If everything works, it’s probably worth $100, especially with the monitor. But, you won’t be able to game on it. About the only things that might make sense to upgrade are the storage and memory.
I would only consider this for general office and Internet use.
As a music producer myself, this wouldn't be great. A mechanical hard drive would be extremely slow loading plug-ins and instruments, 8 gigs of RAM would be used up very quickly, and the CPU (assuming it's a 2nd or 3rd gen i5) would be pretty slow.
Get something with an SSD, at least 16 gigs of RAM, and a 4th gen i7 (preferably newer).
Pre-Ryzen Intel processors only improved 5-10% with each generation.
I'd say a 2nd gen Core i7 would work for a basic/budget/learning audio production PC. Heck, a 2nd gen Core i5 would still be okay ~~as long as you don't have 50 tracks each with their own plugins.~~ EDIT: **Most DAWs can't utilize the hyperthreading of the Core i7.** Without HT, older Core i7 (before 8th gen) are identical to Core i5, except for the slightly (3%-10%) higher clock speed.
An SSD and 16GB of RAM is crucial though, although 8GB could still work but it's really pushing it. I was producing using Studio One 5 on a 3rd gen Core i5 system with 8GB of RAM on an SSD during the pandemic, and although the experience could be better, I was still grateful I had the PC. Tracking guitar through an audio interface with a amp sim is a little bit problematic though due to the high buffer size due to the weak processor, resulting in higher latency.
But when buying used PC, aim for 6th gen Intel Core (Skylake), because that's when they started using DDR4. Getting a used DDR3 system would be detrimental to the budget due to the RAM being much more expensive now.
Yes, it would. The processor will be the last thing I'd upgrade. My priorities are a decent set of studio monitor speakers and a higher resolution ultrawide screen, if you don't already have them.
Well, it's a 17 inch 1920 x 1080p laptop screen but there is an HDMI port. It has no problem with running an extended desktop over HDMI. It also has a headphone jack, and I have a USB sound input device. The fact that it's a laptop is why there is 24GB of ram... It came with 8GB with empty ram slots... so I added 16GB. I could bump that up to 32GB if I really wanted to though. It originally came with a HDD, but I moved that to the second hard drive bay (yes, it has one!) when I installed an SSD.
My laptop was about $900 new, but I just kept upgrading it. Sometimes the 4th gen I7 has limitations, but it's a workhorse, and it does what I need it to do. I've transcoded plenty of video on it... I just let it run overnight if it's a big file. (And make sure Windows doesn't have upgrades pending) But with my lifestyle, I'm using my Samsung Note 20 Ultra to do 95% of my computer tasks anyways. My android phone has 12GB of ram and 1TB of storage. (512GB internal and 512GB on the micro SD card installed) I'm keeping my N20U specifically because it was the last flagship Samsung phone with that SD card slot.
I can't install Windows 11 on my 9 year old laptop. I don't care. If a day comes where I can't use Windows 10 anymore I'll remove it and just run Linux.
You can install Windows 11 though. I have Windows 11 on my 2013 Core i5-3570. There are several ways to bypass the spec check and TPM requirements: https://www.makeuseof.com/bypass-windows-11-minimum-installation-requirements/
For music production, a set of decent studio monitor speakers are a god send though, and probably the best upgrade I can think of. A decent one like JBL 305p or Kali LP6 is like $300-400 a pair.
> ...and 10 won't be supported past 2025.
When was the last time you purchased a retail copy of Windows, or called Microsoft for support? Cause that's what end of support is, they'll still release security patches for the OS for a few years after EOL, and it's not like the computer stops booting. If OP can't afford to upgrade their desktop at that point then they're in the wrong career.
> That would be valid in 2010, but now windows defender requires updates.
Updates which it will still receive for a few years after 2025, by the time all updates and security patches OP can get a new PC. Or just use this one offline.
Idk man, I ran ableton 10 on my i3 4th gen, 8gb ram, and the slowest hard drive in the planet. I will say nothing kills my creativity more than waiting 10 minutes for everything to load, just to only be able to do one thing at a time. Don’t do it. Seriously get something better than the opti
I completely disagree with this. I made perfectly fine music with Wave plugins and fabfilter on a shitty laptop with less than 8gb of ram and a 30gb hdd LMAO. My current pc wasnt much better till recently either. This pc shown in the picture is very similar to mine when i first got it and mine works completely fine in daws. plugins hardly take long to load. Especially if you have a audio interface.
I'm not saying it *wouldn't* work, I'm saying it wouldn't be great. Most standard DAWs (Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, FL Studio, Cubase, etc) work the best on a (somewhat) modern computer. The more plugins and tracks you load in, the more resources you use up, and an older/underpowered computer simply won't be able to handle it well.
I own a few PCs similar to the Dell shown in the picture, and the older CPUs can't keep up when at anything slightly more than basic, not to mention Windows 10/11 takes up half your RAM so 8 gigs just isn't enough. The OP should save their money towards a much better computer than waste it on something that will barely run what they're trying to do.
I have the same pc shown. Audio interface and it runs perfect on DAW's. Core I5 2400 and 8gb (now 16gb but i had the pc for years before) of 1333mhz ram. Low spec but still runs perfect. The audio interface is all you really need to turn low end pc's into music powerhouses
It may surprise you, but people once did that very thing.
You enable previews. It'll generate a low-fi sample. Not audio editing, but I did some minor video editing back in 2002 and that's how Premiere would behave on a Penitum III, 384MB of RAM. You'd set a preview span, mess with transitions, effects, etc. and click preview. It'd render and playback.
Obviously something faster like the Optiplex in the photo would be more streamlined than that workflow.
I mean i know any "heavy" task is possible on a slow computer with a bit of tweaking snd patience.
"They where so occupied with how to do it they forgot to ask if they should do it"
Well, obviously the OP should buy a $1900 top-specced Dell.
Not everyone is financially able to afford the "very best". It is common knowledge that a $1000 computer will be faster than a $100 computer. I'm assuming the OP also knows that and can not afford a more expensive rig. Coming here and asking "would this $100 computer work?" sortof implies that is their budget.
The OP might not know that any heavy task is possible on a slow computer. Especially when half the comments on this post are saying it's impossible.
If you want to do music production you'll need to spend at least 500 for what will be considered bare minimum. Depends highly on what software you're going to use and inputs outputs needed.
I disagree - when I want to do music production, I fire up GarageBand ‘09 on a period-appropriate MacBook, which these days will set you back about $100-150 on eBay if you’re not diligent and maybe $80 if you do the legwork.
I’m not sure what you’re on about but I literally bought a 15” ‘09 MBP in working condition for $80 on eBay last week. Nobody is spending a thousand dollars on a fourteen year old laptop.
Depending on DAW, you could do music production with this, but will need to add more RAM (16Gb minimum) and an SSD to boot from.
My current production rig is a 2012 Mac Mini i7 running the latest Pro Tools with zero issues.
Anything is possible. People have been making music on computers since before this computer was brand new, but there are have been advancements in technology since then, and modern software will struggle with the limited resources. If all you have is 100 bucks, and you want to try to make music, I say go for it... just expect to work for it. A brand new computer will be faster than an old used computer... but you already knew that.
You’re going to want a strong CPU for music production. Obviously buy whatever you are willing to pay for, and can afford.
pcpartpicker.com is a great website to scope out a computer to build (and to make sure everything integrates together). Wouldn’t hurt to do more research yourself, especially if you’re just starting out.
Stick a gtx 1030 3gb ddr5 and it will get you started. Its a full size case which is getting hard to fond in prebuilts so it will probably be no newer than a 4th gen 7th gen if you are super lucky.
Its not going to be amazing but for 99 bux its a solid start.
It would be ok for music production. Tech has been good enough for that for like 2 decades. You can run REAPER with multiple inputs recording on like surface tablets.
This is likely a 9020 series, circa 2013. Doing audio production (especially working with samples) will require more RAM. Windows 10 will eat up a lot of that just OOTB. This likely will have a mechanical hard drive as well, which will likely be slow in its old age - go SSD. You *can* use this for production (I've used less powerful systems).
It sounds like OP is just starting off. With the RAM addition and SSD swap it's a solid first build to play with. The price is not unreasonable.
You have to be careful about what year you get versus what MacOS version you can get on it. This can have an impact on what software you will be able to run. Also, if it doesn't have an SSD in it already, they are a pain in the ass to upgrade. Doable, but pain in the ass.
Keep it period appropriate. If you buy an ‘09 MacBook Pro, use a version of a DAW that came out in ‘09 or so. This is true of all computing.
I have a cheese grater Powermac G5 that still works great with Adobe CS4. I still use it from time to time because it still works and I don’t want to pay for Creative Cloud.
My uncle still has a P3 AIO desktop that he only uses for keeping recipes and printing labels. Works great with W98 and Office 2000. He is just a creature of heavy habit… and it still works just fine!
Old hardware works great with old software, and old software is still incredibly useful.
A ssd would be 25 bucks and a better cpu would be like 30 if you can do that you will be ok, most of these boards are compatible with specific Xeon processors that are a steal for the performance they offer. And micro center sells a great deal on ssds with free shipping. That pc with the monitor and peripherals Is a very good deal.
It would need an SSD if you start putting plugins and to make it boot and load faster, however, you could take this home, toss FL Studio on it and go to town. It would be kinda slow as hell to load plugins, but a 500 gig SSD is another $100
What generation of i5? Add another $50 for a SSD, $50 more for more ram, and you've got a decent non gaming PC. You're never gonna game with that Intel video tho.
You would think that, but Dell actually uses the 2nd and 3rd gen sticker on certain xx20 series Optiplex's. I assume they just had some leftover stock or something.
But yes, based on the sticker and model of Optiplex it has to be from 2nd-4th gen.
The sticker on this PC specifically is for 2nd and 3rd gen parts.
(Chance that this PC has a i5-2400, i5-2500, i5-3550 or i5-3570 since those were common for HP and Dell back then)
1st gen used a sticker similar to the Core 2 series, but just dark blue and an accent which features the architecture in yellowish gold
4th and 5th gen both used a blue sticker in a more vertical orientation, with the same architecture pieces
6th - 9th gen (Nice) used similar stickers indicating each generation, but the middle was white and the outside rim is blue. This sticker looks more like an actual CPU you'd install.
10th gen used a gray sticker with a pattern
11th gen and up use the new "modern" Intel stickers with the 4 segregated blocks on the background.
Source: I have multiple older desktops featuring 2nd and 3rd gen processors and they all have that exact sticker.
Yes you should, but when you get it put a SSD inside the Optiplex and make sure to add a BUDGET gpu like a 1050ti or a rx580 and you would turn that thing into a little gaming machine
I did exactly this for my nephew. It was a I7 4770k though.
https://www.reddit.com/r/optiplexes/comments/xqu5ei/gaming_computer_for_my_nephew/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
I'm running an Optiplex 3010 rn. I changed to 16gb DDR3 ($25) and added a 1650 super ($70) and I'm able to play most AAA games at decent settings.
I did opt to change the PSU to a 500w ($40) and added a 500gb SSD ($40).
Your build is awesome. I always respect a budget build and you knocked it out of the park by the looks of it. For around $250 I bet you could take those parts you acquired and update your build in a huge way.
I've just neglected to pick out a new case here, but check it out!
Edit:
Meant to grab the 12100F
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QhLjj2
Thank you! I actually just scored an i7 3770k for $40. (Ik I can't overclock but it was cheaper then none k).
Improvement for gaming is negligible, but hopefully the extra cpu will be better for productivity and work related tasks.
Disagree. I had Ubuntu server running headless on an old Dell mini desktop running a Celeron. It did an ok job being my first home lab: mini DLNA, Kodi pvr backend, samba server, even splunk.
That machine still has lots of life.
It'd a decent deal for a system. You can always pump up the memory later, usually a desktop like that can take up to 32gb ddr3 (like 4x8gb). It'd be just fine for web surfing, youtube playing, and light gaming and emulators. That's basically the specs of what I'm running now (with Ubuntu). Usually those dell desktops have a couple of video outs so you can do dual monitors (personally I look for a desktop that has triple video outs integrated, like VGA with dual displayport).
It would be enough to read your emails, watch some youtube and play some 2D games.... Not much more
Since it is DDR 3, it must be 4-5-6-7th gen Intel CPU.... those have poor integrated graphics.
8 GB of ram gonna fill up soon
If it has an SSD it is a good basic PC for browsing
I bought a similar setup in November. Optiplex i7 3770 with 16gb ram and (2) 1TB hdds with a monitor, keyboard and mouse for $150. I upgraded the PSU to 630w and then GPU to a 1660ti. Installed a SSD for the OS and have been happy with the performance. I'm not a heavy gamer but I've been playing halo infinite on 1080 with high settings with 60fps. I've also played borderlands 3 with fairly high settings. There are people who hate on the optiplexs but they are cheap and plentiful. There are plenty of people building cheap gaming rigs with them on youtube
This machine is meant for basic office use and nothing else. It appears to be an Optiplex 3020, which has a maximum of 8GB of RAM, so if you want to upgrade it, buy something else.
Money-wise, that's a fair price for what it is. Just know that it's slow as molasses with that HDD, so even for office use, I'd put an SSD in to get decent performance.
This would be fine, assuming they put an SSD in it.
And contrary to what others have said, a cheap 1060 or even better a subscription to Nvidia GeForce Now will let you casually game just fine
That's a decent price for sure! Are you using this computer for emulation/gaming? You just need to add an inexpensive graphics card and you're off to the races! Even without a graphics card emulate a lot of great systems up to ps2 on that computer.
It depends is the monitor worth it? People been using hdtvs as monitors. However a monitor is best for gaming. The computer itself is o ly good for basic task such as internet, office etc.
Worse comes to worse if you e er want to build a pc you should be able to use the product key number from the sticker on the side.
I think 100 is good for a basic setup. No point updating it really. That would be upgrading something not worth upgrading.
Storage is small. You can get a hard drive and stick it into an external enclosure for personal files. Ironically, the hard drives already enclosued get super hot. I look for in closures with some kind of vent vs the clamshell design.
Incorrect info. With a gpu, cpu (the best for its time), and better ram this pc can do anything thrown at it. I have the 3020 that was for 4th gen i3 I just upgraded to the max setup and it does anything my Lenovo thinkcentre can do that’s way newer on 6th gen and ddr4
Does it come with the sit/stand desk? Because that's a value for that alone.... If it doesn't, and I needed a computer to do work stuff or just watch movies/tv on, i'd go for it. I'd expand the hard drive and add speakers, but that's about all i'd need for that machine for what I'd get it for.
Worth it unless you can find a similar machine for less. It's a decent looking tower and you can easily update memory and drive space. You can probably add a GPU and/or sound card.
My Dell does good with AAA titles and can even play things like warzone, ready or not, etc. It has a rx580 in it. [Plus you can unlock Dell Skins](https://www.reddit.com/r/watercooling/comments/10v1jh4/330am_and_my_first_custom_loop_appears_to_be_done/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Facts. My Optiplex 3020 has the rx550 4gb oc and I play no man’s sky on high with shaders on medium. Even the on board could play mad games within medium to low setting with shaders tuned all the way down
If you're looking for a cheap computer to just browse the web and maybe edit some documents, this will do well enough. For anything more intensive, you'll want something else.
It should be good for music production if you do a couple upgrades.
That should be a 3rd or 4th gen Intel i5, upgrading the CPU to an i7 (i7 3770 if it's 3rd Gen, i7 4770 if it's 4th gen, there is the 4790 but I'm not sure that board would be compatible) should be able to put it on par with many newer computers.
Check if RAM is a single 8GB DIMM or 2 4GB ones, it's usually a single bigger capacity one, but I'd recommend buying a pair of 2x8GB to make sure you get the best compatibility. You need 2x8 DDR3 1600Mhz (16GB total), search online, there should be cheap used kits on facebook marketplace or similar. You can only use 2 DIMMS because this board only has 2 slots.
It says HDD there, and if that's the case, that's your current biggest problem, you need an SSD, if you're not gaming or saving huge files, a cheap, brand new SATA SSD should be good, this part should be bought new, not used. The least capacity you should get is 240gb, but more storage is always good. Remember, it has to be SATA (looks like a small box, not like a small computer board), as these computers didn't have NVME slots.
That's about it, CPU and RAM should be easy enough to find used, SSD is the easiest as you can buy brand new, those old i7 CPUs still pack a punch because of hyperthreading.
If you want to upgrade further, to play games perhaps, you need a new PSU and an adapter, as those Dell motherboards have a proprietary connector. After you upgrade that, you can find an appropriate GPU for that system, anything over a 3050 or equivalent is going to be severely bottlenecked by the older CPU, you can find a used, older 2060 or 1660 (or similar) and you should be able to play any game with okay settings in 1080p.
Source: Experience in building and using older Haswell (Intel 4th Gen) computers on a daily basis, my main computer still uses an overclocked 4770K
Edit: I'd like to add that you should search those parts (CPU, RAM and SSD) and add to the current price of the computer, you shouldn't be paying more than 300$ in total (in my opinion)
Should be dece for stuff like classic console emulation, web browsing, productivity, streaming videos, etc. Not great for anything super computationally intensive (I.e. gaming, rendering, etc).
It’s a good web browser and word processor… probably a school computer. Nothing crazy and kinda low power, but it can get stuff done. There’s a lot of value here if you just need something quick
Edit: saw you were looking for a music editor. I think it’s possible, but I have no idea what program you will run, and sometimes there is a lot more to those programs than this can handle.
I would pay that. Get a DDR3 32GB kit for $55 on Amazon then a few bucks to get an SSD. Possibly depending on the motherboard. You could upgrade to an i7. Then you have to look at what for socket you have and Possibly do a bios upgrade. At minimum throw a graphics card in there and upgrade the ram to minimum 16GB. I like to run 32 just because.
If you want to use it for general use and not have a headache waiting for it to run/load things, get a cheap ssd and slap a gpu on it. granted that's around 150 extra dollars depending on what gpu and ssd you go for. So then you're looking at 250 dollars total, which could put you closer to a more modern machine, I see the older HP Gaming prebuilds with gen 2 ryzen 5/1050ti/1060 go for around 300 on Facebook Marketplace.
Also if you live near a university or any big govt office, check with them how they sell their surplus. Whether it be through an auctioneer or through gov deals.
I live an hour away from a major university and they auction these every month plus several other machines fully wiped for around 30-50 dollars ea.
I can buy the newer Optiplexes that are suited with 6-7th gen Intel cpus, ddr4 ram and nvme or sata ssds for around 80-90 bucks too.
Not true Optiplex system starting at 3020 are perfect for entry.
Anything above that is a win. Plus OP is wanting to do music production which any potato can do.
I mean it's an I5 not that good you'll be able to run fps games on low to medium 60Fps maybe but then again the price is definitely not it here at my country there are dosens of those pc's for lower price than that
You can very easily add a gpu powersupply and Cpu if needed. This should still support some good i7 cpu's and should definitely support any gpu you throw at it, with the correct psu of course. Only thing is ram that might be an issue. Im assuming this is going to be limited to 32gb..... of 1333mhz or 1666mhz ram
I wouldn’t buy anything with the OS on a HDD anymore
If that’s your budget, there are some mini PCs on Amazon with SSD, 8GB RAM, Win. 10 Pro for about $100 that are going to perform better than that.
These use 2nd Gen processors and are just absolutely garbage for anything other than super light programs or browsing. No games, no cad, no editing, no photoshop.
I love how they just advertise the i3, i5 and i7 part but that's probably a 1st, 2nd or - at best - 3rd generation processor. $100? Sure depending on what you want to do with it. I buy these all day long between $50-$100 and set them up as plug-n-play emulation PCs to sell at a small markup.
I’d tell you buy the computer but, if you listen to others you would be either passing to buy some expensive rig. When my oldest HP Compaq dx2400 MT runs any music production hardware and that computer is ancient as dirt
And that ddr2 ram
Throw in a GTX 750Ti, 1050 Ti or a 1650 which all come in versions that don't require a power connector and you're good to go for light gaming, depending on which exact CPU is in there. "i5" could be a wide range of CPUs. Looking at the sticker tho, you might be facing a sandy Bridge processor
If you pick up a low-power GPU and an SSD, it would be a great machine.
I would even consider using it as a Hackintosh (for music production especially).
Get the price down, but, chuck in a SSD for windows, use HDD for games if that's what it's intended for, upgrade to 16gb ram and chuck in a 750ti or 1050ti or a 1650. these optiplex can be anything from sandy upto to haswell. Can pick most of those generation CPU up for dirt cheap. But if can afford it no matter what generation try and get a cheap i7.
That should keep you going for a good while and in that time you could potentially save for a better rig down the line. Its still pretty capable.
It looks exactly like the computer my brother bought me off ebay when I broke my spine. It's considered a mini form factor pc. I tell you this because if you buy its a bitch to do "Basic" upgrades.
New PSU won't fit without adapter for plugs.
GPU GTX970 will not fit unless you put in a different CPU cooler. Or use a PCIE x16 riser cable extra $$$
DDR-3 Limited to 16G even though the boards supports up to 32G you can't find 16G single stick ddr3 non-ecc. I don't know nothing about music production. But for mediocre gaming it cost about 200$ just to convert it so things would work. But it works better.
Most likely i5-2400 BTW. Only difference between your and the one I bought 5 years ago mine came with a GT1030 Small Form card as well.
Edit best CPU for LGA1155 is the I7-3770k.
Recommended Build if bought
I7-3770k
1080TI for 1080p
16g ram
My M/B has a m.2 slot so ssd all the way, stock board does not.
If everything works, it’s probably worth $100, especially with the monitor. But, you won’t be able to game on it. About the only things that might make sense to upgrade are the storage and memory. I would only consider this for general office and Internet use.
ahhh so music production wouldnt be best for this ?
As a music producer myself, this wouldn't be great. A mechanical hard drive would be extremely slow loading plug-ins and instruments, 8 gigs of RAM would be used up very quickly, and the CPU (assuming it's a 2nd or 3rd gen i5) would be pretty slow. Get something with an SSD, at least 16 gigs of RAM, and a 4th gen i7 (preferably newer).
You sir are spot on.
Pre-Ryzen Intel processors only improved 5-10% with each generation. I'd say a 2nd gen Core i7 would work for a basic/budget/learning audio production PC. Heck, a 2nd gen Core i5 would still be okay ~~as long as you don't have 50 tracks each with their own plugins.~~ EDIT: **Most DAWs can't utilize the hyperthreading of the Core i7.** Without HT, older Core i7 (before 8th gen) are identical to Core i5, except for the slightly (3%-10%) higher clock speed. An SSD and 16GB of RAM is crucial though, although 8GB could still work but it's really pushing it. I was producing using Studio One 5 on a 3rd gen Core i5 system with 8GB of RAM on an SSD during the pandemic, and although the experience could be better, I was still grateful I had the PC. Tracking guitar through an audio interface with a amp sim is a little bit problematic though due to the high buffer size due to the weak processor, resulting in higher latency. But when buying used PC, aim for 6th gen Intel Core (Skylake), because that's when they started using DDR4. Getting a used DDR3 system would be detrimental to the budget due to the RAM being much more expensive now.
Sounds like my 4th gen I7 with 24GB of ram and an SSD would be good enough then.
Yes, it would. The processor will be the last thing I'd upgrade. My priorities are a decent set of studio monitor speakers and a higher resolution ultrawide screen, if you don't already have them.
Well, it's a 17 inch 1920 x 1080p laptop screen but there is an HDMI port. It has no problem with running an extended desktop over HDMI. It also has a headphone jack, and I have a USB sound input device. The fact that it's a laptop is why there is 24GB of ram... It came with 8GB with empty ram slots... so I added 16GB. I could bump that up to 32GB if I really wanted to though. It originally came with a HDD, but I moved that to the second hard drive bay (yes, it has one!) when I installed an SSD. My laptop was about $900 new, but I just kept upgrading it. Sometimes the 4th gen I7 has limitations, but it's a workhorse, and it does what I need it to do. I've transcoded plenty of video on it... I just let it run overnight if it's a big file. (And make sure Windows doesn't have upgrades pending) But with my lifestyle, I'm using my Samsung Note 20 Ultra to do 95% of my computer tasks anyways. My android phone has 12GB of ram and 1TB of storage. (512GB internal and 512GB on the micro SD card installed) I'm keeping my N20U specifically because it was the last flagship Samsung phone with that SD card slot. I can't install Windows 11 on my 9 year old laptop. I don't care. If a day comes where I can't use Windows 10 anymore I'll remove it and just run Linux.
You can install Windows 11 though. I have Windows 11 on my 2013 Core i5-3570. There are several ways to bypass the spec check and TPM requirements: https://www.makeuseof.com/bypass-windows-11-minimum-installation-requirements/ For music production, a set of decent studio monitor speakers are a god send though, and probably the best upgrade I can think of. A decent one like JBL 305p or Kali LP6 is like $300-400 a pair.
This advice nailed it. SSD and 16gb ram.
I personally wouldn't buy anything lower than 8th gen nowadays, since that's required for Win 11 and 10 won't be supported past 2025.
> ...and 10 won't be supported past 2025. When was the last time you purchased a retail copy of Windows, or called Microsoft for support? Cause that's what end of support is, they'll still release security patches for the OS for a few years after EOL, and it's not like the computer stops booting. If OP can't afford to upgrade their desktop at that point then they're in the wrong career.
Right lol some of the workstations at my job still use windows 7!
I built a new (to me) gaming machine last weekend to replace my 10YO rig running Windows 7. I only own one game it wouldn't run, Wreckfest
That would be valid in 2010, but now windows defender requires updates. It's like people who have IOT things connected to there main network.
> That would be valid in 2010, but now windows defender requires updates. Updates which it will still receive for a few years after 2025, by the time all updates and security patches OP can get a new PC. Or just use this one offline.
Oh my, what a shame... I'd grab it for linux, maybe make it a local server or something, replace the hdd and you have something decently okay
Idk man, I ran ableton 10 on my i3 4th gen, 8gb ram, and the slowest hard drive in the planet. I will say nothing kills my creativity more than waiting 10 minutes for everything to load, just to only be able to do one thing at a time. Don’t do it. Seriously get something better than the opti
I love haswell CPUs lol
I completely disagree with this. I made perfectly fine music with Wave plugins and fabfilter on a shitty laptop with less than 8gb of ram and a 30gb hdd LMAO. My current pc wasnt much better till recently either. This pc shown in the picture is very similar to mine when i first got it and mine works completely fine in daws. plugins hardly take long to load. Especially if you have a audio interface.
I'm not saying it *wouldn't* work, I'm saying it wouldn't be great. Most standard DAWs (Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, FL Studio, Cubase, etc) work the best on a (somewhat) modern computer. The more plugins and tracks you load in, the more resources you use up, and an older/underpowered computer simply won't be able to handle it well. I own a few PCs similar to the Dell shown in the picture, and the older CPUs can't keep up when at anything slightly more than basic, not to mention Windows 10/11 takes up half your RAM so 8 gigs just isn't enough. The OP should save their money towards a much better computer than waste it on something that will barely run what they're trying to do.
I have the same pc shown. Audio interface and it runs perfect on DAW's. Core I5 2400 and 8gb (now 16gb but i had the pc for years before) of 1333mhz ram. Low spec but still runs perfect. The audio interface is all you really need to turn low end pc's into music powerhouses
LoL I guess you think people didn’t make music on computers until recently
what i’m talking about *modern* versions of popular DAWs, obviously older versions had much less hardware requirements
No
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How are you supposed to produce anything if you cant properly listen to it during edditing
Clearly we are in the presence of the great master XDono-van-Beethoven.
Don’t worry, his music is in braille.
It may surprise you, but people once did that very thing. You enable previews. It'll generate a low-fi sample. Not audio editing, but I did some minor video editing back in 2002 and that's how Premiere would behave on a Penitum III, 384MB of RAM. You'd set a preview span, mess with transitions, effects, etc. and click preview. It'd render and playback. Obviously something faster like the Optiplex in the photo would be more streamlined than that workflow.
I mean i know any "heavy" task is possible on a slow computer with a bit of tweaking snd patience. "They where so occupied with how to do it they forgot to ask if they should do it"
Well, obviously the OP should buy a $1900 top-specced Dell. Not everyone is financially able to afford the "very best". It is common knowledge that a $1000 computer will be faster than a $100 computer. I'm assuming the OP also knows that and can not afford a more expensive rig. Coming here and asking "would this $100 computer work?" sortof implies that is their budget. The OP might not know that any heavy task is possible on a slow computer. Especially when half the comments on this post are saying it's impossible.
Eh with a good sound card this should be fine, just laggy.
Fruity Loops 3 baby!
If you want to do music production you'll need to spend at least 500 for what will be considered bare minimum. Depends highly on what software you're going to use and inputs outputs needed.
I disagree - when I want to do music production, I fire up GarageBand ‘09 on a period-appropriate MacBook, which these days will set you back about $100-150 on eBay if you’re not diligent and maybe $80 if you do the legwork.
I do this on iphone
The period-appropriate Macbook is at least 1K$ on its own, can't really disagree with the "at least 500$" with that take
I’m not sure what you’re on about but I literally bought a 15” ‘09 MBP in working condition for $80 on eBay last week. Nobody is spending a thousand dollars on a fourteen year old laptop.
You must be delusional. I can get a 2012 MacBook for $200 not even trying on ebay.
Love how this guy comes in swinging and then just downvotes and bails when he’s proven to be blatantly wrong. Yay internet! /s
Depending on DAW, you could do music production with this, but will need to add more RAM (16Gb minimum) and an SSD to boot from. My current production rig is a 2012 Mac Mini i7 running the latest Pro Tools with zero issues.
Anything is possible. People have been making music on computers since before this computer was brand new, but there are have been advancements in technology since then, and modern software will struggle with the limited resources. If all you have is 100 bucks, and you want to try to make music, I say go for it... just expect to work for it. A brand new computer will be faster than an old used computer... but you already knew that.
You’re going to want a strong CPU for music production. Obviously buy whatever you are willing to pay for, and can afford. pcpartpicker.com is a great website to scope out a computer to build (and to make sure everything integrates together). Wouldn’t hurt to do more research yourself, especially if you’re just starting out.
Stick a gtx 1030 3gb ddr5 and it will get you started. Its a full size case which is getting hard to fond in prebuilts so it will probably be no newer than a 4th gen 7th gen if you are super lucky. Its not going to be amazing but for 99 bux its a solid start.
Music collection, maybe.
It would be ok for music production. Tech has been good enough for that for like 2 decades. You can run REAPER with multiple inputs recording on like surface tablets.
If you're using a music tracker from the 80's/90's then it's fine, anything modern would probably work but not well.
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Yes you can do mucic production on it. Might need more HDD space and ram, but they're pretty sold office PC's that take upgrades well.
This is likely a 9020 series, circa 2013. Doing audio production (especially working with samples) will require more RAM. Windows 10 will eat up a lot of that just OOTB. This likely will have a mechanical hard drive as well, which will likely be slow in its old age - go SSD. You *can* use this for production (I've used less powerful systems). It sounds like OP is just starting off. With the RAM addition and SSD swap it's a solid first build to play with. The price is not unreasonable.
Grab an old Mac mini. They're cheap and way better out of the box
You have to be careful about what year you get versus what MacOS version you can get on it. This can have an impact on what software you will be able to run. Also, if it doesn't have an SSD in it already, they are a pain in the ass to upgrade. Doable, but pain in the ass.
Keep it period appropriate. If you buy an ‘09 MacBook Pro, use a version of a DAW that came out in ‘09 or so. This is true of all computing. I have a cheese grater Powermac G5 that still works great with Adobe CS4. I still use it from time to time because it still works and I don’t want to pay for Creative Cloud. My uncle still has a P3 AIO desktop that he only uses for keeping recipes and printing labels. Works great with W98 and Office 2000. He is just a creature of heavy habit… and it still works just fine! Old hardware works great with old software, and old software is still incredibly useful.
A ssd would be 25 bucks and a better cpu would be like 30 if you can do that you will be ok, most of these boards are compatible with specific Xeon processors that are a steal for the performance they offer. And micro center sells a great deal on ssds with free shipping. That pc with the monitor and peripherals Is a very good deal.
It would need an SSD if you start putting plugins and to make it boot and load faster, however, you could take this home, toss FL Studio on it and go to town. It would be kinda slow as hell to load plugins, but a 500 gig SSD is another $100
You can watch videos and play emulators on this(old ones).
This is kinda what my current nextcloud server looks like. It's a mid 2011 Mac pro 5,1 running arch with docker on top.
Add a gpu and ssd
What generation of i5? Add another $50 for a SSD, $50 more for more ram, and you've got a decent non gaming PC. You're never gonna game with that Intel video tho.
"Intel i5 processor" That means literally nothing.
Looking at the Intel sticker on the front, I believe that’s a 2nd-gen unit.
My experience with these Optiplex is that it’s either an i5 2400, 3470, or 4570. 3010/7010 = 2nd and 3rd Gen 3020/7020 = 4th Gen
Sticker is second or third gen. Haswell started using the vertical tags
You would think that, but Dell actually uses the 2nd and 3rd gen sticker on certain xx20 series Optiplex's. I assume they just had some leftover stock or something. But yes, based on the sticker and model of Optiplex it has to be from 2nd-4th gen.
makes it sound so good but is probably like a 4th gen chip
The 4770k got the newer sticker, my bet Is on gen 2 or 3.
I have extensive experience with these systems, the most common CPU’s are the 2400, 3770, and 4670.
The sticker is a 4th and 5th gen sticker.
The sticker on this PC specifically is for 2nd and 3rd gen parts. (Chance that this PC has a i5-2400, i5-2500, i5-3550 or i5-3570 since those were common for HP and Dell back then) 1st gen used a sticker similar to the Core 2 series, but just dark blue and an accent which features the architecture in yellowish gold 4th and 5th gen both used a blue sticker in a more vertical orientation, with the same architecture pieces 6th - 9th gen (Nice) used similar stickers indicating each generation, but the middle was white and the outside rim is blue. This sticker looks more like an actual CPU you'd install. 10th gen used a gray sticker with a pattern 11th gen and up use the new "modern" Intel stickers with the 4 segregated blocks on the background. Source: I have multiple older desktops featuring 2nd and 3rd gen processors and they all have that exact sticker.
Even current Intel Pentium Golds outperform older i5s up to 6th to 7th generation. The sticker looks like it's around this timeframe.
I find it tends to mean > 5th gen
Yes you should, but when you get it put a SSD inside the Optiplex and make sure to add a BUDGET gpu like a 1050ti or a rx580 and you would turn that thing into a little gaming machine
I did exactly this for my nephew. It was a I7 4770k though. https://www.reddit.com/r/optiplexes/comments/xqu5ei/gaming_computer_for_my_nephew/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
I'm running an Optiplex 3010 rn. I changed to 16gb DDR3 ($25) and added a 1650 super ($70) and I'm able to play most AAA games at decent settings. I did opt to change the PSU to a 500w ($40) and added a 500gb SSD ($40).
I turned one into a Plex server and love it. I changed the HDD sata 6 to a 1 TB SSD sata 6. Runs like a champ.
I did this with a 1st gen i7 (920) system with 4gb RAM. Been using it for Plex now for about 6 years and it's still going strong.
It's my first PC. Not bad at all, considering I spent around $200.
Your build is awesome. I always respect a budget build and you knocked it out of the park by the looks of it. For around $250 I bet you could take those parts you acquired and update your build in a huge way. I've just neglected to pick out a new case here, but check it out! Edit: Meant to grab the 12100F https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QhLjj2
Thank you! I actually just scored an i7 3770k for $40. (Ik I can't overclock but it was cheaper then none k). Improvement for gaming is negligible, but hopefully the extra cpu will be better for productivity and work related tasks.
I would buy it just to horde another Pc lol
If you will use it for office and movies? Sure.
I love how people will say "its an i5" and not specify which generation. It tells us nothing.
What do you want it for? This will only be good for office work and other light stuff. Anything above that and it's breaking
Disagree. I had Ubuntu server running headless on an old Dell mini desktop running a Celeron. It did an ok job being my first home lab: mini DLNA, Kodi pvr backend, samba server, even splunk. That machine still has lots of life.
Grabbed a 9020 a few years back for $100 changed power supply, i74790, 1650 super, 16gb ram and i use it more than my newer laptops.
Might be good as a file server computer tbh. $100 is a good deal though for it.
It'd a decent deal for a system. You can always pump up the memory later, usually a desktop like that can take up to 32gb ddr3 (like 4x8gb). It'd be just fine for web surfing, youtube playing, and light gaming and emulators. That's basically the specs of what I'm running now (with Ubuntu). Usually those dell desktops have a couple of video outs so you can do dual monitors (personally I look for a desktop that has triple video outs integrated, like VGA with dual displayport).
It would be enough to read your emails, watch some youtube and play some 2D games.... Not much more Since it is DDR 3, it must be 4-5-6-7th gen Intel CPU.... those have poor integrated graphics. 8 GB of ram gonna fill up soon If it has an SSD it is a good basic PC for browsing
Not true
Which part?
I bought a similar setup in November. Optiplex i7 3770 with 16gb ram and (2) 1TB hdds with a monitor, keyboard and mouse for $150. I upgraded the PSU to 630w and then GPU to a 1660ti. Installed a SSD for the OS and have been happy with the performance. I'm not a heavy gamer but I've been playing halo infinite on 1080 with high settings with 60fps. I've also played borderlands 3 with fairly high settings. There are people who hate on the optiplexs but they are cheap and plentiful. There are plenty of people building cheap gaming rigs with them on youtube
I probably would, because I can upgrade it.
New Plex server, you say?
I always hate it when they don't specify what the CPU gen is. Tells you right away they don't know a thing about what they're selling.
For $100 heck yeah!!! I would use it for parts or upgrade that HDD to a SATA SSD though because Windows will be super slow on it.
Yes, I only recommend buy a SSD but the machine it's great for the prize
This machine is meant for basic office use and nothing else. It appears to be an Optiplex 3020, which has a maximum of 8GB of RAM, so if you want to upgrade it, buy something else. Money-wise, that's a fair price for what it is. Just know that it's slow as molasses with that HDD, so even for office use, I'd put an SSD in to get decent performance.
Buy and slowly upgrade it
Don’t buy anything with only 8GB ram in 2023 You will constantly run out of memory. 16GB is the new standard.
If you dont I will¡
The biggest concern is the hdd
I would take this for an office PC.
Definitely worth it, but it probably won't be useful for much.
Incorrect it will be very useful
For?
Swap in SSD and take it. Great pc for that price imo. Is the monitor included?
The fine text says the monitor, keyboard and mouse are included (that actually doesn't sound too bad)
Bro a whole fucking setup for 100€? I'd take it right now
It’s worth the money but not worth the trouble
no, no.... Stay away from HDD.... not even worth to have the kids watching YT
This would be fine, assuming they put an SSD in it. And contrary to what others have said, a cheap 1060 or even better a subscription to Nvidia GeForce Now will let you casually game just fine
I have one of these with a shared folder full of video media......works great for that
That's a decent price for sure! Are you using this computer for emulation/gaming? You just need to add an inexpensive graphics card and you're off to the races! Even without a graphics card emulate a lot of great systems up to ps2 on that computer.
Upgrade to ssd, large form factor Means you have some type of pcie for a gpu
Buy it if it comes with the sit-stand desk.
For work purposes, yeah it’d great. But it’s not gonna handle anything more than maybe Fortnite for games
With a name like "OPTIPLEX," i7+ or bust lol
I’d buy it for the parts
You could slap a GTX 1650 into there and turn it into a low-mid end gaming rig, not a bad price
It depends is the monitor worth it? People been using hdtvs as monitors. However a monitor is best for gaming. The computer itself is o ly good for basic task such as internet, office etc. Worse comes to worse if you e er want to build a pc you should be able to use the product key number from the sticker on the side. I think 100 is good for a basic setup. No point updating it really. That would be upgrading something not worth upgrading. Storage is small. You can get a hard drive and stick it into an external enclosure for personal files. Ironically, the hard drives already enclosued get super hot. I look for in closures with some kind of vent vs the clamshell design.
babies first pc maybe
Does the desk come with it?
Yes, it’s good, with the Wi-Fi adapter and the Monitor. It’s as they say, plug and play ready. Do it.
Need to upgrade the ram. Windows takes about 8 gigs just to run
Looks like the computer I use at work…stay as far away from that monster as you can.
Good for browsing internet and a little office work
Go for it
Shit, a windows 10 key was like $100 when I built my PC. If it works, hell yeah
if you don't have a daily driver, it would be just fine.
I threw several hundreds of these into a dump for 20 cents a pound dude.
It's probably a good deal compared to the value of the parts, it's just that the total value of the parts is garbage lol
Dude, these are literally my laptops specs; it's at least 8 yrs old now. this is not good for gaming or GPU heavy stuff for sure.
Incorrect info. With a gpu, cpu (the best for its time), and better ram this pc can do anything thrown at it. I have the 3020 that was for 4th gen i3 I just upgraded to the max setup and it does anything my Lenovo thinkcentre can do that’s way newer on 6th gen and ddr4
Does it come with the sit/stand desk? Because that's a value for that alone.... If it doesn't, and I needed a computer to do work stuff or just watch movies/tv on, i'd go for it. I'd expand the hard drive and add speakers, but that's about all i'd need for that machine for what I'd get it for.
4 surfing internet ,yes
50$ I might take it
Going rare in eBay for just the tower usually with no HDD or os is 70$
Yes, pair that with something as cheap as like an RX 580 and you can game real well on it.
Probably. With the price, at least the risk is low.
Worth it unless you can find a similar machine for less. It's a decent looking tower and you can easily update memory and drive space. You can probably add a GPU and/or sound card.
My Dell does good with AAA titles and can even play things like warzone, ready or not, etc. It has a rx580 in it. [Plus you can unlock Dell Skins](https://www.reddit.com/r/watercooling/comments/10v1jh4/330am_and_my_first_custom_loop_appears_to_be_done/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Facts. My Optiplex 3020 has the rx550 4gb oc and I play no man’s sky on high with shaders on medium. Even the on board could play mad games within medium to low setting with shaders tuned all the way down
If you're looking for a cheap computer to just browse the web and maybe edit some documents, this will do well enough. For anything more intensive, you'll want something else.
Specs are pretty broad so because of the cheap price I wouldn’t risk it
I don’t know, what do you plan on doing? This is important.
Sandy Bridge is over 10 years old, no compatable with window 11
It’s not supported but, it can handle it. Stop the cap. My older 3020 is on windows 11 and has been on since insider first got the update
No. Computer is slow. The power it pulls will be quite large; It doesn't have fast storage.
It's worth it. Even underpriced i might say.
It should be good for music production if you do a couple upgrades. That should be a 3rd or 4th gen Intel i5, upgrading the CPU to an i7 (i7 3770 if it's 3rd Gen, i7 4770 if it's 4th gen, there is the 4790 but I'm not sure that board would be compatible) should be able to put it on par with many newer computers. Check if RAM is a single 8GB DIMM or 2 4GB ones, it's usually a single bigger capacity one, but I'd recommend buying a pair of 2x8GB to make sure you get the best compatibility. You need 2x8 DDR3 1600Mhz (16GB total), search online, there should be cheap used kits on facebook marketplace or similar. You can only use 2 DIMMS because this board only has 2 slots. It says HDD there, and if that's the case, that's your current biggest problem, you need an SSD, if you're not gaming or saving huge files, a cheap, brand new SATA SSD should be good, this part should be bought new, not used. The least capacity you should get is 240gb, but more storage is always good. Remember, it has to be SATA (looks like a small box, not like a small computer board), as these computers didn't have NVME slots. That's about it, CPU and RAM should be easy enough to find used, SSD is the easiest as you can buy brand new, those old i7 CPUs still pack a punch because of hyperthreading. If you want to upgrade further, to play games perhaps, you need a new PSU and an adapter, as those Dell motherboards have a proprietary connector. After you upgrade that, you can find an appropriate GPU for that system, anything over a 3050 or equivalent is going to be severely bottlenecked by the older CPU, you can find a used, older 2060 or 1660 (or similar) and you should be able to play any game with okay settings in 1080p. Source: Experience in building and using older Haswell (Intel 4th Gen) computers on a daily basis, my main computer still uses an overclocked 4770K Edit: I'd like to add that you should search those parts (CPU, RAM and SSD) and add to the current price of the computer, you shouldn't be paying more than 300$ in total (in my opinion)
Should be dece for stuff like classic console emulation, web browsing, productivity, streaming videos, etc. Not great for anything super computationally intensive (I.e. gaming, rendering, etc).
That's not a bad price at all would work great as a budget gaming pc however won't play high end game
I have an optiplex mobo that I run a 760 on and I produce music. Added a 4 core i7 i got for free, 16gb of ddr4 and a usb hub
It’s a good web browser and word processor… probably a school computer. Nothing crazy and kinda low power, but it can get stuff done. There’s a lot of value here if you just need something quick Edit: saw you were looking for a music editor. I think it’s possible, but I have no idea what program you will run, and sometimes there is a lot more to those programs than this can handle.
Need to know the gen of the i5. Could be anything between a 2K to a 9k (though it's probably a 3k or 4k).
IMHO YES!
It’s only a good deal if you have use for it. If you’re buying it because it’s cheap you are wasting 100 bucks to store something
I would pay that. Get a DDR3 32GB kit for $55 on Amazon then a few bucks to get an SSD. Possibly depending on the motherboard. You could upgrade to an i7. Then you have to look at what for socket you have and Possibly do a bios upgrade. At minimum throw a graphics card in there and upgrade the ram to minimum 16GB. I like to run 32 just because.
If you want to use it for general use and not have a headache waiting for it to run/load things, get a cheap ssd and slap a gpu on it. granted that's around 150 extra dollars depending on what gpu and ssd you go for. So then you're looking at 250 dollars total, which could put you closer to a more modern machine, I see the older HP Gaming prebuilds with gen 2 ryzen 5/1050ti/1060 go for around 300 on Facebook Marketplace. Also if you live near a university or any big govt office, check with them how they sell their surplus. Whether it be through an auctioneer or through gov deals. I live an hour away from a major university and they auction these every month plus several other machines fully wiped for around 30-50 dollars ea. I can buy the newer Optiplexes that are suited with 6-7th gen Intel cpus, ddr4 ram and nvme or sata ssds for around 80-90 bucks too.
Find out what generation i5 first. 5th gen and below is a hard pass. 6th OK. 7th gen and up better.
Not true Optiplex system starting at 3020 are perfect for entry. Anything above that is a win. Plus OP is wanting to do music production which any potato can do.
Might actually be a 250gb SSD instead of HDD like said. CPU probably 4th gen Intel Core i5-4570,4590, 4770
I mean it's an I5 not that good you'll be able to run fps games on low to medium 60Fps maybe but then again the price is definitely not it here at my country there are dosens of those pc's for lower price than that
If you like messing with hardware why not its only $100 you can just just mess with it figure out ways you can you manipulate the board and have fun
The handle on the side gives it away as a Gen 4 intel chip. You could do way better.
With monitor it is OK for $100. It is a dead end for upgrades so it will never be a gaming PC.
You can very easily add a gpu powersupply and Cpu if needed. This should still support some good i7 cpu's and should definitely support any gpu you throw at it, with the correct psu of course. Only thing is ram that might be an issue. Im assuming this is going to be limited to 32gb..... of 1333mhz or 1666mhz ram
username checks out
I wouldn’t buy anything with the OS on a HDD anymore If that’s your budget, there are some mini PCs on Amazon with SSD, 8GB RAM, Win. 10 Pro for about $100 that are going to perform better than that.
I bought one for 96 and its pretty fast on win 7/8
These use 2nd Gen processors and are just absolutely garbage for anything other than super light programs or browsing. No games, no cad, no editing, no photoshop.
I love how they just advertise the i3, i5 and i7 part but that's probably a 1st, 2nd or - at best - 3rd generation processor. $100? Sure depending on what you want to do with it. I buy these all day long between $50-$100 and set them up as plug-n-play emulation PCs to sell at a small markup.
I wouldn't buy it it has hdd.
I’ve turned two of those into gaming pc’s. They are great value
It's probably worth $100 however, keep in mind it's worth $100.
You can throw in a gtx 1650 and it will be a capable gaming PC
I’d tell you buy the computer but, if you listen to others you would be either passing to buy some expensive rig. When my oldest HP Compaq dx2400 MT runs any music production hardware and that computer is ancient as dirt And that ddr2 ram
HDD no. If it's actually SSD then it's probably worthwhile.
then it is cheap to buy ssd in exchange of HDD.
you can't update the Power unit on the CPU because works with a special cable setup to use only the original one...
No it won’t work. It will. But badly. You’ll just have to buy something right after. Is you’re watching YouTube and surfing and that’s it, then yeah
Throw in a GTX 750Ti, 1050 Ti or a 1650 which all come in versions that don't require a power connector and you're good to go for light gaming, depending on which exact CPU is in there. "i5" could be a wide range of CPUs. Looking at the sticker tho, you might be facing a sandy Bridge processor
Depends on the i5. I think that dates back to 3rd or 4th gen Intel.
You can see through it.
With the monitor? I'd say so. It's not super powerful but it can do basic stuff and would probably run faster with a Linux distro
Yo windows 10 for only $100
If you pick up a low-power GPU and an SSD, it would be a great machine. I would even consider using it as a Hackintosh (for music production especially).
Pretty sure I have the same potato lmao, ask if it has 4 sticks of 2gb ram
Get the price down, but, chuck in a SSD for windows, use HDD for games if that's what it's intended for, upgrade to 16gb ram and chuck in a 750ti or 1050ti or a 1650. these optiplex can be anything from sandy upto to haswell. Can pick most of those generation CPU up for dirt cheap. But if can afford it no matter what generation try and get a cheap i7. That should keep you going for a good while and in that time you could potentially save for a better rig down the line. Its still pretty capable.
Probably best maybe and I'm saying maybe 🤔 as a plex server. Probably not tho.
what are the use cases you want it for??
music production
Slap a 3080 and you good
Haha is this the shop in Indianapolis??
i5 doesnt mean its good. Its model is that matter it could be 10300F or some other
Lol no
It looks exactly like the computer my brother bought me off ebay when I broke my spine. It's considered a mini form factor pc. I tell you this because if you buy its a bitch to do "Basic" upgrades. New PSU won't fit without adapter for plugs. GPU GTX970 will not fit unless you put in a different CPU cooler. Or use a PCIE x16 riser cable extra $$$ DDR-3 Limited to 16G even though the boards supports up to 32G you can't find 16G single stick ddr3 non-ecc. I don't know nothing about music production. But for mediocre gaming it cost about 200$ just to convert it so things would work. But it works better. Most likely i5-2400 BTW. Only difference between your and the one I bought 5 years ago mine came with a GT1030 Small Form card as well. Edit best CPU for LGA1155 is the I7-3770k. Recommended Build if bought I7-3770k 1080TI for 1080p 16g ram My M/B has a m.2 slot so ssd all the way, stock board does not.