1. #1

    Looking for Outside Opinions, Purchasing a PC.

    So, my old PC is sputtering it's way to the trash heap and I'm in need of a newer one on a limited budget. So, after a bit of searching around I come across this an open box PC for sale, $212 when the normal price is $499.99.

    Now, I realize there is some risk involved in purchasing an open box product. I would just like others' opinions on whether it's worth the risk to buy this PC at such a low price. I'm just sort of torn...the price is tempting, but it's like playing Russian roulette.

    Lastly, I know some are going to say to buy my own parts and build one myself. Well, the price of prebuilt machines (the cheaper ones) has been lower than buying the parts to build one myself. I'm not looking for anything top of the line or cutting edge, just a more up to date machine than what I'm using now.

    So, that's about it. Worth the risk, or not? I'd like your opinions!

    P.S...I would provide a link but seeing as how this is my first post on MMO-Champ I'm unable. If you google CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2082 it should be the third link on the very first page.

  2. #2
    Deleted
    Moved to "Computer Build Help".

    It sounds like an extremely fishy deal. What specifications are we talking though? You won't get much of a gaming computer for $200. And "the price of prebuilt machines (the cheaper ones) has been lower than buying the parts to build one" is so not true. The parts used in cheaper pre-builts are often of lesser quality or just outright bad. Sure, one can get lucky and strike a good deal once in a while, but the general rule is that assembling a computer yourself will always yield better equipment and better performance for the same price. Many on this forum can vouch for that.

    Edit: Is this the computer you are referring to? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229254
    It is definitely worth more than $200 even today, but it is fairly old hardware. I wouldn't be surprised if it was sold as second-hand for that amount, but it does sound a bit fishy. You should note that this is a pretty sub-par gaming machine.
    Last edited by mmoc7c6c75675f; 2011-11-04 at 10:48 AM.

  3. #3
    Yeah, that was the PC I was referring to. On the plus side, if it did turn out to have a crippling defect or something, I can return it within 30 days for a full refund. Although, I'd have to pay the shipping fee.

    As for building my own machine...I've looked into that before. The total cost of the parts+Windows 7 (running XP on this old comp) ends up being out of my price range which is around. My price range is around $450-$475. Also, I'm not looking for something that will run, say Battlefield 3, on max settings with 100 fps. I'd be happy for it to run my older games such as Left 4 Dead and WoW (and soon SwtoR) at higher settings which the machine I planned on buying should do.

    However, if you have any advice on where I could find the parts within my price range I'm open to the idea.

  4. #4
    CPU: Intel Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz 2 x 256KB L2 Cache 3MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80623G620 @ $73

    Motherboard: ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard @ $54

    RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBXL @ $29

    Graphics: XFX HD-677X-ZNLC Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card @ $90

    Hard Disk: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive @ $70

    DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM @ $19

    Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply @ $50

    Case: HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition ATX Mid Tower Computer Chassis Gaming Case w/ Front Blue LED 120mm Fan & Top 120mm Fan @ $40

    Your going to have to squeeze the OS in there some how, maybe have a yard sell or something to get the money. Trying to cut out $100 in this build will make it lose tons of performance

  5. #5
    Hard Disk: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive @ $70


    is going for 140$ atm since the floods wiped out the factorys making HD's


    its a bad time to buy hard drives all around

  6. #6
    Hmm, thanks for the replies. Still have some thinking to do I guess...maybe some blood selling to do as well.

  7. #7
    Deleted
    Well, we all like a challange :-) Let's see what a ~$500 budget will grant you if you build it yourself:

    Mainboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138332
    CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115078
    RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820139659
    PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371034
    Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146061

    Estimated price: $275. If you can salvage a case you could save $36. There is no listed HDD as those are extremely expensive as of yet. Add Windows 7 to that and you are up around $375, which leaves around $100-150 for a GPU.

    If you can salvage a case and a HDD elsewhere: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161384
    Or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150540

    If you want to go cheaper, you can go as far down as a GT 440 ($80) or a 6750 ($100).

    6750: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161379
    GT 440: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125366

  8. #8
    Fuzzeekee
    Guest
    He should try looking up his local freegeek for used parts. I used to go down there to get scraps to repair old machines.....Honestly that's a pretty bad machine. EVEN this stuff this guy above is linking, 50$ board...That's pretty bad. Look at the chokes on that. 2-6 phase power? Probably no overvoltage protection even. I bet it's even HIDDEN from you on their website. When you go down in build quality, things can explode, fail, and start on fire. That cyberpower PC could even be using ALL junk PCB materials. Low yield, no quality control other than to see it if turns on...If I had higher post count I would link you some electrical engineering videos on what it's like to design silicon devices and PCBs...It's almost like buying a guitar. Each board is different because machines that make them are not perfect....Good luck man hope this helped!

    EDIT: Got a link for you to see what I'm talking about. I set the video time to the exact time where you can see what these boards are like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXE_d...ilpage#t=1295s
    Last edited by Fuzzeekee; 2011-11-05 at 01:18 PM. Reason: Added in a video.

  9. #9
    Deleted
    Hm, actually, I myself wouldn't purchase that Biostar mainboard, but it is alright and will definitely run (and most likely be better than most pre-builts in the same price-range). I would bump it up a bit, but as OP is on a strict budget it might not be possible.

    GIGABYTE GA-H61M-DS2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128527
    MSI H61M-P21 (B3): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130603
    ASRock H61M-GE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157256
    ASUS P8H61-M: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131724

    If I was personally looking for a cheap H61 board for a strict budget build, I'd probably go for something like the MSI H61M-E33 (B3), especially since it is listed for $50 after MIR.

  10. #10
    A bit of an update...do you think I should try salvaging the case of my old PC? It's an old alienware (birthday gift from years ago) and the case is rather spacious. It's only real issue is that one of the headphone jacks has been messed up. Also, my power supply is fairly new (replaced last year) and is about the same as the one linked above. Basically I'm asking if I should just replace everything in this old thing except the PSU? I could salvage it's hard disk but...let's just say it's way too small and in dire need of an upgrade.

    Also, my video card is a geforce 8600 GT, wondering if that's worth saving as well. If it is, I could save quite a bit by just upgrading everything else. I'm hoping that is the case.

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