Warranty and buying used/open box?

[mstrmind5]

I'm in the UK so there might be some slight differences regarding warranty for US customers, but hopefully you can still help.

First let me list all of the main components/parts of a PC build.

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
Cooler
PSU
GPU
SSD
HDD
Case

Anything I missed?

All new products come with a warranty of varying lengths, but of the parts I listed above, how would you rank the importance of a warranty for each part, i.e. which parts are most prone to issues/failling and as such a maunfacturer and/or retailer warranty is an aboslute must.

Further to this, is what parts can then be bought used/second hand/open-boxed provided they are in a good condition? I suppose your answers to the above will reveal that.

My limited experience and gut instincts are that the list from most important to least important would be as follows:

Motherboard
PSU
HDD
GPU
CPU
SSD
RAM
Cooler
Case

What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[greens]

Generally speaking if an electronic device works - it will continue to work.
Low quality capacitors do go bad, but the only place you'll find a tootsie roll capacitor in a modern rig is a power supply.

Most electronics can be expected to outlast you - there are no moving parts, they are not made of easily oxidized materials, they aren't exposed to the elements, etc.

The best deals i see are usually complete systems being sold by people who have upgraded or no longer need/want their rigs. These are the best because you get confirmation that everything works. Buying parts individually used is more difficult as testing each component can be tiresome and awkward with the stranger selling it.

 

[Zerk2012]

You can take the case and cooler off the list if its a air cooler.
Move the CPU to the bottom of the list I have never seen a working chip stop working.
Memory has a lifetime warranty because they don't expect it to stop working.
Hard drives are fairly cheap, you can buy a new from a lot of places if it fails.
PSU a good one will come with a 5 to 10 year warranty.
Most boards a standard 3 year.
Video card usally 1 to 3 years.
You get a warranty and hope you dont need it is what it comes down to. Any major part puts your PC down.
I don't buy used or open box.

 

[mstrmind5]

Thanks both.

I have a 3 year old build and so far the only part that has needed a RMA was the PSU. I suppose the greater and more prolonged the stress is on said components (especially beyond its recommended use) increases the probability of issues and failure occuring.

 

[Zerk2012]

If you buy a low quality PSU you are asking for problems in general they will have a 3 year or less warranty.

 

[mstrmind5]

If you buy a low quality PSU you are asking for problems in general they will have a 3 year or less warranty.

I dont think it was a low quality PSU, it is the Cooler master v450s and had a 5 year warranty. I checked reviews, Johnn guru and others, before buying. Maybe just bad luck. Just developed issues at the 3 year mark - had issues when the GPU a gtx 960 started to fire up. Fixed now.