Is this about the best deal on a desktop PC I'll find?

GunsMadeAmericaFree

Golden Member
Jan 23, 2007
1,360
333
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My daughter is getting ready to go to college next month. I think I'm going to give her a 15" chromebook for any portable PC needs. (we already have an extra, with touch screen)

For a desktop, I was thinking of getting her a refurbished PC, something like a Dell Inspiron 3671, with an I5-9400 processor.
I found one online with 16GB RAM, Windows 10, and a 1TB HDD for about $160, shipped. It is a full sized tower that would allow adding a video card, maybe upgrading the RAM, and definitely cloning the HDD over to a PNY 1TB SSD.

The old Intel based PC that we have been using for games is an I5 4570 based system with a video card, and a 5,200 cpumarks score. This one would give a 9,400 cpumarks score, or about an 80% improvement over what we have been using for the last 6 years. She should be able to do any productivity stuff on there that she would need, play videos, and do a few of her favorite games. (Heroes of Might and Magic 3, especially)

Would this be the best choice in a refurbished desktop PC at the roughly $140 - $160 shipped price point, or would you recommend something else?

Thanks!

 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,570
10,202
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or would you recommend something else?c
Yeah, a MacBook M1/Ultra.

If she really needs a desktop PC, look up the "minisforum" PCs, and take a look at ETA Prime's YT channel.

Trust me, the last thing that she needs is a "grandpa PC", in the dorms.

Look up an ASRock "DeskMeet" if you need a GPU. (in a relatively new and space-saving compact form-factor.)
 
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