Is this a good PC deal?

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#3199818 25-Feb-2024 12:21

xpd:

What do you currently have that you can use on a new build ? Screen ? Keyboard/mouse etc ? Case ?

That sort of thing you can re-use for a self build PC to keep costs down or to give a better upgrade option.

Yep, I have decent monitor, keyboard and mouse, all of which I plan to continue using. The PC is a Lenovo from around 2015, so case, PSU etc pretty old. I did upgrade to a OK Samsung 512 Gb SSD more recently. A 2 Tb HDD is original.

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#3199827 25-Feb-2024 12:54

Earbanean:

Ah OK, understood. So if I wanted to upgrade the GPU, that might become overly difficult with the Dell because of proprietary PSU etc.

I hadn't thought about that angle. Would that be the same with say a HP, Lenovo, etc?

What's Extreme PC like? I'd never really heard of them. Have experience with PB Tech and big retailers like Noel, Harvey etc, but not Extreme.

The Dell PC comes with either a:

180 W Bronze internal power supply unit
300 W Bronze internal power supply unit

I am assuming they will give you the 300 watt PSU as the RXT 3050 recommendation is about 130 watt in itself.
The 14400F will be about 65 watt and whatever the rest of the PC needs for fans, drives, motherboard etc.

Due to the Dells systems power budget It would unlikely you would be able to put a more powerful GPU inside of it.

I am not 100% sure the type of parts Dell are using in the specific system we are looking at,
often they use non-standard parts so people have to buy new when their system becomes too old, instead of re-using and reducing e-waste.
I am 90% sure Dell is using a non standard PSU from the picture of the back of the PC.
You can see where it is screwed/mounted to the back of the case, seen a similar PSU design on Gamers Nexus.

https://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/desktops-workstations-all-in-ones/new-inspiron-desktop/spd/inspiron-3030-desktop/oid3030101701mnz

HP can use a mixture of standard and non standard as well.

Levono i do not know what they use.

Unless a company lists the parts/model it can be super hard to say one way or the other.

Someone over a cheapies had the same question about Extreme PC, feel free to pop over to read the comments, pretty good overall.

https://www.cheapies.nz/node/45491

I had a look at PBTech this would fit your price range, but has some trade offs,

Pro GPU is generally more powerful, but doesn't have any of NVDIA's features like DLSS.

Con the 12400F is older than the 13th and 14th generation
The 12400F has 6 Performance cores while the 13400F and 14400F 6 Performance cores and 4 Efficiency

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSGGPC50188/GGPC-RX-7600-Gaming-PC-Intel-Core-i5-12400F-6-Core

I would still lean towards the Extreme PC build, but that is just my 2 cents.

You may be able to add your old HDD and Samsung SSD to a new system, depending on what you end up going with.

xpd

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#3199830 25-Feb-2024 13:04

$1300 odd gets you the above. For $1500, could swap out the video card for something a bit higher.

Be a solid performer for quite a while (I have the same CPU).

PC's are considered "old" within 3 years these days, but thats not to say they wont perform well still - I was on a 4th Intel i5 for a LONG time and didnt have any real complaints. Eventually got onto an old 6th gen, and only upgraded from that to my current setup because I had a good win at a casino on a cruise last year :)

XPD / Gavin

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Qazzy03

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#3199832 25-Feb-2024 13:10

xpd:

Eventually got onto an old 6th gen, and only upgraded from that to my current setup because I had a good win at a casino on a cruise last year :)

Agree old doesn't mean bad. I am running an intel 8th generation i7 as my daily driver.

I don't want to put words in OP's mouth but I suspect they are looking for a pre-built over building themselves.
No everyone is confident / comforable with building a PC and a lot of people just want a box they can plug in and it goes.

Earbanean

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#3199840 25-Feb-2024 13:45

Qazzy03:

I don't want to put words in OP's mouth but I suspect they are looking for a pre-built over building themselves.
No everyone is confident / comforable with building a PC and a lot of people just want a box they can plug in and it goes.

Yep, exactly what I was going to add. I've never built a PC. I'm not ruling out having a go, but pre-built is probably preferable.

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#3199876 25-Feb-2024 15:55

Jase2985:

you cant tell me 13 to 14th was a decent upgrade. its 13th gen with lipstick on

People said that 12th to 13th wasn't either, but for me, it was chalk and cheese. A significant difference. 13>14 not as much, but I still noticed it. The fact I could swap in the processor and get on with my day was a quite pleasant experience.

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#3199879 25-Feb-2024 16:11

networkn:

Jase2985:

you cant tell me 13 to 14th was a decent upgrade. its 13th gen with lipstick on

People said that 12th to 13th wasn't either, but for me, it was chalk and cheese. A significant difference. 13>14 not as much, but I still noticed it. The fact I could swap in the processor and get on with my day was a quite pleasant experience.

5-15% between 12 and 14 gen almost across the board for the same processor family. You must have a really specific use case if you got much more than that.

but either way its essentially 2 generations on the one socket.

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#3199883 25-Feb-2024 16:21

Jase2985:

5-15% between 12 and 14 gen almost across the board for the same processor family. You must have a really specific use case if you got much more than that.

but either way its essentially 2 generations on the one socket.

Not sure what to tell you, but, whatever makes you sleep better at night :)

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#3199884 25-Feb-2024 16:23

Earbanean:

Thanks for all the feedback. I guess in terms of future proof, I mean more that the processor speed etc will be OK for a number of years without upgrading - other than maybe adding more RAM and possibly swapping in a larger SSD. So PSU, CPU socket etc I'm not so concerned about upgradeability on.

Considering any interesting new/emerging workloads run on GPU and NPU now, you'll want to make sure you're futureproofing in those areas. CPU's are so 2010s.

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#3200045 26-Feb-2024 09:14

Earbanean:

Qazzy03:

I don't want to put words in OP's mouth but I suspect they are looking for a pre-built over building themselves.
No everyone is confident / comforable with building a PC and a lot of people just want a box they can plug in and it goes.

Yep, exactly what I was going to add. I've never built a PC. I'm not ruling out having a go, but pre-built is probably preferable.

Pbtech charge around $80 extra to assemble and test the system for you.

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#3200073 26-Feb-2024 10:33

eonsim:

Pbtech charge around $80 extra to assemble and test the system for you.

This could definitely be an option for OP, plenty of people can help suggest parts and already have in this thread.

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#3200244 26-Feb-2024 14:39

So definitely some good options to consider, tanks. However, something else to think about now. I logged the temps on the PC up to and including a shutdown. The CPU temps were all normal, but the GPU temp increased up to 110 deg C, before shutting down. I took the side off the case and restarted and found that the fan on the GPU is completely dead. So explains the shutdowns.

So I guess another option is to replace the card in my current set up. I don't think the Radeon HD 8570 will still be around, but maybe a bottom end option like a GeForce GT 1030 or similar? So for around $150 I can extend the life of my current box. Also, possibly chucking another 8 Gb RAM in too. On the one hand that buys me another year or two for a tenth of the cost of a new machine. On the other hand, it's maybe throwing good money after bad.

Jase2985

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#3200251 26-Feb-2024 15:09

if that were the case i would be putting new thermal paste on the CPU, clean out all the fans, filters and grills, along with the rest of the PC. Its good cheap piece of mind.

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#3200285 26-Feb-2024 17:02

Earbanean:

So definitely some good options to consider, tanks. However, something else to think about now. I logged the temps on the PC up to and including a shutdown. The CPU temps were all normal, but the GPU temp increased up to 110 deg C, before shutting down. I took the side off the case and restarted and found that the fan on the GPU is completely dead. So explains the shutdowns.

So I guess another option is to replace the card in my current set up. I don't think the Radeon HD 8570 will still be around, but maybe a bottom end option like a GeForce GT 1030 or similar? So for around $150 I can extend the life of my current box. Also, possibly chucking another 8 Gb RAM in too. On the one hand that buys me another year or two for a tenth of the cost of a new machine. On the other hand, it's maybe throwing good money after bad.

Doing a good clean out of case, fans, and a new or 2nd hand GPU could do you fine.

A GZ member might have something older GPU wise that might suit your needs if you listed a WTB post.
It could be helpful to know if you know what your current Power Supply wattage is and if it has any 6 or 8 pin GPU cables.

If you only have motherboard slot power I think the best GPU you might be able to get in terms of grunt are these 1650 GTX

https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/components/graphics-cards/desktop/zotac-geforce-gtx-1650-amp-core-gddr6-4gb-graphics-card

https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/components/graphics-cards/desktop/asus-geforce-gtx-1650-phoenix-oc-4gb-graphics-card

For RAM i am assuming you are rocking DDR3?

If so, some cheap deals here $15 for 8GB, https://www.cheapies.nz/node/45586

Earbanean

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#3200337 26-Feb-2024 19:57

Jase2985:

if that were the case i would be putting new thermal paste on the CPU, clean out all the fans, filters and grills, along with the rest of the PC. Its good cheap piece of mind.

Yeah, I had just cleaned out all fans, grills etc and had done the paste on the CPU a while ago. That's why I didn't think temperature was the problem. I dead GPU fan will do it though.

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