Need opinions regarding preowned PC parts

Which components would you consider buying preowned?

  • Total voters
    23
Rcon

Rcon

Novice
Going to build a PC soon (hopefully). Wanted to get thoughts on preowned parts and what to look out for when buying them?
 
Both the systems that I am running currently are practically entirely pre-owned.

I have been very lucky to source great stuff from the good folks over here at TE.

Look for physical condition of the parts. It can be a great indicator of how well they have been treated by previous owner. Additionally, proof of working properly, with some benchmarks if necessary can be asked for.
 
Me personally I would buy everything pre-owned except the case and storage, if I get a good deal.
Currently the only pre-owned part in my PC is the ram which i bought in 2020 haven't had any issues yet.
Ask what it was used for (pretty good way to guess how it was treated and how intensively it was used).
And if something looks too good to be true then it probably is.
 
Personally I would prefer to buy everything pre-owned. Generally CPU, GPU, Motherboard and RAM does not go bad early. Though I would stay away from GPUs which has been used for mining for a long time. And for storage I would first check its health before buying. Although new SSD is not that expensive these days.
 
CPU : Quite reliable; so only need to look out for physical damage; bent pins, I guess, would be the most common.
GPU : Not as reliable as CPU, but generally good used ones offer better VFM; especially in the current market. Things to look out for would be benchmarks, throttling, functioning of all ports, hardware info, etc.
RAM : Faulty memory is one of the most common issues, but easy to test. So, test with some credible tools.
PCB : Not as reliable as CPU, but better than GPU. Availability is probably the main issue in the used market, as people don't tend to upgrade the motherboard as often as other components. So situational, I'd say.
Look out for known issues in the specific model, signs of heat damage on VRM, whether used with a reliable PSU, UPS, etc.
STR : Gets worse with age. Check disk health, read/write speeds, physical damage (or even repair, like being bent back) on the port. Not usually recommended; should be fine for insignificant storage like backup.
PSU : Just avoid at all cost. Simply not worth the risk.
 
BullettuPaandi said:
CPU : Quite reliable; so only need to look out for physical damage; bent pins, I guess, would be the most common.
GPU : Not as reliable as CPU, but generally good used ones offer better VFM; especially in the current market. Things to look out for would be benchmarks, throttling, functioning of all ports, hardware info, etc.
RAM : Faulty memory is one of the most common issues, but easy to test. So, test with some credible tools.
PCB : Not as reliable as CPU, but better than GPU. Availability is probably the main issue in the used market, as people don't tend to upgrade the motherboard as often as other components. So situational, I'd say.
Look out for known issues in the specific model, signs of heat damage on VRM, whether used with a reliable PSU, UPS, etc.
STR : Gets worse with age. Check disk health, read/write speeds, physical damage (or even repair, like being bent back) on the port. Not usually recommended; should be fine for insignificant storage like backup.
PSU : Just avoid at all cost. Simply not worth the risk.
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GPU I would avoid, specially the 30xx/20xx series if you are new to PC builds, because of the whole mining thing and while one can say that Mining doesnt really affect performance per se but it would definitely ****ed up the thermals on that card
 
Everything can be bought, although I don't prefer to buy second hand motherboards & GPUs, specially from PC enthusiasts, because they usually overclock to squeeze every last FPS, which generates more heat and shortens the life of nearby components.

The other thing which bugs me is their obsession to open the GPU and re applying the thermal paste for no reason.
 
Rcon said:
Going to build a PC soon (hopefully). Wanted to get thoughts on preowned parts and what to look out for when buying them?
Click to expand...

In the case of components that have electrolytic capacitors (graphics cards, motherboards), age is a factor to consider. Anything over five years is pretty much end-of-life and well out of warranty so I wouldn't consider purchasing them unless if they're liquidations (hardware used by businesses) or priced very low. Thermal expansion under load is a related issue which might lead to micro-cracks and eventually dead hardware. I've seen this on some graphics cards that were used for mining and then offloaded to CEX.

For other solid state components (processors, memory, ssds), it's less of an issue — unless if it's been sold/resold a few times. ESD deterioration happens over time and I've purchased third-hand/fourth-hand SSDs and memory sticks that died unexpectedly during a simple cleaning.

I've also found that computer hardware generally fares much better in cooler climates. For example, I wouldn't hesitate to buy second hand motherboards or graphics cards from Canada.
 
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