Has anyone purchased a refurbished mobo from Newegg?

[fibes]

Has it been a good experience? Should I be worried about the product, if Newegg states "**This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only" ? Tell me your thoughts?

Refurbished mobo

 

[Peter]

You shouldn't buy refurbished mainboards, ever, from anyone. There's just too many ways a mainboard can be subtly broken, too many defects that slip through a "refurb" bench test in the retailer's back room.

 

[gaidin123]

I tend to agree with Peter however I did buy a refurb Epox KT333 mobo from Newegg a couple years ago now (I think) and it's been running 24/7 since then without a single problem. It does a decent amount of work and I have a ton of drives, several PCI cards including a tv tuner in it and it all works. I was very impressed but I would stay away from them if you need it for something critical.

Gaidin

 

[Buz2b]

Peter, while I know that in a "perfect world" no one would EVER have to buy a refurb, I do feel that they have a place in the system.
I agree that refurbs can ge a crap shoot; they can also be a wonderful source of big $$ savings. I've ordered two in the recent past from NewEgg. Both worked just fine, with no issues. One came with every part and software listed and the other came with everything but one IDE cable. Not a big deal. I've seen others who have had similar results and I've also seen some that have not had good results. As I said, it can be a crap shoot.
My opinion is that the odds are with you on the refurbs from NewEgg. They get a great many returns that have a whole host of reasons NOT related to bad boards. The industry numbers on failed MB's is extremely small and you know that Peter.

Here's the caveat on this: I wouldn't hesitate to try a refurb BUT you must be ready to absorb the cost of return shipping if the board is indeed faulty. There is also the "inconvenience factor" to deal with. You can't really get around that. So I guess my advice would be that if you can afford to spend a few bucks to possibly save more and are not on a time schedule, then go for it. If you can't afford a few bucks for return shipping or need to have better assurance of a working product; don't do it.

 

[Peter]

The problem is in the end users who return the board. The honest customer is extremely rare - most will lie to you as far as the reason for the return goes. That's where the risk in selling "refurb" lies.

If someone is short on money, they're much better of buying a new board but a cheaper model, one that's under full warranty. There are fine boards in the $40-$50 range, really no need to buy a refurb in that price range.

 

[Zebo]

Heck i have a hard enough time getting NEW stuff to work all good in conjuntion with one another... never buy refurb electronics. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy to many varibles where stuff can go wrong.

I did get a refurb silverstone case from newegg in perfect condition but that's as far as I'll flirt with risk since it has no moving parts and no IC's.

If your on a shoe string, the best resource is FOR SALE forum. In fact that's even better than buying NEW from a known/trusted/reputable seller because he has insured it works and it's offered at signifigantly cheaper!

 

[Moltres]

I always buy refurb from Newegg first. I only get them new if no refurbs are available. I have purchased at least 10 that I recall and haven't had problems with any of them. I have several friends who have bought them at my request and none have had problems with them either. Newegg does allow you to return them if they are DOA or develop a problem within 14 days (I think so read that small print on the refurb warning page that pops up). Test it during that time.

The items you get with the board depend upon the manufacturer. Two extreme ends of the spectrum: ASUS will only give you the board...nothing else. MSI gives you everything that comes in the new package. The biggest concern to me was that IO panel for the back of the case. It's really necessary for proper ventilation and dust control. I have a computer store near me that sells them for $2 that are perfect fits for ASUS boards.

My current refurb boards I'm running:

ASUS A7V-266-E
ASUS A7M-266-D
ASUS A7V-333
Gigabyte Dual Athlon MP board
ASUS A7V8X (2 of them)
ASUS A7VNX Deluxe (2 of them)
ASUS A7VNX-VM
MSI KT333

 

[Brian48]

I've bought about eight refurb'd motherboards from newegg in the past. The only one I ever returned was an Asus A7N8X, which worked, but was just as dodgy as all the other non-refurb'd A7N8X's I tried.

 

[Zap]

I've had mixed results with refurbs. Probably 1/4 of them had to be returned for various problems. Two died within minutes (MSI KM266 chipset board, Asus P4C800-E Deluxe) or were unstable (MSI PT880). I also got "stuck" with three refurb boards that had problems, but I didn't make the return period. Shuttle AV18ET was flakey, Asus P4S800 NIC stopped working, Epox 8RDA sound was crackly as all hell. Also, some random other ones I vaguely recall. Over half of them are missing stuff, including I/O panel plate. Don't know how many refurb mobos I've purchased in the past few years from Newegg, probably around 25.

I have also gotten boards from refurb that seemed to be completely new with all accessories. Some of these were phenominal deals. Just have to be careful choosing since a few months ago Newegg revamped their refurb section so that they are no longer totally awesome deals.

 

[SKORPI0]

Refurbished mobos I bought from Newegg within last 2 1/2 years, all of them worked.

Abit KR7A-Raid
GA-7DXR
GA-7VRXP
GA-7VAXP
Tyan S2460
Asus A7N8X Deluxe (2)
Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro
Abit NF7-S V2.0

That's 9 out of 9.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

I bought my Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 board on a refurb from Newegg for $60 just after Christmas. Everything worked great for about 6 months, then a power supply problem fried the board, but the board worked fine on its own (stupid generic PSU). Asus RMAd it no problem, though.

 

[jdiddy]

Picked up a Abit Ic7 Max3 refurb from Newegg for about $100 less then retail. The board came with all of the packaging, cables, and backplate. Nothing was missing. I've been running this board with a 3.0 Northwood overclocked to 3.7 ghz with no issues whatsoever.

 

[cmv]

Originally posted by: Zebo
If your on a shoe string, the best resource is FOR SALE forum. In fact that's even better than buying NEW from a known/trusted/reputable seller because he has insured it works and it's offered at signifigantly cheaper!

True back in the day. Go there today. Look around. Deals are few and far between. Most stuff is priced nearly retail.

 

[Conky]

I bought a refurbished ASUS P4P800 last spring and it is simply perfect. Overclocks like a champ too although I am running at stock settings these days.

I was a little wary getting a refurb'd mobo but was short on cash so I decided to try this board at $60 delivered. Total score. It came in a white box and had absolutely no extras but all things considered I would not hesitate to get an ASUS refurb again from newegg.

 

[joshcloud9]

I just bought a Gigabyte 7N400-L for $36 shipped...works perfectly.

The only issue was that it came tightly squashed in a small box with no battery or anything else!
The board does seem to have a "bow" in it around the memory slots (middle of mem slots are lower than edges) but it doesn't effect it's working

--- Having said that I just found a MB battery on the floor - absolutely no idea where it came from? - so it is possible that it fell out and somehow I didn't notice it...

A great deal if you are willing to risk a return shipping cost.