Refurbished or New ?

[getmoney]

I want really a GeForce 970 or a 980 but my wallet can't handle the price atm and I've been seeing alot of these on newegg but the first thing that comes to my mind is _no way_ because the previous owner could have been over clocking, gaming heavily and doing alot of serious video editing with this card wearing it down. The reason why this troubles me is because I plan to do the exact same with it and if this card has already been pushed to the limit how long can I expect it to perform fairly well if not @ 100% ? Thanks ..

 

[GameFreak01048]

Hello!

No there's an iffy one, second hand is all well and good but brand new...nothing beats the brand new smell and performance and cleanliness of a new GPU.

Personally for everything I stay away from pre-owned or even refurbished stuff...

The fact that it's refurbished...that means it failed once and it might fail again. It would make me paranoid to be honest, no one knows what the previous owner has done with the device...

If I was you I would just save the pennies up and get a brand new card for both satisfaction and just for peace of mind.
If there is a warranty period of at least a year then it should be alright because if the part fails within a year you get a new one or a refund, but my thoughts are "nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope" when it comes to pre-owned or refurbished tech

 

[captaincharisma]

when you go with refurbished or pre owned it is always 50/50. with new its more of 1% chance that it is DOA or only will last a few months

 

[delaro]

I want really a GeForce 970 or a 980 but my wallet can't handle the price atm and I've been seeing alot of these on newegg but the first thing that comes to my mind is _no way_ because the previous owner could have been over clocking, gaming heavily and doing alot of serious video editing with this card wearing it down. The reason why this troubles me is because I plan to do the exact same with it and if this card has already been pushed to the limit how long can I expect it to perform fairly well if not @ 100% ? Thanks ..

I have had no issues at all with buying a Refurb, but I only buy from certain brands that I know do the refurbishing themselves like EVGA and XFX. Companies that offer 3+ years or Limited Life Time warranties are usually safe to buy Refubs from, they do not pay 2nd parties to do the repairs so you have a much higher guarantee that it will work.

 

[getmoney]

I have had no issues at all with buying a Refurb, but I only buy from certain brands that I know do the refurbishing themselves like EVGA and XFX. Companies that offer 3+ years or Limited Life Time warranties are usually safe to buy Refubs from, they do not pay 2nd parties to do the repairs so you have a much higher guarantee that it will work.

Sorry for the typo's, Is it safe to overclock?

 

[delaro]

I have had no issues at all with buying a Refurb, but I only buy from certain brands that I know do the refurbishing themselves like EVGA and XFX. Companies that offer 3+ years or Limited Life Time warranties are usually safe to buy Refubs from, they do not pay 2nd parties to do the repairs so you have a much higher guarantee that it will work.

Sorry for the typo's, Is it safe to overclock?

A Factory in house refurb is just as good as the original card some times even better so your good to Overclock. 2nd party repairs are different you can't always guarantee that the replaced parts are to the same standards so it's risky to attempt to push the GPU.

You need to ask whom did the repair before you purchase.