Key Takeaways
- Try to get as much detail as possible before considering any deal and always try to meet in person.
- Inspect carefully for physical damage and check for proof of purchase, if possible, to have more information.
- Run stress tests on all the components to avoid unreliable components and potential issues.
Building a PC with all-new parts is one of the great joys of life. The excitement of unboxing shiny new components, taking in the intoxicating smell, and assembling the system in anticipation of a great experience is unmatched. But, buying everything new every single time might not be an option — maybe you’re building a stop-gap PC while saving for something better, putting together a secondary PC for a DIY project, or even taking it as a challenge to build a killer PC with used parts.
Whatever the situation, buying used PC components shouldn’t be taboo. Hunting for attractive deals and maximizing the value per dollar are reasons enough to consider pre-owned PCs and components. Provided you know how to separate the wheat from the chaff, and test what you’re buying before you buy it, used PC parts are a great way to save money.
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5 Get as much detail as possible
Know the ins and outs even before considering the deal
I wish the used PC market (just like any used market) weren’t home to some shady sellers who try to pass off their hardware as something it isn’t. But, that’s something you need to go through to reach those enticing deals. The most basic thing you can do when you come across something you like is to contact the seller and ask for as much detail as possible.
A seller who has nothing to hide will not, in most cases, mind sharing everything a genuine buyer needs to know.
Often, sellers will include woefully inadequate descriptions of their PCs or components (knowingly or otherwise). For instance, someone selling a 6th or 7th Gen Intel CPU will only write “Core i7” in their description without mentioning the complete model number. Another seller might advertise 2TB of storage in the PC they’re selling without disclosing it’s an old 2TB spinning hard drive (and not an SSD). Something you’re highly likely to encounter is PC parts with no mention of the brand or model number.
To avoid the risk of getting stuck with obsolete parts or those manufactured by off-brand manufacturers, you can either avoid listings with incomplete details or make it a point to urge the seller to share comprehensive details about their hardware. A seller who has nothing to hide will not, in most cases, mind sharing everything a genuine buyer needs to know.
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4 Inspect rigorously for physical damage
It’s always best to check what you’re buying in person
After you’ve shortlisted an item and want to proceed, I’d recommend meeting the seller in person to inspect the PC component or components for signs of damage. This is a basic check and might not even uncover any signs of damage in many cases, but it’s part of the due diligence that you should always try to do. Of course, if a seller is only willing to deal with you online or on the phone, you have the option of risking it and seeing what happens. But, when possible, arrange a meeting to inspect the hardware.
When buying a GPU, check for dents, bent or broken fans, and signs of corrosion.
For CPUs, check for any bent pins or discoloration. If you’re buying a motherboard, ensure there aren’t any broken or bent pins and sockets, discolored spots on the PCB, or unusual flexing on the PCB. All of these can indicate faulty connectors or significant wear and tear. When buying a GPU, check for dents, bent or broken fans, and signs of corrosion. If a GPU was used for mining for a long time, you might be able to spot some signs of intense use (it isn’t always possible to tell if a GPU was used for mining).
Using replacement cables with PSUs can sometimes cause issues that can damage the PSU and the other components of a system.
Usually, you should avoid buying used power supplies (especially if they’ve been used for more than 5 years), but if you trust that a unit is good enough, check for any signs of physical damage, and more importantly, try to get the PSU’s original cables from the seller. Using replacement cables with PSUs can sometimes cause issues that can damage the PSU and the other components of a system.
For CPU coolers, besides inspecting for dents or damaged fans, see if you can spot any signs of coolant leakage (in the case of AIOs). And when buying a PC case or case fans, try to avoid those with too many dents, discolorations, or other signs of damage. Some sellers might also try to pass off RGB fans as ARGB fans. To be sure, you can ask the seller to show you that the RGB lighting on the fans is customizable. You should also check all the cables for any visible signs of damage.
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3 Check for proof of purchase
Original receipts give you more confidence in the deal
Although we’re all guilty of not always saving original bills and boxes for our hardware, it’s best to check with the seller if they have them. This has multiple benefits. First, you have more information to accurately price out the parts you’re buying. Second, if a GPU, motherboard, power supply, or SSD is only, say, 2 years old, you’ll be more confident that it has sufficient life remaining in it. Having sufficient warranty remaining is always a plus.
This can increase your confidence in the component’s quality, depending on what you’re buying.
Moreover, if a GPU is a relatively recent purchase, there is a lower chance that it was used for mining, since GPU mining profitability has consistently been on the decline these past few years. Motherboards and power supplies are some of the parts that buyers should generally avoid buying used, since they can be significantly degraded in quality if used for a long time. Still, knowing their exact date of purchase, you might be better placed to make a more calculated decision.
Lastly, if a seller can show you the original receipts for their hardware, you can at least be sure that they’re the original owner and not someone who bought it pre-owned from someone else. This can increase your confidence in the component’s quality, depending on what you’re buying.
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2 Check detailed specs within the OS
Get to the root of it
Asking the seller to divulge the detailed specs of the hardware will only get you so far. To be completely sure you’re actually buying what they’re claiming to be selling, you need to boot into the operating system and use Windows Settings or third-party tools to get to the bottom of it. To check the specs on a Windows PC, the Task Manager is usually enough if you want to know the CPU and GPU model. You can also use the DirectX Diagnostic (dxdiag) tool or System Information (msinfo32).
For components like the motherboard, RAM, and SSD, a combination of Task Manager, System Information, and third-party tools like CPU-Z and HWiNFO can be used. Other parts like the power supply, PC case, CPU cooler, and case fans can only be inspected visually to determine their exact models. For the next step, you really need to see the system running anyway, so it’s not a big deal to check a few system settings while you’re at it to ensure you’re not being hoodwinked.
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1 Run stress tests to uncover faulty hardware
Don’t buy unreliable components
Perhaps the most important step in the entire process of buying used components is seeing them in action. Some sellers might be trying to offload faulty components that are about to die, so it pays to be paranoid and run some benchmarks in front of you. The components you should focus on for this stage are the CPU, GPU, power supply, and CPU cooler.
While many CPUs can continue to work fine under 100ºC, the CPU cooler might be an area of concern if it can’t keep the CPU under 90ºC during Cinebench.
Other parts like the RAM, SSD, and motherboard can be mostly concluded to be working fine if the system is booting properly and there’s no weird behavior unexplained by the CPU, GPU, or PSU. That being said, you can still run CrystalDiskMark for storage drives and AIDA64 for memory.
To stress test the CPU, it’s best to run a few rounds of Cinebench 2024. Keep an eye on the CPU temperature using HWiNFO as the test is running, and see if the CPU temperature is going beyond 90ºC. Even though many CPUs can continue to work fine under 100ºC, the CPU cooler might be an area of concern if it can’t keep the CPU under 90ºC during Cinebench.
You should also run a few demanding games to test the CPU and GPU in a real-world scenario.
If the system has a competent cooler but the CPU still fails to complete the test, it might be running on an unstable overclock or simply be a failing CPU. Another cause could be an improperly seated cooler, so you can ask the seller if that could be the case. Coming to the GPU stress test, you should run Unigine Superposition or FurMark to test if everything’s fine under the hood. You should also run a few demanding games to test the CPU and GPU in a real-world scenario.
If you’re confident the CPU and GPU are working fine, but you still encounter system shutdowns under intense load, the power supply might be the problem. It might not have sufficient wattage or capable internals to provide clean and stable power to the components. After your testing, if you’re doubtful about any component, you can either pass on it or negotiate a lower price if you are confident enough to handle the solution. You could still run an aging CPU or GPU under power-limited conditions to get some life out of it.
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Buying used parts might take time, but it’s worth it
Used components are often without any faults and actually have years of life left in them. Parts like CPUs, GPUs, RAM, and SSDs can be great buys if you do your due diligence. Even other components like motherboards and power supplies shouldn’t be out of consideration, as long as you’re buying a reliable unit from a reputed manufacturer, and you’ve run your checks beforehand.
Sure, in some cases, you might end up buying something that fails in a few months, but that’s a risk you have to take. Using the tips outlined above, you can minimize that risk as much as possible. In most cases, however, you stand to gain hundreds of dollars in savings, and still end up with a powerful PC.