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New Desktop Advice Please

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greyteam1959
greyteam1959 Posts: 4,710 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
edited 25 December 2021 at 11:54AM in Techie Stuff
Current Desktop
Win 10
Probably 10 years old
6 year old 1TB HDD
4GB RAM
Just used for basic internet / videos / email / Skype etc 
No gaming
It now seems a bit tired, a little slow despite doing all the 'fix my slow pc' stuff.

I thought about upgrading to a 512GB SSD & 8GB RAM, which on checking the specs would be 
possible & cost around £160.
Unfortunately I don't really think it would be worth doing on a 10 year old motherboard & CPU ??

I came across this 'Renewed' machine on Amazon at a very reasonable price although
with a smallish SSD which could be upgraded fairly cheaply.

Seems a pretty reasonable deal or am I missing something obvious ??

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Window-Optiplex-Desktop-Small-Renewed/dp/B09L8GWC5J/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?crid=1U8ENPJ8EXP6C&keywords=renewed+pc+win+11&qid=1640379440&s=computers&sprefix=renewed+pc+win+11,aps,154&sr=1-17




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Comments

  • £160 sounds far too much for a 500GB SSD and an 4GB memory stick, also what CPU?
    I hate football and do wish people wouldn't keep talking about it like it's the most important thing in the world
  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8400 @ 2.66GHz
    2 x 4GB memory is going to cost around £100
    Plus SSD




  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8400 @ 2.66GHz
    2 x 4GB memory is going to cost around £100
    Plus SSD




    Why do you need 2 x 4gb when you already have 4gb? assuming it's DDR3 RAM you can get a 4GB stick for £20 as for SSD a 500 GB Crucial MX500 is £55 the BX series is £38
    I hate football and do wish people wouldn't keep talking about it like it's the most important thing in the world
  • Also, you could go for a lower capacity SSD as your boot drive and use your existing HDD for storage £25 will get you a half decent 256GB SSD
    I hate football and do wish people wouldn't keep talking about it like it's the most important thing in the world
  • It's DDR2 RAM
    Problem is I would be upgrading a 10 year old motherboard.
    Is that pc I linked to no good ??
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    For that age a SSD and more memory will bring back some life

    I run older and very usable
    https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core2-Quad-Q8400-vs-Intel-Core2-Duo-E4500/m1663vsm65

    Second hand memory is the way to go for DDR2


    https://uk.webuy.com/boxsearch?stext=ddr2

    or ebay, if lucky a local CEX may have some

    The memory is a sunk cost the SSD will be reusable if you upgrade to something better

    Stick a smaller SSD for IOS and heavy used files  keep the HDD for the rest.


    I have been looking at maybe upgrading mine 

    liking the look of i-5/8500 machines like the ones that pop up in this search

    https://uk.webuy.com/boxsearch?stext=i5-8500
    (filter in stocksale)

    Still under £200 but 8th gen and 3/4 years old

    or there are some 9th gen  version in the £200-£300 range even an A grade(Like new) micro dell at £285

    https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=sdesdel3070mi5256a

    be good for another 5-10years



  • It's DDR2 RAM
    Problem is I would be upgrading a 10 year old motherboard.
    Is that pc I linked to no good ??
    I'm sure the PC you linked would be fine however there may be better options, that said I agree I wouldn't throw too much money at such an old machine, my main reason for commenting was where you got the £160 figure from, you could easily do the job for £50
    I hate football and do wish people wouldn't keep talking about it like it's the most important thing in the world
  • googler
    googler Posts: 16,103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 25 December 2021 at 2:50PM
    Use Microsoft's online facilities to generate a USB Windows Installation disc, if you don't have one already. I've got a link somewhere, be along with that in a minute

    Take the existing HDD out, install a small-capacity HDD (minimum size 60Gb) and install Windoze to this, from the USB or other install media. 

    Re-install your current HDD in the machine as a secondary drive, and use this to store data. Don't store anything on the SSD, just keep the operating system there.

    Put an extra 4Gb of RAM in. It should fly along after that. As was said, get a used RAM from eBay.

    While you've got the lid off, take the opportunity to give it a good clean inside, clearing dust and grot from all the fans, heatsinks etc. Take suitable anti-static precautions

    There may be some fiddling with BIOS to get PC to boot from USB, you may need to buy some internal cables to hook up extra drive, but it'll be WAY cheaper than a new machine.

    Tutorials all over the place, but YouTube probably the most accessible  
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament


    Depends what's in the machine now and number of slots.
    A single 4GB may not be the solution to get to 8

    I have one machine that was 2+2 now 2+4 as it was a £6 upgrade as they did not have a matching pair.

    I would go for mid sized SSD with space for day to day  with the existing drive for irregular use stuff.
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 26,188 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Are you running 64 bit windows?
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
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