# Shoppin for 2nd hand ..?



## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

I am looking for a 2nd hand PC,as mine got killed by lightning,& I can't afford a new one right now. What kind of things should I be looking for? Been looking on Craigslist,& have come across some reasonable deals,but I am afraid I will be taken for a ride & end up w/ one that is useless. Any ideas/tips in what to look out for? I am just needing something for personal use,to keep up on email,no gaming or anything like that, & I'm on dial-up.I have a special needs infant & there is SO much info on the Net that I have yet to learn.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

IBM.com > Products > IBM Certified Used Equipment > Desktops

Currently have desktop systems starting at $195, with free delivery and a 3 month warranty. The majority of these systems have XP Pro installed and are basically plug-n-play with the addition of your monitor.

If you have a bit of patience, these systems go on sale at 10% off quite frequently, and I've seen very capable desktop systems at IBM for $130

.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

$89.99.

1.8 GHz P4, 256K RAM, Win2K preinstalled.

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=IBMNVPIV18-20B&cat=SYS


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Go on ebay search for compaq SFF, I can get nicely equipted system for under $100.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Sorry,I guess I worded that wrong,but I meant like how much hard drive space,etc... along those lines. :shrug:


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Kstornado11 said:


> Sorry,I guess I worded that wrong,but I meant like how much hard drive space,etc... along those lines. :shrug:


For a used machine you should be looking for something that can run Windows XP Pro well.


Hard Drive -- You could probably get by with 40 gigs for a good long time, but 100 or more would be better.
Memory -- 512 megs should be fine, but since memory is cheap you should upgrade to 1 gig.
Processor -- Look for a P4 that's 1.8 GHz to 3 GHz. P4's are cheap now that everyone's looking for dual core.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Thanks! I know my way around online pretty well, but the rest is Greek to me! :stars:


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Kstornado11 said:


> Thanks! I know my way around online pretty well, but the rest is Greek to me! :stars:


Just remember that memory is easily and inexpensively expandable. If you see a killer deal on a machine with only 256mb of memory, then get it. You can always stick more in if you need it.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Nevada said:


> Just remember that memory is easily and inexpensively expandable. If you see a killer deal on a machine with only 256mb of memory, then get it. You can always stick more in if you need it.


Although memory is inexpensive compared to years gone by, it still can be somewhat pricey depending on the type of memory, how it must be installed and how much of it you'd like. Its very important when you're considering off-lease older/budget machines.

Three examples of common off-lease P4 machines :

Dell GX240 - SDRAM PC133 = $60 for 512mb
Dell GX270 - DDR333 = $35 for 512mb
Dell GX280 - DDR2-400 = $20 for 512mb

Getting a pair of 512mb sticks at the above prices - and there is a big price difference. There is no way I'd pay $120 to upgrade a GX240 P4 1.8ghz to 1gb of memory.

IMO, I'd avoid the low end P4 systems altogether and go midrange or higher - i.e. 2.66Ghz and higher. Newer machine with less wear, cheaper memory, will usually already have 512mb minimum, XP instead of Win2K.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

OntarioMan said:


> Dell GX240 - SDRAM PC133 = $60 for 512mb


You need to do more shopping around. Here's one for $29.

http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=719

But I thought a 1.8 GHz P4 required DDR memory anyway.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

No doubt that you could hunt for cheap new or even 2nd hand memory - but even at $29 + shipping, you're at $65 for 1.0gb of Micsys memory. That $89.99 Netvista you listed above may even be PC133 memory - as some of those were.

Lets say it is PC133 memory = $90 + $65 for memory = $155 for a 5+ year old Netvista with a low end P4 processor with Win2K - and that does not include shipping on the unit if there is any. Consider that the drive is 5+ years old and what we call "end of life" -meaning it may fail at any time. You may get lucky and the drive lasts for another 3 years, it may last 3 weeks. If it does fail, you're faced with installing a drive and reinstalling your stuff.

A new cheap Dell at about $300, which usually includes 1.0gb of memory, DVDRW, warranty, new components, free shipping, etc.

FWIW, off-lease systems are usually a better value for business, as they require (or desire) XP Pro - and that is about a $90 option even on the cheapest new Dell.

Last week, I purchased IBM ThinkCentres, P4 3.0ghz, 1gb, 40gb, CDROM, XP Pro, free ship for $189 with 3 months warr. from IBM. Not a great deal, but a fairly good value for a business that needs XP Pro.

Not trying to be argumentative or difficult, but I suppose my point is that if you are going to purchase off-lease/refurb, you really have to do your homework, otherwise you're saving next to nothing, may have an inferior system and may be in for lots of headaches down the road.



Nevada said:


> You need to do more shopping around. Here's one for $29.
> 
> http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=719
> 
> But I thought a 1.8 GHz P4 required DDR memory anyway.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Just to add to the "older computer" discussion - a few months ago a women I know called me out of the blue and asked if I'd like a pair of older Dell computers, free. Thinking they were real old, I asked what they were and she was fairly certain they were P4's. Apparantly one had a bad hard drive and the other a bad power supply. She had a quote for the repairs and decided to just purchase new Dells, as the repair quote was almost half of what a pair of new cheap Dells would cost and she was concerned that the older working power supply and older working drive would fail soon - as both systems were purchased within a year of each other. 

I picked up the systems, a P4 2.2ghz and a P4 2.4ghz. I looked at the repair quote and it was not so unreasonable. My point : if you cannot diagnose and repair an older system yourself, you're probably better off with new systems.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

OntarioMan said:


> Although memory is inexpensive compared to years gone by, it still can be somewhat pricey depending on the type of memory, how it must be installed and how much of it you'd like. Its very important when you're considering off-lease older/budget machines.
> 
> Three examples of common off-lease P4 machines :
> 
> ...


 That is a good price for low to midrange Dells.
But what about some of us that have a high end machine say the 8250 ones that don't use SDRAM or even DDR. But uses RIMM with RDRAM technology. And from a site called "Cheapest RDRAM.com" here is the Price~! Are you Sitting down?

512mb (2x256) PC1066 RDRAM Reg. $349.95 Sale Price $234.95 
1GB (2x512) PC1066 RDRAM Reg $569.95 Sale Price $469.95 

Yes some Dells take very Proprietary Memory and I happen to have one:grump:
Model: Dimension 8250. I have P4 2.4ghz 60 gig drive with 256 ram 5 years old, and just look what it would cost to just up it to 512~! Say nothing about bumping all the way to 1 Gig.~
So this will be the last High End Dell with such memory as this is. And my next PC will be a MAC~!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

OK, I'm TRYING to follow along,but my eyes are starting to glaze over. :stars:
What about this? http://kansascity.craigslist.org/sys/701098307.html
I don't know if I will be able to afford a new one,cheapest I can find around here is like $400.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Kstornado11 said:


> What about this?


You can do a lot better. You don't want a P3, at least one that's less than 1 GHz. Look for refurbished systems at http://geeks.com and try to get a P4.


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Nevada said:


> You can do a lot better. You don't want a P3, at least one that's less than 1 GHz. Look for refurbished systems at http://geeks.com and try to get a P4.


Like these? http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=SYS
Problem is,I don't have a credit card. I do have Paypal,but I don't know how that works........

Would I need a new monitor for this one? -- 
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=IBMNVPIV18-20B&cat=SYS
I have the E Machine monitor & an old HP one from 2006.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

P4 2ghz minimum, 40gb disk min, 512mb ram min.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Kstornado11 said:


> Like these? http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=SYS
> Problem is,I don't have a credit card. I do have Paypal,but I don't know how that works.........


Yep, those are fine. They take Paypal. Call their customer service number with any questions.



Kstornado11 said:


> Would I need a new monitor for this one? --
> http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=IBMNVPIV18-20B&cat=SYS
> I have the E Machine monitor & an old HP one from 2006.


What's wrong with your old monitor?


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Nothing,or at least I think it still works.... I just didn't know if all monitors are compatible w/ all computers..?


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