, 3.4 base clock, 3.8 turbo clock)
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 @ 1600MHz (maximum speed supported by CPU)
HDD: 1TB Seagate BarraCuda 7200RPM
PSU: Dell 275W
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (with sticker code on case if you want to install on new SSD)
I added the GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini and the 250GB Samsung 840 Evo SSD.
It's a refurbished computer. Hard drive was two 500GB drives (instead of one 1TB drive) - not a big deal to me. Memory was four 2GB sticks. Power supply was something like 270W. Came with clean windows 10 install and working license key (for refurbished PC).
It's not a speed demon, but it works well if you understand its limitations. I added a old discrete graphics card and power supply and use this as emulation computer and HTPC (Kodi).
Fitting a full-length graphics card is difficult due to placement of SATA and USB headers (which would interfere with a long graphics card). Getting low-profile SATA cables would help if you are trying to add a large graphics card. A shorter graphics card (like gtx 1050) works fine.
In the machine I received, the default SATA drive location (for two 500GB drives) in the case required angled SATA power connectors with fairly close spacing. If you are swapping the power supplies, you should look at the SATA drive power connectors to see if they work with the case. I ended up cutting and splicing in the power connectors from the power supply that came with this to a different power supply power to both drives.
I bought this desktop because of the reviews. Price was right with application that I’ll be using it. Gave it four stars because I just had it for a few days and may update if it doesn’t crash. Easy set up. Get virus protection right away. In less then an hour I had a virus attempting to enter. Fortunately I had already installed protection! Update: Computer had a minor issue with Windows 10. I contacted the seller and within 20 minutes had a responds from them. They directed me as to how to fix the issue and the computer is up and running! That’s what I call customer service! Upgrade them to 5 stars!
Feature Product
- Intel Core i5-3470 - 3.2GHz Processor
- 8GB DDR3 - 1TB SATA Hard Drive.
- DVD
- Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit).
Description
Everyday computing just got easier with the Dell OptiPlex 7010 Minitower Desktop PC. Enjoy true reliability at your home or office with a simple, yet powerful value-packed desktop that gets the job done. Fully loaded with a Intel Core i5 3.2GHz processor and 8GB DDR3 memory, the Dell OptiPlex 7010 Minitower desktop PC makes for a speedy and efficient PC. The included 1TB SATA Hard Drive provides ample space to store all crucial data safely. The Dell OptiPlex Minitower 7010 Desktop PC is also pre-loaded with Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit) which offers a user-friendly interface.
Computers today are sold at the same frequency (speed) so why buy new? Here's a little tip, replace the HDD with an SSD and you will have a computer that runs much, much faster then most new computers sold at big box stores at three times the price! Just use the internet to search for how-to articles and videos. It's simple, cheap and you'll have a quiet, fast computer that is good for the next 5 years!!!! And you can even put a graphics card in if you want a budget gaming PC that CAN run any game on the market!
Got this the day they said I would get it.. packaging was ok except that the smaller box inside the larger box was not really secure, but nothing was damaged inside.
Hooked up all the stuff from my old computer except for my keyboard and mouse, since they sent a new one of each. Plugged it in and turned it on and it worked Great. Not use to windows 10 yet so I'll have to wait to give a good feed back on that. So Far everything seems to be working just right and really fast compared to my old XPS210.. But its still to early to tell and I've got a lot to learn still. So if I have any issues I'll post them as they arise. But so far, its what I expect for a great deal that I got.
There were a few scratches on the cases and I had a bit of trouble getting the side panel back on (until I figured out you just have to press it in - no sliding involved). The mouse and keyboard aren't amazing, but I didn't expect them to be. I actually like the keyboard because it has tall keys. There are so many USB ports on this thing! The ones with the 'SS' logo (I'm pretending it stands for Super Speed) are the USB 3 ports. The others are USB 2. One of these is used for gaming and graphics work, the other for mostly coding, so I changed the hard drive (added 2 ssd's), memory (upped to 20GB), video card (hdmi/2GB), and added a blueray burner to one, and it has Win7. The other has been left as it arrived and it's still a good machine for what it's used for. You really can't beat the price for what you get.
Packaging was adequate and the computer arrived quickly and without damage. It was very clean (especially inside) and had only a few cosmetic blemishes, some of which had been disguised with a little black spray paint. It lives under my desk, so that’s not an issue for me.
I plugged in a network cable and booted the system. It came right up on Windows 10 Pro version 1803 and activated the license without any effort on my part. It took about 45 minutes to download and apply all the accumulated Windows updates.
The CD drive is read only, so I replaced that, as I had a read/write drive in the junk box. The VGA port provides 1920x1080 resolutions, which is all my monitor can do. Replacing the VGA cable with a display port to HDMI cable improved the quality of the display for $10 (from Amazon).
At this point I’d say it’s a capable if somewhat sluggish home/business computer. Without any further modifications, the Passmark overall score was 1525. I backed up the included 1TB drive and then disconnected it. I installed a 250G SSD and recovered the system to that drive. (I think a 120G would be big enough and you can find those for around $20). I then reinstalled and formatted the original drive which has all the room I’ll ever need to store pictures, music, cat videos, etc. It now goes from power off to booted and ready in about 20 seconds, and shuts down in about 5 seconds. Programs also load much faster, and at this point I’d call it a perfectly acceptable business computer for about $250. The Intel video is still pretty slow, so no action games! The Passmark score was now up to 1801, still lagging behind my i3-4170 desktop, which comes in at 2403.
I wanted a little better graphic performance without too much cost or effort and decided on a Gigabyte Geforce GT 1030 card. While my Dell is the little tower, this card is very compact and should fit in the small form factor units without any problem. Less than $100, and while the specs call for a 300w power supply, it appears that the slightly smaller Dell unit handles the additional load without complaint. The score is now up to 3769 placing it above the 70th percentile of Passmark’s world-wide ratings. I can’t address games, but others seem to favor a Geforce 1050 video card. That probably requires going to a 500w power supply. As for me, the GeForce 1030 does everything I need to do, and it does it pretty fast.
Last step was an upgrade to version 1809. No problems encountered.
This is a great little computer at a price not much greater than the Windows license included with it. If you don’t mind some tinkering, it can be turned into a system with a huge amount of capability at a very modest cost.
Im suprised by the quality of this refurbished desktop. I've always used Dell laptops and decided to invest in a desktop. I wanted something I could use for digital painting and some light 3d modeling and some gaming. I had bought a Cybertron gaming desktop and it was crap with lots of problems. This desktop ran perfectly fine from the start. I installed a GTX 750 graphics card and replaced the WD eco hdd with a standard blue hdd. While I had a 550wtt power supply, the original 275watt ps that came with the desktop seemed able to manage everything. Just know that the power supply if one wanted to upgrade it needs to be somewhat smaller than the stock psu or the same size. I replaced the ram sticks with 8gbs so it now has 32gbs. Aside from replacing the mentioned parts all ports where functional and the case was well cleaned, it looked brand new. I like how the case is also not too big. And it runs quietly. For digital painting I was surprised that I had no lag in photoshop when making brush strokes at print resolution at 18x24. Im very happy with this though i havent tried any higher document sizes yet. Overall, it was worth the price.
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