I'm considering buying a used desktop with an Intel Core i7-6700, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 120GB SSD, a Gigabyte motherboard, and a Gigabyte GTX 970 4GB graphics card. The seller is asking between €200 and €250. My current laptop has a Ryzen 7 6800HS, 16GB of RAM, an RTX 3060, and a 1TB drive, but it is failing and becoming unreliable. Would this desktop be a reasonable replacement, or is it too much of a performance downgrade?
3 Answers
Most of these parts are around a decade old, so whether it works depends heavily on what you need it for. The 120GB SSD is also extremely small and may only leave room for Windows and a few programs. Make sure you find out whether there is any additional storage and what power supply is installed.
That price is high for this hardware. The GTX 970 is slower than a GTX 1060 and only has 4GB of VRAM, while the i7-6700 is decent for basic use but is also quite old. The unspecified Gigabyte motherboard does not add much value, and the tiny SSD is a major limitation. I’d consider it closer to €150 at most, assuming the power supply is safe and everything works.
Thanks, and sorry for the confusion—I had to translate the original listing.
Since you’re in Spain, local pricing matters, but €200–250 still sounds expensive for a system this old. It would be a major downgrade from a laptop with a Ryzen 7 6800HS and RTX 3060, especially for modern games. It could handle basic computing and older or lighter games, but it is not a good replacement for your current laptop.
My laptop is failing: several keys no longer work, it has to stay plugged in, and part of the motherboard may be damaged. I know this desktop is weaker, but I was wondering whether it would still be usable as a replacement.