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Looking to buy a pre-build to replace an old laptop.

Not sure what the specs of the laptop are but it's about under a decade old.

 

The pre-built will be used for basic things like word and excel and streaming services like netflix and hulu.

 

What are minimum specs I should look for? I'd like it to be as cheap as possible as it's not going to serve as a replacement for the laptop but as a substitute for when the laptop is unavailable.

 

Between $150 and $250 would be idealand location is US. My local Microcenter has a few refurbished models going for around those ranges.

 

They have I5 3000-4000 and I3 8000 for around those prices.

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You can look the specs of the laptop up, they're listed in a few places in Windows, or download a CPUZ or HWInfo64 or PCWizard or a myriad of other programs.

 

Your max budget is $250 for the complete PC?  Link a few and we'll tell you if it's worth it.  

"Do what makes the experience better" - in regards to PCs and Life itself.

 

Onyx: Ryzen 7 7800X3D / Gigabyte B650 AORUS Pro AX / ASRock Taichi 7900xtx OC / G. Skill Flare X5 6000CL36 64GB (4x16GB) / Samsung 980 1TB x3 / Super Flower Leadex V Plat Pro 1000 / EK-AIO 360 Basic w/ Silent Wings fans / Fractal Design North XL (black mesh) / LG - UltraGear 45" OLED QHD 240Hz / Mackie CR5BT / SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro / Cherry MX Board 3.0 / Logitech G502 - https://valid.x86.fr/my9nnr

 

7800X3D - PBO +200, CO -30 all cores, 4.90GHz all core, 5.05GHz single core, Cinebench 23: 18401 multi, 1779 single

 

Khaleesi: Ryzen 5 5600X3D (+200, -30) - ASRock B550M Pro4 - G. Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 3200CL16 - Asus Prime 9060XT 16GB - Samsung 980 1TB + Crucial MX500 1TB - Cudy AX3000 PCIe Wifi 6 - EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2 - Thermalright Frozen Notte RGB 360 White V2 - NZXT H6 Flow RGB White - LG 34" 3440x1440

 

NAS/Plex/Game Server  Ryzen 9 5900XT 16c/32t - Gigabyte B550M AORUS Elite AX - TeamGroup T-Force Vulcan 64GB 3200CL16 - MSI 1050Ti 4GB - Crucial P3 Plus 500GB + TeamGroup MP44L 2TB (Game) + WD Red Plus 4TBx2 (Plex) - TP-Link AC1200 PCIe Wifi - EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2 - Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE - ASUS Prime AP201 - Currently Hosting: Enshrouded x2, Hytale, Icarus, Windrose. Project Zomboid, Dune Awakening.

 

Sage: Ryzen 7 7800X3D (+200, -30) - Gigabyte B650 Gaming X V2 - ASRock Steel Legend 7900GRE - G. Skill Flare X5 32GB 6000CL32 - TeamGroup MP44L 2TB - Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000w - NZXT H5 Elite

 

Emma: i9 9900K @5.2Ghz - Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 - MSI 6900XT Gaming X Trio - G. Skill Ripjaws V 32GB 3200CL16 - 750 EVO 512GB + 2x 860 EVO 1TB (RAID0) - Super Flower Combat FG 850w - Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 360 - Fractal Design Define R6 - TP-Link AC1900 PCIe Wifi

 

GF Rig: Steam Deck 512GB OLED, Vizio 43" 4K TV

 

Extra parts: ASUS 6650XT - Gigabyte 1080Ti - Cooler Master Q300L - Gigabyte 450w PSU - Super Flower Leadex V Plat Pro 850w

 

OnePlus Ecosystem: 

OnePlus 11 5G - 16GB RAM, 256GB NAND, Eternal Green. OnePlus Watch 2 - Radiant Steel, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 - Eternal Green

3D Printing: 

Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, AMS, AMS2 Pro (thank you MicroCenter!)

Other Interesting Tech:

- 2021 Volvo S60 Recharge T8 PHEV Polestar Engineered - 415hp/495tq 2.0L 4cyl. turbocharged, supercharged and electrified.

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30 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

You can look the specs of the laptop up, they're listed in a few places in Windows, or download a CPUZ or HWInfo64 or PCWizard or a myriad of other programs.

 

Your max budget is $250 for the complete PC?  Link a few and we'll tell you if it's worth it.  

I don't have access to the laptop and would like to buy this today on the way home from work.

 

But here were a few I was looking at

 

https://www.microcenter.com/product/607134/elitedesk-800-g1-sff-desktop-pc-(refurbished)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/609931/compaq-elite-8300-usff-desktop-pc-(refurbished)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/607572/optiplex-990-sff-desktop-pc-(refurbished)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/609928/optiplex-990-usff-desktop-pc-(refurbished)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/607574/thinkcentre-m93p-sff-desktop-pc-(refurbished)

 

$250 isn't a super hard budget I'm okay with it going over by like $10~. Also I get a 5% discount with my card as well.

@Votivee Would like your opinion as well if you've got moment.

 

Edit: @jstudrawa I should've specified but the laptop isn't mine and I'm looking to buy this for someone else.

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https://www.microcenter.com/product/607134/elitedesk-800-g1-sff-desktop-pc-(refurbished) - Intel Core i5-4590 Processor 3.3GHz; Microsoft Windows 10 Pro; 8GB DDR3 RAM; 256GB Solid State Drive

 

I'd go this one.  Best CPU of the bunch (if I'm reading these right) and decent SSD.   The Lenovo isn't worth it for a lesser CPU and more SSD for $30. You can add a cheap SSD anytime.  According to the review comments, it's using only 2 of the 4 RAM slots too, which is nice.

 

Looks like it would take a low profile GPU later as well, giving you a nice upgrade path.

"Do what makes the experience better" - in regards to PCs and Life itself.

 

Onyx: Ryzen 7 7800X3D / Gigabyte B650 AORUS Pro AX / ASRock Taichi 7900xtx OC / G. Skill Flare X5 6000CL36 64GB (4x16GB) / Samsung 980 1TB x3 / Super Flower Leadex V Plat Pro 1000 / EK-AIO 360 Basic w/ Silent Wings fans / Fractal Design North XL (black mesh) / LG - UltraGear 45" OLED QHD 240Hz / Mackie CR5BT / SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro / Cherry MX Board 3.0 / Logitech G502 - https://valid.x86.fr/my9nnr

 

7800X3D - PBO +200, CO -30 all cores, 4.90GHz all core, 5.05GHz single core, Cinebench 23: 18401 multi, 1779 single

 

Khaleesi: Ryzen 5 5600X3D (+200, -30) - ASRock B550M Pro4 - G. Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 3200CL16 - Asus Prime 9060XT 16GB - Samsung 980 1TB + Crucial MX500 1TB - Cudy AX3000 PCIe Wifi 6 - EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2 - Thermalright Frozen Notte RGB 360 White V2 - NZXT H6 Flow RGB White - LG 34" 3440x1440

 

NAS/Plex/Game Server  Ryzen 9 5900XT 16c/32t - Gigabyte B550M AORUS Elite AX - TeamGroup T-Force Vulcan 64GB 3200CL16 - MSI 1050Ti 4GB - Crucial P3 Plus 500GB + TeamGroup MP44L 2TB (Game) + WD Red Plus 4TBx2 (Plex) - TP-Link AC1200 PCIe Wifi - EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2 - Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE - ASUS Prime AP201 - Currently Hosting: Enshrouded x2, Hytale, Icarus, Windrose. Project Zomboid, Dune Awakening.

 

Sage: Ryzen 7 7800X3D (+200, -30) - Gigabyte B650 Gaming X V2 - ASRock Steel Legend 7900GRE - G. Skill Flare X5 32GB 6000CL32 - TeamGroup MP44L 2TB - Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000w - NZXT H5 Elite

 

Emma: i9 9900K @5.2Ghz - Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 - MSI 6900XT Gaming X Trio - G. Skill Ripjaws V 32GB 3200CL16 - 750 EVO 512GB + 2x 860 EVO 1TB (RAID0) - Super Flower Combat FG 850w - Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 360 - Fractal Design Define R6 - TP-Link AC1900 PCIe Wifi

 

GF Rig: Steam Deck 512GB OLED, Vizio 43" 4K TV

 

Extra parts: ASUS 6650XT - Gigabyte 1080Ti - Cooler Master Q300L - Gigabyte 450w PSU - Super Flower Leadex V Plat Pro 850w

 

OnePlus Ecosystem: 

OnePlus 11 5G - 16GB RAM, 256GB NAND, Eternal Green. OnePlus Watch 2 - Radiant Steel, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 - Eternal Green

3D Printing: 

Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, AMS, AMS2 Pro (thank you MicroCenter!)

Other Interesting Tech:

- 2021 Volvo S60 Recharge T8 PHEV Polestar Engineered - 415hp/495tq 2.0L 4cyl. turbocharged, supercharged and electrified.

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