Dell OptiPlex 7020 Micro vs Minisforum N5 Pro
Minisforum N5 Pro is the more capable pick; Dell OptiPlex 7020 Micro is the cheaper one - which wins comes down to the job below.
The verdict
- CPU
- Minisforum N5 Pro has 1.5x the CPU throughput (33,292 vs 22,934 PassMark).
- Idle power
- Dell OptiPlex 7020 Micro idles lower (9W vs 33W) - cheaper to run 24/7.
- Networking
- Minisforum N5 Pro has more NICs (2 vs 1) - better for a firewall or VLAN trunk.
- RAM ceiling
- Minisforum N5 Pro takes more RAM (96GB vs 64GB).
- Local AI
- Minisforum N5 Pro has a PCIe slot for a low-profile GPU - the other needs a DIY build for local LLMs.
Which wins for each job
| Job | Dell OptiPlex 7020 Micro | Minisforum N5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Plex / Jellyfin | ~5 streams | ~5 streams |
| Frigate NVR | ~4 cameras win | add a detector |
| Proxmox / VMs | 22,934 PassMark | 33,292 PassMark win |
| Firewall / router | 1 NICs | 2 NICs win |
| Local AI / LLM | no slot | PCIe GPU slot win |
Approximate - capacity estimates from curated specs, the same logic as the recommender. Verify against your exact setup. Prices move; check the retailer.
Full specs
| Spec | Dell OptiPlex 7020 Micro | Minisforum N5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price (list) | $750 | $899 |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-14500T | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 |
| Cores / threads | 14 | 12 |
| PassMark | 22,934 | 33,292 |
| iGPU | UHD 770 | Radeon 890M (RDNA3.5) |
| NICs | 1 | 2 |
| NIC model | Intel 1GbE | Marvell AQC113 10GbE plus Realtek 5GbE |
| RAM max (GB) | 64 | 96 |
| M.2 free | 0 | 3 |
| PCIe slot | none | x16 |
| Idle (W) | 9 | 33 |
| TDP (W) | 35 | 54 |