Are Used PC Parts Worth the Saving?

Can you save money by purchasing used PC parts instead of brand new? Yes absolutely, you can save anywhere from 15 to 30% on the list prices of popular components this way. Should you? That depends. These days there are certain used PC parts you need to be wary of and certain questions to ask a vendor before you take the plunge.

Example Savings

Let’s look at a few example components you could purchase for a new low to midrange gaming computer build.

Here are the list prices for each of these components and the most recent eBay ‘sold’ prices for the same component.

Part	New	Ebay	Saving
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D	$400	$325	18%
Gigabyte MSI Ventus RTX 3060	$290	$200	31%
MSI MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI AM5	$300	$230	23%
CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB DDR5 5600	$95	$70	15%
Samsung 980 Pro M.2 2280 1TB	$90	$75	16%
Total	$1175	$900	$275

As you can see, there’s money to be saved. The major parts of your $1175 gaming PC would only cost you $900 if you purchase them second hand.

But don’t jump straight in and look to purchase your new computer from eBay listings. There are a few gotchas, things to lookout for and some things you ought to understand before you do.

Warranty… what warranty?

Used PC components don’t come with any warranty from the vendor. You can, however, sometimes still claim against a manufacturer warranty.

Major manufacturers such as MSI, Gigabyte and ASUS all warranty their products by serial number and will replace them no matter who originally purchased.

It’s worth checking the manufacturer’s product registration pages for the product you want to purchase if you think you may have to put in a warranty claim in the future.

Used GPUs – Beware the crypto miners

A surge in crypto miners has caused recent GPU shortages and spikes in prices. Miners use GPUs mine coins and make money. This practice involves running the card at full capacity, usually 24 hours a day, and can reduce the expected lifespan of a card that’s relatively new.

Before you purchase any used GPU, check that you trust the seller. A telltale sign of a crypto miner is someone who has a large quantity of used GPU’s for sale.

Used CPUs – Maybe

A good thing to know about a used CPU is what type of system the seller has used it in. A server that’s been working 24-7? An overclocked gaming machine? Both use cases will reduce the expected lifespan of the chip.

You should also be wary of blatant scammers trying to sell fakes or different CPUs than the ones you expect. Be sure that the vendor either verifies the CPU model number and speeds before you purchase, or offers you some confidence.

You can expect a properly cooled CPU that does light business or gaming work to last over 10 years. This is another case of obsolescence being more of a worry than an actual lifespan. With this in mind, purchasing a CPU second hand can be a good idea.

One positive aspect of buying a used CPU is that they are easy enough to test. In any PC build, if there’s something wrong with the CPU, you’ll know about it pretty quickly.

Used Motherboards – Maybe Not

Motherboards comprise many components. They are the largest working part of a computer system. This exposes them to the most outside interference, as owners often add and remove peripherals at will.

It can also be time consuming to verify that everything on a motherboard works correctly. You may never know that one of the PCIe sockets is faulty until you come to add an upgrade to it months after the purchase.

You should only really purchase a used motherboard you are sure has a good provenance. One a responsible user has cared for and looked after.

A good option for lowering the cost of a new board is to purchase an ‘opened box’ or ‘certified refurbished’ option return from a major retailer.

Memory New vs Used

Like CPUs, used memory chips are relatively easy to test and require very little handling to remove from a motherboard. They are also small, fairly sturdy and can withstand transport well.

The only things to watch out for when purchasing used memory are scammers trying to sell you something that doesn’t have the advertised capacity or speeds. However, using programs like MemTest and CPUID these things are simple enough to verify if you aren’t sure.

Used HDD, SSD or M.2 Drives – How used?

Buying used storage is often a risky process because storage devices are one component that has a higher rate of failure during normal use than other components within a computer system. So RAID mirroring is available on most good storage controllers to mitigate this.

M.2 and SSD storage devices use flash memory. Flash memory is solid state and has no moving parts, however it has a limited number of usage cycles before it fails. This means that M.2 and SSD drives will eventually wear out. The more they are used, the sooner this will be. It’s also not always easy to verify the usage count of an SSD to determine its remaining lifespan.

If you can be sure of the provenance of your used drive and that it’s going to last, verifying that it works as you expect is a relatively simple affair using software. Native Windows disk management can scan drives for errors.

HDDs are more mechanical than SSDs, with more unpredictable lifespans and are susceptible to the effects of shocks transport, so an even more risky choice because of this.

It’s always recommended to store your critical data on a mirrored RAID drive to mitigate any failure, but if you are purchasing used HDDs, SSDs or M.2 devices for building, this is even more important.

Used PSU’s

A good quality PSU such as an 80 Plus Gold, Platinum or Titanium standard will often have had a long warranty period when purchased new and use quality components that should last for many years. As with all things on this list, the more use a PSU has had, the lesser its expected lifespan.

If you want to buy used, look for quality used PSUs that have been underutilized, not ones that have been pushed to their limits in an overclocked gaming PC.

Also, be aware that new “modular” PSUs come with a host of cables out of the box to support different PC configurations. Any used PSU you buy should come with all its original cabling or you may find yourself left unable to use it.

Cables

Used PC power cables, SATA cables, HDMI leads, etc are all simple things to verify the function of and are safe to purchase second hand.

However, because they have less worth, there isn’t such a huge second hand market for them.

Monitors

Much like TV’s, the thing to look out for when purchasing a used monitor is dead pixels. Ensure the monitor works, but inspect the entire screen when displaying a single white image. Are there any pixels that don’t show? If there are you haven’t checked, you’ll spend every day looking at an annoying virtual speck of dust. Nobody wants that….

Other stuff….

Anything else you want to save money by purchasing second hand, you can treat the same as any other second hand purchase. Do you trust the seller? Do they seem genuine? Can you verify what you are buying and that it works before you accept it?

If you do your due diligence, there’s money to be saved in the secondhand market.