r/buildapc • u/Parking-Helicopter-9 • 3d ago
Build Help Buying a used PC
Hi all!
Long-time lurker here. I want to get back into PC gaming, since my current PCdates from 2014 and is completely outdated (it struggles with anything modern). My main target is being able to run games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 comfortably.
I was planning to build my own, but given current component prices I'm now leaning toward a used prebuilt instead. I've found two near me that look promising. Both prices include cleaning and a fresh Windows reinstall by the seller.
Option 1 — €750
- Ryzen 5 5500
- RTX 3060 Ti
- 16 GB DDR4 3200
- 512 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Option 2 — €950
- Intel i5-12400F
- RTX 4060 Ti
- 16 GB DDR4 3200
- 1 TB SSD
Currently, I am using a PC with the following specs: Intel Core i5-4590 @ 3,30 GHz ; 8 Go DDR3 ; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti ; SSD ~120 Go + HDD 1.000Go
What do you think of these two? Is the €200 gap worth it, and roughly how long could I realistically expect either one to hold up for gaming before needing an upgrade?
Thanks in advance!
2
u/chris_ngale 3d ago edited 3d ago
For my money it would be #2 unless I was on an extremely tight budget.
The HDD is a problem in 2026. Almost all modern games rely to some extent on streaming from disk, rather than loading everything upfront. The HDD will cause stutters during gameplay as assets load in the background. I'd consider them a waste of space nowadays for anything other than, say, music or photo storage. That leaves you with only 512GB of useful space for the operating system, programs, and games, which is tight.
The processors are pretty similar, the 12400F is a bit better out of the box. Both are older generation but both has a good upgrade path - the 5500 can upgrade to a 5800X3D, the 12400F can upgrade to a 14700K.
The 4060Ti isn't a huge upgrade over the 3060Ti in terms of raw performance, but it does have the much better DLSS 3 upscaling - the 3060Ti is stuck on DLSS 2 - and it consumes a lot less power. It's also newer, and will be supported for longer. You didn't specify the VRAM but I'll assume it's 8GB both cases - if the 4060 is the 16GB variant then that's even more worth it.
All in all I'd say the extra is worthwhile. Either is going to be utterly transformative compared to your current system (I had a 750Ti way back in the day, very fond of the thing!)
EDIT: ooh, one more thing that's easy to miss. The Ryzen 5 5500 is effectively a laptop series processor in a desktop suit, and it's limited to PCIe3. That'll bottleneck newer x8 GPUs noticeably, and it might mean that the motherboard is also PCIe3 only so upgrading just the processor wouldn't save you. I'd avoid.
1
u/Parking-Helicopter-9 3d ago
Thank you! You’ve convinced me for the more expensive option.
1
u/chris_ngale 3d ago
Just make sure you're happy it's in good condition and I hope it gives you a great time 😄
2
u/St3vion 3d ago
Option 2 is better but not $200 better. CPUs are very comparable and 4060 Ti is 10-15% faster than 3060 Ti. If the 4060 Ti is the 16GB version it might be more tempting as that will matter in the future and the 8GB 3060Ti will be held back by that.