hardware illiterate, looking for gaming PC on Ebay?

[zmrosch]

Hello.

As I stated I am hardware illiterate and have no faith in myself to build a PC. The other day I got a promotion from Paypal that if I spent more than 600 bucks on Ebay I could do a 24 month payment with no APR. While am not going to pull the trigger just yet I figured I could look around.

I found these 2. however because I am hardware illiterate I wanted to get a second opinion before I go any further. I don't need a beast of a PC. just something that can work well at med to even low graphics for the next few years. considering my current PC is 7 years old I'm ok with any good upgrade.

Thanks for the help.

http://

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[ElectrO_90]

The AMD one is useless - stay away - if you don't get RYZEN then don't get AMD
Other one is OK - nothing special though... i wouldn't buy it personally.

 

[USAFRet]

"hardware illiterate" + ebay is one of the worst configurations possible.

Those 2 systems at $700 or $800 underlies that point.

 

[cryoburner]

Something funny I noticed...

Computer #1: They claim "Up to 42% Faster Than FX Series" and include an image showing the i5-3570 outperforming an FX-8300 by 42% (for lightly-threaded workloads) at UserBench.

Computer #2: They claim "THIS 8 CORE is Faster Than a 4 Core i5" but conveniently leave out an image this time showing how its FX-8300 compares to a Core i5. I guess technically it might be true given an 8-threaded workload against an older i5 though. : P

Really though, it seems a little shifty how they are selling these, and they are a bit vague on the specifications in some places. It's probably worth pointing out that both the FX-8300 and the i5-3570 first came out over five years old, so they aren't exactly the newest models. Of those two, the i5-3570 will hold up a lot better in current games though, so that build would be the better option (The first, "RGB Desktop Gaming PC Computer"). The i5-3570 would be just a little behind the current-generation i3 processors in terms of performance, and a GTX 1060 (probably 3GB) is currently a decent mid-range card. I imagine they probably cheaped out on some other components like the power supply though. You might look around to see if you can find anything better.

 

[k1114]

While the intel one is better, it's only worth about $400. A pc with those specs minus the gpu is ~150. With new parts you could get a 1060 and psu for 250, used would be less so actually get it for ~350. $700 gets a new system with a current gen cpu around those specs. I'd also stay away from 6 year old parts that they claim is new.

 

[4745454b]

Avoid the AMD one at all costs. Everything about that PC is ancient. Somehow it's running an Nvidia chipset. They haven't made chips in "forever". And they want nearly $800 for that? Nothing about that PC is worth it. The Intel one is nearly as bad. 3rd Gen i5 is ok, 3GB 1060 is ok, 400W PSU? 2TB spinning drive? There is a lot there that doesn't add up, and they still want too much for it.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-desktop-computers/inspiron-gaming-desktop/spd/inspiron-5680-gaming-desktop/ddcwblsk103h

I'm not saying buy the Dell, but here is a brand new PC built with current/modern tech, for ~$800. Same 1060 3GB, but modern i5 8400, etc. And I trust that Dell 460W way more than some "80+ 400W" PSU. Dell was simply the first person to come to mind, I'm sure if you shopped around a bit you could find something for a similar $750 price that was still newer/better.

 

[USAFRet]

In addition, the warranty fine print:

" The 1-Year parts and labor warranty covers any hardware failures that are not caused by the buyer within 1-Year of the sale date. If the buyer has a problem that qualifies for a warranty claim, the buyer can contact PCPatch and then ship the computer to PCPatch for repair. The buyer must pay for shipping to the location for repair, but will not be charged for any repairs, replacement parts, labor, or shipping the computer back to the buyer."

Most of those parts, new, would carry at least a 3 year warranty.
And not prepaid shipping on your part.

 

[zmrosch]

"hardware illiterate" + ebay is one of the worst configurations possible.

Those 2 systems at $700 or $800 underlies that point.

That's why i decided to ask. lol. Thanks for the comment!

 

[zmrosch]

ok. I had a suspicion as such. Glad I asked I will not get one. I guess the next question is does anyone have a good place to get decent pre-bult computers?

 

[4745454b]

I'm personally of the opinion that it really doesn't matter. Any of the prebuilt units should be more or less the same. It's a standard form factor using standard parts with similar configurations. Usually they are pretty much all the same. Sometimes you might pay for a name like Alienware or Falcon. But they will all be more or less the same. It's why building your own became all the rage for some people. Why pay extra/get ripped off?

 

[smorizio]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102384
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102069
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883221344R

 

[4745454b]

Not sure I like any of those. Only the last one has the 1060 like the other PCs he was looking at, and that one is in a non standard case. Personally, if given the choice between an 8100 and 1050 for $640, and an 8400 with 1060 for $800, I'd try to come up with the extra money. That's $160 well spent if you are getting a faster CPU and GPU.