Dell Optiplex 7020 Desktop Computer, Intel Quad-Co

Great computer!
These may or may not make decent desktop computers. I assume they don’t given the ridiculous requirements for desktop computers. However, if you’re a student or engineer that needs to build a test lab on the cheap, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better value. I built a rather sizable kubernetes cluster using these old optiplex computers. They’re reliable, the CPU(s) are fast enough, the SSDs are reasonably performant (for server applications), and there’s a good bit of RAM. Best of all, upgrading the drives and ram is dead simple and affordable.The only “complaint” I have is that I wish the vendor would give the option to choose the accessories that ship with the computer. Some of us don’t need another keyboard, mouse, usb Wi-Fi dongle, etc. Ot would be better for everyone if they kept the stuff I don’t need and sell it to someone that can use it.

Complete Garbage
UPDATE: I still have NOT received a REFUND on this computer. I expect Amazon to do better!!The picture I’m including was taken when I opened the box. First of all, packaging was (sufficient) but far inferior to anything I have ever received from Amazon. Then the missing faceplate on the DVD drive was discovered and my initial thought after making sure it was not just loose somewhere in the shoddy packaging was to pack it back up and ask for a replacement. Instead I decided I could live with the appearance and loaded a couple of very basic programs. Instantly I noticed each of the programs I had previously loaded on other machines were taking an incredibly long time to download and install. Now I have a 1 GIG Internet Provider, so most computers run extremely fast on my network. However, when I ran a speed test on this computer the download speed was less than 30 mbps!! I tested it a couple of times and even on different servers thinking that it just wasn’t possible the thing was going so slow and it had to be a mistake. But it never once even came close to 50 mbps, far short of the 350 mbps or near 1 GIG I get on all other computer systems I own. It is simply incredible that a computer so hyped and with 32 GIG RAM Memory using the I7 Processor can’t perform as well as my oldest 2016 8 GIG laptop. You should also be warned that while the advertisement states the monitor connects by HDMI it honestly does not. They do include an adapter to make an HDMI connection possible. But an adapter is NOT a true HDMI connection. Same is true with the WIFI connection also requiring the use of an adapter and taking up one available USB port just to connect to the Internet. I do have to think that perhaps those two issues have some type of impact on the slow download and upload speeds. All that said, and after spending a few hours with the computer I ultimately packed it up and returned it for a refund. I would NEVER recommend this computer to anyone and instead state the 1 star rating I provided is actually too HIGH. So my recommendation is to stay far away from this computer, keep shopping and get something that works.

Value for the money
A lot of bang for the buck. Bought this Dell Optiplex 7020 to replace warn out 7010. These refreshed older models are workhorses, likely from a business that has changed out to newer models. The PC arrived within 48 hours, powered up, and I was able to get to work within 30 minutes. Windows 10 makes the setup easy. I primarily use these systems for internet access and Microsoft 360 product. I prefer using a PC over laptop on daily basis – PC is a workhorse and can be booted up to go 24×7. I usually get 3 to 4 years service. These older refreshed models, you just can’t beat it for the price and features vs buying a brand new comparable model that “might” give you 6 years of service at 6 or 7x the cost. When I owned my own business, I bought used Optiplex’s for hundreds of employees – zero complaints. I’ve bought or owned at least 500 Dell Optiplex’s over the last 22 years.

Happy with the machine
Although a little dusty inside it seems to be very lightly used. It has not crashed, and runs all my apps.