Manufacturer refribished motherbords

[rob4001]

Anyone have any experience with refurbished motherboards are they too much of a gamble or not a problem? I have my eye on an Asus x370 hero vi manufacturer referb.

[peterb]

It all depends on the warranty. In essence a refurb board should be as reliable as an original - if the repair has been done properly (and who better than the mfr to do that?)

So if the warranty says that it meets the original specs, and is of a suitable length, it could be a good buy. Just read the small print.

[Mr_Jon]

I had a refurbed 990fx. It was fine, lasted years and then I sold it. Chances are the accessories won't be with it unless stated (sata cables, manuals etc) - but the io shield will be.

[Saracen999]

It all depends on the warranty. In essence a refurb board should be as reliable as an original - if the repair has been done properly (and who better than the mfr to do that?)

So if the warranty says that it meets the original specs, and is of a suitable length, it could be a good buy. Just read the small print.

That.

Emphasis on the last five words.

Oh, and if gou've got doubts, work out the price difference between new and refurb, and consider whether the saving justifies whatever loss of peace of mind you feel.

I've never done it with a mobo, but I did with a lens a few years back at £450 instead of £900, with a full Canon warranty. Never needed the warranty. The only way I could tell the lens was refurbed was it came in a white box, not retail packaging.

Note: Before someone points it out, yes I know, some "bundle" lenses that have been unbundled also come in white boxes, but this was a lens that has never been bundled.

[blueball]

I've bought lots of second hand server parts from Ebay; motherboards, memory, raid cards, etc. Never had a problem with any of them and most were NOT manufacturer refurbished

[philehidiot]

I would consider the type of product in this - you wouldn't buy a refurbished or second-hand banana. I'd take into context what the manufacturer means when they say refurbished. Definitions should be available.

My approach is, should it be a product suitable for refurbishment and the history not involve it being on all the time in the heat of a shop window or something similar, then it should be as reliable as new and in many ways better as it will have had someone look for issues with it and repair those issues as well as test the product afterwards properly.

If it was sent back due to a bent pin which they fixed or a single broken component, there is no reason it should not be perfectly usable. Equally, they are trying to recoup some money on this failure and if it gets returned again, it's just going to cost them even more as that would be two customers who have had to be compensated and you're still left with a worthless product.

If it has been refurbished I would expect it to come with a full warranty. Nothing less. If they are sending it out with a 3 month warranty then you will be wondering if they've done the job right.

EDIT: There is a difference between second hand and refurbished. Some places will blur that line. Example is a mobile phone that has been used hard for 11 months and then returned due to a failure. This is absolutely second hand and not siutable for refurbishment as these products are often only designed to last 2-3 years and you've lost that screen backlight time, had half the lifespan of heating / cooling cycles and a lot hinges on if they've changed the battery out. Hence it's important to read exactly what they deem suited for reburbishment and also any specific history on that item.

[jim]

My presumption would be that these are boards that have gone back for RMA and been fixed, but for whatever reason haven't been shipped back to customers.

I can't think of any other realistic scenario in which Asus would be receiving boards, altering them and then selling them again.

For me there are two problems. Firstly, is the warranty as good? Secondly, there simply has to be an increased risk of failure. It will by nature be older and have a history of issues.

I'd want at least a 20% discount for the first issue, and then combined with the second issue I'd then be looking at probably 50% for it to be worthwhile for me.

Your price point may differ, but personally the increased risk of failure plus no refund means that even a £50-100 saving I'm starting to debate whether it's worth the potential hassle.