Cheap PCs

[XJ75]

I posted a year or two ago about extending the life of my mum's PC with an SSD, which was largely successful, but now it's time to bite the bullet and get something new.

Mum uses it a lot as she does transcription from home, but it's such lightweight usage, she only uses the transcription software, MS Word and the internet.

She only needs the tower as she can use existing monitor etc., what is the best way to go on a tight budget? I'm thinking something refurbished, had a look at the Dell outlet and there's not currently a lot on there. Had a look on eBuyer and came across this (and some other similar ones):

https://www.ebuyer.com/858364-refurbished-hp-8200-...

Thought it looks like a good price and a 1-year warranty should cover any hardware failures.

Anywhere else I should be looking?

Thanks.

[nikaiyo2]

The Dell OptiPlex 9020 are cheap and really decent.

I buy them from eBay for the office/ factory and the i7 with 16GB will cope with any office tasks and multi tasking all day long.

I try to get them from this guy https://charity.ebay.co.uk/charity/IT-Schools-Afri... good service and it helps a good cause.

[geeks]

nikaiyo2 said:

The Dell OptiPlex 9020 are cheap and really decent.

I buy them from eBay for the office/ factory and the i7 with 16GB will cope with any office tasks and multi tasking all day long.

I try to get them from this guy https://charity.ebay.co.uk/charity/IT-Schools-Afri... good service and it helps a good cause.

We did this exactly the same about 2 years ago for the father in law, core i5 and 8gb of RAM, stuck an SSD in there and it was fantastic for all his youtube and amazon stuff. I would say given the list an i7 with 16gb is overkill but it does at least future proof it a little longer but that said it's not like RAM is expensive or difficult to add yourself at a later date if 8gb doesn't suffice.

[Dave.]

I bought a couple of HP Z4## from ebay about a year ago. Both have been great.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Z420-Workstation-Int...

He will up/downgrade them if you ask him.

Plenty of other sellers, he was the closest to work.

[Gandahar]

Firstly I would avoid ebuyer like the plague, they advertise "ex demo" stuff which are RMA returns.

What is your maximum price ?

For light usage you might be better off getting an ultra cheap laptop just to plug into her monitor, mouse and keyboard and free up some space. Also she can them come round to your gaff for a LAN party and play PUBG.

[Gandahar]

This looks ideal

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8214537?istCompany...la-1148192879232%7ccrid:424817605134%7cnw:g%7crnd:7746694046672026681%7cdvc:c%7cadp:%7cmt:%7cloc:1007060&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9606825322&utm_term=8214537&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=101858976431&utm_custom2=804-627-9544&gclid=CjwKCAjw5p_8BRBUEiwAPpJO64cRFRy4kgy2_IOU_ixrMBsCycQmQceA5Vls4DkRY0Yj6BxveYss3RoCCWwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


Normally I would never recommend any laptop with only 4GB of Ram, but as your mums usage pattern is ultra light then she will be ok.

The great other thing about that is that if it goes wrong, you can just say

"Got the receipt , take it back to Argos ! "

And you will not have constant phone calls about sorting it all out with ebuyer or same



We all know that bear trap for relations who don't know what PC stands for.....

Edited by Gandahar on Thursday 15th October 14:08

[geeks]

Gandahar said:

This looks ideal

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8214537?istCompany...la-1148192879232%7ccrid:424817605134%7cnw:g%7crnd:7746694046672026681%7cdvc:c%7cadp:%7cmt:%7cloc:1007060&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9606825322&utm_term=8214537&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=101858976431&utm_custom2=804-627-9544&gclid=CjwKCAjw5p_8BRBUEiwAPpJO64cRFRy4kgy2_IOU_ixrMBsCycQmQceA5Vls4DkRY0Yj6BxveYss3RoCCWwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


Normally I would never recommend any laptop with only 4GB of Ram, but as your mums usage pattern is ultra light then she will be ok.

The great other thing about that is that if it goes wrong, you can just say

"Got the receipt , take it back to Argos ! "

And you will not have constant phone calls about sorting it all out with ebuyer or same

:beer

We all know that trap for relations

Behave, a dc 1.1ghz celery processor and 4gb of ram on Win 10? I'd rather crap in both hands and clap!

[Gandahar]

geeks said:

Gandahar said:

This looks ideal

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8214537?istCompany...la-1148192879232%7ccrid:424817605134%7cnw:g%7crnd:7746694046672026681%7cdvc:c%7cadp:%7cmt:%7cloc:1007060&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9606825322&utm_term=8214537&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=101858976431&utm_custom2=804-627-9544&gclid=CjwKCAjw5p_8BRBUEiwAPpJO64cRFRy4kgy2_IOU_ixrMBsCycQmQceA5Vls4DkRY0Yj6BxveYss3RoCCWwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


Normally I would never recommend any laptop with only 4GB of Ram, but as your mums usage pattern is ultra light then she will be ok.

The great other thing about that is that if it goes wrong, you can just say

"Got the receipt , take it back to Argos ! "

And you will not have constant phone calls about sorting it all out with ebuyer or same

:beer

We all know that trap for relations

Behave, a dc 1.1ghz celery processor and 4gb of ram on Win 10? I'd rather crap in both hands and clap!

Being a geek, you cannot downgear your mind to

Mum uses it a lot as she does transcription from home, but it's such lightweight usage, she only uses the transcription software, MS Word and the internet.

[GC8]

geeks said:

...I would say given the list an i7 with 16gb is overkill...

"i7" covers quite a range of processing power... I know what you mean, but you know what I mean too.

[Gandahar]

That's the problem on here, we all are a subset of wanting the best and pick each up on advice on the best way to skin a cat.

It's understandable.


But that laptop is not refurbished, and will do the job. Acer are pretty reliable. Those things probably matter more than you down cogging what you are used to.

Like I said above, 4GB of Ram is the limiting factor here. Not the CPU

Unless she goes mentalist opening up multiple Chrome browsers ...

If you think better than post some examples .... what would you advise for £300 ???????????????????

It's not hard.





PS In tribute to geeks "behave" comment,

Edited by Gandahar on Thursday 15th October 14:36

[FourWheelDrift]

Those new Ebuyer HPs and Dells are old, the Ebuyer one is using 11 year old components when you can buy a proper new PC for £379 - https://www.fiercepc.co.uk/archer-3200-radeon-gami... ok it's a gaming PC but it will do everything she needs, there are other stockists this is just an example, even the cheapest spec PC at PC Specialist is only £312 with

But really just get her a new Chromebook for under £200 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Chromebook-C223NA-GJ...

[GC8]

Gandahar said:

Like I said above, 4GB of Ram is the limiting factor here. Not the CPU

Unless she goes mentalist opening up multiple Chrome browsers ...

I'm still using a twin Xeon 2.8GHz Dell workstation with 4GB of ECC for this (Win7-64SP1). Nothing bothers it apart from ten plus browser screens, but it shrugs off twenty if they are relatively lightweight.

[TonyToniTone]

her apps won't run on chromebook.

[Mr Pointy]

There are hundreds of cost-effective small ex-office PCs available from refurbishers - just look on ebay for the Dell Optiplex 7010/7020/9020 ranges. They may not come with a huge warranty but they are generally pretty reliable (although mine had a hiccup recently after three years). Someone on another thread posted this supplier who offers 12 months warranty for £30:
https://www.tech-bazaar.com/product-category/deskt...

An i5 processor with 8Gb of RAM will do fine & an upgrade to a 480Gb SSD would be a good idea. This is a nice little machine for £270 with an SSD & a year's warranty:
https://www.tech-bazaar.com/product/dell-optiplex-...

This is a more modern PC which even has Dell next day on-site warranty until January 2023 but costs £358:
https://www.tech-bazaar.com/product/dell-optiplex-...

I'd avoid the USFF (Ultra Small Form Factor) ones as they are a bit tight inside.

[GC8]

Are you hinting that whilst Jesus may love him, you think that he is a ?

[Gandahar]

GC8 said:

Are you hinting that whilst Jesus may love him, you think that he is a ?

No, and this post is just wasting bandwidth.

I've asked for a price limit and given some advice, feel free to do likewise to help.

If you can be bothered.

See above from Mr Pointy for how to do it and help .

Edited by Gandahar on Thursday 15th October 14:41

[GC8]

You need to remove yourself from your own rectum. You humourless little man.

[Gandahar]

GC8 said:

You need to remove yourself from your own rectum. You humourless little man.

He says in a sulky voice.

And on that bombshell .....

It will be amusing for the OP to tell his mum the trials and tribulations on how he got her that great new PC

[mmm-five]

Gandahar said:

Ok it's a gaming PC, which she doesn't want, and doesn't come with any graphics card, memory or SSD for £379....

To be fair, it's got integrated Vega 8 graphics in the CPU (hence the -G suffix), it's got 8gb RAM, and a 240gb SATA SSD.

[FourWheelDrift]

mmm-five said:

Gandahar said:

Ok it's a gaming PC, which she doesn't want, and doesn't come with any graphics card, memory or SSD for £379....

To be fair, it's got integrated Vega 8 graphics in the CPU (hence the -G suffix), it's got 8gb RAM, and a 240gb SATA SSD.

Exactly.