Stop Buying These Used Computers
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2023
- Stop Buying These Used Computers
So many people buy old office computers on the recommendation of UA-camrs. Stop and do your research before you waste your money. There are some great deals out there where you can buy better alternatives with better upgrade path, windows 11 support, better performance and much more.
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Correction: My mistake, Windows 11 is compatible on the i5 8500, I was talking about the i5 5600 and made a mistake. My apologies, added a caption correction in video at the point of mistake. But this mistake does not change the results and point of the video.
That was a nice looking white case for only £34.99. Can you tell us where you found that one please? I've been trying to source affordable cases for old rebuilds (free parts used, wherever possible) and this looks good value.
Your a right I would get alot of value building my own Desktop or buying a New High End Laptop and saving up all of my money.
Also I'm not a gamer I like to use Virtual Machines and play some roms I don't download steam though.
Minimum CPU to run Win 11 is Intel i3 8100 and AMD R5 2600😊
yep it is compatible
For most people these machines for under £100 are a good option if they dont want to play the latest games.
The cost of a windows licence should also be considered for a self build as should the the process of building the system and installing windows.
Got probably 30 or more second hand PC empty cases with the license sticker on them for about 5 euro a piece.
Anyway those old and cheap machines already have a Windows 7,8,10 license embedded in the motherboard.
Thanks Brian. Post more of these build-your-own computer videos on the cheap from used parts. With you choosing the components, it takes the guesswork out.
I bought a HP Elite Desk 800 G2 off amazon. Out of the box it looked brand new apart from a very slight mark on the side. The inner workings were very clean, too. I upgraded the RAM, SDD x 2 and added Lan wireless, reinstalled Win10 and it works perfectly. Spent less than £250.
£250 for a HP Elite Desk 800 G2 is way to much. Get them for around £90
@@Britec09 I didnt pay 250 for the Mini PC. I spent the extra on upgrading to 32gb RAM, 1TB PCIe, SSD and gen6 wireless.
Thanks for sharing, sometimes you get a good deal and most of the time, people don't. Glad it worked out for you, as long as your happy, thats all that matters..
@@Britec09 Ya
@@Britec09 instead of optiplexes, what about the precision workstations? the refurbished ones. aren't they more reliable than optiplexes? which means there is a good chance you'll get a good system.
I think there's still a lot of value (for the right user) in an old Dell 9030 with a i7-4790 for under $100. Also, I've been looking to buy an old Dell tower recently and the most important thing I've learned is the difference in CPU's with different letters at the end of the model number. For instance, there is a significant difference between an i7-6700T, i7-6700, and i7-6700K.
I agree, USA have cheaper prices. But I am talking about UK, but i7-4790 is obsolete in 2025, where as the Ryzen is not.
T is low power, no letter is standard, K is unlocked. To add one F is no IGPU. Good luck on your journey :D.
These pcs will still make a good office box.
it doesn't matter if it's older or not, but it's not obsolete. you are still able to play a lot of modern games paring an i7-4790 with a nvidia gtx1080. you can sitll play call of duty warzone above 1080p with 60fps. even so, even the most play games/most popular games in the world an i7-4790 + gtx1650 (without psu modding) can handle easily: minecraft, grand theft auto V, pubg battlegrounds, CSGO, league of legends. roblox, fortnite.
a $150 (optiplex with i7-4790, gtx1650 4gb, 16gb ddr3, 500gb SSD) setup can most of these games out there
I'm still running a i7-2600 and it works fine for my needs. Admittedly, most of my Steam library is older games or games that don't need a lot of resources but I have a few FPS games in there and they run fine. I've never done any testing but the 2600 and GTX1660 seem to play nice with each other.
Windows 11 proccesor requirement is 8th gen and above
As far as comparable systems for Windows 11, for the most part Microsoft is artificially limiting the ability to install it on older systems. They would rather you buy a new system vs upgrading.
There are installation workarounds, but the performance of the integrated graphics is the main killer, when it comes to as little as the demands of the internet.
@@charlessmyth I don't know about that but I know that 1080p UA-cam works fine with the integrated video of a i5 2400. If it struggles, it means the motherboard is not really compatible with the CPU even if it is saying it is or it has some hidden damage either in the motherboard or in the CPU itself.
Google "tiny11 windows". I installed it on my children's haswell/ivy bridge i7's months ago, and its worked a charm.
Linux is better
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you about future proofing for Windows 11. This also has to be considered for gaming as well as newer games require more modern graphics and processors. Currently I've upgraded my systems to Intel 8 gen series CPUs as I didn't find any reason to buy 9th gen. Recently I picked up 2 I7-8700 cpus as 4 cores just doesn't fit well anymore. Keep up the good work.
You have to watch out for the Dell systems as the power supply connector to the motherboard are often propriety so you can't just buy any old PSU for them.
All propriety parts
I won't say never buy a Dell, but pay accordingly given that you can't easily swap out the PSU as you'd like.
Some models do use standard power supplies, some have adapters available, and some just do not.
24 pin to 8 pin adapter is about $3 with free shipping 😂
@@JustinGeekNerd Or you can take the connector from the old PSU and put it on the new PSU for free after looking up the diagram or figuring it out with a multimeter.
What about an operating system for Win 11? This is essentially a new computer so you presumably have to buy a new key.
If you're not into gaming you don't need to add a graphics card which also means you don't need to upgrade the power supply.
I think you're overlooking us hobbyists who upgrade older computers simply because we like doing it. I went crazy with an OptiPlex 7010 SFF (the GPU is worth more than the rest of the PC combined) and had a blast doing it. It runs modern software handily (ignore the benchmarks, they don't tell the whole story) and I can play my AAA games from my Steam library when I'm in the mood.
Good tips and alternatives. Thank you Brian.
You're welcome!
very informative thanks🎉
Glad it was helpful!
you're 100% right. However in your list, you forgot to add the cost of the CPU cooler. Any decent air-based cooler is going to cost around $50 USD. I should also mention that most people want to build a PC but do not have the expertise to put it together. I typically charge $200-$300 USD depending on the complexity of the build. I would have mentioned this is all contingent on the basis that they have the expertise to put it all together because if they don't, its going to cost a minimum of at least $100 USD to get professional assistance with a build.
cheap stock coolers are adequate for majority of peopIe 99% of the time. a ryzen 3600 doesnt need a 50 dollar cooler
@@scamdem1c Is there a 'stock' cooler for a custom build? Either way, any cooler will have a value that should be included in the total cost.
@@JamesCampbellPPG low tdp cpus come with stock coolers by default most of the time. you pay for it the moment you buy the cpu. stock coolers are often very cheap people end up thinking theyre free
Hi, what do you think about the GEEKOM mini PC.
For someone who needs a pc for everyday use. This is the best cheapest way to buy used. But I get your point.
But you can buy new for the price of these used ones in the UK
@@Britec09 uh, i don't see the point either, you will never get a I7 with decent specs for the price you can get one, but that's your biased windows user's logic, imagine spending hundreds on a PC that you just need for the web, youtube and emails, and playing solitaire.
>but muh viruses
you use windows.
if you just need a computer to do the basics, why use windows? its expensive, privacy violating, and bloated. almost any Linux distro will run quick and snappy, even on old hardware. its free, respects your privacy, and no random non-consentual updates.
As someone who supports disabled people with IT I have a somewhat different take on this. The first thing to do is to work out what you want the damned thing for. Next you find the cheapest software to do those tasks (subject to usability, personal taste etc.). That gives you the minimum spec for the system. Then you just need to find a machine with those (or better) specifications. We use Linux (a lot), it has equivalent software for all the tasks we are asked for and it is all free. Some clients wish to use specific commercial software, others wish to use software they already know, we have a couple of people using Lotus Smart Suite (circa 1997), mostly for the word processor and the organiser and I am still using Paint Shop Pro 7, also over twenty years old and still doing a very good job handling the tasks I have. The box itself is just a tool to allow you to do something, the spec is only relevant if it affects what you are trying to get done. Modern machines are often sub-optimal, for example the fashionable reduced height screens (AKA 'widescreen' but they aren't, look at the IBM Thinkpad range, all the same physical width but the newer models have a third of the screen lopped off). Those reduced height screens are a total pain when working on documents or spreadsheets so you end up adding a whacking great desk monitor or give up and buy a box. Finding a decent keyboard these days is not easy, we have some that are 20+ years old and still going strong but finding one with a built-in pointing device is difficult (the old KeyCat was a personal favourite, although I did duplicate the buttons on the side of the keyboard to avoid having to stretch my hand). The scratch pad is okay for the average consumer user but I wouldn't like to try using one for actual productive work. The best (IMHO) option was the old IBM trackpoint, difficult to use for the first month but after that you wouldn't go back to a mouse. Sadly Levono have taken the 'shoddy' route so I cannot recommend their keyboards (as with most modern keyboards lettering wears off, micro-usb connectors fail and require fiddling etc.). We needed an A4 tablety type device for a writer to work on whilst traveling and the cheapest was a refurb Microsoft item, we had to partition the drive to dual-install Linux but it works and for £300 it wasn't a bad buy. For gamers it is of course a different matter, at the moment we rely on cloud computing to provide enough power for a lot of it but eventually they'll make boxes that can handle the load and eventually those will appear second hand. I might even buy one as by then I'll be retired and have some spare time to try gaming myself.
Upgrading the power supply on these older Dell computers?
Are the old motherboards really capable of handing the extra wattage , long term?
I'm still running three identical Optiplex 790 towers. 16gb ram, i7-2600 and a GTX-1660 Super. They're ancient but still do everything I ask of them.
Thank you for the video.
I don't always agree with you, probably because I am in the U.S., but I enjoy your videos and appreciate your thoughts on many matters.
You don't have to agree with me, but be respectful in how you disagree and its fine. Most people don't know how to respond in comments and come across rude or arrogant. Debating is great when done in a civil manner, also I do get things wrong, I am only human.
@@Britec09 I would not be disrespectful. I'm too old for that (60+).
Like I said, I enjoy your topics and opinions.
Thank you for this explanation
You are welcome!
Thanks, I needed that.
Glad I could help
how about the perks of older tech? that's my thing at the moment. if it's for some old offline games, photo editing software, music creation and the likes - and if upgrading is optional depending on the age of the gear - would be very welcome. got a feeling my asus all-in-one is a little older than 2018 - but it doesn't matter, there's an OS for older gear out there and while some of it is a bit of a learning curve, it can be fun aswell as educational.
turning a £20 laptop into a dvd player has been fun though - seriously recommend it for the tech-curious 👍
I haven't build a new computer in a long time, but I bought new motherboard +CPU + RAM combos and reused my case. The new mini PCs look like they might also be an option.
Hi i get so confused with all the different CPU's and graphic cards and also motherboards specially with all the numbers and letters they have. i have been looking to see what is the best budget PC to run oculus rift the old version, but i look and i still have no idea what i am looking at. i have on my PC at the moment a 1051 Ti graphic card AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Quad-Core Processor 3.10 GHz also runs on windows 10 4-bit operating system, x64-based processor and 16gb of Ram, 120GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive external. it play some VR games on it but some just struggled and now some of the USB 3 ports keep disconnecting. the pc is is about 8 years old now and it is still working well for other things like playing games on steam and general use. the pc as always been on most days for 15 hours at a time as i like browsing. if you have any advice as to what to look for i would appreciate you help. i have often thought about having ago at building one but is it easy to build a pc as it looks complicated mainly because of making sure everything works together and you don't but something in that is going to conflict with the other items. well thank you for this video as i was looking myself and i am pleased that i did see this.
I had a 3rd gen intel system i built in 2013, it lasted a good 7 years but was getting long in the tooth for gaming and that was even overclocked with the top CPU. I would avoid those older ones these days. But the 8th gen are starting to pop up used. one thing is some of the OEMs have started using propriety PSUs again so you need to check that.
I would respectfully disagree - it depends what you're doing. My mum is happily (for 5-6 years) using a Lenovo PC with 3d gen chip I bought on EBay for probably around $150. The operating system alone would have cost me more. Just swapped a HDD into SSD for about $50-70 and added some RAM (another $25).
I’m an outlier as I prefer the restrained minimalist styling. I like to build Holo ISO systems in these cases, or use them for Hackintoshes in their stock format. They can also be used as a NAS or NVR, and when you’re ready the Sandy Bridge to Haswell platforms make decent sleepers.
I prefer windowless, RGBless cases which are a lot harder to find these days. I find these new designs childish and distracting.
@leonidas14775 plenty cases without rgb. Personally I live the corsair 4/5/7000d airflow cases. There's plenty mesh front and non mesh front cases without rgb these days. My 7000D airflow is black and I've built a blacked out build. Looks amazing IMO
I've always preferred the non-flashy utilitarian cases. I absolutely loathe bright colors, RGB, logos, and all that crap. It's a PC not a fucking sports car!
I got one recently. It has an intel i5-6500, 16gb of ram, and a 256gb ssd. It works really well and looks good too. I can get a low profile gpu to put in it and it'll become a decent gaming rig. I just have to be careful with not overloading the 180W power supply.
you may try i5-7500, why not i7 even.... if bios support it. 8500 will not work on 1xx shitsets - 8xxx and 9xxx series need 3xx shitsets
I picked up Dell Prevision T3610 with a Xeon E5-1650 V2. It has 48GB of Quad channel memory, had a 256GB SSD. I've since added a GTX 1070. It cost me the same as you paid for your CPU, Motherboard and RAM. I also had a Quadro GPU I could sell from it and made back £30.
The machine comes with extensive cooling, is extremely well build and I can upgrade to an event faster CPU and Windows 10 goes EOL in two years.
The power supply us 750w gold. More than I'll even need. It's hard for me to justify paying double for just 20% more single performance and a much slower graphics card.
how much is the windows 11 on top of the build
Great VID. I think if you're looking for just a basic Office PC then these old Office Dells are fine if you're on a budget. If you are into gaming, then the AMD route is the better option with the graphics card. I'm really into the mini PCs for gaming (iGPU) and they are getting better (cooler) and more powerful but still a little costly.
thats weird, i have a dell laptop that has an 8th gen i5 cpu with 16gb ram and in windows update, it says my laptop is compatible and upgradable to windows 11...why is my 8th gen i5 laptop upradeble to windows 11 but an 8th i5 on a desktop is not???
Some of the refurbers are now installing 11 as standard on non-11 capable machines. Basically the previous generation or two that missed out but still have TPM2 etc. I just got a 16GB 250GB SSD Latitude 7480 with 11 Pro installed for £150. I rebuilt it with 10 for now.
they go for way less in Australia, I did the conversion and thats not cheap for UK prices. I have a B system that a 9020, its still relevant, the i7 4700 is a milestone and only saw minor updates for about 3 generations afterwards.
Thank you!!
I purchased HP office PC with Intel 8700 8gigs of ram and simple 128 gigs of nvme. That was about 20k yen or 110 pounds. In addition I actually purchased a wifi+by card combo and antenna, a pair of ram 16 gigs to replace the 8 gigs, rtx a2000 6 gigs, and 1tb nvme which in total came to about 70k yen or 380 pounds, no power supply or adapter or anything else required, and I have a nice small form factor, very well working PC for the summer because my main with 12600k and rtx 3080 outputs a ton of heat...
Would have liked to see you assemble and test this
My daughter's computer has i7 2600 overclocked at 4GHz (motherboard can do that even if it is not a "K" CPU), GTX 1070, 16GB DDR3. It is gaming great. I can build her a 10th gen or 13th gen at any given time but there's really no need since she's using it for school, Fortnite, Genshin Impact and alike. Last time I used W11 (on my computer) I got some glitches in games so for now we still use W10.
I just bought some new batteries for the dell latitude e6540 (including a brand new slice battery). The battery increase is noticible!
As an experience custom builder (20+yrs) I agree IF alluding to gamers and builders...
Considering the time and effort of shopping and building one I would do not agree if a person is looking for a small business computer...
Thanx for the video. While yes buying new is better but what happens to all these PCs that are fine for mon and pop user ?? It's stops them going to the landfill which is what Microsloth wants , people to buy new PC licenses.
In 2025 Windows 10 ends, so not much choice apart from using it for Linux and they don't have the user base for all those machines. Its Microsoft's fault
I agree that old Optiplex systems aren't great for gaming, but for SOHO systems, they're fantastic. I've got customers still using 7010 mid towers and slim towers that I deployed 11-12 years ago. I also had a customer that bought a mid tower Optiplex (I believe it was a 7020) as a "gaming system" that had an old lower end graphics card in it. The power supply hadn't been upgraded and the original had given out. I did get it going on an upgraded power supply, but it wasn't much of a gamer. That said, refurbished Optiplex and Latitude systems with (Windows 11 supported) 8th gen core CPUs are getting very reasonable on eBay here in the USA. They're great systems for normal users and I'll happily deploy them for my customers. Thanks for the video.
hi i got a Dell T1700/i7-4770/32GB RAM/1TB HDD/DVD-RW/W10 for £105 at cex good deal i think just put ssd in and gpu in ready to go .
Some good advice that are there any website or companies where you would recommend buying pre-built systems from
Thanks
I totally agree with your argument against buying a 3rd-7th Gen Intel anything with the thought of upgrading it to a game computer. On the other hand I do purchase 6th and 7th Gen HP mini desktops for $100 USD or less on eBay to run Linux much like a Raspberry Pi but much more powerful. There is no worry about the Windows 10 death spiral. Conversely, I never intended to game on the cheapo Linux machines either. Headless or desktop these machines have a brilliant integrated graphics display for viewing web based applications. I like your solution for the Ryzen 5 3600 gaming build which will indeed handle many more games than the older Dell business machines, even when upgraded. Good job!
These are quite still useful as second pcs or suit for home server purpose. They run proxmox fine and you can do few vms for example you can run a truenas with some hard drives or cheap ssds, or you can run pfsense and upgrade your crap modem. Even if "not supported and compatible on windows 11" (even works on a core 2 duo, slow but works) these pcs have still something to say, of course not buy them as gaming pcs or workstations
I've been getting older 12-16GB HP ProBook laptops with Win 11 Pro for around $USD 60-80. Benchmark numbers don't matter to me if I get usable performance for the basic stuff I do.
Hey bro how do I fix usb flash drive not showing in boot option
It really depends on what you're going to use them for. As you said, if you're going to use it as a modern gaming machine, then there might be better options out there (like used gaming machines which already have a GPU in it). And it depends on what types of games you want to play. Price is always an issue and as you said, no use spending $200 when you have to add another $150 for upgraded parts when you can buy most of it new.
I like some of the old dell office machines in an USFF as they're great for small projects - like HTPCs, MAME gaming machines, guitar effects units, jukeboxes etc. A lot of these don't require the latest greatest CPU and will work perfectly fine.
One thing you mentioned that will be a ready concern is that it may be hit and miss whether Windows 11 will run on it at all. You could run Linux, but that's only if whatever your intentions for it are, that there's a Linux app that can be run on it for your project. Fortunately, for HTPCs and MAME machines there's Linux versions for that type of software.
They run minecraft 😂
About 2 weeks after I built a Ryzen based PC for gaming with W10 M$ released its plans for W11. Since that day I started my journey to using Linux on these older PCs and have absolutely no reason to use any M$ products again. Horsepower-wise my 4th generation I7 on an Optiplex 9020 and 7th generation I5 on an Optiplex 7050 is so much greater than many PCs sold as "W11 compatable" by online and big box retailers. I suppose what I am saying is that if you don't have to install W11 (why would you unless you don't know that there are many really good alternatives) and older PC will continue to be quite serviceable.
First of all, you don't always have to upgrade/put in a new power supply unit in your older pcs-it all depends on
what you intend to (mainly) use the pc for. I bought an HP I7 3770 sff pc quad-core, 8 thread for around 150 bucks (US) on Amazon, and the only upgrade that I did was the RAM (swapped out the 4g, and put in a total of 32G which is the max for this model). My pc is super fast, and I have had no problems (so far) with it.
In our money a pound is about 2 to 2 1/2 our currency in US dollars about the same or less. Shipping from the states 10 times getting it from the UK as we are a 'colony' the royal mail is a lot cheaper than whatever the states can provide. Then you get those people that take advantage, now going from recent experience, the price from China about $10 plus around $5 shipping, here on the local style service (think trademe, ebay etc) they wanted get this $135 for the same part and had the Gaul to add shipping to that. All I can say is be careful and very much shop around don't take the first thing you see.
The problem with building am4 these days is the motherboards keep going up in price. I bought an asrock b550 pro m-arc mobo in 2021 for $69.99. Today that same motherboard used goes for $90+. That’s why people turn to these prebuilts they think that they’re actually getting a deal
in my country ASROCK B550M PRO4 costs 125$
No, don't fall for it at all. What sellers do is remove insulation that is between the motherboard and the case to sabotage the computer. When you go and upgrade it, there is an electrostatic discharge that fries the motherboard and since there is no warranty on used computers, you will be left with electronic waste. It's best to get used computers locally from a trusted IT technician, never online.
I can confirm this! Recently I bought an Optiplex 3020 and a Optiplex 7070 both computers died after I tried to upgrade the Ram and the video card. $800 flushed down the Effing toilet!
genuine question. what incentive would they have to do this?
And people can upgrade cpu and gpu in the future to a 5xxx series cpu and maybe even a rtx 50x0 card when they are released, could be a really good older hardware system build!!
Exactly, people just get lied to on these UA-cam videos to benefit themselves. Its the people that don't understand and buy these that get scammed.
I picked up a dell t 3600 workstation with W10Pro,64Gb samsung server ram in immaculate condition a few months ago for £75.I found a better cpu for £20 and it came with an old quadro k4000 graphics card.I had a cheap gtx 1650 and ssd lying around so I threw them in,bypassed the tpm and now have a PC that boots up in just under 30 seconds and will run rings around any entry level laptop.I don't play games but Office,Adobe and Affinity programs work just fine.I admit I do enjoy updating older PCs and usually giving them away,but this one I'll keep'it has a 650W power supply as well.
i bought one and im happy with it. im gonna upgrade it when gpu price drops off 80% in 5 years or so.
I have an optiples 9010 with I7, 16 Gig Ram- 500gig SSD and 2T data storage drive- that I DO NOT auto boot (keep it separate from the system til I need it.. ) it's GREAT- does a wonderful job. My service here is only 4gig download speed- so it's plenty good enough for that. My next one , however, will be a BEELINK SER6 loaded with 32GIG DDR5 ram- and 2T storage drive with 500Gig OP system drive..and high power video. (getting ready for the fiberoptic line being installed through this area soon). AND- NO WINDOWS BS-- starting fresh with DEBIAN 12 or Sparky 7 (which is based on Debian 12- SUPER fast , simple- and has great tools in it that I use.).
Worst thing about these computers is they are sold with an i5 or i3, if it was at the very least a 4th gen i7 I would say there is something to consider as long as the price is very cheap (no more than 50$ usd) and it is expected to hold up for no more than 2 years, 3 years tops, and on win10.
Btw, any parts for the upgrade should be viable for a future more current build (mainly nvme, psu, gpu) so you are not actually losing as much as you think.
I'm a big believer in these system - with some caveats. The notebooks and Lenovo Tiny are the best deals. For the most part, if you stick with 8th Gen processors and above, you should be OK. These are commercial products and more likely than not, will have the TPM. Forget about anything other than casual gaming. These systems are designed for office tasks and internet.
There is still a lot on the plus side for the right person. User and service manuals are readily available. Driver support usually lasts for close to the lifetime of the device and the hardware is better. At 8th Gen or above, I would recommend an off-lease device over a cheap Acer any day.
If you DO want to game on a refurbished off-lease machine, you will want a workstation. These are desktops with Xeon (server) processors. It will take some research but there is a community out there.
I think it depends greatly on what you are using it for. I would not buy an old office pc for gaming. But i got an old i7 6700 with 16GB ram for $100. Works great for running Proxmox, linux or pfsence.
But why buy an old office PC if you can buy new more powerful for the same money? that is madness.
@@Britec09 one of these optiplex systems for about £300 when you slap a gpu and maybe a ram upgrade in it will have weaker cpu but loads better gpu performance compared to most £300 pcs using more modern components brand new or even used a lot of the time + theyre very easy to put together as a gaming system, thats why.
@@Britec09 What new computer am I getting for $100? In your example the CPU alone is $100 or £80. For $100 I got a complete system that while older is more than enough to run proxmox which allows me to create many virtual machines.
@Kzxhy that is all extra money and you can do the same on new PC? makes no sense
You are talking about US, I am talking about UK and the price for CPU was £60. I showed all prices for the cheapest Dell and you can build new PC for that. I am sure you can go to India and get them office computers for cheap, but I live in UK
I go for an Amazon renewed desktop for about 70 usd. I install Linux and put in my hdd drives and use it as a server in my home.
That will work
Really good video Brian I like the way you explained would need to upgrade the power supply RAM and GPU to get even close to a good machine. Personally I reckon there should be some sort of regulatory body rules put on selling these obsolete machines how they would do that I am not sure. As for bypassing the requitements for Windows 11 mate I have my old Ivy Bridge build - unlocked i5 CPU 16GB RAM and an Asus 1650 Ti Expedition GPU on an Asus pro board which I built myself with a lot of bells and whistles on it and it works perfectly well for me but getting back to your advice I agree that these old office machines are rubbish having worked on some for friends who have got into strife and they were a nightmare to work on to mention one disadvantage. Just one thing I think I have asked before is the trend to AMD CPU's why is this? By the by I personally don't like buying second hand or refurbished equipment/components because I have been caught out quite a few times and I just hate that. When it becomes absolutely necessary and in view of Windows 12 on the distant horizon I shall get a customisable build from my favourite parts supply in Melbourne who do some really good deals.
So you want rather these old PCs go to the land fill..??
@paulwarne5395 All the computers in UK whether dead or old will be sent abroad to India and Africa. Just like all old electronics. We don't put PC in landfill
@@Britec09 Yes Paul mate but they just disassemble them and burn them for the gold and precious metals causing a lot of pollution for themselves and the environment.
well, thanks for that hoever i hate brand new pc cases because you can t put optical drives in brand new cases and i miss the days of budget gaming pc s having the ability to dualboot windows 10 and windows xp
It's a much better value, it seems, but also count the cooler fans towards that total cost.
I started out with a system like this l. Was an asus that i got for $50 cad. Not everyone has a few hundred dollars to spend on a pc in one shot.
I got a free Dell optiplex 3020 sff i3 from work & added a graphics card. It's cool to use I agree with not buying one that is over priced. Either get one cheap, build your own PC, or if you're lucky you may be able to get a free one.
A good thing about these very common ex business computers is that Windows 10 Pro run incredibly well on them. With thousands of these being used by big corporations any W10 problems are going to be fixed pretty darned quickly. I used to have a HP Elite 8300 desktop PC and apart from being a little noisy ran like a dream.
They do run well, but they are over priced.
@@Britec09 in my opinion the reason its overprice is because of econimic problems same as in 3rd world
Solid advice.
0:28 it is compatable with windows 11, intel 8 gen and above are compatable with windows 11
Great advice for them who want to start out.
Are landfills not full enough?
I have 2 Dell SFF 7040’s with i7- 6700 V Pro CPU’s. I did a standard install of Windows 11 Pro on both of them with no issues at all. I don’t know if the “V Pro” designation makes a difference or an I missing something here. They both activated on line and are working well. I would appreciate any comments.
i7- 6700 does not support Windows 11 and you have to use bypass method learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-supported-intel-processors
@@Britec09 Thanks for the information. I don’t know how I did it but even after formatting the NVME the Win 11 installed without any issues. These computers were purchased from a local university so maybe they were modified somehow. Kind of interesting. Thanks again for your comments.
Gee, it seems like the big problem is Windows 11.🥵
Who'd have thought it, hey?
I build my first gaming pc with a optiplex 9020small form factor works really good with a i5 rx 5700 still playing every game on it . 32ram
I build a better one butt if your low on money i mean i still like to play on it
i5-8500 is windows 11 compatible (intel 8th gen and later)
Yes I know, oh the nit pickers are out in force
where can i get a pre-built pc that is any good as opposed to building one?
@Britec09 i thought this is where i can get pc help? ..
yeh well.. i guess i can't get advice here. Strange as help is given by these vids. I dunno.
A 4th gen i7 still games well today with a well matched GPU...
For Windows 11 yes intel 8th gen forward...
If you arent gaming then 4th gen i7 onwards is good for daily use with Linux... however id recommend 6th or 7th gen as they wlare known to be the best when it comes to energy efficiency
Edit: newer is usually better dor upgradeability too
Old computer can last a fair time though. My 2008 Lenovo m58p backup computer is running with Win 10 Pro, and it only takes 24 seconds to power up, and 8 seconds the shut down, and it can still handle UA-cam videos playing at 1440p @ 60 fps.
back in 2010 these were idea cheap units found in pawn shops, now its 2023 of course its not good now.... 3ghz been around too long now.
the real problem is GPU's prices
You forgot fans, but they can be included with case, sometimes, and thermal paste.
But one most important thing is well, and that's "know how" to put it all together 😜
I would also warn people from buying any old office systems. Simply in the fact of even if you could buy a PSU. There is a high likely hold that the case and the motherboard would not be compatible with a standard ATX PSU. Due to the fact that the case and the motherboard might have a preparatory case and power connectors. And that I found on a clearance HP desktop that I couldn't fit a graphic card in it due to the motherboard having a built-in PSU and the case only has connectors for that motherboard.
You are wrong, 8th Gen is compatible with Windows 11, I even installed Windows 11 on 6th gen Core i5 without bypassing SecureBoot and TPM
8th and UP.
Yes i5 8500 does support windows 11, but splitting hairs does not make it worth buying, I meant i5 6500, not the i5 8500.
@@Britec09 It's not splitting hairs because it sounds like you overly harsh on the i5 8500. I do agree that that Dell optiplex is quirky for gaming(and as a result overpriced).
I would add that the Ryzen 3600 has PCIE gen4 versus PCIE gen3 on the i5 8500. The CPU can also be upgraded on the ryzen platform.
The benchmarks comparison that you used are not representative of everyday performance. Using geekbench 5(which also takes into account delays from other system components like RAM) the multithreaded scores are 7140 versus 4830; which puts the ryzen 3600 48% ahead but not the unrealistic 86% faster.
You can buy a ryzen 5500 for £88 amzn.to/44brpDZ why would you buy a i5 8500 when you can buy a faster more power CPU for the same money? makes no sense. Dell, = No upgrade path, proprietary parts, lower performance, old used office pc compared to new, list goes on. www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4807vs3481vs3223/AMD-Ryzen-5-5500-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3600-vs-Intel-i5-8500. Besides, you don't know what condition these dell machines are in, dented, scratched and used. You are saying what I am saying, Ryzen is way better option for the same money. Ryzen is still BETTER no matter what way you say it. Period.
Even brand new Dell's are used. Had to open up my son's computer to change out RAM. Everything in the case had a sticker on it that said refurbished. Dell XPS 8300 bought brand new. My mother bought a Dell Alienware a couple years ago. I cleaned it out and the same thing, all of the stuff in it had a refurbished sticker on the RAM, HardDrive, and GPU. These were suppose to be brand new.
when they lie once its no sale , when they lie a dozen times its a leave that site and tell your friends its a scam
Its a big scam that people get sucked into from UA-cams who tell people its a great gaming pc which actually cost more than a new system
For the first one actually wasn't that bad of deal with the CPU it has as it is an 8th gen, went the same route in 2019 When all prices were crazy, optiplex 3020 MT came with an i5 won it for $30, eventually picked up a cheap i7 4790 and aftermarket case (This generation motherboard is compatible in aftermarket cases not sure about the newer ones Just need a few dollar adapter for better power supply) added 450 watt PSU,16GB Ram,256GB SSD,cheap 4TB HDD, and at the time a GTX 950, once GPU prices came down upgraded to a used 2060 for $100 & 8TB Toshiba performance drive was on sale. All in all around $390 Still use it to this day as my main PC zero issues can run cyberpunk and others on medium settings on 1080p with Ray tracing and still get 50 to 60 FPS. Would not recommend anything below an 8th gen due to the requirements of Windows 11 nowadays though but at the time these could be good deals. One thing I'll say is don't cheap out on hard drives if you want to run games! The 4TB was absolutely horrible! The Toshiba huge improvement feels like a different PC no more stuttering loading graphics in. The 2060 seems to pair good with the i7 4th gens, they're about equal in unusualization.
Amen brother, you are absolutely right don't buy office PCs instead build your own for better price to performance.
You keep mentioning having to buy a power supply with these Dells. Are these system being sold with out their proprietary power supplies or is that so you can use a graphics card ?
No, the Dell systems have proprietary power supplies, so to change them on some models, you have to buy a adaptor which are not the safest. amzn.to/3XGyM3R these are not safe in my opinion. The standard PSU is not powerful enough and are no more than 300w at best some are 220w and 230w so no good for GPU
@@Britec09 Gotcha. Ya repaired a couple of Dell opwer supplies due to bad caps. All those DellPS are bare minimum spec'd
built and designed for office work and not gaming.
Most people just want a PC to stream video and general surfing on the net. I have two refurbished desktop PC's, one is an i5 3450 and the other is an Athlon A10-8770 R7 it does me for day to day usage and the other I only watch tubi TV on, both PC's are by HP and run W10. In total they cost me less than the cheapest PC from any shop.
Did you add in the price of an operating system? I know the Dells tend to come with an OEM (or even a Volume version if you are unlucky), however, it is activated. Some people don't like the grey market, but that's another £17-£25. Over £100 if you want genuine Home retail. More for Pro.
I do agree that the old Dells are not the answer most people are looking for, but I think that there are more important reasons not to buy them over cost. If your kid needs to get online to do their home work and watch UA-cam, then they aren't that bad and you're saving them from landfill. 🤷♂
Why is it unlucky to get a Volume Licensed version of Windows? They're literally all the same once installed.
Look into the Lenovo p520 workstation. Xeon w2135 6c12t 4.5 ghz turbo, 32gb ddr4 ram, quad chamnels, 900w PSU with 2 6+2pcie cables, and 2 m.2 slots. $200 American.xeon W2135 as fast as Ryzen 3600. $150 for 5700xt total $350.
I get a laugh out of people on Craigslist here in the states, putting computers like those for sale as "vintage" and thinking they're worth real money.
I think these are good, IF you can get them cheap, for retro gaming machines. Although the SFF are better because of the smaller size, who wants one of these sitting next to their t.v. to play some retro games. But in a home office or game/play room or in a retro gaming cabinet, it would be good. Cheaper than buying a newer console, and you can put dozens of consoles and 10K's of games on it.
Like I said in video, if your given one for free or get it real cheap, then maybe worth it if you are tight for cash
You seem to think everyone is playing games on computers. I'll suggest the possibility that many of us are not. Ergo, those "surplus" computers as you like to call them are quite adequate for our needs.
I never said anything about office use, but ask yourself this, why would buy used when you can buy new for nearly the same price?
Older PCs are ok if they're in good condition, but age alone affects them, so even if they haven't had much use, the age still affects it.
Linux certainly gives old hardware new life again, even though it's not actually making the PC faster.
was about to post that. not everyone wants a PC for playoing frotnight or some newest game that requires a new GPU, a decently priced dell/HP will do the job just fine for web/work/creative stuff.
that's why i generally grab even an old but very cheap PC and upgrade it to Linuxmint, and my customers love them.
For playing A title games, I agree these are a waste of time, but I used to buy them for Preschool use, where the bash games and simple graphical educational programs would run fine on the integrated graphics.
I dont like the newer ones with the bespoke parts though, and try to avoid those when possible; however, as long as the motherboard is industry standard, I am happy transplanting to another case.
I did this for my then 5 y/o, an Intel i3 3rd gen that has been upgraded over the past 5 years to an i7 4790, 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD, and an RX 470; it runs Roblox, LOTRO and Eve Online, so that is enough for her at this point.
oops, I forgot to say it was a bargain at £84, delivered.
Total spend on upgrades was £70 for the CPU + £45 for an AIO, the rest were old parts from my main PC's upgrades.
I don't understand how we get around the cost of the OS license. It really makes the older pre-builts more attractive.