Tech peeps, are the specs on this machine decent for an entry level gaming PC for a kiddo?
Tanks!
Nope. No graphics card, and the integrated graphics probably aren’t enough to play anything from the last 5+ years with any amount of reasonableness. You could in theory add in a SFF graphics card for $150-200, like a GTX 1050 TI or GTX 1650, but they all require a power supply rated at 300W, which is more than the 255W on this computer, so you’d have to find a compatible power supply as well. At this point you’re starting to creep up on the total cost of the computer. Better to buy a used gaming desktop or laptop from a few years ago.
Under the Specs tab it says memory is DDR4, but in other places it says DDR3, which I believe is correct.
Good catch thank you.
Thanks for the note. DDR3 is correct. The sale is updated.
Beyond all this, the slot placement on these SFF Optiplex machines won’t allow anything thicker than a single slot GPU.
If expectations are very modest, a low profile 1030 is possible without upgrading the power supply, as it’s proprietary and a 12VO design. Otherwise, do NOT get these for the basis of a “bargain gaming computer”.
Would this be a decent computer for doing basic web browsing and financial software (Quicken, Excel, etc)? Trying to find a replacement for my pops’ computer that will last him a few years . . . he has a $300 preferred budget 
Heck yeah it would. A brand new $1000 desktop would have very little noticeable difference for things like that. It will also be much faster than a new $300 PC. You could get a Chromebook that would be pretty fast, but ATM I’m comparing Windows to Windows.
The thing a new PC would have is a new parts. This PC is around 4-6 years old (I would bet more than 5). Who knows if it was in storage for a couple of those years though. I trust most of a 5 year old PC, but definitly backup your important data more often.
While not good as a budget gaming PC, this would work extremely well as a game server. I have a less powerful system hosting Killing Floor 2, Rust, Unturned, Insurgency servers right now.
Given that SSDs were not that common 5 years ago, these most likely have newer, if not even new, drives.
Looked on Amazon for this and similar deals: Ratings are good: 4 stars and above. FAST.
Main issues noted across these models: Ethernet, no wifi so it needs a wireless adapter, vga port, no hdmi port.
Here is what I scoped out.
Similar to this deal for $274, cheaper warranty.
Dell Optiplex 5040-SFF, Core i5-6500 3.2GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB Solid State Drive, DVD, Windows 10 Pro 64bit (Renewed)
https://smile.amazon.com/Dell-Optiplex-5040-SFF-i5-6500-Windows/dp/B07N1TNKCY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pl_foot_top?ie=UTF8#customerReviews
Similar to this deal for ONLY $144, cheaper warranty but graphics card is not HD
Dell Optiplex 3020 SFF Desktop PC - Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz 8GB 500GB DVDRW Windows 10 Professional (Renewed)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B075WYN1JL#customerReviews
Similar to this deal, ONLY $171.99, cheaper warranty, includes wifi adapter, SSD hard drive, graphics card is not HD
Dell OptiPlex 7010 Ultra Small Form Factor Desktop PC - Intel Core i5-3470S 2.9GHz, 8GB, 240GB SSD, Windows 10 Professional (Renewed)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B073C5SM86?psc=1&pf_rd_p=de8506a5-56d5-4c6c-86fc-6a6d5de7bc06&pf_rd_r=JGD4XX38DPH9Q46D7AX8&pd_rd_wg=Nk1wF&pd_rd_i=B073C5SM86&pd_rd_w=Xdukv&pd_rd_r=b2572477-4219-4328-9864-77a4e775f8e4&ref_=pd_luc_rh_rtpb_02_03_t_ttl_lh
Similar to this deal, ONLY $199.97, cheaper warranty, no keyboard or mouse, older style Ram & HD
Dell OptiPlex 7020-SFF, Intel Core i5-4570 3.2Ghz, 8GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, DVDRW, Windows 10 Pro 64bit (Renewed)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07CTT3LK2?psc=1&pf_rd_p=de8506a5-56d5-4c6c-86fc-6a6d5de7bc06&pf_rd_r=JGD4XX38DPH9Q46D7AX8&pd_rd_wg=Nk1wF&pd_rd_i=B07CTT3LK2&pd_rd_w=Xdukv&pd_rd_r=b2572477-4219-4328-9864-77a4e775f8e4&ref_=pd_luc_rh_rtpb_02_01_t_ttl_lh
Similar to this deal, only $219.99, cheaper warranty, no keyboard or mouse, includes wifi adapter.
Dell Optiplex 9010 SFF Desktop PC - Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz 16GB RAM 240GB SSD DVD Windows 10 Pro, WIFI (Renewed)
https://smile.amazon.com/Dell-Optiplex-9010-SFF-Desktop/dp/B078WGWZ1X/ref=psdc_13896597011_t5_B075WYN1JL#
FWIW. Happy shopping.
5 years ago (July 2015) I bought a 480GB SSD. That HDD is still going strong.
With a refurb purchase like this I wouldn’t assume any part was new. If the refurbisher had to put a new SSD in they likely would have put in a refurbished one.