Dell 7040 Tower i7-6700, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Win10 Pro, no GPU $339

[DAPUNISHER]

I'll take the bait. You are the same guy who's posting history will show you trying to pretend like Pentiums are gaming CPUs right? LOL. Your post history betrays you pal. This whole spiel about crappy old insecure Intel platforms is gaslighting 101. You may think you are winning this debate. But you actually spend money on this crap. Ain't nothing I can type that is a crueler fate than that.

 

[VirtualLarry]

You may think you are winning this debate. But you actually spend money on this crap. Ain't nothing I can type that is a crueler fate than that.

Point taken, LOL. But I would never buy this i7, price way too high for me. This one's for the "normies", that want to slap in an RX 6400 and "Bingo! Go-go Gaming PC!". (Yeah, grab "InSpectre" and learn how to use it.)

Besides, you and I both know that it would be against the rules to post the really good ebay deals on here anyways.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

This was fun. A spirited debate about the pros and cons. If shoppers can't determine what they want after all of that, they should just go to Best Buy and take whatever the salespeople are pushing that day. Or really goof and do the "Dude, you're getting a Dell!"

 

[VirtualLarry]

HP ProDesk 600 G3 MT i7-6700 3.40GHZ | 16GB | Wired Mouse and Keyboard | NO HD | NO OS | Grade C
Limited time offer, ends 02/05 By Sunset Micro

$176.69


Hmm, is this price a bit better? It's a 'Grade C'.

(Edit: Link in OP.)

 

[jiffer]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086PNTN3H/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A119SE0C9SQSZY&psc=1

For a few dollars more, you can get one in "excellent" condition with a 256GB SSD, Windows 10 installed, and a cheap USB wifi adapter. I think the next vendor up charges $195.

 

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086PNTN3H/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A119SE0C9SQSZY&psc=1
For a few dollars more, you can get one in "excellent" condition with a 256GB SSD, Windows 10 installed, and a cheap USB wifi adapter. I think the next vendor up charges $195.

That one is a gimped 6700 with ddr3.

 

[Jimminy]

When do you guys reckon refurbs with windows 11 will be available? I'm thinking ahead to 2025 when win 10 won't be supported anymore. A refurb will be the only thing I can afford with my income.

 

[jiffer]

I guess it depends on your budget, Jimminy. Refurbs which can support Windows 11 are already available (recent generations, mostly in the form of customer returns that are being resold). Older systems like the Dells we've been discussing cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 because they do not meet the requirements. Please refer to this guide:

Windows 11 Specs and System Requirements | Microsoft

Find an overview of Windows 11 specs and features from Microsoft. Learn about the device specifications, versions and languages available for Windows 11

www.microsoft.com

The requirements that stand out to me are 1) a graphics chips that supports DirectX 12 with a WDDM 2.0 driver (which rules out some Athlon APUs, for example); 2) Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2, which rules out many older systems with outdated motherboards; and 3) internet service and a Microsoft Account are required during initial setup. The latter implies separate expenses which must be taken into account.

If you're simply concerned about receiving security fixes, there might be some hope that Microsoft will actually continue to offer Extended Security Updates for an additional 10(?) years through their Software Assurance program, which means you might be able to find a way to keep your Windows 10 PC up to date. To the best of my knowledge, that is still up in the air.

Personally, I wouldn't lose sleep over it if you're happy with your current PC. See what happens in the next two or three years and go from there.

 

[balloonshark]

Watched this vid last night. 1440p gaming for around $500. I would go with a normal case though, b550 board for pcie4.0 and would consider non-matx parts depending on the cost. There is a used 5600 for $100 in for sale/trade as we speak. He lists the parts in the description if you don't want to watch the entire video.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Nerd on a Budget does one of these Dell Optiplex franken-gaming-PC.

He found an i7-6700 system with 8GB of DDR4 for $88.

 

[VirtualLarry]

This one too, but he uses a 4th-gen system.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Nerd on a Budget does one of these Dell Optiplex franken-gaming-PC.

He found an i7-6700 system with 8GB of DDR4 for $88.

LULZ Do you even watch these videos Larry? Your first contention was these would make a right proper Fortnite PC for little Jimmy. Turns out it was the only game that was unplayable.

He rightly points out these are on the wrong side of the bathtub curve/cradle to grave. He has had 2 Sandy/Ivy Optiplex boards die of late. The PSU is so underpowered that a 1650 Super is pushing it. That will lead to faster failure. Bad thermals; these things are the poster children for sunk cost fallacy.

Again, I think it's great keeping these out of the landfill as long as possible. And at what he paid, pulling the 1650 Super and tossing the rest when the day comes, is a good enough deal.

I'd still buy the SFF 2400G for $120, add a LP RX6400 or LP GTX 1650, and game on. It's a couple of years newer, and you can salvage the APU, ram, and GPU if the PSU or board dies. AM4 is now ubiquitous, hence you can transplant and keep using those parts for a tiny ASRock deskmini HTPC all the way up to a ultra budget esports box. At which point you can swap for a faster APU, CPU, and/or vid card down the road.

With the old i7 transplanting is mostly a waste of time. You are still stuck with an old i7.

 

[VirtualLarry]

LULZ Do you even watch these videos Larry? Your first contention was these would make a right proper Fortnite PC for little Jimmy. Turns out it was the only game that was unplayable.

Well, there are 100x more videos on YT, of a 6500, 6600, and 6700 playing Fortnite on ever lesser GPUs getting 60fps steady.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Well, there are 100x more videos on YT, of a 6500, 6600, and 6700 playing Fortnite on ever lesser GPUs getting 60fps steady.

Are any of those since the update to UE5 engine, and on an old Optiplex like this? It is important to make note of the fact that the average FPS was not an issue, it was the microstutter. Also, that the 1650 Super is highly unlikely to be the issue.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Are any of those since the update to UE5 engine, and on an old Optiplex like this? It is important to make note of the fact that the average FPS was not an issue, it was the microstutter. Also, that the 1650 Super is highly unlikely to be the issue.

Interesting point. Is there a way to configure FN to use the old engine. I had actually forgotten that they changed engines. I guess this needs to be investigated, as that means that all of the FN vids on YT are invalidated by the engine code changes.

According to the Toasty Bros, Fortnite "will run on anything". The rig in question has a Pentium Gold 5420, and a Zotac 1050.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Let's have a look at douchey bros, shall we?

They sell every PC they test in their vids through their own PC building biz when they are finished with them. This 100% sets up a conflict of interest. They are the PC equivalent of slimy used car salespeople.

Now watch their Fortnite testing in that vid. See how there is major stutters during the few seconds of footage from the lobby? Notice how they don't provide the 1% .1% or a frametime graph? How about the way the video is edited so that you never get more than a few seconds before a cut?

IMO, they are not a reputable source, and that vid was super sus.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Here's a good YT vid on how to build a cheap gaming PC out of raw used Dell parts.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Austin Evans, doing a video on "old" Sandy used gaming PCs, versus building a modern Ryzen rig.

@DAPUNISHER check this out.

 

[Macgyversite]

Watched them all. The thing is, it's not just the PC. You need a good chair, desk, keyboard, monitor, mouse, operating system, and speakers to go along with the built PC. Obviously you can save on that stuff by buying used too.

PC gaming isnt cheap when you look a the whole thing. You dont want your gaming experience ruined so much because of what you bought on the cheap.