Dell Optiplex 980 review

In the world of business PCs, size matters: small-form-factor systems have replaced full-sized machines on desks across the country, with most users simply not needing the versatility of the traditional tower. Dell, however, is bucking this trend with the OptiPlex 980, a reassuringly large business workhorse.

It’s a serious-looking piece of kit: the front is made from metallic mesh and glossy-black plastic divided by a stripe of brushed metal, and the side panels feel as sturdy as anything we’ve seen from Lenovo’s range of ThinkCentres. The connectivity is good too, with four USB 2 ports on the front and six more USB 2 ports on the back alongside eSATA, a pair of PS/2 sockets, D-SUB and DisplayPort outputs, and even parallel and serial inputs. Security is obviously a priority.

The machine is opened using a handle that can be fastened with a padlock rather than the usual thumbscrews, and the interior boasts both a TPM chip and a tamper detection switch. The first thing to strike us when we opened the OptiPlex was its motherboard: it’s on the “wrong” side of the case, and the layout is markedly different from the usual ATX board. For a start, the four DIMM sockets are aligned horizontally rather than vertically, and the backplate is opposite the LGA 1156 processor socket rather than along one of the sides.

Interior design

While the OptiPlex 980 boasts an unusual interior, it’s clear there’s method in Dell’s madness. The solitary PCI Express x1 slot that sits towards the front of the chassis, for instance, is designed for a wireless card, and clamps into a small bracket beneath with a cage of purple plastic.

There’s also the CPU heatsink, which, aside from the PSU, boasts the system’s only fan. It’s surrounded by a metal cage to funnel air towards the front of the chassis, and the fan is suspended on rubber mounts. The result is near-silent operation that will barely be noticeable even in the quietest of offices.

The larger chassis size also offers a decent amount of upgrade room. A hard disk can be quickly installed into a spare purple caddy without any tools – and Dell has already provided a power cable ready to connect it. Meanwhile, the front of the chassis offers spare 5.25in and 3.5in bays: a purple bracket can be released to allow these to be used and, in a neat touch, screws needed to secure optical drives in place are attached to the inside of the drive bay cover.

Elsewhere, the board offers two spare DIMM sockets that can accept a maximum of 16GB of DDR3 RAM, two spare SATA/300 ports, a pair of PCI slots and two PCI Express x16 slots, although one of these runs at just x4 speed. It’s a far wider selection than is available on the Lenovo ThinkCentre A58, and the Dell is just as cleverly designed as Lenovo’s range of small-form-factor machines.

Inside this impressive enclosure is a powerful specification. Intel’s Core i5-660 is a relatively new chip, and its 3.33GHz clock speed is augmented by the familiar Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost. It’s evidently a powerful part, returning a score of 1.99 in our application benchmarks. That’s more than enough to handle the most demanding business software. Elsewhere, the specification is more ordinary.

A 320GB hard disk is sizeable enough, Intel’s integrated graphics are capable of handling basic desktop computing, and there’s a DVD writer in tow. Given there’s 4GB of RAM inside, we were slightly baffled to find Windows 7 Professional 32- bit edition installed; in this configuration the OptiPlex 980 can access only 3.4GB of the machine’s memory. But, thankfully, Dell lets you choose a 64-bit version of Windows at no extra cost when ordering.

What you want

There’s also a full range of customisation options available if this specification – which costs £689 exc VAT and is one of the cheapest available – doesn’t take your fancy. Downgrading to a Core i5-650 will save you £20 exc VAT, and a range of more powerful processors are also available: a Core i5-750 adds £29 to the cost, a Core i7-860 an extra £103, and the Core i7-870 £340.

Elsewhere, it’s possible to upgrade to a 500GB hard disk for £17 or a 128GB SSD for £269, double up to 8GB of RAM for £92 or add 16GB of memory for an extra £404. A wide range of graphics cards are also available: although we don’t anticipate much demand for the Nvidia GeForce GT330 and ATI Radeon HD 4550 options, there’s a trio of entry-level professional cards from Matrox that can be fitted. And, needless to say, the impressive three-year, next-business-day warranty can also be upgraded, with an additional two years costing £39 exc VAT, and more advanced levels of support also available.

Dell has left no stone unturned here, and there’s plenty to get your teeth into on the software side too. Dell has spent plenty of time getting the BIOS right, and has eschewed the traditional keyboard-operated utility for a cursor-controlled environment. It’s far easier to use than the average BIOS, and packed with sensible settings: the front and rear USB ports can be disabled along with the TPM chip, PCI slots and Wi-Fi, and it’s possible to choose how secure your administrator password is with a range of character and length options.

The software within Windows 7 Professional is less impressive, with utilities to handle basic network and security duties. It’s more than you’d see on most business machines, but can’t compete with Lenovo’s ThinkVantage Toolbox for breadth or versatility.

Nevertheless, this minor complaint pales into insignificance beside the Dell’s superb case design, attention to detail and performance – and, suddenly, £689 exc VAT seems like a bargain. If small-form-factor systems just aren’t versatile enough, then the OptiPlex 980 is as good as it gets.

Related Posts

How to Screenshot on a Dell PC or Laptop Samsung Galaxy S7 Review: A Great Phone in its Day, but Don’t Buy One Private Internet Access Review How to Change Your Netflix Plan Subscription Pluto TV Review—Is It Worth It? CyberGhost Review How to Manage Subtitles on Disney Plus [All Major Devices] How to View Your Recently Watched Videos on YouTube How To Fix YouTube Comments Not Showing on a Video