Need Opinions: Newegg Refurb Video Cards

[izibo]

I have always heard mixed reviews about Newegg refurb video cards. I gather that you are more likely to post about a not-functioning video card then a functioning one, so I was just hoping I could gather some good honest opinions.

 

[Keysplayr]

Buying a refurb vid card is like shooting craps. It will either work, or it wont. Newegg has been pretty good when it comes to returns and RMA's. You will hear, "I bought a few refurb cards and never had a problem with any of them." and you will also hear, "I will never buy another refurb card ever again.". Its a gamble at best. I would steer clear of refurbs despite their attractive price tags.

 

[rbV5]

Newegg refurbs populate a couple of my rigs and have worked out well for me. IMHO YMMV.

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Buying a refurb vid card is like shooting craps. It will either work, or it wont. Newegg has been pretty good when it comes to returns and RMA's. You will hear, "I bought a few refurb cards and never had a problem with any of them." and you will also hear, "I will never buy another refurb card ever again.". Its a gamble at best. I would steer clear of refurbs despite their attractive price tags.

Thats pretty much what I hear as well. Both "I have purchased one or more and there hasnt been any trouble" to "I got one and it sucked". I don't purchase refurb personally because the cost savings is not worth the potential headache's to me. But for some that are tight on cash it may be a decent optioin. Just not for me personally, since as keysplayr said its basically a crap shoot.

 

[Brian48]

Newegg's "refurbs" are nothing more than just customer returns. The quality of what you get depends on how badly the previous customer abused the item. Luckily, I've been fortunate thus far and all, but one item, has worked out great for me. That one item, an Asus A7N8X-E, appeared to be legimately defective and was not the result of prior customer abuse.

 

[Z80]

Refurb video cards usually work or don't work right out of the box. They are so easy to install/de-install that it's not alot of work if you happen to get a bad one. Now regarding refurb motherboards, run the other way. You can waste a whole day installing, testing, troubleshooting, etc. a defective refurb motherboard.

 

[CaiNaM]

normally "refurbs" are just that.. something that was returned, sent back to manufacturer, tested or repaired, then placed back in the retail channel for sale.

that newegg doesn't themselves test it does not mean they are "simply customer returns being re-sold". i suppose it's possible, however newegg has been such a good "store"and have in my exp. always given above avg. customer service, i would tend to be optimistic and think they actually ARE refurbs, as they are represented to be, unless someone can prove otherwise.

as far as the results of purchasing refurbs, i've bought 2 "refurb" video cards from them, both came in retail boxes with all accessories, and both have performed flawlessly.

also know someone who has bought sever motherboards from them, and all have worked fine, and all except 1 (out of like 4 or 5) came in retail box with accompanying hardware.

as for returns, i did order a refurb which arrived as something other than what i had ordered, and newegg waived the 15% restocking fee and rma'd it w/o a hassle.

 

[merlocka]

As everyone said, it's hit or miss.

It used to be better... many of the returned cards were OK, or just didn't overclock well. Almost like parts binning

These days however, there are too many kids borking BIOS's for me to dabble in Newegg refurb anymore.

 

[Corporate Thug]

i havent had a problem with their refurbs but only buy if you are willing to ship it back if it is broken

 

[Matthias99]

I've only bought one refurb item off of Newegg (my 9800Pro), and it works like a charm. Doesn't overclock as well as some, though; I'm guessing that's why it was returned.

When Newegg gets a part back on RMA, they generally return it to the manufacturer, who theoretically tests it, repairs it if it is not working right, and then sends it back to Newegg (or sends them a new one if it's really borked). So any testing done is by the manufacturer, not the supplier. If you trust the manufacturer of the product in question enough to test and repair an RMAed product, you should be fine buying it refurb from Newegg.

 

[vshah]

running a refurg gainward 4200 right now...works like a charm, absolutely stellar overclocker (315/660 from 275/512)
ymmv though

-Vivan

 

[WT]

Bought an MSI 5900 from Egg refurb .... a cap was broken off as I removed it from the a/s bag. Rather than return it for a cheap 5900XT, I took it to a local repair shop and paid $35 for a very quality solder job.

Hit or miss, you can't complain if you hafta RMA it, you just hafta have the time to thoroughly test it. God help anyone that buys a refurb MoBo, as there are literally a dozen small issues that may pop up after the 15 day return window is over.

 

[CaiNaM]

anyone notice almost none of them are free shipping now? they just changed that in the last day or two

 

[OS]

I have a friend who works at newegg. God she is so hot, it hurts.

Anyways, she says the refurb stuff is a good deal, but I got a bad refurb card there before so I dunno. I want to believe the pretty face.

 

[CaiNaM]

just got another refurb 9700p today.. paid 134 for it, and it works fine.

 

[PanzerIV]

I have so far purchased two refurbed video cards from them. A GeForce 440MX and yesterday I installed a Radeon 9600 that I just bought which is playing B:V like a charm! So, considering those two purchases and the burners, mobos and processors I have bought on refurb I have no complaints whatsoever.

 

[whoiswes]

just picked up a refurb Asus ti4200 for $60 shipped (128 MB version).

i was a bit apprehensive, but the card has been running fine at stock speeds for a week now.

i wasn't one of the lucky ones that got a brand new card - mine was definitely used. in fact, whoever had it before me had taken the heatsink off and applied their own thermal paste (wasn't stock). why it was returned, i'll never know. possibly it wouldn't overclock high enough for them???

anyways, FWIW, my first and only refurb experience has been a good one.

 

[Schadenfroh]

one of my friends had a card break on him that he bought like that after 3 weeks