Where can I get old desktops that arent wildly overpriced

[SetSakara2]

my mom has this really cool friend that has these big boxes of old PC parts, things like DDR2 RAM and 330W PSUs. He doesn't use them so I took a bunch of parts that I can try to use to turn an old workstation into a gaming computer (not a good gaming pc, but if we were in 2014 this would be god-tier). I have a ton of cool parts like a G.SKILL Trident X 16GB DDR3 RAM 2400MHz, a GeForce GT-210, an intel 6700K, and even an unidentified AMD Opteron (markings faded).  All of these parts I could definite use in an old system. (not sure about the opteron but still a possibility)

 

However, I have 1 problem. Finding cheap donor PCs. I have looked at a lot of places; eBay, craigslist, OfferUp, facebook marketplace and all of these places yield the same thing: overpriced systems. I can get a system with intel 2600, has DDR2, chunky HDD, floppy disc drives for... $120. A 7th gen, ddr3, SAMSUNG 840 workstation for... $410. All of these are wildly expensive for very old systems, so could someone please help me with this?

[Budget DIY]

With a good story, you might be able to get free "junk" from an e-waste collection station. Maybe offer more (broken) junk in return for the useful-to-you junk. I dunno, or just offer some moneys/kg. (that's how a local-to-me e-waste recycle company works, they just look at what the components are, and what the weight it)

Also, GT210 is trash tier, because XX10 junk?

 

If you were Dutch, I'd be willing to sell you some of my spare old stuffs.

 

Oh, almost forgot. I've been looking at cases, to do some casemods with. Some junk-tier cases still have some parts in them. Which are being sold on an online marketplace for as low as 10 euros. Might want to search for the same thing: cases, not parts.

[SetSakara2]

3 minutes ago, Budget DIY said:

With a good story, you might be able to get free "junk" from an e-waste collection station. Maybe offer more (broken) junk in return for the useful-to-you junk. I dunno, or just offer some moneys/kg. (that's how a local-to-me e-waste recycle company works, they just look at what the components are, and what the weight it)

Also, GT210 is trash tier, because XX10 junk?

 

If you were Dutch, I'd be willing to sell you some of my spare old stuffs.

 

Oh, almost forgot. I've been looking at cases, to do some casemods with. Some junk-tier cases still have some parts in them. Which are being sold on an online marketplace for as low as 10 euros. Might want to search for the same thing: cases, not parts.

I'm not saying i'd use a GT-210 seriously, but I would toss it in a system for fun. I've seen some old OptiPlex cases that have the motherboard, HDD and PSU, but they're also a bit expensive at around $50-70. Some cases i've found at good prices like $30 with critical components like the weird PSU, motherboard and HDD, but they either have case damage or damaged parts. Sometimes these cases have missing parts that are specific to the case like the L-shaped power supply or strange coolers that mount to other parts that can't exactly be replaced cheaply, so I try to find complete systems.

[Spotty]

The integrated graphics in the 6700k would outperform the Geforce GT 210 by a significant margin. Unless you needed multiple display outputs (and even then it'd be VGA and DVI) you'd be better off not using the GT210.

While Skylake does technically support DDR3, finding DDR3 compatible boards is going to be pretty hard so that G.Skill trident DDR3 probably isn't going to be useful.

Intel i5 2600 uses DDR3 memory not DDR2.

 

11 minutes ago, SetSakara2 said:

However, I have 1 problem. Finding cheap donor PCs.

Donor PCs for what exactly? What parts are you trying to find?

[Budget DIY]

1 minute ago, SetSakara2 said:

I'm not saying i'd use a GT-210 seriously, but I would toss it in a system for fun. I've seen some old OptiPlex cases that have the motherboard, HDD and PSU, but they're also a bit expensive at around $50-70. Some cases i've found at good prices like $30 with critical components like the weird PSU, motherboard and HDD, but they either have case damage or damaged parts. Sometimes these cases have missing parts that are specific to the case like the L-shaped power supply or strange coolers that mount to other parts that can't exactly be replaced cheaply, so I try to find complete systems.

Don't focus on only that part of my suggestions @ looking for cases.

[SetSakara2]

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

The integrated graphics in the 6700k would outperform the Geforce GT 210 by a significant margin. Unless you needed multiple display outputs (and even then it'd be VGA and DVI) you'd be better off not using the GT210.

While Skylake does technically support DDR3, finding DDR3 compatible boards is going to be pretty hard so that G.Skill trident DDR3 probably isn't going to be useful.

Intel i5 2600 uses DDR3 memory not DDR2.

 

Donor PCs for what exactly? What parts are you trying to find?

Old systems for modification and/or part testing. If you read my total explanation, I have a ton of cool parts including CPUs, RAM, and GPUs, and I think if I have a working system I can test these parts, if they work try to sell them.

[mariushm]

Newegg has computer systems starting from around $70

For example $70 for Refurbished: Dell OptiPlex 7010 USFF 500 GB, Intel Core- i5- 3470S 2.9 GHz, 4 GB No OS - Newegg.com

Sure it's low profile, maybe proprietary case and psu... but computers with standard atx cases are only $10 more.

 

 

 

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, SetSakara2 said:

Old systems for modification and/or part testing. If you read my total explanation, I have a ton of cool parts including CPUs, RAM, and GPUs, and I think if I have a working system I can test these parts, if they work try to sell them.

So you're looking to buy PCs and then put the loose components you have in them to make functional PCs? Unless you already have most of the essential components it is unlikely to be economical or profitable to do it that way, and you'd be hard pressed to find a computer that has everything except for the part you are trying to sell. It would be like getting a hold of a set of 4 wheels and then expecting to be spoiled for choice with otherwise functional cars being sold without wheels.

If you have complete PCs or near-complete PCs and just need to add a single component to make them functional, like adding a cheap SSD, then it might be worth investing to sell as a functional PC instead of as parts. If you are trying to build a PC just from a CPU or some old RAM then it wouldn't make much sense. You'd be better off just selling the components individually.

 

DDR2 systems are extremely outdated and it's unlikely anybody would be interested in buying them so there's really not much point trying to build a system out of that.

 

9 minutes ago, SetSakara2 said:

I'm not saying i'd use a GT-210 seriously, but I would toss it in a system for fun. I've seen some old OptiPlex cases that have the motherboard, HDD and PSU, but they're also a bit expensive at around $50-70. Some cases i've found at good prices like $30 with critical components like the weird PSU, motherboard and HDD, but they either have case damage or damaged parts. Sometimes these cases have missing parts that are specific to the case like the L-shaped power supply or strange coolers that mount to other parts that can't exactly be replaced cheaply, so I try to find complete systems.

Avoid PCs from Dell, HP, and the like. They often use proprietary parts such as non-standard cases, power supplies, and motherboards that make it difficult to replace or upgrade components making them unsuitable for your use case. Some of their systems will use standard ATX components but you would need to do a bit of research before buying to find out.

[Lurking]

I don't have statistics or inside, but I think most likely parts to fail in a PC are PSU and MB (complex, have capacitors, more susceptible to heat etc.). And those are the components that most likely are proprietary. In addition, most of the AIO cases suck (and also are proprietary to the MB). So you could end up with a bunch off RAM, CPUs and drives that are standardized, but you will be short of the rest. Sure, if you get dozens or hundreds of old PCs yo will find a working PSU you can match with a different working MB. But that leaves you with a pile of unusable parts. 

 

And if you want to sell them, take the above mentioned refurbished from Newegg as a benchmark. It is a working PC from a brand name store and 30 day return policy. If you come up with the same PC, you have to sell for much less. If you want to make it a hobby, fine. But don't think it is a business case unless you go big like Newegg. Looks like the above example is sold by Dell. So they basically dig out "free" RMA PCs or something and sell them instead of having to pay for recycling. If you can't get similar free PCs, you won't make money. Look at your local CL or FB to see what PCs are offered at and how long it takes to sell. and always assume the actual transaction price will be a bit less. 

 

Try to go to local governments or businesses that replace PCs on some sort of schedule. After that, they give them to a recycler. Not sure if they get any $, or have to pay $. But going directly to the source is the best shot to get your supply cheaply. 

 

 

[Sarra]

I picked up a Dell Optiplex with a second gen i5 in it for $50 about 7 years ago. It worked for 3 years, then the PSU died, and I recycled it again. It was worth the $50 then, but now... Not sure I would do the same thing. I prefer more longevity from components, and Dell proprietary PSU designs are the opposite of that.

[Lurking]

4 minutes ago, Sarra said:

I picked up a Dell Optiplex with a second gen i5 in it for $50 about 7 years ago. It worked for 3 years, then the PSU died, and I recycled it again. It was worth the $50 then, but now... Not sure I would do the same thing. I prefer more longevity from components, and Dell proprietary PSU designs are the opposite of that.

If it was powerful enough and had the features needed - 3 years for $50 is pretty good. I think getting old quadcore with a least 8GB of RAM for just browsing, watching movies and whatnot isn't bad. if they have 4K video output, even better. 

[Sarra]

2 minutes ago, Lurking said:

If it was powerful enough and had the features needed - 3 years for $50 is pretty good. I think getting old quadcore with a least 8GB of RAM for just browsing, watching movies and whatnot isn't bad. if they have 4K video output, even better. 

Well, see, this machine had the PSU, CPU, and board/case only. I had to buy RAM for it, and I added a discreet GPU, as well, since I had a lp card in my box of sadness. I ended up putting around $140 into it, I really did expect it to last longer than it did.

[Lurking]

8 minutes ago, Sarra said:

Well, see, this machine had the PSU, CPU, and board/case only. I had to buy RAM for it, and I added a discreet GPU, as well, since I had a lp card in my box of sadness. I ended up putting around $140 into it, I really did expect it to last longer than it did.

You were lucky it even worked since when you bought it without RAM, you couldn't test it. You probably should have included the $140 in your original post...

 

Tthat's why I think OP would have to beat the above linked refurbished PC. That will be somewhat guaranteed to work for 30 days and any day beyond that is a bonus. 

 

If you have to invest in parts that are transferrable (dGPU, drive), that is fine since you could use them on later builds. But as soon as you have to buy outdated RAM, MB etc., you should pull the plug since that never will be useful later. And obviously all this requires a somewhat sophisticated and willing buyer. I bet 99% of sued PC buyers just want to plug it in and turn it on. 

 

If, only if, they would have adhered to ATX standard you could do really cool things with them. You could invest in a rally good PSU, then when the MG goes, just get a new MB/RAM/CPU. but this is all not possible in a meaningful way due to proprietary parts. This basically turns an "old but upgradeable" PC into e-waste. 

[seanondemand]

My city has a surplus store where they sell tons of old Lenovo desktops and laptops for a couple hundred bucks, keyboards and mouses for like eight bucks, might be worth looking into in your area to see if your city or state has something similar

[Sarra]

1 hour ago, Lurking said:

You were lucky it even worked since when you bought it without RAM, you couldn't test it. You probably should have included the $140 in your original post...

 

Tthat's why I think OP would have to beat the above linked refurbished PC. That will be somewhat guaranteed to work for 30 days and any day beyond that is a bonus. 

 

If you have to invest in parts that are transferrable (dGPU, drive), that is fine since you could use them on later builds. But as soon as you have to buy outdated RAM, MB etc., you should pull the plug since that never will be useful later. And obviously all this requires a somewhat sophisticated and willing buyer. I bet 99% of sued PC buyers just want to plug it in and turn it on. 

 

If, only if, they would have adhered to ATX standard you could do really cool things with them. You could invest in a rally good PSU, then when the MG goes, just get a new MB/RAM/CPU. but this is all not possible in a meaningful way due to proprietary parts. This basically turns an "old but upgradeable" PC into e-waste. 

I picked it up from a reputable recycle store, so if it didn't work, or failed within 30 days, I could have returned it for another unit, a similar unit, or a refund.

 

I had a dGPU for SFF machines already, it was a super low power, ATI (not AMD, but actual ATI) card, I think it was from the DX7 or DX8 era, but worked...

 

My main PC from that time ended up becoming my 'secondary' and storage machine, and I built a new gaming PC.

 

Really, the lack of PSU support was what killed that machine, I wasn't willing to shell out for another tiny PSU that I knew would fail within weeks or months, and the front/HDD fan failed as well, and it used a proprietary header that I couldn't get any other fan to work with. I wasn't going to shell out $40 for a gosh darn 80mm fan.

 

Dell really is a trash fire for stuff like that, especially from that era. >_>

[ApolloX75]

I just troll Kijiji and FB Marketplace. Pick it all up piece by piece.

 

That's how you end up with this.....

 

Spoiler

And you just sort of go from there. I don't build thinking to make a profit though. I literally just build to tinker and throw some overclocks on the CPU-Z validations, etc. Sometimes I participate in the competitions.

 

Also a lot of stuff is from 20+ years of collecting.  Quite a few of those parts I bought brand new.

[SetSakara2]

4 hours ago, Spotty said:

So you're looking to buy PCs and then put the loose components you have in them to make functional PCs? Unless you already have most of the essential components it is unlikely to be economical or profitable to do it that way, and you'd be hard pressed to find a computer that has everything except for the part you are trying to sell. It would be like getting a hold of a set of 4 wheels and then expecting to be spoiled for choice with otherwise functional cars being sold without wheels.

If you have complete PCs or near-complete PCs and just need to add a single component to make them functional, like adding a cheap SSD, then it might be worth investing to sell as a functional PC instead of as parts. If you are trying to build a PC just from a CPU or some old RAM then it wouldn't make much sense. You'd be better off just selling the components individually.

 

DDR2 systems are extremely outdated and it's unlikely anybody would be interested in buying them so there's really not much point trying to build a system out of that.

 

Avoid PCs from Dell, HP, and the like. They often use proprietary parts such as non-standard cases, power supplies, and motherboards that make it difficult to replace or upgrade components making them unsuitable for your use case. Some of their systems will use standard ATX components but you would need to do a bit of research before buying to find out.

I already have a good laptop (what im currently using) and currently building a gaming system. This is whole upgrading thing is just for fun. if the part works and I don't need it, I can try to sell it. If it doesn't sell, cool. If it does, cool. I don't really care in the end because I didn't pay money for these. DDR2 RAM isn't relevant; We know My goal isn't to make money but to screw around and have fun. PCs are something I do for fun. My goal with upgrading crappy computers with less-crappy parts is for fun. Its all for fun. There isn't a point except to have fun. As long as I have fun i'm cool.

[SetSakara2]

4 hours ago, Spotty said:

Intel i5 2600 uses DDR3 memory not DDR2.

 

 

Must've been a listing mistake then.

[NF-A12x25]

10 hours ago, SetSakara2 said:

GeForce GT-210, an intel 6700K,

gt210 is worse than the integrated graphics on the CPU by miles

[SetSakara2]

7 hours ago, NF-A12x25 said:

gt210 is worse than the integrated graphics on the CPU by miles

I know. Like I said earlier, i'd toss that in a system for fun. For fun. Please read all of the replies before saying the same thing over and over again.

[Coaxialgamer]

The problem you tend to run into with old hardware on local marketplaces is that you get a sort of "bathtub curve" on pricing that's largely a consequence of the people who sell these parts.

 

Who sells 10 y/o PC equipment? Large businesses tend to have a shorter upgrade cycle and might not even sell their used hardware at all. Enthusiasts and workstation users typically upgrade long before that.

The people who sell such old equipment are often either small businesses or simply your average household trying to subsidize the cost of their next family PC upgrade. In the latter case especially, you're likely to end up faced with people who have no idea what their stuff is really worth (just that they spent "a lot of money a few years ago"), and the volume of people like that biases market prices in their favor. 

[iggy12345]

I'd be wary of the parts you've got, or what you intend to do with them. The prices you see on Ebay are just the prices that people have listed, it does not mean people are buying them at that price. I'd expect that paying $50-70 for a mobo that's that old along with a case, would be a decent deal, I'd go for it, but I'd verify that the mobo boots before you purchase, and verify that it gets farther than the post screen

 

I spent some time getting parts for an old Dell Dimension from 1997 and with old parts it's imperative that you ensure they work before you get them. Lots of companies will label their posts as "working/tested" when all they did was power it on and get to the post screen, which is not testing.

[ApolloX75]

15 hours ago, Coaxialgamer said:

The problem you tend to run into with old hardware on local marketplaces is that you get a sort of "bathtub curve" on pricing that's largely a consequence of the people who sell these parts.

 

Who sells 10 y/o PC equipment? Large businesses tend to have a shorter upgrade cycle and might not even sell their used hardware at all. Enthusiasts and workstation users typically upgrade long before that.

The people who sell such old equipment are often either small businesses or simply your average household trying to subsidize the cost of their next family PC upgrade. In the latter case especially, you're likely to end up faced with people who have no idea what their stuff is really worth (just that they spent "a lot of money a few years ago"), and the volume of people like that biases market prices in their favor. 

This is a problem I have noticed getting worse in the last two years, which is certainly no coincidence. The GPU epidemic for instance drove the price of even ancient GTX 280s through the roof. I've seen people hawking 560 Ti cards for $150. $150! I could buy a 1060 6GB for that, or even a 1070. Hell $50 more and you could nab a 2060 or even a Super in my area if you watch close enough.

 

But you are 100% correct, most of them are being sold by people who have no idea what they have, just that it's called a GPU and they're scarce right now so it must be worth a lot. CPUs I notice tend to be relatively stable, I mean I just picked up a i7 975 Extreme Edition for less than $30 and that was a $1000 CPU back in the day. Most people on places like Kijiji or Craigslist or whatever don't realize what they have is gold or in many cases absolute crap. Nor do they care.

 

Motherboards have definitely been inflated also. Typically this is more of a  fringe situation where someone is trying to, for a random example here, sell a Striker II Extreme with a Q8400 for $400 (true story) but it feels like buying classic cars now when you're hunting for parts, you almost expect them to say "No tire kickers! One owner! Lady driven! I know what I got!" at the end of the ad these days.

 

Actually... we kind of have our own version of that now that I think of it. "Never used for mining! Smoke and pet free home! Light gaming only!" 

[Coaxialgamer]

6 hours ago, ApolloX75 said:

This is a problem I have noticed getting worse in the last two years, which is certainly no coincidence. The GPU epidemic for instance drove the price of even ancient GTX 280s through the roof. I've seen people hawking 560 Ti cards for $150. $150! I could buy a 1060 6GB for that, or even a 1070. Hell $50 more and you could nab a 2060 or even a Super in my area if you watch close enough.

 

But you are 100% correct, most of them are being sold by people who have no idea what they have, just that it's called a GPU and they're scarce right now so it must be worth a lot. CPUs I notice tend to be relatively stable, I mean I just picked up a i7 975 Extreme Edition for less than $30 and that was a $1000 CPU back in the day. Most people on places like Kijiji or Craigslist or whatever don't realize what they have is gold or in many cases absolute crap. Nor do they care.

 

Motherboards have definitely been inflated also. Typically this is more of a  fringe situation where someone is trying to, for a random example here, sell a Striker II Extreme with a Q8400 for $400 (true story) but it feels like buying classic cars now when you're hunting for parts, you almost expect them to say "No tire kickers! One owner! Lady driven! I know what I got!" at the end of the ad these days.

 

Actually... we kind of have our own version of that now that I think of it. "Never used for mining! Smoke and pet free home! Light gaming only!" 

Especially with GPU pricing, you have a lot of people who either bought a GPU at pandemic pricing (and don't want to make a loss on their card when reselling) or don't stay all that informed and think last year's situation still applies.

This combined with a bunch of old listings that were genuinely written during the pandemic, which further increases the number of listings for out-to-lunch prices.

 

As far as motherboards are concerned though, while I'm not saying that people don't overvalue them, there are legitimate reasons for the high price of old boards, and especially high end ones.

 

This is something Linus may have touched on on a few occasions, but given that motherboards are typically far more prone to failure after 5-10 years than a CPU is, you eventually get into a situation with older platforms where the CPUs are very cheap but the lack of available working motherboards tends to drive up the price of those components. This is something you probably noticed when shopping for a good X58 board for that i7 975.

Typically you'll get the lowest platform cost for systems approaching the 10 y/o mark, aka probably SB/IB/HW stuff on the Intel side.

 

[ApolloX75]

5 hours ago, Coaxialgamer said:

Especially with GPU pricing, you have a lot of people who either bought a GPU at pandemic pricing (and don't want to make a loss on their card when reselling) or don't stay all that informed and think last year's situation still applies.

This combined with a bunch of old listings that were genuinely written during the pandemic, which further increases the number of listings for out-to-lunch prices.

 

As far as motherboards are concerned though, while I'm not saying that people don't overvalue them, there are legitimate reasons for the high price of old boards, and especially high end ones.

 

This is something Linus may have touched on on a few occasions, but given that motherboards are typically far more prone to failure after 5-10 years than a CPU is, you eventually get into a situation with older platforms where the CPUs are very cheap but the lack of available working motherboards tends to drive up the price of those components. This is something you probably noticed when shopping for a good X58 board for that i7 975.

Typically you'll get the lowest platform cost for systems approaching the 10 y/o mark, aka probably SB/IB/HW stuff on the Intel side.

 

For sure! But I mean, price it accordingly. $400, even for a Striker II, is reaaaalllly pushing it when I can and have picked up comparable boards like 790i Ultras for $75-100. 

 

X58 was a challenge but not expensive. I got a Classified board with 2000MHz RAM and a 930 in it for $175 though, and a Sabertooth board loaded up with 24GB of RAM and a 960 for $125. So I mean, not what I'd call crazy. 

 

It all depends on who's looking and who's buying. People like me who are in it for the lulz and just want to have some fun are not the norm lol.