What's your experience buying used CPU's?

[A Computer Guy]

I saw a mighty tempting offer $509 for a 7950x but the catch is was "Used, Like New" listed as sold by and shipped by Amazon.
Previously I got a 4750G from Amazon and it seems to be working fine so far other than a glitch where only the HDMI display goes out on Cinebench runs.

• What venue to you think is the best for buying used CPU's and why? (Amazon, NewEgg, Ebay, etc...)
• What problems did you have if any?
• What was the best deal you ever had on a used CPU?
• What was the worst experience you had buying a used CPU?
• What are the top things you look for when buying a used CPU?

 

[aerosimit]

CPU is the most durable component, unless it's overheated, overclocked or overvoltagated... Mostly, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Fangio1951]

Have been using a previously owned i9-9900k, O/C'd to 5.1 GHz with a pure copper IHS, under water, for the last 3 yrs without any probs.

 

[A Computer Guy]

CPU is the most durable component, unless overheated, overclocked, overvolgated... Mostly, it shouldn't be a problem.

overvolgated is definitely bad. I'm considering submitting that to the Urban dictionary as "When Voltron antivirus completely blocks you from using your PC."

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Gosh, I can’t remember the last new CPU I bought. I’m currently running dual x5690s, which came out some 12+ years ago, in a used 2010 Mac Pro tower, running used DDR3 and a used RX 480. They Cinebench just fine, and I don’t know that the system has ever crashed unless I was really messing around with OpenCore. Windows and Linux do just fine too, even Windows 11!

 

[N/A]

new $547.99 w/ $10 off promo shipped for free and sold by newegg. That is what a mighty tempting 7950x looks like.

Used only if slashed 40% off not too shabby and shiny new all the memory channels work and /w paypal protection in place.

latest 14 C Xeo 3.2Ghz allcore fresh like new for 60. now slashed to 30, thanks ALiEx. Runs a minor risk of being lost depending on the locals,
I added dents trying to put it back in the box, the paint got scratched deep down to the substrate.i'm still mourning the paint on this.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

I'm reasonably certain that the only CPUs I've had issues with have been new.

Where to buy: My only used CPU experiences are on eBay, and I've not been burned yet. NE and Amazon have a price premium attached, I find. eBay's buyer protection is alright IME, so I haven't felt the need to go elsewhere.

Problems: Zero.

Best deal: Xeon X5450 (LGA 771) with 771-775 adapter. Q9650 for 1/4 the cost IIRC. Still running my fileserver. Requires BIOS microcode injection and mild socket mod to run on consumer boards in addition to the stick-on adapter.

Worst experience: A10-7700K. Functioned fine, but performed dismally by the time it came into my possession, which was disappointing for my first AMD "purchase" (think it was actually a trade) since A64. Got a 5600G since then, though, and that's been great.

Things to look for:

• Seller rating. I'm sure it can be gamed, but still feel like a high positive percentage coupled with many reviews carries some weight.
• Item-specific photos. This isn't necessarily a deal breaker, but I feel better if a seller that's got multiples for sale puts in the effort to photograph each one rather than a) using a stock/promo photo or b) taking one set of pics and slapping them on all listings.
• Specialization for sellers with thousands of ratings. This is probably irrational, but it's kinda reassuring when a high-volume seller does mostly tech stuff, rather than PC parts, cosmetics, pool toys and power tools.
• Location. Unless looking for something really specific and/or hard-to-find (bought a laptop keyboard from the UK once; it worked great!), I buy from sellers in my economic region, which happens to be the US.
• Damage/condition: Pins, lands, interposer, IHS. Bonus points if free or mostly free of TIM.

 

[Deleted member 229121]

Nothing wrong w buying a used CPU at all, so long as it wasn't abused and you have buyer protection (eBay, PayPal etc) you're fine.
I've even bought used CPUs specifically as a means to verify/get certain stepping revisions.

 

[freeagent]

Most people cant cool a CPU enough to be able to abuse it.. CPUs are pretty tough.

 

[A Computer Guy]

new $547.99 w/ $10 off promo shipped for free and sold by newegg. That is what a mighty tempting 7950x looks like.

Observing the trends for New CPU's for awhile I see the following especially during the summer sales.

$430-500 5950x
$530-600 7950x
$670-700 7950x3d

I suspect during the winter holiday season we might see some deals popup for a short time knocking at least another 5%-10% off the lowest prices listed above before the 8950X / X3D makes its' debut.

Since I already have 5950x near $500 (ideally $450) would be my trigger point for considering 7950x (at the moment), just because it would be too sweet a deal to pass up, which is where pondering at used CPU's come into play. I've mostly ignored e-bay and prior to the worldwide medical emergency I had ignored Amazon too. I could try to snag a 7950x from ebay for $300 but I'm having doubts about trying it considering it seems too good to be true.

Otherwise I just wait it out until 8950x comes along however the high core count parts are retaining higher value (compared to the rest of the stack) so I kind of doubt 7950x as a new part will ever dip below $500 anytime within the next 24 months when 8950x becomes available.

Most people cant cool a CPU enough to be able to abuse it.. CPUs are pretty tough.

Not sure if I agree. I thought you could bypass AM4 (and maybe AM5) cpu protections (current and thermal) via manual voltage control and all core workloads which is too easy with ryzen master.
I think what others have said about buyer protection is the key for some piece of mind regarding used CPU purchases.

 

[chrcoluk]

Only ever brought one used CPU.

It was a pull from a laptop, the laptop I used it on was the lowest spec'd CPU using that board, and this was from the top spec using the board, essentially a dual core version of the chip I replaced, cost me £10, one of the best purchases I ever made. Lost the old CPU now.

I have not really heard of dud CPU's been a thing on the used market (when they not advertised as dud).

 

[freeagent]

I thought you could bypass AM4

You can, it’s super easy to hit 100c with all core loads. So yeah you can disable it.. but it’s gonna self protect on its own.

 

[P4-630]

I never buy used computer hardware for reasons..

 

[Sithaer]

I don't but my brother had a used Xeon5650 in his previous system/Overclocked too and he used that thing for years until he switched to a first gen Ryzen system wich hes still using .'second hand R5 1600'
If I ever upgrade I might also buy a second hand CPU on my usual second hand marketplace.

 

[Deleted member 232534]

buying used CPUs is very good - it is an isolated chip. If it works it works.

It's not a GPU with power delivery or a motherboard with multiple controllers and chips that can work partially or have strange bugs.

I bought 3 used cpus so far and had no problems - i7-920 (turned out to be a golden chip, overclocking amazing), i5-3570, ryzen 7 7700x (i bought it as an open box returned item at a 10% discount)

 

[Deleted member 185088]

CPUs don't have any moving parts plus the new generations have good protection in place, unless some knowledgeable enough to disable and overvolt them I think there is nothing to worry about.

Personally I only bought one laptop CPU, a Sandy Bridge i7 I believe and it works perfectly even after 6 years now.

 

[Outback Bronze]

Bought many used and new cpu's and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference except for the opened retail packaging.

 

[emothxughts]

Never bought a used CPU myself, but I did sell my used CPU (a Ryzen 3 3200G) to some guy on the other side of my country through Shoppee (my country's most popular online shop). Judging by his 5 star review and no complaints to me, I'd say the CPU is just fine.

 

[GerKNG]

i refuse to buy used CPUs because i don't know if some "normie" ran a high frequency memory kit while VCCSA/IO was on auto at 1.4-1.5 Volt. not a big issue on AMD since VSoC ends at ~ 1.18V.
the other issue is that people are "overclocking" with 0 mOhm LLCs at high voltages and think it got unstable while they actually burned out the Cores.
a friend bought a used 10700k for somewhere around 180€ a year ago and the IMC was degraded as hell...
for me personally: i'd only buy hardware where all voltages are locked without modding.

 

[Dan.G]

Bought an i5-4690S to replace the i3-4130 in my workstation at... work.
No issues, but I did have the latest BIOS version before (v02.56). Those extra cores and L2 cache really help.

 

[maricklamo]

I bought a used Ryzen 5 3600 for $57 a year ago. Best decision I've ever made. From my understanding, it's rare for CPUs to be bricked unless the pins are damaged (for AMD CPUs). Once I decide to upgrade I'll happily buy a used one again.

 

[freeagent]

I bought a used x5690 E.S. and ran it for almost 10 years before I sold it.

 

[bug]

The CPUs themselves will probably be fine. But if you're already worried about it, why bother? $200-300 buys you a new CPU that will handle 90% of the things you can think of throwing at it anyway.

 

[Yukikaze]

I've bought a ton of used CPUs over the years, but they were all OLD used CPUs, not relatively new models being sold as used.

Never had an issue with them, but as I was buying things that were really unlikely to have been abused by anyone (Xeons, "S" model Intel CPUs, etc), this may not be representative of more desirable models.

I did sell a few used high-end CPUs before (that I bought new). And no buyers ever complained.

 

[P4-630]

I never buy used computer hardware for reasons..

Almost forgot, in 2004 I bought once a used Pentium 4 1.8 GHz for my laptop back in the days...

Just one time.