Good second hand PC for upgrades

[djspan101]

Hey guys,

I need some advice from you all. I want to get an old second hand PC (when I say old I mean 3-4 years). I was thinking of somthing like the Dell Dimension?

I want to spend about £30 and then the rest on upgrades.

I am up for eBay, but I would prefer some stuff from Friday Ad Brighton.

What I want is to know what is an ideal PC for upgrading, i.e standard ATX mobos and PSU. Also 5.25' CD and 3.5' Floppy

Thanks in advance,

djspan101

 

[raybay]

Dell Dimension 2400, 3000, 5000, 4300, 4400, 4500,4600 or 4700, 8400 (avoid 2250, 2300, 4600c 8100, 8200, 8300, 8250, 4550)

Dimension E310, E510, E521, and L556

Optiplex wide bodies: GX150, GX270, GX755, GX520, GX280, GX270, GX745

AVOID Optiplex GX620 and GX260


Avoid any thin case Optiplex, or any Dimension or Optiplex which lies on its side or is less than 5 inches wide... Their cooling is poor, and they are limited on what can be installed.

Avoid any Dimension model that ends in C or S.

We really like the Dimension 4700 and 8400 as superior values in used Dimensions.

Dell Optiplex GX5, GX6, or GX7 series, in general, are pretty good, but some models have a motherboard defect that makes them fail permanently... the GX260 is one of those. On others, ask around.

Gateways are generally very good... 300S, 500S on up until you get to the models made in the past two years.

IBM & Lenovo machines are great, particularly the IBM Intellistations and related models, NetVista's, Lenovo M57, Think Centre, and most others.

This is NOT a comprehensive list, but rather ones with which we have considerable experience because of our client base. The good thing about Dell and Gateway is that they will sell you copies of the Windows restore disks at a reasonable price.

Avoid most Compaqs and HP's that are more than two or three years old... and HP will NOT sell you restore disks on older machines. Avoid Sony desktops.

We have also, mysteriously, had great luck with the SystemMax computers originally sold by TigerDirect.

On any you buy, plan on installing a new optical drive, and perhaps a hard drive... both are inexpensive nowadays.

 

[djspan101]

wow, thank you for all your advice. Looks like I've got some research to do!

 

[raybay]

Find out if there is a way we can contact you, so as to give advice Outside TechSpot for ones about which we have experience.