Dell Optiplex 980 review

Dell has also spent time working on its software, especially the BIOS, and has replaced the traditional, keyboard-operating tool for a much more intuitive cursor-controlled environment. It's far easier to use than the average BIOS, and packed with options: the front and rear USB ports can be disabled along with the TPM chip, PCI slots and WLAN socket, and it’s possible to choose how secure your administrator password is with a range of character and length options.

It's a shame that Dell hasn't loaded equally impressive software into Windows 7. Aside from basic utilities to handle networking and security duties, there's little here - and compared with the broad tools offered with Lenovo ThinkCentre machines, it's disappointing.

Nevertheless, this is a minor complaint in the face of plenty of excellence elsewhere. The clever case design, fastidious attention to detail and impressive performance makes £689 exc VAT seem like a bargain. If a small form factor PC just isn't versatile enough, the Optiplex 980 is as good as a full tower business machine will get.