Advice On Purchasing Second-hand Rig

Hi guys,

i have been offered a PC, specs as follows:

i5 4690k, 16gig RAM, SSD 256gig, 2 x HDD 750gig each, Gforce gtx670 on an ASUS z97-m plus mobo.

Asking price is 450 bucks.

Is it a good deal?

Thanks a ton for your help!!

 

Is a Windows operating system included?

 

We don't have all the information needed but at this point, I'd say you are getting a "fair" deal. Not a steal, but not getting ripped off either.

This assumes it is running fine, and has been taken care of.

But note we don't know brand or model numbers of the RAM, SSD, or hard drives. We nothing of the case or power supply. And if it comes with an operating system or not. If the operating system is installed, you must (to be perfectly legal) get the disks for it. These would either be the OS disks, or the original disks that were used as authorization for the upgrade to this OS.

plodr beat me to it with OS question but that's fine.

 

Not a bad price for the collection of parts listed. But do note some of these parts have been on the market quite some time.
How long and how hard has the machine been used. Another unknown is what kind of power supply has been installed and used for how long? If it's a friend wanting to sell because of money needs or now has another machine I would be tempted as long as I knew it had been running without any noticeable problems. You could build more with a comparable price, but then again this one is already built. And some parts could be upgraded still with a little more investment. If it was an offer from a friend in good faith, I would probably do it.

 

A s all -Plodr, Digerati, Imandy Mann say, I would also look at these, just to get a picture in your head, when deciding
I believe the motherboard came out around 2012 ......
Motherboard review might be useful
http://www.bit-tech.net/reviews/tech/asus-z97i-plus-review/1/
Graphics
http://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-670

 

Thanks a ton for all your responses.

Yes, there's a windows OS installed, though I'm not sure which. Also, I suspect the power supply will be solid. A friend of mine built it himself 2 years ago and is selling only due to him needing an upgrade.

Once again, thanks a lot!

 

Well, if he does not give you the Windows license AND he does not uninstall that license from any system he is still using, you will need to buy a new license for this system. Otherwise, one of you will be a software thief!

But again, by the terms of the EULA your friend agreed to abide by when he first powered up this computer, he is supposed to provide the licenses to you too if OEM or if an upgrade based on an OEM as OEM licenses are inextricably tied to the "original equipment".

If he initially put a full "retail" license on that system and he is keeping the license (which can legally do), then he is required to uninstall the OS before selling that system to you. Only volume licenses typically sold to businesses can be used for more than one Windows installation.

 

I had a feeling it was a self built unit, so, try to bargain a little - I sold a self built pc with Windows 7 Ultimate, core i7, and 8gb ram to a friend for £150 that cost me over £600 to build and configure including all legal software, 1tb hard drive, dual dvd writers etc:- so, keep a friend, but try a little chip at the price- they do not sell as well as we would like, even if we had to pay a lot to build them- The ssd, and two hard drives give lot of capacity-good luck

 

This is super true. And the main reason is not really that it is used, it is that advances in technologies happen so quickly. So even if just a couple years old and barely used, it is still "old" technology. And nobody is going to pay top dollar (or top quid) for old technologies.

 

Hmmm, I was feeling good about this deal until I read this message. In fact the sellers are friends of the wife. I don't know them well, but they been nothing but good and generous to our family. They're both professionals and aren't short of money, so I really doubt it's a bum deal. Plus, I live in Malta (tiny island in the Med) therefore computers etc need to be imported and adds a little to the price.

So let's just assume (will find out for sure when I see them later) that there's no OS installed, is it still a good deal for the hardware?

 

Yes,I would think it a good buy - Motherboard itself-not bad-16gb ram-ssd, 2x750gb hard drives-graphics-reasonable, only about two years since built- Personal opinion- yes- Whatever operating system is installed.
I would suggest that the operating system should be included, myself.
Still worth asking if he would take an offer -

 

I would offer them 400 because you're not getting any guarantee.