Lifespan of pre-built PCs?
- Thread starter marat85
- Start date
It is ok to buy a refurbished system.
You should allow a 3 -5 year life for any HDD, so I would consider replacing the HDD as data can be more valuable than any machine.
Fans can also fail as they have moving parts.
Provided that the system temps don't get too high, your system can last many years. You will probably find that you retire it because it is under powered, rather than because it fails.
You should allow a 3 -5 year life for any HDD, so I would consider replacing the HDD as data can be more valuable than any machine.
Fans can also fail as they have moving parts.
Provided that the system temps don't get too high, your system can last many years. You will probably find that you retire it because it is under powered, rather than because it fails.
erik62905
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- Jan 17, 2018
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They last pretty long. My dad has a 9 year old Dell Inspiron 660s from 2009 and it doesn't have any problems. You can buy pre-owned PCs if the price is sensible and all of the parts work. Make sure anything you buy suits your needs. 
They are quite fine. Anything is made to last at least few years.
just be aware that you will need to insert new SSD, things like that will soon die. And second thing check out thermals on cpu, its not uncommon to fail apply paste, I know from experience that they don't care if paste covers just 1/4 of the die.
if you want something that will do netflix and web, there is no better PC.
just be aware that you will need to insert new SSD, things like that will soon die. And second thing check out thermals on cpu, its not uncommon to fail apply paste, I know from experience that they don't care if paste covers just 1/4 of the die.
if you want something that will do netflix and web, there is no better PC.
Prebuilt system normally have a longer shelf life than a homebuilt system , why ? because the specs are solid and do not permit to overclock it, unlike 80% of the users that overclock their system, which see their cpus wear out, a stock mid rang cpu can run for ages, I have a Q9400 Asus board that is 8 years old, runs like a champ and will probably continue for a few more years. My father's Dell Optiplex 750, was used in own lawyer office from the day he told it out of the box until Last year, and only because he passed away.
most homebuilt system that are overclock , depending on the OC imposed on them last about 4 years. my very own 4790K OC's at 4.7 lasted 5 years.
most homebuilt system that are overclock , depending on the OC imposed on them last about 4 years. my very own 4790K OC's at 4.7 lasted 5 years.
Dell and HP sell tens of thousands of these to large corporations. They're under warranty and service contracts. They also weed out any problem parts early on. The X58 chipset LGA1366 systems like the Dell T3500, and HP Z400 can still perform well in their faster 6 core versions. With Z400 be sure and get v.2 motherboard with 6 RAM slots. They're tough as hell and very versatile also. I wouldn't bother with any LGA775,or LGA771 systems. Of course there's newer stuff available for more money.
- Apr 3, 2018
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I think it has a LOT to do with what tier/price level you select. I have had Dell OptiPlex on all original equipment work until they were simply too obsolete. I had a Vostro that didn't last a couple of years before replacing things. I have had some really good luck with some HP, and bad with others, and feel the same about Toshiba (although I think they are going away?)
I think one of the important factors to consider before buying a prebuilt is to make sure they are using "standard" parts and that they are not (for instance) BIOS locked to specific equipment. I purchased a Dell XPS, really nice box with an i7 2700 (iirc) and it was locked to (3) really underperforming video cards, even for the time.
I think one of the important factors to consider before buying a prebuilt is to make sure they are using "standard" parts and that they are not (for instance) BIOS locked to specific equipment. I purchased a Dell XPS, really nice box with an i7 2700 (iirc) and it was locked to (3) really underperforming video cards, even for the time.
Thanks a lot guys for your answers
The Paladin I am sorry to hear about your father's passing.. its been over 3 years since i lost my dad and it really hurts..
I am just a math guy but not a computer geek at all, so building a custom system from the scratch just seems bit scary for me, and quite expensive too if you go with the latest new parts you know, especially when you're on a strict budget, so I'm on the market for a budget friendly therefore pre-owned PC for my college projects, yes some serious calculations in Mathlab, Excel, statistical packages, number-crunching, really impossible tasks for my laptop as it thermal throttles almost immediately when you load it with something heavy. I narrowed down my search to the following shortlist but it's not easy to make a choice
DELL
OptiPlex 7010 SFF with i7-3770 (77W)
Precision T1650 MT with i7-3770 (77W)
HP
Z220 SFF with i7-3770 (77W)
Z220 MT with i7-3770 (77W)
Z420 MT with E5-1620v2 or E5-1660v2 (130W) (must be just too hot thought)
Lenovo
ThinkStation E31 SFF with i7-3770 (77W)
ThinkStation E31 MT with i7-3770 (77W)
but all these workstations released 6 years ago, that's why was the question about lifespan...
While SFFs look fancy, space saving and most affordable options featuring the same CPU, I've never owned one and have no idea how they handle heavier tasks, how good they perform on load, thermals, oveheating...
I indicated 3770 processor here but consider all other 3rd gen or 2nd gen as they go hand to hand in performance scores and TDP wattage anyway, so there's still a ton of pre-owned options out there...
The Paladin I am sorry to hear about your father's passing.. its been over 3 years since i lost my dad and it really hurts..
I am just a math guy but not a computer geek at all, so building a custom system from the scratch just seems bit scary for me, and quite expensive too if you go with the latest new parts you know, especially when you're on a strict budget, so I'm on the market for a budget friendly therefore pre-owned PC for my college projects, yes some serious calculations in Mathlab, Excel, statistical packages, number-crunching, really impossible tasks for my laptop as it thermal throttles almost immediately when you load it with something heavy. I narrowed down my search to the following shortlist but it's not easy to make a choice
DELL
OptiPlex 7010 SFF with i7-3770 (77W)
Precision T1650 MT with i7-3770 (77W)
HP
Z220 SFF with i7-3770 (77W)
Z220 MT with i7-3770 (77W)
Z420 MT with E5-1620v2 or E5-1660v2 (130W) (must be just too hot thought)
Lenovo
ThinkStation E31 SFF with i7-3770 (77W)
ThinkStation E31 MT with i7-3770 (77W)
but all these workstations released 6 years ago, that's why was the question about lifespan...
While SFFs look fancy, space saving and most affordable options featuring the same CPU, I've never owned one and have no idea how they handle heavier tasks, how good they perform on load, thermals, oveheating...
I indicated 3770 processor here but consider all other 3rd gen or 2nd gen as they go hand to hand in performance scores and TDP wattage anyway, so there's still a ton of pre-owned options out there...
I would always go with an MT over an SFF. Normal ATX parts are more likely to fit if needed. Some workstations convert to desktop orientation also. More room for coolers and air flow.
As far as prebuilt lifespan goes I just retired my 2005 Dell Dimension E520 a few months ago. It was overclocked and is still on the chart at CPUZ in 6th place for QX6800 (Dell WG864). It was in 2nd for a long time. The link is in my sig,
As far as prebuilt lifespan goes I just retired my 2005 Dell Dimension E520 a few months ago. It was overclocked and is still on the chart at CPUZ in 6th place for QX6800 (Dell WG864). It was in 2nd for a long time. The link is in my sig,
marat85: thanks and sorry to hear about your father.
I will strongly agree with William p on this, if your to get a prebuilt get a MT case, many reason, one, you can get better heatsink, power supply. especially important if your going to be using Mathlab as they do like bitcoins industry can utilize the video card as a additional calculation processor.
and by the sound of your previous comments about your needs, it does indeed sound like you will need a good strong video card to help your calculations. (any is better than main board video card for that purpose) again another vote for MT case.
so let peeks at your choices;
Dell T1650, single I7-3770, likely this workstation (cannot find any relevant literature on it answering the question) comes with no additional video card to utilise the cuda's from and likely a 240w power supply, meaning more money for PSu and video card.
HP, Z460 should come with an additional Video card normally, a Quadro 200 or K400 likely. do you know which ? would make this a better choice.
what country are you in, and what is your budget. ?
I will strongly agree with William p on this, if your to get a prebuilt get a MT case, many reason, one, you can get better heatsink, power supply. especially important if your going to be using Mathlab as they do like bitcoins industry can utilize the video card as a additional calculation processor.
and by the sound of your previous comments about your needs, it does indeed sound like you will need a good strong video card to help your calculations. (any is better than main board video card for that purpose) again another vote for MT case.
so let peeks at your choices;
Dell T1650, single I7-3770, likely this workstation (cannot find any relevant literature on it answering the question) comes with no additional video card to utilise the cuda's from and likely a 240w power supply, meaning more money for PSu and video card.
HP, Z460 should come with an additional Video card normally, a Quadro 200 or K400 likely. do you know which ? would make this a better choice.
what country are you in, and what is your budget. ?
If you get one of the Mid Tower workstations with 2x PCIe x16 slots then something like this becomes possible.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-TESLA-C1060-PCI-E-x16-Graphics-Processor-4GB-512-bit-GDDR3-Y155M-/173375836641?hash=item285e0151e1
I know the Dell T3500/5500 can be configured as a desktop if saving space is an issue. The T5500 is the same size and can be upgraded or sourced with up to 2x 6 core HT CPUs. The T5500 has 4x full length PCIe slots (2-x16, and 2-x8) which means RAID and SAS controllers become possible also.
There are an awful lot of possibilities for expansion with the mid tower size workstations that don't exist in the smaller ones. The dual CPU versions can use server RDIMM RAM which can be very inexpensive.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-TESLA-C1060-PCI-E-x16-Graphics-Processor-4GB-512-bit-GDDR3-Y155M-/173375836641?hash=item285e0151e1
I know the Dell T3500/5500 can be configured as a desktop if saving space is an issue. The T5500 is the same size and can be upgraded or sourced with up to 2x 6 core HT CPUs. The T5500 has 4x full length PCIe slots (2-x16, and 2-x8) which means RAID and SAS controllers become possible also.
There are an awful lot of possibilities for expansion with the mid tower size workstations that don't exist in the smaller ones. The dual CPU versions can use server RDIMM RAM which can be very inexpensive.
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