So, you're on Ebay on your phone, and you think: "Maybe I should get a desktop so I can trade faster and have more screen real estate."
So you pop over to Dell and you look at an entry level machine, and you click "Deals".
So far so good. As of today, 11/13/2020 you have two $400 options. Great, and FREE shipping, neat!
Your "cheap" options are thus:
XPS Desktop (4.2 rating) Message from Dell upon clicking the link: Sorry, all of these products are currently claimed.
This deal was really popular, but stick around because more may become available.
- 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processor
- Windows 10 Home
- Intel® UHD Graphics 630
- 1TB Hard Drive
- 8GB Memory (8GB, 1x8GB, DDR4, 2666MHz)
- $399.99 with a Black Friday special
- "Est. Value": $649.99 (38% off)
and
(Hey, at least this one's available!)
Inspiron Desktop (4.0 rating)
- 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processor
- Windows 10 Home
- Intel® UHD Graphics 630
- 256GB Solid State Drive
- 8GB Memory (8GB, 1x8GB, DDR4, 2666MHz)
- $399.99 with a Black Friday special
- "Est. Value": $509.99 (22% off)
These are usable machines, if they are available. Well... They don't come with a monitor, so that's an issue. And you have a Dell case, and a Dell motherboard. They are "upgrade-able" in the strictest sense... installing another SATA HDD or SSD is fairly basic and RAM swaps are easy. Also, if you are going to have multiple tabs open, 8GB of memory could wind up being an issue. Not to mention that it is one stick (single channel only! WOO!) of 2666MHz memory...
So, let's break this down: (all prices current on newegg as of this time)
- 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processor: $115.99(Heatsink and fan included)
- 1 TB HDD (Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200): $37.95
(I don't know what HDD with which they are currently shipping, so I'll be kind and go with a WD Blue)
- 8GB, 1x8GB, DDR4, 2666MHz: (Black Diamond Memory 8GB 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM 2666) $29.95(This is a SIMILAR stick to one you would find in a standard Dell low-end option)
- Windows 10 Home: $109.99
- Dell Motherboard ??
- Dell Power Supply and Case (1x 92mm fan): ??
- Dell basic keyboard and mouse included
Now, if you are looking to buy a basic system with little to no intention of upgrading, or feel that you lack the technical skill to do upgrades, then this is an option. (Again, no monitor) Let's see how we can do building one from scratch:
11/13/2020 Build: (AMD)
NOTE: I am selling nothing, these are not my listings. Shipping and Handling is free unless otherwise indicated.
Case: Rosewill ZIRCON T ATX Mid Tower Gaming PC Computer Case with Side Panel Window, Includes 2 x 120mm Fans: $40.00 (newegg)
Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5GHz $174.99 (Used on eBay)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD Promontory B450 SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 70.99 + 1.99 s/h (Open Box on newegg)
RAM: HyperX Fury 16GB (2 x 8GB) (DDR4-2666) Memory (HX426C16FB3K2/16) $49.99 (Buy It Now listing on eBay)
Power supply: Thermaltake Purepower 500NP W0100RU 500 Watt ATX power supply $21.25 + $10.04 s/h (Used on eBay)
Storage: Crucial 120GB SSD SATA III 2.5-inch Internal Solid State Drive $24.95 (New on eBay)
OS: Windows 10 PRO 32/64BIT Download $37.99 (Website: Recycled Software)
Keyboard/Mouse Combo:Logitech Desktop MK120 Durable, Comfortable, USB Mouse and keyboard Combo $14.49 (Amazon)
Graphics Card:
Total Price: $446.68
This build comes with Windows Pro, and an extra 8 GB of RAM running in dual-channel, but you do need either an AMD processor with integrated graphics (XXXXG) or an external graphics card. Remember, the Dell price is before Taxes are added.
Dell Price: $423.44 ($399.99 + calculated 5.25% sales tax of $23.45)
Build Price: $446.68
Difference: $23.24
Summary: If you are going to be trading with multiple Tabs open, (and possibly multiple monitors), you are going to want the extra memory in dual channel. A 120 GB SSD may not sound like a lot, but it is more than enough for a boot drive and the motherboard chosen has several SATA ports as well as an available NVMe slot which if using the onboard graphics (as in this build) leaves the entire PCIe lane open for that drive.
What do you think?
Do you have a better build? Leave it in the comments section, I'd like to hear what you have to say.
