Would this be a good machine?

gerrybbadd

HI Guys,

big apologies if this is not in the right place - i am somewhat clueless when it comes to these things, so go easy on me!

I am looking at buying a refurbed Dell Optiplex 790 (SFF), spec wise what I know is:

i5 processor (Quad Core)
16GB RAM (Max than can be upgraded to is 32GB)
500mb Hard Drive (non issue really, can upgrade this easy enough)
512mb ati graphics card with dual vga splitter

All sounds good, with the exception of the graphics card. One of the reasons I would like to get a decent desktop is for some gaming (not hardcore ultra graphics, but decent gaming all the same). I would like to use it also for watching movies in 3D, so I'd imagine i'd need a pretty good graphics card.

Does anyone know, would there be many graphic cards that would be suitable for this machine, given it is a small form factor, and likely has a low power supply as a result?

The price i was quoted for all the above, with Win 7 Pro installed, was €430 ( no monitor, keyboard etc)

Thanks guys

Gbear

gerrybbadd wrote: »

HI Guys,

big apologies if this is not in the right place - i am somewhat clueless when it comes to these things, so go easy on me!

I am looking at buying a refurbed Dell Optiplex 790 (SFF), spec wise what I know is:

i5 processor (Quad Core)
16GB RAM (Max than can be upgraded to is 32GB)
500mb Hard Drive (non issue really, can upgrade this easy enough)
512mb ati graphics card with dual vga splitter

All sounds good, with the exception of the graphics card. One of the reasons I would like to get a decent desktop is for some gaming (not hardcore ultra graphics, but decent gaming all the same). I would like to use it also for watching movies in 3D, so I'd imagine i'd need a pretty good graphics card.

Does anyone know, would there be many graphic cards that would be suitable for this machine, given it is a small form factor, and likely has a low power supply as a result?

The price i was quoted for all the above, with Win 7 Pro installed, was €430 ( no monitor, keyboard etc)

Thanks guys

That card is almost certainly garbage at this point. It's probably a HD 4000 or 5000 series which are between 6 and 7 years old.

It's hard to know for sure from what you've said about the processor, but all those parts are either old or superfluous (16GB RAM is almost certainly overkill unless you need it for work).

Given that you're probably going to have to spend 100 odd on a separate graphics card, I'd strongly consider building from scratch.

Sonics2k

Honestly, looking at the age and state of those parts it's not worth the money.

A 512mb card is outdated and won't run many modern or even slightly older games at all.

For not much more, you could put together a decent build for light gaming and so on.

gerrybbadd

Thanks for the replies guys, I may just end up chancing a build

Redfox25

Save a bit more and build from scratch. If you dont need a monitor then you can build a more respectable system than that one.

TerrorFirmer

If its for gaming, then it's not a bad deal overall, you'll have to spend at least 100 on a GTX750 for modern gaming at decent settings, but at 530 that would be a decent machine if you don't want to self build.

1st gen i5's were dual core, so given it's a quad the worst it come be is a 2nd gen, which are still fine.

You could also sell 8gb of that ram for about 50, which would cover half the cost of a GTX750, bringing the total to about 480.

Most important advise is to make sure it's a full size tower 790. It's much more hassle if it's a small form factor machine and I'd leave it at that point.

It's better to build new but if you're not inclined, this isn't a bad deal.

(ps...I'm selling a PC at the moment, i3-4150 3.5ghz, 8gb ram, 1tb, 560ti, 550w evga psu, if you're interested, same price as that 790 you're looking at)

gerrybbadd

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

If its for gaming, then it's not a bad deal overall, you'll have to spend at least 100 on a GTX750 for modern gaming at decent settings, but at 530 that would be a decent machine if you don't want to self build.

1st gen i5's were dual core, so given it's a quad the worst it come be is a 2nd gen, which are still fine.

You could also sell 8gb of that ram for about 50, which would cover half the cost of a GTX750, bringing the total to about 480.

Most important advise is to make sure it's a full size tower 790. It's much more hassle if it's a small form factor machine and I'd leave it at that point.

It's better to build new but if you're not inclined, this isn't a bad deal.

(ps...I'm selling a PC at the moment, i3-4150 3.5ghz, 8gb ram, 1tb, 560ti, 550w evga psu, if you're interested, same price as that 790 you're looking at)

Ya, it's a small form factor machine alright, so not looking good. Is your machine on Adverts.ie? Wouldn't mind having a look!

TerrorFirmer

It is but at the moment it only has a G3258. It's an unlocked pentium which is still a great performer but I can swap in the i3-4150.

Gbear

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

If its for gaming, then it's not a bad deal overall, you'll have to spend at least 100 on a GTX750 for modern gaming at decent settings, but at 530 that would be a decent machine if you don't want to self build.

1st gen i5's were dual core, so given it's a quad the worst it come be is a 2nd gen, which are still fine.

You could also sell 8gb of that ram for about 50, which would cover half the cost of a GTX750, bringing the total to about 480.

Most important advise is to make sure it's a full size tower 790. It's much more hassle if it's a small form factor machine and I'd leave it at that point.

I think the only question would be if it's a bit of a false economy.

It's not an outrageous deal but for the sake of <€100 and a bit of effort you're building a more long term and upgradable machine with all new parts, warranties and so on, as well as better hardware.

If you're not too pushed and won't use the thing that much it's not a big deal either way.