Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT vs. Dell Tower Plus EBT2250
Comparison and Differences
Differences between Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT and Dell Tower Plus EBT2250
If you are looking for a more modern desktop, then you should go with the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 which was released in 2025. The Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT is older and entered production in 2021.
Both models have the same form factor, meaning reoughtly they have the same phiysical size and form.
Processor
Usually the newer the generation of the CPU, the better the performance and efficiency is. If your budget allows it, you should go with the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 as it is running a newer generation CPU. This is not to say that Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT is bad - it can still run some powerful CPUs, albeit being an older generation.
Memory
The Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT has 4 RAM slots while the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 has only 2 slot(s). This is not something to worry about. Just make sure you take it into consideration when planning how much RAM you are going to use.
The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 is using the faster 5200 MT/s RAM. The Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT is slower by supporting RAM speeds of up to 3200 MT/s. Additionally, if you will be needing a lot of RAM, better go for the Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT as it has the ability to run 128 GB of RAM. The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 can do a bit less at max 64 GB. Most of the times, this should be sufficient for the majority of users.
Ports
In total the Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT has 10 USB ports. The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 is inferior in this regard and packs 4 USB ports. In any case, if you miss USB ports, you can always purchase a USB hub. It's great that both of the models have USB 3.1 ports which will allow you to exchange data with your peripherals at up to 10Gb/s. But if you need maximum connectivity, go with the Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT as it has 3 USB3.1 ports (the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 has 1).
Unfortunately, only the Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT has a DisplayPort. The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 does not have one? Don't worry though, nowadays video adapters are cheap and you can get almost any combination of conversion types.
The HDMI video interface is broadly used and the majority of the external displays support it. Thus, it is nice to see that both models have this video interface. If you are going to use multiple monitors go with the Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT which has 2 ports. The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 has only 1 ports.
SATA ports are placed on the system board and it is where you connect your HDD, SSD and Optical Disk Drives. More SATA slots will allow you to have more drives running at the same time. In this regard the Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT is better equipped as it comes with 4 SATA slot(s), while the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 has 3 slot(s).
An M.2 SSD can be several times faster than a SATA one. Thus, we are happy to see that both models support the M.2 interface. However, the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 has 1 M.2 slots while the Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT comes with just 1.
Make sure that the available M.2 slot supports the PCIe (also called NVMe) interface. This is important as there are M.2 slots which support only the inferior SATA III interface. For comparison, the SATA III interface has max speeds of 6Gb/s, while the PCIe 3.0 x4 will support speeds up to 32Gb/s!
Power Supply
Having a Power Supply Unit with high power rating is important, if you are going to use components which require extra power. The Dell OptiPlex 5090 MT comes with a decent 360 Watt PSU, but the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 has a more powerful one rated at 1000 Watts. Choosing either one depends on your specific requirements and use case. Also don't forget that some models might have more than one PSU option - try to always get the most powerful one, especially if you plan to upgrade to a powerful GPU.
Motherboard
