Is it safe to buy used CPU off of Amazon

[shawn333]

Hello, I'm thinking of buying an i5 processor off of amazon for around $80 used, and it's worth about $180 brand new.

Is it possible that used CPUs will be degraded overtime from use, and I'll get ripped off?

And are i5 processors best for gaming?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

the "degradation" in CPUs takes a lot of time. it does not happen within a year or two or even 5.
CPUs are simple - it either works or not.
Just run a few tests like prim95, cinabench, passmark etc. if it does not crash - the CPU is fine. Just make sure it is guarantied to work and has money back.
i5 are fine for gaming if you have under 100Hz monitor. of course i7 with similar clock is better

 

[Jan_26]

There are cases of quite fast degradation of cpus - overclock with increased voltage, RAM with voltage above cpu specs. In those cases the cpu lifespan might get shortened enough to actually break down during the time it's architecturaly/performance wise usable.

Put the cpu to various tests (long running, various focus for few hours at least) to make sure it's not failing straight out of box.

i5 are fine for almost all games, but ofc it also depends on specific model (architecture/frequency).