5 ms·

I never bought used computer parts. Are these parts generally reliable for ~2 years when bought used?

mrheosuper 1y ago
those are server-grade stuff, it's normal for them to work 10 years continuously.
avhception 1y ago
I regularly buy used hardware. It fails when it fails, same as the new stuff. Is there a higher probability? Possibly, but at the small sample sizes I'm at I can't feel the difference. Feels random either way.
cornichon622 1y ago
Built a gaming desktop for a friend almost 2 years ago; used GPU and CPU (maybe a few others things too), everything's going great. It helps that our local Cragslist offers efficient buyer protection. Server-side, I also bought used Xeons for an old box and recertified 10TB Exos. No issues there neither. The HDDs are a bit of a gamble, but for anything else I can only encourage you to buy used!
- throwaway2037 1y ago
  > It helps that our local Cragslist offers efficient buyer protection. What does this mean?
  - cornichon622 1y ago
    When you buy something on Le Bon Coin, if it's not conform to the description or outright broken, you can very easily get a refund from the platform itself up to 3 days after reception, even if the seller disappeared. I think it encourages people to buy used stuff by removing the main drawback which is "it may not work properly anymore".
    - throwaway2037 1y ago
      Cool, I didn't know about this website. Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leboncoin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leboncoin This sounds like a very good upgrade to Craigslist and eBay!
ekianjo 1y ago
Used professional hardware (servers, workstations) are made with higher quality standards so they last fairly long.
- tasuki 1y ago
  Also they're good for heating your home.
  - NexRebular 1y ago
    Unless you are running SUN CoolThreads(tm) servers!
- Cthulhu_ 1y ago
  Plus if they're from a data center, they will have been in a cooled, filtered, and stable space for their lifetime, vs a desktop that may have been in a dusty room getting moved or kicked from time to time.
pabs3 1y ago
My current computer is from more than 10 years ago, and I found it in a dumpster. Works fine.
- codr7 1y ago
  You're not going to leave us hanging with the specs, right?
  - pabs3 1y ago
    Bog-standard Asus mobo with Intel i5 CPU, one USB3 port, some extra RAM begged from other folks and from previous desktops also from dumpsters, SATA 6GB ports, and a new at the time SATA SSD. First UEFI computer I've had. Found in a dumpster a year or two ago.
throw-qqqqq 1y ago
I haven’t bought new hardware since I was a teenager. Second hand is cheap and good for the environment. I never received a broken part and everything has worked reliably for me. 2-3 years is not a lot. My daily driver laptop is from 2011 and still going strong. Sure, there are “lemons” out there, but there are also a lot of people who just replace their hardware often.
- nisa 1y ago
  I concur. Doing this for almost all my technical equipment and mobile phones and never had a problem. For important/expensive things you can buy on refurbished stores that offer a 1-year warranty in EU.
- amelius 1y ago
  Are you still using the same battery?
  - throw-qqqqq 1y ago
    Haha yes, but it doesn’t last for more than 20-30mins now. Used to be 7-8hours for the first five-six years, then dropped off. I also only buy used phones (I don’t have high requirements) and as with laptops, batteries are the “weak link” - as you correctly point out. A brand new battery for my laptop, can be had for ~30-65 USD though, and the battery is easy to replace (doesn’t even require screwdriver). I never use it untethered anymore though, so I don’t bother..
    - amelius 1y ago
      Ha, ok. I sometimes read that old batteries pose a physical risk, but I thankfully haven't experienced that. Maybe something to keep in mind though. I'd like to see some numbers on it.
      - throw-qqqqq 1y ago
        For me they usually just lose capacity and/or ability to charge. Most laptops will keep functioning when tethered. I think most batteries must puncture or corrode to pose a physical hazard. Alkaline batteries can corrode, but I’ve never seen issues with old Li-Ion unless exposed to violence and/or water. EDIT: Some numbers found quickly: https://www.britsafe.org/safety-management/2024/lithium-ion-batteries-a-growing-fire-risk https://www.britsafe.org/safety-management/2024/lithium-ion-...
theandrewbailey 1y ago
I work at an e-waste recycling company. People throwing out old but still working servers, desktops, and laptops is pretty common. Companies regularly decommission and throw out their IT assets after some number of years, even if the stuff still works (which most of it still does).
magicalhippo 1y ago
The main failure points in electronics are by far power supply and batteries. Non-polymer electrolytic capacitors can dry out, but just about all decent modern motherboards use polymer-based since years ago. My current NAS is my previous desktop, which I bought in 2015. I tended to keep my desktop on 24/7 due to services, and my NAS as well, so it's been running more or less continuously since then. It's on its second PSU but apart from that chugging along. I've been using older computer parts like this for a long time, and reliability increased markedly after they switched to non-polymer caps. Modern higher-end GPUs due to their immense power requirements can have components fail, typically in the voltage regulation. Often this can be fixed relatively cheaply. If buying a desktop I'd check that it works, it looks good inside (no dust bunnies etc), seller seems legit, and I'd throw a new PSU in there once I bought it.
lproven 1y ago
> I never bought used computer parts. I was taken aback by this. I almost never buy new parts, except phones, and not always then. I don't think I've bought a new computer since about 2001 or 2002, and then, that was because someone else was paying and her stipulation was new only. Before then... the 1980s? Computer hardware is like a car: when you exit the shop, 25% of the value just dissipates like a puff of steam. Within about 3 years, another 50-60% is gone. So, I always try to buy kit that's more than about 3Y old, because that's when it becomes cost-effective. When you pay 10% of the new price, that means you are getting at least 10x the price:performance ratio. It's almost impossible to buy anything new that is 10x faster than something ~3 years old and it has been for 20-25 years or more now.

those are server-grade stuff, it's normal for them to work 10 years continuously.

I regularly buy used hardware. It fails when it fails, same as the new stuff. Is there a higher probability? Possibly, but at the small sample sizes I'm at I can't feel the difference. Feels random either way.

cornichon622 1y ago

Built a gaming desktop for a friend almost 2 years ago; used GPU and CPU (maybe a few others things too), everything's going great. It helps that our local Cragslist offers efficient buyer protection. Server-side, I also bought used Xeons for an old box and recertified 10TB Exos. No issues there neither. The HDDs are a bit of a gamble, but for anything else I can only encourage you to buy used!

throwaway2037 1y ago
> It helps that our local Cragslist offers efficient buyer protection. What does this mean?
- cornichon622 1y ago
  When you buy something on Le Bon Coin, if it's not conform to the description or outright broken, you can very easily get a refund from the platform itself up to 3 days after reception, even if the seller disappeared. I think it encourages people to buy used stuff by removing the main drawback which is "it may not work properly anymore".
  - throwaway2037 1y ago
    Cool, I didn't know about this website. Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leboncoin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leboncoin This sounds like a very good upgrade to Craigslist and eBay!

ekianjo 1y ago

Used professional hardware (servers, workstations) are made with higher quality standards so they last fairly long.

tasuki 1y ago
Also they're good for heating your home.
- NexRebular 1y ago
  Unless you are running SUN CoolThreads(tm) servers!
Cthulhu_ 1y ago
Plus if they're from a data center, they will have been in a cooled, filtered, and stable space for their lifetime, vs a desktop that may have been in a dusty room getting moved or kicked from time to time.

pabs3 1y ago

My current computer is from more than 10 years ago, and I found it in a dumpster. Works fine.

codr7 1y ago
You're not going to leave us hanging with the specs, right?
- pabs3 1y ago
  Bog-standard Asus mobo with Intel i5 CPU, one USB3 port, some extra RAM begged from other folks and from previous desktops also from dumpsters, SATA 6GB ports, and a new at the time SATA SSD. First UEFI computer I've had. Found in a dumpster a year or two ago.

throw-qqqqq 1y ago

I haven’t bought new hardware since I was a teenager. Second hand is cheap and good for the environment. I never received a broken part and everything has worked reliably for me. 2-3 years is not a lot. My daily driver laptop is from 2011 and still going strong. Sure, there are “lemons” out there, but there are also a lot of people who just replace their hardware often.

nisa 1y ago
I concur. Doing this for almost all my technical equipment and mobile phones and never had a problem. For important/expensive things you can buy on refurbished stores that offer a 1-year warranty in EU.
amelius 1y ago
Are you still using the same battery?
- throw-qqqqq 1y ago
  Haha yes, but it doesn’t last for more than 20-30mins now. Used to be 7-8hours for the first five-six years, then dropped off. I also only buy used phones (I don’t have high requirements) and as with laptops, batteries are the “weak link” - as you correctly point out. A brand new battery for my laptop, can be had for ~30-65 USD though, and the battery is easy to replace (doesn’t even require screwdriver). I never use it untethered anymore though, so I don’t bother..
  - amelius 1y ago
    Ha, ok. I sometimes read that old batteries pose a physical risk, but I thankfully haven't experienced that. Maybe something to keep in mind though. I'd like to see some numbers on it.
    - throw-qqqqq 1y ago
      For me they usually just lose capacity and/or ability to charge. Most laptops will keep functioning when tethered. I think most batteries must puncture or corrode to pose a physical hazard. Alkaline batteries can corrode, but I’ve never seen issues with old Li-Ion unless exposed to violence and/or water. EDIT: Some numbers found quickly: https://www.britsafe.org/safety-management/2024/lithium-ion-batteries-a-growing-fire-risk https://www.britsafe.org/safety-management/2024/lithium-ion-...

theandrewbailey 1y ago

I work at an e-waste recycling company. People throwing out old but still working servers, desktops, and laptops is pretty common. Companies regularly decommission and throw out their IT assets after some number of years, even if the stuff still works (which most of it still does).

magicalhippo 1y ago

The main failure points in electronics are by far power supply and batteries. Non-polymer electrolytic capacitors can dry out, but just about all decent modern motherboards use polymer-based since years ago. My current NAS is my previous desktop, which I bought in 2015. I tended to keep my desktop on 24/7 due to services, and my NAS as well, so it's been running more or less continuously since then. It's on its second PSU but apart from that chugging along. I've been using older computer parts like this for a long time, and reliability increased markedly after they switched to non-polymer caps. Modern higher-end GPUs due to their immense power requirements can have components fail, typically in the voltage regulation. Often this can be fixed relatively cheaply. If buying a desktop I'd check that it works, it looks good inside (no dust bunnies etc), seller seems legit, and I'd throw a new PSU in there once I bought it.

lproven 1y ago

> I never bought used computer parts. I was taken aback by this. I almost never buy new parts, except phones, and not always then. I don't think I've bought a new computer since about 2001 or 2002, and then, that was because someone else was paying and her stipulation was new only. Before then... the 1980s? Computer hardware is like a car: when you exit the shop, 25% of the value just dissipates like a puff of steam. Within about 3 years, another 50-60% is gone. So, I always try to buy kit that's more than about 3Y old, because that's when it becomes cost-effective. When you pay 10% of the new price, that means you are getting at least 10x the price:performance ratio. It's almost impossible to buy anything new that is 10x faster than something ~3 years old and it has been for 20-25 years or more now.