Specifications:
Make & Model - Dell OptiPlex 7050
Form Factor - Small Form Factor
Processor -Intel Core i5 6th Gen, 6500 3.20GHz Processor
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 128GB
Storage Type - SSD (Solid State Drive)
I/o Ports - 1x USB-C, USB 3.0 Ports, USB 2.0 Ports, Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort
Features - Built-in Speakers
Connectivity - Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort
Operating System - Windows 10 Pro
What's in the box:
PC
Power Cable
Yeah - 6th Gen is just too old now. Should be well under $100.
At least it has a HDMI port.
8th gen is the oldest CPU's I would personally buy.
7th gen is fine; hardware support for h265 10bit.
So whether its a server, or even a desktop youtube/homework box, 7th gen can keep up with modern acceleration.
Win 11 support officially starts at 8th gen
True, but I personally wouldnt be putting that heavy an OS on such old hardware.
ChromeOS would be a good choice for desktop, and Debian for a server; depending what your goals are.
@pinkybrain: Sure, but thats a bit of a redundant statement.
- MacOS is the preferred OS if you need some software only available on Mac.
- Linux is the preferred OS if you need some software only available on Linux.
- BSD is the preferred OS if you need some software only available on BSD.
It goes without saying if you have specialty software requirements, you would prefer the OS that runs those.
Luckily for the average user; the vast majority of common desktop tools are cross platform these days, or even just often run in a web browser directly.
Sure, but thats a bit of a redundant statement.
My comment could have been put in a better way..
But I think you are missing the point of my comment or just trying appear "clever"…
The point of my comment which is a reply to your comment "True, but I personally wouldnt be putting that heavy an OS on such old hardware." within the context of this post "Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF Desktop PC"
is that there is a reason why the majority of PCs have Windows OS on it is because
-Windows has the largest software support from third party devs (popular software - paid and free) of any OS platform..
There is usually a windows version (and may or may not have a linux or MacOS version) because it is also the dominant OS so devs target Windows..
-Windows also has drivers (from device manufacturers) which may or may not not have a mac or linux driver..
-Windows also is the OS for gaming support, Mac OS (gaming sucks)
and linux gaming (was shit until proton/steamdeck which is helps getting Windows games to work on linux but still not as good as gaming in Windows) and some games will still not be playable on linux due to anticheat protection.
So all those points is what I should have said in response but it was quite long to type out..
If the user does not care about those points and only interested in browsing the web and maybe doing office work in google docs/sheets etc..
then it does not matter as much the OS they are using so all they really need is the browser..
True, but I personally wouldnt be putting that heavy an OS on such old hardware.
Windows 10/11 runs fine with 8GB of ram and even better with 16GB so it is not that heavy of an OS as long as you got at least 8GB of RAM..
ChromeOS would be a good choice for desktop, and Debian for a server; depending what your goals are.
Do you expect the average user to be able to install ChromeOS (if it is even possible on this Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF hardware - 6th to 8th gen CPU) or even install debian and use linux?
Most are just going buy this SFF PC and use whatever OS that comes with it (which is windows 10) and if prompted that they can update to windows 11 then they may update to it.
So for the average user, your comment "ChromeOS would be a good choice for desktop, and Debian for a server" is pointless.
@pinkybrain: First, I genuinely appreciate you aknowledging that. Kudos
Thats why I said in the reply before the last, the use case I was refering to was
"a server, or even a desktop youtube/homework box"
Windows 10/11 runs fine
Windows 10 will go EOL on this hardware in almost 1 year; so I try not to advise my clients to go that way. Windows 11 has no official support on this hardware.
Do you expect the average user to be able to install ChromeOS
It's genuinely an easier install process than Windows. If they can handle one, they can handle the other.
It's certainly easier than modifying a Windows 11 ISO to bypass hardware checks next year, thats for sure.
Otherwise, I'd advise they ask a professional, or simply reply with a followup question.
I won't bite them. I wouldn't be freely donating my time to a discussion platform if I wasn't willing to help.
So for the average user
I wouldn't normally target OS discussion toward the 'Average User'.
I've learned the hard way that 'Average' people don't want to talk about architecture and kernels.
your comment "ChromeOS would be a good choice for desktop, and Debian for a server" is pointless.
I wouldn't call sharing professional advice pointless, but thats freely your interpretation.
I'm not going to pretend I get to tell you what you see value in or not.
But for clarification, in case you're curious:
With 'Plex Servers' being a super common use case for this model, yes, Debian is a very common OS choice.
Another common use for these is for students, where several schools default to Chromebooks; Lots of students\parents like the same OS and software stack at home, as at school.
yes this
There's not much difference between 4th - 7th gen. 8th gen is the real leap and game changer
why 8th gen real leap and game changer?
went from usual 4cores to 6cores in their i5 range and also the lowest gen to officially support Windows 11
Any way to use an egpu through the usb c? As a cheap Dota gaming rig?
For this type of use case specifically you’re probably looking at something that supports a Thunderbolt connection for an eGPU, normal USB-C won’t cut it
This is a poor deal.
Two weeks ago, I bought https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/863774 for $80.75 delivered.
It came with a 256 Gb SSD, whereas this deal has only 128 Gb SSD.
When I loaded Windows 10 Pro, it took 57 Gb of my SSD.
this has 16GB ram
57GB i assume you mean? Holy heck thats a lot. I didn't realise how much my usual NTLite config was saving.
ps. Anyone chasing smaller installs; dont trust the pre made ISO's, you don't know how they've been tampered with; its quick to DIY.
![[Refurb] Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF Desktop PC i5-6500 16GB RAM 128GB SSD Win 10 Pro $111.75 Delivered @ UN Tech eBay](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/26/865626.jpg?h=6803710d)
This doesn't feel like a great deal. I'm not sure i would buy a 6th gen system anymore. I think the last 7050 post was about $80 for the same specs?