Upgrade or not from current system. Is it worth it?

[cmf21]

So my brother got a deal on two newer computers and can't decide if he should sell his or not. The cost difference between the two newer computers is around $70. The brand new computer is about $70 more then the refurbished computer.

Which should he choose? He doesn't really feel like the two newer computers offer that much more then his current system and doesn't know if he would like Win 8.


His current computer.

i5-2320
8gb mem
Win 7 64bit
2tb HDD
Wi-Fi
usb 2.0
dvdRW
MSI Radeon HD 7770 1gb
450w ps

#1st option

Brand New
i7-3770
16gb mem
Win 7 64bit
2TB HDD
Wi-Fi
USB 3.0
DVDRW
MSI Radeon HD 7750 1gb
280w ps

#2nd option

Refurbished
i7-4770
12gb mem
Win 8 64 bit
2TB HDD
Wi-Fi
USB 3.0
DVDRW
MSI GeForce GT 650m 2gb
280w ps

 

[mindless1]

What do you mean by "got a deal", that he has the option to buy one of those two, or that he already has bought them and needs to unload two out of the three systems to someone else?

What is his most demanding use of the system? Why is he contemplating buying or has already bought them if he doesn't feel they are enough of an upgrade? Why are you asking this if he already feels that way?

Generally I would say no, don't buy one of those computers if you then need or want to sell your existing system with that configuration. Used computers aren't worth much so it would cost him a premium for the upgrade if the purchase price isn't especially low.

 

[cmf21]

All I know is that he said he got them cheap. The refurbished system being around the price he thought he could sell his current system for. I don't know much more then that expect that the refurbished computer was about $70 cheaper then the new one. He takes a lot of pictures, plays video games, listens to music, and surfs the internet. If the newer systems aren't worth the upgrade, then he might just resell them or something. He's also considering keeping one of the newer systems and swapping out the power supply and video card.

 

[ascalice]

Buy the damn newer one. You have no clue what and why the old one is refurbushed .

 

[VirtualLarry]

Buy the damn newer one. You have no clue what and why the old one is refurbushed .

What's the warranty? If they both offer the standard 1-year warranty, then I would take the faster one.

Edit: I see that the new one has Win7. I think I would take that one for that reason alone (and the additional 4GB of RAM).

Were those the Cosco Dell deals?

 

[mfenn]

For gaming, his current PC is the fastest out of those three. The 7770 is obviously faster than the 7750 in option #1 and is also faster than the GT 650M in option #2 (GT 650M ~= GT 640). The CPUs in the newer PCs are faster, but none of the tasks that you mentioned are CPU intensive (except for gaming).