Help buying my used PC

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Ilyafordictator

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Jun 17, 2009
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I'm buying a used computer.
This guy posted it on craigslist, so I'm going to buy it from him.
I think I've found a really good deal here, but I wanted to get some thoughts from everyone here

Specs:

DVD RW Drive + Lightscribe

4 gig ram OC

160gig Hard drive

4000+ 64x cpu AMD 3ghz

8600GTS 512 OC PCI x16 Video Card

I asked him what the motherboard and PSU are, but he doesn't know.

and the price: 150$!

I think it's a helluva find, as nothing is wrong with it except that it needs an OS.

But I was thinking of buying a processor (Probably Phenom II) to upgrade it, but do you think the motherboard is likely to limit it. I know I need to check if the motherboard will support it, but if the motherboard supports AM2+, then will run for sure, right?

I also plan on putting in an additional 80 gig hard drive, maybe even a third HD if possible, is it likely all these upgrades will push power use above the PSU?


Any help is much appreciated. Just remember I'm on a real budget here, being in high school, about 350$.
 
If you're going to buy a new CPU, whats the point?

You're paying 150$ for a used 20$ optical drive, 4 gigs of generic ram, an old HDD and a video card thats 50$ new and outdated?

You'll probably have to replace the PSU, you'll have to replace the mobo...sounds like a ripoff to me.
 
How difficult is it to open the case and see what motherboard and PSU are in there and he said that he doesn't know? I know what motherboard was in each of my last 5 systems, obviously he has no idea what he's doing.

I would offer him $50, it sounds like he garbage picked it.
 
I'm surprised at the responses.
I thought the video card was pretty decent, for running most games, maybe some lower settings for some new games.

The reason he doesn't know much about it is because he payed someone to custom build it for him. I can say he really has no idea what he is talking about, after talking to him.

It's an am2 processor, i just wasn't sure if mose am2 boards support am2+

The video card is 89$ alone on newegg.
ram I figure is about 50$ for 4 gb
The processor is like 30, I think
The motherboard and case and psu must be a bunch more on top of that.

I already have a spare OS, so that it no matter to me.

 
The video card being $89 is just ridiculous. I had one of those cards a while back and it's not very good. You can get a 4850, which is about 6-7 times faster than the 8600, for $90. 4gigs of DDR2 you can find for $25-$30. I'm sure the hard drive is old, being 160gb, you can get a new 500gb for $50. Here's a 750gb drive for $58.58
 
I'm lost. No 4000+ AMD CPU was stock at 3Ghz. Is this computer overlcocked or are the specs bullshit? The Athlon64 4000+ was only like 2.4 or 2.6 Ghz and the Athlon X2 4000+ was like 2.11 or 2.2Ghz or something. Either way, i think it's a ripoff. I'd say stay clear of this...

EDIT: Sorry, I see you responded while I was writing this. If you upgrade that system with a Phenom II then the rest of your system will be holding your new CPU back. If you do get it, I'd leave it as is. Otherwise, you'll need to upgrade other parts as well.
 


The only 8600GTS on newegg is ... drumroll ... wait for it ....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130394

29.99$ /w MIR
 
Yeah, the RAM, processor, and video card are OC'ed

This is my first time getting a custom/gaming computer.

What would hold back the processor in the system? I don't really understand

I for some reason had it in my mind that the card was a 8800 gts, not 8600.

And the 8800 is the one that is 90, this 8600 is 50.
Anyways, thanks for the advice everyone.
 
Tell us what you're looking for and we can easily piece together a good system for $350. Or offer him $50 like I said and then I think you've gotten a good deal. It would also concern me that he's been running everything overclocked and has no idea what he's doing. Has he been good about cleaning the system out to keep the temps down, has he even monitored the temps to be sure nothing is overheating? Email him back with a link to this thread, I'm sure he'll come down off his $150.
 
Yeah, I guess you are all right.
I thought it was an 8800 gts 512, and that changes everything.

I guess I'll go back to hoping that my parents will help pay for my 600$ build on newegg.

I'll post a different thread for that some other time.

I appreciate the advice
 
All of a sudden your tone has gone from excited to depressed. Just be thankful you asked before paying him the money and being disappointed with your purchase. When you're ready to buy someone will be here to help you out. Good luck.
 
Lol yea, ausch30 is right, you seem like somebody just killed your dog. Post that $600 build and I'm sure somebody can here can make it better and cheaper at the same time.
 
For $150 it's not too bad to start off on. The fact that the CPU is AM2 makes it much better than if it was socket 939. If he managed to overclock it to 3GHz then he must have a pretty good cooler on it that you can use when you save money to build a computer. The 8600 is a little weak though of course, but at least since it's a GTS version it has higher clocks and isn't too bad 😀.

I say if you don't have anything to work on buy it. Research the motherboard to see what CPUs it supports and you should be able to drop in a cheap Athlon X2 for the meantime and overclock it. You also need to replace the video card if you expect to play some games. From there you can upgrade it as you get money.
 
I can agree, even if it were only socket 939, so what? If you get that high of an OC, you are still running faster than a stock say 5200+, and 4gb of ram. Ebay the 8600 and pick up a 4670 or better and you have a decent little gamer system for cheap.
 
If you don't have a PC already, and a very limited budget, I'd offer 75-100 dollars, but no more than that.

If you already have a PC, and/or have a bigger budget than $100, I would say save up a bit more and build your own system.
 
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