Best strategy to "Upgrade and Sell" these rigs?

[VirtualLarry]

Kind of deciding what I want to do, with some rigs. These are all personal rigs, but I'm thinking of selling the larger ones.

I've got two rigs, in RaidMax Cobra (grey / "titanium") cases. Both have ASRock Z170 Pro4S mobos, on BIOS 3.00 (allows for BCLK OC of Skylake CPUs), and 2x4GB Avexir DDR4-2400 RAM. Both have G4400 CPUs, one OCed to 4.125Ghz, one OCed to 4.455Ghz. They used to each have an HIS 7950 3GB GDDR5 video card, although I recently moved both of those into the 4.455Ghz unit. The other one has a GTX750ti (LP-ready) card, that was originally designated for a slimline refurb Haswell i3 rig that I purchased, that I was going to soup up and sell as a gaming rig with the 750ti. Both rigs have PCI-E M.2 SSDs, one has an SM951, one has a 600p.

So, if I were to sell those, I was thinking:
1) move the video cards around, so that they each have a single 7950 3GB card.
2) get new CPUs, either Skylake locked i5s, and BCLK OC them, or Kaby Lake Pentium w/HT (and try to BCLK OC), or Kaby Lake i3-7350K?
3) Get new SSDs, and re-install Windows 10 fresh on them.

Or:

Skip #2, and try to sell them as-is, with the overclocked G4400 CPUs, as a "starter CPU", to allow DIYers to build their own gaming rig. Would be cheapest option.

Which would be more desirable from a purchasing standpoint? Would I be able to get my money back, if I invest in a quad-core, either SKL or KBL i5, or maybe the unlocked KBL i3?

(Not asking for prices, this isn't a price-check thread, more of a strategy thread. I'll price them according to my costs, and selling prices of other rigs at the time I sell them.)

Or:

Should I just keep the rigs, because no-one is going to want a rig that's used and overclocked for a year, and if they did, they wouldn't want to pay much for it?

I should mention, the motivation for selling the bigger gaming rigs is, I don't really game much anymore, and I have two ASRock DeskMini mini-STX mini PCs that I put together. One of them has a G4400, one has a G3900, but they run pretty well for desktop usage. Was thinking of splurging soon and getting a pair of G4560 KBL Pentium w/HT 3.5Ghz CPUs for $64 ea., for them. That would nearly max them out, short of getting quads for them, which I feel is overkill for web browsing and most media consumption. (Oh yeah, KBL has the updated media encode/decode block.)

TL;DR: Got some SKL/KBL mini-PCs, using them now, want to "pretty up" my bigger ATX SKL/KBL rigs to sell off as "gaming rigs".

Edit: I also have another RaidMax 735W PSU to match up with the one I put into the 4.455Ghz rig, to power the two 7950 3GB cards, and two R9 270X 2GB cards, in another rig, that I could potentially put into the 4.125Ghz rig, to make two rigs that are running Crossfire. If that would help sell them, and wouldn't be "overkill", then I might just do that.

I also have a third gaming rig, that I'm using now, that has an i5-6400 (locked 2.7Ghz), BLCK OCed to 165 BLCK / 4.455Ghz, on an ASRock ATX B150 K4/Hyper board. It has 4x4GB Geil DDR4-2400, and an RX 460 4GB Nitro card. Should I soup that up with a better video card, or will it likely sell as-is? I'll have to get a Win10 license for that, but I think that I still have a spare key I can use.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

They're low-end dualies, not "gaming rigs." Don't overthink it, just post 'em for sale as is and see if you get bites.

 

[VirtualLarry]

They're low-end dualies, not "gaming rigs."

🙁

Is this a corollary to "Only true gaming rigs have quad-cores" or something?

Having a raw clockspeed of 4.5Ghz, Skylake IPC, and a 7950 3GB card, doesn't qualify it to play games?

🙁

Anyways, I was asking about the feasibility of dropping in a cheap quad, and OC it, and then sell it.

 

[cbn]

🙁

Is this a corollary to "Only true gaming rigs have quad-cores" or something?

Having a raw clockspeed of 4.5Ghz, Skylake IPC, and a 7950 3GB card, doesn't qualify it to play games?

🙁

Anyways, I was asking about the feasibility of dropping in a cheap quad, and OC it, and then sell it.

I would try to the sell the rigs with those G4400s you already have and then (maybe) offer to do the labor to replace the dual core CPU with one sourced by the new owner should he or she not like the performance of the OC G4400.

P.S. One advantage those OC G4400s have (over G3258) is faster memory speed. G3258 on a non-Z board can only do DDR3 1333.....but a G4400 on a non-Z board does DDR4 2133 and a Z board allows speeds even faster than that.

 

[XavierMace]

I decided to answer your original question first just so the answer didn't get skipped over. Option A is how you keep getting stuck in this same cycle all the time of having stacks of rigs on hand to sell. Larry, we tell you this because we care. Or we're bored. Or both. 🙂

You have used rigs and keep trying to find some combination of parts that some how is going to increase the value of the rig by more than the cost of the parts. As we've discussed in the past, I've sold my share of used computers. I use a computer until I replace it, then I sell (or donate it) it as is unless I happen to have some superior extra parts already laying around which is rare. I NEVER buy more parts to try to improve the sale price of the computer nor have I ever had somebody tell me they'd give me an extra $500 if I put a $300 processor in it instead.

That's generally not the way it works. It MIGHT improve the number of people interested in it, but it's not increasing it's value by an amount greater than the cost of the part. Sell them as is and be done with it. It doesn't matter what tier of equipment you're selling, all part swapping is doing is generally doing is improving the sell-ability not your margin. I might be more interested in the computer if it had 16Gb of RAM in it, but I'm not going to give you more than the cost of 16Gb of RAM in return.

🙁

Is this a corollary to "Only true gaming rigs have quad-cores" or something?

Having a raw clockspeed of 4.5Ghz, Skylake IPC, and a 7950 3GB card, doesn't qualify it to play games?

🙁

Anyways, I was asking about the feasibility of dropping in a cheap quad, and OC it, and then sell it.

You'd save yourself a lot of headache if you'd stop using the term "gaming rig" because as soon as you do, you're going to get replies from people commonly referred to as gamers. 🙂

Gamers, like more enthusiasts aren't normal consumers. My dad plays games. He is not what most would call a gamer. So, you're going to get the same answer as you did in your other thread from the same sort of people. I'm not sure why you're surprised. Being able to play games does not make it what most gamers would refer to as a gaming rig. I can play many games on my work laptop. It's by no means what would be commonly called a gaming laptop either. Yes, in 2016/2017, at least 4 cores is generally expected in what most would refer to as a gaming rig. Yes, the raw clock speed of the G4400's does allow it to be feasible for most games. But most gamers are looking for more than just feasible. I haven't had a dual core since the Q6600 was released and as I said in your other thread, I'm not a top of the line parts guy. Most of the games I play make very good use of more than 2 cores.
A 7950 isn't a horrible card. But it IS 5 years old and a $150 RX 470 looks to be just about a 100% performance increase while generating less heat and noise. That may not seem like much to "normal" people, but for gamers that's huge. Keep in mind, a lot of gamers will replace parts to get a 10% increase. nVidia's x50's have generally been considered entry level gaming at best for quite some time. The 1050ti is the first card that really pushes that in many generations but even then the 1060 is really considered the sweet spot for 1080p gaming on the green side currently.

Like I said in the other thread, once a gaming computer doesn't mean always a gaming computer. Computers aren't cars, they don't age well, and using the term "gaming rig" means you're trying to appeal to the enthusiast market. Enthusiast's opinions aren't always 100% based in reality but if you're trying to sell to them, you have to know what they expect. Look at the Hyundai Equus. It's a $60k+ Hyundai. It MAY well be as good as a Audi/BMW/Benz/Lexus but guess what, most Audi/BMW/Benz/Lexus owners won't even look at it because it says Hyundai on it. Is that fair? Maybe not, but that's the way it is. Even Cadillac to this day still battles that.

 

[jana519]

In my experience, Pentium desktops just don't fetch a high price. The resale margin is pretty thin, and you'd be lucky to get $250 where I live. You have two desktops with Z170 mobos, fancy RAM, and 7950s. The obvious choice is dump the Pentiums for i3-6100s and sell them at a higher price.

The other option is swap the Z170 motherboards for cheap H110 motherboards and sell them that way. Either way, I wouldn't recommend the G440/Z170 configuration.

 

[VirtualLarry]

In my experience, Pentium desktops just don't fetch a high price. The resale margin is pretty thin, and you'd be lucky to get $250 where I live. You have two desktops with Z170 mobos, fancy RAM, and 7950s. The obvious choice is dump the Pentiums for i3-6100s and sell them at a higher price.

That was basically the gist of this thread, and kind of what I was thinking, that I wouldn't receive full value for the other components in the rig, unless I souped it up / made it more "balanced", as a "real" gaming rig. (Quad-core, etc.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yes, the raw clock speed of the G4400's does allow it to be feasible for most games. But most gamers are looking for more than just feasible. I haven't had a dual core since the Q6600 was released and as I said in your other thread, I'm not a top of the line parts guy.

The thing is, I do know some "real gamers", and they don't use top-of-the-line kit either. A friend of mine games on a Q9400 w/GTX460 2GB.

These G4400 OC w/7950 3GB cards, arguably, blow away his existing machine, capability-wise. Those OCed Skylake dual-cores, even out-perform Core2Quads in MT throughput, according to CPU-Z's bench. So they're actually faster for games than "true quad-cores" (Edit of an older variety). At least, in theory.

 

[XavierMace]

The thing is, I do know some "real gamers", and they don't use top-of-the-line kit either. A friend of mine games on a Q9400 w/GTX460 2GB.

These G4400 OC w/7950 3GB cards, arguably, blow away his existing machine, capability-wise. Those OCed Skylake dual-cores, even out-perform Core2Quads in MT throughput, according to CPU-Z's bench. So they're actually faster for games than "true quad-cores" (Edit of an older variety). At least, in theory.

Again, I don't think you're using "gaming" the same way everybody else is and as per your norm you're countering with the fact that you know/can find ONE person that fits in your definition like that offsets the opinion of the other 99% of the planet. It's not like this is an AT specific standard. The fact that the G4400's are faster than a 9 year old quad core proves nothing other than computers as a whole have gotten faster and is really more of a "duh" point to bring up. Why don't you post what games your friend plays and at what settings, then we can better explain why you're wrong and/or not understanding what we're trying to tell you. What settings does he run games like Witcher 3, The Division, or Doom at for example? I'll tell you right now his rig isn't running The Division at 1080p even on low settings and maintaining an acceptable framerate.

That was basically the gist of this thread, and kind of what I was thinking, that I wouldn't receive full value for the other components in the rig, unless I souped it up / made it more "balanced", as a "real" gaming rig. (Quad-core, etc.)

You're not going to get "full value" regardless, unless you're holding out for a buyer who doesn't know better. You're selling a used computer, not new. i3 6100's go for ~$115. Using jana's "lucky to get $250" which I think is probably optimistic, you'd now need to get $365 just to offset the cost of the i3. That's being just as optimistic and not counting for labor to swap the processors and assuming you can get full purchase price for the loose G4400's you're left with, which you won't because again, used. So, realistically I'd say you'd need to be closer to $400 to make buying the i3's worth it.

I can get a brand new (non-refurb) Lenovo S510 with the aforementioned i3-6100 and a GTX 1050ti for $488. That gives me better GPU performance with a fraction of the power usage and on this low of a budget the power savings is a definite consideration. Plus they get a keyboard, mouse, warranty and a retailers return policy. Nothing against you, but if my friends asked which of those two options to go with, I'd tell them them to go the new one in a heart beat. For me to recommend them to go with your rig (with the i3), you'd have to be looking around $300 even and even then'd I'd still tell them to give serious thought to the new option.

 

[Insomniator]

I don't know who would buy this used, old and/or low end stuff. Even my gamer friends that don't have the best equipment would buy a new PC or build one first. They can go on slick deals right now and find systems for 500 bucks, one's that have a warranty and aren't overclocked by some random person. "Trust me, I made these PC's faster!!'

A 7950 isn't worth anything nor is a G4400. Unless you own a shop that for some reason has tons of people lining up to buy this random crap for some reason... just part the stuff and put it all on eBay.

Don't buy more parts for these. You should be reducing your inventory.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah. Part 'em out on eBay or something.

This thing you do where you hold on to hardware until it's not useful anymore and then try to "maximize the value of your investment" is bass-ackwards.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

That was basically the gist of this thread, and kind of what I was thinking, that I wouldn't receive full value for the other components in the rig, unless I souped it up / made it more "balanced", as a "real" gaming rig. (Quad-core, etc.)

The only way you get full value of the components in a system is by selling them individually.

 

[jana519]

Pentiums are low end. How much value does an "overclocked Pentium" add? Zero. The low end market doesn't care about overclocking, they care about value. Overclocking is important to the high end market/enthusiast, and those people are only looking for quad core and higher i5/i7 etc. The used market doesn't care about Pentiums. But you had fun with them so that's all that matters.

 

[cbn]

The only way you get full value of the components in a system is by selling them individually.

Yeah. Part 'em out on eBay or something.

This thing you do where you hold on to hardware until it's not useful anymore and then try to "maximize the value of your investment" is bass-ackwards.

Something else Virtual Larry could do.....since the rigs are already built.....is strip off some parts, but leave the motherboard, PSU and case together and treat the build as a Z board barebones.

Then let the person he sells to furnish their own RAM, CPU, Storage, Video card, Operating system, etc.

 

[XavierMace]

Something else Virtual Larry could do.....since the rigs are already built.....is strip off some parts, but leave the motherboard, PSU and case together and treat the build as a Z board barebones.

Then let the person he sells to furnish their own RAM, CPU, Storage, Video card, Operating system, etc.

That honestly would probably be the more effective option.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Something else Virtual Larry could do.....since the rigs are already built.....is strip off some parts, but leave the motherboard, PSU and case together and treat the build as a Z board barebones.

Then let the person he sells to furnish their own RAM, CPU, Storage, Video card, Operating system, etc.

That honestly would probably be the more effective option.

Yeah, I don't think that's a dumb idea either. Hopefully, he would be able to sell them to someone local, since I can't imagine those cases would be inexpensive to ship.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Something else Virtual Larry could do.....since the rigs are already built.....is strip off some parts, but leave the motherboard, PSU and case together and treat the build as a Z board barebones.

Then let the person he sells to furnish their own RAM, CPU, Storage, Video card, Operating system, etc.

Honestly, I like that idea the best.

 

[XavierMace]

Just make sure you sell the G4400's too or you're going to end up buy new boards and doing more builds with them. 😛

 

[whm1974]

Good grief Larry, maybe you should stop buying low end stuff and go high end and just keep it until you need or want something better.

We can build a fairly decent gaming rig for ~$500 using a i3-6100. Seriously, a G4400 or G3900 for gaming?

 

[VirtualLarry]

They weren't originally purchased for gaming, they were for high single-threaded speed for Firefox / Waterfox, which wasn't multi-threaded at the time. (They're currently working on improving that.)

Also as an early and inexpensive experiment in Skylake BCLK OCing.

And I added the 7950 cards for doing DC. (MW@Home)

It was a quasi-gaming rig, sort of. (It played Skyrim fine.)

But this thread was about buying a Skylake or KBL quad-core for them, and then reselling. (Arguably, they would be true gaming rigs with a quad-core.)

 

[whm1974]

I wouldn't waste your money on upgrading before selling them, unless you already have the parts. Personally I think an i3 should be the minimum CPU for a PC even for a basic box.