WEBVTT

00:00:00.079 --> 00:00:06.060
this glitter bombed Dell Optiplex is not

00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:11.400
only a real product you can actually buy but it's just a small part of an entire

00:00:09.059 --> 00:00:16.920
hidden and plain sight industry of refurbishers who seem to be bulk buying

00:00:13.860 --> 00:00:19.500
retired office PCS dazzling them up and

00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:24.840
then offloading them to wannabe Gamers I have so many questions right now are

00:00:22.140 --> 00:00:30.420
people actually buying these who are the companies building them is it possible

00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:32.160
that they're a legit good value and why

00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:36.660
is it taking so long to tell you this message from our sponsor the ridge it's

00:00:34.980 --> 00:00:40.800
time to ditch that bulky wallet because the ridge wallet can hold up to 12 cards

00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:45.300
comes with a cash strap or money clip and is available in tons of colors check

00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:50.579
them out at ridge.com line us now and save up to 40 through December 22nd the

00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:54.840
treasure box first popped up on our radar and a back to school flyer earlier

00:00:52.680 --> 00:00:59.219
this year but other than having a little chuckle about the creative idea of

00:00:56.940 --> 00:01:03.539
throwing glittery lipstick on Pig computers to blow away debtstalk we

00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:07.380
didn't pay them much attention that is until we saw them in the next week's

00:01:05.339 --> 00:01:12.119
flyer and the one after that and the one after that and then upon further

00:01:09.479 --> 00:01:17.040
inspection we realized these things are everywhere in some shape or form Amazon

00:01:14.580 --> 00:01:20.939
Walmart Newegg Best Buy some site called you buy based out of the country of

00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:27.180
Jordan now most of them aren't explicitly marketed as gaming PCs but

00:01:24.360 --> 00:01:32.720
given the aesthetic and the imagery it's pretty clear what Market they're going

00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:35.880
after and truthfully why not we've shown

00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:38.280
multiple times that a cast off office

00:01:35.880 --> 00:01:43.619
computer with some strategic upgrades can be an unbeatable value for Budget

00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:48.540
Gamers maybe these are too so to find out we bought a couple of them starting

00:01:46.020 --> 00:01:55.380
with the best treasure box brand unit that we could find 4th gen core i7 32

00:01:51.899 --> 00:01:58.560
gigs of RAM a one terabyte SSD RGB

00:01:55.380 --> 00:02:01.619
lighting and a fully licensed copy of

00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:05.340
Windows 10 for the low low price of just

00:02:01.619 --> 00:02:08.220
300 US dollars Secrets will be fine

00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:11.580
inside your head I actually really like the way they've done this finish I

00:02:09.420 --> 00:02:15.300
assumed it would be like spray bombed or something like that but it actually

00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:19.739
appears to be like almost like a grip tape type of texture

00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:23.640
pretty good in person oh it's not sticking very well here but you got to

00:02:21.959 --> 00:02:29.220
give them credit for being completionist about it they not only do the top and

00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:35.040
front but also the sides and bottom actually looks kind of sharp doesn't it

00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.920
oh wow that is the genericist memory

00:02:35.040 --> 00:02:44.280
ever just bear dims no stickers whatsoever with SK hynix packages on it

00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:46.019
it even looks like very clean like

00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:49.440
almost too clean to the point where they might even be sourcing this stuff new

00:02:47.580 --> 00:02:53.700
that doesn't make any sense I would think given that it's older like there

00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:56.700
is so much used DDR3 on the market that they wouldn't bother to Source new

00:02:55.019 --> 00:03:00.480
sticks but it might be as simple as they're just peeling the stickers off

00:02:58.620 --> 00:03:05.819
whatever it is they happen to find and then throwing them in to genericize them

00:03:03.480 --> 00:03:08.580
why would they do that because then they would have difficulty claiming warranty

00:03:07.440 --> 00:03:15.659
from whoever they're getting these sticks from what about our SSD okay it

00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:22.200
may be a terabyte but it is certainly nothing special King fast not exactly

00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:25.440
um the leader in performance ssds

00:03:22.200 --> 00:03:29.760
oh okay there we go

00:03:25.440 --> 00:03:31.980
oh mother are you bleeding oh yeah it

00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:36.379
was here and it was so sharp that I didn't even

00:03:34.920 --> 00:03:40.920
slide be right back this is great though even

00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:44.940
a cheap SSD can make a world of difference to the responsiveness of a

00:03:42.480 --> 00:03:50.099
system the SSD that I paid in blood to identify turned out to be a king fast

00:03:46.799 --> 00:03:52.200
F10 one terabyte not the world's fastest

00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:55.440
SSD and because it doesn't have a dram cache there are cases where it could

00:03:53.760 --> 00:04:00.120
actually end up being slower than a mechanical hard drive but

00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:04.019
with light desktop use those cases would be few and far between and it would be a

00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:09.659
substantial upgrade over whatever mechanical storage might have been in the system also because many businesses

00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:14.040
shred their storage devices when they donate or liquidate PCS it's likely that

00:04:12.480 --> 00:04:18.959
there wasn't anything in here in the first place since we've got a better look at the

00:04:16.739 --> 00:04:24.060
motherboard now seems like a good time to look at that there is a PCIe 16x slot

00:04:22.320 --> 00:04:29.040
down here that could be used for GPU expansion but because this is a slim

00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:33.960
chassis you'd be limited to cards that are half height but full length as long

00:04:32.340 --> 00:04:39.180
as they don't have a bulky dual slot cooler that would interfere with your SATA ports over here that's curious

00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:43.440
there's an RGB strip in the front but I don't actually see what's powering it oh

00:04:41.280 --> 00:04:47.580
wow it's two separate RGB strips in there hey wait a minute

00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:52.680
the front of the case only has two cutouts for USB ports but the system

00:04:50.820 --> 00:04:58.080
itself has four oh crap I just powered it on they stick it over them as best as

00:04:55.380 --> 00:05:02.580
we can tell the only reason to do this might be because there are versions of

00:05:00.780 --> 00:05:06.660
this chassis that only have two front USB ports and this way they would only

00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:12.060
have to stock one version of this front bezel sticker but then we found listings

00:05:09.419 --> 00:05:17.520
for treasure box PCS that do have all four ports cut out so we're really

00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:21.960
really not sure what the deal is with that time for some USB port surgery and

00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:26.160
ideally I won't cut myself again this is a very sharp knife Jerry rig

00:05:23.820 --> 00:05:29.699
everything lttstore.com uh Brandon just don't get too close to this hey yeah

00:05:27.960 --> 00:05:36.539
sure oh failed the second one though

00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:39.479
look at that clean almost as clean as

00:05:36.539 --> 00:05:45.180
the Windows install on the treasure box PC I was actually really impressed to

00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:49.580
see that outside of VLC and the games and applications that we've installed

00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:56.280
this machine contains no bloatware like antivirus or freemium games or anything

00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:58.380
like that uh does this ever load like is

00:05:56.280 --> 00:06:02.820
this no I'm surprised it's still up honestly unfortunately this is about as

00:06:00.479 --> 00:06:07.080
far as we get Beyond light games from like 10 years ago this thing is going to

00:06:04.979 --> 00:06:11.520
struggle to do pretty much any gaming and given the marketing there are almost

00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:15.360
certainly parents or grandparents who have ended up with disappointed kids

00:06:12.960 --> 00:06:19.680
when their new computer can barely run Minecraft

00:06:16.500 --> 00:06:21.900
but if we adjust our expectations a

00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:27.720
little bit the treasure box is actually looking like a pretty okay value I mean

00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:32.340
sure it's based on an older platform and it doesn't have the latest bells and

00:06:28.919 --> 00:06:33.600
whistles like USB type-c but

00:06:32.340 --> 00:06:38.520
as long as you're not trying to run applications it doesn't support day to

00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:43.860
day the responsiveness of the system is actually pretty okay thanks to that

00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:45.960
basic SSD boot drive now you could build

00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:52.080
one yourself for cheaper we ended up pricing out all the pieces inside for

00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:55.139
anywhere from 185 to 240 dollars

00:06:52.080 --> 00:06:57.300
depending on promos and availability but

00:06:55.139 --> 00:07:01.919
not everyone has the technical know-how or the desire to do that and for peace

00:07:00.539 --> 00:07:07.560
of mind it comes with a one year warranty I had some doubts about that

00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:12.900
warranty actually being honored but if user reviews are anything to go by these

00:07:09.840 --> 00:07:13.979
guys mostly stand behind their product I

00:07:12.900 --> 00:07:19.680
would be interested to test that ourselves though can we give it a shot maybe post a little note in the video

00:07:17.520 --> 00:07:25.020
description with how it goes yeah we'll do that okay cool but as we showed

00:07:22.380 --> 00:07:29.479
before these machines are everywhere and not all of them come from that same

00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:33.599
company meat the techdale PC for

00:07:32.819 --> 00:07:38.520
um Dale this one doesn't have a catchy name

00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:42.539
like treasure box but they've certainly gussied it up a little bit we've got

00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:47.400
this uh what appears to be like a blue vinyl sticker whatever this is I guess

00:07:45.660 --> 00:07:55.979
we'll figure that out later they've also added a like a some stickers on the top

00:07:51.840 --> 00:07:58.020
oh interesting that's just to make the

00:07:55.979 --> 00:08:01.259
case look less scuffed and beat up there's a little lip here

00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:04.020
see there's a sticker and you can actually see the like beat up case in

00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:10.340
there I was wondering why they would bother to do that and they've got a cut out for where the original Windows KOA

00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:10.340
went

00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:19.319
paddle too they actually vinyl the whole thing it's just way more subtle maybe

00:08:16.440 --> 00:08:21.960
there's treasure anyway um

00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:28.259
now there's dust it's a sort of uh but dead skin cell

00:08:24.780 --> 00:08:30.720
treasure I think only 256 gigs but this

00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:35.520
one was cheaper I have never heard of hajjan Apparently that is a house brand

00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:41.339
for techdale um they call this the most powerful SSD

00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:44.159
I think not we've got not one not two

00:08:41.339 --> 00:08:49.320
but three different types of RAM in here I have no idea what the meaning of these

00:08:46.260 --> 00:08:52.980
two x's wiped into the dust are but

00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:56.339
we've actually got a GPU in here

00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:58.860
n30 not the most powerful thing in the

00:08:56.339 --> 00:09:04.260
world but it should manage CS go at the very least more compact RGB controller

00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:06.240
but oh there's definitely RGB let's go

00:09:04.260 --> 00:09:11.279
ahead and fire this thing up not as nicely put together as the other one

00:09:08.640 --> 00:09:15.839
but I gotta say even if it's only a GT 1030 it's probably going to make a

00:09:13.860 --> 00:09:22.980
pretty big difference to have a discrete GPU of some sort in here oh that's cool

00:09:18.560 --> 00:09:26.459
look at that RGB strip here and an

00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:29.459
infinity mirror RGB strip only 16 gigs

00:09:26.459 --> 00:09:33.660
of RAM this time third gen processor and

00:09:29.459 --> 00:09:36.600
only a 256 gig SSD but we also have a

00:09:33.660 --> 00:09:42.360
500 gig hard drive and this machine was only 300 Canadian dollars

00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:48.420
it's not strictly advertised as a gaming PC but it comes with this

00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:53.880
multifunctional RGB backlit gaming three in one combo so I think it's fair to say

00:09:52.019 --> 00:10:01.019
that CS go should probably at least launch on it oh wow I have never seen a

00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:03.680
keyboard whose RGB is controlled via remote before

00:10:05.040 --> 00:10:11.519
first time for everything we're actually not 100 sure of the price for this one

00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:15.000
because since we ordered it the page has completely disappeared and the guy who

00:10:13.380 --> 00:10:19.680
has the invoice isn't here right now so you're going to see an on-screen correction if I didn't get it right

00:10:17.640 --> 00:10:25.080
what is this is this a is this a USB thumbstick oh this is a wireless

00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:28.200
dongle for what oh it's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth yeah there's the WPS button

00:10:26.820 --> 00:10:34.140
okay that makes sense okay yeah sure that can go in the front why not oh that

00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:39.720
actually looks pretty cool not bad and it turns out that the remote

00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:45.750
is actually for the oh wait oh for the oh for that oh okay

00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:48.879
wow it's all RGB

00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:57.959
oh do like the shiny lights oh this is not

00:10:56.100 --> 00:11:04.680
a good keyboard in case you were wondering but I'm

00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:07.260
getting it's on dip to 30 there felt it

00:11:04.680 --> 00:11:10.940
about 60 FPS I mean it's

00:11:08.880 --> 00:11:16.920
not the greatest gaming experience though In fairness techtail doesn't

00:11:13.680 --> 00:11:19.380
advertise this as a gaming PC even

00:11:16.920 --> 00:11:24.060
though clearly that's their intent and they do have a history of selling gaming

00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:28.740
PCs that are in the thousand dollar range and still use a GT 1030 meaning

00:11:27.180 --> 00:11:35.399
that the gaming experience isn't going to be much better however yet again it's

00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:39.720
not technically a terrible price if you take into account things like the legit

00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:43.620
copy of Windows the ease of setup and the warranty through whatever platform

00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:47.519
you purchased it on this one would even be able to play some games at low to

00:11:45.540 --> 00:11:52.019
medium settings without too much hassle a fact that techtail has included in the

00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:56.220
description without too much Hyperbole and because both of the machines we

00:11:54.240 --> 00:12:00.720
looked at are using industry standard or at the very least Dell standard Parts

00:11:58.079 --> 00:12:04.380
either of them can be maintained or upgraded with better gpus down the line

00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:08.519
turning them into surprisingly competent little gaming

00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:13.560
boxes it's no wonder these things are so popular but we still haven't answered

00:12:10.920 --> 00:12:16.380
the biggest question where are these things all coming from

00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:25.740
China India no Toronto Ontario Canada that's right

00:12:22.160 --> 00:12:28.500
both Advanced skytech Global maker of

00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:32.940
the treasure box and techdale are headquartered within 20 minutes of each

00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:38.220
other and a little bit farther down the street you'll find high-tech Bay yet

00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:41.820
another Glam furbisher as we've started calling them we can't be a hundred

00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:45.480
percent sure why there's such a high concentration of these companies in that

00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:49.920
area but we do have a couple of guesses first up is that Toronto and its

00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:55.440
surrounding suburbs is the business capital of Canada so the regular supply

00:12:52.560 --> 00:12:58.800
of machines like this likely greatly outstrips the local demand meaning that

00:12:57.240 --> 00:13:04.740
they can easily export them to other regions second is that Markham in particular is

00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:10.560
a tech Hub that contains the Canadian headquarters of countless big names like

00:13:07.079 --> 00:13:12.720
ASUS AMD and also our friends over at

00:13:10.560 --> 00:13:17.160
infinite cables finally one of the defining characteristics of the PC

00:13:14.459 --> 00:13:22.440
industry is the Shameless copying that takes place between competitors so my

00:13:19.800 --> 00:13:27.600
best guess then is that word about how effective a quick coat of paint or

00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:29.820
sticker as it were got out pretty

00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:34.200
quickly leading to almost immediate copycatism and given a little bit more

00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:37.680
time I'm sure many more of these companies are going to be popping up

00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:42.000
near business hubs around the world as an advocate for keeping E-Waste out

00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:46.139
of landfills I'm actually pretty happy to see these machines finding their ways

00:13:43.560 --> 00:13:50.160
to new homes and I also feel like it's worth giving a shout out to Microsoft's

00:13:47.820 --> 00:13:54.240
role in all of this every one of these companies claims some form of legitimacy

00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:58.800
by being part of the Microsoft authorized refurbisher program skytech

00:13:56.820 --> 00:14:03.420
and high tech Bay are both listed on Microsoft's website and techdale we

00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:08.639
think is probably purchasing these licenses from a Microsoft authorized

00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:13.380
refurbisher member which makes them legit now none of that means that these

00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:17.459
guys won't take your money and run when it comes warranty time but overall it

00:14:16.260 --> 00:14:20.820
seems like there's a fair number of happy customers out there and like I

00:14:19.560 --> 00:14:24.660
said before I think that's a really good thing to be clear I don't think that

00:14:22.800 --> 00:14:28.440
Microsoft is providing cheap Windows 10 licenses to these guys out of the

00:14:26.160 --> 00:14:31.560
goodness of their hearts some money is probably better than the no money that

00:14:30.060 --> 00:14:36.720
they'd be making if refurbishers did what they used to do and simply pirated

00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:39.060
Windows but legit Windows adds peace of

00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:43.380
mind for would-be buyers keeping these things out of the landfills and honestly

00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:46.560
I doubt this program really moves the needle for Microsoft compared to the

00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:54.000
work it takes to maintain so I'm glad they're doing it the question remains though should you buy one well this is

00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:58.019
Linus Tech tips so obviously our first choice would be to Cobble something

00:14:55.800 --> 00:15:01.500
together ourselves from hand-picked used parts

00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:06.360
if you need a very simple PC that requires no knowledge to set up or build

00:15:03.420 --> 00:15:10.740
and you don't have much of a budget and maybe you need some semblance of a

00:15:07.920 --> 00:15:15.000
warranty this could be a good choice I would at least consider the extra 100

00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:18.300
bucks for something brand new like this unit from HP even if it's just to ensure

00:15:17.160 --> 00:15:23.279
that I'll have support for future Windows updates but Windows 10 still got

00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:28.320
a lot of life left in it and in this price range an extra hundred dollars is

00:15:25.680 --> 00:15:33.180
a lot of money that could have been used for a GPU upgrade I was expecting to

00:15:31.199 --> 00:15:38.639
dunk on these things for the somewhat misleading marketing and general

00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:42.540
cringiness of them but given that they've basically just commercialized

00:15:40.260 --> 00:15:47.160
but we've been advocating for for years I guess I can't go too hard on them at

00:15:45.540 --> 00:15:51.060
least not as hard as I go segwaying to our sponsor vesi do you ever struggle to

00:15:49.560 --> 00:15:55.139
figure out what to wear in unpredictable weather well Vesti says their shoes are

00:15:52.920 --> 00:15:57.839
100 waterproof keeping your feet dry in the wettest of weather they're

00:15:56.279 --> 00:16:01.079
lightweight and easy to pack sneakers offer you reassurance when the snow and

00:15:59.459 --> 00:16:04.260
rain start coming down putting them on and taking them off is super easy and

00:16:02.880 --> 00:16:07.620
their shoes are made from cruelty free products right down to the glue and

00:16:05.880 --> 00:16:10.860
whether it's a rainy city or a Rocky Trail the herringbone tread design is

00:16:09.540 --> 00:16:17.820
there to help stop you from slipping around so treat your feet with Messy Footwear and save 25 with our offer code

00:16:14.339 --> 00:16:19.139
Linus Tech tipsy.com Linus detectives if

00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:23.760
you guys enjoyed this video you might enjoy some of the more detailed guides

00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:28.820
we've done on how to find and buy a cheap workstation on eBay and turn it

00:16:25.560 --> 00:16:28.820
into a sleeper gaming monster