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Thoughts on buying used hardware...

MEC-777
By MEC-777
in New Builds and Planning
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Posted

Curious what you all think about buying used hardware - mainly speaking about GPUs. What do you look for and how do you minimize the risk? 

 

Been thinking about selling my 7950 and getting an R9-290. I've seen some really good deals on some BNIB and LNIB 290's (reference and aftermarket cooled) on local classifieds and it's really tempting. Especially considering the upgrade may only cost $150 or so. The question is; is it worth the risk? I hear quite a few people on tech forums talking about great deals they got on used GPUs, so I'm thinking why not?

 

Bought my 7950 back in September of last year for only $169 (NCIX warehouse sale), which was an awesome deal (retail was $329 for the windforce at that time). And yeah it's still a great performing GPU, but there are some games I'd like a little more performance out of. 40fps is starting to feel a little sluggish/choppy compared to a consistent 60+. I think the end cost difference justified the upgrade for me in that regard.

 

So yeah, what do you think about buying used GPUs? 

 

 

*Edit: I'm only considering local purchase. Nothing online that requires shipping. 

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Main - Work + Gaming:

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Woodland Raven: Ryzen 2700X // AMD Wraith RGB // Asus Prime X570-P // G.Skill 2x 8GB 3600MHz DDR4 // Radeon RX Vega 56 // Crucial P1 NVMe 1TB M.2 SSD // Deepcool DQ650-M // chassis build in progress // Windows 10 // Thrustmaster TMX + G27 pedals & shifter

F@H Rig:

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SNES PC (HTPC): i3-4150 @3.5 // Gigabyte GA-H87N-Wifi // G.Skill 2x 4GB DDR3 1600 // Asus Dual GTX 1050Ti 4GB OC // AData SP600 128GB SSD // Pico 160XT PSU // Custom SNES Enclosure // 55" LG LED 1080p TV  // Logitech wireless touchpad-keyboard // Windows 10 // Build Log

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MY DAILY: Lenovo ThinkPad T410 // 14" 1440x900 // i5-540M 2.5GHz Dual-Core HT // Intel HD iGPU + Quadro NVS 3100M 512MB dGPU // 2x4GB DDR3L 1066 // Mushkin Triactor 480GB SSD // Windows 10

 

WIFE'S: Dell Latitude E5450 // 14" 1366x768 // i5-5300U 2.3GHz Dual-Core HT // Intel HD5500 // 2x4GB RAM DDR3L 1600 // 500GB 7200 HDD // Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon

 

EXPERIMENTAL: Pinebook // 11.6" 1080p // Manjaro KDE (ARM)

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For used hardware, never buy online unless you're also the type who gambles at casinos. Even if a part is working, that doesn't mean it'd get to you that way with the carelessness of underpaid delivery drivers. At least when you order something new, you have the invoice and warranty that comes with it.

 

 

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Anything that isn't mainly mechanical (a case) or fairly resilient to being damaged (RAM) I wouldn't get used.

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Current Rig

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  • Author

Yeah, forgot to mention - I'm only considering local purchase and pickup. Not buying anything online (no ebay).

My Systems:

Main - Work + Gaming:

Spoiler

Woodland Raven: Ryzen 2700X // AMD Wraith RGB // Asus Prime X570-P // G.Skill 2x 8GB 3600MHz DDR4 // Radeon RX Vega 56 // Crucial P1 NVMe 1TB M.2 SSD // Deepcool DQ650-M // chassis build in progress // Windows 10 // Thrustmaster TMX + G27 pedals & shifter

F@H Rig:

Spoiler

FX-8350 // Deepcool Neptwin // MSI 970 Gaming // AData 2x 4GB 1600 DDR3 // 2x Gigabyte RX-570 4G's // Samsung 840 120GB SSD // Cooler Master V650 // Windows 10

 

HTPC:

Spoiler

SNES PC (HTPC): i3-4150 @3.5 // Gigabyte GA-H87N-Wifi // G.Skill 2x 4GB DDR3 1600 // Asus Dual GTX 1050Ti 4GB OC // AData SP600 128GB SSD // Pico 160XT PSU // Custom SNES Enclosure // 55" LG LED 1080p TV  // Logitech wireless touchpad-keyboard // Windows 10 // Build Log

Laptops:

Spoiler

MY DAILY: Lenovo ThinkPad T410 // 14" 1440x900 // i5-540M 2.5GHz Dual-Core HT // Intel HD iGPU + Quadro NVS 3100M 512MB dGPU // 2x4GB DDR3L 1066 // Mushkin Triactor 480GB SSD // Windows 10

 

WIFE'S: Dell Latitude E5450 // 14" 1366x768 // i5-5300U 2.3GHz Dual-Core HT // Intel HD5500 // 2x4GB RAM DDR3L 1600 // 500GB 7200 HDD // Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon

 

EXPERIMENTAL: Pinebook // 11.6" 1080p // Manjaro KDE (ARM)

NAS:

Spoiler

Home NAS: Pentium G4400 @3.3 // Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 // 2x 4GB DDR4 2400 // Intel HD Graphics // Kingston A400 120GB SSD // 3x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200 HDDs in RAID-Z // Cooler Master Silent Pro M 1000w PSU // Antec Performance Plus 1080AMG // FreeNAS OS

 

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if you buy on ebay, eBay's policy is so stupidly broken and buyer-friendly. you have 45 DAYS after RECIEVING the item (not day of purchase) to make a claim and return/refund. as a seller it's complete bullsh*t (I got shaft*d as a seller because of this garbage policy, refuse to use ebay again)

 

then if it does die, most companies don't care or even ask if you're the original owner. if it's in warranty period, it will be covered.

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