I Bought a $40 Mystery PC!

I bought a $40 mystery PC on eBay! With only a few photos and no listed specifications, will this prove to be a sensible purchase? Let's investigate! We'll start by unboxing the rig, followed by some extensive testing!

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[StefanEtienneTheVerrgeRep]

That post is more legit that those BS listings that say things like
"MASTER RACE GAMING PC PLAY AT 300 FPS PWN NOOBS ON ALL TITLES WILL NOT PART, INCLUDES WINDOWS 11 WORTH 300 DOLLARS, INCLUDED MOUSE AND KEYBOARD, ASKING $5000, TAKES PETS LIKE NO PROBLEM, THAT'S A GREAT PC RIGHT HERE"

[ejeckk]

I was a military postmaster. There is no such thing as 'too much packing' material. There is only one rule: Pack it like you want to see it again.

[ariannanightingale]

It's great seeing old systems on this channel, cause it's usually modern systems

[hreflet]

Not only do I learn stuff from your videos but you are an amazing human being for reaching out to the owner. I salute your mentality.

[PeteKay]

Greg saw this -- challenge accepted. Edit: I watched to the end and I just knew you were considering giving the machines back. It's exactly what I'd expect from you. Someone grounded and genuine, I wish there were more tubers like you. Not looking for likes or a comment -- this is how I feel and thought you should know it. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Later Greg!

[rigsbyrigged]

These systems can bring a lot of value to a home as Fileservers/NAS systems (Depending on how many drives you can add). Alternatively, if you wanted to start a Home Lab you could use this thing as a Domain Controller. Run an E-Mail-Server, Smart-Home apps. Etc. Old Hardware has some good uses. Restrictive is the power costs most of the time. But better than E-Waste.

[Addeatt]

I deal with computers like this all the time, companies upgrade their hardware and for the most part will give their old systems out for free. I would argue that $40 is actually a spot-on price for what you received, at least in comparison to my local market regarding old business computers. For instance, I regularly sell i5/i7 3rd generation, windows 10 pro, 256gb ssd, 8gb-16gb memory fully functional rigs including monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers for $100. i5/i7 4th generation with the aforementioned for $150, i5/i7 6th generation for $200 and i5/i7 7th generation for $300.

[thedungeondelver]

Love to see this kind of content, Greg. Would you consider doing a full hot-rod rebuild on the next one? Re-case the motherboard, etc.?

[KimBoKastekniv]

11:20 Don't feel guilty Greg, you can find Haswell PCs in a dumpster for free.

[ThatDiabeticChemist]

“Cmon man, don’t make me look like a chump on front of my friends” made me giggle like a little girl. Great find Greg!

[jeffreypaul]

That CD eject scene cracked me the hell up for some reason.🤣

[johncundiff]

I do these systems all the time for senior citizens and such!! I've actually got 22 PC's that run the gamut from i7-3770 to a Ryzen 5 3600x. There is a market for these pc's.. Hey.. I love this video!! I have been called "King of the budget box"!!! Keep up the good work Sir!

[WhiskyCardinalWes]

Pretty cool video! Maybe you could do a series on what things this rig could be turned into? A HTPC? Maybe turn it into a box full of HD or SSD for media or data backup?

[Thelothian]

I love this channel. Unfortunately a service like yours doesn't exist in my country (Italy)... yet it would be a very useful service for everyone!!

[jinty]

Great video Greg. I've bought a few of these towers in the past and I guessed you might have had a 4th gen system but 3rd gen is still viable too. If you stick a cheap 4 core 8 thread xeon processor in there it will still be able to play some newer titles. The power adapter cables for these are also quite cheap so upgrading the psu to add a better gpu is also easy to do. Of course you can only go so far with an older pc before the money you spend is ridiculous, but with used parts I've upgraded a few similar pcs for friends and family who would have probably thrown them in the trash. They are great for tinkering with linux too as they are so cheap. Looking forward to seeing the other system you got. That was also a nice message from the seller after you contacted them.

[pie_stains]

I used an 2500k for about 12 years and I added an ssd in November 2019 and it was still fine for internet and Skyrim so I was happy. I thought about selling the working parts with the 16gb of good ram but have not yet. I have picked up a base of an 10100f and MSI Z490-A Pro for $105 and another 13100f with MSI Z690 Tomahawk for $185 since April.

[JRose-zniw]

I provide free PC/electronics repairs to a couple of my friends who then bring me every PC carcass they can find in town. This was a good find indeed.

[iskate]

Greg. A proper bloke. You're really one of the best on here.

[jackieyip]

From another standpoint, recycling used electronics does cost money so it was basically free to ship it for them assuming they don't have a recycling center nearby. But also because the parts in it are super old, it would probably make sense just to give it away for the cost of shipping.

[jeffreyoldham]

I have a near identical Lenovo PC that I took out of rotation earlier this year when I upgraded to a newer office PC for mid-level gaming. It still works. I expect that the seller or someone else will get some use from this rig. As long as they don't expect too much from it.