Should I buy a used GTX 970 someone offered me?

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George Mooey

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Nov 13, 2014
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So I've been meaning to upgrade to a better card but seeing as I have a gtx 960, I didn't wanna buy something like a 970 at full price since its about 50% better at around 300-350 bucks, especially considering that the gtx 1070 is coming out in june. So I went on some forums and found a guy near me who has a GTX 970 (reference card, modded white and black color, never overclocked (so he claims)) for 200 bucks USD. I'm very tempted to buy it, but I wanna know if this is a good deal. The warranty on it is obviously very likely to be voided since he modded it, so if it craps out, I'd kinda SOL, and I've also never bought any used parts before. Apparently its usually safe if you know what you're doing, but should I take this offer?
 
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m4ntl3
Buying used isn't the best idea, unless you can find some way of checking his reputation. Some forums will give you an idea of a user's reputation if you go into their profile or you could even ask other users if they've bought from him before. Also if he modded the card he is probably more likely to have overclocked it and finally test the card before you give him any money.
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dudmont

dudmont

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What resolution/refresh rate are you playing at? I'm not a huge fan of reference cards except in an SLI setup. Sounds to me like you're being very "beware". That's good, never know what you're getting.
If you could get it for less(150), twould be a maybe. Sounds like the best you could rate it at is "good condition". That's more than a 50% base price reduction in my book.
 
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azathoth

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What exactly did he modify on the card? ---I guarantee you it's been overclocked, but unless it was run at high temperatures that really doesn't matter.

I took apart the cooler on my GTX 970, and replaced the thermal paste with aftermarket paste. Doing that does NOT void the warranty.

The GTX 970 is still a VERY GOOD card, but with the GTX 1070 coming out, likely at 180% the performance of a GTX 970, it may not be worth buying a used GTX 970 for $200 USD.

GTX 1070 has a MSRP of $379, factor in the third-party increase and taxes, I'll say it's $430.

Basically you're looking at $430 for 180% performance, a fresh warranty and a NEW spankin' card.
Or $200 for a used GTX 970, which is still very capable itself.
 
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George Mooey

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I'll see if i can talk him down. 200 was his asking price. Whats the worst benefits of a reference card vs a non reference btw?
I play at 1080p and 60hz. I have no interest in anything above that. I honestly wouldn't wanna upgrade but games like dark souls 3, Rise of the tomb raider, and even Street fighter V that I play all the time are lagging a bit behind on max to high settings with the 960 2gig.
 
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m4ntl3

m4ntl3

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Buying used isn't the best idea, unless you can find some way of checking his reputation. Some forums will give you an idea of a user's reputation if you go into their profile or you could even ask other users if they've bought from him before. Also if he modded the card he is probably more likely to have overclocked it and finally test the card before you give him any money.
 
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George Mooey

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Thanks for the input. i think i'll take your word on it and just hold my money. If it's likely he did overclock it, I don't even wanna touch it. This was via reddit's hardwareswap and I couldn't find much regarding reputation. Thanks guys.
 
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George Mooey

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sorry for not responding. Heres a timestamp he sent. http://
I ultmiately decided to opt out and not get it. He wouldn't budge under 200, and I didnt feel comfortable that he had a modded 970 that he claims wasnt OC'd.
 
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George Mooey

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im a bit of a impulse buyer in all fairness. I'm selling some old ps3 games, hardware and other stuff as well, so I guess saving up isn't so terrible. Thanks again guys.
 
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George Mooey

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im a bit of a impulse buyer in all fairness. I'm selling some old ps3 games, hardware and other stuff as well, so I guess saving up isn't so terrible. Thanks again guys.
 
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