$20 Goodwill PC! Cleaning, Testing, Booting, and Planning Upgrades

I went to Goodwill the Friday before Christmas after dropping a few things off and saw a PC on the shelf for $20. I thought about it and considered the case alone would be worth it so I snatched it up. It didn't come with a power cord so I had to wait to clean it up and test it. When I did get it working, I was very pleasantly surprised with the speed and that it was Win10 compatible.
This video is edited from 2.5 hour stream so there's a lot of jump cutting. Future videos in this series should be more concise and to the point as I install new upgrades piece by piece. Should be fun!
Products used:
- Compressed Gas Duster (www.amazon.com... )
-C2G Replacement Power Cord (www.amazon.com...)
Specs for the PC I was working on:
Dell Optiplex 990 (Manufactured 2012)
Intel Core i7-2600 3.4 GHz
8 GB DDR3 RAM
500 GB Seagate HDD

[@MisterUpsetter]

I bought 3 Dell Optiplex 390s for $72, so about $24 a computer (without a hard drive but with 4 GB of RAM). Like the Optiplex 990, it's essentially obsolete, but with 8 GB of RAM (which you can purchase for a few dollars), you can install Linux or Windows 10 on it. For about $30, you can install an SSD. If the functionality isn't provided on the motherboard, you can likely install an expansion card. That having been said, this is the ultimate budget computer. The power supply doesn't even have a switch, and there are only 4 PCI Express slots and 4 SATA connectors on the motherboard. Dell will likely be a major player in the used PC marketplace.

[@marksmith9566]

VGA like port is a serial port. The switch is an intrusion alarm usually can be turned off in BIOS.

[@USArmyVet91]

20 Dollars.... this is an amazing deal. man, the i7-2600 was an absolute monster for several years... even today if you keep your expectations "realistic" you can have a good 1080p gaming experience with a relatively inexpensive GPU. AMD RX 580, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 1650, or 1660 would pair nicely. Nice find, and truly, well done. 👍👍

[@randomweirdyoutubechannel8955]

Not the rx 580 these optiplex's dont work with amd cards well

[@USArmyVet91]

@@randomweirdyoutubechannel8955 I use them often with old Dell XPS systems with a 2nd, 3rd and even 4th gen Intel CPU's. Guess it's the luck of the draw. 🤷‍♂🤷‍♂

[@johnhudson7055]

Interesting to watch non computer nerds making videos like this. You could get win11 on it but it’s quite a process. I’d get an SSD and install 10. The new edge is better than chrome, it’s built on chromium and uses less memory and being chromium based it’s very compatible with everything.

[@greyestfox]

Thanks! I'm glad you found it interesting. I put a 2 TB Samsung SSD in it in the second video in the series and it does seem to be running a bit faster. New RAM probably next. Didn't know Edge turned a new leaf either, maybe I'll have to give it a try.

[@mustasheolll2020]

That was a steal!

[@moebiuseight7977]

that 9 pin d-sub is a serial port

[@tonykeltsflorida]

Put Linux Mint on it. It will run for years. Radeon low powered half height video card will work too (HD 7470). I have an i5 2400 in my old dell that I use with my printer and scanner. My Main Computer has an i5 11500 that I built.

[@greyestfox]

Thanks, I'll check out some Radeon low powered cards. Another person suggested low profile cards and I didn't even know those were a thing but sounds like a good idea.

[@hdjoe22]

You’re gonna trash the bearings in those fans. I always hold the fan while blowing air into it so it doesn’t spin at 3000rpm

[@greyestfox]

Thanks for the tip! Hadn't thought of that. I may replace the fans but if I clean it again I'll hold it to keep it from spinning.

[@johnhudson7055]

Could fry the motherboard too.

[@mustasheolll2020]

I did that with a dell pc I have from 2007 and now it sometimes makes a weird noise.

[@mustasheolll2020]

@@johnhudson7055Yeah I cringed hard at that lol.

[@massimoruggieri368]

cool idea man, i've been trying to find some cool electronics at goodwill recently, nice to know some people are having luck finding some :)

[@howietorock]

i7 2600 has 4 cores 8 threads make sure you turn on hyperthreading in bios as default its off also 32 gig ram under win 10

[@greyestfox]

Thanks! I didn't know about switching on hyperthreading. I did see some threads out there that people have been successful running these w/ 32GB RAM but I'm not sure if that would be overkill/ if the CPU would still bottleneck at some point. I'll look into that more before I pick up some RAM.

[@randomweirdyoutubechannel8955]

Optiplex 990 for 20 that's a steal same model with just an i5 2400 goes for £80 on ebay over here

[@randomweirdyoutubechannel8955]

Oh and be careful with the canned air spinning the fans can send power into the motherboard and fry it always hold them when spraying

[@sealifett8395]

Hey bro you have to hold the can vertically. You will use your air faster that way

[@greyestfox]

Thanks for the tip! I'll do that in the future. The cans can be expensive.

[@choppergirl]

Old PC tech here. Don't use compressed cans of air, you're wasting money and creating more landfill junk... just take the PC outside, open up the case, and hit everywhere inside esp. the fans, through the CPU fan, and through the PSU fan with a leaf blower. It's okay if you make the fans spin fast with the leaf blower, they were designed for that. It's not okay if you touch the fan blades with your finger while they are spinning, you will knock them out of true and unbalance them.

[@greyestfox]

Oh wow, thanks. I do have a leaf blower but never thought of it for that.

[@choppergirl]

@@greyestfox Yep. Do it outside on a porch or in the driveway, and stand back, because on a really dusty business system that's been running for years without any TLC inside, it will throw up a lot of dust! I use to bring home PC's by the pickup truck load for free in the 90's.

[@j.lietka9406]

Looks like a Dell! The "handle" in the back is not a handle, but it keeps any added cards mounted on the mobo secured. Found, yes found, at an apartment dumpster, an HP Envy PC. It runs, has Win 10, but like yours, dusty, dirty... Has an Intel i7 7700, 16GB DDR 4 RAM... Don't think Goodwill can sell older CRT monitors, Picture Tube type TVs.. as a kind of hobby I look for electronics in dumpsters and curbside stuff.

[@greyestfox]

You got a good find! I'm all for upcycling/recycling old tech rather than letting it turn to e-waste.

[@EastAngliaUK]

not a bad find

[@johnhudson7055]

You shouldn’t blow air on the fan and let it spin like that cus it can become a generator and fry the motherboard.

[@greyestfox]

Thanks! Didn't know that. Thankfully it didn't hurt anything but I did correct it in my 2nd video in the series just in the very unlikely case that someone is using my video for advice 😀.

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Just a warning hold the fans whilst cleaning as they can cause a back voltage into the system and damage the electronics as you are basically turning them into a generator. given the age of the system you would find better bargains in used pc parts for sale sites like your local facebook groups or similar.

[@Deez_Nutz_Man_3D]

good video

[@Khinh-xq6lx]

im lost is he planning to buy a whole pc around that spec or just buy some of parts?

[@greyestfox]

Just going to buy some parts to upgrade this one. I stream sometimes on Twitch and I have to turn the graphics settings way down to get the game to run while streaming. Some more RAM, a graphics card, and a power supply to run the graphic card should help out. 🙂

[@Khinh-xq6lx]

you can stream with it that is good, that mean you can play the game without streaming, or else upgrade gpu or oc the whole pc to make it run faster

[@iskandartaib]

10:41 - i7 2600. Wikipedia says 2nd generation, lower end desktop, 4 cores, 8 MByte L3 cache. Released Jan 2011. Currently looking at buying a refurbished PC myself, lots of 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th generation i5s and i7s available. Cheap, but not this cheap.

[@bytebackrepairco]

Hey ill buy it from you

[@greyestfox]

Thanks for the offer but I'd like to keep it and keep upgrading it. I speed run and otherwise stream gameplay and the laptop I've been using can't quite handle playing a game and streaming it at the same time without turning down the graphics settings to potato. 😅

[@Alpha-ms9nj]

Buying a PC and components from a Goodwill is a crapshoot. There is no refunds or buyer protection like Ebay has so if you have no issue ending up with a PC or component that doesn't work, and you can repair it go for it. The money goes for a good cause anyway.

[@ANKK55]

just to tell you it looks like a male vga but it is a serial port hope this helps

[@greyestfox]

Thanks! Didn't know that. Probably won't end up using it but good to know all the same.

[@issacehowardjr679]

Never cheap out on a system. In the long run, you can build a brand new one for the same price. That $1.00 Thing is simply trash.

[@Puretea4711]

thats a "how not to clean" a pc .... terrible dude