Costco Members: Dell Desktop: Core Ultra 5 225, 16GB DDR5, 512GB SSD

AmusedPanther530

Sep 03, 2025 07:24 PM

2,456 Posts

Joined Apr 2021

AmusedPanther530Sep 03, 2025 07:24 PM

2,456 Posts

Really not worth it, just try to buy open box from Best Buy. You can get $1500 for $500.

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5

justye

Sep 03, 2025 07:49 PM

2,720 Posts

Joined May 2015

justyeSep 03, 2025 07:49 PM

2,720 Posts

Quote from Medic311

:

any suggestions of where to get used business desktops? i presume when you say enterprise, you mean dell optiplex or hp elitedesk?

I recommend eBay, Lots of resellers for corporate and enterprise gear. Companies will unnecessarily replace their computers even if they're more than sufficient for their current needs. They have contracts where they replace their gear every few years no matter what. This has led to an overabundance of the HP ProDesks and EliteDesks on the used market of various form factors.

Look for Intel Core processors that have 8xxx model numbers or higher. Those are compatible with Windows 11 and depending on your needs should be fine. Even a Core i3-8100T processor should be sufficient for most people. Something like this Core i5-9500T is ready to go for less than $100 (depends on your shipping location):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/157294183071 [ebay.com]

If you buy that for checking emails, basic office tasks, you should be fine for a long time.

They have the added bonus of being more reliable than the AceMagic/KAMRUI type Chinese mini PCs you see all the time.

2

1

Ride_The_Sky

Sep 03, 2025 08:27 PM

15,685 Posts

Joined Jan 2010

Ride_The_SkySep 03, 2025 08:27 PM

15,685 Posts

Can this run 24/7 with light load, I want to build data center for my pictures and files that I can access remotely. I know I will need other software that are compatible with android or have android apps for remote access but I want to hook up all my hard drives with pictures, files, archives etc that I can access whenever I need instead of keeping them on my laptop with me. Buying this sounds cheaper than trying to set up $500 NAS that doesn't even come with hard drives.

1

RyanL

Sep 04, 2025 12:22 AM

6,546 Posts

Joined Feb 2008

RyanLSep 04, 2025 12:22 AM

6,546 Posts

Quote from g725s

:

I don't understand why this always gets mentioned for office PCs. I assume you want a gaming PC. Then why not just build a dedicated gaming PC yourself? Honestly curious, not trolling.

I can't answer for everyone, but some people like having a dedicated GPU for video editing too or as a plex server. But not too sure what this machine is good for since it has a proprietary PSU and only one m2 slot. I mean the CPU is kind of overkill for an office machine and like the other guy was saying, a mini pc will do everything this thing does. But to answer your question it's just that a lot of people just want a dual purpose computer which they can use for light gaming (a midrange GPU needs at least something in the 500/600w range). Ypu would be hard pressed to throw together a PC right now with a fair CPU (with cooler), motherboard, case, fans, RAM, SSD, PSU, windows for $500. I was thinking of building one from scratch for my 10 year old and it was a grand, and that wasn't even with a very good graphics card (Intel 580). The rest of the components were pretty decent though and I'm betting much better than what you would get here, but a budget system is probably around $600ish (no GPU).

1

4

g725s

Sep 04, 2025 08:04 AM

2,879 Posts

Joined Jun 2009

g725sSep 04, 2025 08:04 AM

2,879 Posts

Quote from Medic311

:

Where can you get the drive caddy for this? Reviews state that Dell revised the manual to state they do not include it in the case anymore, and users state that dell claims the part is not available

You can install a drive in the front of the PC. The 3.5 will mount on-edge the inside face, using screws on one side of the drive only.

Last edited by g725s September 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM.

Medic311

Sep 04, 2025 01:16 PM

30,199 Posts

Joined Oct 2010

Medic311Sep 04, 2025 01:16 PM

30,199 Posts

Quote from g725s

:

You can install a drive in the front of the PC. It's there. That review is incorrect. That guy was probably looking for an older style. The 3.5 will mount flat on the inside face.

interesting.

i watched the youtube video and is this what you are referring to?

https://youtu.be/RgLWsGYLtHs?t=75

so the 3.5 HDD will install vertically, flush, with the front face?

g725s

Sep 04, 2025 01:21 PM

2,879 Posts

Joined Jun 2009

g725sSep 04, 2025 01:21 PM

2,879 Posts

Quote from Medic311

:

interesting.i watched the youtube video and is this what you are referring to?https://youtu.be/RgLWsGYLtHs?t=75so the 3.5 HDD will install vertically, flush, with the front face?

Yes, it mounts in the front face of the PC.

pg4uonly

Sep 06, 2025 02:03 PM

83 Posts

Joined Jan 2010

pg4uonlySep 06, 2025 02:03 PM

83 Posts

Quote from g725s

:

Quote from Medic311

:
interesting.i watched the youtube video and is this what you are referring to?https://youtu.be/RgLWsGYLtHs?t=75so the 3.5 HDD will install vertically, flush, with the front face?
Yes, it mounts in the front face of the PC.

Can I use Seagate BarraCuda 3.5inch ? will that work perfectly ? Thanks in advance

AquaBorder1967

Sep 06, 2025 10:08 PM

62 Posts

Joined Dec 2021

AquaBorder1967Sep 06, 2025 10:08 PM

62 Posts

Quote from MoisesA7010

:

can you just swap the power supply so this can be upgraded later to have a nice graphics card?

Usually a proprietary power supply cannot be easily replaced with anything but another oem power supply.

g725s

Sep 07, 2025 04:44 PM

2,879 Posts

Joined Jun 2009

g725sSep 07, 2025 04:44 PM

2,879 Posts

Quote from pg4uonly

:

Can I use Seagate BarraCuda 3.5inch ? will that work perfectly ? Thanks in advance

I don't see why you cannot. Your talking about a full size HDD right? If I had to I would zip-tie it the inside front face. I did a bit more research and it seems there is a drive caddy. or drive-bay, you can purchase. But if the PC just sits idle next to desk and is not in a mobile environment you could just put the drive inside the computer as you see best with that is available. Maybe make a stand-off if air flow was important to you. But look at the manual here... Dell Tower ECT1250 Owner's Manual | Dell US [dell.com]

1

g725s

Sep 08, 2025 08:19 PM

2,879 Posts

Joined Jun 2009

g725sSep 08, 2025 08:19 PM

2,879 Posts

https://www.dell.com/support/cont...7059871112

https://www.dell.com/community/en...741ca491c5

Or just buy an Optiplex cable that has the correct pin-out...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/333949606985

Last edited by g725s September 10, 2025 at 05:43 AM.

g725s

Sep 09, 2025 05:16 PM

2,879 Posts

Joined Jun 2009

g725sSep 09, 2025 05:16 PM

2,879 Posts

Quote from Medic311

:

interesting.

i watched the youtube video and is this what you are referring to?

https://youtu.be/RgLWsGYLtHs?t=75

so the 3.5 HDD will install vertically, flush, with the front face?

I found out more, check links above. And at the end of that Dell community discussion there is a link for a power supply cable that works without modification

https://www.dell.com/community/en...741ca491c5

and

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333949606985

Last edited by g725s September 9, 2025 at 10:20 AM.

hoondawg

Sep 13, 2025 09:20 AM

332 Posts

Joined Oct 2019

hoondawgSep 13, 2025 09:20 AM

332 Posts

Quote from justye

:

I recommend eBay, Lots of resellers for corporate and enterprise gear. Companies will unnecessarily replace their computers even if they're more than sufficient for their current needs. They have contracts where they replace their gear every few years no matter what. This has led to an overabundance of the HP ProDesks and EliteDesks on the used market of various form factors.

Look for Intel Core processors that have 8xxx model numbers or higher. Those are compatible with Windows 11 and depending on your needs should be fine. Even a Core i3-8100T processor should be sufficient for most people. Something like this Core i5-9500T is ready to go for less than $100 (depends on your shipping location):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/157294183071 [ebay.com]

If you buy that for checking emails, basic office tasks, you should be fine for a long time.

They have the added bonus of being more reliable than the AceMagic/KAMRUI type Chinese mini PCs you see all the time.

Why don't you some post deals then? It's so easy to make these generalized comments and TD OP's posts but they actually put the work to contribute here.

1

justye

Sep 14, 2025 02:30 PM

2,720 Posts

Joined May 2015

justyeSep 14, 2025 02:30 PM

2,720 Posts

Quote from hoondawg

:

Why don't you some post deals then? It's so easy to make these generalized comments and TD OP's posts but they actually put the work to contribute here.

I put a link for a good deal in the comment you quoted. I'm not posting used mini PC deals on Slickdeals. Doubt they will be accepted. Second, I don't care about fake points so I'm not rushing to post every time I see an overkill PC from Costco for $100 off in the Costco sale book.

Nice of you to assume that I downvoted OPs deal. I didn't. I just pointed out that this PC is pointless for most people because it doesn't a power supply that can work with a higher end graphics card and the CPU is overkill for people checking their email, so it doesn't really meet any target audience's needs. This is a CPU you'd want to use for gaming, but with a Dell proprietary power supply, you can't really do that or you will be bottlenecked with a low power GPU, so what's the point?

What are you? OP's alt account or their family member? 😂

1

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