Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop 5680 Review: Attractive, Affordable PC Gaming

There are a litany of reasons why you might consider buying a gaming PC rather than rolling your own rig, including cost. Yes, many graphics cards have recently settled down closer to MSRP, but who knows if they will go back up again? On top of that, system memory is still trending on the high side (compared to a year or two ago). For the most part, pre-built systems have been somewhat sheltered from these volatile markets relative to the channel. That means the opportunity still exists to get into PC gaming at a reasonable price with a pre-built PC; Dell's Inspiron Gaming Desktop (5680) is a prime example.

In fact, the Inspiron Gaming line has consistently represented one of the best values in PC gaming. The new 5680 model is no exception, with prices starting at $600 for a configuration with an Intel 8th generation Core i3-8100 quad-core Coffee Lake processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card. We received a meatier setup from Dell, one that lists for $1,100 (but is often available for under grand with frequent coupon codes) and pairs a Core i7-8700 CPU with a GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card with 3GB of GDDR5 memory.


What's interesting about the Inspiron Gaming is that it strikes a conservative balance between price and performance. It's a decidedly mainstream PC, and Dell makes no bones about that, saying this particular line has been "engineered with the specific, demanding needs of the mainstream PC gaming audience." The Inspiron Gaming is a different animal than Dell's Alienware or even its XPS systems, both of which are geared towards enthusiasts who want to crank up the settings or perhaps play demanding games at 4K, and have the budget to do it.

You're not going to do that on the Inspiron Gaming, though it is capable of playing games at 1080p, and in some cases at 1440p at high settings. We'll get into that a bit later when we dive into the benchmarks. First, however, let's take a look at the complete package we received and go over the design and build quality.

Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop (5680) Specifications & Features

Operating System	Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
Processor	Intel Core i7-8700 (6-Core/12-Thread, 12MB Cache, 3.2GHz to 4.6GHz)
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 w/ 3GB GDDR5
Memory	8GB DDR4-2400 MHz (1x8GB)
Optical Drive	N/A
Storage	128GB SK Hynix M.2 SATA SSD 1TB Western Digital Blue HDD (64MB Cache, 7,200 RPM)
Cooling System	Stock 65W Cooler
Connectivity	Gigabit LAN, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1
Front Panel Ports	1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 2 x USB 2.0, Headphone/Mic Combo
Rear Panel Ports	4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x GbE LAN, DisplayPort, , 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, 7.1-Channel Audio
Power Supply	460W
Dimensions	18.07 x 8.05 x 17.23 inches (HxWxD) / 458.86 x 216 x 437.53 mm
Weight	30.72 Pounds  / 13.74 kilograms
Warranty	1-Year
Pricing	$1,099.99 - Find Them @ Dell.Com

Dell offers six different configurations of the Inspiron Gaming Desktop 5680 (plus one that comes bundled with a Dell Visor mixed reality headset), with this one sitting in the middle of the pack. It's also the least expensive config to sport a Core i7-8700 processor inside. At the top of the stack is a $1,449.99 setup that doubles the RAM to 16GB and SSD to 256GB, and upgrades the graphics card to a burlier GeForce GTX 1070.

It's worth noting that there are usually coupon codes available that bring the price down a bit on each of the available configurations. For example, at the time of this writing there's a 12% off coupon that knocks the cost of this specific SKU to $967.99. You can also find the same system on Amazon for $1,000. So, just like buying a car, you'll want to do your research before buying rather than paying the sticker price right off the bat.

Either way, it's a good value overall for the part selection, especially when you factor in the six-core processor. There are also a few compromises to hit this price point, namely the lone RAM module in single-channel mode, relatively small capacity SSD, and going with the 3GB variant of the GeForce GTX 1060 instead of the 6GB model.

We'll see how all that affects performance in a moment. For now, let's take a closer look at the system...