# How much would my old computer be worth?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 4, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538 "2003-04-04T20:08:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Pathros\_1983](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pathros_1983)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/1 "2003-04-04T20:08:15Z")
I apoligize if this is not the appropiate place to post such a query, but I can’t seem to find an answer anywhere else. I’m asking because the guy who’s interested needs an older system to run a lot of win 98 programs that he doesn’t want to upgrade, and he would be rebuilding the computer he’s buying from me anyways. According to him, it would be cheaper for him to buy a used system instead of building one from scratch. The OS is win98, but that is irrelevant because he has his own win98 he’ll be using. (most of this I offer as it may affect a possible response.) Here are the specs:
Cache: 512KB L2 Pipeline Burst Cache
Processor: Intel ® Pentium ® II processor - 300 MHz
Memory: 64 MB SyncDRAM, upgradable to 256 MB (SyncDRAM DIMM required).
Hard Drive: 8.0 GB 3 UltraDMA hard drive
CD-ROM Drive: 32X Max 1 CD-ROM drive
Zip Drive: 100 MB Iomega ® Zip BUILT-IN TM drive
Modem: 56K ITU V.90 modem 2
2X AGP (133 MHz Accelerated Graphics Port)
ATI 3D Rage LT Pro (64-bit Hardware Accelerated 3D Graphics)
2 MB 100 MHz SyncGraphics video memory (upgradable to 4 MB)
MPEG full-motion video playback
Maximum non-interlaced resolution of up to 1280 x 1024 (when supported by monitor)
Aureal A3D™ Interactive 360° Positional Sound
Spatializer ® Sound
FM Synthesis
Diskette Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive
Steady-state 110 watts Energy Star compliant
Four drive bays populated with:
3.5" diskette drive
Hard drive
CD-ROM drive
Zip Drive
One open PCI expansion slot (9")
One modem installed PCI/ISA combo slot (9")
One open ISA slot (9")
Finally, theres an ethernet card worth about 25 bucks, and (I’m not a whiz on computers but) he is basing his price on what he can do with the system. Thanks for anyone’s input!!
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/2 "2003-04-04T20:15:57Z")
You don’t need to itemize the components so much on an older system. It doesn’t make much difference and they aren’t really priced that way. A safe range as to its worth would be $100 - $200 with the fair estimate closer to the lower end.
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### Author:  [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/3 "2003-04-04T20:19:44Z")
Without a monitor, I’d say it’s worth about $50. I’ve seen barebones systems _far_ better than this one for $150-$200, so $50 is pretty generous, actually.
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/4 "2003-04-04T20:20:14Z")
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- I’d say $35, just from what I’ve seen in used computer/surplus electronics shops in my area. Depressing, isn’t it?
~
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### Author:  [@Pathros\_1983](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pathros_1983)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/5 "2003-04-04T20:21:09Z")
I quoted him 200, thinking I wouldn’t get any more. Do you think I could actually get 200? or should I drop it down if I want to make the sell go through.
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### Author:  [@Pathros\_1983](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pathros_1983)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/6 "2003-04-04T20:22:15Z")
Disgusting. I spent so much on this computer and when I got it, naturally, thought it was amazing.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/7 "2003-04-04T20:23:42Z")
Note the buyer’s opinion: it’s cheaper to buy your whole system than to buy the _parts_ of your system. I.e., your parts, sold individually, might bring as much as $150 (if you had a reasonable way of selling them). Taken together, they are close to worthless.
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/8 "2003-04-04T20:24:51Z")
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- Shag, no offense, but you are **nuts**. Wal-Mart sells 1.1-gightz new no-OS systems now for $200. Do you really think a 300Mhz P2 is worth even half that?
~
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### Author:  [@Pathros\_1983](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pathros_1983)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/9 "2003-04-04T20:36:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Wal-Mart sells 1.1-gightz new no-OS systems now for $200
Maybe I should look closer when I’m at Wal Mart… I could afford a new super fast computer, then.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/10 "2003-04-04T20:55:41Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DougC \*
> \*\*- - - Shag, no offense, but you are **nuts**. Wal-Mart sells 1.1-gightz new no-OS systems now for $200. Do you really think a 300Mhz P2 is worth even half that?
> ~ \*\*
I know they do. But the saying that something is worth whatever someone else will pay for it applies here. You can’t just say well, a 1.1 ghz system is worth about $200 so the Pentium II must be worth some mere fraction of that because of the lesser clock speed. It doesn’t worth that way. As long as computer has value to someone then it has worth and that worth does not drop linearly with performance at the extreme low end. Even a Commodore 64 has value because some people still want to play with them. If I still had mine I could probably get $35 or $40 dollars for it.
A brand new bare bones system with no software is not the same thing as a broken in system ready to go. It would take hours to set up the new system and time is worth cash money to many people (myself included).
BTW, I didn’t say it was actually worth $200. I gave the widest possible estimate I believed and said it should be at the low end of that. I still maintain that it should be sold for around $100.
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### Author:  [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/11 "2003-04-04T21:15:25Z")
One to two hundered dollars is also the number I had in mind, for all the reasons Shagnasty mentioned. The question is not really “how much is it worth”, but “how much can I get for it”.
If your buyer is willing to give you 1-200 for it, all set up and ready to go, then I don’t think either of you are getting shafted.
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/12 "2003-04-04T21:27:03Z")
Wow I had a system config like that, and it was the most pimp machine money could by, I paid about a $1200 IIRC.
Wow, technology really depreciates doesn’t it?
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### Author:  [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/13 "2003-04-04T21:32:30Z")
I think $100 is somewhat reasonable. Shag is absolutely right about something being worth what someone will pay.
[Ebay somewhat supports this figure](http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=pentium+ii+&cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&ht=1&from=R10&currdisp=2&itemtimedisp=1&st=2&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=), although most of these auctions don’t have any bids, so maybe its not an accurate representation.
[This place](http://app.infopia.com/Shop/Control/fp/scat/261/SFV/14930/RID/163879) has some other prices for you to look at, although since it’s retail, you should be selling for less.
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### Author:  [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/14 "2003-04-04T21:34:10Z")
A quick perusal of ebay leads me to believe that you shouldn’t expect more than $100. But you should take whatever you can get. One thing to remember: This was likely to be a fairly high-end system when it was purchased. Which means it will likely outlive a modern bare-bones system.
-lv
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### Author:  [@Pathros\_1983](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pathros_1983)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/15 "2003-04-04T23:43:12Z")
Thanks for the advice.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/16 "2003-04-05T00:10:08Z")
I sell these kinds of systems all the time. A 300 mhz PC with 64 megs is getting dangerously close to “pay someone to take it away” doorstop territory. If you have no setup of config time involved and are essentially just handing the system over 115.00 - 145.00 with monitor and about $ 85 - $100 without. If you want to see what this class of PC goes for on Ebay I don’t think you’ll be very encouraged.
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/17 "2003-04-05T20:45:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> A brand new bare bones system with no software is not the same thing as a broken in system ready to go.
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- Yea, it’s also not the same as new parts that have warranties and can run modern software and hardware. ~~~ I’ve seen local shops buy such computers for $25 and _attempt_ to sell them for $50. You can hold out for someone who will drastically overpay for it if you want, but you might be holding it a very, very long time. Not to mention the fact that the person you sell it to for so much probably won’t know much about computers, and won’t like you anymore after they try to add anything modern to it (-or they find out about the Wal-Mart computers).
~
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### Author:  [@Pathros\_1983](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pathros_1983)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-my-old-computer-be-worth/166538/18 "2003-04-05T23:43:06Z")
Well, unless something drastic happens, it’s the computer he wants. I think convenience also plays into it… but we agreed on 125. It made me weep when I realized I bought this thing for 1500