Dell Optiplex 5060 Desktop Computer | Hexa Core Intel i7 (3.2) | 32GB DDR4 RAM | 1TB SSD Solid State | Windows 11 Professional | Home or Office PC (Renewed), Black

When I received this computer, it was very easy to set up since they had very detailed instructions and even included a section on what to do if you needed to recover (Pictures included). Well, disappointment started day one. After about 2 or 3 reboots, the computer refused to boot with the error there was no boot system. I contacted them over email and explained the situation and what I had tried. Without hesitation, they took my word for it and trusted my diagnosis and started a replacement. They immediately sent me a pre-paid shipping label. I packed it up in the same box without cables or antennas as requested and shipped it back. Probably within a week in a half, I had a new system. I booted it, set it up, and it has been running link a champ ever since. This was a very quality system, at a good price, with fantastic customer support. Believe me, it is rare to get that kind of support. In the past, vendors have treated me like I was trying to scam them and sent me through a litany of testing and discussions before they would agree to replace it. Many times, I would just give up and get a refund.
This was a breath of fresh air to have customer support that really did support you.

was purchased to replace old computer. It works well and was shipped quickly and very well packaged

I thought this was a good deal and it worked fine for about a week Then the hard drive failed. It simply wouldn’t boot up. I thought I would give them a second try so I ordered and received a replacement. That failed in 24 hours – same problem. I returned them both and received a prompt credit, so no harm done, but I wouldn’t buy another one.

ive had it over a year now
zero problems still fast and easy to use

I am upgrading my rating from 3 to 4 stars (and keeping the computer). Everything I said in my initial review (below) is true. But after getting some excellent support from Amazon and TekReferbs, the vendor, regarding some minor issues and recognizing how much you get for a modest price perhaps the 3 stars was an overreaction to Windows 11.

I ran 4 passes of MemTest86 (3 or 4 hours) with zero memory errors. I added an M.2 drive and that is working fine (Crucial P3 Plus 2TB PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD). The cramped space mentioned in the initial review was a little frustrating but tolerable. I did find I had downloaded the wrong maintenance manual. This machine needs “optiplex-5060-sff-service-manual-en-us.pdf”, not the “optiplex-5060-desktop_service-manual8_en-us.pdf” I initially got. There was no mounting standoff and I loosely “secured” the drive with a standard machine screw. The vendor offered to send me the plastic standoff that Dell normally uses.

I did a clean install of Windows 11 from a USB installation media with no problem followed by Dell’s automated update service. That went find but when I tried another clean install for the M.2 drive it said this system could not run Windows 11. The Dell update included a BIOS update and the new BIOS defaulted to Secure Boot being turned off. After resolving that the M.2 drive install went fine (with “normal” Windows 11 frustrations).

The system as delivered is quite responsive and boot time was very good. M.2 may be a little better but not enough to justify the cost. I got the M.2 because I wanted more storage. Had I been certain of the system’s capabilities I would have got the cheaper 1TB drive. But when I asked Dell chat support what they system was capable of they told me I could have only one mass storage device and it could be no bigger than 1 TB. That advice was less than useless – the 2TB M.2 is working fine and the two drives are accessible. The agent claimed to be a live person – just a little inattentive because she was handling two other customers at the same time. I still suspect I was talking to a robot programmed to give me information based on what Dell has to sell.

I will say that a few years ago I bought a Dell business laptop and paid several hundred dollars for 5 years of enhanced support. The few time I have called that group support was top-notch.

Initial Review:
All of the onboard hardware is as advertised and works as expected. WiFi dongle sees my router and AP but not my iPhone hot spot. No testing beyond that. Device manager sees Bluetooth dongle but I did not test it. The optical drive appears delicate and fussy to load. I saw no BIOS option to boot from optical drive. USB boot worked. The case is very small and cramped inside – not what comes to mind for a “tower”. Be sure to download the maintenance manual that explains how to peel the layers of hardware. Overall hardware gets 4.5 stars.

Windows 11 gets 3 stars. I may do a return because of Win 11. Gripes about Win 11 abound on the Internet and I will not repeat except to say that a fresh install of the OS has been very frustrating. You HAVE to connect to the Internet to even begin, you HAVE to provide Microsoft account credentials, you HAVE to wait forever while latest updates are installed before you can do anything (despite the fact that the USB install media was just created a couple of days ago). You HAVE to wade through what I consider advertisements. In general, I feel not only does the hardware have to be Win 11 compliant, I have to be be Win 11 compliant – perhaps subservient is a better word. Is subscription based Windows the next step?