Reconditioned PC Base Unit, questions I should ask?

1jim

Hi
I am lloking out for a cheap PC base unit for this children (2 and 4), something to be able to play on thomas tank engine type of games, should be able to use broadband for websites like cbeebies, ideally would like it to be able to access internet using wireless connection(have a dongle for this) so could also print using my wireless printer.

I have come across the following ad on local gumtree

Refurbished Computer clean case
Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz processor
1GB RAM
80GB Hard drive
DVD Rewriter
XP Home SP3

Anti virus, Firewall, Malware, All the protection you need for the Internet
Nero cd burning software,
Office 2003
New Keyboard and Mouse
Internet ready.

If you need anything added let me know

3 months WARRENTY

I dont know much about computers, this is listed at £85, is there anything I should ask when enquiring or vieweing this, any comments on spec would be welcome as well
thanks
Jim

posted_2

Is XP and office legit

chunter

Looks good value to me.

Make sure there's a legible XP Home COA sticker on the base unit.
Otherwise you might run into problems later.

You must have a screen?

damo24

The spec of the computer should meet your needs. The concern is the amount of software offered with it, the value of the software is a LOT more than the asking price. I would make sure that the software is genuine and if so snap the sellers hand off.

1jim

thanks guys, have asked about the software and the reply was
"This is a refurbished machine and has no sticker. the software passed the genuine test as SP3 was downloaded from the MS site"
any thoughts, is it worth the risk buying?

gaming_guy

1jim wrote: »

thanks guys, have asked about the software and the reply was
"This is a refurbished machine and has no sticker. the software passed the genuine test as SP3 was downloaded from the MS site"
any thoughts, is it worth the risk buying?

that sounds slightly dodgy to me seeing as you can download the SP3 exe file and apply it to a dodgy copy of xp (my mate did this with XP Pro).

if it doesnt have a COA sticker, it clearly must be a dodgy copy of xp (and possibly office as well).

1jim

if this is a dodgy copy will it cause any problems in the future (other than it being clearly illegal)

Browntoa

it's won't update for a start

harrywexworth

I'd keep looking. Something is off...

sharkie

chunter wrote: »

Looks good value to me.

Are you sure it is good value? I think it is expensive scrap. Our Dells at work which we MUST scrap are 5/6 years old and have this spec. We pay people to remove them, although we have to take out the hard disk first. They do have MS xp licenses on the cases.

Bet the virus checkers and spyware checkers are the free ones.

I just do not see it as great value, especially when you get the below. Ok it is a bit different but I think it is better value. Definitely faster hardware and I think hp stuff has 3 year warranty - could be wrong though

www.digital-fusion.co.uk/Inu_products/INU_ProdDetailsL9.asp?ref=1170J409

All is missing is the os, sound card, mouse, screen and keyboard. A good video card and DVD writer may come handy too, Excluding the screen, they are fairly cheap components.
HP ProLiant ML115 G5 Server, Quad Core Opteron, £161.51 delivered, Digital-Fusion

£161.51 includes vat and P&P

AMD Opteron 1352 Quad Core Processor 2.10 GHz
Standard memory 1 GB (1 x 1 GB) Standard Memory
Memory slots 4 DIMM slots, Memory type PC2-6400 unbuffered DDR2 SDRAM (800MHz)
Internal drives 1 x 160 GB SATA Non Hot Plug 3.5" Drive
HP Embedded 4 Port SATA Controller with Embedded RAID (0,1,5)
Optical drives DVD-ROM
Chassis type Micro ATX Tower (4U)
Chipset nVidia NFP3400
Network interface Embedded NC105i PCI -Express Gigabit Server Adapter
Expansion slots Expansion Slots: Slot 1: PCI 32-bit/33MHz PCI at 3.3V slot; Slot 2: PCI-Express x1 connector with x1 link; Slot 3: PCI-Express x8 connector with x8 link; Slot 4: PCI-Express x16 connector with x16 link
Power supply type 365 Watts

damo24

The computer detailed above is a server, although you could use it as a desktop machine, it is not ideal for that and is not ideally suited for home use. I have used that server for small businesses and it is great for that but I wouldn't use it for everyday use.

Added to that is the cost of a Windows license, which is at least £70. You should be able to pick up a new base unit from a local computer shop for around £200 or a full system for about £300 including a Windows license.