Thoughts on This Mum/Dad Refurb Dell PC?

txb on 18/01/2021 - 17:01
Last edited 18/01/2021 - 17:02

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dell-Optiplex-9020-SFF-i5-4570-Q…

Will this do for general browsing, youtubing?

I get its just the desktop and I have my my own kb, mouse, old hdd from old pc I hopefully can put into this for more storage(?)

Anything I could/should be aware of?

I can visit the store in person but that wouldnt help much would it?

Is this good value? Just searching by comparing like for like between stores this was the cheapest I could find. Just not sure if its value?

How long could these last for? if anyone has ones in the past

Thanks!

Computing Computer Dell Desktop Computer

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 18/01/2021 - 17:17

    The computer is using a mechanical HDD, typically most ozbargainers would be buying one that has a SSD equipped.

    This should give you an idea of how much they typically sell for
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/dell-optiplex-9020

    Due to COVID and a general increase in the prices of computing hardware (even ancient second hand 7 year old desktops), it's probably unrealistic to expect a sub $200 desktop to come with a SSD included. You may have fork out a bit more than $200 to get one.

    • txb on 19/01/2021 - 11:46

      I know its like asking how long is a piece of string but how long do you think a sff like this would last?
      what do you know/think about refurb computers? the parts are all second hand but how do they ascertain the part is fine to use?

      Wary that in a few months something will fail, ill replace it then sometime else will fail some time shortly.

      Of course..i could just mitigate the risk by buying a new pc. ah decisions…

      • scrimshaw on 19/01/2021 - 12:03
        +1

        Dell Optiplexes are quite sturdy computers, unlike many consumer grade desktops they are built to last for as long as possible and should have longer than average lifespan. The seller would've just gave them some cleaning, switched them on and installed Windows on it, and I doubt they would've done any more than is necessary to ensure that they are reliable.

        That said you don't know what environment the computers have been used in and whether or not they were maintained throughout their lives, so it's luck of the draw really, you could buy a machine that might have been under someone's desk for 5 years in a row and hasn't been cleaned since the day it was put into service, or you could get one that's hasn't seen much use.
        This is true of any 2nd hand electronics you buy like game consoles and it's not just exclusive to computers.

        I would say that the risk of HW failure is quite low — usually the first thing to die in a desktop PC like this is likely the motherboard or the power supply. If the PSU dies it can be easily replaced at a fairly low cost, but a motherboard replacement is pricey enough that it's not worth doing the replacement.

        • txb on 19/01/2021 - 23:23

          Thanks scrim

  • dmbminaret on 18/01/2021 - 17:21
    +2

    Perfect, but as scrimshaw said, whack in a 250gb SSD.

    https://www.umart.com.au/WD-Green-240GB-3D-NAND-2-5in-SSD_41…

    • txb on 19/01/2021 - 11:48

      Thank you. noted!

  • elusive on 18/01/2021 - 17:24

    It's decent enough, but you may find responsiveness (and startup times etc.) rather lacking with a HDD. If you're willing to open it up (quite easy) you can swap in a basic $40 SSD that would sort that out.

  • Lichen6420 on 18/01/2021 - 17:41
    +6

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dell-Optiplex-9020-SFF-Quad-Core…

    $249 ready to go with a 480GB SSD pre installed, the seller has a couple. Don't grab one without the SSD it will be super slow by comparison.

    They are pretty solid pc's, they are all business grade ex-lease from commercial/corporate environments. Perfect for what you want it for.

    • Cartman2530 on 18/01/2021 - 18:16

      I would also recommend grabbing this one, all the hard work (from a non tech savvy perspective) has been done.

    • txb on 19/01/2021 - 13:50

      noob question, but I can I hook up additional SSD's into this you think?

      • smashman42 on 19/01/2021 - 15:45
        +1

        Depends on ports on the board - usually there would only be 4 SATA ports (if you are lucky maybe 6) so with the DVD drive and supplied SSD you'd have two ports, three if you unplug the DVD drive - the chassis might not have mounting bays for them but SSDs can just be double sided taped anywhere. Power you might need to buy a splitter cable, and you'd probs need to supply your own SATA cable too.

        This age machine isn't going to have any M2 slots so it'd be 2.5" only

  • Tovers93 on 18/01/2021 - 17:46
    +1

    If it's just for general internetting, wouldn't a Chromebook be ideal (unless they're set on a desktop)? The Lenovo 14 inch ones are about $300 but this way you get a warranty, no need for additional software, portable, fast start up, long battery and they can plug into a screen and use mouse and keyboard if they need.

  • AustriaBargain on 18/01/2021 - 18:58
    -1

    If it costs 10 cents per hour to run the Optiplex and monitor and they'd like to leave it on 10 hours a day for music and stuff too, that's a dollar a day in electricity, or $1000 every three years. Whereas an iPad uses about $1.50 in electricity per year, or $4.50 every three years. Might be cheaper in the long run to buy an iPad, cheaper for them anyway.

    • donnot on 18/01/2021 - 21:51
      +2

      My 9020 only draws ~15-20W at idle, and add ~30W power draw for a typical 24" LCD. Assume power to be ~$0.30/kWh.

      With an average draw of 25W (including usage time) that's only ~$27 in electricity per year for the PC. Add maybe 3 hours per day of the monitor being on @ 30W = ~$10/year and the total is <$40 per year.

      • AustriaBargain on 18/01/2021 - 23:15

        Even if you accept those numbers, bring it up to 10 hours a day and over five years the iPad is still much cheaper, which means more money in the pockets of the family as a whole. And less coal burned. And mum doesn't need to sit at home tethered to the Optiplex to play online Scrabble or watch pirate streams of soap operas or whatever it is mum's do.

        • donnot on 19/01/2021 - 01:33
          +3

          The initial outlay for an iPad is significantly more than a $200 Optiplex and $50 monitor (which covers the additional electricity costs). An iPad is a good complementary device to a PC but as a multi-user device (i.e. mum and dad) for word processing/browsing etc, it can't quite replace a PC imo.

          • smashman42 on 19/01/2021 - 15:48

            @donnot: I think the new chromebook idea kicks both their arses - same entry price and similar much lower power consumption, but with the portability of the iPad and more use cases like the PC

    • skillet on 19/01/2021 - 09:04
      +2

      My 9020 i7-4770 with 256GB ssd and 32GB RAM draws about ~14watts idle once Windows is fully loaded. This is a typical Haswell idle consumption.

      For comparison, my new MFF optiplex 7080 i5-10500T 16GB 512GB nvme draws about ~4 watts idle. Yes very frugal 4watts mainly because it's a crippled 35watts TDP CPU.

      In terms of everyday office task the 9020 is still very capable. I didn't retire it but turned it into personal Nextcloud server. The 9020 will struggle a little playing 4K video without an pcie GPU. The fan will be spinning quite a bit and CPU and GPU load will increase when streaming 4K YouTube. I haven't tried 4K in VLC. I mostly do 1080p only.

      Note that this machine does not have a M2 slot so you can get a pcie to M2 adapter. The PCIE is a half height slot so you have very limited options for GPU. Here's a good discussion
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/540048
      In terms of RAM it is full sized desktop DIMM so you save a few dollar bucks.

      What impress me most is the tool less design in such a compact space plus they didn't compromise cooling. It's fitted with a huge heatsink and custom designed ducted cooling where the air is drawn from the front and exhausted at the rear. The other cool components don't get too much air flow so they don't get dusty over time. The fan spins slowly most of the time due to the huge heatsink.

      For a momandpop PC they will enjoy a huge screen due to aging vision but nothing beats an iPad that you can use anywhere.

      • txb on 19/01/2021 - 12:16

        Those are juicy computers but a tad overkill for a mum/dad computer. 1080p is as demanding as it'll get on a decent monitor screen. the 4k stuff they can sit and enjoy on the tv.

        Can I ask what price you got the 7080 for and where? (and when if it was on a special like black friday e.g)

        What gpu do you have in it?

        Thank you

        • skillet on 20/01/2021 - 08:45

          Your right I bought it around November for $686 a refurbished item from Dell outlet after all the discounts and untick the whatever Dell premium service. It comes with 3yr warranty plus keyb & rodent brand spanking new. They have 90± units at that time. It looks like some change of mind covid hit workplace returns.

          Unlike my old 9020 SmallFF, my 7080 is a Micro Form Factor so no GPU unless you attach an external unit to the usbC port. I don't really need one for this particular minimalist desk space so it suits me well. I haven't manage to make the fan go turbo even with a few hot Melbourne summer days. In fact it's so quiet I never heard the fan before. I can hear the 9020 humming quietly in the background 5m from me.

          Some people may argue at this price it's better to get a laptop and attach it to the screen but I like to hide my PC I don't really need access to my usb ports regularly.

  • Catullus on 18/01/2021 - 19:02
    -4

    That's pretty flash. You won't need to mess around with ssd or anything, and you won't need any more storage.
    It's even got 8GB RAM. Good grief , they won't need it for gaming.
    How long it will last? Who knows ?
    Bit sad to see Win 10, but there you go. Load of crap.
    I use Win 10 because it was on the thing I have now. Grr…
    Go for it.

    • FireRunner on 18/01/2021 - 23:07
      +1

      Everything you said is just wrong.

    • AustriaBargain on 18/01/2021 - 23:17
      +3

      You say you don't need an SSD, but the spin up and seek time on any mechanical drive is like living with brain damage compared to almost any SSD in any device. The fraction of a second lag you get is noticeable when using Explorer, or downloading a file, etc.

      • Techie4066 on 20/01/2021 - 14:21

        And hard drives are bound to fail. They're so old school and no cheap laptop/desktop should have one, or for that matter eMMC flash storage (like running an OS off a USB drive). I've had a laptop hard drive fail and a recent 2 year old Seagate 6TB hard drive fail.

  • ihbh on 18/01/2021 - 20:04

    I bought a Dell Precision last year (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/525580) with similar specs with 240GB SSD for $220 just as COVID hit as a spare PC. I use it on my standing desk. The Optiplex with 120GB SSD was $195, but that was pre-COVID.

    It's excellent value for money and will easy meet your needs.

    Like others have said, get one with an SSD, it's so much faster to boot up.

    I hopefully can put into this for more storage

    Don't think you have space. Just plug in a 2.5" portable drive into the many USB ports for extra storage.

    • bdl on 18/01/2021 - 20:58
      +1

      There's space, there's a 3.5 inch bay inside and I've also removed my optical drive and put a 2.5 inch in it's place using something like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32863110746.html (you use the 12.7mm one)

      Three internal sata ports :)

      • ihbh on 18/01/2021 - 21:04

        Op's linked PC has the HD. Good point about swapping out optical drive.

      • bdl on 18/01/2021 - 22:10

        Oops, forgot a word, I put a 2.5 inch ssd in the place of the optical drive. I had originally purchased a machine with a HDD, too.

      • FireRunner on 18/01/2021 - 23:13
        +1

        For the Optiplex 9020, there should be a gap between the HDD and Optical Drive which you can shove a 2.5" SSD into.
        OP will need to purchase a SATA power splitter and an extra SATA data cable to connect it but will be able to keep the optical drive

    • txb on 19/01/2021 - 12:16

      ah but I have all my old files and junk in those. just wanted to do a quick transfer.

  • bdl on 18/01/2021 - 20:56
    +2

    I've used one for the past few years, same spec as OP with an SSD. It's fine. Put a 1050ti in for Civ. Happy days.

    • txb on 19/01/2021 - 12:18

      Can you tell me what you got the 1050 for ?

      • bdl on 19/01/2021 - 12:39
        +2

        To play games that needed more than the integrated gpu

        • txb on 19/01/2021 - 23:16

          Ok, and how much price wise did you get yours for?

          • bdl on 20/01/2021 - 14:45

            @txb: It was a while ago, $215 in August 2017

  • bdl on 18/01/2021 - 22:11
    +2

    Anything I could/should be aware of?

    Just flash the BIOS when received, the three I bought had really old BIOSes

    • txb on 19/01/2021 - 12:19

      Good point! thanks

  • FireRunner on 18/01/2021 - 23:19
    +2

    Can't go wrong with these, still a strong performer despite it's age.
    It'll have no problems with just browsing and youtube for a good number of years I'd wager
    You'd definitely want an SSD though, the difference in booting and loading is night and day.
    You could either swap out the HDD and you'll only need to buy the SSD or add an SSD while keeping the HDD for extra storage with a SATA power splitter and a SATA data cable
    It does seem a little pricey but that might be just because of COVID

    Edit: You probably could get away with an i3 version for $120 since it doesn't sound like your parents are doing anything intensive. You'd most likely want to upgrade to 8GB of RAM which can be done for a $20

    • txb on 19/01/2021 - 12:21
      +1

      True, but nothing wrong with beefing it for my own occasional use ;)

  • HeWhoKnows on 19/01/2021 - 09:41
    +1

    Very good PC but overpriced if you ask me.
    No need for an SSD but easy upgrade if you decide on one later on

  • OzHunterNSW on 19/01/2021 - 11:02

    The computer is old and superseded b4 you even click Buy Now.

    • dstar012 on 19/01/2021 - 11:41

      How so?

  • txb on 19/01/2021 - 13:21

    Optiplex 3020 SFF
    $219.00

    Intel Quad i5-4570 @3.20GHz
    128GB SSD
    8GB RAM
    Integrated/On-Board Graphics

    and

    Optiplex 9010 SFF
    $216.75

    Intel Core i5-3570 @3.40GHz
    120GB SSD
    8GB RAM
    Integrated/On-Board Graphics

    —

    cpu better, but less storage in the 9010. am i missing something?

    are these able to have ram and processor upgrades later?

    • donnot on 19/01/2021 - 18:35
      +1

      They only accept processor upgrades within that generation of CPU. So the 4570 may be able to be upgraded to a 4670 and the 3570 to a 3570K (for better integrated graphics).

      The i5 4570 will perform similarly to the 3570 but use less power (newer generation CPU). The integrated graphics on the 4570 are also well ahead of those on the 3570.

      TL;DR: The 9020 is a year (and one CPU generation) newer and will have much better integrated graphics performance than the 9010 while using less power.

      • txb on 19/01/2021 - 20:17

        Thanks mate appreciate the explanation

      • donnot on 19/01/2021 - 21:32
        +1

        Oops, misread 3020 as 9020. See @FireRunner’s reply below.

    • FireRunner on 19/01/2021 - 19:14
      +2

      The i5-3570 isn’t better than the i5-4570.
      But the 3020 has less upgrade options (2 dimm/RAM slots instead of 4, 2 SATA data headers instead of 3, the PCIe slot is x1 on the top and x16 on the bottom so you can’t install a double slot GPU like the GTX1050Ti or 1650, best you could do is a single slot GT1030)
      Consider getting a 9020 instead of either 3020 or 9010

      • txb on 19/01/2021 - 23:15

        I don't know personally, I just did a few Google searches of xxx vs yyy comparison and the consensus was the statement given above.

        Yep, noted to look at the 9020 for some futureproofing. Cheers buddy.

        • bdl on 20/01/2021 - 14:47
          +1

          I've got 9020s and 9010s, pretty much identical, but definitely skip the 3020.

          as @FireRunner said, no real difference between 3570 and 4570 i5's

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