Desktop PC - cheap

roytom2

I’ve been struggling with a desktop (Zoostorm) that’s over 9 years old. It’s running Windows 10 but a bit slow. I’m using it for things like web browsing, Coreldraw, free office software etc - nothing too demanding. It can’t cope with virtualisation as the chip isn’t supported. I wondered about upgrading to something newer and faster so I looked on eBay and it seems awash with pre-owned Dell desktop pcs like the following - would something like this at only £64.95 be a terrible and dated pc? 
eBay item number: 254410625669

Computer - Dell Optiplex 

Processor - Intel Quad Core

Ram - 8GB Storage - 500GB 
Graphics - No Graphics Card, Just onboard Standard

Type -  SFF, MIDI TOWER, DESKTOP
Optical Drive - CD/DVD ROM (NOT REWRITER)
Internet - Ethernet Connection or WiFI Dongle
Operating System - Windows 10 Home 64BIT

Neil_Jones

Personally I'm going to argue because there are no specifications about which Intel Quad Core it is (they make quite a lot, ranging from cheap and crap to insanely powerful) I wouldn't go there.

Plus if that case design is what they're sending out, those Dell cases were common about 15 years ago, so chances are it'll be even older than what you have now.

roytom2

Oh, thanks, that’s probably explains the very low price.
Are there any more recent/better desktop pcs available that aren’t expensive?

Neil_Jones

Depends what you mean by "expensive".  What's your budget?

bob_a_builder

Yes - lots of refurbed Dell Optiplexs about on Ebay  (including one on my desk an SFF 7010 - been very happy with it ) - you just need to spend a tad more to get  an i3 or i5 

for example ( not recommending specific seller) 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Optiplex-7010-SFF-i7-i5-i3-USFF-MT-SSD-HDD-Desktop-Business-Computer-Win-10/123880562911

TheRightOne

roytom2 said:

I’ve been struggling with a desktop (Zoostorm) that’s over 9 years old. It’s running Windows 10 but a bit slow. I’m using it for things like web browsing, Coreldraw, free office software etc - nothing too demanding. It can’t cope with virtualisation as the chip isn’t supported. I wondered about upgrading to something newer and faster so I looked on eBay and it seems awash with pre-owned Dell desktop pcs like the following - would something like this at only £64.95 be a terrible and dated pc? 
eBay item number: 254410625669

Computer - Dell Optiplex 

Processor - Intel Quad Core

Ram - 8GB Storage - 500GB 
Graphics - No Graphics Card, Just onboard Standard

Type -  SFF, MIDI TOWER, DESKTOP
Optical Drive - CD/DVD ROM (NOT REWRITER)
Internet - Ethernet Connection or WiFI Dongle
Operating System - Windows 10 Home 64BIT

If it doesn't have a DVD Writer on-board then it is likely older than the PC you are replacing.
If it is possible, why not simply upgrade the CPU(if you need virtualisation) in the ZooStorm and fit a solid state drive.
Will be cheaper than a new PC.
Gives us the model number of the ZooStorm.

TheRightOne

Alternatively;
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Optiplex-7010-PC-Intel-i5-3470-3-20GHz-4GB-Ram-120GB-SSD-Windows-10-Pro/193475974624

If you are unwilling to fit a solid state drive, don't buy anything without a solid state drive already fitted.

womble12345

I have a similar issue with an old PC except I want a tower, I was thinking a Dell 7010 or 9010 would be a good bet.

roytom2

Thanks for the replies, it’s greatly appreciated.
The ZooStorm seems to date from December 2011 - the model number on back of the tower is 7872-1036/A. It came without an operating system so I bought a copy of Windows 7 OEM version - both from eBuyer. I think upgrading it would not be any good in my situation.
As I only use the desktop pc for light use I don’t want to spend more than about £150 on a replacement. Looking at some of the eBay Dell offerings they seem cheap but as said above it would be a pointless exercise as they could be worse than the ZooStorm - some are sold with floppy drives also in them! Strangely most seem to be using Windows 10.

TheRightOne

roytom2 said:

Thanks for the replies, it’s greatly appreciated.
The ZooStorm seems to date from December 2011 - the model number on back of the tower is 7872-1036/A. It came without an operating system so I bought a copy of Windows 7 OEM version - both from eBuyer. I think upgrading it would not be any good in my situation.
As I only use the desktop pc for light use I don’t want to spend more than about £150 on a replacement. Looking at some of the eBay Dell offerings they seem cheap but as said above it would be a pointless exercise as they could be worse than the ZooStorm - some are sold with floppy drives also in them! Strangely most seem to be using Windows 10.

What is your situation?

Intel® Pentium® Processor E5800

2M Cache, 3.20 GHz, 800 MHz FSB

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) Yes

Perhaps it needs to be switched on via the BIOS Setup.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/42802/intel-pentium-processor-e5800-2m-cache-3-20-ghz-800-mhz-fsb.html

Stick an SSD within. Anything from £20 to £60, up to you. A clean install of Windows 10 64-bit to the solid state drive will solve all of your issues to do with slowness.

Your PC is perfectly serviceable. Not even a need to upgrade the CPU. £20 is all you need to spend.
If you are happy to do that, we can explain how to do it all. You'll see a big improvement. No need for a new PC.

roytom2

WoW, thanks! I’d assumed the processor was terrible as VMWare refused point blank to install as it claimed the processor was unsupported. The ZooStorm came with a (CD?) setup disc (MSI the manufacturer of the mainboard) which I must have used in the past. Presumably when it upgraded to Win10 any drivers got lost? I’ll also look in the bios settings as suggested. The whole thing became unstable a week ago when Win10 kept crashing with Exception Errors of all sorts - I traced this to Western Digital backup software (MyCloudMirror) and it stopped happening once the WD software was removed. 

You’re right about the Hard Disc as the system spends ages trashing around on it for no apparent reason.

Any suggestions for a type of SSD drive? Are they, apart from size, all the same?

I cannot remember the path for upgrade to Windows 10 as it was all done over the web from Windows 7, I think. Therefore I have no install disc etc. Can I download it?
Thanks again.