Replacement pc advise required pretty quick...please 7 November 2022 at 10:46AM in Techie Stuff 16 replies 556 views

Thecreative

Hi all, my pc is getting on a little and had become problematic, really slow to boot, boots then login screen comes on but no box to enter password/pin.

Generally, really slow & just recently started faulting when trying to cop files to my back up external drives.

I'm running illustrator and photoshop cs6 for work, microsoft excell and a few other things nothing major and no gaming.

Im looking for a cost effective replacement current spec is
intel i5-4670k cpu 3.40ghz
8 gb
64 bit operating system

Afraid Im confused by graphics cards etc... I need plenty of usb for back up drives, accessories etc..

Been looking at refurbished machines on amazon & websites - are these worth bothering with>

Any advice really appreciaetd as this is starting to become a problem.

DE_612183

I tend not to look at refurbished - my view is that microchips motherboards etc will always have a shelf life, so unless replaced I ( personally ) don't think its a good idea.

Are you just looking for the tower box? You can usually get decent ones from Currys/PCworld for circa £300

Thecreative

Thanks, yes tower box, 

No tsure Currys will do a decent enough spec for 300.00

facade

Most likely your hard drive is wearing out and failing.

A new SSD and a fresh install of windows will likely revitalise it, for around £50 for 500GB.

If it doesn't, then you will have a fast drive to add to your next PC.

First make a usb drive with win 10 installer on it, you can get it on any licenced win 10 machine (if yours is dodgy get it on a differnt machine or laptop, oh you need a new 8GB or larger usb drive to put it on, 16gb work fine and are about £4), search for win 10 media creation tool, and make sure you are on the microsoft website (take the trouble to select UK options for the version of windows you already have).  It will install on the new drive no problem, and validate itself as your motherboard will be registered with a digital key already for your version of windows.

Then switch off & unplug for safety, disconnect & remove the current disk (you can put it in an external caddy, or pay a few pounds for a power cord and a usb to sata cable later to try and get any files off it) If it is failing it will slow the pc down & even stop the pc booting if it is connected.

Connect the new SSD, put your USB in one of the sockets at the back that has had little use (the front one can give a poor connection after a few hundred plugs have been in & out) and it should boot off the usb by itself, if not you need the boot menu- google it for your motherboard, likely F12, F11 or F9

I am still using an I5-4670k too, I haven't bothered overclocking it- it holds up very well, except no chance of windows 11 (and all the problems it causes )

I was watching one of the "build yourself a pc on the cheap youtube channels, and the builder spent £300 producing a machine that benchmrks way below what the 4670K does.

You won't get a better performer for £300 new.

If you want a second hand machine, something with an I5-8400 or I5-9400 made by DELL or HP will be ok, and cost around £120 or so for one with a small SSD and a worn out 1TB HDD-  with DELL you enter the service tag on the website and you can download a repair image t set it up.

Farway

I use refurb / seconds. The Dell Optiplex ones from E bay which are often ex office and older spec but ideal for home use as you describe. And depending on price etc some come with a guarantee of sorts. I use Photoshop CS and find no problems with it.

I opted for refurb with SSD drive and find this ideal

Thecreative

Thanks all

facade

Farway said:

I use refurb / seconds. The Dell Optiplex ones from E bay which are often ex office and older spec but ideal for home use as you describe. And depending on price etc some come with a guarantee of sorts. I use Photoshop CS and find no problems with it.

I opted for refurb with SSD drive and find this ideal

As I said, DELL or HP.

I actually bought an optiplex 5050: I3-7100, 8GB ram, DVD writer, no hard disk  for £45. Don't worry about paying more for "refurb" = wiped with damp cloth, you just want tested and boots to bios, then install windows yourself.

A new SSD for £50 and an install of the DELL recovery image and it made a nice little machine for my nephew, does basic video & photo editing, plays 10bit HEVC video in 1080 (might do 4k, I dont have a 4k monitor or much 4k content.)

It benchmarks slightly faster than the I5-6500 variants, the memory is faster as is the processor.

The 5050 is great for the money- 2 (superior) displayports and an HDMI, mine had the optional SVGA daughterboard. It takes NVME SSDs, wheras the later (go for more money) Vostro series only takes M2 sata, but usually comes with bluetooth & wireless. Only 1 hdd + 1 M2 SSD though, no room for any more.

Being office Pcs they come with a digital licence for win 10 Pro.

getmore4less

Loads on CEX, handy returns if you have a local shop.

Had  2 machines that are near brand new  still with manufacturers warranty left.

For the likes of eBay deals I followed HUKD for a while to get the benefit of more people feed back on prices and reliable sources.

I was looking mini/micro format

Hp 800 elitedesk are nice
Lenovo M70Q
Dell loads of options.

GDB2222

How about this one from Currys ?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-ideacentre-3i-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-grey-10240996.html

I think that you can get better secondhand, but this is for a new machine. 

facade

GDB2222 said:

How about this one from Currys ?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-ideacentre-3i-desktop-pc-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-grey-10240996.html

I think that you can get better secondhand, but this is for a new machine. 

Out of stock.............

until the price goes back up

But they do have the lower specc'd ones for more money...

Call me cynical, but Currys always seem to have some great loss-leader deals that are "out of stock"

(obviously because they are such good deals that they fly off the shelves, rather than they only had one left when they reduced the price )

RumRat

Currys occasionally have some decent refurbs etc on their eBay store....Similar to this one.... ACER Aspire XC-1660 Desktop PC - Intel Core i5, 1 TB HDD, Black - REFURBISHED A 4710886588290 | eBay