Well used Dell Optiplex 755 Mini Tower... worth it?

[TheInternal]

Greetings,

My folks are looking to get a newer computer (I built them a Athlon 64 based system from leftover parts that's managed to run windows 7 comfortably... old stuff.) but have very tight budgetary constraints. It turns out a nearby university is selling some well used Dell Optiplex 755 Mini Tower to it's employees (Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processors, 4GB RAM) systems WITH Dell monitors for under $300 bucks. Would it be even remotely possible to build a comparable system for that price point?
Considering that a new E8400 dual core goes for $180 bucks, I'm guessing this will be a damn hard price point to beat for a basic system... especially since it comes with a 20" monitor and the Dell software toys. However, I'm a little nervous suggesting they get tech from 2008 or that could have been under such heavy use.
I doubt there will be any opportunities to test the systems before acquisition. I'm guessing tossing in a new HD, checking the fans, and doing a clean install would still be worth considering as a viable budget option.
Any thoughts / suggestions? I've read that the core 2 duo e8400 3.0GHz proc is on par with the core i3 chip of similar clock speed. I'm not sure what the AMD equivalent would be yet.

 

[ViviTheMage]

If it's for daily tasks, you'll be fine ... we have a couple hundred at work here, and the ONLY issue i've seen in the 3 years of their existence is HDD failures.

 

[DaveSimmons]

A i3-2100 + H61 mobo + 4 MB RAM is around $250, then you need the case, PSU, HD, DVD, say around $400 without Windows. But it would be new, a little faster, and use less power.

You could save as much as $50 by getting a "Pentium" sandy bridge CPU instead of i3, but I don't know how much slower the build-in video would be.

 

[classy]

If it's for daily tasks, you'll be fine ... we have a couple hundred at work here, and the ONLY issue i've seen in the 3 years of their existence is HDD failures.

Agreed where I was we had a couple hundred as well. 755s are decent.

 

[gsaldivar]

Optiplex machines are good. Robust power supplies, great cases. I have several clients on these, and as mentioned above, only the occasional HD failure. If you are looking to save money you can check Dell's Vostro line which is more consumer oriented, but you sacrifice a bit on the power supply, etc.

 

[xSauronx]

theyre good systems, the hospital i work at uses optiplexes and the 755s are pretty peppy with enough memory, and 4gb is enough, with a monitor is, imo, a deal.

youll spend 300 on a system, with rebates, and still need an os and a monitor

do these come with an OS?

 

[JWade]

if they dont come with an OS they would still have the COA on them, even then if he were to get a Dell branded OS disk, no need to activate it and he would be fine that way.