Could you build a cheap used eBay parts PC?

gumbob3 · Mar 30, 2016

How easy would it be to buy parts off of eBay and build a cheap PC, then install Ubuntu onto it via Flash Drive? Something between $50 & $75. Something like this. It would have better specs than our current PC, lol. So, would this work or could you do something like this? Or should a guy stay away from this? THANKS!!

CPU:http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Athlon-II-X2-2-8ghz-Dual-Core-Socket-AM2-AM3-ADXB220CK23GQ-CPU-Processor-/281952419889?hash=item41a5ac8031:g:xIYAAOSw5dNWqjF4

GPU: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATI-Radeon-X700-Pro-PCIe-256mb-Graphics-Card-DVI-VGA-SVIDEO-/152033727199?hash=item2365ea92df:g:nPkAAOSwxp9W-uo2

MOBO: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-6000-6005-Pro-SFF-Motherboard-AM3-DDR3-531966-001-/191824721869?hash=item2ca9a4f7cd:g:rwkAAOSwoudW40Ou

RAM (2 of these): http://www.ebay.com/itm/KINGSTON-1GB-1-x-1GB-DDR3-1Rx8-PC3-8500U-7-10-A0-RAM-DESKTOP-/111931187372?hash=item1a0f9e60ac:g:YjQAAOSwP~tW4ODc

HDD: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seagate-Barracuda-80gb-Hard-Drive-HDD-3-5-ST380815AS-/262262292188?hash=item3d100cfedc:g:6L4AAOSwGotWqPUs

PSU: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antec-Earthwatts-380W-power-supply-unit-EA-380-/121836501848?hash=item1c5e057b58:g:MmoAAOSwHQ9WaIt8

SchizTech · Mar 30, 2016

Eh, clearly it's not a powerhouse but you know that already. Ubuntu takes care of the OS at no cost so there's just one other obvious thing missing: the case. Do you have one to re-use?

Assuming all the parts are working fine, it will do basic stuff.

SKIPPY PB · Mar 30, 2016

$75 bucks is a pretty small budget, and you still need a case and a heatsink. People are going to complain about your PSU, most mainstream cases dont work with standard motherboards. You can probably put together a bunch of stuff thats a bit older. Most people are scared of ebay but ive never had a problem. I would suggest saving up atleast 200 bucks to build something.

SchizTech · Mar 30, 2016

^ Yes, as he said you need a cooler too. That chip listing doesn't seem to include it.

SKIPPY PB · Mar 30, 2016

If your patient and hawk over ebay you can snag some great deals if everybody forgets to bid. Socket 775 by intel might be up your ally. Then again you can buy a Dell XPS 400 (or other older mainstream system) for about 50-75 bucks and it'll probably perform just as good.

Personally I would just buy a dead system diagnose it and repair it for low costs but you might not want to do that.

ComputerSecurityGuy · Mar 30, 2016

Better? Maybe. A bit. I'm actually putting together a build for $200 with similar parts. Don't buy the PSU used though, at least that's my personal feeling. Now, the cheapest new build I would recommend- actually a massive upgrade over either one- is below.PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A4-6300 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($33.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A68HM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($38.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Mushkin Essentials 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 160GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($23.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($20.98 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($27.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $160.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 19:22 EDT-0400

gumbob3 · Mar 30, 2016

SKIPPY PB :

I was thinking of doing that also, where could i find an old pc? Like goodwill, or what? I was thinking of searching for one this upcoming garage sale season, too.

ComputerSecurityGuy · Mar 30, 2016

I've found Newegg to be decent. Just stay away from USFF systems.

gumbob3 · Mar 30, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

USFF = ultra small form factor? Why, because they are hard to work with i assume?

ComputerSecurityGuy · Mar 30, 2016

No, because they usually don't have expansion slots.

SKIPPY PB · Mar 30, 2016

gumbob3 :

I've found stuff in pawn shops, goodwill type places but they usually ask to much for it. I don't know how old you are but if your old enough craigslist isn't a bad spot. Sometimes people want to get rid of there old equipment and let it go for real cheap cause they don't want to bother selling it other ways like ebay or whatever. But they usually go quickly because others like me hawk that spot. Ebay is alright I suppose, ive been dealing with ebay for over 10 years but they have a buyer is always right no matter what policy like amazon. Garage sales aren't a bad place to look.

If you can do a cheap intel build with a 1150 socket thats provide room for upgrades down the road should you ever need it. Most chips have integrated graphics aswell and then you don't need to buy a graphics card. I've gotten 320GB+ hard drives for about 10 bucks on ebay bidding. Kids these days have to have everything new just because they want it. The classifieds/ebay or whatever are littered with used stuff. I would start with the motherboard, CPU and case. Then once you've got a good base add as you go. This will also make it easier to let go of the money as you will only be forking out $20 bucks a week or some for a month or two.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Celeron-G1820-Haswell-Desktop-Processor-2-7GHz-5-0GT-s-2MB-LGA-1150-CPU-/171719693991?hash=item27fb4a96a7:g:HIUAAOSwNSxVBFuN

I bought my motherboard for $20 bucks refurbished off new egg. MSI z87-G41 PC Mate

And my PSU was $20 on sale CX430

Thats $80 bucks and you only need ram and a hard drive to use it. (im not sure if that CPU comes with a heatsink but im sure if you look hard enough you'll find one that does. kids throw those OEM intel heatsinks out cause "they are useless" even though they do what they where designed to do very well.

So say $100 total and you can always add a graphics card or upgrade you CPU down the road as a lot of the tech is semi current., i.e. DDR3 ram, LGA1150 socket, PCIe 3.0, etc.

USAFRet · Mar 30, 2016

gumbob3 :

I've found better PC's in the trash, for free.
Literally.

What would that collection of parts be used for?

gumbob3 · Mar 30, 2016

USAFRet :

Now that I've been thinking, I would probably spend around $150-$200. I want to build my first computer, but don't need anything too powerful. I also would build it as a learning tool, because I might build PCs for other people in the future and wouldn't want theirs to be my first one. For $150-$200 I could build something that would be a huge upgrade to what my family has now...

SKIPPY PB · Mar 31, 2016

gumbob3 :

Look up electrostatic discharge, understand how the components work with each other, how to apply thermal compounds properly and you will be as good as anyone else putting them together. I tell my nephew research research research, this is one of those areas where knowledge is power. As long as you work slow, carefully and methodically you'll be way ahead of many others. Good luck.

ar2uro · Mar 31, 2016

I built a 220$ pc for my sis using used parts and a few new parts. Runs almost as good as my 600$ computer. HD 6970 for 70$ was my bae.

gumbob3 · Mar 31, 2016

SKIPPY PB :

gumbob3 :

Look up electrostatic discharge, understand how the components work with each other, how to apply thermal compounds properly and you will be as good as anyone else putting them together. I tell my nephew research research research, this is one of those areas where knowledge is power. As long as you work slow, carefully and methodically you'll be way ahead of many others. Good luck.

Thats what I have been doing for the past few months or so. Every day, I watch videos online and research information, so I can learn something (actually multiple things) new every day. I usually spend 1-4 hours per day watching youtube videos on pc building, components, etc. Especially LinusTechTips. Thanks for the advice!

computers_are_freaky · Apr 3, 2016

Yeah, that's how I learned too

Be careful though, because Linus is very good at teaching the basics, but looking back I see flaws in some of his videos, so be sure to use multiple sources and crosscheck often. Another good youtuber is JayzTwoCents, he focuses on watercooling and OCing mostly, aside from reviews.

Could you build a cheap used eBay parts PC?

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