What Does A "Brand New Bare Tray" P4 Look Like?

[wobbly99]

Just "won" a Prescott CPU on EBAY. The description was "brand new bare OEM tray CPU". I'm sceptical, but but not sure what it should look like to be as described. It came in an AMD plastic container and has the outline of a heat sink on it. When I questioned the seller he assured me that "they all come that way from Intel". It's an SL8JZ. if that matters. He's offered to send me a picture of the tray that all his CPUs came in. Does this sound legit?

Thanks,

Wobbly

 

[jitpublisher]

What you are getting is the bare CPU, no heatsink or fan, no box, no documentation, and no warranty.

 

[wobbly99]

I didn't expect anything other than the CPU. I'm just not sure whether the CPU is actually brand new. I don't expect the seller to warranty it, but I do expect him to sell a new item.

 

[babybudha]

2 Questions:

1) Why would you buy/bid on something without knowing what it is?

and

2) Why would you buy a "Prescott?" ........are you looking to get a crappy CPU that would double as a good space heater?

 

[Harry-Plopper]

Just "won" a Prescott CPU on EBAY. The description was "brand new bare OEM tray CPU". I'm sceptical, but but not sure what it should look like to be as described. It came in an AMD plastic container and has the outline of a heat sink on it. When I questioned the seller he assured me that "they all come that way from Intel". It's an SL8JZ. if that matters. He's offered to send me a picture of the tray that all his CPUs came in. Does this sound legit?

Thanks,

Wobbly

Why oh why would anyone wanna buy a processor off ebay is beyond me as in a previous thread it can turn to tears etc etc..

The 3Ghx Prescott u got is a horrible processor. Infact the whole Prescott series where horrible...

Should of got a 2160 or 2180 instead - much faster processors...

 

[sailer]

OP-This does not sound legit at all. If you "won" something, it should not cost a single penny to receive. There is no seller involved, not a buyer. Next, if it is an Intel CPU, bare tray or whatever, it wouldn't come in an AMD plastic container. The "seller" is flat out lying if he says "they all come that way". Third, Prescotts are old CPUs that are garbage. They earned their nickname of "Preschots". These are things that are often given away, as there is little to no resale for them, just like old 486 CPUs or P2s.

If I were you, I'd report the scam to E-Bay and forget the whole thing.

 

[wobbly99]

Let me simplify the question: Would a brand new bare tray Intel CPU show where a heat sink contacted it? I'm not asking advice on the merits of this CPU, or on the wisdom of buying a CPU on EBAY.

 

[dagger]

Let me simplify the question: Would a brand new bare tray Intel CPU show where a heat sink contacted it? I'm not asking advice on the merits of this CPU.

Heatsink contacts are usually bigger than the surface area of the cpu itself. It's probably from something else. Still, I doubt it's new. There's no way for you to tell for sure.

 

[wobbly99]

Heatsink contacts are usually bigger than the surface area of the cpu itself. It's probably from something else. Still, I doubt it's new. There's no way for you to tell for sure.

Thanks for your non-judgemental reply! The marks are a shiney rectangle surrounding the printing, but not centered on it. They appear to be contact marks. There are also small marks at the top and bottom, considering the orientation mark to be at the top right. My old CPU had also had a shiney rectangle, but it was right at the edges.

 

[dobby]

please tell us how much you paid. more than a tenner (£10/$20).

this is only a good opertunity if your upgrading a older system.

 

[Andrius]

Well since it's stated brand new (and it's an old chip) it could have been tested to see if it works. Alot of people here have been asking me if I can get my hands on a socket 939 chip (I've been looking for an X2 myself). They are unavailable in shops. So some "shady" people started offering them on local sites like e-bay. The are all tested and stated to be new. I've seen similar marks on them. They work most of the time but they are seriously not worth the prices the sellers ask for them.

If it was free you could underclock it to say 2GHz and use it as a file server processor (if you have an extra box). If you paid for it check if it works. If it doesn't report this event as a scam. Otherwise you have a smokin' hot keychain!

 

[wobbly99]

My ASUS P4C800-D posted the "CPU failed system test" message. Tried a new PSU. No joy. Then tried the replacement CPU. Same story. My most demanding use is Photoshop -no games. The MB is probably shot. The CPU was $45. A replacement ASUS PC4800-Deluxe is about $80. The new PSU is suitable for a newer CPU . So my choice is whether to try to salvage this system or start over with new MB, memory, etc.

So I don't know if the "new" CPU is OK, or not.

As you can see, my computer needs are modest.

 

[Shadow703793]

You are probably looking at a new upgrade unless you can get a motherboard that supports that CPU for a few $$.

 

[Andrius]

A cheap old motherboard or
$211 before rebate for a $70 E2180 + $90 GA-P35-DS3L + $26 2x1GB Corsair DDR2 Kit upgrade.

 

[ZOldDude]

OP-This does not sound legit at all. If you "won" something, it should not cost a single penny to receive. There is no seller involved, not a buyer. Next, if it is an Intel CPU, bare tray or whatever, it wouldn't come in an AMD plastic container. The "seller" is flat out lying if he says "they all come that way". Third, Prescotts are old CPUs that are garbage. They earned their nickname of "Preschots". These are things that are often given away, as there is little to no resale for them, just like old 486 CPUs or P2s.

If I were you, I'd report the scam to E-Bay and forget the whole thing.

I think he is saying that the OEM CPU comes is a clear plastic holder like the AMD CPU's also do....not that it is "labled" as AMD on the sticker fixed to the plastic protection/tray package.

As far as "winning" your correct....you have to -enter- to -win-.

If it s really "free" what is the question?

 

[joefriday]

It's common for CPUs from intel to have abrasion marks on the top of the IHS. It's from internal testing of the chips before they ship. The seller is probably legit.

 

[wobbly99]

It's common for CPUs from intel to have abrasion marks on the top of the IHS. It's from internal testing of the chips before they ship. The seller is probably legit.

Thanks for the information!
Wobbly

 

[wobbly99]

A cheap old motherboard or
$211 before rebate for a $70 E2180 + $90 GA-P35-DS3L + $26 2x1GB Corsair DDR2 Kit upgrade.

Sounds smarter than trying to keep the ASUS system alive. Any suggestion for a vendor? NewEgg?


Thanks,

Wobbly

 

[Andrius]

All three items are from newegg yes :
Motherboard : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
CPU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116052
RAM : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590

You'll probabbly need a graphics card too. I think that ASUS board is pre PCI-Express. You said your needs are basic so I went cheap but quite new : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102724

Have fun.

 

[B-Unit]

Wow, its apparent you guys have never ebayed, you 'win' the auction.

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

It came in an AMD plastic container and has the outline of a heat sink on it.

ROFL.

Sorry, but just plain ROFL!!!


No, you get ripped off dude. Every PC I have ever bought was nice and shiny and came in packaging that had the correct manufacture's name.


Prescott, ewwww...

 

[joefriday]

TC, oem cpus do not come in any packaging. most likely the seller had some AMD-stamped plastic cpu clamshell holders from the old socket a days that he used to secure this cpu during shipping. Not that hard to figure out. Try and be helpful, instead of saying nonconstructive things like Prescot, ewwww, and ROFL. I know you're better than that.

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

TC, oem cpus do not come in any packaging. most likely the seller had same AMD-stamped plastic cpu clamshell holders from the old socket a days that he used to secure this cpu during shipping. Not that hard to figure out. Try and be helpful, instead of saying nonconstructive things like Prescot, ewwww, and ROFL. I know you're better than that.

I also commented that it shouldn't have a mark from a heatsink.


If you want, I can pretend like he didn't get ripped off.

"No, the prescott processor which you bought is a great deal, has never been used, and you should be happy with the transaction."



I, and anyone else here has the right to criticize precott spaceheaters.

 

[joefriday]

Intel CPUs commonly have a marks on the IHS. I just bought a retail Celeron 420, which also had abrasion marks on the top of the IHS. Take a look next time you buy an Intel CPU.

You can criticize the Prescott if you want, but the application is for socket 478. It's either a Prescott or a Northwood, and if the guy got a decent deal on a Prescott, who cares? It'll run fine.

Wobbly99: Here's a thread that should put your mind at ease. It shows just how commonly Intel CPUs have a few abrasion marks on the IHS. This poor guy bought two CPUs before accepting the fact.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245133-28-stains

 

[plinio]

Hello there,

I have recently purchased an old Prescott CPU myself and must say that it can be a very good deal depending on the use you have in mind for it and the hardware you already have.

If you (as in my case) have an old ASUS socket 478 main board and want to update your specs and extend its useful life a little, then it is probably a good business considering your needs.

Regarding the Prescott discussion, although it is not the best CPU for OC it is still possible to get some extra HP out of them. For instance, I had a Prescott P4 2,8G with 533MHz bus and 512KB cache (no HT) that I used to overclock to 3.5GHz with very acceptable temperatures (using a Zalman cooler at its slowest velocity).

Now, I have recently purchased a 3.0GHz, 1MB cache CPU with 800MHz bus (with HT), exactly as the one Wobbly purchased (SL8JZ) and have overclocked it to 3.9GHz with idle temperatures of 49ºC while I am writing this posting. I am using the Zalman cooler on the slower velocity (which is probably equivalent to the Intel original cooler for this CPU I guess) and my room temperature is around 20ºC. Let me say I am very happy with my purchase.

Just in case you are interested, here are my basic PC configuration and overclocking settings:

ASUS P4P800SE (Intel 865PE chipset) with PAT enabled (as in the 875 chipset, thanks to ASUS engineers).
Dual Channel configured Kingston DDR400 RAM (2 x 1024MB) @ 416MHz (832MHz).
RAM Timings: 2.5-3-3-6
Prescott P4 3.0GHz 800MHz (SL8JZ) @ 3.9GHz 1040MHz (CPU bus at 260MHz, RAM bus at 320MHz)
Zalman CNPS700B-AlCu CPU cooler (not the best one, but better than the original Intel cooler)
CPUIdle Extreme software running all the time.

Regarding the marks on your CPU, I too agree that some OEM new CPUs may have marks on them and that does not mean they are used. In my case I purchased it in new old stock condition from a very good friend's shop (whom I deeply trust) and it also had little marks on it due to prior testing of the CPU to check that it worked fine.

IMHO you did well with your purchase if you know how to squeeze its potential with a little OC and without changing the rest of your hardware.

Best regards,

Plinio.