Dell OptiPlex 5080 Review and Compared to 5070

Welcome to our page which containing a review of the Dell OptiPlex 5080. If you cannot find something here, check out the detailed technical specification on the Dell website (links are in the tables).

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What’s new about Dell OptiPlex 5080?

• The Dell OptiPlex 5080 Tower is running 10th Gen Intel Core CPU, supports up to 128 GB of RAM, has DisplayPort version 1.4 , and has an optional 360W PSU which is able to drive a GPU rated at more than 75 W (e.g. NVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti). Additionally, it has a new redesigned chassis which is missing the hinging drive bay.
• The Dell OptiPlex 5080 SFF is using 10th Gen Intel Core processor, will accept up to 128GB of RAM, and the two DisplayPorts are running the newer 1.4 version.
• The Dell OptiPlex 5080 Micro comes with a 10th Gen Intel Core CPU, can have up to 64 GB of RAM, the DisplayPorts support the newer 1.4 version, and has the option for a more powerful PSU rated at 130 W.

Below follows a more detailed comparison between the different form factors of the Dell OptiPlex 5080 vs. 5070.

Review: Dell OptiPlex 5080 MT (compared to OptiPlex 5070 MT)

The new Dell OptiPlex 5080 Tower (or also called Mini Tower, hence the MT) is similar to the previous model – the 5070 MT. However, there are some important changes.

First and the most obvious one is the chassis. The OptiPlex 5080 MT has a redesigned chassis which is now missing the hinging element. Except for the non-standard form factor PSU, from inside the chassis now looks very much like any other Tower. What’s important is that you will be able to fit the same amount of drives like in the older 5070 model.

Due to the new chassis design, the new OptiPlex 5080 MT is lighter than the old 5070 MT: 7.2kg (15.89lb) vs. 7.93kg (17.49lb).

The physical dimensions are also different (H x W x D):

• 35.0 x 15.4 x 27.4 cm (13.8” x 6.10” x 10.80”) – for 5070 MT
• 32.4 x 15.4 x 29.2 cm (12.8” x 6.06” x 11.50”) – for 5080 MT

The 5080 MT is using 10th generation of Intel Core CPUs and is able to accommodate up to 128 GB of RAM. The old 5070 was able to run up to 64 GB only.

We also find improvements with the DisplayPorts. Now they are a version 1.4 vs. 1.2 for the older model. For example the new DP version 1.4 will allow you to drive a 5120x2880 monitor at 60 Hz.

However, in case you need more graphics processing power, you won’t be disappointed. The Dell OptiPlex 5080 MT is offered with an optional 360 Watt PSU which is capable of driving a 130 Watt GPU (e.g. NVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti). The older OptiPlex 5070 MT was offered with a 260 W power supply only.

For some of you it might be important to mention, that the new chipset (Q470) supports RAID configuration for the SATA drives. This was not available to the older 5070 which was using Intel Q370 chipset.

*Note: One of the slots used for the ODD might be SATA 2.0.

The following table lists Dell OptiPlex 5080 MT specs:

* Dedicated GPU warning: Check if your model’s power supply has enough power. Additionally some PSUs don’t have an auxiliary PCIe power connector and you may need to use a SATA to PCIe power adapter.

You can find Dell OptiPlex 5080 MT XCTO (build your own) options on Dell’s official site. OptiPlex 5080 MT datasheets is available here.

Review: Dell OptiPlex 5080 SFF (compared to OptiPlex 5070 SFF)

Are you wondering, what are the differences between Dell OptiPlex 5070 SFF and OptiPlex 5080 SFF? Unlike the Tower, the new Small Form Factor (SFF) chassis is absolutely the same to the old one. If you are to find any differences you need to look inside.

The new OptiPlex 5080 SFF comes with ten gen Intel Core CPU. This is of course nice, but it won’t give you any significant gains compared to the old 9th gen. A more significant change is maybe the new chipset which supports RAID configurations for the SATA drives.

On the port side there is only one improvement and this is the new 1.4 version of the DisplayPort. The old Dell OptiPlex 5070 had DP v1.2.

It would be also nice if we could get at least a second USB 3.1 port (10 Gb/s). But this was not intended to be. What you get is a single USB 3.1 Type-C port, and if case you need more, you will have to buy the more expensive 7080 model where you get three of them.

The same like with the MT model, you can install up to 128 GB of RAM. Although, we really cannot see any benefit for the customer here. We suspect people who need 128 GB of RAM will not buy this form factor anyway.

It would be also nice if we had the option to buy the model with a more powerful power supply (PSU). Unfortunately, this is not possible. The only option is a 200 Watt PSU. It is interesting to note, that the OptiPlex 3020 SFF, which was released in 2013, had a more powerful PSU (255 Watts).

If you were to look at the motherboard, you would probably notice that there is space for a second M.2 2280 SSD drive. However, the connector is not soldered. If a second M.2 PCIe drive is a must, you will need to pay extra and get the OptiPlex 7080 model.

The following table lists Dell OptiPlex 5080 SFF specs:

* Dedicated GPU warning: Check if your model’s power supply has enough power. Additionally some PSUs don’t have an auxiliary PCIe power connector and you may need to use a SATA to PCIe power adapter.

You can find Dell OptiPlex 5080 SFF XCTO (build your own) options on Dell’s official site. OptiPlex 5080 SFF datasheets is available here.

Review: Dell OptiPlex 5080 Micro (compared to OptiPlex 5070 Micro)

Just like with the Small Form Factor Model, the new Dell OptiPlex 5080M (Micro) is virtually the same as the old 5070M. The improvements that you get are not a lot: a newer gen CPU, double the amount of maximum RAM and a DisplayPort version 1.4.

There is also the optional 130 Watt PSU which is able to drive a 65 W CPU. Yet, for now all the 5080M configurations are using processors rated at 35 Watts.

Similar to the Small Form Factor, the Micro has space for a second M.2 2280 SSD drive, but the connector is not soldered. If you want to run with two M.2 PCIe SSD drives you will need to buy the top of the line 7080M model.

All in all, the 5080 Micro is a very nice machine, but if you want to own a Mini PC capable of some serious processing, you should get the Dell OptiPlex 7080 Micro. It comes with an optional 180 W power supply and is capable of running the 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10900 processor. And that is not all! You will be able even to buy this Mini PC with the AMD Radeon RX 640 (4 GB, GDDR5) dedicated GPU.

The following table lists Dell OptiPlex 5080 Micro specs: