Tips on Upgrading An Old Desktop

[ZPep]

Hey guys.

It's been a while since i really looked at PC gaming seriously. I setup a budget gaming build about 3 years back, and now that i've gotten into PC gaming again, i'm looking to upgrade. I'm looking for a more high end build, especially compared to the last one, but i'm not going to shell out too much money. To do this, i'll be purchasing mostly older model parts like GPU off eBay. Reason i choose eBay is because you can get some seriously nice deals on there. Some argue that it's not safe, but with eBay buyer protection + Paypal support, doesn't seem like there's too much risk these days. I haven't had any scamming experiences either.

On to my current build:

AMD Athlon II X2 245
ATi Radeon 5770
Cooler Master 500W PSU
Asrock N68-S Motherboard.

As you can see, it's not exactly a big gaming PC, however i was able to get by on most games on High/Max.
My idea is aiming for a setup something like:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 (~$80 on eBay)
ATi Radeon 5870 (~$80)

Motherboard and power supply i'm not too worried about. I'll probably end up getting a Corsair 750W or something. As long as the AMD Mobo has Crossfire capabilities i'm not too picky either.
I'm a complete noob these days. Any ideas would be helpful.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

I would reconsider buying from ebay. Yes you can get parts cheap. But I got a used 560ti and a used mobo from ebay this year. Both went bad after the return policy was up. Luckily I had a warranty on the 560ti but I am out $100 because of that mobo going bad. Used parts aren't as realiable because they have been used before. Also there is the factor that the only 5870 I see for $80 are auction and auctions always go up a lot in the last few hours. Also look at the deals for new 965's on amazon, They are not much more expensive.
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-3-4Ghz-512KB-4000MHZ/dp/B002SRQ214/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347929577&sr=8-1&keywords=965
If you are going to buy on ebay I recommend getting buy it now or best offer. Then I would go with new or new other items only that have a warranty and 14 day return policy. Even with that there are still really good deals. I once found someone selling two new 7870 ghz editions for $320 total. I almost bought it but someone beat me to it.

 

[ZPep]

Yeah there are a lot of things to consider when eBay. I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for great prices from retailers like NCIX and Newegg.
However, i'm in no rush. Just thinking things out at this point.

Auctions usually do rise at the end but not always, there are always 1 or 2 auctions that end at a bargain price .

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

Well yeah but you can't really say they are priced a $80. Just remember though that used items in general are less reliable because they have just been used a lot. But if you really have to ebay is a great place to find cheap prices.