I think I did something that wasn't so smart...:confused::confused::confused:

I bought a used (formerly leased) tower. Dell 3.0Ghz GX computer. They have put in a 1TB hard drive, 4GB RAM, DVD Burner (DVD-RW) and Windows 7 Home Premium. I paid $389...

The problem is that I didn't realize the processor was so old (Intel Pentium 4)...website didn't say and I was stupid and didn't ask.

Can I get some IT savvy people (since I obviously am not) to tell me if they think this machine will last another 3+ years or should I upgrade something or sell it!

Thanks for your help!!!

woah o.O.. Pentium 4.. I say bad deal?

Where did the Windows 7 Home Premium come from? Is it OEM? Retail?

1TB Hard Drive = $60, 4GB RAM = $80, DVD Burner = $20, Windows 7 = $150-$200?

But then.. this should last you a while depending on what you're using it for.

I would just sell it, buy a new one, or use the current parts to build your own.. but most likely you can only use the Hard Drive and DVD Burner... and the key if it's retail.

if youre just using it for web surfing and basic productivity, it should last you another 3 years. heck it may last longer. with so many devices like netbooks and iphones/ipads, there really isn't any real need for power for basic tasks.

but.. you got a pretty bad deal imo. while the components will last you probably those 3 years and probably beyond, buying used computers just isn't a good idea. especially dell computers which probably don't use the best parts. i could probably build a better computer at that price.

It would be great if I knew how to build my own but I don't even know how to upgrade RAM....:rolleyes: I'm not Tech Savvy, at all.....! Which is why I purchased this computer in the first place.

The Windows 7 is retail box. I upgraded from the XP Professional that was in it. Heck...maybe it's not an upgrade...I have no clue!

I really only use the computer to surf the web, store lots and lots of photos, videos, and movies. I don't play games (ever). I have an ebook and ipod touch that I'm always loading new stuff on and I do some work at home so I have the MS Office 2007 Ultimate edition on it and tons of stuff in "My Documents"...

Not really anything that will need lots of speed or the latest/greatest hardware.

Thanks for everyone's views.

It can easily last 5 years or it can die next day.
Since this is P4 mobo you may need to replace caps;
Used to be a really big issue with P4 / AMD boards.

For that price and with that hardware I would have a hard time believing that its got a legit copy of windows on it. Did you buy this from a friend of a stranger?

It would be great if I knew how to build my own but I don't even know how to upgrade RAM....:rolleyes: I'm not Tech Savvy, at all.....! Which is why I purchased this computer in the first place.

The Windows 7 is retail box. I upgraded from the XP Professional that was in it. Heck...maybe it's not an upgrade...I have no clue!

I really only use the computer to surf the web, store lots and lots of photos, videos, and movies. I don't play games (ever). I have an ebook and ipod touch that I'm always loading new stuff on and I do some work at home so I have the MS Office 2007 Ultimate edition on it and tons of stuff in "My Documents"...

Not really anything that will need lots of speed or the latest/greatest hardware.

Thanks for everyone's views.

Sell it now, buy a desktop somewhere else that is either "new" or "refurbished", such as Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc.

I don't know how will video work now on youtube since I suppose it might be based on a Graphic Card (GPU), instead of the Processor (CPU). So it might or might not struggle on high definition video if you're planning to watch some using that computer.

It'll be fine, barring a hardware failure. Depending on what kind of MB is in there, you can pop in at least a 3.4Ghz P4, maybe even a faster one if you ever wanted to give it a boost.

But for what you describe, you will easily last several years on that machine.

That thing is going to cost a lot for electricity xD P4's are electricity black holes compared to today's processors, from my understanding

The good thing is my electricity is free! LOL

It'll be fine, barring a hardware failure. Depending on what kind of MB is in there, you can pop in at least a 3.4Ghz P4, maybe even a faster one if you ever wanted to give it a boost.

But for what you describe, you will easily last several years on that machine.

I'm really not looking for anything faster. I am fine with speed. It's a 3.0Ghz and I've had much slower. My current computer is 4 years old and is only 2.4Ghz..., 160Gb hard drive, 2 RAM....so I'm hoping this is an upgrade to that but I was good with the old one. I just got a virus and filled up the hard drive so I decided to give it to the kids after I fix the viruses, which I did.

Thanks!!!!!!

P.S. I bought the computer from someone on Amazon.

you can;t compare current / new 2.4 Ghz with old P4 3 Ghz ... too many different factors.
you can use this website to compare cpu http://www.cpubenchmark.net/index.php


example my current system vs P4
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ 1263
Intel Pentium 4 3.00GHz 491

I'm really not looking for anything faster. I am fine with speed. It's a 3.0Ghz and I've had much slower. My current computer is 4 years old and is only 2.4Ghz..., 160Gb hard drive, 2 RAM....so I'm hoping this is an upgrade to that but I was good with the old one. I just got a virus and filled up the hard drive so I decided to give it to the kids after I fix the viruses, which I did.

Thanks!!!!!!

P.S. I bought the computer from someone on Amazon.

You cannot return it ? Pay return freight is better than get stuck...

seems a bit expensive for an used unit.

SD has some fairly nice deals for that price range from time to time.

Lousy deal, should have jumped on the Staples HP deal instead of ordering this, but I guess the damage is done. :(

The OP is not alone and the general public that arent tech savvy don't know much about computers. They look at the outside and see a pretty computer so they buy it. similar to buying cars.

The OP is not alone and the general public that arent tech savvy don't know much about computers. They look at the outside and see a pretty computer so they buy it. similar to buying cars.

How true - I was in Best Buy the other day, there was a husband/wife that was looking for laptops. The sales rep pointed them at one that was on sale, it wasn't too expensive or what not, but the wife asked if it had Bluetooth. The sales rep just said most computers this days come with Bluetooth, they bought 2 of the laptops, but I'm CERTAIN it has no Bluetooth.

Then again, I have no idea if they will ever use Bluetooth on the laptop or know any better.

Wondering the model of the computer the OP bought? GX 270, 280, 620? Optiplex?

I haven't received it yet, so I'm not sure which GX it is. I'll get back to you Monday or Tuesday. That is when it's supposed to come in...

The OP is not alone and the general public that arent tech savvy don't know much about computers. They look at the outside and see a pretty computer so they buy it. similar to buying cars.

LOL...what is soooo funny is that I've literally purchased hundreds of cars over my 20 year career as a Purchasing Manager but I try not to make decisions on computers (hate keeping up with the latest trends). I let IT Dept. tell me what exactly to buy then I just make sure I can't negotiate the cost a little more. :shake:

Sell it now, buy a desktop somewhere else that is either "new" or "refurbished", such as Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc.

I don't know how will video work now on youtube since I suppose it might be based on a Graphic Card (GPU), instead of the Processor (CPU). So it might or might not struggle on high definition video if you're planning to watch some using that computer.

I don't think youtube videos will load well on the PC mentioned in the OP, although this one has much more ram than my old one did at 1GB so the OP may be OK (it needs to be tested to find out). However viewing the HD videos may be something the OP doesn't even need to do (there shouldn't be a problem with regular youtube videos). I was really struggling with online videos and some instant win games just wouldn't load. I attributed it to changes in youtube, however it may have just been the machine dying slowly.

Youtube HD doesn't need anything more exotic than a high speed broadband connection. They'll play fine on this, or just about any other machine that was manufactured in the last 5 years.

LOL...what is soooo funny is that I've literally purchased hundreds of cars over my 20 year career as a Purchasing Manager but I try not to make decisions on computers (hate keeping up with the latest trends). I let IT Dept. tell me what exactly to buy then I just make sure I can't negotiate the cost a little more. :shake:

Never let anyone else do your job for you. Recommendations are ok, but you need to understand what it is you are doing at all times. If IT screws up and your boss comes back and says why did you approve these systems, he might not be very sympathetic when you say, "I don't know." It's what I call the Enron not my job excuse.

As for the desktop, I say NEVER buy used for a personal full time use system. And if you don't know about these things either learn quickly or ask before you leap. You could have at least looked at some SlickDeals for a comparison.

Never let anyone else do your job for you. Recommendations are ok, but you need to understand what it is you are doing at all times. If IT screws up and your boss comes back and says why did you approve these systems, he might not be very sympathetic when you say, "I don't know." It's what I call the Enron not my job excuse.

As for the desktop, I say NEVER buy used for a personal full time use system. And if you don't know about these things either learn quickly or ask before you leap. You could have at least looked at some SlickDeals for a comparison.

LOL....what I failed to mention is that we have 55,000 employees world-wide and our IT Dept is in Paris, France. They just tell me what our other locations are buying (everything is networked) so if I say that I got the specs straight from France....we actually feel better about that one. I specialize in cars and heavy equipment.

I did look for any towers on SD's but I didn't see anything that had enough RAM or HD Space...but I do understand that RAM AND HD isn't the end all and be all in deciding which computer to buy. So, I am taking something good with me out of this mess.

Thanks for all the comments. Even the ones saying I'm an idiot help! :)

Thanks for all the comments. Even the ones saying I'm an idiot help! :)

You're not an idiot, only less informed. Just don't be afraid to ask next time. My biggest pet peeve and the biggest epidemic in this country is an inability to say, "I don't know."

It just came in and my friend said it's a Optiplex GX280 model DHS manufactured in late (October) 2005 or 2006 [we can't make out the last number]....

I don't know if that makes the deal worse or better.....

Thanks!

Chances are that P4 Processor is a Prescott in which case it would have HT and HT ( hyper threading) is not bad running at 3.0 ghz. My first desktop was like this when those were hot sh*t and it was a damn good gamer box when I put the right card and memory in.

For the price you could have easily done better but that does not mean it's a bad box. Being a business machine it possibly contains better hardware and usually the machine usage is light or taken care of pretty well.

Live and learn and enjoy the new machine.

If you get the box and download CPU-z online you can run that program which will tell you the exact Motherboard, Memory, and CPU model. With this information we can tell you just how far this could go or if it's already maxed.

what a rip-off! :D

You should of just went to bestbuy and spent the money there. Would of got a way better deal. If you can get a refund, I would get it right away. The computer is worth $100 bucks at most.

Live and learn and enjoy the new machine.


:iagree:

You didnt get a good deal, but you learned a lesson. You are on SD, you wont make the mistake again (I hope?)

It just came in and my friend said it's a Optiplex GX280 model DHS manufactured in late (October) 2005 or 2006 [we can't make out the last number]....

I don't know if that makes the deal worse or better.....

Thanks!

Worse. We have a bunch of those, and a lot of them are dying from capacitor plague.

Worse. We have a bunch of those, and a lot of them are dying from capacitor plague.

Leave it to Dell to cheap out on a capacitor that would have cost them 10 cents more.

Leave it to Dell to cheap out on a capacitor that would have cost them 10 cents more.

That's not exactly how it played out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

That's not exactly how it played out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

While technically it was traced to a faulty electrolyte formula from Nichicon, Dell's price constraints on suppliers surely played a role.