Refurbished Desktop Windows 11 loaded or compatible .
Refurbished Desktop Windows 11 loaded or compatible .
Author
Discussion

cliffords

Original Poster:

2,800 posts

40 months

I posted before about my frustration with having to ditch a perfectly good desktop and laptop due to Windows 10 updates ending in a few weeks. I manage my finances and that of my mother on line and I do need good security .

I did one of the many suggested updates to get windows 11 on my desktop , however it seems that it is not guaranteed that security updates will apply . I think they have me beat .

I am going to buy a refurbished desktop that is Windows 11 ready and has a bit of longevity . I believe this is related to generation of processor amongst other things . No gaming , basic home office stuff and photo storage .

May I have some recommendations please . Budget up to £300 providing it has some longevity and is a genuine compatible machine not one that has been forced to comply . I just need the desktop no peripheries needed

Thank you

Virtual PAH

29 posts

1 month

cliffords said:
I posted before about my frustration with having to ditch a perfectly good desktop and laptop due to Windows 10 updates ending in a few weeks. I manage my finances and that of my mother on line and I do need good security .

I did one of the many suggested updates to get windows 11 on my desktop , however it seems that it is not guaranteed that security updates will apply . I think they have me beat .

I am going to buy a refurbished desktop that is Windows 11 ready and has a bit of longevity . I believe this is related to generation of processor amongst other things . No gaming , basic home office stuff and photo storage .

May I have some recommendations please . Budget up to £300 providing it has some longevity and is a genuine compatible machine not one that has been forced to comply . I just need the desktop no peripheries needed

Thank you
Main sticking point with a desktop is ensuring it has a TPM as many older consumer ones won't have or it may have been optional. Business grade desktops such as Dell/HP/Lenovo are more likely to have one as they're more likely to use encryption that the TPM is used for.

Best checking the supplier specifically mentions Windows 11 compatibility so can get a refund if it turns out it isn't. If buying from a non-business look at doing the compatibility check using the 'PC Health Check app' in the link below before handing over the cash, which is what any business should have done before saying it's compatible unless brand new and comes with a W11 compatible sticker from the manufacturer:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11...


the-photographer

4,079 posts

193 months

cliffords said:
I posted before about my frustration with having to ditch a perfectly good desktop and laptop due to Windows 10 updates ending in a few weeks. I manage my finances and that of my mother on line and I do need good security .

I did one of the many suggested updates to get windows 11 on my desktop , however it seems that it is not guaranteed that security updates will apply . I think they have me beat .

I am going to buy a refurbished desktop that is Windows 11 ready and has a bit of longevity . I believe this is related to generation of processor amongst other things . No gaming , basic home office stuff and photo storage .

May I have some recommendations please . Budget up to £300 providing it has some longevity and is a genuine compatible machine not one that has been forced to comply . I just need the desktop no peripheries needed

Thank you
https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/item/dell-optiplex-7080-sff-633fd78c/dell-optiplex-7080-sff/1.html

RotorRambler

439 posts

7 months

Are you sure you can’t kick the can down the road for a year, if you want to?

There is an easy way to extend it, worked on mine..

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I did yesterday, my windows 10 is now supported until Oct 2026

Captain_Morgan

1,396 posts

76 months

Or you can have a brand new mini pc for £300

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beelink-SER5-Processors-C...


eein

1,514 posts

282 months

Installing Windows 11 on older hardware is easy. I've done loads of 'not supported' PCs using the Rufus installer. There's plenty of youtube videos out there on how to use it. The oldest I have Windows 11 on is a 2007 Sony Vaio laptop with a 2 core CPU. Boots and runs fine, can browse the internet happily.

Only minor annoyance is that while windows updates install ok, the major Windows 11 features updates appear not to, so I have to do a fresh rufus install every 2-3 years. Minor annoyance to keep old hardware useful.

In terms of buying a second hard PC that can run Windows 11, it's everything from Intel CPU 8th generation onwards. The intel CPUs for some years have started with a number that denoted the generation. So an 8 or higher will be ok. The very recent ones have different numbering and are have "ultra" in their name and are all ok.

If you do want to buy something new for cheap I'd suggest whatever you can afford from somewhere like minisforum. I have a couple of cheap small PCs from them, used for browsing and watching TV/films, etc. If you don't need a GPU these are as good as anything. And new, so they will be supported for some time to come.