Dell OptiPlex 7060 Micro - Teardown - Upgrade - Benchmarks

In this video, we will take a deep dive into the Dell OptiPles 7060 Micro. First, we will have a good look at this machine and the differences with its predecessor, the OptiPlex 7040. Then I'll be performing a full teardown and re-assembly of the machine, while adding a SATA SSD. Once the machine is back togheter, I will install Windows 11 and test how this machine performs.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:57 - External Overview
01:35 - Connectivity
02:24 - Internal Overview
03:22 - Disassembly
04:43 - CPU and upgrade options
05:48 - Motherboard
06:43 - All components
06:57 - Re-assembly
09:28 - BIOS Setup
10:12 - Windows 11 install
11:08 - Benchmarks
13:49 - Network and wifi performance
14:47 - Conclusion

[@buildersedge888]

Hi Jensd. Thank you for taking the time to post this. You did a fabulous job. I learned a lot. Well done my friend.

[@rvlyssup]

I have the 3060 version of this PC, only Dell as most my tiny PCs are Lenovo. They are great for home office work and online activities; fast, quiet, and efficient. Unfortunately I am slowly gravitating away from these tiny machines as our needs have changed as my 14 year old son loves to PC and console game. Hence I have been building gaming PCs. Another awesome video!!

[@plasticdope]

I went on an opposite direction from you. Sold my big boy and upgraded a 3060. Spent $27 for an NVME (3200Mb/s), $30 for a GT 1030, and $20 for other small stuff. CS 2 130 fps right away :))

[@etow8034]

@@plasticdope Silent computing becomes true !

[@nsuinteger-au]

Good stuff. Just picked up an optiplex 7060 (used / refurbished) to be used as a guest pc in the hallway. Will be looking into adding an additional drive for dualbooting with linux. cheers!

[@ZK-APA]

I've done the same. One drive has windows 11 (came preinstalled with the refurbished PC), and I got a cheap NVME SSD for running ubuntu (I had planned to use mint, but wifi would simply not run on it as I was using a wifi/bluetooth USB dongle. Hence ubuntu which worked out of the box)

[@TaylorMMontgomery]

I love your videos on these micro machines. Would love to see you review the TIO monitor for the Lenovo tinys

[@jensdbe]

I'd love to check out these TIO machines. Often see them in use in stores or reception desks. Like the concept.

[@DeepakKumar-lv4te]

hi, it's a nice neat little unit for general productivity use, but for gpu the MT version (mini tower) would be better. Older ones had more room, not sure about newer ones but then their price tends to make them unattractive anyhow. Basically everything is "standing up" on the motherboard rather than layed down and there are 4 pcie slots. There's some great optiplex mod videos for the larger case options, including one where the chap cut a great big hole in the case lid and attached a grill which he bought off amazon for temps - once you get a gpu in there and work the cpu it does generate a lot of heat. Interesting stuff.

[@ronspi]

Thank you very much for the informative video. I have a question: I have this Dell 7060, and I want to add a Display Port module. The problem is, when I tried to connect the micro connector of the module to the motherboard, it wouldn't stay. It pops out and falls out of place. What do you think the best way is to press it into place without using a hammer? 🙂 Thanks again. Edit: It needs to be plugged into the Video brown connector next to the JMP1.

[@fakhrulhilal]

Do you think it's possible to add more usb-c port, or event thunderbolt (v3 or v4)?

[@FirstLast-jm4dx]

There's one external antenna, but there are 2 antenna leads, where does the 2nd antenna go? Is it an internal antenna just attached to the case?

[@PIayboyNike]

Best pc in the world

[@etow8034]

The 7060(7th Gen) is 5 generations older than the newest Dell 7010(12th Gen). After the 7080M ex.: 7090, 7000, 7010 etc... the newer gens will not be able to use older SATA SSD. So the 7080M is the sweet spot in both price and versatility in SSD usage !

[@PIayboyNike]

7060 is 8th gen (i5 8600T)@@etow8034

[@Soortes]

what a beutiful little machine. The design is so elegant and it has easy to navigate internals... it's only downside being the terrible m.2 sata drive. Other than that, really good stuff!

[@plasticdope]

actually you can upgrade it easily with an nvme ssd. The only trouble is the bios is default 2.0, and a bios mod is required to boost the speed to 3.0. I got 3200+ for read and write with a $27 Netac nvme. sold the original M2 (500mb/s) for $10, so total cost is only $17 to upgrade to 1 TB .

[@paultinajero9733]

Which is better of these, the 3050, 7050 and the 9020 brother? If we talk about the same processor and same generation, which would be the best of these three models?

[@marouanelamnaouar699]

Hello Dear Jensd, Obviously, you rock, man! I really appreciate your tutorial, and you have inspired me to upgrade my processor from the i5 to the i7 to have more power on my Optiplex 7060 micro. I'm afraid of not making the right choice regarding the processor. Which generation of the i7 will be compatible with my computer, the 9th or 10th? Can you advise me on that point? Also, should I change the fan, or would my current 5V 1A fan, producing 5W, be sufficient for the new i7 processor? Thank you, man. I appreciate it. Regards, ML

[@cat-cambodia1801]

Good 👍😊

[@varadrajanmudliyar7258]

Thanks jensd for this wonderful review. Its very much comprehensive. I am looking for 7000 (enterprise highly reliable )series mini form factor machines. But not getting them here in India. One seller has this 7060 pc .I just want to know comparison of this micro machine with mini (enterprise 7XXX ) series. Also I want to know whether NVMe SSD can be used for this PC. What is the generation of NVME ( gen 3/ gen4) as m.2 SATA will be very slow. I want to use this in Tech support purpose. Thanks again

[@etow8034]

Yes you can use both Gen 3 x4 or Gen 4 x4 NVMe SSD with the 7060 Micro !

[@andrive]

So cute

[@etow8034]

The Dell OptiPlex 7060 Micro is the first of the series to be able to officially upgrade to Windows 11.

[@danielmendez4824]

Does Autocad work well?

[@Agustin-jo8mv]

Man pretty cool, but the biggest drawback for me is probably the 1 usb port. haha. I think the sff optiplex has to my option. Thank you for sharing the information and testing. :)

[@jensdbe]

There are still 4 ports on the back but I understand what you mean. Even though more and more devices have USB-C now. I also mostly use a USB-A to USB-C cable to connect them :)

[@Agustin-jo8mv]

@@jensdbe oh nice! I didn't realize it has 4 usb ports in the back. That would make it usable for me if it comes to that. I would probably use it as a portable workstation pc. So it could definitely be what I need in the future. Thank you!

[@etow8034]

The 7060 has 6 USB ports, the drawback for the SFF is the use of a proprietary power supply which will cost big bucks to replace !

[@Agustin-jo8mv]

@@etow8034 ahhh thank you!

[@davecantina6113]

what model of dell optiflex micro have a pcie to extension put lan por card?

[@jensdbe]

There is a 1Gbit port onnthe device already. Adding PCIe besides with M.2 like for wireless or NVMe will be difficult in this small machine. Maybe using USB is a valid option?

[@boerboel7777]

Thank you, great video! I sell these and needed to know if I could use NVME PCIe X3.

[@jensdbe]

Glad I could help :)

[@user-je9ep7oj3s]

Hi, very nice and helpful video. I bought a barebones version and installed the CPU, memory etc. When I switch on, the orange light on the front panel blinks a few times and stops. I have ablank screen. The cpu fan starts and stops. Any suggestions on how to solve this?

[@jensdbe]

The blinking should happen according to a pattern. There is a guide where you can find what it means: www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000126021/a-reference-guide-to-the-dell-optiplex-diagnostic-indicators#2012_to_2020

[@albert6307]

Mine doesn't have a connector for a wireless antenna but the BIOS says wireless it turned on. Does it in fact have wireless or do I need an external one?

[@jensdbe]

You will most likely need that wireless PCIe card. I assume you don't have that installed. Only antenna is not enough unfortunately.

[@etow8034]

Always buy a unit with the WiFi card installed or you will have to shell out another $50 and time to install the card, wires and connector.

[@AndyVS]

Does it make a lot of noise or is it quiet under medium-high load?

[@jensdbe]

Under high load, it does make some noise but its not terrible. Not completely quiet neither.

[@etow8034]

Acceptable noise when ramping up when performing the load and very precise to ramp down immediately once the load is complete. It also depends on the age of the blower fan which can be easily replaced.

[@MrTrazz09]

is that machine capable of running /editing 4k vids of insta360 camera?

[@ishaan.gamer6669]

Hi, I am waiting for you to release a video on how to upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 with unsupported hardware. Today (26th of September) is the release date. I am a huge fan of your work.

[@jensdbe]

As far as I know the 23H2 update will only came to stable at October 10. They did release it as release preview now and part of the features included come as a separate update. As soon as it is out, I'll test it and see if it needs different instructions.

[@ishaan.gamer6669]

Okay, thank you. But if you don’t need to upload a different video then I just have to replace the appraiseres.dll file with the file you shared in the 21h2 to 22h2 upgrade video. Right?

[@kiranjoshi5267]

Hi Thanks for most comprehensive review. Can you pls let me know following 1) what optiplex xxxx no indicates 2) can you pls suggest any newer optiplex having M.2 nvme pcie ssd, since sata is nearly obsolete 3) I want nvme 3rd or 4th gen plus sata 2.5" support. 4) 8th or 9th gen cpu, high quality enterprise build quality 5) 6 or more usb 3.2 ports and type c port. Thank you

[@jensdbe]

1) It is just a combination of series and generation. Typically higher first numbers are intended for more higher-end customers and then the last digits are typically used for generation. (For example 7040 is the same target audience as the 7060, just a newer generation) 2) As good as all recent optiplex-series PCs would qualify for that. 3+4) Think 7070 or 7470 would match 5) Same as above

[@kiranjoshi5267]

Thank you so much 👌👍. This has clarified all my doubts

[@etow8034]

After the 7080M ex.: 7090, 7000, 7010 etc... the newer gens will not be able to use older SATA SSD. So the 7080M is the sweet spot in both price and versatility in SSD usage !

[@kiranjoshi5267]

@@etow8034 Thank you so much 👌 It will be useful those who wants to stick to SATA platform.

[@MuffFlux]

No 7050?

[@aaroncatolico7550]

*How much did you spend on this bad boy, fam?*

[@percy4979]

The ServeTheHome channel did a review of the 7070 and commented that there is an unofficial support for 64gb (2 * 32) of DDR4 Ram. Can anyone confirm that this is the case? EDIT: I've received the Micro micro 7060 and can confirm that the Dell Optiplex micro 7060 will support 64gb of ram. I believe this PC can also be upgraded to the Intel core i9 9900t processor which has the same LGA1151 socket and 35w TDP. I'm just about to order the i9 but can anyone confirm?

[@jensdbe]

Unfortunately I don't have two of these 32GB modules so can't test.

[@akshatsingh5981]

Does it support 3200 MHz Ram?

[@etow8034]

Yes, but it will actually slow the system clock down. Best to use the stated 2666Mhz SODIMMs !

[@leonardotoschi585]

This is perfect for minecraft servers

[@yuan.pingchen3056]

I hope dell release a new version, add a standard pcie x16 socket rotate 90 degree beside the right of the CPU socket, but I think dell won't do this, they don't like flexibility.... so I can buy a used one, and add a graphics card for AI inference...

[@jensdbe]

In theory you could use an eGPU but I'm not reading a lot of positive reviews of using that. Even with a PCIe slot in the small enclosure, no decent graphics card would fit nor would there be sufficient power for it unfortunately

[@yuan.pingchen3056]

@@jensdbe thunderbolt based eGPU box is expensive for a long time , and a certified thunderbolt cable consumes over $1200 NTD, it slowdown the GPU performance in certain situation, but for Hackintosh purpose, it's okay, usable and comfortable.(macbook pro + eGPU box)

[@jensdbe]

@@yuan.pingchen3056 I'd love to play around with an eGPU to see how much it gives in terms of performance penalty vs. directly connected to PCIe. Hackintosh is also on my list by the way :)

[@yuan.pingchen3056]

@@jensdbe eGPU box is not worth it to buy, it's even worse than pcie riser cable, unless you are a Macbook pro user...or you wish your GPU workload slowdown...for lower temperature.....if you just want to know how much performance overhead, search it in the youtube with right keywords.

[@bertvantol9669]

Is this machine Windows 11 compatible ??

[@jensdbe]

Yes, fully compatible.

[@dentalinsuranceadvisor7299]

Did you need to "trick" Windows 11 to install it or is it a standard install. The reason I ask is that when you force an install the upgrades sometimes fail.@@jensdbe

[@etow8034]

@@dentalinsuranceadvisor7299 Windows 11 is fully supported on the 7060M. Just make sure TPM and Secure Boot is enabled in the UEFI/BIOS !

[@johnrussell6620]

There are several videos of other users adding a standard hi-performance gaming video card to laptops through an M.2 port, why not add a gaming video card to this unit?

[@Dan21792]

You would be limited by CPU performance, you could upgrade the CPU... The cooler won't handle it though. Not to mention the PSU would need 10x more power to handle the new CPU & GPU. Also there's a reason GPU's are generally connected via PCIe and not M.2 - The latency. All in all, would be a very pointless exercise with insurmountable limitations - If you buy a PC like this for gaming, I dare say the only games you'll play are Solitaire and Pinball.

[@johnrussell6620]

@@Dan21792 Gaming is not the only use for an upgraded video package. Video editing, mid-level CAD work, 3D graphic design, are just 3 additional uses of upgraded video support. These computers have nice, (not perfect) cpu's, that can be coupled to nicer video packages, that can deliver better+faster results. Computers waiting on people, rather than people waiting on computers (referencing an 8-hr day vs wanting 1 screen refresh right now.)

[@Taras-Nabad]

Even with an SSD this is the slowest machine I have used in my entire life.

[@jensdbe]

Then you must've worked with some pretty fast machines or something was wrong with the one you tested. As this is far from a slow PC, except for playing games.

[@Taras-Nabad]

@jensdbe that machine is made from laptop parts which are far inferior to desktop parts with significant performance degradation. Been in this business 30 years. A foolish video won't change facts.

[@boerboel7777]

@@Taras-Nabad Absolute rubbish. I too have been building systems since 1988. These Dells are lightning fast. I think you're confusing this with the cheap & nasty junk Lenovo sold a few years ago, putting a tiny laptop mobo into a big micro tower (Mini ATX/ITX) case using SODIMM's and a laptop charger for power. I 100% agree laptop parts are inferior but in this case Dell built a brilliant, super fast system which matches or even exceeds a desktop system. Maybe something is seriously wrong with yours?

[@boerboel7777]

@@jensdbe Yup, someone probably changed the CPU for a Celeron and left only 4Gb RAM with an IDE mechanical hard drive 🤣

[@jameslfowler9988]

maybe you could tell me? Im having a helluva time getting this thing to boot. I have the 7070 mini ctower and the bios refuses to allow me to install windows into the system after I upgraded and put a nvme in for storage. it was doing fine but I decided to make the nvme the primary, I removed the primary sata HDD and all hell broke loose in it and now nothing works ....at all. now the only thing I can do I can take a regular hdd drive out and put it in a usb caddy and install win 10 via usb and it works but if I take the hdd out and put it back into the tower it tells me there are no bootable drives in the system.changing every setting in the bios i can think of and all it ever tells me is there is no bootable drive in the system. I reset bios over and over,pulled out the battery and left it out, tried turning off boot protection, legacy on, legacy backup but when i restart .....still no bootable device present this all started when I put a nvme 3.1x4 into the m.2 slot, made it active in disk management then rebooted to try and install windows onto it. now I cant do anything with the system. do I just save the processor and throw it in the trash? I have never had a bios this awful ever.

[@basicsteps]

Hello! Great video! I bought one recently with an i5-8500T. The seller gave me a 65W power adapter and I think that caused the processor throttle at 800Mhz. POST screen alerted me to use a 90W power adapter. I would just like to confirm that your's is powered by a 90W power adapter or should I go with the 130W one.

[@jensdbe]

Mine indeed has a 90W power supply

[@basicsteps]

@@jensdbe Thanks! I ordered one.