aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
So I’m building on a budget and have seen some second hand parts going, what parts are okay to buy second hand and what should I advoid and buy new?
Thansk in advance.
 
Solution
Avoid:
Storage devices. SSD or HDD
GPU is suspect, due to the recent glut of ex-mining devices.

However...ALL used parts are a gamble. There are many, many scammers out there, just waiting to take advantage of the unsuspecting.
How will you test these used parts?

So I’m building on a budget and ...
What is your actual budget and use? "used parts" is not always the answer.

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Avoid:
Storage devices. SSD or HDD
GPU is suspect, due to the recent glut of ex-mining devices.

However...ALL used parts are a gamble. There are many, many scammers out there, just waiting to take advantage of the unsuspecting.
How will you test these used parts?

So I’m building on a budget and ...
What is your actual budget and use? "used parts" is not always the answer.
 
Solution

aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
Avoid:
Storage devices. SSD or HDD
GPU is suspect, due to the recent glut of ex-mining devices.

However...ALL used parts are a gamble. There are many, many scammers out there, just waiting to take advantage of the unsuspecting.
How will you test these used parts?


What is your actual budget and use? "used parts" is not always the answer.

I’ve already sorted my SSD and HDD ( I wouldn’t want a second hand one ) and GPU was going to be the main thing I buy second hand.
Atm I have a spare PC that is virtually identical to the one I’m using that I’m using to test some parts I got.
I need to get a new PSU, GPU and eventually a new motherboard - I don’t have a static budget however I don’t want to spend more that £200 in an ideal world which I know is a push but if I need to spend more I will.
 

aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
Why the motherboard?
Generally, that imparts no performance increase.

I’m fairly new to PC building so in my naivety I thought it did.

I currently have a dell e93839 ka0121, so I thought getting a newer one would be better however it has the right socket and enough ram slots so I guess I don’t need to worry about that.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I’m fairly new to PC building so in my naivety I thought it did.

I currently have a dell e93839 ka0121, so I thought getting a newer one would be better however it has the right socket and enough ram slots so I guess I don’t need to worry about that.
And that brings another potential level of complexity - Proprietary Dell Optiplex.
A standard ATX motherboard might not work with the Dell case. So add that. And of course a new PSU.

Rather than asking about new or used....lets back up a few steps.

What parts do you have? Specific make/model, please.
How is it lacking in performance?
What parts are you hoping to keep?
What is the overall budget? £200
What do you use this for?
 

aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
And that brings another potential level of complexity - Proprietary Dell Optiplex.
A standard ATX motherboard might not work with the Dell case. So add that. And of course a new PSU.

Rather than asking about new or used....lets back up a few steps.

What parts do you have? Specific make/model, please.
How is it lacking in performance?
What parts are you hoping to keep?
What is the overall budget? £200
What do you use this for?

I have:
CPU: i7-2600 (soon to be i7-3770)
Motherboard: Dell e93839 ka0121
Ram: 2x 4GB 2x 2GB DDR3
SSD/HDD: 2x 500GB HDD
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6350 (I think)
PSU: 265W
Chassis: Dell OptiPlex 790
OS: Windows 10

It’s not running games like CSGO with an acceptable FPS. (Bottle necked by GPU I believe)

Hoping to keep as much as possible (I that doesn’t help much sorry)

And I’d like to spend around that but if I need to I can go higher.

Currently I use it for gaming and general use.

Thanks for your help so far!
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
In order of change:

  1. SSD for the OS and applications and maybe a game or two.
  2. GPU. This, however, probably requires a new PSU. Which may dictate a new motherboard. Which may dictate a new case.

Your main issue is your current config...the proprietary Dell. Changing anything except the HDD for an SSD leads to changing just about everything. Which would be outside your budget...:(
 

aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
I have an SSD arriving soon to put my os on

And that’s annoying - how do I check if 1) my case is awkward and doesn’t support normal ATX motherboards 2) if a new PSU is compatible with my current motherboard ?

So worse case scenario is I have to get a new case, motherboard, gpu and PSU?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I have an SSD arriving soon to put my os on

And that’s annoying - how do I check if 1) my case is awkward and doesn’t support normal ATX motherboards 2) if a new PSU is compatible with my current motherboard ?

So worse case scenario is I have to get a new case, motherboard, gpu and PSU?
At this point, you really want to look into a whole new system.

Changing ALL those parts only really gets you a better GPU.
 

aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
In order of change:

  1. SSD for the OS and applications and maybe a game or two.
  2. GPU. This, however, probably requires a new PSU. Which may dictate a new motherboard. Which may dictate a new case.
Your main issue is your current config...the proprietary Dell. Changing anything except the HDD for an SSD leads to changing just about everything. Which would be outside your budget...:(
I’ve just done a bit of research and I think that the PSU I have is a normal one - am I right I’m thinking that this means I should be able to change the GPU and PSU with no problem?
 

maziech

Respectable
Feb 18, 2019
364
45
1,840
My opinion:

If You don't wan't to change PSU, just buy GTX 1050 ti , and You should be fine. 1050ti doesn't draw much power.
This is the only upgrade You need if it comes to gaming and this is as far as it goes with Your current PSU. You can buy used 1050ti for about 50-70 pounds.

The other suggested upgrade is SSD for system drive ofc.
 

aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
My opinion:

If You don't wan't to change PSU, just buy GTX 1050 ti , and You should be fine. 1050ti doesn't draw much power.
This is the only upgrade You need if it comes to gaming and this is as far as it goes with Your current PSU. You can buy used 1050ti for about 50 pounds.

The other suggested upgrade is SSD for system drive ofc.
Okay thank you !
I was planning on buying a 1050ti - where are you finding them for £50? Everywhere I’ve looked they’re around £100 even second hand.
And how can I work out how much power everything is using at the moment to make sure I have enough wattage?
 

maziech

Respectable
Feb 18, 2019
364
45
1,840
I was planning on buying a 1050ti - where are you finding them for £50? Everywhere I’ve looked they’re around £100 even second hand.
Well, yep, sorry for that, i'm located in Poland, so maybe the prices are different here. If the prices "2nd hand vs new" are similar, then go for new card.

If second hand is 40-60% cheaper than new, then go for 2nd hand. What's important here is valid warranty. Make sure the card has it.

As for SSD system drives, my suggestion is: Crucial MX500 250GB
 

aeromaster03

Prominent
Mar 3, 2019
27
1
535
Well, yep, sorry for that, i'm located in Poland, so maybe the prices are different here. If the prices "2nd hand vs new" are similar, then go for new card.

If second hand is 40-60% cheaper than new, then go for 2nd hand. What's important here is valid warranty. Make sure the card has it.

As for SSD system drives, my suggestion is: Crucial MX500 250GB

Ah okay fair enough, I’ve just found some for £50 but they’re single fan ones (I’m being a bit of an idiot here but what’s the actual difference between the different 1050ti’s?)

As for the SSD, does it need to be that big of it’s just for the OS?

And we do have a local sale thing, I’ve been keeping an eye on it but not much has come up so far.
 

maziech

Respectable
Feb 18, 2019
364
45
1,840
SSD 120 gb is enough, but i'd recommend 240 at the budget and 500GB as a standard. There's not much price difference between 120 and 240 and You can always use the extra space. Then, You can put most used programs/games on Your ssd (much faster loading times)
Besides, You don't have to buy SSD at all, if You don't want to.

Single fan card might be a bit louder, cuz it's a single fan ;-)

Before You buy the card, check, if Your PSU has free 6-pin cable to supply the GPU. Some of GTX 1050 ti may have 6-pin connectors for additional power supply (i'm really not sure about that, so just check the card before You buy).
Mini versions of GTX 1050ti usually don't have additional 6-pin connectors, so they draw power only from PCI-e slot.