I saw a YouTube video the other day saying it was time to stop buying used Dell Optiplexes, and he advocated building a new PC based on an AMD Ryzen 5 instead. But is it really as cut and dry as that? In this blog post, I will look at both options.
The Golden age of the used Dell Optiplex is probably over
It’s been possible for several years to buy off-lease Dell Optiplex PCs that still have plenty of life left in them for a fraction of what the originally cost, and for that matter, for less money than a comparable entry level PC from a big box store.
I’ve been buying third and fourth generation i5 systems, upgrading them with an inexpensive SSD and maybe a video card, and loading Windows 10 on them. They’ve been fantastic. Especially considering I spent less than $100 on the hardware in some cases.
The video I watched argued that buying a 4th generation i5 is only a stopgap now, and I agree. Windows 11 doesn’t officially support CPUs that old, so when Windows 10 goes end of life in 2024, you will have an orphan system.
The reason I think the golden age of used Dell Optiplexes ended around the fourth generation of i5 was a simple matter of supply and demand. Corporations bought these systems in huge quantities to help them with their own OS migrations, and then sold them onto the surplus market once they had outlived their usefulness to them. The 5th generation and later i-series CPUs from Intel didn’t sell in quite so large of numbers, so the supply never really outpaced demand on those. That will change after Windows 10 goes end of life, but those systems will only be useful as retro gaming rigs when that happens.
The exception to the rule to stop buying used Dell Optiplexes
But that isn’t to say that all surplus office PCs are useless to the bargain hunter who wants a well-built, reliable, and inexpensive PC for the home. Windows 11 supports 8th generation Intel i-series CPUs and later. Those PCs are now 6 years old, past the age many corporations discard PCs. Traditionally, corporations drew the line at 3 years because PCs came with 3-year warranties. Also, there was a time when a 3-year-old PC was not exactly pleasant to use. That’s changed to a large degree over the past decade or so, so some corporations are pushing that old rule to five or six years. But now even those holdouts are dumping that generation of system.
And that means there are used office PCs on the secondhand market that are perfectly capable of running Windows 11. You can forget about paying $50 for one. But you should be able to find one for under $200. To get one of these, look for a Dell Optiplex 3060. You can also look for an HP ProDesk G5. And while the price is higher, your chances of finding a Dell Optiplex 3060 with an SSD in it are somewhat higher than your chances of finding an Optiplex 3020 with one were.
Making the case for a new AMD Ryzen PC
The counter argument is that you can get a low end AMD Ryzen 5 4600G CPU with built-in graphics for right around $100. I’m hearing bad things about Asus motherboards lately, but a micro ATX Socket AM4 motherboard from ASRock or Gigabyte costs as little as $65. 16 GB of name brand DDR4 RAM will set you back another $40. A 480GB SSD costs around $25.
So we’re not talking that much more than the cost of a used Dell Optiplex. The question is whether you have a case and power supply to reuse. If you do, this seems like a nice option, because you are getting relatively good quality components, and they are new, and will have a full warranty.
If you don’t have a case and power supply to reuse, the decision gets harder. I remember when you could get a cheap case and power supply for $50. The case wouldn’t look great, and the power supply probably would die on you within 2 years, but as long as you planned for it and bought something better before the power supply failed, you could save some money in the short run this way.
It’s not as easy to find those deals anymore. You’re doing well if you can get an ATX case and power supply for $80.
Once you are in that ecosystem, you can save money in the long run building your own, because the case can last for several systems, and the power supply can probably last one or two upgrade cycles. An ATX case from the mid-90s will happily take a modern motherboard and power supply.
So the long-term answer is to buy an AMD Ryzen, right?
Which approach is cheaper in the long run? It depends on the operating system you want to run. Microsoft hasn’t announced the CPU requirements for Windows 12. It’s a good bet an AMD Ryzen 5 you purchase today will meet the cutoff for Windows 12. I wouldn’t put it past Microsoft to raise the bar a couple of generations with Windows 12 simply to force more people into buying new PCs. Microsoft isn’t happy with people like me who are running Windows 10 on used PCs that are more than 11 years old and telling all my friends about it.
If you run Linux, Microsoft’s shenanigans work to your advantage. It means the biggest bang for your buck right now is a used Dell Optiplex with a 7th generation i5 CPU. There’s not much difference between the 7th and 8th generations, but that’s where Microsoft arbitrarily drew the line. And then, when Microsoft decides to artificially obsolete a couple more generations of CPUs, you upgrade to one of those very cheaply. It’s very likely you’ll be able to buy a full PC for less than the cost of a new motherboard and CPU, let alone the other components. And then you can repurpose or resell the older PC.
The compromise option
Another option would be to go halfway. Dell Optiplexes have a following because they are common. People put up with the proprietary nature because of the low price on the secondary market. But some (not all) HP or Acer midtower PCs use a standard ATX power supply and motherboard. Buying one of those used will cost more than a proprietary used machine. But it will still cost less than building a new Ryzen 5 system will, and get you into the off-the-shelf at ecosystem, leaving you in a good position when upgrade time comes along.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
“If you run Linux, Microsoft’s shenanigans work to your advantage.”
— That pretty much says it all!