▷ Second-hand gaming pc: saving money buying components

A mid-range gaming PC can involve an investment of around 1, 000 euros, while a high-end one can easily be around twice as much. Low-budget gaming PCs are not recommended because, although it is possible to have a functional team for around 600 or 800 euros, the technology of the system is obsolete from the moment it is assembled; that is, the profitability of the PC is very low since it is stagnating over time.

Some users, not convinced by the benefits of balance gaming PCs, are tempted to buy second-hand higher-end equipment. Is this recommended? In this article we are going to study what we can expect from a second-hand gaming PC and whether or not it is worth buying one.

Index of contents

Origin of the computer

Unlike factory-mounted components or computers that arrive at our homes directly from the company's warehouses, when we buy a second-hand gaming PC we don't know anything about that team's past.

How has it been treated? Have the appropriate maintenance been carried out? Have you been subjected to adverse physical conditions (high temperatures, for example)? How much was required of you while on the job?

We will not have a reliable answer to any of these questions unless we personally know the owner who is selling the equipment to us.

Thus, the purchase becomes a kind of lottery. We may be offering a PC that has hardly been used for an interesting price, or a build that, in addition to serving as a gaming rig, has been mining cryptocurrencies 24 hours a day and is ready to burst. We have the same probability that the computer is in a perfect state of preservation as that the tower has never been opened to perform a preventive cleaning and replace the thermal paste of CPU, GPU and chipsets .

In summary, we do not have information on:

If the computer has been used to its limit If the reasons for the sale given by the owner correspond to reality If the PC has problems of daily or occasional appearance If there are components that have already failed or gave indications of failure If the different elements still have their guarantee The assembly was carried out correctly If the connections were established in the most appropriate way The methodologies that were used during the assembly The repairs to which the gaming PC has been subjected throughout its useful life The quality of the cables and elements used If the BIOS is correctly password protected if the storage drives are encrypted etc.

When buying a used gaming PC, we do it blindly, and that conflicts with the next point.

Lack of guarantees

Second-hand purchases are made so that the buyer accepts the goods in the state in which they are received. This means that there doesn't even need to be a problem with the computer in the first instance, if the collection is not done by hand and the original owner has to do the mailing, there is a possibility that the packaging is not robust enough and the equipment suffers damage in transit.

This requires trust in the good faith of the seller, there are no guarantees of any kind. With the lack of information, the possible scenarios have the same probability: 50% that the purchase disappoints us and makes us lose money, 50% that everything goes well and we get a bargain.

However, from the strategic point of view of a buyer with a limited budget, investing 800, 900 or 1, 000 euros in a second-hand purchase without guarantees is an unaffordable risk. In this case it is more logical to continue saving until we can make the purchase of a new mid-range gaming PC, with the security offered by registered physical establishments.

If you insist on buying second-hand, even knowing that it is not a good idea, you can resort to signing a contract for the sale of second-hand goods such as those provided by the Organization of Consumers and Users of Spain, which is You can attach a guarantee clause. Of course, this possibility only includes purchases in Spain (mainly face-to-face). Those international ones are regulated by the International Chamber of Commerce and are more complex and difficult to enforce.

Ultimately, in addition to sacrificing security, it sacrifices the comfort of making a purchase in a trusted establishment in just a few minutes. The investment time and effort of a second-hand purchase may not pay off.

Degradation from use

Even the smallest of operations that are performed on a computer, wear it out. The number of times the PC has been turned on and off has an effect, and is difficult to quantify. Every time this cycle is performed, an overcurrent appears in the system, mainly caused by the starting of the motors associated with fans integrated in GPU, fans of the PC case and rotors of the hard disk drives. These overcurrents degrade all the circuitry through which they run.

On the other hand, any mechanical interaction with the computer causes physical deterioration. The most obvious example is the connection pins and ports with bad contacts. Every time a plug is inserted into and removed from a socket , the parts in contact are subjected to strong stresses that wear them down. The same happens with the push buttons, the contact is gradually becoming more difficult with each new use.

Operating the computer in high-temperature environments and poor ventilation shorten the life of the fans, as the CPU requires continuous operation at full power for longer periods of time. But this also has a negative effect on the rest of the components that are at high temperatures, which will be performing their tasks in adverse conditions, worse than those established in the durability tests of the manufacturers.

Even more aggressive may be the use of overclocking , which dramatically reduces the life of components such as the CPU, GPU, and RAM. Also, problems caused by this type of hardware acceleration can go from zero to one hundred in an instant. The system may be on the verge of collapse and fail only when it is already in the hands of the new owner.

Finally, storage units are especially susceptible to failure in gaming computers with years of use. The constant writing and reading of files always takes its toll. And this is especially true for hard drives with their moving parts, SSDs are more reliable.

Other risks associated with second-hand gaming PCs

Although it must be assumed that the majority of problems that will arise when buying a used gaming PC are technical, this type of purchase can lead to difficult situations.

A used computer may have malicious software hard to remove installed, such as online activity trackers , keyloggers, or cryptocurrency mining programs, to name a few. If such programs exist and have direct communication with the previous owner, the new user may be involved in a scam, harassment or blackmail through the internet.

The buyer's privacy and the security of their assets (bank accounts and documents) may be at risk.

Many reasons to avoid a second-hand gaming PC, few to buy

In the face of all the evidence that we have provided in the previous sections that point out that used gaming PCs are not a good idea if you think carefully, in the interest of impartiality you have to evaluate what are the advantages of this type of purchase.

The first and most obvious of them all is the price of the system. Like other used goods entering the second-hand market, computers are devalued by 30% or more the moment they become part of a person's belongings.

That is why it is not uncommon to find computers that are sold for amounts 50 percent lower than what it would cost new in store. With much insistence, these prices can be lowered even more since making the sale is, from the point of view of the original owner, difficult. With discounts of 60% compared to the store price, we can be talking about a real bargain.

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On the other hand, gaming PCs are made up of components with some time on the market, so the most common errors and malfunctions are easy to solve in computer stores, since there will be abundant documentation on how to solve them. In general, this also affects maintenance and repair costs, which will be less than in a computer equipped with cutting-edge technology.

Finally, at the time of purchase, the user interested in obtaining the gaming PC usually pays the price for the elements of the system that he really needs. Only items whose benefits will be used with percentages close to one hundred percent are being purchased. In addition, this alternative can be interesting when you need to have a replacement equipment or that allows us to extend a wait until the latest generation technology comes out; that is to say, to act as a technological bridge.

In addition to these three pros, there are some others that, due to their nature not directly linked to the benefit of the transaction, we will not mention, a clear example is that reusing old equipment is good for the environment.

In summary, we have the following situation:

Advantage

Very low price compared to the sale price of new equipment Abundant documentation that facilitates and reduces the cost of maintenance and repair Acquisition of the strictly necessary technology, not oversized Care for the environment by de-escalation of consumption and reuse

Disadvantages

Zero information about the previous life of the equipment There are no guarantees available Aged hardware and unknown status The user is exposed to privacy breaches and security breaches Complex and risky acquisition process

If, despite everything, you decide on a second-hand gaming PC…

Buying a second-hand gaming PC is highly discouraged, there are better alternatives such as savings, refurbished equipment, or new lower-end equipment. If, despite everything stated here, you are determined to buy the used equipment, follow these tips:

Haggle down as much as possible. You should be able to get a price 50 or 60% less than the value of the new equipment in store. If friction arises with the seller, that's an (inconclusive) indication that the team is worth what is being asked for. Also, the lower the price you get, the lower the risk you take. Ask everything you need from the seller. Some buyers with little experience in the second-hand market err on the side of trust or timidity and do not dare to ask for an answer to all the questions that concern them. Gross mistake. Inspect the equipment in person. An external and superficial inspection is not enough. Ask the vendor for permission to open the tower, see what condition it is in, and assess if there may be problems. Turn on the computer and, if possible, install a program such as HWMonitor or Heaven that returns a complete report on the state and stability of the system. Agree to sign a contract for the sale of used goods. A seller who has nothing to hide will have no problem doing so, after all, it is a document that protects both parties. Encourages the existence of an electronic registry. Try to make communications by email so that there is written evidence of the communications. Avoid paying by hand or cash if possible, opt for a bank deposit or electronic method that records the operation.

We recommend reading our tutorials and settings regarding the PC:

Basic PC Settings Advanced PC Settings / Gaming Enthusiastic PC Settings Silent PC Settings

By following these tips to the letter, the chances that the PC will have problems deliberately hidden by the previous owner is much lower. This does not mean that it can fail after a few days, of course.

We advise to always buy from trustworthy or highly reputable specialized forum users. Also if a relative has taken good care of their PC and has had all the maintenance. It will also depend on the age of the components and whether the cost is worth the outlay. You have doubts? We help you.