Good deal or no?

[SleepyGamer]

Hello all. Just found this sight and came here to ask a question about a computer I'm considering buying. Please keep in mine I'm not the most tech savy person.

Here is the information on the computer they have posted:

Price: 250.00

Dell Optiplex 790s Tower Business class desktop
-i5-2500 Quad core (4 @ 3.3ghz plus turbo)
-8GB Ram
-500gb 7200 rpm HD
-(2) DVD/RW optical drives
-Windows 7 Pro w/ Key (Up-gradable to Win 10 Pro)
-Full copy of Microsoft Office 2013
-Radeon HD 5450 graphics card with dual display cable


I enjoy only 2 games on my current computer at the moment -Grand Fantasia and Blade and Soul. I'm mostly looking for a computer under 300.00ish that can run these two games comfortably without taking forever on loading screen. Poor graphics aren't a huge deal to me and If i can run blade and soul smoothly my other game will play fine.

Here is the Blade and Soul recommended requirements:
CPU: Intel Quad Core / AMD Phenom II X4
RAM: 4GB or above
Graphics Card: nVidia Geforce 8800GT / AMD Radeon HD4850
Hard Disk: 22GB or above
OS: Win7 (64bit)
DirectX: 9.0c


So with that information will I have good gameplay with this computer or is it a hunk of crap? Thank you for your time.

 

[jana519]

Radeon 5450 is a terrible card for gaming. Optiplexes are good sturdy computers, but they have a power supply that won't allow you to upgrade your graphics card. I would suggest holding out until you find a better deal. For under $300 you can pick up a custom PC with an i3, 500W PSU, and beefier GPU.

Where are you located?

 

[CuriousMike]

That i5 is a nice CPU, and better for gaming than i3's for most gaming.

I don't know about the power supply on that Dell, but I'm wondering if picking up a $80 GPU (graphics card) is in your budget - you can probably find a 7770 or 7750 that would be in that range and not use a lot of power.

 

[SleepyGamer]

I appreciate your honesty haha. I'm located in the thumb region of Michigan, United States.

 

[SleepyGamer]

The gentleman at the store told me it was a 255 watt power supply unit. Right away I probably couldn't buy a new graphics card but over the coarse of a few months I could most likely be able to upgrade it if the power supply will let me, or both if this is possible. I still need to buy monitor and keyboard.

 

[Denithor]

Two things to be aware of with these Dell cases. On many models there is a hard drive cage at the front that will completely block installation of a long video card. See if you can get a look inside to see before you buy. If this cage is in there, you will either have to remove it (using drill with long bit to drill out the rivets holding it in place) or you will be stuck using a video card that is not much longer than the motherboard.

http://www.mdmkomputery.pl/poleasin...31ghz-8gb-320gb-dvd-windows-7-home-premium-pl

On this page, look at the picture of the side view with the case side removed. The blue plastic slot on the motherboard is where the video card will go. Notice the big metal framework at the bottom toward the front of the case? That's the part I'm talking about, it effectively blocks a full length video card from being placed in there. Since Dell doesn't change layout on same model I can almost guarantee the one you're looking at will have that cage installed. So you will either have to live with a short (less powerful) video card or you will have to pull everything out of the case and drill out the rivets to remove the cage.

Secondly, power supply. The Dell PSU is not going to have the connections you'll need to power a video card, and none of the video cards that get their power exclusively from the motherboard are worth talking about for gaming. So you're going to have to replace the PSU. You can often get a Corsair 430W for like $30 after rebate which will be more than enough for any single video card.

 

[Denithor]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optipl...686429?hash=item2ca7ace31d:g:3UEAAOSwuYVWpj6j

This is a Dell OptiPlex 390 with i5-2400, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive and Windows 7 Pro installed. Asking price is about $200 shipped, but they have three available and Best Offer so you might be able to get cheaper (I'd offer like $160 which would put shipped price around $180). This model still has the hard drive cage to remove.

Then add the Corsair CX430M ($25 after $20MIR).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...049&cm_re=corsair_430w-_-17-139-049-_-Product

Then you just have to pick out a nice video card and away you go.

 

[jana519]

I like Denithor's suggestion. See, the problem is that you, like me, are located in a small town where Craigslist is s***. If you are computer savvy and can do online shopping, you can save a good amount of money. I buy a lot of parts off EBay and online classifieds. If you don't have a PayPal account but you like gaming, you may find it very much worth it to set one up.

Also if there are any big cities nearby that you can drive to, Craigslist is a good option.

 

[Martimus]

There is a Micro Center in Madison Heights. Only about an hour or so from where you live. Other than Newegg, that will be your best place to get individual components.

 

[SleepyGamer]

You guys sure know your stuff. Thank you so much for the options on where I can get a better deal and how. I had no idea about the casing on the dells let alone a workaround was even possible. I'll have to check out the store in Madison Heights as well. Thank you all for your time and input, I truly appreciate it.

 

[Denithor]

Always glad to help someone new into the wonderful world of computer building! I've been building these things for over 20 years, it's great to be able to share the experience with others. If you decide to proceed with this project, feel free to post back here, I'll guide you through any questions or problems you have.

As a note, I set up two systems very like what you're looking at for a buddy for his kids for Christmas last year. Drilled out the HDD cages, dropped in better PSU and equipped with nice video cards (7970 bought used from eBay for around $130). All told about $800 for two solid gaming machines (added SSD drive in each for faster load times). Played around with them before giving to him, this setup is crazy good for 1080p gaming.

 

[futurefields]

It's never been easier to build your own and you'll get much more for your money. There's a lot of value in knowing the specs of each and every component in your rig.

 

[SleepyGamer]

So many options haha. I'd love to build a unit myself and am beginning to heavily consider it. My husband and I decided to go ahead and change our budget to 500.00 which would need to include monitor and keyboard. He's fine with go buy it from a website or try building one together the first time. We'd probably be watching tons of video guides which isn't a big deal but it does look challenging. I seen this sight and thought it looked neat http://pcbuildsonabudget.com/best-gaming-pc-build-under-500-dollars-2016
Seems like there's so many other potential builds as well though after watching that newegg video. I got confused though once they started talking about making sure the chipsets, pci express, and motherboard ect matched up properly/was compatible. The storage drives part flew over my head. Maybe not the best idea for a newbie like me. Everywhere I read though suggests building yourself is really the way to go though.

 

[you2]

Make sure that power supply will fit. The optiplex I have at work either has a custom power supply formfactor and/or a form factor I do not recognize but either way a standard atx power supply will not fit. The case I have is one of the pizza cases (opti 7010). I do know that some of the older models use more standard atx form factor but not sure about the one linked below though I suppose from the picture it might take a standard atx.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optipl...686429?hash=item2ca7ace31d:g:3UEAAOSwuYVWpj6j

This is a Dell OptiPlex 390 with i5-2400, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive and Windows 7 Pro installed. Asking price is about $200 shipped, but they have three available and Best Offer so you might be able to get cheaper (I'd offer like $160 which would put shipped price around $180). This model still has the hard drive cage to remove.

Then add the Corsair CX430M ($25 after $20MIR).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...049&cm_re=corsair_430w-_-17-139-049-_-Product

Then you just have to pick out a nice video card and away you go.

 

[Denithor]

This case takes standard size ATX power supply no worries there.

But if you're thinking about a completely custom build from parts, I'd suggest you go post in the General Hardware subforum. There's a quick questionnaire to fill out including budget and other stuff. Lots of very helpful people there to assist in picking the right parts for your first build. Be aware if you build from scratch you will have to buy a copy of Windows which eats up about $100 of your budget by itself. That's one of the main reasons I like rebuilding in these off lease Dell machines, Windows is already included.

If you want to go this route I'll be happy to point out few more parts or even a slightly better Dell to get the most out of your budget.

 

[futurefields]

So many options haha. I'd love to build a unit myself and am beginning to heavily consider it. My husband and I decided to go ahead and change our budget to 500.00 which would need to include monitor and keyboard. He's fine with go buy it from a website or try building one together the first time. We'd probably be watching tons of video guides which isn't a big deal but it does look challenging. I seen this sight and thought it looked neat http://pcbuildsonabudget.com/best-gaming-pc-build-under-500-dollars-2016
Seems like there's so many other potential builds as well though after watching that newegg video. I got confused though once they started talking about making sure the chipsets, pci express, and motherboard ect matched up properly/was compatible. The storage drives part flew over my head. Maybe not the best idea for a newbie like me. Everywhere I read though suggests building yourself is really the way to go though.

YouTube.

The best help I got when I built my first PC in 2012 was by far YouTube. I was able to find videos of people installing the exact same components I bought, which made it a lot simpler and removed a lot of the guesswork.



If you are still intimidated by the process I would check out a builder like ibuypower or cyberpowerpc. My first PC back in 2003 was from ibuypower and it ran great for years. You pick the components and they put it all together and install the operating system and make sure it runs.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Radeon 5450 is a terrible card for gaming

You're right, of course...for today's games. However, I will say my 5470 (Asus ROG laptop) has been great for "older" games. Played Mass Effect 1-3 with no problems and a modded Fallout NV (on ultra)just fine.
Anyway you might try e bay...I have good luck buying PC components from that site.

The Wife