Acquiring a second-hand computer, whether fixed or portable, can be an interesting option that allows you to save money. But, there are components that you should never buy second-hand. We will tell you why You shouldn’t buy a used hard drive, motherboard, mining graphics card and heatsink.
We should always buy a new system from reliable sites because we will have some peace of mind. Buying it from a store assures us that it has been checked to work properly and we will have support if there is a problem. You can buy it on second-hand sites, but there you have to ask for functional tests and then check that it works well.
You should not buy these components used
We’ll tell you which components you should never buy second-hand and why not.
Storage units such as hard drives or SSDs
The number one reason why you shouldn’t get a hard drive or SSD the second hand is lifetime. The drive has been working for a while, so it has degraded. If it has been used intensively, it is even possible that the device is close to failure.
Although the first reason is important, the most important is undoubtedly security and privacy. retrieve content of a formatted hard disk is relatively simple Currently. Although we deleted everything, this process is really quite poor and does not end up deleting all information.
Plus, SSDs and HDDs are currently priced very competitively, so there’s no reason to justify a second-hand purchase.
mining graphics cards
We can find graphics cards for sale on used web pages with no problem. The problem with this product is that it could have been use for cryptocurrency miningwith the wear and tear that this entails. If it’s been well maintained, it should run smoothly for quite some time, even if it’s had a lot of wear and tear.
The vendor may omit graphics card source information. One way to identify that it has been used for mining is to know if the seller
Another indicator is to compare used graphics card price If we want to buy, for example, an RTX 2060 and most of it is at 250 dollars, but a seller sells it at 150 dollars, it is an indicator that something is wrong. Most likely, unless otherwise stated, it comes from cryptocurrency mining.
Motherboard, in general
Buying a used motherboard is a bad option, as it could have hidden problems. Although one might think that this is an (virtually) indestructible product, it is not. to have been able to being used for overclocking, having liquid spills, etc.
It’s not a very good idea to buy a used processor unless it’s old and discontinued processors. If we are looking for a motherboard for processors from 10 years ago, we may not find new ones. So we will have to look for a reliable seller who has good ratings.
Fans, radiators and liquid cooling
These are products that have had a long operating life and therefore wear out. We must add to this compatibility issues between the heatsink and the processor socket. All these aspects are quite critical and we risk buying a useless product.
Depending on the type, the following problems can be found:
- Fans: malfunction, noise during rotation, shaft instability resulting in vibration and reduced service life. It is a product that you have been working on for a long time and may have problems
- Heatsinks: it may not be compatible with our CPU socket or part of the docking system is missing. Keep in mind that the fan can have problems
- Liquid refrigeration: The biggest problem with this product is the problem of liquid evaporation and therefore the lack of refrigerant liquid can cause problems. Additionally, it may have issues with leaks, pump failures, and other issues that are impossible to detect with the naked eye.
Table of Contents
