[SOLVED] Ideas for a budget prebuilt under $200ish

BlueAce

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Jul 14, 2022
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So i've been wanting to upgrade from my dell t3500 because of its very dated components(xeon x5687, 12gb ddr3) and I already have a 1TB HDD, 512GB SSD, GTX 1060 6GB. I'd like to know if any older dell or hp desktop/workstation could be a viable upgrade or not eg. dell precision 3620, 5810, etc.
 
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Unless you can find a 7700 for nearly nothing, it still won't be worthwhile to go that route over purchasing a modern platform. Even a 10th+ gen i3 is on par with those i7. A 10100 is faster than a 7700 AND cheaper, leaving you with upgrade path through 11th gen. It makes ZERO sense to chain yourself to a 6th gen Dell prebuilt.
So i've been wanting to upgrade from my dell t3500 because of its very dated components(xeon x5687, 12gb ddr3) and I already have a 1TB HDD, 512GB SSD, GTX 1060 6GB. I'd like to know if any older dell or hp desktop/workstation could be a viable upgrade or not eg. dell precision 3620, 5810, etc.
Not for $200. If you sold the base tower though you could maybe build something for $300-350, depends how much you could sell your current system for

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZtYZKp
 

Math Geek

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If you are in the USA and near a microcenter check there. I think they were running specials on ryzen 3600 cpus and a board for about 120. A deal like that is likely your best chance to get near the 200 dollar mark.

this would be good but keep in mind it also requires a ram upgrade as DDR3 is not gonne work with AM4. needs DDR4. add in another $40-50 for 16gb of DDR4 ram.

maybe something like this

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($116.93 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $251.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-27 10:45 EST-0500


should fit into your current case but you do need to check the psu closely. it may not be a standard psu that will work with off the shelf parts. often dell's have special made units that only work with the system it is sold with.
 

punkncat

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If you did some hard hunting you might be able to locate an Optiplex MT around that price. I would think for $200 you might could find 4th or 5th gen i5/7. Of course, the PSU inside it would be quite questionable for use even with the 1060. You would probably be considering the 70xx and 90xx models of Optiplex.

Even with 5th gen you have to start watching for DDR3-"L" models and IIRC 6th gen is when they fully swapped over to DDR4, which would leave another thing to have to deal with on the table.

Newegg has the i3 10105F $85.19 with free shipping. In a quick search it is the least expensive somewhat modern platform I can find there aside from 4xxx series R3 for a few dollars less. I am not sure you could build a complete system around that for the remaining cash.

Edit-

Here is a part list for you with no other concern than compatibility and lowest price from Newegg.

Gigabyte B460M DS3H (refurb) $60.99

Zalman GigaMax 500W 80+ Bronze ATX $39.99

i3 10105F LGA 1200 $85.19

Crucial 4GB DDR4 3200 $13.08

Total is $199.25 and all items are free shipping.

You would have to open build until you could pitch another $25-40 for a cheap case and re-use all your current storage options. This would be based on using W10 unregistered as well.
 
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COLGeek

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Moderator
So i've been wanting to upgrade from my dell t3500 because of its very dated components(xeon x5687, 12gb ddr3) and I already have a 1TB HDD, 512GB SSD, GTX 1060 6GB. I'd like to know if any older dell or hp desktop/workstation could be a viable upgrade or not eg. dell precision 3620, 5810, etc.
Have you looked at Craigslist for your area? Many areas will have a least one local "liquidator" who sells boatloads of used Dells/HPs/etc. You might find a much newer rig than what you are currently using near your price point.
 
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BlueAce

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You have a $200 budget. Forget about anything close to new. And you'll need a complete pc in working order because that's the only way you'll get anything back on the old pc to raise the current budget by that amount.
Fair point, probably better off selling my current tower for around $60-80 with a cpu and ram in it
 

BlueAce

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Jul 14, 2022
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Have you looked at Craigslist for your area? Many areas will have a least one local "liquidator" who sells boatloads of used Dells/HPs/etc. You might find a much newer rig than what you are currently using near your price point.
I checked craigslist with really no luck but I did end up finding a dell precision t3620 on ebay that comes complete with a i7 6700, 16gb ddr4 ram, 500gb hdd, and a lp quadro k620 for $175 sub total. Pretty solid as i already have the necessary components to upgrade and also still can upgrade to a 7700k in the future along with a better psu, better gpu, nvme, etc.

On the other hand I could wait to buy a budget lga1200/ am4 for 250-300ish that probably would be much better for future upgradeability. This is what i ended up with https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8HkLxs.
Its not a easy choice as the value you get out of a older workstation is amazing as 6th and 7th gen intel has years of life left in them. Also found listings on the dell t5810 and hp z440 for under $200 which are also options.
 
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Karadjgne

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The biggest issue with Dell and cpu upgrades is Dell's bios. It's not an aftermarket, standard bios but one written by Award or Phoenix specifically for Dell. There's very very few Dell pc's that come with a K squ cpu. The only guaranteed cpus that do swap are the ones in that particular model family on that motherboard. So chances are you could use anything from an i5-6400 to an i7-6700 or the i5-7400 to i7-7700.

Cpu sales for the most part are bottoming out. Many ppl went to teleworking at home or bribed their now homebound kids with a new pc during Covid, and the stimulus checks, but that period is over and ppl have decent pc's with little incentive to upgrade. Especially with today's absurd pricing.

So the used market is drying up to some extent and prices won't bottom out, demand replacing supply.
That means newish components that are aged will be rare and the old stuff more expensive than it should warrant.
 

BlueAce

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Jul 14, 2022
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The PSU is cheap junk and what kind of adapter are you looking for? There's no solid 8-pin connector in any of the standard PC connections; CPUs are usually 4+4 and PCIE 6+2.
I edited out the adapter as I realized the psu comes with a single PCI-E 6pin. I found the listed connectors for the psu on a site that sells OEM power supplies.

365w Power Supply For The Precision T3620

Connectors
(1) 8-Pin Connector
(1) 4-Pin 12V Connector
(1) 6-Pin PCI-E Connector
 
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BlueAce

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Jul 14, 2022
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The biggest issue with Dell and cpu upgrades is Dell's bios. It's not an aftermarket, standard bios but one written by Award or Phoenix specifically for Dell. There's very very few Dell pc's that come with a K squ cpu. The only guaranteed cpus that do swap are the ones in that particular model family on that motherboard. So chances are you could use anything from an i5-6400 to an i7-6700 or the i5-7400 to i7-7700.

Cpu sales for the most part are bottoming out. Many ppl went to teleworking at home or bribed their now homebound kids with a new pc during Covid, and the stimulus checks, but that period is over and ppl have decent pc's with little incentive to upgrade. Especially with today's absurd pricing.

So the used market is drying up to some extent and prices won't bottom out, demand replacing supply.
That means newish components that are aged will be rare and the old stuff more expensive than it should warrant.
That´s true
 

BlueAce

Prominent
Jul 14, 2022
9
0
510
The biggest issue with Dell and cpu upgrades is Dell's bios. It's not an aftermarket, standard bios but one written by Award or Phoenix specifically for Dell. There's very very few Dell pc's that come with a K squ cpu. The only guaranteed cpus that do swap are the ones in that particular model family on that motherboard. So chances are you could use anything from an i5-6400 to an i7-6700 or the i5-7400 to i7-7700.

Cpu sales for the most part are bottoming out. Many ppl went to teleworking at home or bribed their now homebound kids with a new pc during Covid, and the stimulus checks, but that period is over and ppl have decent pc's with little incentive to upgrade. Especially with today's absurd pricing.

So the used market is drying up to some extent and prices won't bottom out, demand replacing supply.
That means newish components that are aged will be rare and the old stuff more expensive than it should warrant.
I found out to upgrade from a 6700 to a 7700/7700k all thats required is a BIOS update
 

punkncat

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Unless you can find a 7700 for nearly nothing, it still won't be worthwhile to go that route over purchasing a modern platform. Even a 10th+ gen i3 is on par with those i7. A 10100 is faster than a 7700 AND cheaper, leaving you with upgrade path through 11th gen. It makes ZERO sense to chain yourself to a 6th gen Dell prebuilt.
 
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