Need opinions on buying PC parts that were in a house fire

[JOEDAN]

Hey guys. I need a little help. I have an opportunity to get an i9 9900k and an RTX 2080 that went through a house fire, for $500. He says they still work, I asked for a video and he sent me a 13 second one of COD war zone with vsync on. Says he’s done with pc gaming and into RC truck now which is why he’s selling it. (I also assume he’s gotten insurance money for it). He says the parts are also currently apart and sitting somewhere so I think the video he sent me is old. I included vids and pictures. Does this seem like a good idea to go through with? Just seems a little too good to be true. Even if the parts do work now, how stable would they be in the long term?

 

 

edit: added more pics of gpu

[Fasauceome]

Slap those suckers into a new motherboard and case. There's no way the CPU was damaged really, and the graphics card may have suffered some small damage to the shroud but any minor deformities are worth it. Do you also get the ram and storage of this PC? Or just the processor and GPU?

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, JOEDAN said:

 

from this picture alone i decided the deal probably isnt worth it

guy doesnt know how to take care of his PC, holding a cpu like that 

[JOEDAN]

3 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

Slap those suckers into a new motherboard and case. There's no way the CPU was damaged really, and the graphics card may have suffered some small damage to the shroud but any minor deformities are worth it. Do you also get the ram and storage of this PC? Or just the processor and GPU?

I’m honestly not sure what all comes with. I talked more and he said it’s actually 600 for gpu and cpu if I do it today. The original 500 was for gpu only. 

[JOEDAN]

4 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

from this picture alone i decided the deal probably isnt worth it

guy doesnt know how to take care of his PC, holding a cpu like that 

Yeah I’m very hesitant. Doesn’t seem like he knows a whole lot of what he’s doing. 

[Fasauceome]

Just now, JOEDAN said:

I’m honestly not sure what all comes with. I talked more and he said it’s actually 600 for gpu and cpu if I do it today. The original 500 was for gpu only. 

A burned 2080 super for $500 is a stretch, I mean you can get a used GTX 1080 ti for a price like that in an undamaged condition.

 

But $600, you could think of it as basically $300 for the i9 and $300 for the 2080s which is actually a really good deal still.

[Nayr438]

With no guarantee that any of the parts work. CPU would probably be fine. GPU would have probably been in the worst part considering the bottom of the inside of the case.

 

For the gamble, id give $300 USD max for the whole thing and just hope the CPU works and take anything else as luck.

[Moonzy]

Just now, Fasauceome said:

A burned 2080 super for $500 is a stretch, I mean you can get a used GTX 1080 ti for a price like that in an undamaged condition.

 

But $600, you could think of it as basically $300 for the i9 and $300 for the 2080s which is actually a really good deal still.

agreed

but make sure the ports on the GPU isnt damaged in any way because the fire looks to be from the back (judging by the IO cover and the back fan's plastic)

[Dujith]

Dont do it. If there was a fire there will be soot and whatever they used to put out the fire.

It wont show up now but in half a year things will start to break apart as the electricity + whatever chemicals will start to eat away at the electronics.

 

Seen this so many times that stuff "survived" the fire/smoke only to die a few months later.

[Kanna]

2 minutes ago, Dujith said:

Dont do it. If there was a fire there will be soot and whatever they used to put out the fire.

It wont show up now but in half a year things will start to break apart as the electricity + whatever chemicals will start to eat away at the electronics.

 

Seen this so many times that stuff "survived" the fire/smoke only to die a few months later.

Well the CPU was under the cooler so that is maybe more safe but we aren't sure the if fire was in the PC from the looks of the IO and the burns on the outside of the PC it looks like it wasn't inside that would give no point of using extinguisher inside neither is there anything in a PC that can catch fire easily if it's not started inside

[Wictorian]

Definitely get it. 

[mariushm]

The CPU should be fine. It was protected by the water cooler and the motherboard.

 

The motherboard is most likely fine. Modern motherboards use polymer capacitor which are rated for high temperatures and last a long time, they're not as bad as electrolytic capacitors ... Everything else should be fine, if there were no actual flames touching. 

 

The video card is probably also fine, but double check the fans to make sure the plastic isn't warped. if it is, just remove the fans and buy fans from ebay or other places - temporarily you can get regular 80/92/120 mm fans and stick them to the card. 

The heatsinks should be cleaned of dust/smoke residue etc.

 

Power supply would probably be fine if there was no actual fire blowing into the vents. Maybe replace fan if the plastic is melted.

 

You WILL have to wash the components to remove the smoke and residue from everything... so basically get a few bottles of isopropyl alcohol ... Remove heatsinks from components,  and dunk the components in warm water  with a few drops of regular liquid soap (let's say a couple of drops of concentrated liquid soap per cup of water)  Shake water well, get it everywhere, then rinse with clean warm water. 

 

Now you want to get rid of any remaining water, so get a bucket or something big enough to hold the motherboard or component and pour isopropyl alcohol and submerge the part under alcohol ... use a fine toothbrush to brush components.

 

Then take out components, apply thermal paste where needed, put the heatsinks back and so on. may have to buy some thermal tape to replace the existing one that may be damaged after removing heatsinks (you can buy thermal tape in various thicknesses - you kinda have to match thickness - from reputable distributors of electronic components like Digikey, Mouser, Farnell/Newark  - or you can go to pc modding online stores and buy smaller chunks of tape)

 

[JOEDAN]

30 minutes ago, mariushm said:

The CPU should be fine. It was protected by the water cooler and the motherboard.

 

The motherboard is most likely fine. Modern motherboards use polymer capacitor which are rated for high temperatures and last a long time, they're not as bad as electrolytic capacitors ... Everything else should be fine, if there were no actual flames touching. 

 

The video card is probably also fine, but double check the fans to make sure the plastic isn't warped. if it is, just remove the fans and buy fans from ebay or other places - temporarily you can get regular 80/92/120 mm fans and stick them to the card. 

The heatsinks should be cleaned of dust/smoke residue etc.

 

Power supply would probably be fine if there was no actual fire blowing into the vents. Maybe replace fan if the plastic is melted.

 

You WILL have to wash the components to remove the smoke and residue from everything... so basically get a few bottles of isopropyl alcohol ... Remove heatsinks from components,  and dunk the components in warm water  with a few drops of regular liquid soap (let's say a couple of drops of concentrated liquid soap per cup of water)  Shake water well, get it everywhere, then rinse with clean warm water. 

 

Now you want to get rid of any remaining water, so get a bucket or something big enough to hold the motherboard or component and pour isopropyl alcohol and submerge the part under alcohol ... use a fine toothbrush to brush components.

 

Then take out components, apply thermal paste where needed, put the heatsinks back and so on. may have to buy some thermal tape to replace the existing one that may be damaged after removing heatsinks (you can buy thermal tape in various thicknesses - you kinda have to match thickness - from reputable distributors of electronic components like Digikey, Mouser, Farnell/Newark  - or you can go to pc modding online stores and buy smaller chunks of tape)

 

While I’m not sure yet if I’m getting them yet, thank you for all this. It will give me a good guide if I do. 

[JOEDAN]

39 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

Definitely get it. 

Maybe. 

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, Moonzy said:

from this picture alone i decided the deal probably isnt worth it

guy doesnt know how to take care of his PC, holding a cpu like that 

Other than risk of dropping, there is absolutely nothing wrong or damaging with holding a CPU that uses pads instead of pins like that. 

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, Blue4130 said:

Other than risk of dropping, there is absolutely nothing wrong or damaging with holding a CPU that uses pads instead of pins like that. 

oil stain on the pad, and potential static

 

but yea it's a minor worry, still not a good idea to hold it like that regardless

[Blue4130]

Just now, Moonzy said:

oil stain on the pad, and potential static

 

but yea it's a minor worry, still not a good idea to hold it like that regardless

Unless you dip your hands in a bucket of oil first, your naturally occurring hand oils will never damage the chip. As for static, you have just as much chance when holding it on the sides. 

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, Blue4130 said:

your naturally occurring hand oils will never damage the chip

you underestimated the hyperhidrosis community

 

but generally you dont handle your cpu like that do you?

[Blue4130]

8 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

you underestimated the hyperhidrosis community

 

but generally you dont handle your cpu like that do you?

I am not picky about how I handle them. Never lost a cpu to static or oils, never heard of anyone loosing a cpu to oily skin. Just wipe the KFC off your fingers before building a PC, should be good to go.

[Moonzy]

Just now, Blue4130 said:

never heard of anyone loosing a cpu to oily skin.

ive seen cases of intel cpu losing ram channels because of stain on the pad, which can be easily wiped away with alcohol

 

small issue, besides that original post was more as a joke tbh

[BuckGup]

Give me the details and I'll buy it. If it works I'll sell you everything besides the GPU for $500

[EL02]

46 minutes ago, BuckGup said:

Give me the details and I'll buy it. If it works I'll sell you everything besides the GPU for $500

Ah yes, the negotiator.

[Teddy07]

I would buy it if the seller agrees that you can return the GPU in case it´s broken. I would not worry about the CPU, they are very durable. I even dropped mine on stone floor and it still works fine

[dizmo]

I'd probably ask if the computer was on during the fire. If so, it's likely gotten water damage of some kind, and may have shorted out most of the stuff inside it.

 

[JOEDAN]

3 hours ago, JOEDAN said:

Hey guys. I need a little help. I have an opportunity to get an i9 9900k and an RTX 2080 that went through a house fire, for $500. He says they still work, I asked for a video and he sent me a 13 second one of COD war zone with vsync on. Says he’s done with pc gaming and into RC truck now which is why he’s selling it. (I also assume he’s gotten insurance money for it). He says the parts are also currently apart and sitting somewhere so I think the video he sent me is old. I included vids and pictures. Does this seem like a good idea to go through with? Just seems a little too good to be true. Even if the parts do work now, how stable would they be in the long term?

 

 

edit: added more pics of gpu

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I think I may pass on it though. I’m happy with what I have now and I don’t really neeed these. The price is good, but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble for me. If anyone lives around the Harrisburg, PA area and wants to get them, let me know. I can send the FB marketplace ad.