The Best (and Worst) PC Parts to Buy Refurbished

[CmHall9]

On the heels of Scrapyard Wars season 5 I found this article on buying refurbished computer parts.

Most of what is written is common sense. I just found it interesting.

 

Article:

The Best (and Worst) PC Parts to Buy Refurbished

 

Quote

Part of the appeal of assembling your own desktop PC is saving a lot of money versus the same parts in a pre-built machine. That kind of thrifty attitude can extend to buying refurbished parts…which is where things tend to get a little iffy. Some parts can be had for less with relative safety, and others not so much.

 

 

 

 

 

[glitchmaster0001]

Honestly I cringed the whole time they did scrapyard wars. They mostly got not so great deals on the used hardware there 

[Jskn]

Hey guys, I have a great idea.  Buy laptop hard drives. Durr

[intender]

I have bought several refurbished and used parts over the years.  The only thing I ever got burned on was an old graphics card that I got from newegg about 10 years ago.  The fan spun backwards and it would overheat rather quickly.  There are certain things I will not buy used or open box, and that is mice and keyboards.  Thats more of a I dont some random dudes DNA samples on my hands thing than reliability though.  These days with overclocking be as popular as it is I would be leary about buying used graphics.  I have bought a few of those but usually because I knew the people that had them.  I did buy one that I knew had been overclocked heavily under ln2 at one point but that was because I was looking for a good overclocking card that I could volt mod and water cool.

[Ctown0812]

Most of my current rig was built with used parts.  The CPU, MB, Graphics Card, and HDD were all bought on Ebay or craigslist.  Its been a little over a year now with no issues, and I saved a hell of a lot of money. I would recommend buying used parts to anyone.  You just have to be careful who your'e buying from.

[Mirdon]

The only thing I'm comfortable buying used is a locked CPU and RAM.

[vong]

I've bought used CPU's and GPU's but have read to stay away from used/refurbished PSU's and I shouldn't buy a used HDD.

[RX78-2]

Inherently simple things like cases and fans seem easy. Monitors too if you can see it work. Used PSUs are fine if they are quality. Imean, it's not like they break or wear down too quickly, and you can't really push them over the limit by overclocking

[You_are_a_cunt]

Things I consider "safe" to buy second hand:

CPUs, specially locked ones.

GPUs

Cases

HDDs, but only with full SMART and CrystalDisk info alongside them

ODDs, these don't really break and don't get too much mileage

Misc cards (internal hubs or wifi cards)

Cables

AIOs and radiators

Some motherboards

Memory

 

All tested by myself before purchase, of course

 

Things I don't really trust to buy second hand:

Motherboards, since they can have obscure faults or intermittent problems

SSDs. Never buy second hand SSDs.

laptop HDDs. I've seen how most people handle their laptops. Savages.

peripherals, just because I know how mine end up after a month of long gaming sessions and they're gross.

 

Things to remember:

If the deal seems to be too good to be true, there's something fishy going on

Always ask for live proof that the component works. Ask for health reports where applicable

Ask why it's for sale. Most won't admit overclocking. I tend to avoid people that say "I don't need it" without at least hinting to having made an upgrade and whatever they're selling is just an older part.

Look for black friday (or any sale) resellers, specially if they have the product sealed and with paperwork. You'll get whatever you're buying cheaper than in-store and you've got a valid warranty.

Inspect the components thoroughly.

Haggle when applicable