A PC novice has shared a stunning desktop DIY bargain, recently acquired from the shelves of their local Goodwill store. Key-law-3005 says they got the PC you see in the embedded pictures from the thrift store chain for an amazing $9. Although the Redditor admits that PC DIY isn’t their strong suit, we can see from the images of the opened-up system unit that therein lies an excellent foundation for a lot of PC-powered fun and productivity.
Got this PC from goodwill for $9 and it works! Any suggestions? from r/pcmasterrace
Key-law-3005 is the first to admit they need some guidance regarding the potential of their bargain find. So they sagely reached out to the PCMR community on Reddit, asking, “Let me know if y’all have any recommendations on what I should do,” with their super sub-$10 PC deal.
Let us be under no illusions that this system can be transformed into a 2025 gaming PC with enough gumption to outpace its current-gen console foes in modern titles. However, we can’t dispute the potential of this PC’s foundation to make a great eSports or nostalgic PC gaming powerhouse. On the topic of consoles, this machine can also excel in productivity and content creation, of course.
Several components are individually worth multiples of the ticket price
What did Key-law-3005 get for $9, exactly? We can see some parts and model numbers in the shared images. Thus, we know the motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B, based on the Intel Z68 platform with LGA1155 socket. That means it should be good to upgrade to the best Intel Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge parts.
Elsewhere in the decent-looking Corsair ATX case, we see a Seasonic S12 II 520W 80Plus Bronze Power Supply. Not much else can be determined, but a Wi-Fi card is fitted, a SATA SSD is provided, and a case sticker suggests that the current CPU is a Core i3.
Max out the CPU
Redditor opinion seems divided between upgrading to a Sandy Bridge Core i7 with overclockability – like the legendary 2600K, or even a contemporary Xeon. However, we must remember that, whatever they choose to plonk in the LGA 1155 socket, they will be limited to four cores and eight threads (4C/8T).
Key-law-3005 is also encouraged to install as much RAM as possible in the four DDR3 slots, along with a discrete GPU. If the PC newbie Redditor needed guidance on a choice of graphics card, we note that the weight of PCMR opinion seems to be behind opting for a classic GTX 1060. With official Nvidia driver support for the GTX 1060 ending soon, it remains a viable option for classic gaming on this platform, spanning the 2010s to the 2020s.
A few wheeler-dealers alternatively suggested selling most of the parts separately to make enough to buy and build a more modern platform. Remember, if you plan to stay in the used market and have no intention of switching to Linux, you will want to target a modern enough Intel or AMD platform to meet the Windows 11 minimum requirements.
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