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Thread ID: 10775	2001-08-11 21:08:00	2nd Hand computer	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
16853	2001-08-11 21:08:00	I would like to buy a second hand computer to be used in the office to run Windows 98 and Office 2000, and to be able to surf the net and send faxes and email. I would like to know what is the minium requirement, in a second hand computer, would I get away with a 486? or what do I need? Price is very important, but it must work OK.	Guest (0)
16854	2001-08-12 00:28:00	Hi John, How much do you want to spend? You'll pick up something a bit better than a 486, look about for a P200 to a PII. To be honest I wouldnt even think of a 486, it might run the proggy's but you'll be spending half ya day waiting for it to do things. 'Specially with Win98 and Office. You'd find something for under $1000. Ken.	Guest (0)
16855	2001-08-12 02:13:00	Yea forget about a 486 running running that kind of software, it might just run it but you will quickly tire of the pc grinding away forever. I have a P166 with 32meg ram and a 2meg video card used for similar tasks and even that struggles at times. Try get 64meg ram if you can.	Guest (0)
16856	2001-08-12 08:15:00	A 486 will be too slow for the apps you've listed, but for office apps the amount of ram is more important than processor speed. The CPU will probaly spend 98% of its time idle. A minimum of 128mb (its dirt cheap these days). Preferably more, Office doesn't need heaps of processor, but eats thru the ram. I have seen a P133 do what you have listed reasonably well with 64mb, except it was running win95c.	Guest (0)
16857	2001-08-13 04:27:00	I'm all in favour of not buying the latest and greatest hardware - especially for the kind of thing you need - but a 486 or even Pentium will be a false economy. Why? For starters, you will be getting as second-hand Pc and it's age will mean you will not be able to buy replacement components - like Ram - for it. And you can get a low-end, brand new machine at dirt cheap prices. Dealer price on things like basic motherboard/CPU/RAM combos is as low as $400 for a Celeron 733 with 128Mb of Ram. You can get a PC 10 times better than a 486 for $1000. Sure, you can pick up a 486 or old Pentium for $200 or $300 but compared to what you'll pay for a new machine that's still too much. I'd buy new, but low-spec.	Guest (0)
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