aisle9

This is why Asian scammers should just stick to Google Translate.

"Xe graphics eligible"? wtf?

Skylake i5s still aren't bad. They're not exactly great now that an uber-low end Alder Lake-N Celeron like the N100 has equivalent CPU performance and better graphics (aside from the whole single-channel RAM thing...f you Intel). Could be used as an HTPC, a very power-hungry NAS, a programming testbed, a Linux machine, a low-powered gaming PC for indie side-scroller type stuff, an emulation rig...lots of options with Skylake CPUs that still have some life in them.
 
Wiping the SSD is easy. Just reinstall Windows on it from a USB you boot directly into.
 
Can't help you on the DVD thing. That's inching close to a piracy discussion, which is not ok here.
 
 

You're paying for the name.
 
Or, more amusingly, they have a special M.2 attachment that will blow you...r mind.

Goody two-shoes answer: don't use third-party sites. Only download and install 100% Microsoft-approved Windows copies and keys.
 
Perfectly reasonable answer: they're MSDN keys. Sure, they can be locked, and sure, you can lose them, but in practice I have never once had that happen. *well known online auction site, maybe not the one you think though* is usually cheaper than all the Youtuber-endorsed sites, and much safer. Those third-party software sites will make you pay extra for a "warranty", and even then you have to jump through several hours worth of hoops to prove that it's a bad key. Even then, you don't get your money back, just a second key from the same seller that may or may not be bad as well, and the warranty does not carry over. With *aforementioned site*, if the code doesn't work, you open up a return saying that the code doesn't work, and within a few days you've got your money back.
 
The "you asshole" answer: look on Craiglist for a garage sale that says "computer". My best guesstimate is that at this point, three out of four garage sale desktops are going to be an HP tower with a Windows 7 sticker on it. See if they'll take five bucks or something. If so, hey, cool, new toy that you can flip for $50. If they don't, just take a picture of the Windows 7 sticker, use that to activate Windows 10, then install Windows 11 if you so choose.

Go by warranty. If something has a 1-year warranty or less, assume it's garbage. If it's got a 3-year warranty, it shows that the OEM at least put some level of thought into it, and you can trust it to not be recycled trash NAND with an expected lifetime of 31 days.
 
As far as brands, if it's on AliExpress, run from it. If it's an overseas brand you can't pronounce, run from it. Most of the SSD manufacturers with names you can pronounce are at least ok in terms of speed and endurance, and they tend to have much, much longer warranties than the Asian units you can't pronounce the names of made of, well, trash NAND with an expected lifetime of AliExpress return window +1 day. For budget SSDs, I love Inland drives if you live close to a Micro Center, or drives from Patriot, Silicon Power or Teamgroup.

With that kind of budget, build your own system. Prebuilts at that price are an absolute ripoff, a markup of 35-50% over what the parts would cost. Building your own system is a totally noob-friendly activity that will either save you a ton of money or get you better components.

With that kind of budget, build your own system. Prebuilts at that price are an absolute ripoff, a markup of 35-50% over what the parts would cost. Building your own system is a totally noob-friendly activity that will either save you a ton of money or get you better components.

With that kind of budget, build your own system. Prebuilts at that price are an absolute ripoff, a markup of 35-50% over what the parts would cost. Building your own system is a totally noob-friendly activity that will either save you a ton of money or get you better components.

this is why you scroll up and down to see if the pixel moves or not.

Dirty little secret about Apevia (and other bargain brand arson box manufacturers): whatever they sent out to get that 80+ Gold and whatever they sent out to reviewers to get whatever positive ratings they have is not what's in the unit that appears on your doorstep. Don't buy a PSU that will put your whole damned system at risk in order to save $3.00.

Dammit man, are you trying to kill him?

Jesus Christ, an H5 Ultimate. What I wouldn't give to have one of those cooling my rig again.

Eh, I stand behind my thoughts on the capability of a 4790K. If mine hadn't been killed by a POS Enermax liquid cooler, I wouldn't have replaced it until I came into the 8086K. If I hadn't come into the 8086K, I probably would have just held onto it until the R5 5600 came along.

10 years ago?
 
i7-4790K, GTX 980 Ti, 16GB DDR3, 1TB 7200RPM HDD
 
6 years ago?
 
Dirty little secret: there wasn't a whole lot out there in 2019 that the 2014 system couldn't have easily handled. A GTX 1080 wasn't really all that much faster than a 980 Ti.

Dirty little secret about Apevia (and other bargain brand arson box manufacturers): whatever they sent out to get that 80+ Gold and whatever they sent out to reviewers to get whatever positive ratings they have is not what's in the unit that appears on your doorstep. Don't buy a PSU that will put your whole damned system at risk in order to save $3.00.

Dammit man, are you trying to kill him?

Dirty little secret about Apevia (and other bargain brand arson box manufacturers): whatever they sent out to get that 80+ Gold and whatever they sent out to reviewers to get whatever positive ratings they have is not what's in the unit that appears on your doorstep. Don't buy a PSU that will put your whole damned system at risk in order to save $3.00.

Dammit man, are you trying to kill him?

Dammit man, are you trying to kill him?

With the caveat that it's been a few years since I last worked with an E6420, my hunch is still that the power port has become damaged, disconnected or died. I don't really have much else to offer beyond suggesting that you open it up again, check the power port connections and cables. I recall that being kind of a PITA on the 6420, maybe one of the few things that wasn't a straightforward open-and-go, but my hunch is that something's gone wrong there.

Google straight-up harasses me for a backup email address almost every time I log in.

Google straight-up harasses me for a backup email address almost every time I log in.

Google straight-up harasses me for a backup email address almost every time I log in.

The VIA C7...there's a blast from the past. I don't think I've ever seen a VIA board with a PCIe slot, but I'm also not sure when the last time I saw a VIA-integrated board was.