Craigslist: Which deal is better.

AlanChristianson

Commendable
Dec 9, 2016
5
0
1,510
Hello everyone,

My name is Alan and this is my first time on tom's hardware forums. I have found 2 craigslist ads that I find equally as appealing. I need your help on which one is the better deal.

The first one is this one. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JfJ2WX and this is the build with today's parts https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JMnJgL. Notice its a little bit cheaper for the same price. This deal is priced at 625 and he isn't going to budge much.


The second one is this one. Notice he is throwing in a monitor, keyboard and mouse. It also comes with a ssd drive. Note I have no need for a keyboard or mouse and I have an extra monitor. But the price is at 600 so it seems like it is thrown in for free.

"This posting is for my desktop pc that I build about a year and a half ago. I've never had a single problem with it. I'm only looking to sell it because I don't use it as often as I used to.

Here are the specs:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) (BX80646I74790K)
Motherboard: MSI ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97-G45 GAMING
Video Card: ASUS STRIX-GTX970-DC20C-4GD5 Graphics Cards STRIX-GTX970-DC20C-4GD5
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3 240-Pin
Power Supply: Corsair CX Series 750 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Bronze ATX12V/EPS12V 744 Power Supply CX750M
Hard Drive 1: WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - WD10EZEX
Hard Drive 2: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-7TE250BW)
DVD Drive: Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)

Monitor: ASUS VS239H-P 23-Inch Full-HD LED IPS Monitor

I have a Corsair keyboard with backlit keys and an Anker mouse that I'll include as well.

I'll also do a clean install of Windows 10 and have all the drivers updated and ready to go.

Let me know if you're interested. Thanks!

 
Solution


Yeah, Watts means almost nothing when it comes to PSUs.
The problem is the quality of the hardware, and how it delivers it to the rest of the system.
The Corsair CX series has a very common problem of delivering inconsistent power to computer components, causing...
Both are good deals. I like the power supply better in build 1. And I like the inclusion of the SSD in build 2. I like the motherboard better in build 2, it needs a new cooler to overclock but a Hyper 212 Evo is cheap and is better than the Zalman of build 1.

Overall with the extra goodies and $25 cheaper I'd take build 2. Spend the $25 saved on a CPU cooler and sell off the stuff you don't need.
 
That 2nd build is pretty amazing for 600, especially with a KBM and monitor. The KB and M he mentions are possibly better than yours as well, that monitor very well may be as well.

Only problem is the PSU likely will cause some problems.

SSDs are definitely worth it for loading up your favorite games quicker.

I don't know if you're adding the Zalman or it already has it, but Zalman coolers are pretty good.
 

AlanChristianson

Commendable
Dec 9, 2016
5
0
1,510
Thanks for the responses. How is the PSU to likely cause me problems in the 2nd build? It seems 750 watts would be enough?? I have to get a cpu cooler for the 2nd build too. Is there any problem with him not using a cpu cooler, if he didn't or did overclock. I believe if he did overclock with a cpu cooler there could be some major problems and damage.

Also what should I be careful of and do when I am inspecting the pc to buy. Like what should I be careful of and etc.
 


Yeah, Watts means almost nothing when it comes to PSUs.
The problem is the quality of the hardware, and how it delivers it to the rest of the system.
The Corsair CX series has a very common problem of delivering inconsistent power to computer components, causing weird performance issues, mainly FPS drops, and replacing it with a good quality PSU seemingly magically fixes the problems.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2830488/fps-drop-problem.html

I could find more threads if I dug through my posting history, but it's kinda difficult to go 6months-2 years back looking for threads where it was identified as the issue.
 
Solution