Yes, I heard about install-time tweaks and registry keys. Obviously those have been built-in by Microsoft, for whatever purposes.
Kind of a game of luck, if and how long those will continue to work.
(So if MS „unofficially“ supports older machines—which may be okay for private usage, is collecting telemetry about such systems, of whatever they plan with those… options.)
I had a Prodesk 400 which was our work preferred kit and it is perfectly fine. As has been said you could upgrade to 16gb memory, lots of web site show configuration I think 2x8 and again you can get a usb wi-fi dongle if you wish but ethernet is always the best if possible. I think there are hacks ti install Windows 11 but not official and why bother. W10 is fine and supported with Software Updates so go for it. I know you’ve said it but it’s not a gaming machine
No idea what they might collect, tbh.
I wanted to try it on a Boot Camp Macbook Air, with a registered copy of Win 10. It works fine so far, but that’s only two upgrade cycles in. From what I read, and what I’ve seen to date, it’s an install-time check only. But you may be right…
I wanted a simple way to boo into a Windows box that I hardly use… there are only a few remnant programs I have that aren’t yet available on MacOS. Since it mostly lives in “waiting” mode, I didn’t want it to be all out of date or exposed. I figured if things went south I’d reformat and revert to Win 10.
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Does it have a digital readout display on it?
Nope, an app is needed.
Ah, thanks, Ardbeg.
I will look into that.
There are other smart plugs with displays but this was all I needed and cheap.
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I bought a refurbished very small form factor Lenovo ThinkCentre i5 just out of Lenovo warranty for £140. It’s mounted on my 8” Edge HD telescope. 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. It only uses 8W. Got it via Amazon.
Phil
I’d also imagine it would be fine for those tasks.
One thing to check maybe is the gaming monitor resolution and which inputs it has (you might need a Display Port to HDMI or other cable if the monitor does not accept Display Port directly but these are readily available). If the monitor is a non-standard very wide aspect ratio or very high resolution I’d check the on-board UHD Graphics 530 would support the monitor’s full native resolution as if the moniotor scales a lower res signal graphics may not be as sharp.
There are some amazing value refurbs out there, I’ve been considering one from Amazon Renewed Store for just under £140, described as:
Optiplex Dell Intel i7-2600 Quad Core 16GB RAM 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD WiFi Windows 10 Desktop PC Computer (Renewed)
Apparently not Windows 11 compatible even with those specs according to user comments (maybe so if upgradaded?) - graphics chip not specified, has SVGA and Display Port out (again user comments)
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Anybody buying a refurbished, windows 10 pc needs to ensure it is 64 bit.
Or a Win 11 machine… Mine is… 
The HP spec sheet for the pc mentioned in the opening post of this thread says:
Power supply
| Specification | Description |
|---|---|
| 80 PLUS Bronze | 180 W active PFC; 82/85/82% efficient at 20/50/100% load (115 V) |
| Rated input current | 2.3 A |
| Rated input current with energy efficient power supply | 2.3 A |
NOTE:
High efficiency power supply is a requirement for ENERGY STAR certification in conjunction with a select range of processors and modules.|
|Operating voltage range|90 - 264 VAC|
|Rated voltage range|100 - 240 VAC|
|Rated line frequency|50 - 60 Hz|
|Operating line frequency|47 - 63 Hz|
|DC output|12 V|
|Current leakage (NFPA 99: 2102)|Less than 500 µA of leakage current at 120 Vac with the ground wire disconnected, as required for Non-patient electrical appliances and equipment used in a patient care facility or that contact patients in normal use. Per section 10.3.5.1.
Less than 100 µA of leakage current at 120 Vac with the ground wire intact with normal polarity, as required for Non-patient electrical appliances and equipment used in a patient care facility or that contact patients in normal use. Per section 10.3.5.1.|
|Power supply fan|70 mm variable speed|
|Power cord|1.83 m (6.0 ft)|
Does this look expensive per annum in terms of energy consumption?
I assume that’s the maximum the power supply can push out with efficiencies detailed for load at 115 V, but I’d assume if it work on UK mains it would still be able to supply up to 180W, but have no idea if the efficiency changes with different voltage.
At a guess a 180W is the best the power supply can manage not necessarily what it provides at rest unless the computer is fully loaded with attached bus powered USB peripherals etc. Doesn’t sound on the face of it that it allows any additional internal cards to upgrade it but in honesty I suspect you’re not looking for that.
Say you son was using it for schoolwork 3 hours a day 40 weeks a year and it actually needed 180 W per hour, you’d be looking at 540x7x40 = 0.54 kWh x 280 = 151.2 kWh per annum.
So at maybe 30 p/kWh that’s around £45 per annum for the PC, I suspect it would be less, provided it sleeps/is turned off when not in use. Of course you’d need to factor in a monitor as well.
Admittedly that’s guestimating as we don’t really know and I’m making assumptions but if you looked at a modern PC which is likely to be more energy efficient you could apply similar logic calculations and see how much cheaper it might be to run comparatively.
Energy costs are a good question, but also consider that in the winter, as with older lightbulbs the heat dissipated will also likely help warm a smaller room a bit.
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