Desktop PCs are getting expensive — you can thank the RAM pricing crisis for that. But there are cost efficiencies you can make here and there to get a monster tower for cheaper. The answer? Go boring and ditch the RGB tax.
I’ve been testing the RTX 5080 version of the Dell Tower Plus, which my colleague Alex reviewed and gave 4 stars. One look at Dell’s website (U.K — no points for guessing where I'm from based on my last name), and you’ll find it at £2,500. To get a gamer-centric equivalent, the Alienware Aurora R16 with the same spec comes in at well over £3,000.
So in a world where we’re all looking for ways to cut costs and get the maximum bang for our buck, I’m here to defend the dullness. While it’s not as clear cut when you get into the details (cooling being one particular example), it’s proving more cost-effective to get a more basic tower specced out the wazoo over a gaming beast. Let me explain.
Bland is the brand
The Dell Tower Plus is super unassuming — I mean look at it. As Alex said in his review, it is “a breath of forgettable fresh air,” and I agree. The aesthetic is basic and utilitarian in nature, and that’s A-OK with me.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am a sucker for good RGB and well-presented components through a tempered glass side (you’ll see as much in Terry the Tom’s Guide test bench). But given the chances your tower will go underneath your desk, all that pizazz would just be wasted on illuminating the floor.
Instead, this low-key look just kind of fades into the background of your desk nicely, while also keeping its considerable power a secret. Honestly, I’m here for it.
Near-parity for less
And speaking of that “considerable power” I took a look inside to see an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, 1TB of storage and an RTX 5080 GPU. All of it is popped onto a proprietary motherboard, which for those more confident, you could get into and tinker. But it’s meant to be for Dell only to touch under its warranty. This is the cost of affordability.
But the end result is seriously impressive performance that matches up to its gaming ilk while staying quiet (more on that in a second).
Benchmark | Dell Tower Plus (Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, RTX 5080) | Dell Tower Plus (Intel Core Ultra 7, 265K, RTX 5070) | Alienware Aurora R16 (Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, RTX 5070) |
|---|---|---|---|
Geekbench 6 single-core | 3260 | 2985 | 3071 |
Geekbench 6 multi-core | 20596 | 19181 | 20010 |
Blender GPU Benchmark average | 2726 | 1979 | 2086 |
Another thing to point out is the cooling solution here. While the Alienware Aurora R16 does have an all-in-one cooler and a couple 120mm fans to keep everything tip top, the Dell Tower Plus has a far simpler cooling solution with a fan at the back and large CPU cooler.
When I took the side off and looked at the way it manages thermals, I was shocked by how quiet it had been the entire time. Not only that, but CPU and GPU temperatures never exceeded the maximum (160-degrees Fahrenheit) that we saw in testing the Alienware Aurora R16.
As Alex said, this is “a wolf in corporate sheep’s clothing,” and Dell’s really thought about everything here.
Where does the extra money go?
When it comes to gaming pre-builts, the premium often comes in the flash of it all. The price of all those key components are all relatively fixed — you’re investing in three key things here:
- A fancy case: That unique, flashy case is usually designed and tooled to be eye-catching for gamers. If you don’t need that edginess, you can save some money.
- The brand name: A brand like Alienware or Asus ROG carries a premium cost with it, so opting for Dell here may have chopped some change off the total price too.
- Advanced (and often unnecessary) features: Outside of that premium lighting, you’ve got a more advanced cooling solution, too. But given temperatures weren’t that different at all, skipping it is another cost-saving measure you can make.
That’s not to say this is all pointless. If you want the flashiness, go right ahead. I won’t deny gaming PCs look cool! But it’s a corner you can cut without sacrificing power but reducing the price you pay.
Should you play it safe (and boring)?
So this is my case for choosing an office box over a spaceship — a boring desktop tower over the gaming PC. RG-be damned, because you could take that $200 saving, get yourself a 4K monitor like the Gigabyte M27UP and make the most of that RTX 5080.
Are there downsides? Sure — the same issues you’d get with any pre-built. Lack of modular customizability and the use of proprietary parts being chief among them.
But as is becoming clear at the moment, it’s now cheaper to go pre-built over building yourself at the moment (thanks RAMageddon). And dodging the RGB-laden options is another way to save yourself some cash while still getting the same sustained performance.
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