Should I go for it or not?

[Devon68]

So since I'm in quarantine I had time to think about a PC upgrade. My sisters husband recently changed his PC and now my best friend is thinking of upgrading. So naturally it gave me the itch to do the same. My budget is very limited and pretty much allows me to get a used system. I make about 350$ a month so I'm looking to spend mostly 300$. I know it will be a potato PC, but my old PC is from 2012. I've seen an ad in my area for a used Dell Optiplex 9020 with a i5 4670 and 8 GB of DDR3 ram for 140$ ( Hope I can get it for 120$), and a GTX 1060 6GB for another 120$. That would make the system total 240$. So to not beat around the bush anymore, I wanted to ask if it is worth it? Should I go for it?

I dont play any newer games. Only WWZ but it runs ok even on my current system.
Naturally I know about Ryzen and how good it is but I consider it to be out of my budget.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I dont play any newer games. Only WWZ but it runs ok even on my current system.

They why upgrade?

I think you would get better mileage out of your budget if you just upgraded your current system (perhaps increasing RAM to 16GB or getting a better PSU), or better yet, save your money until you can build up the budget enough to buy a system that will clearly and significantly outperform what you currently have.

Scratching an itch does not make the mosquito bite heal any faster. In fact, it can make healing take longer and the itch worse when the itch returns.

 

[phanbuey]

I would do it, but only if I couldnt wait a bit longer and save up more money. It's easily double the speed of what you have now and will let you play some newer games/battle royales and what not. If you double your budget you can get 2.5-3x the performance so might want to just wait.

If you can find a newer ryzen it does open up possibility of future upgrades.... but yeah at $300 it's a bit tough to get cpu+mobo+ram+gpu and have it match that dell (it will dip in cpu intensive tasks.).

 

[bonehead123]

IF and only IF you are certain that you can afford almost an entire month's salary on a pc upgrade (not judging here, only cautioning), then yes, I would go for it. That Dell is no slouch, relatively speaking, comparable to other similar machines of it's era.... I worked on several back in the day and it never disappointed me. But then again I wasn't using them for gaming either....

However, BEFORE you hand over your cash, please be sure to verify 1000% that the 1060 is a REAL 6GB unit and not a 3GB model that was flashed with a semi-fake bios to make it appear as a 6GB model in various utilities... I've heard way to many horror stories of this happening in the past, especially those cards that were purchased from fleebay....

Otherwise, I would just save up for a few months & move on up to a DDR4 based system, which would bring you a bit closer to a somewhat moar current upgrade in speed and compatibility with some more recent games and other softwares....

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[joemama]

if I were you I would save up the money for a better computer
FX-6100 to a i5 4670 isn't much of a upgrade
although you said that you don't play newer games currently, you might change your mind in the future

 

[Regeneration]

Dell Optiplex 9020 / i5 4670 / 8 GB of DDR3 / GTX 1060 6GB for $240 is a good bargain. Just make sure everything is 100% real and working.

 

[xrror]

Yea actually what is your current computer? Is it reliable? You might just need a video card - worst case if that still doesn't satisfy then at least you'll already have a video card paid and can use next month's $300 toward a new system.

EDIT ADD: I forgot to ask, are you already running a solid state drive? If not - that's like 90% of your problem right there

You actually can snag a Ryzen 3600 ($170 on sale) + mobo ($90 B450 chipset) + 16GB ram (get lucky $80 sale 3600) for just around $360 (tax gets you) - but that assumes you have a power supply you still trust (if it's 8 years old, ehhh) and of course a video card.

You may want a nicer heatsink (because the stock 3600 one is kinda lame, the 3600x one is decent but for the price up you might as well buy a nice sink.


Oh yea and a case, but technically, you don't have to have that

But of course this all assumes your 2012 rig is still serviceable as a half way point over that 2 months.
(oh and I guess a Windows license if you want to keep both rigs running).

 

[XL-R8R]

16GB of ram + the GTX1060 for cheap sounds like a good idea.. along with the previously mentioned PSU upgrade, too, if your budget will allow.


Other than this, I would beat that FX CPU into the ground until at least the end of this year; certainly so if you dont play anything newer than WWZ.



side idea - maybe a cheap SSD for small games? $20-$25

 

[Devon68]

I forgot to ask, are you already running a solid state drive? If not - that's like 90% of your problem right there

Yeah running a 256GB Samsung 850 EVO so no problem with the systems snappiness.
The PSU I had to change 2 years ago since the old one died.
And the Case has been changed as well.

 

[TheLostSwede]

The upgrade itch is pure evil...

That said, keep in mind that Dell doesn't use standard ATX power supplies, so if there's an issue with the PSU in the future, you're SOL...

 

[Vayra86]

Its not a bad deal, but its always a bad deal to invest in old hardware. And this is pretty old. It will not last very long. The GPU probably will, but the rest... a quad without HT is really yesterdays' news.

 

[xrror]

keep in mind that Dell doesn't use standard ATX power supplies, so if there's an issue with the PSU in the future, you're SOL...

If that 9020 happens to be the mid tower (the "biggest" size case, that can take full size PCIe cards), I think those are actually ATX compliant. The SFF (small form factor) and MFF (micro form factor) ones yea, the power supply isn't any normal shape. The SFF is at least ATX (the PSU would have to hang outside the case) but the MFF lol no (but also no add-on cards in MFF).

Note that I'm basing this on the 7010's we have here at work - I think that the 7020's we have are the same but I don't have one here in front of me.

Now like the 790's we have ugh, the PSU might be ATX compatable on the MidTower, but nothing else on the case is. Even the power button is a custom 5 pin header - and the headers aren't the normal "jumper spacing" we're used to. If you remember old 2.5in PATA hard drives it uses that spacing so you can't even repin a normal header - it's a PITA.

 

[Calmmo]

I'd save my money, these being the options, just not much of an upgrade. A lot of money to invest in a 7 year old i5.

 

[Elysium]

So since I'm in quarantine I had time to think about a PC upgrade. My sisters husband recently changed his PC and now my best friend is thinking of upgrading. So naturally it gave me the itch to do the same. My budget is very limited and pretty much allows me to get a used system. I make about 350$ a month so I'm looking to spend mostly 300$. I know it will be a potato PC, but my old PC is from 2012. I've seen an ad in my area for a used Dell Optiplex 9020 with a i5 4670 and 8 GB of DDR3 ram for 140$ ( Hope I can get it for 120$), and a GTX 1060 6GB for another 120$. That would make the system total 240$. So to not beat around the bush anymore, I wanted to ask if it is worth it? Should I go for it?

I dont play any newer games. Only WWZ but it runs ok even on my current system.
Naturally I know about Ryzen and how good it is but I consider it to be out of my budget.

It's not worth it at all. With Ampere and Navi+ expected sometime between third and fourth quarter this year, the 1060 is going to be quite badly outdated come 2021 and then you will be wanting to upgrade again, so put a portion of your money aside each month, say $100, and when Christmas rolls around you'll have almost $1000 to splash out on a new system.

 

[Devon68]

Yeah I was even considering getting a used z270 + 6700k for 280$ or a new ryzen 2700x and a b450 mobo for 270$, but I guess saving 100$ a month and waiting for Christmas is a really good idea.

 

[Bill_Bright]

but I guess saving ... and waiting for Christmas is a really good idea.

I agree. But a mistake some make is buying their components piecemeal over time - apparently out of fear the money will burn holes in pockets - or spouses get sticky fingers. Buying components one at a time over several months instead of saving until you can buy all at once has several problems. First, warranty periods start at the date of purchase. If you were to, for example, buy your graphics card today, and your last component in December only to find out the card is dead right out of the box, you may have lost 1/2 your warranty. But for sure, you likely lost the retailers 30-day "no questions asked" return policy.

Another problem with piecemeal is a newer revision, or perhaps a better competing model for that graphics card may be released during those months of waiting for the rest of the components. New revisions for motherboards, and new BIOS updates - especially for new motherboard models - are fairly common.

So save up your money until the budget allows you to buy all the components at once. You may even save more $$$ on shipping if you buy all at once.

Another advantage to waiting is it gives you time to do your homework and thorough research to make sure you get what you want and the best bang for your money.

 

[TheLostSwede]

If that 9020 happens to be the mid tower (the "biggest" size case, that can take full size PCIe cards), I think those are actually ATX compliant. The SFF (small form factor) and MFF (micro form factor) ones yea, the power supply isn't any normal shape. The SFF is at least ATX (the PSU would have to hang outside the case) but the MFF lol no (but also no add-on cards in MFF).

Note that I'm basing this on the 7010's we have here at work - I think that the 7020's we have are the same but I don't have one here in front of me.

Now like the 790's we have ugh, the PSU might be ATX compatable on the MidTower, but nothing else on the case is. Even the power button is a custom 5 pin header - and the headers aren't the normal "jumper spacing" we're used to. If you remember old 2.5in PATA hard drives it uses that spacing so you can't even repin a normal header - it's a PITA.

Dell used to have a different pin-out on the ATX connector, hence why I mentioned this. Maybe that's no longer the case.

Yeah I was even considering getting a used z270 + 6700k for 280$ or a new ryzen 2700x and a b450 mobo for 270$, but I guess saving 100$ a month and waiting for Christmas is a really good idea.

It sounds like we ought to start a go found me page for you...

 

[Devon68]

It sounds like we ought to start a go found me page for you...

Ha ha. Thanks but No. My look on life is: IF it's a medical emergency that can really help then yeah why not, but this is something I can get on my own, it will just take time.

I will have our President pitch in since he promised every 18+ person will get 100 euro's.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Dell used to have a different pin-out on the ATX connector, hence why I mentioned this. Maybe that's no longer the case.

I don't remember seeing this with the ATX connector, but for sure, in the past Dell wired the 20/24-pin main power connector on the motherboard in a proprietary manner, which meant the main 20/24-pin connector on the PSU was proprietary too. This nasty anti-consumer policy forced users needing a replacement or upgraded power supply to buy the supply from Dell. And sadly, that typically meant higher costs, and certainly fewer upgrade options.

Dell was not the only big maker to do this. So did HP, Compaq and others. They also some times deviated from the ATX standards with their cases. This meant users wishing to upgrade their motherboards couldn't put a 3rd party board in the old Dell case.

Their claim and excuse for using proprietary parts was that it provided a better computing experience for their customers. Bullfeathers! It is purely to increase their profits at the consumer's expense.

Fortunately, and thanks to the ATX Form Factor standard for PCs, Dell and others realized they were losing money to the self-build industry, in part, due to their using proprietary parts. So I don't believe Dell uses proprietary power supplies any more. But I could be wrong, plus we do know Dell did in the past. So IMO, TheLostSwede's cautions are definitely worth heeding, and remembering - for any factory made computer.

Sadly, the big notebook manufacturers could never get together like they did with the PCs and come up with a consensus for an ATX-type notebook form factor standard. If they had, we (consumers) could have a thriving self-build notebook parts industry to draw from to build our own custom notebooks too. Now that would be cool! But we consumers shot ourselves in the foot on that one as we started demanding thinner, lighter notebooks that could run many hours on a single battery charge. And no way the big makers could agree on a form factor standard for that. Oh well. So notebooks are very proprietary - and expensive to buy, upgrade and repair. But that's for another discussion.

 

[xrror]

I don't remember seeing this with the ATX connector

I think Dell did this back in the Pentium II/III era - the reason Dell gets the hate is because unlike other proprietary PSU designs that used non-standard plugs and connectors, Dell still used the standard ATX connector even though it was electrically incompatible and you'd burn the mobo and/or random accessories.

The stupid part was they didn't even do this to add any new or special functionality that wasn't provided by the ATX spec - they just swapped some of the 3.3v and 5v wires basically just to be a-holes.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

No. Total waste of money. Basically a sidegrade.

Upgrading to the 1060 would make sense though.

Also, consider this (I know you're in Europe somewhere, but I'll use USA prices) you can get an AM4 motherboard for ~$100, Ryzen 5 1600 AF for $85, and 16 GB of RAM for $65. That's only $250 and a whole lot more performance than that i5-4670.

And we haven't even mentioned the PSU.....

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yeah, I know they used the same connectors and just wired them differently. I just don't remember seeing it on the ATX connector - and that is probably due to me just not looking! By the time ATX connectors started appearing, I already new the 20/24-pin was wired differently, so I didn't bother checking other connectors.

I'm old! When I first encountered these proprietary Dells, it was way back in the late 1980s and motherboards didn't even come with ATX power connectors. In fact, the "AT" Form Factor was still the standard and it used two 6-pin connectors that were keyed in the original IBMs so you couldn't mix them up. But Dell (and other makers) dinked with them too.

The main 20-pin main power connector to the motherboard came about with the "ATX" Form Factor. Even after ATX replaced AT, CPUs didn't need extra power originally. Neither did graphics cards. So it was years later that ATX power connectors were added to motherboards and by that time, I was avoiding proprietary factory made computers like the plague.

Proprietary factory made PCs is probably the primary reason I never liked Apples, and why I started building my own computers in 1990-91 with parts purchased through Computer Shopper. I miss that magazine.

The stupid part was they didn't even do this to add any new or special functionality that wasn't provided by the ATX spec - they just swapped some of the 3.3v and 5v wires basically just to be a-holes.

That may seem like the reason but it was for pure greed/increased profits - a business philosophy entrenched in just about every industry back then. "Corporate greed" was a fact of life. "Customer satisfaction" was... I don't know what it was.

A dream? Wishful thinking?

Nonexistent.

 

[TheLostSwede]

No. Total waste of money. Basically a sidegrade.

Upgrading to the 1060 would make sense though.

Also, consider this (I know you're in Europe somewhere, but I'll use USA prices) you can get an AM4 motherboard for ~$100, Ryzen 5 1600 AF for $85, and 16 GB of RAM for $65. That's only $250 and a whole lot more performance than that i5-4670.

And we haven't even mentioned the PSU.....

In case you want to compare prices have a look here - https://geizhals.eu/

 

[xrror]

Ryzen 5 1600 AF for $85

The 1600AF is a lot of fun, but I still think it's worth the performance to save up for the 3600.

The huge draw of the AF here in the states is that you literally can get one for $85 (75.5 euros?) shipped to your door - so it pretty much is THE proc to get if you have some random AM4 boards and DDR4 laying around.

Because yea you know, everyone has stacks of old AM4 boards laying around unused... right? guys? I mean... hypothetically. yea. I heard that... "some guy who isn't me" does that. Yea. That's it.

(Hides under chair)

Edit ADD: Yea this is the Amazon listing that's probably sold a few thousand 1600AF's in the U.S.

Amazon.com: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 65W AM4 Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler (YD1600BBAFBOX): Computers & Accessories

Buy AMD Ryzen 5 1600 65W AM4 Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler (YD1600BBAFBOX): CPU Processors - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[TheLostSwede]

The huge draw of the AF here in the states is that you literally can get one for $85 (75.5 euros?) shipped to your door - so it pretty much is THE proc to get if you have some random AM4 boards and DDR4 laying around.

Nowhere nearly as cheap in Europe.

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm), 6C/12T, 3.20-3.60GHz, boxed | Preisvergleich Geizhals EU

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