New vs. Used Parts

[TimeHeroOf]

So I'm one of those people that wants good parts for a sweet PC build yet lack the funds to buy those parts new, I have to compromise so I chose to go used. Everyone told me that this was a good way to do things with my situation, that is until someone who's opinion is not one I'd disregard told me to never buy used. This brought up questions: Is buying used a valid option? Does the quality of New Parts outweigh the price/performance of Used? I'm on the side of buying used, but now's the chance to convince me otherwise.

[UnlimitedTMD]

it's a bit subjective, it's a choice you'll have to make your own. We cannot interfere with your guts lol. If the price is good, go ahead. BUT please test it real good before buying it and plz meet eachother at their place. 

If I were on a sub 750 budget I'd go used with new

[Thony]

I agree, it's subjective.

 

I can't buy used parts as I'm afraid of it failing for whatever reason.

 

I would probably get a used part only from a very good friend I can trust. 

[ShadowCaptain]

3 minutes ago, TimeHeroOf said:

SNIP

Buying used parts is no different to buying used anything though I would never buy used hard drives

things like cases, and coolers can be bought without much hesitation, 

motherboards and CPUs are generally fine too

GPUs are a little less reliable because of the high heat output, old AMD cards used for mining, and them being put in an out of systems but there are bargains to be had

that said, it depends on what your actual budget is, sometimes you can compromise  without really needing to 

[DebatED Nothing]

Depends on the deal, the part, and the budget. The drawbacks sometimes aren't that important and in that case go for it.

[SaladFingers]

You can definitely buy used parts. of course, as with anything used, thorough research about the seller and the condition of the product is always needed. Some parts are a bad idea to get used, some others though, it's actually great value:

 

HDDs: DON'T. HDDs aren't as reliable as other PC parts, and you store your data on them. Your best bet is to get a new unit.

 

CPUs: These are much more reliable and can last for years and years even if they are highly overclocked and run 24/7 with stuff thrown at them. If a chip is fully functional, chances are it will remain so for years to come.

 

GPUs: Same as CPUs for the most part, but they can degrade faster. Still, for the most part, if the card doesn't have some crazy mod you're pretty much safe. It will probably die much later after you stop using it for performance reasons anyway.

 

Motherboards: It's pretty safe to assume that if it's working, it will keep working.

 

RAM: Don't, mostly because ram is cheap and it's not worth it to risk faulty units.

 

PSU: This is debatable.

[TetraSky]

23 minutes ago, SaladFingers said:

RAM: Don't, mostly because ram is cheap and it's not worth it to risk faulty units.

OP lives in Canada, RAM is still expensive AF for us, unless he only wants 4GB for $50. (though I'm seeing a few 8GB DDR3 kit on sale, for $50 too, at 50% off, at NCIX)

 

As long as you don't buy a used HDD, considering how fragile those things can be and not every seller on the internet are smart enough not to drop them... you'll be fine with most used stuff. Just don't get ripped off with a terrible price when you can generally get a brand new part for just a bit more.

SSDs should be fine though, see if you can run a tool such a CrystalDiskInfo on it to know how many Writes there has been to it, as long as it somewhere under 20TB~30TB, it should last a couple years at least, depending on how good the SSD is anyway. If it's some kind of first gen kingston SSDnow, it'd probably already be dead at that point...

 

In any case, always ask if you can test the part first, either in their machine or in a "testbench" that you bring.

[SaladFingers]

2 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

OP lives in Canada, RAM is still expensive AF for us, unless he only wants 4GB for $50. (though I'm seeing a few 8GB DDR3 kit on sale, for $50 too, at 50% off)

 

As long as you don't buy a used HDD, considering how fragile those things can be and not every seller on the internet are smart enough not to drop them... you'll be fine with most used stuff. Just don't get ripped off with a terrible price when you can generally get a brand new part for just a bit more.

SSDs should be fine though, see if you can run a tool such a CrystalDiskInfo on it to know how many Writes there has been to it, as long as it somewhere under 20TB~30TB, it should last a couple years at least, depending on how good the SSD is anyway. If it's some kind of first gen kingston SSDnow, it'd probably already be dead at that point...

 

Trust me, I know how it is to live in a country that has expensive hardware

 

I only mentioned ram being 'cheap' because it relatively is - compared to other parts that is. If you can save more than 50% on used ram that you can memtest, go for it.

 

I forgot to mention SSDs but yeah, you are right.

[Almercenary]

27 minutes ago, SaladFingers said:

 

HDDs: DON'T. HDDs aren't as reliable as other PC parts, and you store your data on them. Your best bet is to get a new unit.

 

RAM: Don't, mostly because ram is cheap and it's not worth it to risk faulty units.

Id disagree. HDD's and RAM are so cheap second hand its not even really a loss if it fucks up. Maybe get a new SSD for booting and important shit. I mean, 2 years ago i picked up 8gb of ddr3 for $10. One of my storage drives is the same. Never had a problem.

 

As a general rule just buy smart and don't deal with shady people. Also picking up in person is always good.

[SaladFingers]

2 minutes ago, Almercenary said:

Id disagree. HDD's and RAM are so cheap second hand its not even really a loss if it fucks up. Maybe get a new SSD for booting and important shit. I mean, 2 years ago i picked up 8gb of ddr3 for $10. One of my storage drives is the same. Never had a problem.

 

As a general rule just buy smart and don't deal with shady people. Also picking up in person is always good.

Why risk getting a drive that could possibly start malfunctioning at any moment, or have degraded performance? I mean, I get where you're coming from, but from my perspective buying used shouldn't mean "buy something super cheap so you can replace it" but rather "buy something cheap enough that will still last you". Otherwise where's the value in that? Just my opinion anyway.