So the Dell i5860-5824 gaming desktop is a decent-enough desktop for 1080p gaming, but it’s not phenomenal, and it has a few things holding it back. So let’s start at the beginning.
1.) Setup is a piece of cake. The contents of the brown cardboard box are… the PC, power cable, very sparse documentation, and an entry-level keyboard and mouse. An entry-level keyboard/mouse is pretty standard in this price bracket, so I won’t hold it against the Dell. It probably saves the buyers some money so they can pick their own out. Mice and keyboards can be pretty subjective, after all.
2.) Plugging the unit in takes seconds. Just lift the Dell out of the box, and plug it in. Yeah. Really.
3.) Bootup is pretty quick from the included M.2 128GB SSD included. Windows was up and running fully – quickly.
4.) The sound signature from this PC is quiet in some ways, and a tad objectionable in others. Most people – I’m pretty sure – will find it very quiet. I mean, it IS quiet. There are three fans inside the case. The CPU fan, a single case fan, and the graphics card (GPU) fan. Both the CPU and case fans are very quiet at all times. However, the Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 is a Founder’s Edition (FE) model – which means it uses a blower-style single fan that vents air out of the back of the system rather than blowing it around the case. Unfortunately, this FE fan is not particularly pleasant in terms of sound. It’s not that it’s loud – because it’s not really – even under load. It’s just that the quality of the sound is either somewhat grind-y, or high pitched with FE fans, depending on the luck of the draw.
On my mainstay HP Omen desktop, I have an Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070, with the “same” FE fan, and it’s a bit … grind-y, but it’s not high-pitched. On this Dell, it’s more high-pitched, and the pitch does my head in if there’s no sound playing in the room. Whether you are sensitive to it is something only you will know. If you tend to not notice high-pitched sounds, this PC will work out just fine for you. If you do notice such sounds… well… be warned.
Again, not every fan sounds the same in the FE GPUs, so it might be just my particular system that’s this way, but given my experience with these GPUs – it’s not unusual, and the general complaints about the FE fans online lead people to buy different graphics cards without the FE design in part for this very reason.
5.) Down the line, if you do replace the GPU, bear in mind this computer only comes with a 460W power supply, so a PSU upgrade will likely be needed. Also, due to the PSU placement, there’s not much room for airflow for a different-fan GPU style, because the PSU will block the fan airflow, being located right next to where the fans would blow. There’s always the FE models of higher-powered GPUs, though, if you’re not sensitive to fan noise/sound signature.
6.) There are four SATA ports on the motherboard, with only one in use for the 1TB hard drive. It would certainly be interesting trying to fit more than a couple of extra drives in this case, as there’s simply not the room, a surprise given how roomy the case is.
7.) Four RAM slots is a welcome surprise. In my model, there’s a single Micron 8GB DDR4 stick, which is actually quite thoughtful, since I was expecting 2x 4GB. This means it’s easy to add larger sticks without having to replace the usually small sticks of RAM that are often included.
8.) The case is certainly well built, and removing one side to get inside is just two small Phillips screws away. I’d have preferred thumb-screws, but this is a minor complaint. The side that comes off feels like it’s built like a tank. Very weighty, and not at all flimsy.
9.) Gaming on this is just fine. The 6-core i5 CPU does a great job, and yep – the 1060 is a reliable 1080p gaming GPU, even if it’s just the 3GB version. Expect 10-15% slower frame rates than a 6GB model. For 1080p gaming, though, you’re unlikely to notice the difference. PUBG runs just fine, which is still my current addiction.
Overall, this is a good PC. It’s not remarkable, though, and I really just do not like Founders Edition GPUs. In addition, the blue LEDs are a little garish in my eyes, though perhaps they can be disconnected (I’ll look into this). It’s not like you can see into the case anyway (even with its peculiar a-samurai-sword-sliced-me design), so it’s just light for the sake of light. No thanks, Dell!
So, this Dell does the job, has been so-far reliable, and gives you a little room for upgrading in the future, even if you will likely need a new PSU to do so (a fairly trivial expense). The big surprise is the M.2 SSD, which really is quite the speedy little thing for firing up Windows/games on, – even if it’s small. Personally, I just move my current-addiction game to that M.2 drive when needed so I get the fastest load times!
Overall, 4 stars out of 5. Recommended.
