Need a 2nd hand best performing desktop computer / PC ?

Newcad

Both my laptops run Win 10 22H2 (64-bit) quite happily, and they only have 4GB of RAM in each one.

It all depend on how you use your computer.
If you are playing online RPGs, or if you habitually leave a lot of apps open at once, then yes you are going to need more than 4GB RAM.
If you close apps/windows when you have finished using them so that you never have more than 3 or 4 things running at once then 4GB is sufficient.
(Oh, and clean out all the bloat that starts with your computer and runs in the background but that you never use).

[Deleted User]

Newcad said:

If you are playing online RPGs, or if you habitually leave a lot of apps open at once, then yes you are going to need more than 4GB RAM.

I know this is a money-saving forum but performance-wise an appropriate amount of RAM is good value and scrimping down to 4GB isn't necessary or sufficient for Windows 10/11.

A typical PC in the budget range of the OP would use DDR4 and price wise 2nd hand RAM is around:

4GB - £4 - so 2x only £8 for 8GB
8GB - £10-15 - so 2x only £20-30 for 16GB

So 8GB would be a no-brainer but I'd say 16GB is the sweet spot nowadays for Win 11 and not exactly bank-breaking at £20-30.

debitcardmayhem

[Deleted User] said:

Newcad said:

If you are playing online RPGs, or if you habitually leave a lot of apps open at once, then yes you are going to need more than 4GB RAM.

I know this is a money-saving forum but performance-wise an appropriate amount of RAM is good value and scrimping down to 4GB isn't necessary or sufficient for Windows 10/11.

A typical PC in the budget range of the OP would use DDR4 and price wise 2nd hand RAM is around:

4GB - £4 - so 2x only £8 for 8GB
8GB - £10-15 - so 2x only £20-30 for 16GB

So 8GB would be a no-brainer but I'd say 16GB is the sweet spot nowadays for Win 11 and not exactly bank-breaking at £20-30.

You could say it's as cheap as chips ..... ok I'll get my hat and me coat

Addendum: These days chip shop chips are not as cheap as they were

Newcad

The processor in some older machines can't handle more than 4GB of RAM.

That doesn't mean the machine is obsolete, just that you have to be a little bit more aware of how you use it with that 4GB.

Throwing perfectly usable tech away in favour of new stuff is one of the less 'green' things that we do these days. (And of course the manufactures want you to buy their latest, whether you need it or not).

I guess we all make our own choices, it just seems to me that the tech industry has been successful in training us to accept their advertising that we "need" their latest.

PS. The saying used to be "Real wood as cheap as chip" (meaning chipboard furniture). It was an advertising slogan for a furniture manufacturer and nothing to do with fried potatoes- I think it's great that language changes to adapt and the meaning remains similar.

booneruk

Newcad said:

The processor in some older machines can't handle more than 4GB of RAM.

Wowsers! That's going back a bit. From memory, a 4GB limit was imposed when the CPU wasn't a 64bit variant (64bit CPUs became mainstream between 2001-2005), or if running a 32bit operating system (Windows XP era). Another thing to remember with memory upgrades, the PC may only come with 2 ram slots, so if you have 4gb currently that may be 2 sticks of 2gb each. Upgrading such a machine would need you to remove one or both of these. Personally I see 16GB as a sweet spot these days. You might be surprised how much memory a browser tab can use.

alykhalil1

GDB2222 said:

Dell Optiplex 780 is now past it. I wouldn't spend any time trying to trouble shoot what's wrong with it. 

You can get USB bluetooth, wifi, and SD card readers, for not a lot of money, so don't get side-tracked with that. 

Lenovo ThinkCentre M720s PC Intel i5-8400 8GB 256GB SSD Windows 10 SFF #2 £105

This, as posted by Cisco, looks like a reasonable option. 

Listing has ended sadly  :(:(

alykhalil1

Newcad said:

Both my laptops run Win 10 22H2 (64-bit) quite happily, and they only have 4GB of RAM in each one.

It all depend on how you use your computer.
If you are playing online RPGs, or if you habitually leave a lot of apps open at once, then yes you are going to need more than 4GB RAM.
If you close apps/windows when you have finished using them so that you never have more than 3 or 4 things running at once then 4GB is sufficient.
(Oh, and clean out all the bloat that starts with your computer and runs in the background but that you never use).

I mUST SAY, THE NO. OF CROME WINDOWS OPEN AT ONCE (on my PC) IS AROUND 10-12 WINDOWS BUT ALL MINIMISED. (OHH SORRY for the caps lock)

so what conclusion have we all reached: Is there a need to buy another PC  ?  i am just now cleaning all the disks up (C: & ) but i have no clue about this G: drive. It just started showing since 2 weeks. Wasn't there since day one. I feel Google has something to do with this. 

So Ladies and Gents : its that time : Dont change PC or  i will go with the 1st 5 options given to me or any link for a decent PC ?...Majority wins ?....coz it seems like we all are confused and i am not getting the proper outcome. Many thanks. ....

Bonhomie

alykhalil1 said:

Newcad said:

Both my laptops run Win 10 22H2 (64-bit) quite happily, and they only have 4GB of RAM in each one.

It all depend on how you use your computer.
If you are playing online RPGs, or if you habitually leave a lot of apps open at once, then yes you are going to need more than 4GB RAM.
If you close apps/windows when you have finished using them so that you never have more than 3 or 4 things running at once then 4GB is sufficient.
(Oh, and clean out all the bloat that starts with your computer and runs in the background but that you never use).

I mUST SAY, THE NO. OF CROME WINDOWS OPEN AT ONCE (on my PC) IS AROUND 10-12 WINDOWS BUT ALL MINIMISED. (OHH SORRY for the caps lock)

so what conclusion have we all reached: Is there a need to buy another PC  ?  i am just now cleaning all the disks up (C: & ) but i have no clue about this G: drive. It just started showing since 2 weeks. Wasn't there since day one. I feel Google has something to do with this. 

So Ladies and Gents : its that time : Dont change PC or  i will go with the 1st 5 options given to me or any link for a decent PC ?...Majority wins ?....coz it seems like we all are confused and i am not getting the proper outcome. Many thanks. ....

My opinion?
Cisco001 took the trouble to source you a Windows 11 compatible PC within budget. It took you nearly a couple of weeks to even acknowledge that he posted.
If I were you, I would send him a PM and hope that he takes the time to do it again. I stopped picking out good deals for that very reason. Good deals, by their nature, will be snapped up. Be ready to act  

Bonhomie

Basic Windows 11 compatible device within budget: https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sdeshp290g269b + https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=smem4g2666

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-8100+@+3.60GHz&id=3103

You can find the likely spec of your current device by finding the Service Tag or Express Code possibly at the back of your PC and entering it here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-uk
At best it will be a Core 2 Duo E8400; https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core2+Duo+E8400+@+3.00GHz
You could bring that up to speed for general browsing by installing a solid state drive...if it's the E8400.

Bonhomie

You can find this kind of thing all day, if you have an idea of what for to look: https://www.pcbitz.com/products/211-refurbished-desktops/hp-290-g1-sff-business-pc-i5-8500300ghz-4gb-ddr4-480gb-25ssd-windows10-46962/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134574369005
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314591947435
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185901600159 By far the cheapest.

I have no idea about the reliability of the aforementioned. Going on within budget and future ease of use.